When life turns into horror, will you pray or will you prey? After five years of him asking, Karoliina Hautamäki relents and brings her boyfriend to Iron Lake, her deeply religious hometown in Finland's arctic circle. The midsummer visit is marred when her father passes from Covid, though it is the inexplicable deaths that follow that truly throw life off its path. A virus is what most consider it, but in Iron Lake, it is understood as the Sin. The only cure-confession. Karoliina's brother Aatami is heralded as their saviour, the one who has prayed people back from the edge of death. The internet crashes, phone service dies, society collapses. The government attempts to control the contamination by enforcing military quarantines across the country. What was intended as a brief visit turns into a year and a half with no end in sight. When Karoliina's childhood best friend asks for her help to discover the true cause of the deaths, Karoliina rejects it without consideration. But with her brother's glory grating on her, she might desire her own moment of recognition, even if it comes with the risk of all that is Isolde. In the vengeance of mid-winter, Iron Lake is crueller than ever. And amongst prayers is where predators most easily hide. GENRE: horror, dark romance MAY BRING TO MIND: Raw (2016), The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015), Pearl (2022)

"There's escape in escaping" James Roy hasn't run away, though the thought lingers in him like a second heartbeat. Escape is a language he knows by heart- plans sketched in silence, invisible suitcase packed with longing. What keeps him here is the weight of routine, of criticism, of expectations that grind him down. Aleksandr Popov wants to save him. Wants to give him something gentler, something steadier. But desire and possibility rarely align. Their story rekindles with the unlikeliest of incidents: The Goo goo dolls, a questionable performance, and a swingset under the night sky. -Love, An Average Guy

A collection of short stories inspired by stories I used to hear as a child whenever the power went out, now retold in whatever way I find interesting. Some will be paranormal/fantastical in their nature, others set in the mordern world. I hope these can provide some comfort, entertainment, nostalgia or even inspiration for your own stories.

"You have somewhere to be? A dirty bathroom wall you haven't fucked against yet? A dick you haven't choked on?" "Are you jealous? Must be hard being a virgin at your age." His smirk drops into the glare I've been craving all night. Jackpot. 🎸 🎸 🎸 Liam lives for chaos - too much booze, too many hookups, and an obsession with winning the band competition that even his band members deem unhealthy. Vincent lives for control - perfect riffs, strict rules, and having to interact with the idiots of the world as little as possible. Oh, and winning, of course. The problem? After Liam accidentally kisses him because his drunk brain thought it was a good idea, they can't stay away from each other. Every gig, every backstage run-in, every fight is just another excuse to turn insults into kisses, and rivalry into something much more complicated. While Liam and Vincent are busy trying to out-snark, out-play, and out-fuck each other, both are still carrying scars-from broken families, bad relationships, and choices that won't stop haunting them. How long can they keep telling themselves: "We're only fucking" before they have to realize it turned into so much more than that. 🔥 Enemies-to-lovers (and with benefits) 🔥 Queer band drama 🔥 Sexual tension you can cut with a guitar string

It could have been simple. Childhood friends - First Crushes - Football - Laughter - Cuteness - Love. Maybe even happily ever after. But it is not simple, and Noah doesn't know why. All he knows is that Ethan suddenly ghosted him when they were thirteen. Cutting their story short at Football. Now, years later, the same game throws them back into each other's lives when Ethan suddenly transfers to Noah's school. What he doesn't know is that Ethan comes fighting an invisible battle for control that Noah can't begin to understand. He just feels frustrated that Ethan seems hell bent on keeping a solid wall between them. A wall that keeps cracking. And the question is, once it finally breaks, can they find their way back to the story they were meant to have? ___________ Updates at least every Thursday!

