Opennovellacontest2022 Stories

*entry for ONC 2022* prompt seventy: his [her] eyes were cold and lifeless as he [she] stared at me. "you have no idea who i am, do you?" - It's only been three weeks since Vera Watson and her father moved to Goldhurst Lighthouse. She's trying her best to settle in, but it's hard when they're the only non-white family living on the property. And to make matters worse, she's never worked at a lighthouse before. But when a storm rolls in--the first one Vera will experience since moving here--everything changes. In the middle of the raging tempest, Vera finds a strange girl by the rocky shore. Wearing a white dress, her skin pale white and her hair as dark as the night, she looks like a ghost. Thing is, she is. And she's asking Vera for help. © myrawritess 2022. all rights reserved.

For as long as Skyler McDonald can remember, she can't remember much. She'll remember the big things. Her old address, the name of her elementary school, her favorite teacher, and the friends she held dear while she lived there but for the most part, Skyler lived with hardly any memories at all. After the death of her friend, Zara Bazemore, Skyler and Hiro find themselves moved to Ohio, where they continue to live the rest of their high school lives. Sticky notes, note pads, constant alerts, and reminders make up Skyler's life until all she can see are the appointments she doesn't remember, the details that slip past her, and the memories she doesn't have. It felt like pages and chapters of her life were gone, lost in the void to never return. And then she met the cat. Chloe that followed her home was now leading her to the abandoned house at the end of the road. The walls were peelings, the windows cracked and suddenly, Skyler is spiraling down a path she never would have expected. Memories long forgotten are appearing for seconds, slipping through her fingers only moments later. The voices in her head became that much more real. The trauma of Zara's death and others that she didn't even recall ever having before coming back full force. Skyler's life is in shambles. She never expected a cat could reveal the truth of her childhood. But Chloe revealed a secret about her past that Skyler had been denied up until now. It's time to rearrange her identity. (Copyright 2022 by Ursula Inc. All rights reserved. Full disclosure. This book is written with care and to the best of research and facts that are relevant currently. Am looking for a sensitivity reader in order to make this more accurate. Characters are written with care and research. Published for the Open Novella Contest 2022 under prompt 91.)

Welcome to Belsgate. There's not much here but a sleepy, dusty town, lots of farmland, big open sky and an inter-dimensional gate, that by all appearances, seems to lead straight to the depths of Hell. Zeph is a small town mechanic with an impossibly big responsibility. For generations, members of his family have guarded this: the last known active Gate, making sure that demons don't mingle with the regular spirits of our world. The Gate has remained mostly dormant for decades, but this period of inactivity seems destined to come to an end. With Gate activity slowly rising, Zeph is going to need help if he intends to keep things under control, or better yet, close the Gate for good. Prompt #58 - The motion sensor light at the back of your house keeps turning on and off, finally you go to investigate. Prompt #63

When one is seen dead, naturally it can be assumed that they remain so. In the case for Jason, he saw his ex-fiance whom fell dead that day, happen to see a woman with the same face at his home, as if without scars. For him, it might be a terrible fake episode of delusion and paranoia or a terribly real episode of something more sinister. ONC 2022 contest

Details on the 2022 NONC Open Novella Festival can be found here!

After losing her husband during the pandemic, Runa MacCabe moves herself and her children to the remote island that her husband's family had owned for centuries, hoping that she, her daughter, Hertha, and her son, Stigr, can find some kind of peace and closure. When the island is rocked by an earthquake and a terrifying storm on the first night, Runa believes their new life may not be as peaceful as she hoped. Especially after her children tell her that they were saved from the earthquake and storm by a big dog that now lay injured in a mysterious cave. Only, there were no dogs on the island and the only other resident of the island had only livestock animals on his farm. Insistent, Hertha and Stigr persuade their mother to see the big dog, only for Runa to find something far stranger and far more dangerous than she could have ever feared. Something that could spell destruction for the entire world. A novella, written for #ONC2022. Based upon Prompt No. 13 and in the Creature Feature category. Cover created in Canva, using a Pixabay stock picture.

