Onc2022 Stories

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**

🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 Mersem Wess, a town boy in the wintery kingdom of Solon, is content with his life collecting timber and admiring Leara Madris, the darling Lady Knight, from afar. His sister, Silke, a girl with a short fuse and way too much time on her hands, thinks otherwise. When a plan to raid the palace's armory goes awry, Silke may just get the adventure of a lifetime...with Mersem in tow. Now that all the Palace Knights, the lone mercenaries, and even the bounty hunter guilds are out for Silke's head, Mersem must ditch his rural lifestyle in favor of adventuring in the harsh lands to get to his sister before everyone else does. He must survive the great unknown, get Leara Madris to fall for him, and bring his sister back home before fate, duty, and truth catch up to him. From Exequinne, the author of the high fantasy series, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢, comes a story of adventure, buried secrets, and a bond flowing thicker than blood yet as fragile as frozen thorns. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2022 (First Edition) [25,000 - 35,000 words] [All graphics are made by @Exequinne] 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022

Sadie takes her dream trip to Australia, where she embraces solo travel life until she crosses paths with quirky Irish traveller Neil. The two discover they share more than their love for adorable Aussie animals as they complete bucket lists they'd planned with their exes. As their connection strengthens, Sadie considers unsettling her newfound peace and self-acceptance for a connection she'd thought impossible since her destructive break-up. Amby's Contemporary Novella Favourite 2024 ONC Shortlisted Story 2022 Featured on Adventure's 'Modern Adventures' reading list (Nov 2025) ContemporaryLit's Ambassador's Picks (Sept 2025) Ambassador's 'Lattes and Life' chapter of the 'Ambassador's Picks' book (April 2025) ContemporaryLit's 'Hot Encounters' (Dec 2024) 'Contemporary LGBTQIAP+' (June 2024) reading lists Romance's 'Slow Burn' reading list (June 2024) StoriesUndiscovered 'Tales of the Heart' reading list (May 2022) Copyright all rights reserved 2025

🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 When the walled city of the gods, Dansarun, opens its doors for trade, Xuijae's ruling clan sends its perfect representatives: the troublesome prince, Kai-Se, who wants nothing to do with palace life, and Nao-Zai, the stern soldier from the warrior clan assigned to protect him. With them stuck in a royal tour neither of them wants to be in and with Nao-Zai's near-perfect track record hanging in jeopardy, Nao-Zai and Kai-Se must settle their differences before their mission takes a difficult turn. Along the way, Nao-Zai discovers there's more to Kai-Se than he let on and the secret the prince is hiding may spell their doom once they reach the gods' Imperial City. When Kai-Se's mistake erupts into a full-blown rebellion, Nao-Zai is faced with a choice to save himself from the gods' wrath or save Kai-Se who is caught at the worst end of it. From the author of the award-winning novella, 𝘒𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦, and the high fantasy series, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢, comes a tale of adventure, friendship, and love, where every road to freedom is as dark and twisted as the last. FIRST BOOK OF THE PIPER OF MIRCHAEK TRILOGY ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2022 (First, Second Edition) [35,000 - 40,000 words] [All graphics are made by @Exequinne] 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022

Seventeen years ago Tyreek (T-Rex) Crews lost the love of his life during a pregnancy complication. Though his wife was pronounced deceased his son was given life. Seventeen years have passed and now Tyreek's son Ty can tell his story. Ty struggles to control his emotions due to Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). For his sanity Ty tends to isolate himself from others. This has proven difficult time and time again, due to his father being a legendary retired boxer. Ty's world gets turned upside down when he meets who possibly could be his father's biggest fan. Using ONC Prompt 51: Life hasn't been easy, but it has taught you about all the different variations of what family can really mean.

It's been seven years since the outbreak of the zombie virus that nearly wiped out planet Earth of human existence. Millions either perished in the chaos, turned, or fought back. Trying to change the world back to the way it once was, a scientist created an antidote called the ZCure, bringing the dead back to life. Now living in a prejudice gated community with two factions, the Stiffs and the Luckies, ex zombie infected Leona, struggles to cope with that second chance as she tries to survive yet again. Only this time within herself. But things quickly turn for the worst when there's a massive threat against both sides of the district. Will she help and join forces with the other faction, or let her past consume her? #ONC2021 | Prompt 30 | ‼️Content/Trigger Warning: Contains gore, violence, some strong language. ✨Round One Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ ✨Round Two Qualifier in Open Novella Contest✨ All rights belong to the author and no reproductions are allowed without the permission of @Renaissance1111. Please respect the author's copyright. 😊❤️ ©2022 C.S Marie

¤ LONGLISTED IN THE OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 ¤ // COMPLETE - stand-alone sequel to featherlight - Chase Collins steps onto a late night train, his last in the city before he moves to a new state with a job promotion. What he doesn't expect, however, is to sit opposite Kyle Rivera: former best friend, football teammate, and Chase's first love. Kyle is the incarnation of everything he thought had been forgotten and left in the past- his high school bravado, his secrets, his forgotten dreams. So he goes to sit down beside him. And they talk. And over the course of that one night, both of them will remember, relive, and most importantly live, as they explore what it means to grow up, to grow apart, to find yourself and to find each other.

My journal for ONC this year, following through with my tradition of writing a journal every year.

Rachel took on the job of limo driving to pay for college. She learned within the first few months that sometimes meant taking on challenging clients. More often than not a too good to be true payout meant a challenging client, and the higher the pay, the more challenging. Of course, the fact she'd not gotten any real details should have been a clue this one would definitely be a challenge. Disclaimer - I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender. This is written for ONC 2022 and is written for prompt four. "You're hired as a temporary bodyguard/driver for a high-profile client visiting your city for a week. It is very important you make sure the client sticks to the itinerary you are given. Only when you arrive are you told the client's identity - a celebrity known for being wild and always getting into trouble!"

