Exit Sign: A Theatre of the Mind

RemingtonSloan | contemporary | Complete

Dave sees life as a theatrical performance; he's in the audience, but he didn't buy a ticket. He's not interested in the show, and nothing he can say or do will disrupt the story on the stage. What's to stop him from getting up and leaving? What's to stop him from walking through the door with the exit sign over it? Note: Exit Sign is literary fiction and a psychological drama. It's the first novel I ever wrote. The story is personal, and I'm proud of what's in there. It's been described as Seinfeld meets Sartre and as My Dinner With Andre meets Ralph Bakshi. My goal was to write a story full of sincerity while exploring the heaviness of the human experience. I wanted to write something that helps people wrestle with dread and meaninglessness. Writing Exit Sign certainly helped me figure out a few things in life, so I'm hopeful that it will do the same for a diligent reader. I'll write the sequels one day, but in the meantime I'm focused on my pulpier stories. I wrote Exit Sign for everyone who hates working in a drive through. Just keep going. Keep going forward. You might suffer, but if you love your friends and family along the way, it's worth it. The novel is complete, so there will be regular updates until all of it is posted.

32.62 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 15:40

Petrichor: Act One

PublicApology | contemporary | Complete

In the eerie town of Darkwood, situated deep within the dense forests of Washington, a tragic incident shatters the lives of six teenagers at the heart of it all. As the new girl, unsocialized and sheltered, Grace finds herself thrust into a tumultuous world of confusion and torment, grappling with the aftermath of the tragedy. She struggles to find understanding behind the tragedy and wants to uncover the events and truth that led up to it. As she pieces the puzzle together, she grows close to her equally tormented friends and embarks on a jaded coming-of-age journey to discover who she can be. Cody and Emily are childhood friends, deeply in love, and are torn apart by guilt and insecurities. Cody blames himself for the tragedy and has been pushing Emily away as an excuse, unable to face the real sinister reasons. Emily has her own guilt and masks it by trying to ignore it while trying to fix the crumbling relationship with her childhood love. Amidst their struggles, both Cody and Emily embark on transformative journeys, seeking self-forgiveness, discovering the meaning of acceptance, and moving on. Twins Andrew and Sara carry the weight of their hand in the tragedy, haunted by the trauma that lingers within them. Andrew, a rebellious force of nature, delves deeper into the criminal underground. Tormented by his involvement, Andrew descends into self-destruction intending to cause as much chaos around him. Sara battles with depression and copes with hard drugs to escape the pressure of the secrets she keeps, slowly succumbing to them. Both siblings teeter on the edge of despair, desperately trying to hold on. Among this group of tormented souls, there is Chris, an enigmatic and brilliant young mind who believes he possesses the ability to foresee the future. Chris's tenuous grip on reality makes him relentlessly pursue an answer with no question. Along his journey, he encounters someone who shares his unique perception of the world, prompting both Chris and the reader to question his own sanity as he tries to prevent another tragedy from occurring. As these six friends persevere through their struggles, they uncover the tangled web of tragedy and uncover the malevolent curse that looms over them all. (This is a redux of Petrichor. I was unsatisfied with how the story went. I rushed things and left things to happen off-screen a lot. So I'm rewriting it, this time dividing the acts into their separate books to allow the characters to properly develop. The story will mostly stay the same but I'll fix all the plot holes I found and change some character motivations here or there.)

70.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:49

Frontier Crisis

Anthony Ellison | drama | Complete

Two veterans of the most recent galactic war have struck it rich. A whole asteroid richer that is. In a time where metal is in short supply from the war, their discovery could mean the downfall of the Federation they fought to protect. What will these hardened men of war do with their find? How will this discovery affect the balance of power in their corner of the universe? Join Tony Delgado and Sam Forzet on their cargo haulerLone Wolfas they discover the answers. This novel is mostly action with some drama. I would classify it as Space Opera. The cover art is by Michael Oberschneider, used with the company Six Foot's permission. � Grey Box, 2018 Copyright,� by Anthony Ellison, 2018. The novel is completed and will soon be available on Kindle Unlimited. Due to the limitations of KU, only the first three chapters shall remain up. Thank you for your understanding and I hope you enjoy the preview.

6.91 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 11:31

Operation Ouroboros

Sobekhotep | historical | Complete

The Kemet Intelligence Agency is tasked with overseeing the Hittite king Muwatalli's northern campaign in Cimmeria and making sure it goes as expected. The mission is vague and simple. Too simple, it appears. [4th short story following the March of Deshret in The Bronze Horus universe.]

6.89 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 11:44

Princess of the Black Death

Thequeenoflove | historical | Complete

A story about the tragic medieval princess, Joan of England. The worst plague to ever devastate the world is unknown in England. As millions of people die, Princess Joan travels to mainland Europe and facing what poor and royal alike must face -- that death is imminent.

