An ONC shortlister! The long-forgotten god of chaos awakes when a small child drops a piece of candy onto his altar, unwittingly becoming the high priest of chaos. The god is beholden to his priest and his priest's people--AKA: his kindergarten classmates. The children are all-too-delighted to serve the whims of mayhem until the chaos becomes too much, even for them. They forbid the god from using his power. But when disaster strikes and the whole school is in danger, a bit of bedlam might be the only thing that can save the children, the town, and the god's budding romance with a schoolteacher. Based on the Open Novella Contest 2023 prompt: #73 - You are a long-forgotten god. A small kid leaves candy at your shrine and you awaken. Now, you must do everything to protect your High Priest/Priestess, the kid, and their entire kindergarten class, your worshippers. #ONC2023 #OpenNovellaContest

[ONC 2023 SHORTLISTER] Prompt 63: A rivalry between two coworkers has unforeseen consequences. *** Down on her luck with a string of 12 unfateful heartbreaks following her, twenty-six-year-old Cate Miller, having accepted herself as a 21st Century spinster is satisfied being one of the best editors in a successful publishing startup, Pages Unbound. Her only problem in life? Her coworker Ryle Davis, owner of a gorgeous body and her rival for the managerial position that she has worked her ass off for three years. When an unfortunate incident during one of their fights leads to their boss being hospitalized, Cate and Ryle are placed in a difficult position - either prove in one month that they can move past their hatred and be friends or say bye to the promotion. In order to save her dreams from crushing, Cate accepts Ryle's offer for a new start between them. But soon she finds out that getting to know her rival closely might make her ultimate fear come true - one of her 13th heartbreak. [Previously titled 'Love Rivals']

Evelynn Alters is a young woman working hard to make her way in the world. Whether by choice or bad luck, she flits from place to place and job to job. To others, she is a bit of an outcast; an introvert who excels in whatever she attempts, but never sticks around long enough to achieve real success. But who is she - really? Determined. Adaptable. Coy. A fire burns inside of her, cold and calculated. Everything she does holds purpose; a soul that will only rest in victory. When a series of opportunities are born from a seemingly benign acquaintance, Evelynn is forced to question whether life runs on a linear trajectory or something more complex. Presuming her free will steers her fate, she is unwittingly cast into a world of secrecy and deceit; an existence where no one is who they seem, and everyone endeavors to elude their own fate.

Deep in the Bavarian woods, where the faerie realm touches on the human world lies Schloss Mondschein. Owned by a corrupted human family, the castle is the playground of the Fae. The human staff are their toys. Servant's daughter Andromeda Arendt has watched their cruel antics her entire life. From the shadows, she witnessed the humiliation and abuse of her parents, leading to her mother's death and her father's insanity. At twenty-one, she's ready for revenge. In support of the human rebellion, she takes on the task of shooting the Fae Ambassador in the back, but North Winterborn has been warned. He glamours her, tosses her into a flying shifter dogsled and whisks her away to Faerie Hawthrone, the epicenter of Fae power, where she quickly learns that there are worse places for humans to end up in than Mondschein castle, that her parents are not who they said they were, and that perhaps she has a shot at getting them back. Surprisingly, North Winterborn appears not to be the worst guy to have around while navigating this new reality, but can a Fae ever truly be trusted? Mature rating because of course language, some violence, explicit sex scenes (strictly consensual) ONC2023 Prompt 33 ONC2023 Shortlister Featured on NARomance ~ Love and Faerytales Featured on Fantasy - Romantasy Featured on Romance - Strange Love The Cruel Prince X Carnival Row 1 #intrigue march 26 '23 21 #faerie june 12 '23 no

Four strangers are trapped in an elevator and forced to reveal details about their most malicious deeds within the hour to prevent a fall to their death. But as secrets are exposed, tension escalates, leading to a reality no one is prepared for. ***** Tasha Pierce receives an anonymous invitation she believes is from her ex-boyfriend hoping to see her in the high-rise building where he resides. But upon ascending in the elevator with three strangers, one of them hits the emergency stop and demands they share details of their most malicious deed within the hour to prevent falling several stories to their death. As secrets are revealed and the hour closes in, who the people are and why they are trapped in a precarious elevator together soon becomes the least of her worries. ***** ONC Prompt 56: You are on a typical awkward elevator ride with a group of other people, and suddenly someone says, "So, I bet you are wondering why I've gathered you here," before hitting the emergency button. ***** | ONC 2023 Round 1 Ambassadors Pick | Copyright©2023 by L.L. Sanders

