Onc Stories

Esme and Matt can't stand each other, even if they have to play nice for the cameras. As public speculation about their chemistry heats up, they're forced to confront what's real versus what's just for show. ***** Esme Mendoza is everything Matt Crain isn't--polished, optimistic, and proud of her golden girl image. He's brooding, arrogant, and impossible to work with. As co-stars in an indie romance film, they're forced to act like soulmates on screen while barely tolerating each other behind the scenes. When their banter and lingering stares spark fan speculation during the press tour, their PR teams jump on the opportunity, but Esme and Matt aren't too thrilled. Suddenly, they're everywhere--public appearances, exchanging snarky remarks in interviews, and fueling endless rumors. As their forced chemistry starts to feel a little too real, Esme and Matt are left questioning: are they just playing a role, or could this be end game? ***** WARM HANDS #1 Open Novella Contest -- prompts 45 & 127 [[OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2025 ROUND 2 AMBASSADORS' PICK]] © 2025 caterina george // all rights reserved

Rosemary Albright has been a topic of gossip in the Ton for six long years. She has perfected her gentle smile, her polite non-answers are above reproach, and not a single brash suitor has seen a snippet of her ire. She is the picture of a calm and collected widow, and she intends to remain that way, even as strangers, acquaintances, and friends alike insist on encouraging her to marriage once more. Alexander Kilroy will do anything in his power to remain unnoticed. Caught between two worlds - his brothers' titles and his father's humble roots - there is nowhere he quite belongs. Ignoring the whispers around him and the hurt in his mother's eyes, Alex is determined to forge his own path, even if it carries him even further from the family he craves but cannot have. When Rosemary and Alexander are reunited, they find their situations are not so different. And what starts as a friendship between two opposite - one like sunshine, the other midnight rain - might just be what they've both been searching for. *A Humphrey Chronicles Novella (book 3.5) which may be read as a standalone* An ONC 2024 Entry (2K, 8K, and Round 2 Ambassador's Pick) Completed December 2024 (~35000 words)

Denisse Horsford no tiene una vida llena de lujos; sin embargo, a su primera clienta le sobraba su excesivo estilo en la moda. Cuando su padre y jefe le dio el contrato para firmar, no imaginó que tendría que lidiar con la empresaria más arrogante y fría del universo Fecha de publicación: 15/02/2025

A contemporary Scandinavian adaption of the legend of Jack Frost/Jokul Frosti. *** A first kiss changes everything. When Joakim kisses his childhood friend Anton it puts their relationship and also the weather in turmoil. Snow starts to whirl over Stockholm, turning the capital into a chaotic state. Is Joakim's emotional state actually affecting the weather and can his inner turmoil be stilled once he reunites with Anton, who mysteriously has disappeared after their intimate encounter? An ONC novella using prompt #69: "I had a marvellous time ruining everything."

Peaky Blinders meets Bonnie and Clyde. **** Eighteen-year-old Kit Jones has spent his life on the wrong side of the law. Having grown up poor in London's seedy East End, Kit has fought tooth and nail just to survive. Emily Masters cannot say the same. Born to rich parents, she's been handed everything she could ever dream of on a silver plate, but she longs for adventure. When Emily and Kit's lives collide, they find they have more in common than they first thought. Hiding from the police is one thing, but when Emily's parents come looking for her, the two must do whatever they can to avoid being caught. They quickly realise that a life on the run is no life at all, but they may have gone too far to get out. Based on Prompt 14: "My Love, believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom." - Alexandra Vasiliu.

For two months, the Avondorian Mountains have been a safe haven. Now, that's about to change. When a scout returns to Anahill with a disturbing message, Audren, the freshly-inaugurated Lord of the Mountains, finds himself faced with a challenge: The Cursed will reach the city within days. Undead, highly dangerous and hungry for human flesh, the Cursed are creatures not to be messed with. Audren refuses to let them slaughter his people and turn them into monsters. He sees only one way to save his home: Breaking the curse that started this terror. Teaming up with a grumpy student mage, Audren ventures into hostile territory. But can this curse even be broken?

