2100. A mysterious ship, nicknamed the Chimera, appears in Martian airspace. It bears the symbol of the international space agency, the BASE, but there is no record of such a vessel. Word and rumour quickly spread. BASE investigator Leanne Ziegler is sent to inspect the ship and make contact with its crew. But the Chimera seems completely deserted, other than the imperious AI caretaker, Valkyrie. Down in the fledging Nerio colony on Mars, suspicion grows. The colonists are already turning against the ways of the BASE, creating their own Martian identity. This potential security threat could prove to be the final rift between Earth and Mars. Trying to keep control of the political situation, Nerio sends a mysterious and cold liaison, Ryan, to aid Leanne. But, in ten days, Mars will turn her guns on the Chimera. Leanne and Ryan must work quickly to discover the secret of the ship - and decide whether its fate under the Martian guns is deserved. [ONC 2024 entry]

A (mostly) cozy fantasy in which the rule of three is misused, the slow burn is glacial, and the cast of characters is twice as large as it needs to be. Also, there are monsters now. 𖤓 In a city unknowingly on the edge of chaos, seven gifts are left by an elusive beast known as the chimera. As the recipients struggle to understand their gifts, they must also contend with the unpredictable visits of Jasper, who keeps dropping unexpectedly into their world. 𖤓 Now featuring 55% more plot than originally intended.

For the Slates, demon slaying is the family business. And eighteen-year-old Perrin has fully embraced her chosen profession. But when her sister, fifteen-year-old Ace, declares she's ready to join the cause, Perrin has her reservations. First of all, the case she's picked involves not one, but three demonic foes. A tricky proposition for any new slayer. Second, something eerily familiar lurks at the heart of the infested town. A red-eyed presence that may or may not be the demon who murdered their brother a decade ago. Third, Ace refuses to listen. To reason, to orders, to sense. And in this line of work, one false move can get you killed. Along with their exasperated father and an overeager grocery store clerk, Perrin and Ace set out to raise a little hell and bag a trio of baddies. But demons aren't the only ones to fear. A secret society has discovered their connection to an ancient bet. One involving their very souls. And as enemies close in on all sides, the Slates will need to trust each other and their training to stay one step ahead of the coming storm. Set against the backdrop of 2010 Middle America, Slate Gray is a nostalgic tale of demons, driving and destiny. Will Perrin sacrifice herself to protect her sister? Will Ace make a deal with the devil to bring their brother back? Only time will tell. Featured on: @Fantasy @CelestiaCove @CitifiedFantasy @HalosAndHellfires @JustWriteIt @PrideReads @Project_Athena @QuickFantasy @StoriesUndiscovered **Trigger Warnings for Language, Violence and Gore**

|| 10x FEATURED || Calix never broke rules, being the perfect prince he has always been. But for Isha, he was ready to break, twist, bend and carve every single rule. * * * * One drunken mistake turns twenty-five-year-old Isha Sen's life upside down, when she finds herself tangled up in a royal scandal with the first prince of Syncitia. Overnight, pictures and video of Isha kissing Prince Calix stirs up the citizens, causing King Richard to take a difficult decision. Till the coronation ceremony of His Majesty's youngest son, Isha and Calix would have to maintain a false relationship, in order to remove the attention from the royal family. A lot is at stake, and so is Isha and Calix's past demons. One is drowning from the stress of insecurities, career life and other such while the other is trying to break free from the chains his father has put on. As the two, with utter distaste, begin to fake date for the sake of Crown Prince Carlos and the royal family, sparks fly, unknown to them. The relationship which had begun on lies could possibly not develop into something more. Not when the two can never be together because of an abrupt change of plans, regarding the future ruler of Syncitia. The prince, the woman with dreams, a betrayer, and a bet, how would their fates turn out? 🏆 WINNER (Romance) and 3rd Place amongst 100 participants over all categories and genres, OPEN DOOR AWARDS hosted and judged by a Watty Winner and to-be-published by Wattpad Books author (@grendelthegood) 🏆 1ST PLACE (Rom-Com), ELPIDA AWARDS 2024 🏆 1ST PLACE (Romance), Sapphire Stories Awards ✨ HONOURABLE MENTION (Romance), The Aureus Awards 2024 [Word Count: 1,20,000-1,50,000] [Cover created by @-DeeIsDead-]

