Jacqueline Bishop has never been in a relationship, and it's not because she doesn't want to be in one. Despite her young age, she's seen what real love looks like. She sees it everyday between her mom and dad, and that's the kind of love she yearns for. A love that's sweet, a love that's kind. A love that endures the test of time, and lets face it, high school relationships weren't that. Besides, she has bigger things to focus on, like why can't she ever remember her dreams? ------ Prompt 51: The problem with red flags is that I'm attracted to them. // Prompt 52: There is someone you dream about every night, but you never imagine meeting them in real life. #OpenNovellaContest2023 #ONC23 **TRIGGER WARNING** mature themes and acts of violence (verbal and emotionally abuse).

The House of Atreus bears a curse. One steeped in blood and nourished by decades of violence. Klytemnestra knew this when she married Agamemnon, but being a princess in Sparta doesn't leave you with much choice, though she longs for it. The Fates spin their threads impassively but all Klytemnestra wants, is to be free of the shackles that bound her. Iphigenia has always been the perfect daughter, the perfect princess, beloved by both her people and her father. With Greece on the brink of war, destiny chooses her to fulfil a higher purpose. But she might just have to sacrifice everything. Elektra is sick of being held down by those in power. Despite being a princess, she is living a life in poverty, one she didn't choose. But when her brother returns home after a long absence, she might just take matters into her own hands. *** Three women. Three secrets. Three tangled lives. *** This story is intended for an adult audience and features depictions of violence, murder and sexual encounters as well as mentions of rape, incest, cannibalism, and suicide. Cover design by AnnieRosebud * ONC 2023 Best Cover Award Winner * * Ambys 2024 Grand Favorite *

An ONC 2023 Novella Habitual in making a mess of almost every situation, Sadie Monroe thinks she can outthink and outrun anything. Her magic is as unruly as she is but with a powerful mentor, she has learned more control. The problem is Sadie has little control when it comes to her own truths and mistrust. With a rare offer of assistance, Sadie is faced with an undeniable advantage. The problem with the advantage is that he is over six feet of sexy, demonic, trouble she wanted to avoid. When he keeps her from using her usual tricks, will she be able to learn her lesson?

❝ DEATH IS COMING. BUT SHE DOESN'T FEAR HIM. ❞ For the people of Khaya's little village living amidst the woods is quiet, and even more, so it became since the creatures lurking in its shadows turned into mere fairytales. Little does Khaya know that the stories she loves to tell are true. But then on a cold winter night, an odd priest and his young soldier appear in Lasow and bring with them the message of death. For Karachun, the God of Death is to revisit them. While they are worshipped like saviors by the villagers Khaya cannot shake the feeling of mistrust in those mysterious strangers. However, if their prophecy turns out correct she might get the chance to meet the one who took her most beloved years ago. And Khaya is not afraid to face him. Yet, she does not know what battling the god of death himself means - nor what secrets can be revealed only in the deepest dark. _____ Entry for the Open Novella Contest 2023 under prompts 50 & 62

Legend speaks of a man with crows in his hair and stitches in his lips who will teach you his greatest trades. Some call him a monster. Most call him the Needle-Mouthed Man. But only the shadows know his true name, and they call him Master. As one of the dead, Minseo Park is a creature of the night, doomed to eternal darkness. However, refusing to accept his fate, Minseo turns to the shadows to give himself a second chance at life---all to get his sister out of the whorehouse where he himself died. Desperate, Minseo seeks out the Needle-Mouthed Man for guidance. But the Needle-Mouthed Man brings company: his protégé Nikolas, who both makes Minseo's blood boil and sets his heart aflame. In order to find his murderer and save his sister, Minseo must walk the balance between life and death and decide whether to embrace his inner darkness---or to let it consume him. Because the shadows are hungry, and the only food they want is revenge. [ cover and banners by inmyxikey ]

