A reluctant psychic medium must confront the world of supernatural he's long ignored. *** In a quiet valley town, eighteen-year-old Ian lives with a secret-sometimes he can't tell his imagination from reality. Fearing the psych ward, he denies what he sees and hopes that if he ignores it, the problem will go away. When a tragic accident upends his life, Ian becomes too busy taking care of his family to notice a new anomaly in his house. As conflicting clues come to light, questions arise about the incident, but Ian wants to move on. Being set up with a cute girl seems to be the perfect opportunity to rebuild his life and forget about his dark past. All he needs to do is to be normal for her just as he's pretended his whole life, but letting her get close endangers the limbo of his blissful ignorance. Will she help him uncover the truth behind why he's seen things no one else can? Or will Ian succeed and deny his gift away? *** Soul Survivor weaves the paranormal with a heartfelt psychological drama in a haunting tale about love, death, self-discovery, and the resilience that emerges in our darkest moments. - - - *** ONC 2021 ROUND 2 AMBASSADOR PICK & LONGLISTED *** Cover illustration and design: Isobel Lynx.

Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option. ***** Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her... Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault. [[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]

ONC 2020 Grand Winner ~ ~ "When the halls run red with the poison of your life, I will rest. Until then, consider your ruin a promise of mine." ~ ~ Four years ago, Yin Ruwei sold her blood to the northern god Xuanwu in return for revenge. Now, after years of perfectly orchestrated deaths at hands that are not her own, she snaps and puts red in her ledger, killing a man personally. Mu'en is more brutal, more cunning . . . and less heartless than he'd wish the world to know. Someone has been killing off his men with all the fury of a hurricane. Tearstained anger blankets every death and he almost feels sorry for the murderer - until they kill the man he loves. Ruwei and Mu'en find themselves on two sides of the same coin, counting fate like they do the stars in the sky, hoping for a better day, a happier life, a brighter world in the shadows they call home. Sometimes you must seek what you've lost to retrieve it again. Sometimes that which you've lost can no longer be retrieved. And sometimes, just sometimes, those broken pieces find their way back to you. ~ ~ ONC 2020. Prompt 4. Written: 29.02.2020 - 05.05.2020. ~ ~ A paranormal revenge story with roots in Chinese mythology. ~ ~ Please do not use or translate my work without my permission. If you would like to use something, please ask me. ~ ~ Warning: Contains violence, death, etc. Alludes to: abuse, assault, trauma. Contains: Chinese culture, Chinese mythology, LGBT+ relationships, disability.

[ORIGINAL DRAFT SAMPLE] She is twenty-nine when the FBI comes for her, but Catherine Themis was only seventeen, grieving and naive and angry, the first time she wiped someone else's blood from her fingers and felt the snake rise in her chest. She was seventeen when she stepped into the dark and never looked back. ***** By day, Catherine Themis is an unassuming civilian administrator for the Dedwich Police Department, but by night, she is a notorious vigilante known as The Hangman. Struggling with her violent urges and the psychological cost of her actions, Catherine becomes the target of an obsessive serial killer and a relentless FBI agent, and as the hunt for the Hangman intensifies, Catherine must decide which life she wishes to live and what she values more: vengeance or her fading humanity? A psychological thriller in the vein of MINDHUNTER and HANNIBAL, SERPENT HEART is a deep-dive into the life and history of a conflicted vigilante forced to confront her inner demons and evade a national manhunt. Catherine questions the efficacy of her own convictions as the FBI closes in and a vindictive murderer puts her family, love, and identity in jeopardy. With everything on the line and time running out, who will Catherine Themis become? --- [[AVAILABLE ON AMAZON]] [[REMOVED 24 DEC 2021]] [[2019 Watty Winner - Mystery & Thriller]]

