Glass Chains: Warding Gait Book I (#5)

NicoleHayes | romance | Complete

The fifth book in the Vast Collective Series begins Sagan Sterling's trilogy and her quest for a vice lord named Razor. Two years after the events of Volcano Day, Sagan Sterling, General of the Two Worlds' Armies, misses her boyfriend and her best friend. The former serves his sentence on a prison planet for war crimes. The latter sleeps in a machine that bridges the Two Worlds together for the next fifty years. Before the big nap, King Rayne had entrusted Sagan with a mission on Gait, where Korac serves his time. Knock out two birds with one stone, right? Not exactly. The mission involves extracting information from the infamous Pain Curator, Razor. It proves more difficult than first predicted as he seeks more of Sagan with each encounter. Meanwhile, Imminent, a galaxy-wide terrorist organization, plots against the Shadow. Striking vital and secret locations, their attacks leave the Seamswalker exhausted and frazzled. As the enemy weakens the Progeny's leadership on Earth and their relationship with the Tritans, is Sagan making a beneficial ally of Razor or falling deeper into his world of vice and pain?

48.51 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:20

Playtime's Consequences

ulatekh | satire | Complete

The anarchist rioters and flaky deadbeats thought their juvenile rebellion had succeeded...until the grownups arrived. Then they sullenly realized playtime was over. I first released this novel in September 2021. Unsettlingly, it's only become more true since then. Available on Amazon. Master fiction list here.

43.97 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:18

The Last Topaz

DisheveledVagabond | action | Complete

The story of two interlacing characters, Vivian and Lynn, studying at a prestigious library that overlooks an abandoned city of secrets. One, a Natural Mystic and gifted everything. The other, half a corpse struggling for vengeance.

44.41 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 17:53

The Errant Otherworlder

The Cabbage Preacher | historical | Complete

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and trucks whom transport men to other worlds." Meet our titular protagonist Haruto Watanabe, a man who has all the markings of a good protagonist for a generic portal fantasy story. As an overworked office worker, to escape from the grips of crippling capitalist alienation, he had taken up to reading many stories where young men like him were transported to other worlds and enjoyed their lives at a most leisurely pace. Armed with genre-awareness and (what he believes to be) a marketable personality which would make him an easy audience self-insert, he longed for the day the isekai express would take him to his long-awaited adventure to another world. When the fateful day came, where the fair yet harsh mistress that is the fabled truck took Watanabe on one last date to the other side, he was most ready to escape his previous life, ready to embark on an errant so great he'd be most overpowered, his heroics so exceptional and his harem so vast that they would barely fit ten or twenty volumes of an overly long novel made by a desperate author looking for quick cash. Lo and behold however, Watanabe instead found himself in a low fantasy world which lacked severely in the department of any game-like systems, cheat skills or easily charmed damsels in distress. In a setting so antithetical to his established genre savviness or any attempts at power fantasy, how will a man like Watanabe, lacking in strength, wits and courage, manage to survive in a land most foreign to him? The Errant Otherworlder is on indefinite hiatus until the John Brown Isekai is finished.

36.12 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:39

Hyperstitious

Doctor Zero | mystery | Complete

Xan is the world's most dangerous criminal mastermind. He's also in hiding and completely broke. That's fine. He's between master plans. It's normal to be at rock bottom between master plans. He also forgets stuff and may be trapped in a dream. Because at night, Xan thinks he's an old lady, trapped in a dingy apartment, by an angry fellow who wants to kill her. Not her idea of a good time, but she's keeping an open mind. It is excitingly visceral. Could turn out awesome. Hyperstitiousis a sci-fi, progression, comedy. Guaranteed to cause more mental problems than it solves.

36.21 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:50

The Impossible Sister

DWS | contemporary | On going

Hideki is a young man who lives with his grandmother after the loss of his parents. Despite the tragedy he finds simple pleasures in his everyday school life and playing with the music club, of which he is a member. He greatly admires the council president, Reina, who he meets in the corridors after school. Hideki's life is turned upside down once again and he finds himself drifting with nowhere to go. Reina offers him a chance, an evening meeting between the two of them leads to Hideki taking on an entirely new life as her second sister, Miyako. But not everything is as it seems - and accepting the mercy of another isn't always easy.

30.81 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-02 15:00

Old Tales Worth Retelling

Mad Sadie | historical | Complete

Most people grew up hearing fairy tales and fables. They're such a part of our cultures that Cinderella has a two-part definition in the Oxford Dictionary, and if someone name-drops Robin Hood everyone instantly knows what they mean. These stories have been told and re-told for literally centuries. In some cases millenniums. So I'm gonna tell them again. Not to "update" them, or because I think I can improve them, but just because I can. Why not. And fair warning: the style of these retellings will be "ditzy catgirl with attention-span problems". I'm not taking these tales seriously, I'm just having fun. Most of these stories will be from HC Andersen, Grimm Bros, or Arabian Nights, because those are the ones I'm most familiar with. If anyone has a specific story they think needs more love, let me know and I'll try to include it! Back when these tales were first penned, "word count" was a foreign concept. So chapter length will probably vary wildly. Sorry. Participant in the Royal Road Writathon.

