Love and retaliation conspire to foil a billionaire land developer's attempt to bulldoze a family business. Heather Clayburn owns Nuance, a thriving upscale restaurant in a nineteenth-century house in Vancouver's West End. Her family has lived above the restaurant for generations, but after her divorce, only she and her twelve-year-old daughter, Sage, remain. As Downtown spreads westward, massive office and condo towers threaten the last of the houses, and she is determined to preserve the family legacy. Strathaven Land Development owns the adjacent vacant lot, leasing it to the restaurant for client parking, and they recently bought the 1950s apartment building on the other side of the house. When Strathaven's owner tells Heather about an old verbal purchase agreement, she refutes its validity. He forces his son, Sinclair, to coerce her into selling. Sinclair becomes a regular diner at Nuance, catching Heather's eye, and while looking for ways to do his father's dirty deeds, he is increasingly attracted to her. Unaware of his motives, she moves him to the top of her dream hunk list.

After landing a coveted accounting position, an ambitious accountant must prove his worth to his new colleagues, especially a grudge-bearing associate intent on making his new role hell. *** How do you recover from unrequited love? For Mark Dawson, the answer is moving to a new city. But New York has not quite welcomed him with open arms. Nor have his new coworkers, with their less than enthusiastic reception and passive-aggressive behavior. Ever the optimist, Mark is up for the challenge to earn their respect and ensure they do not mistake his kindness for weakness, starting with the gorgeous ringleader of the group; a cut-throat financial analyst who was vying for the same position. Sara Cruz is not just a pretty face and she's tired of always having to prove her value and losing out on opportunities just because she doesn't have an extra appendage between her legs. The most recent sting leaves her bitter and resentful towards the easy-on-the-eyes transfer senior accountant and sets out to send him packing, proving she is the better 'man' for the job that's rightfully hers. But with each attempt to discredit him, she's met with Mark's frustratingly calm and understanding demeanor. Sara realizes the bigger fight she must win-besides resisting his easy humor and attractive selflessness-is avoiding becoming a cliché office romance. ONC prompt #133

[ONC 2025 HONOURABLE MENTION] A witch's broom is for flying and should never be used for cleaning unless you are Isolde Cromsbane. Her notorious clumsiness often ends up in a mess she has to deal with and there is only one job that can suit her, a librarian. But when a warlock comes looking for a forbidden book, which she had already burned to ashes by mistake, she is forced to cast the magic by herself. It's just a single spell after all. Yet apparently, her infamy should never be underestimated. It takes only one spell to reduce the library to ruins, leaving behind nothing but smoke, silence, and two lifeless bodies: hers and the warlock's. *** This is for ONC 2025 PROMPT 139: Oops, I did it again, muttered the witch as sparks flew wildly around the Hidden Library, narrowly missing the charming warlock who smirked and replied, Well this is already more exciting than finding that rare book. PROMPT 110: 20 days of freedom PROMPT 20: In a pink and red library filled with candles, you find a book with a rose on it. Inside, there's a spell that could bring back your lost love - but at what cost? © Copyrights Reserved 2025

ONC2025 Round 2 winner, Ambassador Pick and Long List Selection Entry based on Prompt 110. 20 days of freedom and Prompt 77. In a world where art and entertainment are forbidden, you're born to challenge the system and change the world.

🏆 SHORTLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 Two teenagers embark on a cross-country music tour to outrun the threat of war and curtailed creative freedom. ⋯⋯⋯ As Ash finishes identifying his parents' remains from a full-blast attack, he should have stopped writing silly songs. With rebels controlling the country bit by bit comes the diminishing right to express themselves, so when a boy with a lopsided grin and penchant to chase trouble convinces Ash to perform his music, he only has one answer―no. But Jet has a way of getting what he wants, and there is no way Ash can let a golden boy run off on his own. With only a beat-up neon-pink car, a patched guitar, an obnoxious red pen, and a battered polaroid, Jet and Ash embark on a cross-country tour to make a name for themselves, outrunning authorities, and maybe even Fate itself. What can go wrong...right? From the award-winning author of 𝘋𝘪𝘦 𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘰 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, comes a story of young love, the fight for freedom, and the eternal struggle for meaning set in a world of oppression and violence. There are many ways to the end, and it is up to us to choose which path to take. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2025 (First Edition) [25,000 - 30,000 words] [All graphics are made by @sardonictabby] ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• 🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 2 AMBASSADOR PICK - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025

