Opennovellacontest2020 Stories

Gaara worked hard at putting together the pieces missing since Yashimaru's death, yet soon after becoming the next Kazekage of the village - one of his steps to piece together his life as the village's protector - he discovers a secret which changes everything. Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto. This is written for Open Novella 2020. The story is inspired by prompt number four, "when something tragic happens, it's often said we lose a piece of ourselves. How far would you go to find these lost parts of yourself in order to be whole again?"

Two aliens on the run, manage to bump into each other on a distant planet at just the right time. ✨~✨~✨ Liri Delaney, the only child of Dubrovn planetary moguls, is accused of murder. Scouring several solar systems to find the true murderer, she runs into trouble in New Seattle. Ardon Rowe, a sweet-talking High-Draconian hybrid, sees her plight and offers his unconventional services. The two find more trouble than they ever bargained for with wrongfully imprisoned Shape Shifters, military battleship chases, and needy lovers. Lustral: rite of purification. ✨ ONC 2020 Shortlister! ✨ ✨ Featured on: ✨ @Opennovellacontest shortlist 2020 @TheAmbys ~ Space Opera winner '22. @ScienceFiction ~ Galactic War @Ambassadors ~ Speculative Fiction @SpeculativeFiction ~ Breaking the Space Time Continuum. @BeyondSol ~ Andromeda Action/adventure @Readers Choice Awards 2020 winner. 👽 Lustral is the type of SciFi I adore. Strong characters, creative worlds and species, and a plot that keeps you at the edge of the seat and so many twists that will leave you dizzy. ~ @SallyMason1

Harriet Longdale had never believed in ghosts. Despite the stories that and the noises that plagued her daily life, she always thought ghosts to be nothing more than a mind trick. Whilst preparing for a trip to the theatre, Harriet finds herself over one-hundred years into the future with no way of knowing how to get home. Although she may not have believed in ghosts, she certainly didn't expect to become one. (C) Spruce_Goose

Six young adults with severe sleeping disorders go to a holistic sleep camp called Camp Hypnos. The bond developing between these ordinary heroes will be the start of a memorable summer in 1996, one that will put them at odds with an extraordinary killer. Prompts: #15, #56, #60, #40, #26 #4 #41 #43 #9 #63-ONC Entry 2020 Cover by @Amaboo *2nd Place in Short Story in The Hypergraphia Awards 2020 *1st Place in Paranormal in the Sassy Awards 2020 *1st Place Winner in Horror/Paranormal in The Mind-Blowing Awards 2020

[Prequel to Mismatched] A single kiss can change two lives forever. When Belinda Clarke attends a party in hopes of getting closer to her crush, things take an interesting turn. At the stroke of midnight, with fireworks as a backdrop, she receives a kiss, one she swears she will never forget. Known for his charm and easy-going personality, Jace Leighton is the most popular guy in school and the man of Belinda's dreams. When sparks fly, their relationship shifts from what she calls friendly acquaintances, neither strangers nor close friends, to something more. With a shared love for food, the two hit it off immediately. Unbeknownst to many, Belinda has a dark past, one that keeps her from putting all her love and trust in anyone. With the support of her best friend Yvette and the sincerity of Jace, she tries to overcome her fears and decides to take a leap of faith. Ending up with your first love is one in a million. As the two face challenges along the way, they learn from their experiences and grow, hopefully together. *** [Open Novella Contest 2020] Prompt #67: Well, that was a New Year's Eve kiss you won't forget anytime soon. Started: 24 February 2020 Completed: 29 May 2020

(ONC Round Two Qualifier) Holly is dead and it's Dixon's fault. Unfortunately for Holly, it's not the first time she's died. A story that involves history, biology, time travel and an incompetent guardian angel with an atrociously messy desk.

17-year-old Alice Miller finds an extraordinary book which is an autobiography of a serial killer who describes how they murdered 7 people who were the cause of the demolition and disruption of the arc of their life. Things become unpleasant when the author turns out to be Alice herself, and the victims are her bullies. If Alice is not the murderer, then who is? Through confusion, chaos, and care, Alice finds deep truths about herself and her future. Edited by: @PastelsAndPeace Written for Open Novella Contest 2020 using prompt 52.

[Sequel to Sparks Fly] At the sound of the words "soulmate" or "love", Belinda Clarke can't help but scoff. Having been hurt by someone she trusts, Belinda has lost faith in love. As far as she is concerned, soulmates do not exist. Not anymore. Under the persuasion of her best friend, Belinda downloads a trending dating app that promises to find people their soulmates, treating it as a game. To her horror, she finds herself matched with the person she hates the most: her ex-boyfriend, Jace Leighton. Five years ago, Jace made his life's biggest mistake of breaking his girlfriend's heart into a million pieces. They have since lost contact with each other, and he has lost all hopes of reuniting with her. By a stroke of luck, he meets her again online. This time, Jace is determined not to let such an amazing girl go. Trust takes time and effort to build, but once broken, it takes even longer to mend. He loves her, but she hates him. Whether they can sort out their differences remains a question. *** [Open Novella Contest 2020] Prompt #66: GameSetMatch, a new dating app/game that promises to find you your soulmate, matches you with the one ex you hate and who dumped you in a way you'll always remember. Started: 17 February 2020 Completed: 6 May 2020

Christine was just a small-town psychic detective telling fortunes and helping the police locate missing persons when world-renowned archeologist Charles Debois appeared with an unusual job offer-join his team as a psychic archeologist. The catch, she had to keep her talents a secret. Now she finds herself chasing after an elusive treasure that should never see the light of day. Will they listen to her and turn back before its too late? Not likely. #OpenNovellaContest2020

Sebastian struggled most of his life with social interactions. As such, he struggled when his childhood friend's decision to move back to Stardew Valley, yet when he finally attempts confronting Yuki regarding his feelings, things don't go as plan. Specifically, this pushes forward his plans on leaving Stardew Valley even though the only place he can go is the apartment of his younger half-brother he's not spoken to for a long time, nor does it feel like he can put the pieces back together. Disclaimer - I don't own Stardew Valley. This is written for Open Novella 2020. I picked prompt sixty one, "after being jilted, you move to the city to hide your embarrassment, lick your wounds and start afresh."