30.14 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:45

Very Yummy Poison

Doctor Zero | psychological | Complete

The human brain is the most valuable resource on Earth. But only if you use it. You can't just pile them in your basement. Doesn't work. Candy is the Guardian of Humanity. It's not going well, but she's cautiously optimistic. A chatbot has destroyed the economy by being better at white collar jobs than hung over dudes. Candy has a plan to fix that. The government wants to send half the population to debt prison. Candy has a plan to fix that. Several super weapons have been stolen, and are turning up in the hands of desperate people. Candy has no plan for that. She's working on it. Very Yummy Poisonis a near future, science fiction, romantic comedy, political psychodrama. It's fun. Try it.

48.79 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 13:32

Flowers Rain Upon Them (Tragic High Fantasy)

Lack of Poochline | tragedy | Complete

Terus doesn't exist. He breathes, speaks, and walks. He learns. He thinks. Yet he is not. Dreamed to life by a slumbering dragon, Terus and the rest of Cirruin's dreams inhabit Ludlun, a settlement that shares their nature. They exist solely for the old dragon to destroy the town and revive his glory days, again and again. Yet, one day, an unusual man arrives to the town, igniting Terus' desire to know more about the people that "move like pebbles rolling down a hillside", leading him to venture outside of the dream-town and into a city that couldn't be more real. In this city, he will try to become a bit more like the man he is supposed to incarnate and less like the dragon that dreams about him. This, of course, without forgetting that he should always care not to turn Cirruin's dreams into nightmares, and that the dreams of a dragon's dream are a dragon's dream all the same...[This fiction participates in the Royal Road Writathon challenge of April, 2023] (A milliard thanks to DragonOfRochester for the new cover! The aforementioned created the typography and applied it to a base image made with the Midjourney software.)

30.30 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-02 15:05

The Living Dragon

IcedFairy | adventure | Complete

The Immigrant Realm. A crossroads between magical domains. A place where heroes from the Greek legends, fairies from Avalon, and youkai from the Realms of Illusion, can meet, trade, and hide from people who want them dead. Exiled witch Helena Aoede falls in the last group, having fled her home in Thebes after angering Apollo. Now she lives in the ghetto, trying to scrape together rent money. So when she's called on to help solve a supernatural murder case, she leaps at the chance. But what was supposed to be a simple consultation rapidly escalates into a blood feud with the 'Living Dragon,' a magician backed by an unstoppable undead monster. Now she's caught in a magical gang war, with only a clueless undead martial artist as backup. Life was so much easier when she could just turn people into pigs.

44.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:42

Club Novus

randallcooper | mystery | Complete

Six people go missing many months apart in the small town of Wilton, Indiana. The FBI gets involved once it is discovered the bodies have all been drained of blood. Edward Wright, an agent specializing in missing persons, is assigned to the case. Everything in Wilton seems normal at first, but as Edward spends more time investigating he uncovers dark secrets no one would ever believe.

43.37 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 14:06

Touch O' Luck (The Old Realms)

GrimDux | historical | Complete

A young provincial thief of no particular renown has his life of crime changed in a day. He stumbles' upon a huge pile of gold for starters and soon after a dead man carrying a letter of 'royal' interest. Literally. While at it he earns' a title of sorts, along the promise of a life out of the gutter. Before he can properly appreciate the dramatic turn of his fortunes, he's drawn into a dangerous conspiracy that threatens to embroil two continents in a devastating war. The whole affair seems to cry out for a gallant hero of old, or failing that a cunning diplomat, but he's neither. Perhaps a lying scoundrel, which our lad definitely is, would have to suffice. He does acquire' a dagger that knows a dead language after all and that must count for something. Touch O' Luck is the prologue (or opening act) to the Old Realms series of novels The Old Realms series: Touch O' Luck (Finished) Hint O' Magic (Finished) Lure O' War (Finished) Wings O' Fate (Ongoing) First chapters will be uploaded immediately. After that there will be updates every 3-5 days. Cover artwork by @IntheBlackveil Maps of the Old Realms are available here Greater Map of the Realms this is a very large image (thrice reduced in size from original, but still it might not load immediately) The Old Realms - Chapter specific maps The Old Realms All tags are relevant but most chapters are not too extreme. Fair warning dear reader, this is an 'unfiltered' story, sometimes sweet, others bitter, touching some heavy subjects or problems, like crime, war, betrayal, pride, politics, revenge etc set in a Epic Fantasy backdrop with shades of Grimdark. In its heart of hearts though, it is an adventure. The Old Realms saga is only published on RR for free. It is in the author's plans to publish it on Amazon and other platforms at some point. If you see it offered anywhere else, or someone tries to charge you for it, please report him. It is illegal to sell, or take advantage of intellectual work without the author's permission.

49.95 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:19

The Spell Struck Convenience Store.

