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An introverted, recluse gamer accidentally finds out she's the reincarnation of a Greek god/goddess, and is stuck in a world-altering time-loop until she figures out WHICH god/goddess she's destined to become. Ophelia Jones is...well, she's nothing. She asks for nothing. She WANTS nothing. Just to stay in her dark basement-apartment, do her mindless data-entering job by day, play video games by night. She refuses to participate in a real social life, and won't read the news or be active in the LGTBQIA+ scene that she belongs in. No, Ophelia is done giving a sh**. She'd rather live in her fantasy world, ignoring the real world around her. That is, until a mysterious puddle surfaces in her backyard, and she jokingly wonders if it'll be a portal to another world, someplace better - and she falls into it. Oh, she's transported to a new world, all right -- but not a parallel world or an alternate universe. She's transported to the past; into mythology, specifically. Greek mythology, to be even more exact. Because according to Alfie, her "spiritual guide", she's a reincarnated god or goddess, and has to figure out who. Problem? SHE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY. ONC prompts 37 + 5

EVEN DEATH DIES, women's thriller in a dystopia. Controlling all the minds makes Dax the perfect easy prey. She knows it and doesn't let anyone get too close to her family. One night, her twins are strangely blasted; Telio resurrected but needs a new heart. The army can supply this artificial implant but its colonel wants to know her secrets and control them. Because of dangerously quantum apps, a pandemic of fatal neurodegenerative diseases had killed almost all the population. People are now forced to wear a quantum membrane placed directly on the brain to care for it, the topcortex. This membrane allows government to exploit them and reduce them to their work, treated as nothing more than a set of arms. Dax is in charge of the configuration of the topcortex. The army produces the implants which are its main source of income. Dax is very brave and selfless. She tries to reduce the award procedure to people to free them. If she succeeds, this can annihilate the army. Its chief Colonel Monarc needs to neutralize Dax. To reach his objective, Monarc destroys experimental results, aspirates thoughts of the ruling class with his topcortex, kills a famous astronaut and destroys his heart given to replace Telio's. Monarc wants to impose on Dax an artificial heart for Telio. By controlling the cardiac implant of Telio, Monarc will dominate Dax. Dax changes the rules of the game and will pay the ultimate sacrifice even if she unveils her secret. EVEN DEATH DIES is a thriller that unfolds in Resurgence, a totalitarian and theocratic state that has replaced the United States of America.

They were born from the stars, but the world refuses to let them stay. It has been three years since the Genesis Flares, the solar phenomenon that gave birth to Astrans: beings with abilities beyond human comprehension. Some see them as miracles, others as abominations but to those in power, they are a threat that must be controlled, exploited, or eradicated. Fear spreads like wildfire, and war is inevitable. Among the displaced and the hunted, a survivor fights to carve out a future for her people, refusing to let them be erased from history. By her side stands the one who saved her, a sister in all but blood, a friend who has vowed to protect her, even if it means keeping dangerous secrets. As alliances fracture and loyalties are tested, they must navigate a world that has already decided what they are: enemies. In the heart of the conflict, two minds once dedicated to progress now wrestle with the weight of their own creations. One, a scientist bound by failing health, seeks to undo the greatest mistake of his life before time runs out. The other, an engineer thrust unwillingly into war, struggles between duty, regret, and the burden of being the only one left to fight. Lines blur between vengeance and justice, survival and sacrifice. The choices they make will determine not only the outcome of the war but the future of the Astrans themselves. Before the war, before the fear, they were all the same. They were all stardust once.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a magical world? Well, twenty year old Astra Holister sure as heck hasn't. She didn't believe in magical beings or anything related to that. But one day she finds herself lost in a creek, literally, and has to face a whole lot of magical things. As she was walking in the woods one beautiful day, she stumbles across a creek. Astra let her childish instincts take over and she decides to jump in. And instead of landing on solid ground, she falls through the creek. Little did she know that this creek, along others scattered across Earth, is a portal to this magic world called Morastar. Morastar is a world filled with magic mushrooms, poisonous forests, talking animals, and of course, corrupt monarchies. There are five kingdoms in Morastar, each one ruled by a descendant of the first king. But the kingdom Astra finds herself in is ruled by a horrible tyrant. Everyone thinks he's the best, but that's only because he's brainwashed them. As Astra tries to find her place in this new world, she finds her closest friend, Jake Thurston, a huge help. He helps her through what she needs and tries to sooth her troubles. Astra doesn't know just how much of a good friend Jake is until Leo Chaffman, Astra's best friend and crush from Earth, shows his face in Morastar. Filled with twists and turns and betrayals, Astra ventures on a chaotic journey with confusing feelings. Only question is, will she ever make it home? Or will she be stuck with the tyrant everyone adores and his "evil" brother?

• • • • • • She knew it from the very beginning. And the disappearance of Cory's parents just proved it. The city she lived in wasn't kind and the building at the center of it all, Hale, teemed with secrets Cory was desperate to know. She didn't believe her parents were dead. They were out there somewhere, and all signs pointed to the colossal structure looming over the citizens of the city. In the year 2080, a lot is possible. Deceased civilians' memories are extracted in Hale. For the greater good, everyone says. And everyone believes. But when Cory stumbles upon a group of thieves, she has no choice but to set off on a journey with them to discover what is going on and where her parents are. However, she soon realizes the city she lived in all her life is filled with more evil than she anticipated. • • • • • • © retropolis