Each book is a stand-alone but also an alternative version of the book. They can all be read independently. It can also be found on Inkspired. Never say I love you. If Grew-Ella tells her best friend, Quig, she loves him, they'll come for her, or worse, him. Quig and Grew-Ella have been one step ahead of the system, but one wrong move could lead to a fight-to-the-death beauty contest or a workhouse prison. For Quig, rejection can be fatal. When his fiancée abandoned him at the altar for the king, he needed to come up with a survival plan. Their secrets are tested when Grew-Ella saves his life. But who will save her from her sister and the sinister evil that lurks behind her plastic smile? * If you're traumatized by fiction with a lack of spicy times, you've been warned. Conform or Suffer is a 14+ adult novel fade to black. There is no swearing, extreme gore, or spice. Content Warnings: fertility struggles, mild violence, executions, abuse, trauma, rainbow babies, and mentions of human trafficking. The main romance is straight, but the secondary relationship is about a lesbian couple. The author is a Christian, and a loved one requested wholesome LGBTQ+ characters that didn't die. Cover artist Opal Mallow. Chapter art by Janky Fluffy. Published in 2023. Some characters were created in 2000

She had it all - riches, a college scholarship, a girlfriend - until her conservative, hyper-religious parents found out about the girlfriend and made her choose between conversion therapy and disownment. That was the end of her academic career. Three years later, she met a shy public reference librarian in a bookstore. He'd been waiting his whole life for her. Meanwhile, she was starting her whole life over. What ensued between the two was magic. Given that he was about to become her tutor in the magickal and erotic arts, that was only to be expected. But at what cost? The mysterious older man was all she could ever have wished for, but she might need to choose between her developing identity and the most profound love she had ever known. ════════════════════════════════════ "Magic and philosophy sandwiched in between some of the hottest scenes I've read in recent years... Loved it!" - Hannah Gonzalez, Reedsy Discovery "Love is brutal, bloody, and ecstatic in this passionate romance... BDSM afficionados will love it... A richly imagined, lurid love story that's not for the faint of heart. (Our verdict: Get it!)" - Kirkus Reviews 🏆 Wattpad Accolades: 100+ indie awards since its January 2024 launch; featured in 4 Ambassador profile booklists, including AfterDark, Romance, and LGBTQ+

**ONC SHORTLIST 2024** Heems is an energy vampire, a parasite draining xeir hosts' energy with a single touch. That is until xe meets handsome thief Shiro, the only person immune to Heems's parasitism. ---- Working as a doctor on dwarf planet Eris, Heems drains the energy of xeir unknowing hosts -- Eris's sickly hospital patients -- to survive. Heems's rare parasitic condition doesn't seem to have a cure until xe attempts to make a host out of an injured smuggler. Heems's touch has no draining effect on the handsome vagrant, Shiro, possibly the only person in the Solar System immune to Heems's parasitism. Galvanised by the hope of finding a cure, Heems is lured by Shiro into a world of criminality and obsession, setting them both on a collision course with powerful organisations desperate to keep hidden Eris's biggest secret: that parasites can be hosts too. ☉ Energy vampirism ☉ LGBT+ romance ☉ Non-binary main character ☉ Cyberpunk ~~☉~~ ☆ No sci fi knowledge is needed to understand this story. Basically Eris is cold, has no atmosphere (literally and figuratively), and everyone's broke. I will put some sci fi comments inline for those who are interested, or if you don't understand something, just ask me. I'm happy to help! ☆ Notes on gender: Heems uses xe/xeir/xem pronouns. This book is written in first person so don't worry if you're new to these pronouns since there aren't so many instances of them being used in the book. Content Warning: This book is rated mature. It contains potentially triggering topics such as extreme hunger, chronic debilitating illnesses, suicide ideation, drug misuse, sexual intercourse while under the influence of recreational and medicinal drugs.

Araminta was called a witch. Now she's gone. And the last person who saw her is looking for answers. *** A Good Girl's Guide To Murder x Wednesday *** Two years ago, Araminta Green disappeared. Her neighbor and classmate Jordan Thompson was the last person who saw her, walking through a graveyard in the early morning hours. Jordan was intimidated by Araminta. With her pale-powdered face, black lips, spider-web eyeliner, and her love for tarot reading, it was no wonder that people speculated that Araminta was a witch. But Jordan was also intrigued by her dark aura, sensing that she may be as lonely as him. Maybe if he had reached out to her back then, she wouldn't be missing now. When Jordan is tasked with creating an investigative podcast for a college course, there is no question about which case he wants to delve into. With his cat Kiki as his co-pilot, Jordan sets off to answer the question of what happened to Araminta, even as his recordings constantly get disrupted by a cawing crow in the background. Following the trail of Araminta, Jordan discovers truths both about his missing classmate and himself, because while he hasn't vanished he is definitely lost as well. Will he be able to find both himself and Araminta? *** An ONC novella using prompt #81: The town's witch has gone missing and no one is looking for her but her two familiars - a crow and a black cat, plus the teen who has always been scared of her.