Death returns ten years later to a small community

#ONC2026 |🏅Round 1 Ambassador Pick | Speaking to the dead is permitted, but raising the dead is forbidden. After discovering an unlikely copy of The Necrotic Guide, budding necromancer Emelie is both delighted and disgusted by the powers the book promises. Will it be enough to speak to her lost love again?

A counterfeit claim against a legendary wine ignites a high-stakes investigation in which a neurodivergent restaurateur and a forensic wine analyst must navigate forgery, deception, and their own unexpected connection to save a century-old legacy. Luc, owner of London's prestigious Le Rêve restaurant, faces a devastating crisis when a valued patron declares a prized vintage a fake. To protect his family's century-old reputation, he enlists Izzy, a brilliant but socially unconventional forensic wine analyst, eager to prove her mettle. Their shared autism initially creates an unexpected but undeniable spark of attraction, challenging their focus. But as they delve deeper into the complex world of wine fraud, they suspect a widespread conspiracy that threatens to destroy Le Rêve. Together, they must harness their unique abilities to expose the truth, safeguard the restaurant's legacy, and navigate their intensifying relationship, even as they battle their own internal worlds.

ONC 2026. Prompt 19. "When you accidentally spill coffee on someone, the moment that should have been ruining your day becomes the beginning of surprising and life-changing friendship, in our case, romance." She remembers every time they've met. He remembers none of them. She is immortal, as long as she does not interfere. He is human, and without knowing it, he is changing everything. One meeting altered their destinies forever. She has spent lifetimes turning back time to save him, losing pieces of her immortality each time she fails, becoming more human with every loss. Every version of his story ends the same way. Him dead. This is her last chance. To save him, she may have to attempt the one thing she has never tried before: let him go. Because loving him might be the very thing that kills him.

Keywords: romance | opposites attract | hollywood | mutual pining | murder mystery | time travel | inspired by a song You time-travel back to 2012, only to be cornered by a celebrity who insists you're "the key to saving their future," and they're determined to take you with them. "Because, you know, there's no end to the hypocrisy of the human heart." Open Novella Contest (2026) 🏅 Round 2 Winner & Ambassador's Pick 🏅 Round 1 Winner © 2026 EmmaJD The views and actions of the characters in this story do not reflect those of the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

When the big, bad dragon meets his match, he's forced to do something no dragon has ever done before--find help. And with enigmatic knight Sir Crispin de Harriff-Scarnley hot on his scaled heels, it's science--in the unlikely form of humble and slightly sozzled apothecary student Alyx--he turns to as his saviour. Naturally, Alyx is appalled--knights are good and dragons are bad, right? Everyone knows that. But as he fights to save first his skin and then the dragon's hide, he'll discover that when it comes to concepts such as good vs bad, magic vs science, and nature vs 'progress', the choices aren't always as obvious as he might think. And he'll do it while dodging spells, grappling with gryphons, negotiating hangovers and, perhaps scariest of all, confronting his classmate crush. Meanwhile, in the background, a sinister figure looms...

After a falling asleep on her sofa, Becky can't go back to sleep. Thinking a walk in the night should make her tired again, she sets off. This simple decision changes her life. She's ripped away from the world, but all she can think about is what will happen to the food in her freezer and will anyone miss her when she disappears? ONC prompt 27. When you glance up at the stars, you see strange patterns and flashing lights, then you feel your feet leave the ground.

Daisy Marie "Dee" Del Buono and Luca "Kai" Romano have lived next door to each other their whole lives-but they've never lived in the same world. At school, Kai is untouchable: the star of the track, the golden boy everyone talks about, the name everyone knows by heart. He is the center of the stadium lights, loud and inevitable. Dee is a different kind of sound-the first-chair oboe who everyone hears but no one truly sees. She's the girl who lives in the static between band practice and her two best friends, hiding her 88-key heart behind a music stand and a wall of hoodies. And between them sits a lie they've both agreed to believe: They're not friends. Until one summer night, they cross a line they swore they'd never touch. When Dee's older brother, Arlo-Kai's best friend-leaves for college, everything shifts. The fence between their houses becomes a bridge. Late-night talks replace old arguments. They learn each other's secrets. They learn each other's smiles. Now it's senior year, and they're trying to pretend it didn't happen. Pretending they're fine. Pretending they can go back. Pretending the truth isn't pulsing every time they lock eyes across the hallway and across their bedroom windows. But the sweetest lies are the ones you tell to protect your heart- until the night they finally destroy it. "The Sweetest Lie" is a story about first love, quiet longing, and the moment when pretending isn't enough anymore. For readers who crave the chaos of Never Have I Ever, the longing of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and the quiet devastation of Normal People, The Sweetest Lie will absolutely wreck you (in the best way).

Based loosely on ONC2026 prompts 32 and 33. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same mission, and in a very short time they each find themselves shifting from their chosen profession to the unexpected role of nanny.

In the late 1960s in Australia, orphaned Maddie is thrust into her aunt's care, uncovering family secrets while sparking laughter and growth in cousins Simon and Edith (Didi). As shy Simon stumbles to shed his stutter and bratty Didi sheds her "Didiot" ways, Maddie's life darkens under the shadow of a corrupt politician's son. After a harrowing ordeal leaves her vulnerable and alone, she finds refuge with a kind artist named Bill Shakespeare, whose name whispers of destiny. Will their bond thrive amidst the psychedelic dawn of a new age, or unravel like a fragile dream?