An ONC shortlister! The long-forgotten god of chaos awakes when a small child drops a piece of candy onto his altar, unwittingly becoming the high priest of chaos. The god is beholden to his priest and his priest's people--AKA: his kindergarten classmates. The children are all-too-delighted to serve the whims of mayhem until the chaos becomes too much, even for them. They forbid the god from using his power. But when disaster strikes and the whole school is in danger, a bit of bedlam might be the only thing that can save the children, the town, and the god's budding romance with a schoolteacher. Based on the Open Novella Contest 2023 prompt: #73 - You are a long-forgotten god. A small kid leaves candy at your shrine and you awaken. Now, you must do everything to protect your High Priest/Priestess, the kid, and their entire kindergarten class, your worshippers. #ONC2023 #OpenNovellaContest

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 ***

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ONC2023 CHALLENGE! One dark and stormy night a family went missing, they left taking absolutely nothing with them. When their disappearance was reported, nobody, including the police could figure out what happened. The mystery has gone unsolved for almost 10 years, then a call comes in from an unknown source that changes everything. The job now is to figure out who the caller is, if the family is still alive, and how you will expose what happened.

A cunning Pirate's long-lost treasure. A three hundred-year-old curse. A wicked taste of rum. ------ When dangerous paranormal activity threatens her life, teen psychic, Lizzy Summers, decides to quit her job with Boston's Chills N' Thrills Ghost Tour franchise. She starts a new life in the Bay Area with her boyfriend, Dylan Grant, working for an eccentric bar owner. After moving into her dream apartment in Boston's eclectic Fort Point neighborhood, Lizzie soon discovers a young man who lived in the waterfront premises has been murdered. The renovated loft is not only haunted; it holds a deadly secret. Not everything's as it seems as the mayor starts buying up surrounding real estate and bodies begin piling up. Lizzie and her friends must solve the murder and the mystery of Blackbeard's treasure, using an antique bell from her grandmother's attic, before they become the next victims. --- ONC2023 Prompt 30: You purchase a new home and during renovations discover a human skeleton buried within your walls. Prompt 75: You have a family heirloom, it's been passed way long before anyone can remember. You inherited this object and discover its secret. This secret will twist your life and change it forever. [Rated PG13 for language, intimacy.]

SHORTLISTED. Paul Finn wakes to discover that not only is he feeling horribly sick but, more worryingly, the naked stranger in his bed isn't moving. If only he could remember what happened... My story for the ONC 2023, a thriller scifi adventure, with a touch of romance. (SciFi /Adventure / LGBT) A Winner in The Nano Watt 2025 Novella category

| 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,

The mission - colonize the slopes of Olympus Mons on Mars before the Pacific Alliance lands. The challenge - something isn't quite right with the site foreseen for the colony. Explorations reveal a cave where the support struts for the home dome are supposed to go. It gets worse - not only does the cave move, but it contains the impossible: a human skeleton. And there's a writing on the wall. What starts off odd, soon descends into total madness. But the next shuttle back to Earth doesn't launch until next year. ONC Prompt 59. The year is 2042. The first astronauts landed on mars. They find a cave with a single human skeleton and four words written on the wall.

Liha wants to avenge his family. If he has to become one of the king's men to do this, he will. But in the capital Penira, the golden city, he learns fast a man has to prove his worth. Sword in hand, if needs be. Dánirah hates the city, and people of her tribe are not welcome there. But she must deliver a message to one of her mother's contacts. When she is attacked, a young stranger tries to help her. They both end up wounded and in the care of a harlot. Months later, they meet again on the battlefield. Dánirah has the information to turn the tide of war. But can Liha convince the future king to trust the young tribal woman he hardly knows himself?