Spleen23 | contemporary | Complete

Modern day world were magic is hidden, not out of fear, but because it's a limited resource. Mage who was kicked out of his family because his spells go wrong ends up sending the convenience store he works in to a ever changing fantasy landscape after being shot during a robbery. His shooter ends up in a copy in hell, and a Magical Incident Bureau agent is trying to figure out what just what exactly happened and why. Finished work

34.85 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:05

Mourning Glory

PublicApology | contemporary | Complete

A year and a half after Elizabeth's suicide, Sara Mera's life settles back to normalcy from a battle of depression. Sara's life is thrown back into that pit of darkness when her hand in the suicide is exposed to the world. In a negative state of mind, she meets the girl who was Elizabeth's best friend who is still suffering from her death. Afraid another tragedy will happen, Sara selfishly becomes friends with the girl but never expected that she would be the one who light's up Sara's world in the darkness. -

39.88 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 11:14

Super Science & Fast Romance

Doctor Zero | psychological | Complete

A super-intelligence is only limited by its ambition. If you could do anything, what would you do? Megacles has a pretty good life. Also, she's horny, lonely, bored, anxious, and a bit of a drunk. She decides to fix all that with science. It works okay, until she accidentally builds a doomsday device. At least she's not bored anymore. This is a simple tale of love, hope, sex, rejection, revenge, secrets, extortion, thievery, dead billionaires, killer robots, space monkeys, mind control, superhot lasers, god-like power, and the destruction of the Earth. And drugs. Almost forgot the drugs. Check out the reviews - people like it, maybe you will too. Or, just read Chapter 1. It's a good example of the book. If you like it, you're good to go. Cover Photo by Jean Fan (JFotography.net)

48.44 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 12:19

The Secrets of Soward's Mansion

Trish | contemporary | Complete

[Psychological Thriller] Soward's mansion was once a beautiful, historic example of Victorian architecture, but time has an ironic sense of humor. It's now an eyesore and magnet for crime and vagabonds. I know I'm not the ideal person to restore her, but this is an opportunity to do one last great deed for my town before time finds it funny to ruin me too. What's the worst that could happen? [Winner of the Royal Road Writathon challenge] The Secrets of Soward's Mansionhas been exclusively published on RoyalRoad. All other sites have stolen the story. If you find this title anywhere else, please PM me on RoyalRoad or email me at [email protected]. Thank you!

31.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:03

The First Wizard

Scripts_313 | historical | Complete

Thalon has been a monk his entire life. He worshiped and served the Gods whose magic wards off the dangers to the world of Vaelia. He believed their promise that the hardships of life will be rewarded with salvation upon death. Then he learns the truth. The source of their magic is the souls of the dead. Fueled with burning rage at this deception, he learns to evoke magic from his soul and, determined to reveal the lie told to all of Vaelia, he escapes their Palace. Now Thalon faces hostile priests seeking to maintain order; weary peasants who don't want to know about the machinations of the Gods; and daring legions wishing to use magic for domination, even at the cost of their souls. Thalon comes to realize that not everyone shares his idealism and that mortal ambition can be far more dangerous than celestial tyranny.

46.91 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:42

Diary of a Mining Dragon

Kirrelevent | psychological | Complete

Vildra is a simple dragon. All she wants to do is to dig out a nice little den where she can sleep through the winters. A home fit for someone like herself! So what if the mountain she chose just so happens to hold riches unseen before. She'll ignore it as she always does, like with that city next door, or those "suitors" who graciously feed her, or that voice that whispers to her in her sleep. The only things she won't ignore are those centipedes that always seem to find a way in. If only they weren't so cute! Contrary to popular belief, the "richest" Dragon Lord Vildra does not care for material wealth. She seems uninterested in having mates, family, tribe, worshipers, friends, or any other social connection other than servants. She also appears heavily isolated from current events. It is for these reasons, as well as her personality, that she has been designated the True Neutral among Dragon Lords. -Dragon Lord Council

48.80 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:07

Black Wolf Howl

Laser Crows | mystery | Complete

Lucas Chambers is a 34-year-old police detective, competent but burnt out from dispensing justice for the shareholders and not the people. He forces himself to continue doing things by the book, believing it to be the only truth & until he and his team are assigned to a security detail that goes sideways. To make matters worse, his team is set up to take the fall. Now a fugitive on the run, Chambers is forced to navigate the underbelly of the Novonachalsk metroplex as he attempts to uncover the truth. Should he resume to do things by the bookthat is, to roll over and accept the gears of the institution grinding him down, like he has all these years? Or is it time for him to pick himself back up and bare his fangs against the system? Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge. Additional note from Laser Crows, posted on January 28th, 2023: This version is the completed first draft of Black Wolf Howl, and is currently undergoing revision for a novel release sometime in the near future. Thank you to all the readers, and to the reviewers for the kind words! Watch this space for updates!

31.46 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:36

Serenity of Reprisal [Completed]

Mellifluous | romance | Complete

The noble thief is known to take from the rich and give to the poor. The thief's tale is known throughout the kingdom of Ronan. However, the thief made a mistake. She stole from the wrong person. With his family now dead, he will seek reprisal. Nevan Prima will make the thief pay whatever the cost. Money, he can easily replace. But for the loss of his family, he will demand retribution.

48.87 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:51