Entry-level magic professors aren't supposed to be responsible for fixing the generations-long problems that come from a library haunted by fae. But when the administration sweeps the dangerous situation under the rug, Constance Wylf sets out to expose the truth. Armed with logic, a cart of books, and her personal-companion fairy, Constance is ready to storm the long-abandoned shelves. What she isn't prepared for is a tavern-keeper who's madly insistent on tagging along, especially since he seems convinced she's unravelling along the edges. Which is impossible. Unravelling, as everyone knows, is for people with emotions. And Constance Wylf is absolutely determined to keep any emotions she might have tied up tight. ~ * ~ Longlister in ONC 2025 Prompts 65 and 102 Main: What is science, if not magic governed by laws instead of emotions? Secondary: In a world where books are feared for their power to possess readers, one Scribe enters a haunted library full of cursed stories. The question is: will they leave the same person? ____________________ Cover © 2025 Avadel Ink Authorized solely on wattpad.com/avadel

Julius Q. Bygone: Supernatural Sleuth of Shadows When a Brooklyn smoke shop is hit by a vengeful ghost, desperate lovers call Julius Q. Bygone-a hard-boiled paranormal investigator with a fedora, a red feather, and a talent for dealing with the dead. What begins as a routine haunting explodes into a noir spiral of betrayal, greed, murder, and redemption, where the living are far more dangerous than the ghosts.

When a vengeful ghost begins haunting New York's City Hall, Mayor Adam Winter has only one option left: Julius Q Bygone, Supernatural Sleuth of Shadows.

Aunt Mabel is dead, found lying amongst her daisies in her garden. Two eyes anxiously watch over her. The police arrive, but questions soon crop up. Is it actually Aunt Mabel? And who or what did it? A wild animal? A person? A baby dragon? Something strange is afoot in the Auntie's garden and it's up to Officer Holt Martinez, Estelle, and her cousin Julia, to figure it all out before it's too late. Little does she know that an unplanned trip to the Dragon's Lair Bookshop will upend everything she thought she knew about life, this world, and those beyond. *The Novella Version was a Open Novella Contest ONC 2026 Long List Winner!

✨ Wattys 2023 winner ✨ Special award for best storyline ✨ The Moffet family is just like any other family. They lead a simple, quiet life in a pretty little two-story house on the outskirts of London... That is until they receive, from a strange deliveryman, a mysterious package that will catapult them into an unknown and fantastic world; an upside-down kingdom populated by talking sticks and chattering pebbles, welcoming shoes, stone keepers, enchanted lamps and magic cauldrons, prankster soothsayers and screaming matches that can reveal secret paths. A magical and adventurous journey that will take the protagonists through difficult trials, solve puzzles, traverse rough paths and clash with dark, malevolent forces. Status: complete

*This story is written for participation in Open Novella Contest and no earlier draft exist before 1st Feb. The story is based on prompts provided by the event . The Hollowridge Inn has one rule. No humans. Tucked deep within a forest that refuses to appear on any map, the Inn has sheltered witches, vampires, shapeshifters, and beings far older than language for over a century. It is neutral ground. Sanctuary. A carefully balanced refuge for the unseen world. And it has never made a mistake. Until Ethan Carter checks in. Stranded after a mysterious car failure, Ethan is impossibly human-and somehow allowed past wards that have never failed. As the Inn begins to react to him in ways no one understands, one terrifying truth becomes clear: He wasn't invited by accident. When an ancient entity known only as a Collector arrives to claim what it calls "a key," the dysfunctional family that runs the Inn must make a choice-hand Ethan over to protect their fragile peace, or defy powers older than the house itself. But the Inn has already chosen. And it may be willing to burn the worlds down to keep him.

THE RISE OF THE BLOOD DRAGON Amid the slow burning of war and love, a historical romantasy burns for you. ♡♡ "When the Steppe chooses its sovereign, even kings must kneel." On the far reaches of the Western Steppes, where kingdoms rise on sand and fall to silence, a young woman with unbound hair and fire in her veins is about to shake the world. Elspeth, daughter of a debt-ridden tradesman, has lived quietly behind her shop of flowers - until the day she is taken by a man who claims to be the true heir to the throne she has always feared. Ceyzaar, the hidden son of a harsh ruler, forged in exile and sharpened by betrayal, has waited a lifetime to reclaim the crown that was stolen from him. But the key to his triumph lies in the woman he stole from them and in the power she has carried all her life without knowing it. As war storms gather and old empires tremble, Elspeth's first cry of defiance on the battlefield awakens something ancient beneath the Steppe - a force that has not stirred in generations. A force that recognizes her. Now, with lightning cracking over Morrhal, traitors rising from within, and the Kaiser unleashing horrors long buried, Elspeth and Ceyzaar must forge a bond strong enough to survive both destiny and desire. For the Steppe has chosen its Rose. The Blood Dragon has risen. And the world will burn or be reborn by their united hand. The Rise of the Blood Dragon Where oaths are forged in fire. Where roses bloom in war. Where a girl becomes the weapon that reshapes the world. ═════════════ The Steppe Dynasty Books ©WendyyWolfe Ⓜ️🄼🄰🅃🅄🅁🄴 [ᵀʰⁱˢ ᵇᵒᵒᵏ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ᵐᵃᵗᵘʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉᵐᵉˢ ᶜᵒᵉˣⁱˢᵗᵉⁿᵗ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍᵉⁿʳᵉ ᵒᶠ ʰⁱˢᵗᵒʳⁱᶜᵃˡ ʳᵒᵐᵃⁿᶜᵉ]

ONC2025 Round 2 Ambassador Pick 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞-𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧, 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝. Unicorns are sacred in the kingdom of Unara, their magic a gift only bestowed upon the worthy-or stolen through death. Someone is hunting them, and if the killings continue, their magic will fall into the wrong hands. Determined to uncover the truth, Oskar sets out to find the culprit. But the deeper he digs, the darker the secrets he unearths--secrets that could shake the very foundation of the kingdom. A standalone fantasy adventure, The Unicorn's Blessing follows Prince Oskar before the events of The Girl with Scars, revealing the choices that shaped the man he would become. Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2025 | @OpenNovellaContest - Rules & Guidelines: https://www.wattpad.com/story/387452246 **Main Prompt** 12. While hiking through a forest, you stumble upon a unicorn's horn. **Secondary Prompt** 130. Protect this with your life. ©2025 E. S. Elias All Rights Reserved. Book Created & Published to Wattpad: 02.01.2025 Book Marked as Completed: 04.08.2025 Cover: Me @DesignsbyEH I used Canva.com | Cover is temporary and subject to several changes. Word Count: 26,234 / 20,000 Goals: Round 1 ✔ | 2,000 words ✔ | Round 1 Winner ✔ Round 2 ✔ | 8,000 words ✔ Round 3 _ | 20,000 words ✔ LONGLIST _ | SHORTLIST _ Honorable Mention? _ | Ambassadors' Pick ✔ Mentioned in Ambassador Newsletter ✔ Rankings: #ONC2025: #21 on 02.02.2025 | #15 on 02.03.2025 | #12 on 03.24.2025 #opennovellacontest2025: #15 on