24.29 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 11:49

I, Mor-eldal: The Necromancer Thief

Kaoseto | psychological | Complete

As a budding little necromancer, I soon discovered that the world of city people is complicated. When my master kicked me out of the cave, he warned me not to talk about my "dark" magic, because people here don't like the undead. I am not really an undead, I just have a skeleton hand, but it is better to be careful. Anyway, that's not my biggest worry. In the Black Dagger brotherhood, I learn a lot of things, such as illusionist magic, which turns out to be quite handy to survive in this maze of streets: in the Cat Quarter, we have thugs of all kinds that are best avoided. But we also have good people, goodhearted "gwaks", as we say around here. Little did I know that I would soon be caught up in an infamous traffic that would entangle my life even more. With a mix of lighthearted adventure and picaresque, this story narrates the hectic life of a good-spirited street child and his companions in a medieval urban fantasy setting with some nineteenth-century influences. Updates Mondays and Fridays. This is a Creative Commons By work. It is a translation of a trilogy I wrote in Spanish between 2017 and 2018.

187.81 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 12:09

Twisted destiny (prequel)

manwX | tragedy | Complete

In the wake of a fatal accident, Aiden loses his life tragically. His father, determined to bring him back, resorts to cloning and remarkably succeeds in using an artifact of unknown origin. However, their newfound joy is short-lived as they now find themselves entangled in the clutches of a secret organization, the Alpha Project. Dr. Hector, wholeheartedly committed to helping his son, embarks on a series of events to escape the organization's relentless pursuit. Prequel to Tranmigrated as the villain's older Brother -------------------------------------------------------------------. This is a concise story just spanning a few chapters. This is the prologue for my novel. It was too long so I just made it a separate thing. Any feedback is appreciated. please be respectful. My grammar and English usage are a little lacking. Please point out any mistakes or issues you find. That would be very helpful and I can correct them. Thanks for reading.

7.25 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 12:34

Born Broken

Sakinah B | tragedy | Complete

You can connect over coffee. Connect through pain. Connect with someone's smile or with their tears. It can be that simple. But sometimes it's not.

1.66 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 12:34

The Adventures of BLUE EAGLE

TienSwitch | action | Complete

"Herald City. A great American metropolis, with gleaming towers and bustling streets. Never before has there been a safer place to live and work, because the citizens know that when disaster strikes, they can count on the protection of BLUE EAGLE. Blue Eagle--also known as David Dufraine--was born with incredible strength, powerful eyebeams, superhuman senses, and the amazing ability of flight. Possessing a strong sense of justice, he seeks to protect the city from criminals who prey on the innocent. Having taught these values to his son Jack, who possesses similar abilities, they protect Herald City as Blue Eagle and Switch the Blue Eaglet! Together, the Father-Son Duo wages a war on crazy criminals and notorious ne'er-do-wells, including the powerful perverter of plant life, QUEEN VENUS. These are the adventures of BLUE EAGLE and SWITCH THE BLUE EAGLET." Welcome, everybody! This superhero adventure is a nostalgic return to the good ol' days of the Filmation and Hanna-Barbera superhero cartoons of the 1960s and 70s. With Super Friends, The Adventures of Super Boy, and The Adventures of Batman and The New Adventures of Batman as inspiration, I hope to take you back to the olden days of wacky stories jam-packed with superhero action and excitement! This is actually a leadup of a much larger project I'm working on (which will be played straight, have a darker and more serious tone, and will be a multi-season serialized epic). I've been itching to publish something with my characters for some time, and this 8 episode miniseries just scratches that itch. So while my main series is being written, I hope you find some enjoyment in some good old fashioned superhero fun.

24.57 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 12:33

Vampire Bomb Squad - A Grand Eye Tale

The Grand Eye | comedy | Complete

A story about the complicated relationship between vampires and high explosives.

30.32 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:42

Second Life: Prelude

GrinNoCat | psychological | Complete

You know you're going to die, what's your plan? When John dies and his plan get's enacted, he finds that his second life isn't what he thought it would be. After character generation and a name change it's time to meet the afterlife - and there's something deeply wrong in Nirvana. She has secrets, and punishments to make sure they stay secret. Nirvana isn't living up to her namesake, so what's really going on? Follow Jebediah Walker's oblique path as he navigates his Second Life. This is a hobby for me, so I won't be asking for money or other support. I'm sharing my enjoyment of writing in a community of writers I admire. Generally, chapters will be between 1-2K words, published on Tuesdays and Fridays. If I get more than 8 chapters in drafts I'll release some as bonuses. If you can suffer without all the nice things RoyalRoad does for readers, then you may find content on my website that hasn't been published here. Content there may be going through revision before being posted here, but I know that won't stop you if I left a horrible cliff hanger. Please review my work (here) and share your opinon with me. Your feedback can improve my skill, and my enthusasim can only do so much!

