When powerful witch Marithyda Skyelorn becomes a participant of the Royal Exposition, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the Prince--or to be the cause of his death. ***** Every year, the kingdom of Karvoth hosts the Royal Exposition: a corrupt carnival where a race of citizens who possess powerful magic, known as the Touched, are exploited for the enjoyment of nobles. But when Marithyda Skyelorn's grand performance ends in tragedy and pits her against the deranged King, she must make the impossible choice between remaining in exile and participating again in the dangerous competition that ruined her life--to end it once and for all. (Book One of the Skyelorn Chronicles trilogy) [[2020 Watty's winner, Fantasy]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: Some scenes contain violence that may upset sensitive readers [[Word Count: 50,000-60,000]]

Izzy Belvin, a famous genetic engineer, is about to blast off to the "final" frontier to join the second Martian Colony, where she'll continue creating nutrient-robust insects for farms that will feed the colony and increase its sustainability. For Izzy's remaining days on Earth, her psychopharmacologist best friend, Nakomi, begs her to complete a bucket list before leaving as a means of honoring their friendship. The first bucket list item: going to one of Portland's psychedelic centers together and taking Vivectica ™, a potent psychedelic drug (synthesized by none other than Nakomi) that has become a popular form psyche-therapy. Izzy reluctantly agrees, and when she encounters a hyper-intelligent reptilian entity on her trip, she can't convince herself that he wasn't real. The days are ticking down until her trip, but Izzy, becoming obsessed with the creature, can't get over her feelings that either 1) she's given herself drug-induced psychosis right before her journey to the red planet, or 2) there's something out there, something beyond space... This novel is a wacky trip with some sprinklings of HORTON HEARS A WHO and ANT-MAN, along with lots of palatable metaphysics. ***This is my entry for the 2022 Open Novella Contest.