One Kiss changed everything. Hailey is done with college and on the verge of either losing her job or climbing the ladder and maybe restructuring her love life. When she's mismatched with the wrong person on a date, a stranger swoops in to be the hero. He may be charming, but he's the kind that breaks one like a promise - even if she can't remember what he looks like. Brandon, the CEO of Go Girl magazine and secret developer of The Aphrodite dating app, has been thinking of that kiss that made his heart skip three or four beats. He's sure that joining the app will help him find her, but he is not sure how many times he has to try before seeing her again. Will these two find their way back to each other, or will Aphrodite change the terms?

• OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2023 • SHORTLISTER • AMBASSADORS' PICK • FEATURED STORY • Artemis Hexley used to be the famed Curse-Breaker of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, she isn't even a Curse-Breaker anymore. The events that shaped her formative years may be behind her, but with the Triwizard Tournament approaching, her past might be about to catch up with her... This new stand-alone story features Artemis Hexley, the protagonist of the Hexley Saga, as well as a cast of characters from the Wizarding World. The Wilderness Years was written and shortlisted for the Open Novella Contest 2023. It has been a featured story for: • Wattpad Urban Fantasy • Wattpad Potterverse

[Entry for the Open Novella Contest 2023] Fate is a twisted thing, or the evil sorcerer had a hand in her demise. Roysia Ysembert made a deal to cure her mother, but with every gift comes a price. A matrimonial union is to take place between enemies. One who rejoices in the taste of blood. Another who hopes to spill it.

Round One Ambassador Pick. Emily Hollyford fell in love with Oscar Trentham, Earl of Riverstoke, when she was just thirteen years old. All she wanted in life was to marry her prince charming in front of the most important people in her life-her parents. Oscar, on the other hand, only saw an annoying child who pestered him day and night while he was trying to enjoy his visits with his cousin Henry. Due to a series of devastating events, their paths don't cross again till many years later and Oscar can't help wondering what happened to the outgoing and vibrant Emily? Overshadowed by her cousin Cecily and treated horribly by her mother's brother and his wife, Emily is a shell of her former self. But with Oscar back in her life, can she overcome the hurts of her past and find herself again? And more importantly, can she still get her happily ever after? Prompt 33 They had their arrow aimed at their target's back, a perfect shot despite the crowded ballroom. Taking a deep, steading breath, they pulled the bowstring taught and prepared to let the arrow fly. But then their target turned and looked directly at them, finding them in the eaves as if they'd known they were there all along. The target winked.

The Sentinels are finished. Everyone knows that. Once crucial to the defence of the galaxy, now neglected and labelled as irrelevant, the legendary warriors are a shadow of their former selves. No longer a bastion of the best and brightest, in this time of drones and AIs, when contracts have taken the place of conflicts, they're little more than a collection of misfits and miscreants, battling to justify their existence. None more so than their leader Cameron Estrela - an Earthling, a nobody from a nowhere planet. And now, with a mysterious and sinister threat looming and the fate of the galaxy at stake, they may have the chance. Provided, that is, Cam can steer clear of his malignant ex, see off a swarm of space-pirates, save the Sentinels from budget-cutting bureaucrats and keep both himself and his ragtag crew from being blasted into their component molecules. Good thing he likes a challenge.

[Bauhinia Legacy Series, Book 4.0] 🏅HONORABLE MENTION IN ONC 2023🏅 Written for the 2023 Open Novella Contest: It's easy to get away with crime in a packed, unruly and newly built city--Cantonesia: The Jewel of the Orient. That's what Amelia Yeung's family has been doing for decades. She's part of Cantonesia's most notorious and elusive mafia family, the Bauhinias. On Amelia's next mission, which involves the Governor of Cantonesia and his family, she makes a dangerous mistake that takes away her freedom. Thus, she is forced to make a deal with two formidable forces. But scandals and secrets await her wherever she goes, and Amelia unearths one that could damage the Governor's reputation. She begins to question the moral integrity of those around her as the situation unfolds. To make matters worse, government agents are on Amelia's trail. She knows if she's captured, it could be the end of the Bauhinias. Now Amelia has to evade the law and help them at the same time. Will Amelia be able to solve her Cantonesia caper? Or will the government get to her first? ****** ONC Prompts used: #15, 33, 75 ****** Accolades: 🥇1st: Best Writing in the Phoenix Mini Awards 🥇1st: Best Epilogue in the Starlight Mini Awards 🥇1st: Action/Adventure in the Serenity Book Awards 🥈2nd: Action/Adventure Genre in The Katana Awards 🥈2nd: Action/Adventure Genre in The Fluorescence Awards 🥈2nd: Best Antagonist in The Philosopher Awards 🥈2nd: Best Antagonist in The Ambrosia Awards 🥈2nd: Best Prologue in the Starlight Mini Awards 🥈2nd: Best Bright Cover in the Best Book Cover Awards 🥉3rd: Hidden Gems Category in The Phoenix Awards 🥉3rd: Action/Science Fiction in The Philosopher Awards 🏅Honorable Mention: Best Protagonist in The Ambrosia Awards 🏅4th in the Wonder Awards: Best Worldbuilding 🏅ONC Round 1 & 2 Qualifier 🏅ONC Longlister & Shortlister 🏅FEATURED on the ONC Ambassador's Pick Reading List 🏅FEATURED on APIFantasy ****** Cover by