As the world recovers from its zombie apocalypse, Maurice is thrust into a lifestyle that is neither welcoming nor fit for his presence. What he considers was a rather good zombie life suddenly leaves him a victim to the hunters who believe otherwise. For the ONC 2022

Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2022 | This version of the book was posted solely for the ONC. A final, even more, polished version will be coming soon to Amazon! All feedback on story pacing, character development, and the overall plot is most appreciated. | ©2022 E. S. Elias All Rights Reserved. Published to Wattpad 02.01.2022 Cover: Esther Hadassah @DesignsbyEH (I used Canva and Dream by Wombo) The Lark's Pearl (A Standalone Romantic Fantasy) | ✔ Ariabella is a young woman who receives the gift of pearls from a bird of mysterious, playful nature: a Lark. How does this sweet, little bird come by these pearls and what will Ariabella do when she finds out why this bird chose her? This wholesome, romantic fantasy, can be enjoyed completely on its own without fear of a cliffhanger, HEA guaranteed. #13 (Top 20!) in #ONC2022 03.13.2022 - #10 03.14.2022 #1 in #YAlit 02.09.2022 #10 in #cleanromance 02.13.2022 - #4 02.22.22 (Top 100!) #25 in #opennovellacontest2022 - 02.22.2022 #5 in #Romantasy 02.25.2022 | #1 03.13.2024

~ turning point (noun) a time at which a decisive change in a situation occurs, especially one with beneficial results. ~ Morgan Lin has spent the last four years trying and failing to move on from a devastating loss. Settling into a comfortable rhythm of working from home and spending time with those closest to her, the last thing on her mind is romance. Her life may not be 'exciting', but it's safe and steady. The two things she needs as she attempts to recover. When Gabby Vásquez moves in across the hall, sparks fly - and not the good kind. Gabby's dealing with her own heartbreak the only way she knows how, with loud music and kickboxing. The former of which drives Morgan crazy. The latter of which may just be the key to helping her move on. But the more time she spends with Gabby, the more Morgan realizes that, not only is her heart starting to knit itself together again, it may just be opening up to new possibilities. If only she would let it. One apartment block, two souls in need of healing and a turning point that will change everything.

Growing up, Lark Wilson always felt he was different - abandoned as an infant on a doorstep and raised in Wilson's Home for Children and Youth, creatures of nature accompanied him in every little aspect of his life. Things only escalated as soon as he turned eighteen. Will a chance encounter at a museum a few years later give him all the answers he's been searching for? Or will it lead him to more questions? Embark on a journey into the unknown in a story of magic, adventure and... love. a novella for the 2022 Open Novella Contest , prompt 46 (fantasy)

Entry For ONC2022 Heaven is a place any Angel wants to be and the angels here are thankful for their home. Calynn enjoys the peace and beauty of this world but what happens when the enemy comes and picks a war. Will the Angel of Heaven win this battle or will their enemy win? What happens when she feels love but for someone not of her kind? Cover by @Lueur_laVespine

Adin wants to go rock climbing. They go to the local sporting goods store to buy equipment. Everything seems to be going as planned, until they are half-way up the mountain and they run into problems that they never thought could exist. Problems of the fire-breathing, flying kind.

Elizabeth Grayson was still caught on Christopher Milton. The one that got away. Her childhood friend; her first crush and the unrequited love of her life. When he suddenly gets back in touch, Elizabeth knows this is it: her chance. Only things don't go quite to plan when Chris turns up at a reunion dinner with a new fiance, and the announcement that he's getting married in a month. With her second chance gone, and a month's worth of activities planned for the wedding party, Elizabeth has to decide whether to keep pinning her hopes of happiness on Chris or to take a chance finding it somewhere she'd never thought to look before. One thing is for certain: this month is definitely going to be interesting. Prompt (89): You thought you still had a chance with your childhood friend, but it turns out they're getting married in a month.