Saya just wants to enjoy a lazy Sunday with her wife and ten year old son. But what happens when her one good deed of the day comes to bite her in the ass. Because in her short trip down the block, fifty years have passed. And everything she's known is gone. What does she do? What can she do? Open Novella Contest 2022

Sam runs into a classy lady in the elevator. He's immediately smitten, but before he can find the courage to talk to her, the elevator stops and all the lights go out. Who said that romance never began - or ended - with a bang? ;)

~ 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.

Keith hated school, and while having Shiro in his life now that he was enrolled in the garrison program was a plus, being seen as Shiro's favorite wasn't. And then, one day a new kid transfers in from the Japeanse garrison, one the other kids joke looks like Keith's identical twin brother, but the fact Keith looks like Ryo Shirogane - Shiro's younger brother - becomes a laughing matter, one Keith isn't to keen on. Disclaimer - I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender. This is written for ONC 2022, prompt 95. "They say that everyone has someone out there that looks like them, but what happens when you come face to face with the new kid in school that could pass as your identical twin?"

Daisy Eve has two crises - her heart is nearly broken by the love of her life, whom she can't seem to let go of, and she is a little slow when it comes to romance. So when the notorious Aelius Carter Hayes, the infamous best kisser, gets heartbroken on the same night, maybe they both can strike a deal to get back what's theirs. Perhaps, it takes more than just a kiss to fall in love. *** This story is part of ONC2022. *** Disclaimer: This story is exclusively published on Wattpad. If you see it somewhere else, please do inform me.

Naomi Grace has been anxiously waiting for the summer break to come. This is will be her first without Elijah Job. So, her summer will finally be drama free. Even when she loses her precious slam book that she always carries around the last day before the summer break, Naomi decides that she will definitely find it. She didn't want anything to ruin her summer even her slam book. When she gets back from school, she finds the slam book miraculously waiting for her on her bed, opened on a new page with a new entry with a very familiar handwriting. So much for a drama free summer. All rights reserved.

When a strange old woman comes to the village of Little Plimpton, her arrival sparks a conflict that could bring the entire population to the brink of war. And by 'war', read 'a series of petty grievances aired in public'. Humphrey, caught in the middle of the ensuing whirlwind of accusations, threats and mildly aggressive and/or violent actions, must try his utmost to bring Little Plimpton back to some semblance of serenity and, if he has his way, at least quiet. If only so he can read his newspaper in peace. A novella, written for #ONC2022. Based upon Prompt No. 6 and in the General Fiction category. Cover created in Canva, using a Pixabay stock picture.

To say Amare isn't from 'around here' would be the understatement of the century. But Cynthia Orvin doesn't quite know that yet - just as she doesn't know much about the story behind her parents' demise or why her mother's family seems to despise her. What she does know is that in her nearabout eighteen years of being, this is the first ever time she has found a friend. Maybe more than a friend. But Amare has come with a ton of secrets on his back - secrets that stand to both answer all of Cynthia's questions but also destroy the trust she has in him. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Lying curled up on the road before her, with nothing but his hands covering up his modesty, was a naked male. Her eyes involuntarily traced his muscled torso, the vast span of his dark olive to light brown skin which was coated with thick lumps of mud in places but seemed to carry no visible wounds. The ebony hair atop his head were coiled up in tight curls, as luscious as his thick eyebrows and the eyelashes fanned over his wide, curious eyes that housed the most brilliant cerulean irises she had ever seen. Given the youthful fullness to his cheeks and the vibrance of his coral lips, he looked not much older than her. Cynthia would have perused the individual longer, lost in her curiosity at his state, had he not cleared his throat to toss her out of her thoughts. His brow scrunched up and lips pursed down, before he opened his mouth with a sharply snapped, "I need to talk to a human." She stepped forward with a hand extended towards him. "Um. I am a human. Are you okay?" He looked her up and down, eyes brimming with amusement. Then very slowly shook his head. "No, you're not." What... on earth did that mean? ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ↪ 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 2022 | 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱◂

All Copyrights © are reserved and belong to me ST, aka @me_myself_and_books. "I already know how roses feel when you pull out their petals and scatter them. I used to think it was beautiful, and even romantic, but now I see how sad it really is. How cruel it is to leave them like that - with no hope to reunite again; to left them dry - alone, discarded, abandoned, shattered, just a faint resemblance to their former beauty. And I, I'm just like them, a shattered and abandoned _rose_, with no chance of ever regaining my wholeness." That's how this story began - with me getting my heart broken. Again! *** An ugly truth shatters the life Rose had built up, after fleeing from the past, showing her that the walls she had raised around herself were made out of straw and hay and only one strong gust of wind and they're already down. A letter brings back the past and intertwines it with the present in a last attempt to restore what it was or destroy it forever. And it is a love letter. A love letter that Rose once waited for, that now she had stopped dreaming of, and that could change everything, one way or another. The love letter Rose receives takes her on a path she never thought she would take, so to recreate the past or finally come to terms with it. But who sent it and why it turns out to be a more complex question than she ever thought.

ONC 2022 PROMPT - 88. (slightly altered) Last night was your first night on the uni campus. You went to the pub and ended up having a steamy kiss and a bit of a fight with a hottie. When your new roommate moved in today, though you discovered your roommate is someone so special to the hot bad boy you kissed that night. gay/bi/trans/asexual/aroace/bicuriouse/