Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can. ***** It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living? [[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]

After being tortured and left only half-alive, Nathan must fight the FIB and his own uncontrollable powers one last time to keep his family safe forever. ***** With the memory of every horrific thing that's ever happened to him racing through his mind, Nathan is on a quest for vengeance. But when his sister reveals she's pregnant, everything changes, and Nathan agrees to flee to Chile for safety and rehabilitation. But the FIB is still hiding around every corner, waiting for the group to make a mistake. And when the monster inside Nathan finally breaks free, he'll either learn to overcome it once and for all or be forced to watch himself destroy everything he's ever loved. [[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]

Locked up and tortured but refusing to sell out the people he loves, Nathan tries to flip the loyalty of an old friend in the hopes they'll help him escape. ***** Just when Nathan thought he was finally free, the agents of the Feral Investigation Bureau manage to track him down and re-capture him. Chained, muzzled, and caged, Nathan fights for his survival while struggling to contain the monster hiding inside him. But when the repeated beatings aren't enough to break him, the FIB calls in Shane Carlton, a professional torturer, with one goal: break Nathan so he reveals the location of his sister and boyfriend. His only hope is Birdie, someone he used to trust, but if Birdie can't act quickly to stop Shane then the monster hiding under Nathan's skin may endanger everyone they know. [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

With a new name and new life, Nathan must learn to fit in at an Academy of the Feral Investigation Bureau, or risk being sent back to prison. ***** Escaping prison was only the beginning for inmate C41. Now on the run and going by Nathan, he's enrolled in an American Academy for training agents and joins the Feral Investigation Bureau, charged with hunting down criminals and sending them to the same place he just escaped. But after learning how blurred the distinction is between feral and non-feral, Nathan is forced to flee with his sister and his boyfriend, only to discover their safe house hides a secret that might cost Nathan his freedom. Content and/or Trigger Warning: sex and violence. [Note: failed suicide attempt] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

C41 was taught to fight and never trust anyone but a select few. But in order to leave prison, he might have to work with those who can break him. ***** Inmate C41 is the youngest registered "feral" shapeshifter -- someone unable to control his animal urges and aggressions. When he turns eighteen he is transferred to the Adult Feral Rehabilitation Center in Scotland, where he meets a mysterious American government agent who endlessly probes him with questions. C41 does the only thing he thinks will help him survive - he lies. And that starts a chain of events that will either end in a prison break or a life of torture. Content and/or Trigger Warning: sex and violence. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

Wrestling team captains Max Desera and Axel Cortés must settle their long-standing rivalry - but a different kind of fire may ignite between them. ***** The school decides it will only keep one of its two male wrestling teams, adding fire to the cutthroat rivalry between the two captains, Max Desera and Axel Cortés. Axel sees Max as undeserving of the title, but when Max, who is proudly bisexual, finds out that Axel is closeted gay, their dynamics begin to change. Things heat up before the tournament when a terrible incident of foul play occurs, forcing the two sworn enemies to suddenly rely on each other - but this time, the heat feels different. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Brando Hallward is stuck on a transatlantic flight with his ex when he meets the suave Daxten Lowe. Maybe his luck is about to change. ***** Arriving desperately late for his flight, Brando Hallward discovers it's delayed but still manages to make a fool of himself in front of his ex. His luck changes when he scores a dinner with the suave Daxten Lowe. The two bond before climbing onto the same flight, where they continue their flirtation through the planes onboard messaging system. Brando is nervous, but soon Daxten brings him up to the first class lounge where their romance begins to blossom. However, dangerous blocks of turbulence rock the plane, causing injuries throughout it. Plus, Brando's ex is becoming increasingly jealous. Something is wrong, both with the plane and with Brando's life, but will these moments with Daxten be enough to make everything alright? [[2018 Watty Award Winner]] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]

After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world. ***** For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[Promoted by AMC]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]