For 11 years, Lydie Abbott has been followed by snakes. She's also been framed for murder by a pantheon of storied gods, chased by mobs crying witchcraft in the streets, and stalked by monstrosities made of stardust. And yet it always comes back to snakes. She never considered that that is what would be the biggest drawback of making a dark deal with a fallen god. Twelve lives in twelve years. That was the agreement she made with the Medicine Man the night she fled from the constellations. The night the Ecliptic known as the Wishgranter was murdered and Lydie was the one holding the poison goblet. The night she lost all hope in the gods that raised her and the mortals that refused to accept her. She doesn't know what she gave to the Medicine Man in exchange for revenge against the Ecliptic, but she knows that without meeting the love of her life she wouldn't have stopped killing when she did. And without the death of her wife she wouldn't have left it all behind. Now all Lydie wants is to retire and redeem herself for the life of darkness she lived before. That was what Gastown was supposed to be; a haven for demi-humans and mythical creatures lost between worlds. But trouble just seems to follow her like a slithering serpent, as the land she's built for herself is taken from underneath her feet by a devout and jaded man willing to do anything to uphold his beliefs. Trapped from all sides, a kind-hearted girl named Mae convinces Lydie to stop running and face her past. To clear her name once and for all and uncover who truly killed the Wishgranter all those years ago. Of course, neither one of them knew this would mean summoning an Ecliptic to earth; a haunting and unearthly creature known as Moonchild. ✧ ♒︎ ✧ † ✧ ☾ ✧ The murder of a god gone unsolved, a pact made with a harbinger of the apocalypse, and a town built on superstition on the verge of collapsing. Welcome mortals, to Moonchild.

| 𝟏𝟐𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 | An ex-gamer enters a virtual reality ruled by a rebel AI in order to rescue her younger sister and shut down the death game. * * * Eight years ago, Mori Fukutomi held the rank of number two player in the tactical hero shooter game SniperX. But fate and her parents had other plans and Mori now works as an accountant with her dreams of being a pro gamer long since buried. Games like SniperX are old relics in the face of virtual reality tech and their latest gem, Facing Fear--a simulation designed to analyze the psyche of its players and adapt itself accordingly, creating a safe terrain for players to take risks and discover themselves. Until FEAR, the AI governing the virtual world of Valor, decides the thing humanity fears most is death. Despite the rising death toll and Facing Fear closing its doors, when Mori discovers her sister Shiori is trapped in the game, she does the unthinkable. She goes in after her. But she'll soon discover they're not the only ones desperate to make it out alive and there are worse things in Valor than the monsters. There's more to FEAR than fear itself. ✧ 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 ✧ 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ✧ 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✧ ─────────────────────────────────── Completed: 4-23-2023 Word Count: 35,000 - 40,000

|𝟏𝐱 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃/𝐎𝐍𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒| When the apocalypse arrives 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄 is ready to accept death after living a cursed life. But fate has other plans for him. Whisked away by a mysterious taxi driver with a silver tongue, Kane finds himself caught up in the world of faes, vampires, werewolves and even dragons! What was supposed to be a quest to get answers regarding his family's elusive past transforms into a journey to make him into a warrior capable of saving his dying world. Enter 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐓. Blessed by the gods and a Lady of the Lake, her tongue is as sharp as the blade she wields. She has no love for Earth and could care less about its demise. But she too has a troubled past that she wants to rectify. If there's any hope at getting what she wants, she needs to whip Kane into shape as efficiently as possible. Kane is cursed. Tempest is blessed. Together they have the power to silence the banshee's world ending scream before it causes Earth's annihilation. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝟎𝟐/𝟎𝟑/𝟐𝟑 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 𝐍/𝐀 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟏𝟔+ 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭 & 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: @𝐗𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐡

Humankind has long since perished. But life goes on. Nature is slowly reclaiming the planet. A fire forces a young red fox named Kip to flee her den for the first time. Now alone and left half-blind, Kip must struggle to find refuge for herself and her two cubs. One thing is for certain: this nascent and feral world is just as dangerous as ever. --- ONC Prompt 13: You were at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and now you are running for your life! Cover art drawn by me.