Nonc2022 Stories

Giselle Landry shows up to her first date in years, expecting to have a lovely dinner with the tall, dark and handsome man she's been talking to online for months. Instead, she finds herself in a restaurant full of strangers. Eventually, it becomes obvious one of the men there is the guy she has been talking to. But he looks nothing like him. She did not shave her legs for this. Hunger overtakes embarrassment because a girl's gotta eat. So, Giselle pulls up a stool at the bar to grab a bite and immediately strikes up a conversation with the handsome bartender, Feliciano Arias. Sparks fly as he shows her parts of the city she never knew existed. On the surface, everything is charm and excitement. But Giselle can't shake the feeling that she doesn't really know the man behind the tattoos. Is she being catfished again?

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

After years of struggling to make it as an actor, Daniel Shephard is finally about to make it big. He's landed the lead in a superhero movie. He's about to be Captain Universe with the whole world. That is, if he can make it to his agent in time to sign the contract. Which is easier said than done, as Daniel wakes up, only a few days before the need to sign the contract, in a locked room with no escape. He doesn't know who's abducted him or why. The only clue he has is the manuscript pushed in under the door. A script so terribly bad, it physically pains him to read it. Now Daniel is forced to act out the script--while wearing increasingly ludicrous costumes--and deliver a performance of a lifetime, to appease the manic author who has him trapped, before he loses his spot in the limelight. *** This is an ONC story, using prompt #6: Walking down the street, a stranger approaches you. He/she stares intently into your eyes for a moment and then says, "I know what you need to do." *** "If you liked Misery but didn't like the maiming, drug abuse, peril, or murder then you'll love this!!!"

Sealed within Kealie Gothalis are the secrets of a magic destined to flood her kingdom. Trading her Mortality to disguise the heritage her mother fears most, Kealie is gifted with a blessing. She need only do one thing; keep her kingdom in the dark until the dusk of her twentieth birthday. But her control over the ancient magic is slipping... ...Along with her Willpower. || Open Novella Contest 2022 || || Complete 4/30/22 ||

Bianca Daleman only has two rules. First, never lose control. And second, never marry anyone until she is certain it won't end in divorce. While in Vegas for her best friend's bachelorette party, Bianca discovers her ex-boyfriend is engaged to a supermodel. Thrown back into the heartbreak of his leaving her, she breaks her first rule and spends the night in a drunken stupor. The next morning, when she wakes up with a splitting headache and a giant diamond ring, she assumes her friends have set up an elaborate prank. But the diamond is real and so is the confused man standing half-naked in the corner. Somehow, she is married. To a handsome, enticing stranger named Enrique Calderón. Getting out of the marriage she has no memory of entering seems easy until her friend's bachelorette party turns into a surprise elopement. With Bianca's ex as the best man. She simply cannot let him know how much he hurt her, so when he spots the ring on her finger, Bianca has no choice but to make it look like her relationship is flourishing. Which means she needs to find Enrique. And fast. ~*~ This is Book One of the Love Travels Collection. Book Two, Roatán Plunge, is now available on my profile. New chapters every Wednesday. ~*~

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

Ever since Death got trapped in the mortal realm three years ago, nonstop famines, wars, and plagues have ravaged Earth. Shiori, a budding scientist with a love of snakes and a loathing for small talk, doesn't really care. She can deal with the constant pandemics, bombs, and spider/iguana/fruit fly/crocodile plagues, so long as it doesn't involve socializing with strangers -- the thing she hates most in the world. Too bad her new roommate is hot, suave, and super chatty. Even worse, he seems to have decided Shiori is the only one with the power to send Death back to the underworld -- and he'll stop at nothing to make it happen! **First place in The Punk Rock Awards 2022, Paranormal*** **Grand Winner of The Punk Rock Awards 2022**

A disloyal knight, a missing Diviner, and one terrible secret that must be kept for the fate of the world depends on it. *** A royal knight like Safina is supposed to follow the King and Queen's every order without question. But when Safina is ordered to assassinate the court Diviner, who vanished one night before the prophecy is made, she can't help but question. The Diviner is supposed to foresee and reveal the identity of the chosen one who will save the world from the apocalypse-it makes no sense that the nobility wants her dead. Safina faces a difficult decision. When questioning means you stand alone, do you dare question? Or do you shake your doubts and follow your orders? Safina planned on doing the latter. And then an orphan boy with red eyes and an unshakeable faith that Safina will save the Diviner shows up at the palace gates. - A novella written for (N)ONC 2022