[✓] [Now on Patreon] When a terrible plague strikes the city of Alkaya, Royal Chef Neveshir must attempt forbidden blood-magic in order to save his home, his people, and the Shah he isn't meant to love. ... Royal Chef Neveshir Sevelin is a Karán: a man born with dangerous magic running through his veins. Like all Maker-touched, he can use fire to transmute, but only Karán have the power to kill with it. Though most Karán spend their careers bound in service on the war-front, Neveshir has sworn off killing. He roams free in Alkaya where he uses his talents to craft culinary masterpieces for his former shieldmate and dearest friend, Shah Melík Saf Kanh, ruler of all Esenia. When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn't used in decades -- a request that has the Maker's Guild up in arms. Neveshir can't blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them. Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild's ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he's not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature -- before it's too late. ... The Dark Arm of the Maker is a complete Dark Fantasy / Romance novel of 95k words with gay, bi, asexual, and non-binary characters. The romance is between two men. Read on for: found family, friends-to-lovers, forbidden romance, self-acceptance, a snarky MC, and things getting set on fire. ... [Round One Winner: Open Novella Contest. Now revised and expanded.]

Grace, the illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, finds her life turned upside down when he dies and her family flees into sanctuary when her uncle takes power. Torn between family loyalties and her need for love and stability, Grace struggles to survive a dangerous world. A historical fiction story set during the War of the Roses. One fateful night, a young woman flees with her family to take sanctuary in the church. The illegitimate daughter of the late king, Grace, is told her uncle Richard has stolen her half-brother, the new king and is seizing power. Her stepmother, Elizabeth Woodville, takes her children and Grace into sanctuary and begins recruiting others to take down Richard. Young Grace is sent on a mission and meets her uncle. His kindness makes her doubt that he is as bad as her stepmother claims. But she sticks to her loyalty to her family even as everything falls apart. Elizabeth's plan fails, Grace's half-brother is taken by force out of sanctuary, and Richard reveals Elizabeth was never legally married to Grace's father, making Richard the king. Elizabeth refuses to leave sanctuary, keeping Grace and her half-sisters trapped as rumors grow about the disappearance of the girls' brothers. The only bright spot of Grace's life is meeting with a messenger, a young man who is the first person to see this forgotten king's daughter. As much as she wants to leave, her loyalty keeps her buried alive. Shortlisted in the Open Novella Contest 2020 Shortlisted in the Wattys 2021 and Wattys 2022

Sapphire's mournful howls of despair and grief pierced through the battlefield between her fits of hopeless sobbing. It was the sound of heart being shattered into a thousand, tiny bleeding pieces as the mermaid looked upwards. It was as if she was making a vow to the Heavens themselves. "I'll never love again." The words were so soft that Aphrodite almost convinced herself she hadn't heard them at all. They felt more like the echo of a whisper hidden within a half-forgotten dream, but the goddess of love heardthem all the same. "Well, that sounds like a challenge." Open Novella Contest 2020 Entry Based off Prompt #65. You declare to the Heavens that you will never fall in love again. Aphrodite takes that as a challenge.

It's impossible to be two people at once. Unless you're Abby Kilken. At 27, Abby's life hasn't exactly been all she would have hoped. That college diploma wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and she spends most of her time regretting all that time she spent studying rather than going out and experiencing the world. All she wants is a little excitement. After a strange date with a handsome man she'd only met the day before, Abby gets more than she bargained for when she finds herself waking up in Belgium. In 1944. And she keeps waking up as someone new. The strangest part is she isn't lost or confused. She knows exactly where she is, and who she is. Even if who she is...isn't exactly her.

| 𝟭𝟲𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 · [EDITORS' CHOICE -- NOVEMBER 2020] [ONC 2020 Winner] Two strangers on separate trains, divided by uncaring glass. A bond forms between them. But will it hold when their trains are bound for different destinations? Evan's heart has been bleeding since his little family was torn apart by divorce, and his nose runs with a cold. Trying to pick up the pieces of his life, he has changed cities, and he's about to change jobs. And he has run out of tissues. A woman's blue hair catches his eye at a train station. And her smile, fortified by braces, catches his heart. Sitting in her train, Iris revels in her future perfect. Her work is finally getting published and she has found Mr. Right. Nothing could go wrong now. Gazing out of the window, she sees the stranger. He looks miserable and sneezes, but her hands want to tousle his bed hair. A random encounter at a subway station. But both of them are caught in their tracks and when their trains pull apart, they don't expect to meet again. ⭐⭐⭐ This is a slow-burn, peculiar romance; an expanded Open Novella Contest Entry based on Prompt #61 in the Romance section: "After being jilted, you move to the city to hide your embarrassment, lick your wounds, and start afresh." Cover illustrations by @EvelynHail. "Mind the Gap" is ONLY available on Wattpad. If you are reading this anywhere else, it is a plagiarized version that may contain malware. ⭐⭐⭐ 16x featured! 🏆 ONC 2020 Winner! 📘 Featured on: "Editors' Choice" ➡ @WattpadExplorer "Satisfy Your Cravings" ➡ @WattpadExplorer "Purity-Realistic Fiction" ➡ @AvantPop "Love Yourself"➡ @WattpadSpiritual "Head over Heels" ➡ @Romance "Accept Yourself" ➡ @LY "A Little Bit of Everything" ➡ @NARomance "Finding Love" ➡ @generalfiction "Melting Hearts" ➡ @adultfiction "Consequences" ➡ @ChickLit ...

* An intense psychological thriller * All Andi Masterson wanted was to have a fun day out with her friends to celebrate her 19th Birthday. The Escape Room she booked admittedly looks a bit odd, and doesn't feel right. That's because they've just gone into the wrong place. What they think is an Escape Room will turn out to be a very deadly game with serious consequences. There are no hints and no extra lives in this game. Are you ready to play? Open Novella Contest III prompt #60: "The next words out of your mouth better be 'I'm sorry' and 'Here's the antidote.'"

"We shouldn't dig here." "Why...not?" "Because what's buried here is not what you think it is." • • • • • • • • • • • • [ inspired by prompt #54 and #4 of the Open Novella Contest 2020 | ONC2020 LONGLIST ] Taylor Sloan has spent the last decade digging up priceless treasures, uncovering lost empires, and discovering ancient civilizations, all due to her uncanny ability to know what's buried beneath her feet. Taylor's fiancé Riyad Banks went missing two year ago, lost at sea among the many remote Alaskan islands. Now Taylor and her charge, Riyad's teenage son, are headed for an island to join in an excavation headed by Taylor's archeologist cousin. But some secrets are better left buried, and Taylor wonders if facing the truth is worth having their hearts broken all over again. • • • • • • • • • • • • • Completed Novella [ about 25,000 words ] on March 13, 2020 • Copyright absterak 2020 • Cover Photo from Unsplash