Meet Sky and Blue.

Eowyn B. White, a cynical former English teacher and editor, was dragged into the dystopian world of an unfinished, unpublished novel, taking the role of a cannon fodder. Traumatised by the number of times he has died, he decides to take matters into his own hands and finish the novel based on his knowledge of literature and writing. Through his sheer determination to not die, he reintroduces education to an illiterate kingdom, rebuild sustainable communities, and even overthrow the government out of spite. Will he be able to survive a world where everyone and everything, including the author himself, are out to kill him?

This is my entry for the Open Novella Contest. It's another psychological-thriller. The prompt that I used reads: Every time you feel like you've failed at something, a flower appears in your garden. You now have the most spectacular flower garden in your neighbourhood, yet all you want is grass.

Chiaroscuro Rossi has given up writing after years of failing to get his stories published and has settled on being an editor for a small, indie publishing house called VinBianco. After an economic crisis and lack of engagement hit VinBianco and force it to close in four weeks, Chiaroscuro takes it upon himself to join a writing contest and save their publishing house with the prize money. Desperate, he asks for the help of Ainsel Duine, an award-winning, weird recluse with a magical perspective on life. Can he finish a novel in 28 days? Can he win a national contest when he can't even finish his own stories? Can he stop himself for falling for the same person who was his greenlight to the writing world? Especially when someone else owns that person's heart?

Dale Bianco, an IT personnel, sends a link to an intimacy accelerating test to his office crush, June Brunetti. After spending an hour and a half answering the test through a virtual portal, they must complete it by staring at each other's eyes for five minutes. They both agree to meet up. Chaos ensues when Dale realises he's sent the link to June Ceara, the most hated senior manager, and not the beautiful June Brunetti.

A HeadphonesAndLuck diary.