WATTYS 2024 SHORTLIST (Formally titled a Mischievous Tale of Magical Mayhem) In a world of magic and mayhem, where ferrets fly and trees talk, three unlikely heroes find their fates entangled with a deadly mystery. ***** Tallon is a scoundrel-an elf/human hybrid ranger who leaves a trail of chaos in his wake. With only his wingerret as his companion, Tallon travels the realms at his leisure while living life on a whim with no concept of consequences. Ben is a natural-born thief with more magical talent than the typical human. He lives and works in a rundown inn owned by the man who raised him and dreams of adventure while doing his best to avoid serious trouble. When Lord Colbert of Sagehand sends his wayward son to Ballsdeep on a trade and reconnaissance mission, Tallon is miserable. The backwater town is located in a remote section of the world in the seediest of bad locales, and no one wants him there. But when a dangerous, illegal crate falls into the bay and interrupts a heist, a deadly and wide-ranging conspiracy is uncovered. As Tallon and Ben cross paths, they are forced to work together if they wish to safely escape Ballsdeep while investigating the clandestine operations behind the evil Coconut Conglomerate. During their travels, they gain allies and enemies while fighting their initial attraction and learning to trust one another in this epic fantasy adventure. ** Cover by @Kaiddance using Canva Pro

When a deadly disease ravages the town of Holmsley, Frankie and her friends find themselves trapped inside a military-blockaded quarantine zone. ***** A story that was first published in 2014 and feels more relevant than ever. Fifteen-year-old Frankie and her friends must find their way out of quarantine if they want to survive. As the body count rises, Frankie realizes that this is no ordinary quarantine and no one is coming to help. Once infected, the sick become crazed and violent, while fear turns other survivors to savages. And who or what are the mysterious figures Frankie keeps seeing around town? It seems she'll have to unravel the dark truth behind it all if she wants to get out alive... Content and/or trigger warning: This story describes disease outbreaks and contains scenes of violence, which may be triggering for some readers. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Donate Body to Science. Check. When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was. Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds. *For mature teens due to some sexual content.

An extraordinarily lucky man is blasted into space and killed in a freak accident, only to be revived nine apocalypses later to find himself one half of the last remnants of humanity. Now he and a woman from this strange future must travel through time in order to escape from an intergalactic zoo run by shapeshifting bugs, passing through all the really good ends-of-the-world along the way. Now a featured story!

The Mayans were right.....almost. On the 23rd of December 2012, the Earth witnessed beautiful harmless meteor showers all round the planet. Beginning on the 25th of December, the world did end for the humans. The earth did not implode, the stars did not come crashing down, no giant tsunamis hit the coastlines nor did the seas and oceans have raging fires. But one prediction for the Apocalypse did come true. The dead had risen. Not for judgment by the Lord, that may not have been as scary. Very hungry and with uncommon pack intelligence they were a different breed of the undead from those seen in Hollywood. Initially only the recently dead awoke, then everyone who died on or after that day came back alive. The problem: majority of the world had died; the line for the recently resurrected was endless. But as always, humanity endures. Survival has always been something the human race has been good at. This time it will be the survival of the fittest. (Cover : Cataclysm)