For as long as anyone can remember, the kingdom of Nilemah has been overrun with rats. No one quite knows the cause, but there were rumors of someone going town to town and ridding them of the infestation. Gwen Weatherby thought they were nonsense until the day he rode into town and changed everything. A vain fae prince who played with one too many hearts, Lyron was cursed to watch his friends and family turn into beasts, and the people of his kingdom become victims of the curse. The only way to free them all is to find his true love and make her fall in love with him. The caveat? She cannot know of the curse or who he is, and he only has one month to win her heart. Each failed attempt curses the town the girl left behind and causes its people to turn into rats when the sun goes down. Rats that only respond to the pipe he plays. After a thousand years of searching, Lyron has long since lost hope, until fiery Gwen bursts into his life. A prince in need of a lesson and a girl in need of adventure? What say you fate? Shall we let them dance? Based on prompt 43 for @OpenNovellaContest You have waited a thousand years to find your true love, what's one more day? Pied Piper of Hamelin X Beauty and the Beast ✨️ ONC 2023 Longlister ✨️

When his vampire blood begins to poison him, dhampir Elio Starling falls into hallucinations. As the delusions get darker, and the line between reality and dreams blurs, he believes he is losing his mind. There is only one soul he can confide in, a mermaid and part-time lover named Lux who suffers from an intolerance to the cold. Unable to live in open waters and fearful of the outside world, she refuses to leave the villa she shares with Lio. When Elio meets Zillah in a bar he frequents, he is instantly captivated and will do anything to get close. But the young stranger plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse and pulls Lio into a world of wicked delights, opium dens, prostitutes, and violence. Prompts used: 43. You have waited a thousand years to find your true love, what's one more day? 51. The problem with red flags is that I'm attracted to them Welcome to my ONC entry! Following tradition, the title of my story has a name/nickname in it. This is my 6th year entering and my 8th story! I've been short-listed 3 times and have enjoyed every year, every story, every new friend made. I hope you'll enjoy My Dark Beloved. Comments and feedback are more than welcome. Now for the disclaimer: dark stuff involved ( drugs, alcohol, cursing, sex, violence, murder, blood, mental health issues, etc.). This story is rated Mature but stays within the guidelines. This tale has been influenced by Lost Souls, Velvet Goldmine, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a whole bunch of other amazing, dark, and deep stories and movies I've read and seen over the years. My story is only available on Wattpad. If you see it elsewhere, know I haven't put it up or OKed it. Updates whenever. Happy reading!

It's 1893, and eighteen-year-old Catriona "Kitty" Thackery is bored out of her mind at the countryside parsonage she was raised in. All eleven of her cousins have grown up and moved out, leaving her without an outlet for her youngest-child mischief. Until cousin Joey returns from America alongside his dashing benefactor, Mr Benedict Hawkins. Educated at Eton, then at Harvard, the half-American Mr Hawkins is a worldly businessman and an only child, fascinated with the affectionate workings of the Thackery clan. He is warmly welcomed in their midst, and his exciting influence persuades the Thackery matriarch to break tradition and allow Kitty her London debut. In London, Detective Inspector Tobias Thackery has made a spy network out of his family in an attempt to locate his runaway sister, who may or may not be involved with anarchists. Kitty ingratiates herself into this scheme, her sense of adventure stifled by polite society. The risks are real, and more personal than she expects, but on her quest to self-fulfilment, she begins to enjoy the dangers. * ONC2023 shortlister! Prompt 51: The problem with red flags is that I'm attracted to them. * Completed, ~40k words.

Donna and Caleb are really not the perfect couple. From hospital visits to feeding tubes, life is a bit more complicated for them than it might be for most people their age, and that becomes clearer than ever when a simple cold can turn deadly. ONC2023 entry: "I had a marvelous time ruining everything."

