When Teia Cloto travels to Naples, Italy, hoping to steady a life already quietly unravelling, the last thing she needs is blind date that turns into an easy, unexpected friendship. Alden instantly makes the city feel strangely familiar in ways Teia didn't know she needed. Drawn deeper into Naples' ancient past and her own unsettling sense of déjà vu, the line between coincidence and destiny begin to blur. Staying friends is simpler. But Teia must confront whether destiny is a story we inherit, or one we choose to rewrite, no matter the cost. Water and Sand is a contemporary love story that reimagines the myth of Theseus and Ariadne, where love is a labyrinth and friendship feels like the safest way out. #ONC2026 contest. Story is complete. Prompt 24: Staying as friends is meant to be safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take; Prompt 28: Self-love often starts small, like planting a seed. With time, patience, and a bit of light, it will grow; and Prompt 29: You meet many people in your life. Many will come and go, but some will leave footprints on your heart.

In VINTAGE ROB, Robert Pirone photographs A-list actor Brian Keating cavorting with girls in a Tokyo hotel room. In LOUD, Rob hints that the photographs are incriminating, and Brian Keating's father figure and fixer, Mr. Young, sets out to protect "his boy". He threatens the only thing that seems to matter to Robert Pirone: his estranged daughter Makiko. #1 celebs (Feb. 18, 2026) #1 buddhism (Feb. 18, 2026) #1 cross-cultural (Nov. 4, 2024) #2 runaways (April 1, 2026) #2 nonviolent (May 5, 2025) #2 buddhism (Feb. 23, 2025)

When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended Using prompts 29 and 89 for ONC 2026! Cover by @-DeeIsDead-

[ONC 2023 and Wattys 2024 winner!] Drug dealer Nathan just can't be bothered to care about some of the stranger things in his life. Like the spellbook he found, complete with working magic and all. Okay, fine, maybe he tried one spell, and maybe that ended with his curtains on fire. Lesson learned: leave forces you don't understand alone. Powerful magic or not - for Nathan, this is just another Wednesday. Not everyone shares his opinion. When YouTube sensation Jamie insists on making a video about his discovery and said video goes viral, Nathan finds himself in a spotlight he completely failed to foresee. While he struggles to adjust to his newfound fame, Jamie and her oddly charming eccentricities drag him into a wacky investigation of his magical tome's origins and true nature. Finding answers shouldn't be that hard. But Nathan's criminal associates want his spellbook for themselves. And they'll stop at nothing to get it. ~Book one in the Witchcraft Wednesday Investigations trilogy~

When the spirit of a comatose man shows up in front of her, Alexis Howard is determined to help him find his identity. Little does she know, she's about to get sucked into a world of secrets, lies, and murder. *** Alexis Howard can see the dead. A gift that has done her more harm than good. Having been forced to move into a strange small town because of it, Alexis vows to cut all contact with the world of the dead. It's easy at first, especially since there don't seem to be any ghosts in Casa Nova. That is until a comatose patient of hers shows up as one. No, he's not dead. He's just semi-dead. And he has no idea who he is. Oh, and the police think he's a cold-blooded criminal who's involved in the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl. Believing otherwise, Alexis decides to help the spirit find his identity and becomes embroiled in the search for the missing girl. Her investigation also leads to a meeting with a peculiar cat, who seems to be much older than she looks. Just what exactly is the connection between the three? What kind of a cat gets shot and shows up without so much as a scratch a few days later? More importantly, who is John Doe?

When a cursed bangle binds Sea Drifter Ninnette to a dangerous demon, she only has three days to break the curse before it claims her life. °:•.🪸.•:° Ninnette is a Sea Drifter with the power to command water, dredging shipwrecks, and salvaging lost treasure. When she braves a sunken ship no one else dares to dive, she finds a strange clockwork bangle that binds her to an ancient curse and to the infuriating Kazi, a demon who leaves destruction wherever he goes. The moment the bangle is activated, they are hunted by a secret order led by a relentless Priestess who believes the armlet is a key to something far greater than treasure. But the true danger isn't the order. It isn't the demon Kazi. It's the curse. When Ninnette puts on the bangle, a countdown begins. If she doesn't break the curse in three days, she will die like every wearer before her. °:•.🪸.•:° She commands the sea. He is a demon who has lived for centuries. They are both bound by a curse. Only three days to survive. °:•.🪸.•:° Set in a Maritime Steampunk world, and inspired by Filipino cultures, from Spanish influence to the seafaring Sama-Bajau. This story weaves dangerous magic, high stakes, and heart-aching romance. °:•.🪸.•:° ONC 2025 Honorable Mention Round 1 Winner Round 2 Ambassador Pick Round 3 Ambassador Pick °:•.🪸.•:° Romantasy High Fantasy Fantasy Adventure SciFi Steampunk Fantasci Young Adult

