▪︎ Deep in the Zimbabwean bush, a lion roars, a woman screams and two men hunt down their human prey. ▪︎ When a group of friends goes for a weekend away in the middle of Hwange National Park they expect to see some animals, play some drinking games and escape from their daily lives for a while. What they don't expect is to stumble upon two poachers who are determined to keep their illegal business a secret. Surrounded by bush and wild animals, trapped in a rundown lodge with two psychopaths who have decided on a new type of 'prey', it seems that there is no escape. As their weekend of relaxation quickly turns into a deadly game of man-hunt, decisions need to be made. Which would you rather face; the predators outside? Or the ones within? •Based on Prompt 13 - You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and now you are running for your life• [Ambasdador's Pick ☆ Shortlister]

A Curse crawls inexorably across the Elysium Realm, turning everything it touches to lifeless stone. Anara, a powerful young witch, vows to stop it, but became herself infected and disfigured. After his mother goes missing, Micah, an unaware college student, finds himself drawn into an alternate world where magic rules. A world with more connections to him than he realizes. Together, Anara and Micah face a curse that may ultimately consume both worlds. But the political leadership fears their manipulation, and shadowy forces exist that do not wish them to succeed. **** 2024 Ambys Top Pick ****

A supernatural romance story written for the ONC 2023 This cover was made with Canva's QuickGen app.

Three women. Three tangled lives orbiting Mars aboard the Phobos Transit Space Station. Val loses her station operation engineer job under false pretenses, Exo-biologist Cassy is blackballed for doing the right thing, and ex-marine Kate suffers a broken heart. Fortunately, Mavis, the owner of the Starlight Tavern and rescuer of lost souls, is there to help, recruiting the women into her Quilters Guild. But when hostile forces invade the station, the stakes become far greater, and the Guild finds themselves embroiled in a multi-world conspiracy. And they are not about to just stand by and let it happen. Redemption comes stitch by stitch. *** Open Novella Contest Round Two Ambassador Pick *** *** Open Novella Contest Winner - Third Place ***

Within the opulent and bewitching city palace of Udaipur, an aura of mystery and suspicion pervades the air. The demise of Mewar's reigning monarch has left a dubious legacy in its wake. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Ashish Singh, a young man thrust into the spotlight, inherits his ancestral scimitar-a weapon steeped in a history of bloodshed and deceit-plunging him into uncharted depths. Haunted by his father's murder, Ashish embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the truth. As each passing moment heightens the stakes and danger intensifies, a cryptic letter discovered within his royal chamber unravels dark secrets and hidden agendas. Ashish must employ all his cunning and guile to survive. With mounting casualties and the specter of betrayal looming, Ashish confronts his deepest fears and formidable foes. Will he outwit his enemies and claim his rightful place on the throne? Or will he succumb to deadly ambitions? Within the city palace's walls, power, intrigue, and lethal secrets await discovery in this epic tale. ***** Cover Credits: @MoranaInDesign Content Warning: Mention of Murder, racism, blood, drug abuse, and sex. Achievements: 2nd Runner Up in ONC-INDIA 2023. Top five Grand winners of ONC-INDIA 2023. Featured by: @StoriesUndiscovered [April-2023], @Crime, @adultfiction, @OpenNovellaContest, @MysteryThrillerIN, @mystery, @BadassReads, @dangerouslove, @WattpadLitFic @AmbassadorsIN

ONC 2023 Shortlist Astrid, the Princess of Eurovea, a country existing several centuries in the future, had led a happy and sheltered life in the castle ruled by Regent Arcturus, her uncle. Only on reaching the age of ascension when, according to an ancient tradition, all future queens must face a trial, she realised that there were great gaps in her knowledge of the world around her, her uncle, and even the people she thought she knew well. In a world where love doesn't exist, a young girl who understands old novels better than her reality is sent on a dangerous quest to save her country from creatures who, just like love, were not supposed to be true... Mystery, romance, adventure, and magic combine in this tale, in which a young princess who had grown up surrounded by an impenetrable web of lies, has to find her true identity, and free her kingdom from suffering. A young-adult, dystopian, paranormal fantasy-romance. The wonderful cover created by @WakeWriteWrath

{ ᴏɴᴄ ʜᴏɴᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ & ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀꜱ' ᴘɪᴄᴋ } Tate has been the bartender at The Imp's Bottle for years. The dive bar attracts a trickling array of unusual patrons, but due to his social anxiety, Tate avoids conversation and interaction. ...Until a random encounter with a beautiful girl causes Tate to open up in a way he never imagined possible. Unbeknownst to Tate, the girl's kindness plants a seed, inspiring him to abandon his wallflower nature. The changes are subtle at first, but rather than hyperfocus on his beloved retro music and impulsive need to clean, Tate begins to converse and interact with the bar's patrons. He becomes more outspoken, engaged, and confident. And his positive changes inspire changes in those around him. However, not everyone is thrilled with Tate's newfound confidence. Ali, the bar's prickly lone waitress, has a bone to pick with Tate. And she plans to come out on top of their little workplace rivalry, no matter the cost to her coworker. || A story about how the tiniest pebble can create the biggest ripples, this is my entry for ONC 2023. ||

**OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST SHORTLIST** Even if she is killed, she is never dead. ***** She'd spent many, many years in the same body, getting used to her quirks, her mannerisms, learning how to survive through the ages. Yet Josephine wakes up one night and realizes she's been asleep for a century: it's now 2023, and her last memory was being on a boat with friends back in 1923. As an immortal woman--a Reborn--she can never truly die, but if mortally wounded or killed, her body disintegrates, and her essence roams for one hundred years before it creates a new body to inhabit. If she slept for so long, it can only mean one thing: someone murdered her back on that boat, and now she needs to find out who and why. *** ONC entry based on prompt #2: "One night you woke from the dead. For you, you were gone mere seconds, for the world you were gone almost a century. How will you navigate this new world?"

𝗟𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. Steadfast paladin Séa and half-elf rogue Tash duck into an inn for a well-deserved sex marathon, but their carnal delights are interrupted by the king's guards. The king tosses the bewildered duo into the dungeons to rot. With a magical sending, their wizard friend Ghomarck begs a meeting. Additional skullduggery is afoot in the palace. An artifact that should never have been unearthed may have taken up residence there, bringing danger to the entire kingdom. The women must meet Ghomarck and crack whatever case he's discovered, but it won't be easy. They are newly declared outlaws, they have no gear, and they are imprisoned in a dungeon cell so tiny that Séa can't stand up straight without bumping her head. The story also features the titular boots, sexy succubi, addled royalty, a dimension door, magic mouths of at least two varieties, spider webs, an improvised cudgel, gratuitous nudity, invisibility, and a capitalized Shaggy Rabbit. I do hope you enjoy this lighthearted romantic FF adventure. ONC 2023, Prompt #31. Rated "Mature" for some racy bits.

| 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