Some spells need to be broken... before they break you. Laura Quillspell's greatest wish is to win the golden medal at the Harvest Feast dessert competition and finally defeat Ambrose Waycaster. But when the harmless spell she infuses into her chocolates turns into a potent love potion, she gains two unwelcome admirers: her exuberant best friend and Ambrose himself, her infuriating rival, who now looks at her as if she hung the moon. With less than a week left before the festival, Laura must undo her magical mess before she loses the competition, her dignity, and maybe, just maybe, her heart. --------------------------------- 🥇 ONC 2025 Round 1 winner 🏆 ONC 2025 Shortlister --------------------------------- This is my entry for the Open Novella Contest 2025, based on prompt 126: "Because you're you, and I'm me, and we just don't fit." - Idea of You, Book by Robinne Lee The present version is slightly edited and improved from the original that was entered into the contest. This novella is also available on KoalaQuill and (coming soon) on RoyalRoad.

Always willing to put herself last, Catalina Juárez has never rocked the boat. But that all changes when her father insists she marry a man she cannot stand to be near. Hopping into a carriage for hire, she spends the last of her money on a ride to nowhere. Because this mysterious carriage has one rule: you go where it takes you. Well, that was a waste of money, because she isn't even to the edge of town before she's unceremoniously dumped off at a train station. With no money to buy a ticket and no time to think of another plan, Catalina pushes through the crowd and onto the train. Marcos Caballero has never met a problem he didn't want to solve. Traveling alone on a ticket meant for him and a woman who didn't want to be with him, he's taken in by the scared, doe-eyed look of the woman in the dining carriage. She's ticketless and alone; he's lonely and has an excess ticket. Stepping in to save her, he claims her as his wife, not really expecting her to play along past the point of danger. But she quickly steps into the role with ease, acting as if they've known each other their whole lives. Somehow, it seems like they might have. But being on the run from troublesome and powerful fathers isn't without its struggles, and Catalina and Marcos are going to have to decide how much they are willing to risk to put love ahead of duty. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and I Don't Want to be Queen) on my profile! For this story, I selected prompt 9. "There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxicab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you stepped into this cab." Except make it pre-car-era.

In St. Vincent Hospital's mortuary, Dr. Eleanor Graves encounters an unexplainable horror-a corpse that moves, speaks, and stares back at her with lifeless awareness. As the cold air thickens and the room plunges into darkness, a chilling whisper escapes the dead man's lips: "He wakes." Something long buried is stirring, and Ellie is about to uncover a terror that refuses to stay dead. ONC Story- Prompt Used- 80.The corpus in the hospital comes alive

After failed businesswoman Toria Bergwald discovers her husband has been cheating, she branches out on her own to rebuild her life with her best friend Emily. At a networking event Toria meets Neil Frost, an accountant who can help her get back on track. Though she feels a spark, it's one she must ignore. At least for now... ___ Written for the ONC contest 2022. Status: complete Cover created using CANVA PRO on February 24, 2022.

[Novella]As a child, Sci was scarred by her own mother for being a witch. While the wound has healed and her shawl now covers her face, Sci struggles to remain deaf to the call of the desert wind. She works hard to get into the Scorian army, taking a path riddled with false friends, petty politics, and relentless Rajas. Then, one day, Sci receives an invitation from the palace. A personal message from Queen Rainah. **Cover by Krystal_M**

Sixteen-year-old Grace Williams has always been destined to a life in servitude. Born to poor parents, she has spent her life knowing that service is all she shall be able to achieve. Levi Edgeworth has no such fate. Even though he has everything he could ever wish for at his fingertips, he still wants more from life. During a chance meeting, the flip of a coin becomes the decider of their destiny and the two of them agree to follow a stream to uncover its end. Although a seemingly ordinary journey, Grace and Levi quickly find themselves trapped underground with no hope of rescue. Injured and imprisoned in darkness with only each other for company, they must find their own way out of the maze of tunnels before the crumbling walls collapse around them. Based on Prompt 5: 'Flip the coin and make a life choice with it. Two choices, one coin, and no turning back. Do you dare?' (C)Spruce_Goose

💫ONC 2025 Honorable Mention 💫 In a world where magic is both a gift and a curse, Hex, a bad-tempered sorcerer, constantly battles with his mischievous pixie servant, Pickles. When Pickles defies Hex one too many times, the sorcerer transforms him into a carpet beetle, setting off a chain of events that leads to a thrilling adventure. Meanwhile, in a distant fairy forest, the greedy goblin Giggleton is on a desperate quest to find the last Gem Maker, a fairy named Rose, who can produce precious gems with her hiccups. Trapped and alone, Rose's only hope for freedom lies in the hands of Hex, who has his own plans for the Gem Maker. As Hex, Giggleton, and a host of magical creatures cross paths, alliances are formed, and betrayals are revealed. In a tale filled with dark magic and unexpected heroes, "A Wicked Magic" weaves a spellbinding story of power, greed, and the quest for freedom. Will Hex's wicked magic be enough to save Rose and defeat the forces that seek to control her? Or will the sorcerer's dark desires lead to his downfall? 50. A supervillain has a midlife crisis and decides to become a superhero. But redemption might be harder than they imagined.