Ten years ago, Julia Reddings's girlfriend climbed a set of stairs in the woods and never came back down. When she was just a teenager, Julia Reddings watched her girlfriend Alice ascend a staircase in the middle of the woods and vanish at the top without a trace. In the ten years since, Julia has never been able to find Alice. Or the stairs. Now working as a park ranger, Julia has gathered the stories behind every paranormal encounter and local legend she can get her hands on, trying to unravel the mystery of her girlfriend's disappearance. But it seems that Alice has been wiped off the face of the earth. Until she finds the stairs again. Desperate for the truth, Julia returns to the place she lost Alice. But the woods that were once so dear to her are different, now. They feel dangerous. And the staircase that took Alice ten years ago is calling to her. Based on ONC prompt #33: "And then I pressed my cheek against the asphalt and prayed the dead bodies would cover my scent." ONC Longlister!! Cover by @ClaraElisibeth

|| WINNER AMBYS 2022 VAMPIRES CATEGORY || || FEATURED: FOODKART || When single mother and baker Autumn Milford is hired to cater a high-end party in the Berkshires, she discovers the "special ingredient" she is required to use isn't just the quirk of an eccentric millionaire ... ------------ Autumn Milford has been determined to rely on no one but herself after her parents kicked her out at seventeen. With the money she's due to earn from catering a high-end party in the Berkshires, she'll finally have enough to open up her own storefront bakery. But her employer is not just another eccentric millionaire and his guests aren't your average denizens of high society. Autumn is about to discover that creatures of the night are real ... and they're eating her cinnamon rolls. Corbin Westbrook would rather cut off his own head than host the once-a-decade gathering of the New England Knowing. There have been sightings of a Fallen in the area and it is Corbin's duty to ensure that the creature is disposed of. But to decline such an "honor" is ill-advised. Left with no choice but to throw the party, Corbin stays as far away from the event planning as possible ... until he meets the baker. Hold onto your cinnamon rolls, it's going to be a sweet ride! ------------ ONC 2022 Prompt 20. You manage a catering company. The latest request has a few ... interesting menu items. [Status: Complete] [Word Count: 28,000] [Content warning: PG-13 for mild swearing, violence, sensuality, and fade-to-black intimacy.] [ [ Highest rankings ] ] [#1 in Baking 2/26/22] [#1 in Singleparent 4/1/22] [#1 in Paranormalromance 4/14/22] [#8 in Paranormal 4/11/22] [#10 in ONC2022 4/14/22] [#11 in Supernatural 5/3/22] [#16 in Vampireromance 4/20/22] [#20 in Romance 4/11/22] Cover by @chessaandersen

ONC 2022 Longlister! After years of dreaming of a different world and being visited by a bird that defies identification, Miriam Rogers embarks on a mysterious quest to repair something she doesn't understand. Along the way, she meets the crown prince of her dream world who claims she is his soulmate, the prophesied key to saving his world and her own from destruction. Can they reverse the curse from his land and find love for themselves, or are they doomed to watch their worlds disintegrate along with their fledgling bond?

Choice has always been a stranger to Gustavo. As the son of the illustrious Count of Marcliff, everything is chosen for him from his favourite pastime, riding, to the length of his beard, never past the chin. And when it comes to school, his desire to go to Cambridge is overshadowed by his father's choice: Oxford. But one rainy afternoon at Oxford, fortune smiles on the young count-to-be, landing him in a tailor's shop where the lovely Miku's smile makes him forget Cambridge even exists. Every moment spent by Miku's side causes Gustavo to hope--no, to presume--that he will have the choice of asking her to be his bride. But a letter from his father quickly dashes that dream to pieces: Gustavo is engaged to marry a duke's daughter. He has followed his father's wishes his whole life, always striving to preserve the Dinamarca name. But this is one step too far. He will not abandon Miku for some stranger his father picked out. No matter how well-connected she may be. Beset by a tempest of anger, grief, and confusion, Gustavo meets a mysterious fortune-teller who knows what he needs to do. He needs to convince Miku to marry him. And if she agrees, they will need to make it to Scotland before Lord Marcliff can stop them. Even if they can evade his father, the path to the Scottish border is fraught with obstacles that will shake their love to its foundation. +++ Based on Prompt Number 6 - ONC 2022

Entry for ONC2022 Cheryl is a young woman who runs her own catering company. Her apartment isn't the best looking out there but it is her home. She has a reputation to uphold but what happens when a few customers give her trouble? A new neighbour moves in and immediately starts trouble. What happens when she goes to confront this person? Will it be sunshine and rainbows or will it just blow up in her face? Cover by @Exequinne