In Tokyo, where the System siphons thought, emotions & memories, a literature student meets a strange psychic girl and they embark on an escape from mindless agents, dream worlds and reality itself, in a soul-searching journey for love, for identity and what it means to be human. But all that remains is a peculiar coffee shop order. The novel examines the human condition, perception, socio-political systems, capitalism and consumer culture, incorporating paranoiac conspiracy theories, surreal cosmic visions, circular symbolism and shifting parallel worlds, with profound discussions of coffee, art, literature and music. [Dystopia, Magical Realism, Philosophy, Literary] #1 Sci-Fi, Spiritual; #Wattys2014 Award Winner; Featured on Wattpad, IndieReader, @DIGonUSA "Struck me to the very core of my being." "Very interesting concept of reality... Thought provoking.." "I have been turned to a whole new way of thinking because of you." "Like a seven course meal full of spice and illumination... One does not listen to a classical piece to get to its ending. No. It is the ride, the moment by moment...a genuine Masamune among stories." "It was both personable and philosophical. A rare breed of good story and thought provoking ideas... A virtual standing ovation would not be enough to encapsulate the absolute awe I have of you." "It's not a regular thing to find a piece of work that oozes sophistication and embodies literature and art." "The world Takatsu has created opens to the deeper awareness of another, the draw of another." - Mary L Tabor, Wattpad author, essayist, professor "Offers acute, almost painful observations of the minutiae of life, if life took place in a Murakami snow-globe." - IndieReader Insiders "Vapoury style that seems to hover off world at times...haunting and strange (which is good)...You're on to something different, striking." - B.W. Powe, York University English Professor, award-winning author, poet, philosopher http://EspressoLove.tk

CHINESE ARYA STARK meets THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. *A Wattpad Featured story* When everyone wears a mask, who do you trust? In the unforgiving empire of Erden where the Imperials reign supreme, Sarna is a slave. After escaping the brothel where a man burned half her face, she is determined to lead a new life by joining Zichuan Theater as a performer. When an assassination attempt on the crown prince casts suspicion on Zichuan Theater, the fragile foundations of that new life begin to crumble. Incarcerated with a death sentence in line, she is offered a dangerous deal: the crown prince's head in exchange for Zichuan Theater's freedom. To save her theater, Sarna journeys to learn the dark art of Facechanging from a forgotten god, hides herself behind borrowed beauty, and uses her new identity to infiltrate the Jade Palace. But no godly transaction comes without a price. Not only does she find herself trapped not only in a web of court intrigue, but in a battle for control of her body and her life. As time ticks down for her theater, she must decide between her heart and her freedom, or risk losing everything she has ever loved and worked for - including her identity. Highest ranking: #54 in Fantasy (14/2/18) Cover trailer by @Abyss-of-Crazy

In the medieval continent of Terrall, the existence of witches and wizards are rare. Feared and persecuted by some while revered and glorified by others, most of them choose to live their lives safe in secrecy. But not all. Enter the Western kingdom of Uldard, where rumors of a nefarious 'Snow Witch' leaving destruction in her wake has reached the people's ears-including a homeless and quick-witted crow thief named Noct, who holds an intense resentment towards those of her kind. Noct finds himself deceived by fate when he chooses the wrong person to steal from-a seemingly harmless girl with white hair and unnaturally silver eyes named Chell. When the thief finds out that Chell is actually the rumored Snow Witch, the tables are turned and instead of keeping his distance, an unavoidable series of events and circumstances leads to him and the girl creating an oath to each other: for him to protect her and for her to repay him. A witch. A thief. A curse. A promise. This is the beginning of an unlikely tale of two people and their long, perilous journey. | stunning cover by @-rayofsunshine ! | #71 in Fantasy (3/4/17) | Vol. 1 in The Wandering Witch series

Sara Gaspard swore she'd do anything to find those responsible for her sister's death, but teaming up with the Sin of Pride is more than she bargained for. ***** Desperate and dying, Sara Gaspard promises her soul to the Sin of Pride if he'll find the madmen responsible for ruining her life, but they soon discover her wish is more complicated than expected. Together, Sara and Pride delve into a twisted world of insidious plots, occult fanaticism, and paranormal disaster as they search for answers and struggle to survive. As the danger in the city of Verweald rises, Sara and Pride must find the cult before the newest threat haunting the city's bloody streets claims them both. [[Book 1, the Bereft Series]] [[Writer's Debut Watty Award Winner]] [[Readers Choice Award]] [[Original Draft]]