Since she was fifteen, Ria Martin has known one unchangeable truth: she will marry Adrian Morgan. A man she has never met. A future she never chose. A vow she walks into not for love - but for survival. With her family's safety hanging by a fragile thread, the aisle becomes her only escape route. Adrian Morgan, heir to a global empire, has lived his life bound by duty and power. Arranged marriages are nothing new to him. But this bride is different. Why has she never reached out? Why does silence cling to her like armor? And what is she hiding that feels... dangerous? When fate finally binds them, carefully constructed lives begin to crack. Secrets surface. Old wounds bleed. And a quiet storm of betrayal, desire, and buried truths gathers beneath the calm of their union. ✨ Can love grow where trust is fractured? ✨ Can she survive the shadows closing in around her past? ✨ And can he become her refuge... when he may be the very reason she's in danger? A story of forced vows, hidden scars, and a love that dares to bloom where it was never meant to survive.

A covert government operative sent to surveil a famous footballer accidentally becomes the nanny to his six-year-old son, forcing her to choose between completing the mission that could destroy him or protecting the unexpected family she has begun to love. ◈ ◈ ◈ Grace Anna Sumer has always craved freedom. That hunger is what led her into the shadows, working as a covert field operative for a little-known government agency. Officially, she gathers intelligence. Unofficially, she removes problems. Pulled from a coveted assignment in the Congo, Grace is reassigned to Paris to surveil the family of Hermes Mansi, an international football (soccer) star whose career is tightly controlled by a powerful and corrupt league that profits from obedience. Grace is told to watch him. To observe. To wait. What she does not expect is a twist of fate that places her inside his home, hired accidentally as the nanny to his six-year-old son, Drax. Under the safest cover imaginable, Grace enters Hermes' life with one objective, gather evidence and prepare for a quiet takedown. But the longer she stays, the harder it becomes to remember where the mission ends and her feelings begin. As secrets unravel and loyalties fracture, Grace must choose between completing her assignment or protecting the fragile and unexpected family she has found. ◈ ◈ ◈ This novella was written for the Open Novella Contest 2026, based on 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."

It's not easy being a thief. You just don't get the same level of respect as fighters or clerics or those goody two shoes paladins. Heck, even wizards are held in higher regard. Stupid wizards with their stupid magic. Nobody trusts a thief for some reason. But really, what's a little petty larceny among friends? Thieves are supposed to steal stuff. It's part of the job description, for crying out loud. And you're definitely going to want a thief on your side when it comes to disarming a trap or needing to sneak up on some monsters or something without attracting their attention. The point is, thieves can be just as big of heroes as anybody else. On the other hand, they can also be gigantic jerkfaces. Fabian is a legendary hero and adventurer... in his own mind. People should have heard of his brave and noble exploits far and wide, except of course for the fact that they haven't. He is a pretty skilled thief though, even if he does have delusions of grandeur. Those dreams of being a hero are about to be put to the test in a major way as Fabian embarks on his biggest and most epic quest yet: finding some rich broad's missing cat. Dungeons will be explored. Fantastical creatures will be encountered. Monsters will be battled if they seem like they're weak enough to actually be defeated. And Fabian will attempt to lie, cheat, and steal from virtually everyone he meets. After all, that's what a thief does.

A dragon, a dwarf and an elf walk into a bar... But only because that bar is on their way to tracking down the lost heir in a last-ditch quest to save the kingdom from a very long list of very bad things. And also, quite possibly, because the more of the kingdom they see, the more they find themselves in need of a drink. So, grab your halberd and your mead and buckle up - it's time for a road trip, fantasy-style.