The mission - colonize the slopes of Olympus Mons on Mars before the Pacific Alliance lands. The challenge - something isn't quite right with the site foreseen for the colony. Explorations reveal a cave where the support struts for the home dome are supposed to go. It gets worse - not only does the cave move, but it contains the impossible: a human skeleton. And there's a writing on the wall. What starts off odd, soon descends into total madness. But the next shuttle back to Earth doesn't launch until next year. ONC Prompt 59. The year is 2042. The first astronauts landed on mars. They find a cave with a single human skeleton and four words written on the wall.

"There's no denying it-either I'm hallucinating or Cole Winton is standing on my porch." Jamie is used to putting pen to paper. She's been doing it for years, and has a slew of novels to show for it. For the most part, she's left alone to write which is what she prefers. But this is the first time someone has knocked on her door, insisting they are one of her characters. This is the first time someone demands to know how she knows what she does, declaring it treason. Armed with only her pen, her notebook, and her cat, Inkwell, she finds out just how much of their own lives her characters have taken on outside of her novels. (ONC prompt 99) ONC 2025 Finalist (5th place)

Meredith, a doughty ex-FBI agent has escaped the fast-paced life of a federal gunslinger and is hellbent on keeping it that way. She's content living as a small-town rancher until an old friend tasks her with babysitting a vulnerable tech magnate worth billions. Sebastian is on the run from international criminals and the only person on his side is a reluctant tough girl with a complicated past and a farm she won't forsake. On a mission to outwit the powers that be, this unlikely duo might just learn two truths: #1 the odds are better together, and #2 whatever you sow, you will reap.

The cliff stands, unbroken and solid, a line of darkness against the blue of morning. Tav stares at the man whose dark hair moves in the briskness of the spring breeze. "You look like you're searching for someone," Tav calls. The man's eyes travel over Tav's face, flicking away at the last moment to gaze over the white-tipped ocean waves. "Maybe I just found them." Octavius Kennerly woke up with what he thought was an epic hangover. That's his excuse for how long it took him to realize he wasn't in his own bed. Or his own reality. Now he has to work out what happened, and decide what to do about the handsome man who seems so interested in him, but doesn't actually exist. Oh yes, and prevent the man's vile aunt from marrying him off to the man's sister. ONC 2021 Participant Prompt: A storm is raging outside, but you're cozy at home reading a good story. When the lights go out, you figure it's the result of the storm, but when they come back on, you've been transported into the alternative aftermath of the book you finished reading. Where are you and what happens?

Fresh out of a troubled marriage, Annie Nolan is faced with picking up the broken pieces her ex left behind. She moves back into her parent's pool house and reconnects with her old friend, Noah. With a Pandemic taking over the world, Noah wants to be the one to fix her problems. Is it possible that after fifteen years, Annie and Noah could move past the friend zone and become more?

Three strangers. Two secrets. One key. Emma was perfectly happy being a driven, yet single, high school student. Until a love goddess decides that Emma needs a boyfriend- whether she wants one or not.

Cyril defied the Gods by his very existence. In a world where the Gods' will shaped the fate of every man and woman, he had no destiny. Such defiance could not be allowed. Per the Gods' will, the Moirai weaved a tapestry of destiny and death. A snip of a thread ended a life and a drop of dye subdued a mind. When Ophelia discovered a defect in the fabric, the Gods sent her to investigate, and then to end this threat to the Gods' perfect order. She was not prepared for what she found. With faith shaken, Cyril and Ophelia sought the truth of Gods and men. But so often, truth was a dangerous thing. A fantasy/sci-fi novella. **** 2022 Imaginaria Realm Category winner - Best Worldbuilding **** **** 2021 Open Novella Contest Short List and Honorable Mention - Stunning Worlds **** **** Featured on Wattpad Retold **** **** Featured on Wattpad Myth and Legend ****