[ONC2024] Everyone can read minds except for Ethan Langdon. And Ethan Langdon has the dumbest (and cutest!) thoughts Lukas Hoffmann has ever heard. ____ Part one complete. Part two updating every Friday until completion (but already fully complete on my Kofi!) ____ Lukas Hoffman's life in Brambleburg is about as boring as you'd expect for a town where everyone can read minds. He's used to his routine of dusting the LPs at the record store where he works and helping out his grandma around the house. Nothing in Brambleburg changes. No one in Brambleburg changes. Until Ethan Langdon stumbles in with the soggy remnants of a paper map, asking for the quickest route to Berlin. Ethan, it turns out, doesn't have telepathy, and as aggravatingly inane as his thoughts are, Lukas hasn't felt the excitement of meeting a stranger since.... well, ever. And the more Lukas listens, the more he starts enjoying Ethan's cute thoughts about life, the universe, and Lukas's dimples. ____ Might bring to mind: "Cherry Magic" but set in a fictive European town where everyone except the love interest can read minds. ____ Written for the Open Novella Contest 2024 using prompts 8, 75, 82, and 85. 8. You start singing along to a movie soundtrack late at night forgetting that your window is open. Someone from the outside starts singing with you. 75. You awake in the middle of the night to a voice saying loudly "May the force be with you..." 82. You wake up on a seemingly ordinary day to discover that your thoughts are not private. There is someone else in your head with you. 85. "If you do that again, I'll throw you out that freaking window. What are you doing?" "Checking how high the drop is to see if it's worth it."

(rivals to lovers, small town, sports) [WATTYS 2024 GRAND PRIZE WINNER] (Season 3 coming soon) After a devastating Olympic loss puts her career in a downward spiral, an aging skier returns to her laid-back mountain hometown to rediscover her love of her sport and instead finds herself falling for a rival athlete. *** A year away from what might be her last chance to win Olympic gold, twenty-seven-year-old alpine skier Juniper James shocks everyone by announcing she won't race this year. Returning to her mountain hometown hoping to rediscover the spark that once drove her to World Cup glory, she instead crosses paths with the rival who shut her out of the podium at the last Olympics. For Summer Li, nothing is more important than skiing. At twenty years old, she has already won Olympic silver, but an accident has left her desperate to get back on her skis before the world learns the extent of her injury. She came to Crystal Peaks to lay low while she recovers. The last thing she needs is the woman she once idolized hanging around asking questions. Both struggling with career lows, Juniper and Summer have more in common than they think. Even as they push each other, sparks begin to fly, but Juniper blames Summer for her slump, and Summer isn't going to let a relationship distract from her recovery. And only one of them can win the gold medal. This inconvenient attraction seems on a course for disaster from the start. But these are women who face the impossible every day, and there's a magic in the mountains that can thaw even the coldest hearts. *** Cleat Cute meets Delilah Green Doesn't Care. *** Season One complete at 90k words. Season Two complete at 90k words. Season Three coming soon!

[WATTY'S 2024 SHORTLIST] Seventeen-year-old, popular Athlete, Ontario Hackman struggles with identity, and the fact he may be facing something deeper-rooted than the surface, and when fellow gay boy, Nathaniel Ericson comes along, out and about, with his rainbow bracelets, and his shameless crush on the Popular Athlete, and begins experiencing torment at the hands of his peers, Ontario realizes just how much easier it is to stay hidden. But everyone knows, What's done in the dark will always come to the light - In the gilded halls of his high school, seventeen-year-old Ontario Hackman is the epitome of perfection-a star athlete, a charismatic leader, and the heartthrob of every party. But beneath the surface of his flawless facade lies a turmoil of uncertainty and hidden desires. When Nathaniel Ericson, openly gay and unapologetically himself, arrives with rainbow bracelets and an unabashed crush on Ontario, it sets off a chain reaction that shatters the delicate balance of Ontario's carefully curated life. As Nathaniel faces relentless bullying at the hands of his peers, Ontario is forced to confront the shadowed corners of his own identity. The conflict between staying hidden in the comfort of his popularity and embracing his true self becomes a battleground for Ontario's soul. As their worlds collide and intertwine, Ontario and Nathaniel must navigate the tumultuous waters of love, acceptance, and self-discovery. [Word count: 45k) #1 in mentallyunstable out of 3.97k (July 4th, 2024, 10:39 AM)