Wrath will cremate Cecilio Velez to the bone. Beewolf, his personal demon manifested from childhood nightmares, has taught them to think with fire. When he's about to be expelled from his fifth school, his older brother and current guardian has had enough. So, with the help of the class know-it-all, Cece reluctantly tries to clean up their act. But when you've spent a decade sharpening your teeth, it's hard to dull the urge to bite. GENRE: coming of age with elements of psychological horror TROPE: enemies to best friends, grumpy x grumpy COMP TITLES: if Lilo and Stitch were in Skins grand winner of the Nano Watt YA category 2025 featured in TeenFiction: Soul Deep featured in FreeTheLGBT: Coming Of Age featured in TripleACommunity: Young Adult featured in TeenFiction: LGBTQAIP+ Teens

When the king of Aizasea is assassinated, eighteen-year-old Celvene is wise enough to keep her head down after witnessing the attack. As a circus mage, she has no business in politics - until the next ruler is selected by ritual, and Celvene is the sole soul capable of wielding the king's sword. Declared the destined queen, Celvene expects to rise... but her kingdom has other plans. Instead of honoring the ritual, the brutish general Aleksandr brands her an upstart peasant and forces her into the castle as a servant, hoping she'll disappear quietly. With their mortal enemy continuing to strike the city, the people yearn for a more ruthless leader, and Aleksandr is hellbent on seizing the crown for himself. On top of that, forbidden and deadly magic begins to blossom in Celvene's heart, threatening to unravel all she holds dear. The magic corrupts her mind and drives her to acts she commits against her will, tainting her already struggling reputation. And among the enemy ranks stands her childhood best friend, fighting for the other side of the war. Facing her again is a complication Celvene can't ignore. As tensions rise and the horrors of war unfold, Celvene uncovers twisted secrets that could spell the death of her city. Will she survive long enough to fulfill her destiny as queen, or will the shadows of dark magic and war consume her? BY ROYAL DECREE: ✓ Circus-mage underdog protagonist ✓ Grumpy sapphic love interest with a heart of gold ✓ Corruption magic fueled by famine ✓ Iconic, sassy non-binary mentor ✓ Worldbuilding inspired by the Four Horsemen ✓ Twists and turns galore FEATURED: ♛ @Fantasy's Epic/High Fantasy

Cameron's first love is baseball, but when he falls for a softball player he can't be with, he realizes he's signed up for more than he bargained for. Between teaching baseball to a rag-tag team of kids and pursuing his dreams of coaching professionally, he shouldn't have feelings for Norah. But attraction is hard to fight, even when pasts and pain threaten to hurt him even more than they already have. ******* Cameron Shaw, the quiet and reserved assistant for an esteemed collegiate baseball team, has one goal in life: to coach professional ball. After one wild, unforgettable kiss on a dance floor with a stranger, his dreams are at risk of crashing down all around him. Again. Fun-loving Norah Young has two goals. First, to prove to her coach that she can be a starting player on the Saint Helena University softball team. Second, to find out why the stranger at the bar left her standing alone after the best kiss of her life. Infatuation turns to hate when he leads her to believe that he wants nothing to do with her. As the baseball assistant and a student athlete, Cameron and Norah aren't supposed to be together, but they can't seem to stay away from each other. Especially when Norah wakes up hungover in Cameron's bed, only to find out that he coaches a team of kids who don't know the first thing about baseball. While Cameron silently endures the chronic pain that stole his baseball career, Norah aims to figure out what it was that stole the promising young player's talent and smile, without getting too close to him. But they can't seem to stay away from each other, no matter how hard they try. FEATURED ON: Newly Written Books CONTENT: Women in sports Chronic pain and disability Gay rep in sports Steamy, but not spicy GENRES: Contemporary, college sports romance, new adult Marked mature for language and a few steamy scenes.

[UNDER EDITING] Rhytdros--leader of the Gods. The ruler of the elements. He is the oldest and most powerful since the beginning of time itself. He is credited for all the prosperity of a kingdom, and no mortal knows what would happen if one were to raise his temper. Lantana knows her place. She's the monarch, the future queen of a kingdom bustling with magic and myth. She would be the most renowned and praised person in the land. Never once overcome by power or wealth, she envied her people's simple, free lives. So, Lantana runs away, into freedom, and from the throne. Years later, she is found and returned to her kingdom. Sorrow, despair, and disappointment all come with the sudden lifestyle change. Along with the negative comes a new, powerful feeling of leadership. The home Lantana is reintroduced into is nothing like how she remembers it. Taken a nasty turn for the worse, her kingdom is being wracked with disaster because of her father's mistake. She will do anything to bring back peace and prosperity to her kingdom, even if it causes catastrophe in its place. *** TW: Descriptions of violence, war, death, mild swearing, self-harm (one scene). Huge thanks to @reflowers- for the beautiful cover and banner! Featured (x1)