The mission - colonize the slopes of Olympus Mons on Mars before the Pacific Alliance lands. The challenge - something isn't quite right with the site foreseen for the colony. Explorations reveal a cave where the support struts for the home dome are supposed to go. It gets worse - not only does the cave move, but it contains the impossible: a human skeleton. And there's a writing on the wall. What starts off odd, soon descends into total madness. But the next shuttle back to Earth doesn't launch until next year. ONC Prompt 59. The year is 2042. The first astronauts landed on mars. They find a cave with a single human skeleton and four words written on the wall.

Tristan is a Quiz Bowl star. Vyrsa is from the stars. But is their interstellar romance written in the stars? *** Following a successful heist on a rival planet, Princess Vyrsa just needs to step through the Portal of Wishes to be brought straight back to her home planet Isola. But when Vyrsa steps through the portal, she finds herself on Earth, a primitive planet in a forgotten corner of the universe, with no means to return home. After having spent the night studying for an upcoming Astronomy test, galaxies, planets, and asteroids are on Tristan Conway's mind as he drifts into dreams. So he's unfazed when a strange glittering woman suddenly appears in his dorm room, convinced she's nothing but a figment of his imagination. When he finds her in his kitchen the next morning, eating his textbooks and befriending his cat, he's not so sure anymore. With no fancy alien tech at her disposal, Vyrsa will need Tristan's help to return to her faraway home planet. Ecstatic to be part of a plot reminiscent of the space movies he loves, Tristan throws himself wholeheartedly into the mission. After studies of possible fuel sources turn into Netflix binging beside her endearing host, Vyrsa's resolve to leave weakens. Maybe she'll just stay with Tristan a little bit longer... Surely nothing bad could come from it? Unless the owners of the artifact she stole figure out where she went and decides to obliterate the whole planet where she's hiding just to punish her, of course. *** This is an ONC Novella using prompt #18: You step through a magical portal thinking it's the way back home, but what you find isn't what you expected. This story is completed.

**Spinoff to String the Player** (Don't need to read StP to read this. Both books are standalones) Neil's life takes an unexpected turn when a chance encounter with a handsome stranger leaves him reeling. Though it happened while he was on a date with another man, Neil can't shake the memory of the drinks, jazz, and extraordinary company that night provided. He knows better than to hope for more, yet he can't help but feel disappointed when the stranger never calls. No matter. Few gropes and good booze were never going to be the mystical balm to all his aches. He had a life to get back to in India. Vancouver was just a pitstop. Study hard, graduate with a degree he couldn't say for certain would ever come in use, then bid adieu to the rainy, expensive city. Vancouver was far enough for him to lick his wounds in peace. Far enough from a lover he never said goodbye to and a sport he could never play again. His foolproof plan would've gone on without a hitch, but fate had other plans for Neil when the stranger entered his life once again, and this time their meeting wasn't restricted to one night. Soon, Neil finds himself going on unexpected dates, screaming his lungs out at hockey games and reigniting a passion he thought was long dead. From painful reminisces of the past to journeys of soul searching, Neil discovers things about himself he never thought existed. And maybe, just maybe, this pitstop could become his new permanent. ONC 2023 Prompt: On a blind date with a complete mismatch, you're increasingly uncomfortable but too polite to leave. Then an attractive stranger comes over and gives you an out.

Marie was not prepared to get fired from her job. This was supposed to be her chance at fame and it just went down the drain. Down on her luck she stumbles upon The Rabbit Hole, a small little talent bar. When Marie is offered a job she's skeptical at first, but eventually agrees to the job. But The Rabbit Hole isn't as normal as it appears. A man turns invisible, another starts on fire. And her partner is never seen expect right before they're about to perform. Oh, and there's a man with fire for eyes who's seen right before trouble appears. If Marie wants to do well and become famous she's going to have to learn more about The Rabbit Hole and herself. ~~ An ONC 2023 entry Cover by: @HollisOfRandom