Searching through the 50 cent bin at her therapist's bookstore, Cynthia Young found a book entitled "Confessions of a Serial Killer." Except it was her name on the cover. *** Open Novella Contest 2020 Shortlister

Ambassador's Pick and Longlisted entry for the Open Novella Contest. Famous author Serena Scarlet will do anything to defeat writer's block and get her novel written. When she visits a clinic that claims to cure writer's block, she gets transported inside her unfinished book. Trapped in her story, with most of her characters trying to kill her and nothing going the way she'd planned, she has to figure out how to escape her own writing-- before it's too late. Cover by @diwatera.

🌺🌺🌺 Cyrus can't remember anything about himself. Waking up in a healer's room, he only has the unsettling feeling that something was not right, and he didn't know how to fix it. And he might not get the chance to, because whoever he was before, had an assassin sent out to kill him. Now he's running for his life, away from the assassin and towards an even more dangerous foe. To unravel what's true and what's a lie, Cyrus will have to find his past. His memories were damaged, and the only hope of healing them is the Cloud Kingdom, the place of forgotten dreams and lost memories. It's a journey of rediscovering love, finding what has been lost, and losing what has been found. 🌺🌺🌺 This is my novella for the Open Novella Contest 2020. This is also my first time doing this kind of contest, and I wish all the participants the best of luck! DISCLAIMER: None of the pictures belong to me! 🌺🌺🌺 Beautiful cover done by @infinitecovers!!

In a small French kingdom where love is but a fairytale, and winning the lottery is anything but lucky, Elina Rainier finds herself the newest winner. A mysterious prince has been seeking to find himself a bride for over a century, with little success. No woman has been a good match and none who are chosen are ever heard from again. There are rumors of the fate of each bride he takes, and the people of the kingdom are left wondering if he'll ever find the perfect bride from this twisted game. Determined and unafraid, Elina knows that if she cannot win his heart, then she is the only one who can put an end to this game once and for all. But what if he isn't the monster everyone thinks he is? What if love isn't just a fairytale?

Jazmin Perkins struggles to deal with the nightmarish memories of the terrible accident that took her friend's life. Even her friend's ghostly presence seems to haunt Jazmin daily as a guilty reminder. When she ends up in peril, Jazmin finds an unlikely hero in Ruben Portalatin, a new student who seems to appear out of nowhere. However, that's not the only strange thing about him. Although he keeps his past a mystery, Jazmin can't deny the fact that they have a strong connection or that he knows how to help her control the haunting visions. Things become more confusing when Ruben disappears and no one but her can remember him. Now Jazmin is determined to learn the truth about Ruben and prove that she's not crazy.

*03/03/2020 - 𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙄𝙎𝘾𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙁𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏* _̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲ Everybody at Black Hill knows about the lake by the old house. They know never to let an open wound bleed out in the murky waters. Never to take their eyes off the pine trees lining the banks. Then Annalise Madigan moves in, and she can't believe her luck when the popular kids invite her for a swim in the lake. But when she dives under the depths of the water, her life unravels. After swimming up, 2 months have passed and her new friends lie dead on the surface. As time goes on, Annalise can't keep track of the days, losing hours where she's unable to remember what she's done. And there's always a trail of dead kids on the water behind her. Drawn into a mystery of dark creatures and police investigations, Annalise must find out what happened at the bottom of the lake that night. Or else risk losing her soul forever. _̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲_̲ ONC 2020 Entry

Now available on Amazon as The Love Challenge in its entirety. Check it out here https://www.amazon.com/Love-Challenge-Tara-K-Rafacz-ebook. Delia knows she needs to make some drastic changes in her life. After a bad breakup, and a revelation from the universe, she seeks to heal herself and focus on her needs. With that, she declares to the dating app her sister put her on that she can't fall in love anymore. Of course, when the app is owned and run by the Goddess of Love, Passion, Seduction, Beauty and Procreation, things can get difficult. But then, when Aphrodite sees and challenge and offers a rebuttal, its probably better to go along with it. The real twist is that maybe the creation force of the universe has other plans. open novella contest 2020

Kit Marra is a nomad, directionless and free-spirited. After leaving Burning Man Festival with her latest fling, she finds a temporary home on an old ranch modified into an artist's commune. Soon after her arrival, Kit begins to see troubling visions of the ranch's dark past and the carefree inhabitants take on dark affectations. Could her presence alone have triggered the haunting? Also available on iTunes and Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Shade-Audiobook/B09FR5ZYM8 #OpenNovellaContest2020 Inspired by Prompt 40 Horror/Paranormal

When Deidre trips and hits her head at work, she's knocked unconscious. However, when she comes to, she's no longer at the diner. Instead, she wakes up in some sort of pod with a voice reassuring her that the Simulation has crashed and will start up momentarily. Minutes later, she's back in the diner with a nasty concussion. After her experience, Deidre begins to wonder if there's more to the life she's grown to know. Enter Calum Prince, who lives states away and also woke up outside of the "Simulation". When these two young adults find each other by chance, they decide to join forces figure everything out and wake up for good, going against everything they'd been taught to know and believe.