Pulitzer Prize Finalists

A hell-recycle world within the modern world, designed for death or near-death individuals. With the greenhouse effect resulting in instability in hell, access to hell becomes restricted, and the game keeps the new souls busy while offering them a second chance to return to their lives before death, depending on their performance. A six-digit cash prize is awarded to the winning participants, with rewards ranging from reversed choices and time manipulation to wealth and more. The 100 Doors Challenge System was designed purposely for this world, to keep the growing audience (already existing souls) entertained. Chosen participants must die beautifully at each door. The fancier and more tragic the death, the higher the views. The story alternates between real-world broadcast control rooms, digital death arenas, and fragmented dreamlike worlds designed from Author Willa’s traumas, fears, and regrets and those of the participating ghosts. 100 Doors: Die Fabulously for the Audience. This story contains graphic adult themes, including explicit sexual content, psychological tension, dark humour, trauma, and scenes of coercion and moral ambiguity. It explores mature, disturbing, and emotionally intense situations within a fantasy-system setting. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

He watched her in the distance, his mind clouded over in confusion. How could he, one of the coldest Alphas in the country, have a mate?The thought of having to take care of someone for the rest of his life haunted him. He always thought he was meant to run the most powerful pack that had no weaknesses; once his wolf becomes attached to hers, nothing can tear them apart. It is known to be the cause of the deaths of many great Alphas, and yet here he stood, unable to tear his eyes away from her.Her soft, shimmering lips stood out to him from across the clearing, occasionally being grazed by her soft, silky golden hair. Her delicate fingers brushed a strand from over her crystal blue eyes as they continued to gaze over the leather-covered book resting in the center of her lap.A soft breeze flowed over her bare shoulders, sending her scent right in his direction. A shiver traveled up his spine as his eyes rolled back into his head. A low growl erupted from his chest, wondering why she was all alone in an empty clearing. She seemed like a prize he had yet to win. (Complete

Sophia’s world shatters when her cheating boyfriend and backstabbing best friend smear her name across the city with vicious lies. Jobless, homeless, and desperate to vanish, she stumbles across a cryptic online ad: live-in tutor, remote estate, one thousand dollars an hour. She clicks apply before doubt can stop her. The mansion is breathtaking, the little girl heartbreakingly quiet, and the contract… written in blood. One crimson signature later, the gates lock behind her, and the truth claws its way out: wolves in tailored suits, monsters in the shadows, and a ruthless Alpha who orchestrated her arrival. Ethan Blackwell—billionaire, pack leader, and the stranger from her drunken one-night escape—claims her as his fated mate. He doesn’t want the bond; he’s too proud for a fragile human. But he’ll never let her leave. Worse? His two brothers circle closer, eyes glowing with the same primal hunger, ready to challenge tradition and tear the pack apart to possess her. Sophia came to hide. Now she’s the prize in a war of teeth, fate, and forbidden desire. One click. One drop of blood. No way out.

"Our heart beats only with their permission." For as long as she can remember, the bookworm Synecdoche Rochet, 23, has lived a simple life in Maharlika Nation—hiding in the grasses and grains of District G to avoid the terrifying power of the Embassy and its ruthless Ambassador. In a dystopian world that is controlled with surveillance, Synecdoche Rochet embarks on a mission to get back their rights on their district's valuable resources—the grains. When she discovered her intellectual ability, she found herself drawn to the charismatic Giovanni, the long-lost Ambassador's privileged son together with other intelligent students, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth. They found themselves being the tributes on the 2nd Maharlika Spelling TwistBee—trapped in the Word Arena. An annually commemorated game where each district will represent one letter in the Alphabet, spell the given English words not verbally, but by beating other competitors who have letter tattoos on their arms. The rules are to Spell and beat them. Within the competitor's reach, the team-up of Synecdoche, Giovanni, Ulap, Token, and Keithwarth isn't a coincidence, it's a conspiracy. What if Synecdoche's age will be reversed? Will they use their intelligence for vengeance? Will they compel love and trust to survive the competition? Is their life the price or the prize? "Even the shortest word has the longest meaning."

Paige Aviva thought she had it all love, stability, and a marriage others admired. But everything falls apart on her fifth wedding anniversary when anonymous photos reveal her husband, Ethan, in an intimate act with her best friend. Her heartbreak deepens when she discovers her younger sister is pregnant with his second child only weeks after Ethan coerced her into aborting theirs. Crushed by betrayal and grief, Paige tries to end her life. But a mysterious, powerful stranger named Raymond stops her at the cliff’s edge, offering her an unusual bargain: he’ll give her the power to make everyone who hurt her suffer if she agrees to his terms. Paige signs a contract, unknowingly stepping into a world of werewolves, mate bonds, ancient curses, and dangerous secrets. As she becomes entangled with Raymond and later discovers he has a vengeful twin, Ryan, Paige learns she is no ordinary woman. She’s a cursed wolf with rare powers, a prize everyone wants to control or destroy. Torn between love, revenge, and survival, Paige must choose who to trust, embrace her true nature, and fight for her life and the life of the child she never expected to carry.

