Mari thought that coming home to a ghost town after her mom's death was bad. It turns out it's worse having to attend her estranged father's wedding and letting her childhood best friend break down the walls she carefully built. ***** Mari Chasey's life is suspended. She returns to her hometown in a cold November day following her mother's death, after years of studying abroad in Europe. Pinewood is sleepy in the bitter cold, the deserted shoreline stretching further than she can reach, but that's okay. Mari is good with temporary things and at not lingering. She's not planning to stay for long, just enough to sort out her mother's affairs without poking at open wounds. Then her father returns. Jack Chasey, former renowned superstar, absent for most of her childhood, is getting married to a woman Mari hardly knows. He gets to begin again, build something new, while Mari grapples with a fractured life and all the scattered pieces of herself. Her mother was supposed to live forever; Jack was mercurial and always at arm's length. But now he's here to stay. Enter Kinney St. James. Once Mari's closest friend, then another person that passed by like a comet, she still knows Mari and all the shards of her. Even the sharper ones. In the stillness of winter, Mari reconnects with the quiet life Jack always wanted for her, the softer parts of her that only Kinney can tap into, and what it truly means to be her mother's daughter. ***** Open Novella Contest -- prompts 24, 29, 46, & 77 [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2026 ROUND 1 WINNER]] © 2026 caterina george // all rights reserved

The woods surrounding Crenshaw are haunted by the secret between life and death---a monster known only as the Reaper. For centuries, Crenshaw's Institute for the Dark and Gifted has had one rule that its students are never meant to break: stay out of the woods, or face the Reaper's wrath. Faceless and formless, the Reaper feeds off the blood of those unfortunate enough to wander into the forest, but never touches those who obey the golden rule. That is, until a body is found in the library, drained entirely of blood. With the school halls no longer safe from the Reaper's bloodlust, four gifted students are forced to team up to uncover what the Reaper truly is---and more importantly, how to get rid of it. (Prompt 16: "And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.")

A counterfeit claim against a legendary wine ignites a high-stakes investigation in which a neurodivergent restaurateur and a forensic wine analyst must navigate forgery, deception, and their own unexpected connection to save a century-old legacy. Luc, owner of London's prestigious Le Rêve restaurant, faces a devastating crisis when a valued patron declares a prized vintage a fake. To protect his family's century-old reputation, he enlists Izzy, a brilliant but socially unconventional forensic wine analyst, eager to prove her mettle. Their shared autism initially creates an unexpected but undeniable spark of attraction, challenging their focus. But as they delve deeper into the complex world of wine fraud, they suspect a widespread conspiracy that threatens to destroy Le Rêve. Together, they must harness their unique abilities to expose the truth, safeguard the restaurant's legacy, and navigate their intensifying relationship, even as they battle their own internal worlds.

Valerie recites an ancient prayer, believing it will save her dying mother. Instead, it summons the demon from her dreams, fated to kill her and ultimately costs Valerie her freedom. The bargain is brutally simple: within one hundred days, she must fill a cursed vial necklace with dead souls to earn her release. As the countdown nears its end, Valerie discovers the truth: she carries a key within her that all of Hell would kill for. And the demon knew it from the start. Content warning: This dark romance contains mature and disturbing content, including death, blood, and acts of violence. Round 1, 2, and 3 qualifiers for the Open Novella Contest 2026 2nd place Best First Chapter for Best of Writing Contest

🏆ONC2026 Entry | Shortlister | Round 3 Winner 🏆 TheNanoWatt Longlister Two assassins. One royal secret. A lullaby of steel and secrecy. One last assignment to buy her freedom. The final phase of the mission was supposed to be straightforward: slip into the Spanish Royal Palace during the midsummer gala, incinerate the marked documents, and eliminate the crown and its heirs. It was supposed to be easy. At least, it would have been if she hadn't arrived twenty-four hours too soon. Forced to play a role her lethal training never prepared her for, the Royal Nanny, Elizabeth must use her supernatural abilities to navigate a world of silk and secrets while protecting the very heirs she was sent to kill. But she isn't the only one on a mission. Thomas, an assassin from a rival organization known as The Pendulum, is already embedded as the palace's head of security. In their battle to outspy each other, they realize they share more than just a job description. ~~~~~~~~~ ⚔️Genre: Espionage/Dark Fantasy/Romanstasy ⚠️Rated: MATURE (Violence, Physical Trauma and Psychological Distress) 📍Exclusively on Wattpad. © 2026 MiriamElade Main Prompt: 32. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment hides a much bigger truth. Sub Prompt: 33. It doesn't take long before everything in your life spins out of control. One moment you're a secret assassin, and the next, you've somehow been hired as a nanny and you're not entirely sure how it happened. Started: 1st February 2026 Completed: 20th April 2026

In a dying world, people resort to desperate, dark paths to survive. When seventeen-year-old Sam's oldest friend shows him something terrible, he does everything he can to keep trouble away from those he loves. Despite his efforts, another terrible incident shakes the town. With the fear that a monster hides among them, people start turning on each other, and he is on the verge of losing all he loves. The only way to save his loved ones might mean crossing lines and going down a treacherous path. ONC prompt 80.

"You won't die in this one." *** Spencer Feynman exists in two universes. In both, she's a writer. In one, she's already a ghost. The headlines called it a suicide. Peter Wallshack calls it a lie. He's the only one who believes she was murdered-and the only one who realizes the killer might be following her across worlds. A story that takes more than one Universe... Can they rewrite the ending? Or is Spencer destined to be a tragedy in every world? #ONC2026

~ a Vikings meets Pride & Prejudice fanfiction ~ He is crippled. He is unlovable. He is ruthless. Together with his brothers and the Great Heathen Army, Viking warrior Ivar the Boneless has been wreaking havoc on England for the past two years. Some of his brothers think it has been enough, but Ivar is just getting started. While quarreling about their next move, Ivar makes one mistake too many and accidentally kills his brother Sigurd. Heartbroken, he retreats to the forest to indulge in one vulnerable moment, convinced nobody can see him. Elizabeth Bennett is intelligent, free-spirited, and sharp-tongued. Together with her mother and sisters, she manages the Bennett estate while her father takes up his seat in King Aethelwulf's council. She did not plan on stumbling over a weeping Viking in the woods and much less on getting scolded for it, but here she is, wrestled to the ground by a son of Ragnar, the most broken, yet most beautiful man she has ever met. He'd better polish up his manners if he knows what's good for him. The problem is that perhaps he doesn't. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 An ONC2026 entry Prompt 46: We love broken people, beautiful people. And it doesn't get more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than you. 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 🪓❤️‍🔥⚔️💋❤️‍🩹 Content Warnings Violence, swearing