My superpower is invisibility. Not by choice. It's the only way I know how to be. Until the cute guy on the bus shows me how to fly, but there's a catch. And it has nothing to do with me being the one who can see him. But sometimes falling feels a lot like flying. And I don't know if I'm ready for either. Prompt 20: You finally build enough courage to talk to that cute someone you see every day on the bus. Their face turns dark as they respond "You shouldn't be able to see me."

| 𝟳𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 ·|| HUNGER GAMES x CINDER || ONC 2023 Honorable Mention Amidst the escalating unrest between the windborne utopian city of Lighthaven and its seedy, oppressed underbelly Fumedge, the Grand Duke of Lighthaven, Lucius Sextus, comes up with an ingenious solution. To provide much-wanted respite from the brewing conflict, and achieve the apparent-if-temporary unity, he organizes Gaslight Trials - a highly entertaining panem-et-circenses combat event in the Pits. The combatants may use all steam and thaumaturgy powered augmentations at their disposal, and there is only one rule: defeat, or be defeated. The reward for the last one standing? A chance to start their life anew. A brass key to the city of Lighthaven with a luxurious mansion to call their own within, as well as an aeroship to command. When eighteen-year-old Veda Igglesden steps forward to take her timeworn adoptive father's place in the fight, she might as well be signing her death-sentence. With her eyes fully set on the prize, act-first-think-later Veda must harness the power of technology to try and win for her Papa Otto. Decades of breathing in the toxic air of Fumedge did a number on the old inventor's lungs, and being able to live in the air-filtered Lighthaven would sure come in handy right about now. A high-flying adventure full of gadgetry and intrigue; a pleasing blend of steampunk and postapocalyptic. See Veda unravel the mysterious ploy behind the game's organization, and uncover the truth about her secret origins. Can she cope both with the trials of physical and intellectual prowess, as well as with the trials of life itself: those of love, loss and regret? © 2023 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad Based on prompt 49! Which is (I shan't leave ye hanging :P): "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can." Michael Scott, "The Sorceress" Get ready for steampunkish tinkering,

***2023 SHORTLISTER FOR THE @OPENNOVELLACONTEST & FEATURED ON (FORMERLY) @STORIESUNDISCOVERED'S 'FEAST ON FICTION' READING LIST IN OCTOBER 2023*** Born and raised within a few steps of Hollywood's golden gate, Arlene Berkshire always knew she wanted to be an actress. After some minor roles in overlooked features, Arlene gets her break at last when she secures a role in Forrest Washburn's highly-anticipated directorial debut. Asked to play opposite a veteran actor who seems to stray from the script only in her presence, Arlene soon finds herself at the cusp of a blossoming affair with the famed Norman Stillwell himself. Yet it is not long after their affair's beginning that an individual reveals a secret that could bring ruin to Arlene's career before it's even started. Thus torn between the man she's fallen for and her reputation, Arlene realizes relatively quickly that no script could have prepared her for what turns out to be her own Hollywood scandal. AN OLD HOLLYWOOD NOVELLA & AN ONC ENTRY.

ONC 2023 Shortlist | Fiona had one dream for her entire childhood: to move to Hollywood and act. Unlike the kids around her who wanted to be astronauts or pop singers, her dream never shifted to something more realistic, practical, or ordinary. At age 19, she allows the flip of a coin to decide her fate. Will she give up her dream entirely or fight to make it reality? prompt | Flip the coin and make a life choice with it. Two choices, one coin, and no turning back. Do you dare?

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?

PREVIEW CHAPTERS ONLY ⋆ REVISED EDITION COMING TO AMAZON AND KINDLE UNLIMITED IN SEPTEMBER 2025 ⋆ They say you meet the same people on the way up and on the way down. In her wildest dreams and story plots, novelist Delaney Sharpe never fathomed this could apply to her, or that it would involve Phoenix Alden, the ex-boyfriend who ghosted her while his acting career was on the rise to Hollywood A-list status. When Phoenix struts back in to Delaney's life after a career nosedive and time away from the spotlight, he claims he's no longer the walking red flag he was when they dated. And when he asks her for a second chance--one weekend together to explain himself and prove he isn't who he used to be--she isn't sure what to do. Reuniting with Phoenix was a daydream Delaney had after he walked out, and before she healed, moved on, and found her own success. Still, it's only one weekend, and there's a spark between them Delaney can't ignore. She can finally get answers about what happened in their relationship and where Phoenix disappeared to. But when the weekend leaves her with deeper feelings than she expected, more questions, and a mystery to solve, Delaney knows she must uncover the truth about the last few years of Phoenix's life to decide if he really has changed, or if he's a danger to more than just her heart. EXCITING NEWS! A professionally-edited, revised edition of On the Way Down will be coming to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited later in summer 2025. Add this book to your library to be notified when the new edition is available! ♥ TROPES IN THIS STORY ♥ Second chance Redemption One bed Emotional scars Is it all as it seems? The one that got away