Markus has left everything behind to live in a remote cabin near a lake. He wants to be alone, but in the middle of a snowstorm, a stranger knocks at his door and asks for shelter. Prompt 44: In the middle of a storm, a stranger arrives at your cabin, and you offer them shelter. But the storm's forecast says you'll be stuck for much longer than expected. This novella is a standalone but is set in the For Centuries universe.

A war won. A triumphant return home. Ell is a member of the Lion Regiment, a special forces squad trained to be the very best. After years spent fighting insidious demon armies, he returns with his squad to their barracks on the outside of the royal capital. Just as the yellow sun breaks through the turbulent, volcanic clouds above, just as the blissful days of silence, of a job well done wash over him and his fellow squadmates, trouble arises. GENRES: *action,* fantasy, tragedy, romance ~~~ ONC 2025 Entry |PROMPT 31 WITH SOME OF 61| First Draft version Prequel to an unwritten story Word count for project: ~34,000 COVER ART NOT MINE TAKEN FROM PINTEREST AND FILTERED

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)

Humanity is struggling to survive in a world that's no longer theirs. Liv, a scavenger leading missions to the edges of the city for food, medicine, and iron, knows things are getting worse. Every trip feels more desperate than the last. Humanity has an expiration date-the forest, and the creatures that dwell there, just have to wait them out. When a mission turns out to be a trap and Liv wakes up on the wrong side of the tree line-alone, disoriented, and for some reason not dead-she learns the forest doesn't just kill people or take their souls. It changes them. She doesn't know what she's becoming. Only that it's something way stronger than what she was. And that killing things never felt this good. Murderbot meets The Cruel Prince-with a whole lot of psychological horror My entry for onc2025, based on prompt 125: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. - Frank Herbert

[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."

**AMBYS 2022 WINNER** He'll never play piano again. That's what virtuoso pianist Zephyr has vowed to himself after escaping Sigma, the sprawling criminal organisation that once held him--and still holds his friends--captive in California's mega-city capital, Maria. After being forced to entertain Sigma's clients with more intimate services than just music, Zephyr is determined to use his knowledge of the labyrinthine plots and power-struggles between Sigma's gang members to save his trapped friends and find his family, who are mysteriously untraceable by South Korean authorities. But Zephyr's vow to abandon piano is tested by his uneasy alliance with Will, the timid stranger who whisked Zephyr out of Sigma's clutches under cover of a mysterious fire. Will's secretive nature can't hide tantalising hints of his deep connection to music, nor can Will hide the tangled web of his dark past. In a race against time to prevent his family and friends from becoming Sigma's latest targets, Zephyr must discover if Will's true goal is to help him, or to lure him deeper into peril, as they spiral inexorably together. 🥇Winner, Wattpad Amby Awards 2022, New Adult category 🥇Grand Winner, Wattpad Pride 2022 🥇Winner, Wattpad Pride 2022, New Adult category

*Featured in the Paranormal and Supernatural profile's reading list Blood-Thirsty Beasts (October 2021), in the FreeTheLGBT profile's reading list Wicked Little Creatures (January 2022), in the Music profile's reading list Alternative Rock (December 2022) in the Multicultural profile's reading list European Voices (September 2023), and in the Friends and Family's profile reading list Forever Soulmate (May 2024)* Elise is more than 2000 years old. She owns a nightclub in Paris, a city she has always loved. But she is not the only supernatural creature in this world. One night, she meets a mysterious painter, who happens to be a vampire. Magic and supernatural creatures, love and friendship, with a little bit of action and humor and a lot of music and drama, in two new episodes every week. [Season 1 is now completed and so are Season 2, 3 and 4.] Wordcount: 25 000 words Tropes in season 1: Found family, We used to be friends, Insta-love, forbidden love For Centuries is a cosy paranormal story that focuses on characters and the relationships between them. It contains romance storylines but there are a lot of other kinds of relationships represented. Most of the characters in the series are queer, including the main character who is ace. The worldbuilding includes vampires, immortals, and magic, with my personal twist on the lore. There is definitely drama in the story but also a lot of fluff. *** TW : violence, grief, addiction. Cover design: Bartholomé Girard (Instagram: @bartholomegirard)

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]

Florist, Anya is determined that this will be the year her career blooms like the sweet jasmines she's tended to. She's in for a rude shock when she rents a building only to find out that it's been given to gorgeous and confident Kaynath, who owns her family confectionery. Kaynath never intended to get in her way to jeopardize her business but it's not her fault that the town has come to adore her sweets and chosen her. Recruiting the help of Mirza, her long time best friend, who runs a Bridal boutique, she vows to take over the building and make her business flourish. Mirza doesn't want to be caught in their drama, especially since Kaynath is her regular customer and she adores her best friend. She proposes that whoever makes the most sales after a month gets to keep the building permanently, which they both oblige to. Anya soon finds out that maybe she's got a sweet tooth not just for one, but maybe two people after all, if she can handle the secrets under the sweet sugar glaze and glamorous veils.

**AMBYS 2024 WINNER** Get out of jail, get yet another crappy criminal henchman job, get his hotshot lawyer ex-girlfriend back. Oh yeah -- and get a murderous demon exorcised from his head. Jason Torres has his route back from rock-bottom perfectly planned out, right? That is, until he gets catapulted head-first into a police investigation into his ex-employers, the mysterious and deadly Saudi criminal organization, Alcor. The police think they've hit the jackpot by exploiting criminal trash like Jason to take down Alcor, except Jason has conveniently forgotten to mention a few details: his innate ability to attract chaos, his unfortunate possession by a bloodthirsty demon, and the fact that he's falling in love with his handsome new police partner, Dante Russo. And of course, there's Jason's biggest deadliest omission. His relationship with Alcor's sadistic boss is more than strictly professional, and she doesn't like sharing. 🥇 AMBYS 2024 WINNER - ACTION 🥇 First Place Winner, Katana Awards 2023, Action 🥇First Place Winner, Valentine Awards 2023, Action 🥇First Place Winner, Clouded Ink Awards 2022, Action 🥈 Second Place Winner, Aster Awards 2022, Action 🥇 First Place Winner, Hearts Awards 2022, Action