Writing Contest Money

In the coastal quiet of Baler, a studio is born—not of architecture, but of intention.* Founded by Yam, a poet whose words cradle pain gently, and Franc, an artist who paints tenderness into walls, the studio becomes a refuge for those learning to stay—with grief, love, longing, and themselves. As visitors arrive, they leave behind more than footprints: a sigh recorded in bamboo, a poem tucked into the “Found Letters” shelf, a mural painted in crooked lines. Through zines, tea, silence, and sketchbooks, the studio teaches softness as revolution. Ren creates the *Window of Soft Returns*, an installation of anonymous voice recordings—each whisper forming a community of echoes. Drew builds the *Staircase With No Wrong Turns*, inviting people to walk through emotions without shame. Franc offers brushstrokes as brave work, and Yam curates writing circles that map healing in half sentences. Together, they host festivals that feel like hugs, and they begin traveling their archive, letting softness cross oceans. Even those who once left—like Miguel—return, discovering that some doors never truly close. Others, like Tala, capture the studio’s sound and turn it into a podcast of breath and becoming. Over seventy chapters, the studio transforms into something larger than itself: a mural of memory, a sanctuary for second chances, a place where return is sacred and voice is proof of survival. In the final bloom, the studio stands not as a monument—but as a reminder: > *“Staying isn’t easy. > But chosen together, > it becomes home.”*

"You also feel Lumira died an unjust death? Then let's see you change it." Rina Vale died screaming at a screen. Crushed by a truck after cursing an author for the pathetic end of her favorite villainess, Lumira Duskbane, she expected the void. Instead, she woke up behind Lumira’s eyes at the elite Aetherion Academy. But the sequel is deadlier than the original. Bound by a blood-contract with the Author, Rina must rewrite Lumira’s tragic fate or be erased. She is a "walking curse" in a den of monsters. Her fated ex, Alpha Jaxon, hunts her with predatory suspicion, desperate to prove she’s the source of the rot eating the university. Prince Kaelion, the vampire, watches her with a hunger that promises a beautiful destruction. Then there are the ones she’s already changed. Aurel Venticus, the genius White Mage, became obsessed after witnessing her wield a Reaper’s blade—a weapon no living soul should touch. Now, he stalks her mind, determined to unravel the secrets of the "new" Lumira. And Austin, the Moonshadow Elf Prince, remains her lethal shadow; despite the hell the original Lumira put him through, his loyalty has curdled into a terrifying, unbreakable obsession. As demonic shadows turn the campus into a slaughterhouse, the school demands a sacrifice. They want the villainess. The Blood Moon is rising... Rina has the spoilers and the dark magic, but in a world of obsessed predators, will surviving the story might be harder than writing it?

Claire loved Aiden Hale long before money or power came between them. He broke her heart, his father destroyed her life, and she vanished, only to return as the woman no one expected. Now she’s wealthier than the man who ruined her, and her revenge is ready to unfold. Until Aiden finds her again… and the truth changes everything.

My boss, Patrick Hoffman, has made a bad investment that fails. When the board wants someone to be held accountable for the loss, he makes me the fall guy. Now that I've been fired from the company, I can no longer make my mortgage payments. My wife, Georgia Lowe, ends up falling seriously ill as well. In dire need of money, I ask Patrick for my severance pay. Sitting in his luxury car, he simply tosses me a few hundred dollars, saying, "You expect me to give you severance pay? I lost over a billion dollars because of you, Heath! How dare you ask me for money? "Here. Take these hundred-dollar bills and buy your wife a decent coffin!" My fists clench as I watch him drive off. Later that night, I drop a bombshell in a group chat filled with investors and business owners. "Seeking employment—bringing years of professional experience in cooking the books to the table. My former boss has nothing but praise for my abilities!"

My whole family could hear my thoughts. Twenty years after I was abducted, I finally reunited with my family. However, they used the thoughts they could hear to find out my bank account's passwords and PIN codes, all so that they could steal my savings. When they knew I was being stalked by a pervert, they offered me up on a silver platter just for the money he provided. I ended up getting locked up by the pervert and tormented to my death. When I opened my eyes once more, I found myself back to the day when it all began. I was going rabid deep down. 'Did Mom not use all of my money to support Mr. Warner next door?' 'Should I tell Mom and Dad that Alex is actually gambling instead of going to work?' 'I think Dad is attracted to Alex's girlfriend. What do I do?' This time, I want to see them turn against each other and reap the consequences of their own actions.

