||WRITTEN FOR TEGSA2025|| ❀ ❀ ❀ Ash Kincaid lived by three truths: 1. Family was a conditional, temporary arrangement. 2. Trust demanded wilful blindness. 3. Ash was what remained following an incineration of life. He'd perfected the art of tolerance. After a lifetime of abandonment, first by blood and then by those who promised to keep him, his survival depended on one thing. No attachment. No promises. No hope. However, when the college dorms close for Christmas, he's forced into the chaotic Rossi household where encroaching is the norm, solitude is next to impossible and there's Lala- the Rossi sister who just sketches in furious silence. The quiet is a sanctuary, their coexistence effortless. He doesn't ask about her paintings and she doesn't pry behind his walls. Until a silver SUV pulls into the driveway and the woman Ash once called "mother" steps out. Rundown: chapters 1 and 2 - major chapters 3 and 4 - minor chapters 5 and 6 - minor chapters 7 and 8 - minor chapters 9 and 10 - major

This book talks of dark trials - low days, mind storms, hurtful bonds, and trust lost. But it also holds light: joy, bold will, strong roots, and loyal souls. This submission work is for TEGSA2025 (I know this is both first and final turn I talk of that lost symbol - but I must stay loyal to this constraint.) Hi! I am Aurora! Although most call tags as Aura or A. Now, you may ask - what's so distinct about my story or this book, that you'd want to flip through it? Truth is, you must find out for your own mind. But I can vow this - you'll spot a thing or two worth your focus. And if not? I still think you'll dig how it's told, as this book follows a bold constraint. Yup - this is a lipogram. So, try it as a fun trial: scan for any word with that symbol that lands just aft of "a, b, c, d..." No, I won't say it. Not now, not at all.

Despite still being an emotional mess from his breakup, losing his car to an abomination made of multiple deer, and injuries from both the car accidents he was in. Travis refuses to die in this backwater town as the dead stitch themselves into fresh horrors. Miss Della spent decades building her diner and sewing herself into the fabric of Red Oak Valley. Seams tore to shreds, the patchwork monsters ripped them asunder and mended them into their disturbing embroidery within her business. Kendra wanted a change, but got it in the worst way. She and the few survivors of the diner turned slaughterhouse are now looking for help, but is there anyone left to save them? Burdened with the knowledge of what will befall Red Oak Valley, Tiffany needs to return to her radio station for what's coming. As these abominations overtake the town and their numbers grow, can anyone survive this town turned hell on earth?

She's seventeen-finally free from a mother who never loved her. But instead of staying in the dark, she chooses to imagine a better world. One filled with light, love, and small miracles. Because deep down, she still believes in kindness, true love, and happy endings. He's twenty-one-born from betrayal, and carrying a curse that was never his to bear. After heartbreak, his mother turned to black magic... and accidentally trapped his spirit inside a black rose-one that feeds on the pain of those he loves. When they meet, the curse wakes up. The past unravels. And the barrier between love and destruction disappears. (Written for TEGSA2025)

This is my entry for TEGSA 2025. --- Melissa is the only one who knows her dad didn't kill her mom. She knows a monster did it. She saw it herself when she was nine years old. Or so she thinks. Now, being twenty-three and fresh out of college, she knows there is no such thing as monsters. There weren't any voices to hide from under her blanket, there weren't any shadows chasing her in the halls, those were all fantasies of a kid with too much imagination. Yet, she is still determined to find out what really happened to her parents, and most of all, why. Because the one thing she does know, is that people have lied to her. All of them. All the time. --- 🥇First place in the Hollowed Verse Awards (<1k reads category) 🥉 Third place in the Moonlight Trove | Astania Awards 2025 (Mystery)

The red thread of fate is an invisible red cord that connects two souls who are destined to find one another - 'soulmates' is what the modern generation calls them. However, they said the red string theory was just an old Chinese myth. Kallas' life is falling apart and he has shut everyone out, except for his best friend, Caelyn, who drops everything to be with him. Together, they navigate through the treacherous waters of heartbreak and toe the fine line between friendship and love. They said the red thread could tangle, but never break. They said those connected would get together eventually, but the legends forgot one thing. Denial and avoidance can go a long way to prevent the union of the souls. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡. Written for The Ever Generating Story Awards | TEGSA 2025 by OfficialTEGSA Status: ongoing ──── 04.06.25 - 31.08.25 Published: 18.07.25 - 31.08.25

Parth was excited for his new job. A new place. A new life. Little did he realize that life in the small sleepy town amidst the mighty Himalayas would change his life forever especially when he meets the mysterious Lily and her daughter Rose. What dangerous secrets do these enigmatic ladies hide which could not only uproot his life but his loved ones' as well? "He thought silence would protect them. She thought love was enough. Yet, when a decades-old betrayal resurfaces and long-buried lies begin to unravel, They find themselves at crossroads. Can they walk forwards together or has the truth ripped them apart?" This is not your usual romance. This is a story of love, betrayal and redemption. Best Heartfelt Award Winner - The Blazing Verse Awards 2025 #TEGSA 2025 Copyright Disclaimer © Ana_Miga, 2025. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. No part of this story may be reproduced, distributed, or mirrored without the author's written permission. Unauthorized copying, reposting, or scraping-including automated mirroring on third-party websites-is a violation of copyright law and the spirit of creative integrity. Cover photo courtesy: Anita Jankovic on Unsplash Submitted for Kahani Kalakar Awards 2025

TEGSA2025 Annie and Nicky. Nicky and Annie. In the childish world of make-believe, Annie was the knight in shining armour, and Nicky her darling princess in pink. Now navigating adulthood, Nicky finds herself yearning for the fantastical adventures she often journeyed alongside Annie as children. But these dreams are granted all too soon when Nicky finds herself thrown into another world--one where animals talk, clocks tick, and madness runs as rampant as magic. In order to fulfill her prophecy, Nicky must maneuver obstacles and court politics to prove herself the true Alice. Because once you fall down the rabbit hole, the only way to go is up. Come along for a 90s psychedelic punk retelling of the original agent of chaos. The MC will make you scream. The cats will make you swoon. So why don't you tell everybody that Arsenic Nicky is for you!

I have not finished this story. I may or may not continue it. Annie and Nicky. Nicky and Annie. They were two peas in a pod until their life came crashing down when their mother killed their father in a murder suicide. Lost in a world of gloom and mental anguish, the sisters grew apart. Until Nicky was kidnapped. Now, rocker Annie must put aside her own demons and find her sister. But wasn't Wonderland and the White Rabbit just a dream? When Annie receives a note telling her Nicky has been taken by The Red Queen, it's a race against time before Annie loses her sister in a land of make-believe...forever. Check out @TheMadPoetGold 's page, they are writing Nicky's story and it's going to be amazing!!! This story was written for The Ever-Generating Story Awards TEGSA 2025 *Warning for swearing, dark themes, typical Christine darkness.