Diallo is poor but gifted with the ability to tell great lies. After a bad afternoon with his friend Paul in which he nearly ends up in jail, the pair rely on fate to change their lives. "Let's play it with a coin!" He says. "Flip a coin. Face: our stories are put on Wattpad; tail: you'll be in jail by the age of twenty one. At the same age, I'll most likely die of an overdose." Paul then pulls his car over at a green light and looks me right in the eyes. "Do you dare?" *** [ONC 23' - Round 1, 2 and 3, longlister and shortlister] [Featured Reading List] Newlywrittenbooks | Looking for clues (Mystery/Thriller) [17.04.2023] OpenNovellaContest | The Longlisters [19.05.2023] OpenNovellaContest | The Shortlisters [31.05.2023] BullyingPrevention | Against Cyberbullying [05.07.2023] *** This story contains references to violence, harassment, cyberbullying and suicide.

There are five sacred laws for dealing with the dead, and they were made to be broken As the least talented Novice Speaker in the Violet Hills Sanctuary, Younha is basically invisible. Though she rarely flunks her tests, and she's not the worst at communicating with the spirits who drift Sideways, she dreams of becoming a Shadow: the glamorous, sword-wielding, pipe-playing warriors who deal with the vengeful dead and other nightmare creatures. But on the night before she is set to take her Level 4 exam (for only the second time), she breaks one of the five sacred laws and unleashes a host of vengeful ghosts on her world, earning the attention of a Grim Reaper in the process. Now Younha must track down and capture or destroy every single escaped ghost before they destroy the barriers between the realms of the living and the dead.

Florence Eisley is dead, according to her death certificate and her loved ones. Gone. Buried. Already rotting away into nothingness in her little grave. Ethan hasn't seen her in over a year, after a falling out that left both of them too awkward to reach out and mend things. Not only that but for some strange reason, Florence entrusted Ethan to be her post-mortem confidant, a person responsible for sifting through a dead person's online life. Now, finding himself knee deep in Florence's digital life, Ethan must figure out what's worth keeping and what's worth erasing from the internet forever.

Buried in the wreckage of a Compound meant to imprison her, Faine awakens a shell of her former self. With no memories and a growing taste for revenge, she is given the ultimate decision. She must save the city, or herself. Round One 》✅️ 2k 》✅️ Round Two 》 ✅️ 8k 》✅️ Round Three 》✅️ 20k 》✅️ Longlisted 》 ✅️ 》Featured on WattpadUrbanFantasy and Fantasy《 || Start Date 2/1/2023 || Finish Date 4/20/2023 || || Open Novella Contest 2023 ||

The banished Atropa coven witches came back in an all-destroying reaping of revenge. They killed Davinia's mother and destroyed most of her town, coven, and home. Only the humans, the Lycanthropes that bend the knee, and witches' children young enough to be manipulated survived. But that was their mistake. Davinia has dreamed of revenge every single day as she's been playing along with the Witches game. ONC Shortlist 2023 | Amby Favourite 2024 Feautred on: High Fantasy, HOGWARTS | Magic and Mages: 05/01/2023 High Fantasy, Featured High Fantasy Stories: 05/01/2023 Fantasy Ambassadors, Epic Fantasy: © Copyright All Rights Reserved

[ONC 2023 Shortlister] The Hanscome Vacation Retreat had brought fun and happiness to hundreds of families over the years. But, when the last Hanscome guardian of the sprawling home dies, the once beloved hotel falls into ruin until developers give it a new lease of life. Now, potential buyers find themselves trapped in a house that has become home to nightmares and evil. Real estate agent, Maddie Bourne fights to escape the madness, to return to her family, but the house will not let her, or the others, go without paying a steep price. Only the mysterious strangers, Winter and Twilight, stand any chance of reuniting Maddie with her family. An ONC Novella, based on Prompt 62: Hell is empty and all the devils are here - William Shakespeare. A homage to the tv show, 'Sapphire and Steel', The Shining and Dirty Dancing. Cover created in Canva, using an AI generated picture.