Fame, fortune, and millions of followers can disappear as quickly as they come, especially in an era where getting ''cancelled'' is just one viral scandal away. Hollywood's former golden boy, Finnegan Braxton, knows this all too well. Once a beloved teenage heartthrob, he's now branded as a notorious player, arrogant, and a lying cheat. With his career hanging by a thread, his PR team scrambles to salvage his image. Their solution? A reality dating show where Finnegan must prove he's not the heart-breaker the world thinks he is, but a man searching for true love. Everything takes a turn when Finnegan crosses paths with Aurelia Winslow - a recently fired librarian - who is unimpressed by him. After their public altercation goes viral, she's thrown into the contest. For Finnegan, it's a chance to rebuild his reputation. For Aurelia, it's merely a paycheck. Will Finnegan face the truth and reclaim his integrity, or will the spotlight expose him for good? Can he prove he's more than just a tabloid scandal, or will this love experiment be the final nail in his Hollywood coffin? ★| ★ | ★ | ★ |★ | ★ | ★| ★ | ★ | ★ |★ Open Novella Contest - main prompt 31, secondary prompts 126,128 130. © 2025 minsari // all rights reserved

Livy barely escaped a war he never wanted, only to stumble into a secret that could unravel everything, his past, his identity, and the fragile peace he fought for. A hidden chamber, a cryptic riddle, and a syndicate that wants him dead. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes: his bloodline is not what he was told, and someone went to great lengths to keep it buried. Now, every step toward the truth threatens to expose him, and the wrong move won't just cost him his life, it will set the world on fire. After all, some legacies aren't meant to be inherited.

Bella Moretti has it all-a devoted husband, a glamorous life, and a wardrobe that could make royalty jealous. As the beloved wife of Adrian Moretti, one of the most powerful men in the country, her days are filled with charity galas, luxury vacations, and stolen kisses over morning espressos. Then, one day, a mysterious man arrives. Her employers have been waiting. The mission she never knew she had-the one she was trained for but somehow forgot-has begun. And her target? Adrian Moretti. Her husband. Does she finish the job-or betray everything she was trained for? Because if Adrian finds out first, she might not get a choice.

After two decades of success, best-selling mystery author Vivian Caldwell is having a difficult year. Her 50th birthday is rapidly approaching, her last two novels were widely hailed as "disappointing", and she's channeled JD Salinger to plan her social calendar. When Vivian's publisher gives her an ultimatum, she takes refuge in a desert retreat, determined to restore her reputation. Unfortunately, her laptop is cursed and her characters have plans of their own. Her tragic hero wants to be the leading man in a romance novel, her damsel-in-distress is angry about her fate, and the handsome barista at her local coffee shop keeps finding his way into the story. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but as Vivian struggles to put the pieces of her life and career back together, the fiction spirals out of control. Ultimately, she's forced to rediscover what drew her to craft stories in the first place, and what she's willing to sacrifice in the name of success. **** Thanks to @carolannewrites for the cover images! This story is written for the 2025 ONC, and based on the following prompt. 99. Imagine you're a cursed author where every word you write changes reality itself. It's thrilling, until your characters rebel. One complains about his "overly tragic backstory", while another demands endless twists and turns your narrative into pure chaos. Can you finish your story without losing your mind, or your control?

28-year-old Calista's life took an unexpected turn when her parents died and left her all of their fortune. Her fiance Trevor came at an opportune time and helped her heal from their loss. Now, she is engaged and having the time of her life at her bachelorette party in Mexico with her friends. All that changes when she receives a message that will turn her life in another direction if she trusts her instincts. If she doesn't, her online protector will have to take things into his capable hands and use his hacking skills to keep her safe. ​‼️​ Trigger warnings ​‼️​ ⛔​stalking ⛔​kidnapping ⛔​manipulation ⛔​gaslighting ⛔​abandonment This novella will be for the 2025 ONC competition. I chose these two prompts: 88. Lately, your phone feels... off. It seems like it's watching you. At first, you dismiss it as paranoia. But one day, each message on your phone reads "I'm watching you." 104. While on vacation, you receive a cryptic message from an unknown sender, throwing your carefully planned itinerary into chaos.