Alpha Prince Leopold Garibaldi hates his life. He hates being a prince, being a werewolf and most recently, being the Alpha. He wasn’t expecting the title or the responsibilities. Or the designated mate that comes with the title. So, what can he do except running away? By leaving werewolf territory, he’ll finally get to live freely and find himself a human mate to love and to hold. Someone not forced upon him. That’s what he wants the most, just a cute girl who loves him for him. Enter Jolene Duvarak. She doesn’t love him. She’s rude, snappy and she thinks he’s a homeless man. And yet, his wolf thinks she’s the one. Until money gets in the way. Jolene Duvarak hates EVERYTHING, but she hates werewolves the most. And being poor. So… when she realizes she’s housing a werewolf prince in her house who is worth 3 million dollars, she’s going to choose money over love, no questions asked.

Vanessa, a timid yet strong she-wolf decides to take a job as the personal maid to the Prince Alpha Noah to save enough to pay back a money lender her family is deeply indebted to. She was determined to keep it strictly professional, but when she looks into his eyes and her nose tingles with his musky aroma, will she be able to keep that promise? She falls head first for a playboy who loved seeing the color rise in her cheeks and her eyes flutter with lust. He thought he could never fall in love, let alone with a commoner. When she wanted him to mate with her, he rejected her. Dejected, Venessa returns home but her journey to love was hardly over. The money lender, in the shape of a tall, mysterious man appears and he intends to collect his debt in kind. He wants Vanessa. How will the over-possessive Noah react to another man claiming who he thought belonged only to him, to be played and toyed with as he wished? Vanessa has the two most powerful and handsome men fight tooth and nail for her...who will she choose?

When Melanie gets kidnapped as a child and thrown into a camp with other girls of her age, she undergoes trainings to become an assassin. And a sex slave. But what she never expected was to meet this strange man that she never in a million visions thought she'd ever meet. Nicolas Silverado is a powerful, influential and feared billionaire who shakes up the city whenever he wants. Rising from a family that owns seventy percent of the world's most successful businesses, Nicolas barely needs to snap a finger before everything and everyone comes succumbing to his feet. He was the man you would walk past on the street and stop to take a second glance. It was a time when werewolves lived in the cities and worked amongst humans in their human forms too, owned countless businesses and ruled their own empires. And the Nikolas were known for their wealth and 70% the money that ran around the money chain. But what happens when Nikolas, haven had everyone bend to his feet, meets a woman who doesn't see or worship him the way the rest of the world does?

“I just wanted to dance.” She whispered as hot tear rolled down her cheeks. *** *** The last thing anyone wants is to be a dispensable member of the leading mafia family. But that’s exactly what Althea became. As a lowly born, Althea makes money by performing shows at the biggest clubs, she’s happy with what she does until Diaz watches her dance and offers a large amount of money in exchange for her life. Althea is terrified of essentially being sold off to a mafia boss, especially one as cruel as Diaz, but there’s no saying no in her world. She convinces herself that she’s going to escape. But from the moment she is drawn into Diaz’s world, it quickly becomes apparent he owns her—down to her every breath. And despite her reluctance at being there, she can’t help but like how it feels. Althea just might be falling for him, but is she just another prized possession “won” to a man who gets everything he wants…or is she more of a pawn in this dangerous game than she ever realized?

Liam Andreas Ville, a 30 year old mature billionaire and has a wife who really prioritizes beauty, fashion, and money. Her days are spent with these three things so that she often neglects what is her obligation as a wife to Liam. Emily Alexandra Orlando, a 22 year old woman and has a sister who is 3 years older than her, Roseline Marie Orlando. Beauty, fashion and money, are the three main things for them both. but, of course there is a striking difference between the two. Emily, who always works hard to get money from her secret job, and Rose, who still relies on their parents' wealth and Liam's, her husband's property. until one night, the secret work that Emily had been doing for two years was finally exposed because her brother-in-law, Liam, had found out and made the two of them make a secret agreement so that the work that Emily had been doing so far was unknownby his family, including Rose who is classified as very selective about a job.