Center For Fiction First Novel Prize

Herbert Fischer lets his precious childhood sweetheart dump scalding stew all over me as everyone watches. Worse, he tells me to apologize, all because I said one harsh sentence to her. Tears stream down my face as I ask him, "Is my life worth less than a hair on her head?" He snorts. "Stop overthinking. It's just hot stew—you won't die from a few burns."

Elizabeth thought she found her true mate, until she discovered the unspeakable. Jason didn’t find his true mate in the time he got. He never thought the moon Goddess would give him a second chance

He calls it madness, but she calls it love. When intense attraction struck them both in the dark after being trapped in a small cave during a raging tropical storm, he pursued her without inhibitions, turning their whirlwind romance into a tragic mistake in the end. He is the educated businessman and the hunk, while Maria, the illiterate, fat-ugly maiden, is his total opposite. A terrible choice that resulted in a forced marriage was made between them when everyone thought she was his victim. Makakawala pa ba siya sa isang kasalang pwersahan kung sa pagsapit ng liwanag, kapangitan, at katabaan ng babae ang lumantad sa kanyang mga mata? Nagkamali siya ng desisyong maging katipan ito nang ura-urada nang masilayan ang tunay nitong anyo. Hindi ito ang ideal wife niya. "Woman, if it means saving my life, I'll wholeheartedly marry you!" He snorted when he realized he couldn't blame her for it. "You have no idea how much I hated this forced marriage kahit walang namagitan sa'tin kagabi." "Pero Benjamin—" Naiiyak man, abot hanggang langit naman ang pasasalamat ng dalaga sa pagpayag niyang maikasal sila. "Papakasalan kita dahil ikaw ang katuparan ng pangarap ko. Hulog ka ng langit kagabi. Hindi ka na makakawala kahit ano pang sabihin mo dahil ikaw—ikaw ang itinadhana para sa'kin."

Since the day Serenity got hitched to a stranger on their blind date, she had assumed married life would be ordinary but respectful and mundane. It never crossed her mind that her new husband would be clingy like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe. To her utmost surprise, he could make her troubles disappear whenever she was in a fix. Despite her questioning, her husband would always pass it off as luck. Until one day, she watched an interview with a local billionaire known for fussing over his wife. That was when she noticed the uncanny resemblance of the billionaire to her husband. The wife whom he was showering attention on turned out to be her!

David Kennedy, an art student and part time tattoo artist, meets the shy and beautiful Tina Spencer at a party at the college he attends, after she asks him for a tattoo. He is immediately enthralled by her. Something doesn’t feel right though, especially when he sees the nasty bruises covering her arms. Then Tina goes missing. The years go by, and he still thinks about her. Then one day, fate intervenes, and he finds himself face to face with the beautiful woman he tattooed all those years ago. But she has some devastating secrets. Where has she been this whole time? Will David ever get the chance to heal her? Will they get the happily ever after she needs?

The jock only falls for the nerd in movies right???? Asher Prince is the star quarterback of Waterford High and as his last name suggests, he's treated like literal royalty. The golden boy at school and the only child to wealthy parents, Asher never had to fight or struggle to get anywhere in life. But every golden boy has a secret to hide... It's senior year and he's put under more pressure to succeed and win, but his grades are slipping with each passing class. His teachers suggest he get a tutor, and with his father literally holding his future in his hands, Asher has no choice but to relent. Enter Liam Marsh. Valedictorian, top of every class and already accepted into three Ivy League schools. He seems like the perfect tutor, but there's one problem… Liam is gay and very much out of the closet. He's also constantly bullied and pushed around by Asher's peers. But Liam never lets anything get him down. With time ticking out and his future in the balance, will Asher make a choice that would benefit his future or give in to peer pressure and reject Liam's help out of fear of being ostracized? ***PLEASE NOTE: Although this is a work of fiction it is based on how teenagers would react to certain situations. There are a lot of homophobic slurs and cussing in this novel, so please do not read this if you are easily triggered.***

If there was one thing that added a whole rainbow of color into Gerard black-or-white view of life, it was when he first set eyes on Cindy and fell in love with her that same second, just as she was falling in love with him. Finding out about love at first sight that took place in a city photo-walk event which both lovebirds didn’t want to attend. It’d been a long day and one didn’t like taking photos and the other did not even own a camera.

Blessed with the powers of an African God, Tamsyn is the only Orisha to be born in the last century. Or so she believes. Desperate to protect the rest of her family, she swore to never step foot back on African soil. All of that changed when she heard that her baby brother was all grown up and set to be married. One week. A forgotten family. And all of the stolen kisses an Orisha can salvage. Tamsyn realises quite quickly that coming home was the worst thing she could have ever done for the family she wants to protect.

Before the contract was even signed, the client's representative casually said he was craving pancakes with maple syrup. I didn't hesitate. I texted my fiancé, Nigel Cross, and asked him to stand in line and grab some. He came back with the box, all proud of himself. The client took one bite, and within seconds, his face went red. Hives bloomed across his neck. He shot to his feet, furious, and called the whole deal off on the spot. Then he turned around and handed the million-dollar order to Olivia Field, the intern who had rushed to grab him allergy meds. Three months of grinding work were gone just like that. I stood there, my throat tight, trying not to fall apart. Nigel squeezed my shoulder, his voice soft as he said, "It was just bad luck. Don't beat yourself up." I nodded weakly, drained of energy. But the second I stepped away, I heard him laughing in the break room with his friend. "That guy's seriously allergic to mango. Good thing I added mango syrup to the pancakes. Olivia's about to score a huge year-end bonus. Enough for a down payment on her new apartment." His friend hesitated. "Melissa hasn't slept in a month over that deal. She was working while she was sick. She needed that money for her mom's surgery—" Nigel waved him off, already annoyed. "She has me. Isn't that enough? Olivia earned this." My hands curled into fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Bad luck? Yeah, right. Nigel had planned every second of it. And now, he thought he could smooth it over by marrying me someday, toss me a few cheap words, and I would just swallow it. I was done with that disgusting man.

"He was mine first,inagaw mo lang! Binabawi ko lang ang dating akin!" Nag focus na lang si Kathy sa trabaho at naging matagumpay few years later pagkatapos siyang ipagpalit ni Gerald kay Mia.Nag-asawa si Gerald at nagsimulang bumuo ng pamilya then fate led him back to Kathy. Noong una ay away na niyang tanggapin ang trabaho nang malaman na si Kathy pala ang magiging boss niya pero wala siyang choice dahil kailangan niya ng trabaho. At dun na nagsimula, muli na namang nahulog ang loob niya kay Kathy. Paano na ang binuo niyang pamilya kung sa puso at isip niya ay si Kathy ang muling sinisigaw? May posibilidad nga ba na magkaroon sila ng happy ever after ni Kathy kahit kasal siya kay Mia? Si Arvin ay isa pang sakit sa ulo ni Kathy. He is hard to please. Hangang saan ang kayang gawin ni Kathy dito para makuha ang tiwala nito? Kailangan ni Kathy ito kung gusto niyang manatiling mamayagpag ang kumpanyang pinaghirapan niyang itayo.Pero bakit parang sadya nitong pinapahirapan si Kathy? Kailangan ni Kathy na magkaroon ng priority, tuloy ba ang Paghihiganti o Kampay na lang para sa tagumpay?