[ROMEO x JULIET | ENEMIES TO LOVERS AU] After centuries, the feud between the Montagues and Capulets is coming to an end. A marriage between the two children of the families will unite and merge two of the biggest conglomerates the world had ever seen. All thanks to true love. There's only one problem. Romeo and Juliet hate each other. Rivals from a young age, neither remembers why their antagonism actually started, but neither seems eager to end it. Juliet finds Romeo an insufferable jerk and a playboy to boot. Romeo thinks Juliet has the biggest stick up her ass. Spending more than five minutes together seems like cruel and unusual torture to both. To make matters worse, Juliet's parents decided it would be a great idea for her to spend two weeks of summer vacation traveling with the Montagues. A nightmare situation, considering they needed to keep their pretend-love going or risk both of their families' mutual destruction. They would have to put on the best performance of their lives, because obviously, there could never be real love between them. After all, love is fleeting, but hate? Hate is eternal.

**In Necropolis, every afterlife citizen is dead, including Tyryn. While each soul is seeking to carve a path towards redemption at second chances, the girl who still bleeds crimson in the city of the dead is searching for answers to her very existence. ** When Tyryn and her rival are tasked with working together in search of a relic that will unite the four realms of Necropolis, Tyryn is ready to carry Nikos on her shoulders if it means returning to the realm of the living. Especially, if it can help her find the answers she's been searching for. If she is lucky, maybe Nikos will get that second death she's been silently hoping for, finally ridding herself of his presence. Because dying once and landing in Necropolis is never good. But dying twice means you never come back. There is only one problem...well maybe two. One-Tyryn needs Nikos to find the relic. Two-Killing, while a Necropolis citizen, means forfeiting your soul. This novella has been written for ONC 2023 Prompt 63: A rivalry between two coworkers has unforeseen consequences. © February 2023 With Talons and Blood By Gwen Jean

[ONC 2023 SECOND PLACE WINNER | AMBASSADORS PICK 2023] An unwilling but gifted geneticist must find a way to safeguard humanity against the deadly pathogen she's forced to design or die trying. *** The planet's population is pushing past 11 billion and counting. With resources spread thin, widespread famine, and health systems crippled everywhere, the governments of the world are running out of ideas. Then a scientist proposes a controversial solution and the classified Project Rescue is born. But when the lead scientist on the project and his entire team mysteriously die, his young microbiology prodigy is brought into the secret government agency to take over where he left off. Ezra Mayur always hoped that her brilliance in pathogen studies would land her a secure job one day. This seems like a dream come true. Full food rations and safety for her struggling family, and a job in the field she is the most interested in. But the project is not quite what Ezra expected and her moral compass is tested when she has to choose between protecting her family or the world. *** PROMPTS that will make an appearance: 12. An evil sorcerer offers you an immense amount of power--but it comes with a price. (Modified: an evil corp offers you an opportunity of a lifetime, but it comes with a price.) 5. Flip the coin and make a life choice with it. Two choices, one coin, and no turning back. Do you dare? FEATURED ON: @ScienceFiction 'Pandemic' list (Oct 2025) @ScienceFiction 'Viruses & Zombies' list (Sept 2024) @dystopianapocalypse 'Pandemic&Outbreak' list. (May '23) @fright 'AAPI: Celebration' list. (April '23) [NOTE: Trigger warning may apply. Violence and gore. This work is solely the property of Eva Acharya writing as E. A. Martin, and thus, no translation, copying, or distribution in part or whole of this story is permitted.]