[18+] Ellis Sutton, the sweet and caring Instagram influencer, has never felt the need to be romantically involved with a man despite her online fame. Everything seems fine until a two-week fling one summer when a handsome cowboy shakes things up. Thoughts of him won't leave her mind, and the growing pressure from her massive Instagram following is starting to take a toll on her. Rhett Lawson, a true cowboy and part owner of the rugged Diamond Creek Ranch, a cattle ranch and lodging haven, is facing financial woes. In a desperate bid to rescue their family legacy, Rhett's sister hatches a plan - bring in the famed Instagram sensation, Ellis Sutton. The hope? That her massive following could breathe new life into the struggling ranch. However, the plan takes an unexpected twist when Rhett realizes that the same Instagram sensation his sister has invited is none other than Ellie - the two-week fling etched in his memory for over a year. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at that bar that summer was actually a global phenomenon: social media influencer Ellis Sutton.

When visiting Canada for a wedding, a commitment-averse dive instructor must pretend to date her Australian seatmate to avoid conflict with her ex and judgmental mother. *** Audrey Clarke rarely felt like other women her age. Not as a teen who'd never gushed about gorgeous celebrities, nor at almost thirty, with no desire to marry, have kids, or settle down. She would much rather explore reefs in Southeast Asia and adventure around exciting places. Even when she meets travellers with similar dreams, none are the right romantic match. Until Caleb. When flying home to Canada for her friend's wedding, Audrey dreads confronting the pain she caused her ex and facing her judgemental mother. It drives her to connect with her seatmate, Australian environmental scientist, Caleb, who also craves a distraction. Despite his charm, he is enigmatic about the cause of his stress. They agree to fake a relationship to make their lives easier. The more time they spend together, the more real their act feels. Will Audrey be brave enough to share her true feelings before the trip is over? *** Featured on - Humor's 'Ambassador's Monthly Pick' reading list (Nov 2025) - Ambassador's recommendations "Aces! Bows and Aros" chapter (Nov 2024) - Chicklit's "Rom-Com" reading list (August 2024) - Romance's "Slow Burn" and "Fake and Arranged Relations" reading lists (June 2024) Winner - Grand Winner Aro/Ace Awards by the TripleACommunity and FreetheLGBT communities (Dec 2024) - First Place Harvest Festival Astania Awards Wild Card category (Nov 2024) by the Asatnia Community - Honourable Mention, Romance Awards, Romance category by the Romance profile (Oct 2024)

[2024 WATTY WINNER][18+] Two best friends. Six weeks. One final shot at love. Since college, Maisie and August have been best friends-frustratingly, perfectly platonic best friends. For nine long years, Maisie has secretly harbored the hope that their relationship could be something more. In that time, Maisie Rhodes has skyrocketed to stardom as a pop sensation, earning the title of Pop Princess from her devoted Rhodie fans. When she hints on The Tonight Show that her love songs are inspired by someone close to her, speculation runs wild. To throw everyone off the scent-and protect her true feelings for August-Maisie's manager hatches a plan: fake a relationship with her best friend. Miraculously, August agrees. Now Maisie faces six weeks of pretending to date the one person she's always loved, all while tiptoeing around the unspoken truth that's lingered between them for years. What could possibly go wrong?

[2024 WATTYS SHORTLISTED] [18+] In the picturesque lakeside town, the calm waters mask the storm within Juniper Jenkins' heart. Betrayed and broken by her cheating boyfriend, she flees to the sanctuary of her friend's lakeside house, to work remotely for the summer. What she doesn't expect? Running into Wells Hansen-her rival from the Seattle Sun Times-of all people. And of all places, he's running the only coffee shop in town with decent Wi-Fi. She's sworn off men for the summer-pinky-promised no boys-with her two best friends. So there's no way she's breaking that pact. Not after what just happened. But fate doesn't care about pacts, and Juniper keeps bumping into Wells no matter how hard she tries not to. She resents him, and the feeling seems mutual. At least, that's what she believes.

The school's notorious bad girl and the girl that has the world's worst attitude problem somehow find themselves in a fake relationship... Who's Bound 2 fall in love first?

'Betty' by Taylor Swift, but gay (as it should be). Written for Pride Month's Songfic contest.