Jareth Coppersmith and Pol Flynt have one thing in common. They kill for a living. One works for GAME, the powerful Guild of Airship Mechanics and Engineers and the other, for the Royal Spymaster. But what happens when they are unknowingly sent on the same secret mission? At best they are rivals, at worst, mortal enemies. SciFi / Thriller/ Steampunk/ LGBT

🏆 ONC 2026 ENTRY Main Prompt: 52 ⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆ After Dark is supposed to be just another dating app. For Amelia, a museum curator exhausted by one bad date after another, it feels like a final attempt before she gives up on romance entirely. For Alexei, it's never been about dating at all; he's been sent to get close to her because of an artefact tied to something old and dangerous. But as their meetings turn strange and violent, Amelia realises the city she thought she knew is hiding secrets far darker than a failed love life. And somewhere in between, Alexei finds himself losing control of the one thing he was meant to keep in check: His distance from her. ⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆⋆♱✮♱⋆ Tropes: Paranormal Adventure, Slow-Burn Romance, Forced Proximity, Are they or Are They Not Together?, Morally Grey MMC 💋, 1/3 Body Horror, 1/3 Gore and 1/3 Sexually Explicit Inspirations: DMC, JJK, BB, Dante's Inferno Fun things (16/3: Ranked #1 on demonology) COVER DONE BY CANVA PRO, ARTWORK BY PINTEREST © 2026 by eleeyjs (EJ Chow). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods-without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical reviews or scholarly work.

Althea has always considered herself unlucky in love. What she never realized was that love had been circling her for years, just slightly out of step. On her thirtieth birthday, the four-man band who shaped her youth arrive late (as always). One confession breaks the careful silence they've kept for years, forcing the past into the present and cracking open a decade of almosts. They chose friendship because it was safer. They stayed professional because it was necessary. And sometimes life got in the way. Ms. Miss is a character-driven contemporary music drama about timing, restraint, and the complicated history behind a band that grew up together - and what it costs to keep choosing the safer path until, finally, someone decides not to. {Entered in the 2026 Open Novella Contest} {Round 1 Qualifier}

For Centuries Grim has been collecting souls. It's what he does, it's his purpose. One day, while collecting a soul in the park, he comes across a lost puppy. For reasons he can't explain, the urge to return the small dog to his owner is overwhelming. He soon finds the animal's owner, a woman in her mid-twenties named Maria. He is struck down by her beauty and realizes that he had once claimed the soul of someone she loved. He becomes even more conflicted when he realizes he has just one year to claim her soul.

ONC 2026 entry, prompt 5. Every day at the exact same time your cat slips out of your home. One afternoon, curiosity gets the better of you, and you follow, only to discover it's living a secret life you never imagined. My take, cats save the world as a backdrop to a romcom.

ONC 2026 In a world woven with secrets, silence can be deafening. Eighteen-year-old Luca Kant has never known the sound of her own voice; born deaf and raised under the suffocating grip of her controlling father, she is haunted by the shadow of her mother's mysterious disappearance. Did she flee from the clutches of a man who could be a monster, or did something more sinister happen? Nineteen-year-old Boy Harrison lives at the wrecking yard. He can speak, but hasn't spoken since he was four. He is haunted by nightmares that echo a woman's voice warning him that to remain safe, he must remain silent. Fate draws Luca and Boy together. Long-buried memories and cryptic connections between their lives begin to unravel. As they delve deeper into their entwined pasts, eerie parallels unfold-did Luca's father play a role in the dark mystery surrounding her mother's fate? Does he hold the key to both their truths? How is Boy connected, and who is the woman he dreams of? In a gripping tale of identity, resilience, and the haunting weight of silence, Luca and Boy must confront their monsters and uncover the chilling revelations that bind them on a riveting journey where silence speaks volumes and whispers could change the course of their lives. PROMPT 80 - Monsters don't live under our beds. They live in the recesses of our minds. (Variation of Edgar Allen Poe's famous quote.) My interpretation - Monsters didn't live under your bed. They sat at your table.

❝ DON'T GET LOST IN THE WOODS FOR THEY ARE HUNGRY ❞ Vesnyana died a long time ago. As a rusalka, she is now bound to haunt the waters that took her life - and drown hapless folks in their cold depths. However, the woods have become quiet over the years, and her endless hungerhas become more tormenting. That is, until the summer solstice, which drives young lovers into the trees in search of the magical fern flower. But only one of them is truly determined to find it. Which is but a game for other youths in the village of Lasow, to Yara seems like the only way to free herself from her sorrows. Little does she know what dangers await her and her best friend Levik due to her desperate pursuit. One of them, lurking in a cold river, desires the flower herself ... _______ ONC 2026 ENTRY: PROMPTS 16, 104, 114

Blurb: Iravatishri 'Iris' Subramaniam is known as the "Romance Ruiner" on campus because every couple that she gets close to has ended up breaking up badly, but they eventually find their perfect match. When a transfer student joins her college in junior year, she realises that the polite, charming and well-liked transfer student is also the one person who will not look at her twice. Adrian Navarro Seo used to be her inseparable best friend, until prom night ruined the friendship. Since that night, he has been cold, distant and bitter with her. As old memories appear once again and faceless dreams begin to make sense, Iris has to face the truth she has been avoiding for years. But when timing, fear, and unaddressed feelings come together, would she choose to finally risk everything or lose him for good once again? ______ 𓆩♡𓆪 Word count: 2200 words (will be updated after every chapter) 𓆩♡𓆪 ______ Started on = 3rd Feb 2026 Ended on = ~ ______ Prompts used: 54, 57, 19, 24, 18, 78 and 89. © All rights reserved to Oliviagirlie (Sally)

Borrowed Sight Trapped by a debt that cost her sight, Elodie is sold into marriage to the powerful man who "saved" her. A week before the wedding, a vision reveals her true soulmate is the man destined to murder her. When her fiance hires her fated executioner as a bodyguard, Elodie must navigate a dangerous game of trust and desire, where the only man who can save her may also be the one to end her. [This novella is being written for the Open Novella Contest 2026! Prompt: #101 You have a vision of your soulmate but it's of the moment where they end your life.] Copyright © 2026 V.K. Thorn ​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author. ​The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading of this work to "mirror" sites or its use in the training of generative artificial intelligence models without the author's explicit permission. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Fall, 2022: On the Bayou of Southern Louisiana. Ozzy, a 14-year-old artistic honors student, is looking forward to starting high school and the talented theater program. But a whirlwind trip to the ER and an MRI reveals Ozzy has a brain tumor - and later, a pediatric cancer diagnosis - changes everything. During a year-long fight for a cure in the hospital, hope comes to Ozzy and their Mama through art, music and letters from friends, family and even strangers. There are so many that some remain unopened, collected in a box that goes home with Ozzy after they are discharged from the hospital a year later. The box sits in Mama's closet for over two years. Neither Ozzy nor Mama have opened the box as they struggle to return to "normal" life when "normal" is no longer possible. Until today, 2026: when what begins as spring cleaning turns into opening the box, reading its letters, and finding a mysterious adventure in one that neither Ozzy or Mama ever saw coming. And it just may be the adventure 17-year-old Ozzy and their Mama need to reveal the unexpected, ordinary magic that can help them heal, move forward- and live. ONC 2026 Prompts Used: #79 (Main) - Additional: #16, #28, #69, #104. Stacie Eirich @spacetodream