"What do you want in return for saving my daughter?" Japheth Williams asked blankly. Gilda quickly sprang up, "No. I didn't save her because I wanted a prize, Angel is just too...." "Then have a nice time," Japheth cuts in and leaves without looking back. Gilda was taken aback; she saved the billionaire's daughter because she happened to be locked in the same storeroom. Now her father thought she did it because she wanted something in return. Getting back home, a wedding proposal was waiting. Her stepmom handed her the proposal, "You either marry him or stop acting." Stop acting? Acting was her biggest passion and dream. Asking her to quit or get married was too much, and so she left home. While roaming on the street, another proposal met her again, and this time it was from Seth Williams, Japheth's brother. "My niece can't get enough of you. Be her nanny, and I'll sponsor your acting career". Frustrated and desperate, she agreed. If taking care of Angel alone was the real job, it would be easier, but she was forced to deal with her crippled father, too. Japheth Williams. The head honcho of the biggest film industry in the country. It started as a business deal, but how did it end? And who is Angel’s real Mum?.

My son, Jasper Cole, won the gold prize in an art competition. When I took off my apron and rushed to the award ceremony, I found that the painting titled 'Mother' was not of me but Maeve Leighton, my husband's secretary. Maeve pretended to be troubled as she told my son, "Your mom will be sad when she sees this painting." However, Jasper was unperturbed. "What does her sadness have to do with me? She's an ordinary-looking and incompetent housewife, always nagging me about what I can and can’t do. She's too strict with me. It's annoying! Maeve, I wish you were my mother. My dad doesn't like my mom at all. He's only happy when he's with you. He's only with my mom because he feels obligated." My heart broke at that moment. Since he no longer wanted me as his mother, it was pointless for me to stay. I called my dad. "Dad, I want to go home. Can you pick me up?" My dad could not believe it. He answered after a long pause, "Of course. I'll come pick up my brilliant daughter in three days."

Long ago Legends made flesh collided with the underworld as Dragons and werewolves went to war. In a battle that still rages today, the land was split and dragons took over the business world while werewolves controlled the underbelly and, as the years blended together two names emerged at the top of the shifter foodchain. Ragnar Dalgaard is the last of the pureblood dragonlords. In the business world, his company reigns supreme as it gobbles up the struggling businesses of lesser dragons. Hiding in plain sight amongst the humans, learning from their technology, and adapting their own, Dalgaard Industries is on the cusp of something big. Meanwhile deep in the crime world, Giovanni Lupo is the boogeyman amongst his peers. Sexy and ruthless, Gio and his cutthroat pack rule their world with an iron fist, but the werewolf wants more than slums and backstreets, he wants it all, and no one, neither beast nor human will stop him from getting it. When Charlotte Ren, a beautiful and highly intelligent scientist finds herself lost in the City, a chance encounter with the boogeyman and a job offer from a handsome stranger sets her on a path where old friends and sworn enemies come together in a supernatural clash of the titans, for the chance to win the heart of a human. But is Charlotte willing to let herself be the prize, and who says she has to choose just one of the men fighting for her favor?

She was once the quiet wife no one respected, married to a man the world called a prize far above her league. He flaunted mistresses, mocked her dignity, and everyone believed she would crawl back even after she dared to file for divorce. But they were wrong. The woman who returned was no longer fragile. She was fire, elegance, and strength incarnate, crushing enemies who tried to sabotage her and rising higher than anyone dared to imagine. When whispers spread that she sought a new father for her daughter, the world’s most powerful men—an acclaimed scientist, a ruthless billionaire, and a top film star, lined up for her favor. Her ex-husband, however, wasn’t ready to let go. He fought for custody, framed her in scandals, and even tried to use their child as a weapon against her. But the more he pushed, the further he fell and the more unstoppable she became. When love finally came knocking again, it wasn’t from grand gestures or empty promises, but from the man who had stood silently by her side, proving loyalty where others offered lies. Now, society bows to the woman they once mocked. And her ex-husband? He can only watch from the shadows as she declares the words that seal his downfall: “Ex-husband, step aside.”

At the awards for the Global Jewelry Design Competition, my stepsister Sandra took the grand prize. She used the designs she stole from me. What she didn’t know was the show’s biggest sponsor: Jude Moretti. Godfather of the Moretti family. A bloodthirsty monster scarred in an explosion, a man they say can never have children. And the grand prize? Becoming the Godfather’s bride. That night, Moretti’s men, all in black, delivered a gold-trimmed marriage contract. They were here for the “genius designer.” My fiancé, Marco, panicked. He whisked Sandra off to Vegas to save her. They got married that night. With the deed done, Sandra strutted back in, wearing my silk robe. She flashed the ring on her finger and the hickies all over her neck. “Marco’s mine now,” she purred. “What are you going to do, Odessa? The Godfather’s only giving you a day. If you don’t marry him, the Family will have to appease him. That means sending you to the red-light district. Selling you to the kind of sicko who gets off on broken things.” She was wrong. I had another choice. I found my father and stepmother, both scrambling to deal with the contract. “I’ll do it,” I said. “I’ll marry the Godfather.”