It's referred to by several names: the ghost frequency, the haunted frequency, the fear infrasound. You can't hear sound at 18.98 hertz, but your body feels it, and when it does, some believe you've opened yourself to the world of the supernatural. Liv used to believe the ghost frequency was real, and so did her friend, Helina. While Liv came to shun this notion, Helina went in the opposite direction, becoming obsessed with using the ghost frequency to access a paranormal plane of existence. Now, Helina has gone missing, and her brother, Graham is convinced the ghost frequency has something to do with it... and Liv is the only one who can find her. Liv agrees to help Graham search for his sister, but she brings with her memories of a fraught relationship and a great and unforgiveable harm done-a harm so deeply scarring, she's willing to do something terrible to gain revenge, even if it means losing Helina, and even herself, forever.

Determined and quick thinking, Amelia Conti is okay on her own. She's also an expert in outdoor sports. So when her boss offers her the winter hike of a lifetime, she says yes even before she knows who she'll be guiding. Or how much it will pay. If she'd taken the time to research the man who bought the last-minute premium tour, a demanding CEO named Damien Serrano, she might have reconsidered her answer. Well, maybe not. It is an absurd amount of money. He's grumpy to her sunshine, Christmas-lover to her Christmas dread, and the kind of man used to getting what he wants. Arrogance might work in a boardroom, but on the side of a mountain in the middle of winter, it's a hazard. If Damien can't learn to relinquish some control, they might not make it to the end of the hike alive. But everything comes to a head when an unexpected weather event pushes them even closer together. Water meets fire and something has to give. The question is, who will bend first? ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the novellas I'm writing for ONC 2023. You can find the rest on my profile! This story is based primarily on prompt 13. "You were at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and now you are running for your life!"

| 𝟳𝘅 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗗 ·|| HUNGER GAMES x CINDER || ONC 2023 Honorable Mention Amidst the escalating unrest between the windborne utopian city of Lighthaven and its seedy, oppressed underbelly Fumedge, the Grand Duke of Lighthaven, Lucius Sextus, comes up with an ingenious solution. To provide much-wanted respite from the brewing conflict, and achieve the apparent-if-temporary unity, he organizes Gaslight Trials - a highly entertaining panem-et-circenses combat event in the Pits. The combatants may use all steam and thaumaturgy powered augmentations at their disposal, and there is only one rule: defeat, or be defeated. The reward for the last one standing? A chance to start their life anew. A brass key to the city of Lighthaven with a luxurious mansion to call their own within, as well as an aeroship to command. When eighteen-year-old Veda Igglesden steps forward to take her timeworn adoptive father's place in the fight, she might as well be signing her death-sentence. With her eyes fully set on the prize, act-first-think-later Veda must harness the power of technology to try and win for her Papa Otto. Decades of breathing in the toxic air of Fumedge did a number on the old inventor's lungs, and being able to live in the air-filtered Lighthaven would sure come in handy right about now. A high-flying adventure full of gadgetry and intrigue; a pleasing blend of steampunk and postapocalyptic. See Veda unravel the mysterious ploy behind the game's organization, and uncover the truth about her secret origins. Can she cope both with the trials of physical and intellectual prowess, as well as with the trials of life itself: those of love, loss and regret? © 2023 EvelynHail Exclusively on Wattpad Based on prompt 49! Which is (I shan't leave ye hanging :P): "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can." Michael Scott, "The Sorceress" Get ready for steampunkish tinkering,

Harley Sinclair finds herself attracted to bad boys. Not only do tattoos and motorcycles attract her, but she loves a walking red flag. Does he have a bad temper? Sexy. Does he tell white lies? Mysterious. Wears his baseball cap backward? Hot. Wilder Sharp is full of these warnings, and Harley is counting every single one. He's charming, cunning, and manipulative; however, he is always on her mind. He might be everything her mother warned her about, but the sex is too good to let him go. In her mind, she can change him, but that is an impossible task. Knowing Wilder is a nightmare is not enough to keep Harley from this gorgeous toxic man. ----- Open Novella Contest 2023 entry Prompt 51: The problem with red flags is that I'm attracted to them

SHORTLISTED. Paul Finn wakes to discover that not only is he feeling horribly sick but, more worryingly, the naked stranger in his bed isn't moving. If only he could remember what happened... My story for the ONC 2023, a thriller scifi adventure, with a touch of romance. (SciFi /Adventure / LGBT)