Tristan is a Quiz Bowl star. Vyrsa is from the stars. But is their interstellar romance written in the stars? *** Following a successful heist on a rival planet, Princess Vyrsa just needs to step through the Portal of Wishes to be brought straight back to her home planet Isola. But when Vyrsa steps through the portal, she finds herself on Earth, a primitive planet in a forgotten corner of the universe, with no means to return home. After having spent the night studying for an upcoming Astronomy test, galaxies, planets, and asteroids are on Tristan Conway's mind as he drifts into dreams. So he's unfazed when a strange glittering woman suddenly appears in his dorm room, convinced she's nothing but a figment of his imagination. When he finds her in his kitchen the next morning, eating his textbooks and befriending his cat, he's not so sure anymore. With no fancy alien tech at her disposal, Vyrsa will need Tristan's help to return to her faraway home planet. Ecstatic to be part of a plot reminiscent of the space movies he loves, Tristan throws himself wholeheartedly into the mission. After studies of possible fuel sources turn into Netflix binging beside her endearing host, Vyrsa's resolve to leave weakens. Maybe she'll just stay with Tristan a little bit longer... Surely nothing bad could come from it? Unless the owners of the artifact she stole figure out where she went and decides to obliterate the whole planet where she's hiding just to punish her, of course. *** This is an ONC Novella using prompt #18: You step through a magical portal thinking it's the way back home, but what you find isn't what you expected. This story is completed.

Elodie's life changes at the turn of a doorknob when she is forced into joining a secret organization that claims to be protecting the Earth from aliens. But with every step she takes, she finds the organization, or the facility, as they call it, becoming more and more suspicious. When a mysterious death occurs, revealing a well-concealed secret, things quickly go downhill as humanity's future is placed on the shoulders of a single gaggle of teenagers. *** I hear a sigh from the other side of the door, "Miss. Chaucer, you have a wonderful opportunity here, are you going to take it or not?" Now, I am seriously confused, "Opportunity?" She takes advantage of my befuddled state and shoves the door open. Shit. The corners of her mouth pull up, and it's so unnatural, it takes me a moment to realize she's smiling. Major plastic surgery? Probably. Click. Did she just lock the door? She locked the door! I spring towards the house phone, dusty from years of doing absolutely nothing, so I can call the police. I don't make it. Halfway there, I trip on my own pant-leg and face plant on the floor. The woman steps over me and retrieves the phone. She looks at it as if it's a foreign object, "This won't be necessary. All I want to do is talk to you." For some reason, instead of screaming, I stay silent. She smiles and pulls out a chair from the kitchen table for me to sit on. When I don't sit, she says, "If you want to know what's going on, then sit." I think about it for a moment. She hasn't hurt me yet, and I have to admit, I am quite curious as to what's going on. So, call me stupid, but I sit down. "I am from a space organization that protects civilians from . . . outside threats." *** Beautiful cover made by @mahana258! HR: 203 in science fiction (5/8/18) Completed on August 15th, 2018 (Indian independence day!) **This is not a zombie novel

Aria is on top of her game. Putting away criminals, closing cases, she is smart, tenacious, and ambitious. As a detective with the NYPD, she is putting in the hours and working diligently towards a promotion. Only instead of a new title, she finds herself transported into the future where death is not the end, but merely a transition into virtual reality. Now in the year 3000, Aria is immersed in a new type of case where the victim of a grisly murder can still provide some clues to help catch the perpetrator through his consciousness. Worse yet, as Aria delves deeper into the investigation, she finds herself falling in love with a mysterious man named Ayden. Nothing is as it seems in this new world where reality can be augmented and the truth may be hiding in plain sight. As Aria and Ayden grow closer, the looming shadow of the murderer threatens everything they have come to care for. Aria must use her skills of deduction to unravel the truth and bring justice to the victim while saving the man she loves. -------------------------------------- ONC2023 Prompt 82. In a future where humans have the ability to upload their consciousness into virtual reality at the time of their death, a detective must solve a murder case in both the virtual and physical world as the victim's consciousness may still exist in the virtual world and hold the key to solving the crime.

When Planet Saruta is destroyed. A nineteen year old, young woman named Astra, along with twenty-five other survivors, including her Mother, seek refugee on Planet Earth. Once the United States hears the alarming news of an unidentified space craft entering the Earth's atmosphere they prepare to take all those onboard captive once the ship has landed. As you read The Golden Keepers, you will discover the powers that Astra absorbs as her body adjusts to Earth. Astra struggles with her feelings of not fitting in with the humans. As she tries to control her anxiety and gain more self confidence things start to take a turn. When one of her own gets caught up and obsessed with his powers. He begins to build an army in attempt to take over the world, starting with the United States. Knowing that she has the powers and strength to defeat him. She realizes that she must come to a decision on whether she will step up to protect the Earth, accepting who she was born to be or stay hidden away with her Mother. Continuing to blend in with the others. Follow Astra into her life as she discovers who she is and who she wants to be. Find out who the three members of the Golden Keepers are and what part they play in the novel. Feel Astra's frustrations as she falls for two different guys. And embrace the loving bond and friendship she has with her Mother.

**COMPLETED** Several years after the world succumbed to a deadly strain of measles that turned those infected into crazed, mindless cannibals, Charlotte wanders the backroads alone, content with surviving day-to-day. That is until she crosses paths with Nate and his daughter, Emmi. Emmi is not and cannot be vaccinated against the disease, so the only way to protect her and give her some kind of life is to reunite her with her estranged mother in a quarantine zone on the other side of the country. Charlotte wants nothing to do with Nate or the girl who looks like her dead sister. She does not want to go through the grief of losing people again if something bad was to happen. And something bad does happen when Emmi is kidnapped, and it is no one's fault but Charlotte's. Through this obligation alone, Charlotte feels like it is her responsibility to get Emmi back, to right her wrong. In helping Nate pursue his kidnapped daughter, Charlotte inadvertently allows herself to feel again, to care for those other than herself. But with the clock ticking, Charlotte's new found family may just end up like her own, dead and destroyed, if Emmi is exposed to the disease that her father tried so hard to protect her from.