37.39 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:54

Cheater's Play

Mad Sadie | one_shot | Complete

The final game in a chess tournament doesn't go quite as anyone planned... A short story.

0.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:43

Beatrice Santello

Blue Draggy | tragedy | Complete

An adult imagining of Beatrice Santello's life prior to the events of Night in the Woods. There are no explicit depictions of sex here, though there are obviously adult themes and situations involving it. I wasn't going to post it to Royalroad as I didn't think Fanfiction was okay here - but now I see it is and I am quite convinced it is the best work I've ever done yet, I've got to see what any fans of NitW think about it! The first chapter was originally written as a short vignette and wasn't intended to be continued into a full blown story. It was just intended to be moody and evocative. Even though anyone that has played Night in the Woods has a good idea how this must end, I hope it will still be worth the read. Also, since I've finished writing it, I'm going to post it as one big chapter dump all at once. Cover drawing by GreasyMojo and colored by me (with permission!). I don't think it should be too risque on it's own but I suppose I'll soon find out.

11.25 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:52

The Bracelet I Got Was More Than I Bargained For

DivineEternal1 | tragedy | Complete

Andrew and his friends, Isaac, Lisbeth, and Cameron meet a shady man on the way home from school. This man promises them adventure on another world, called Calorin, if they are willing to help him with an experiment. This experiment requires the use of a bracelet, one that cannot be removed once bonded to but will give them abilities such as healing or enhanced strength. Thanks to some peer pressure Andrew reluctantly agrees to join the experiment. The friends are soon on their way to Calorin but Andrew notices feelings coming from the bracelet, ones that want nothing to do with the strange man. It is just before they arrive at their destination that the bracelet changes everything for Andrew and he finds himself separated from his friends and the strange man. Stuck in the middle of a forest Andrew will need to find out where he is, how to find his friends, and why the bracelet has been acting the way it has. Author's Note:This story is a sidequel/prequel to Artifice: Tools of the Gods. As it only has one or two connected characters there is no need to read one or the other to understand them.

39.08 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:50

The Destroyer

michaelscottearle | action | Complete

After untold centuries of absence, the evil Ancients have returned. Their magic appears unstoppable and their hunger for conquest is insatiable. To protect the country of Nia, Duchess Nadea and Scholar Paug make a desperate journey to find a human legend: A man known to have destroyed these Ancient foes with a powerful army.But legends can lie.When Paug and Nadea revive their hero from sleep, his virtue is far from clear. Is he really their Savior or their Destroyer? Visit my website MichaelScottEarle.com to pick up Destroyer in eBook or Paperback (PST... The Destroyer Book 1 eBook is FREE)

72.19 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:55

Horizon

Avery Light | action | Complete

A man from Earth, just an average Joe you passed by on the street. He reincarnates into a fantasy world, but the guy has read and watched fantasy stories before... lots of them, and so he makes the stories his spirit guide. This is his story in a western style cultivation-ish world. A world where dog eats dog. Where another, much larger dog, is always lurking around the corner to eat the survivor. Warning: The protagonist has negative views about heroes and villains, good and evil. He isn't too smart, alien way of thinking, and questionable moral. Depending on your point of view, he's rather crazy. You have been warned. Author note:Hello everyone, this is my first novel and English is not my native language please forgive the grammar. I wish to improve my craft so if you are willing to add criticisms or comments, it would be much appreciated. I hope you enjoy my story. The genre is intended for young-adult The cover isn't mine and I will take it down if the owner wished it.

120.28 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:06

The girl Zoey

Kaylaellen92 | contemporary | Complete

Kevin's life changed forever when a mysterious girl named Zoey came knocking at his door. After his wife died, Kevin felt guilty that, as a doctor, he was unable to save her. He left his career and previous life and now liveswith his tiny dog, Ghost, across from the cemetery where he is the groundsman. He never dreamed his life would turn out thisway. Then one day, a mysterious girl knocks on his door. When Zoey comes into his life, he is intrigued when he realizes she has nomemory of her past. Kevin shares his home and eventually his love with this mysterious girl. When he discovers the truth about her,can their relationship survive?

8.21 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:10

Bookworld Online: The Rogue Necromancer

Bokuboy | drama | Complete

Have you ever wanted to play the main character of your favorite book? Now you can! Welcome to Bookworld Online!

58.41 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:15

# Gaea 1 - Blood of the Pure (COMPLETE)

Sophia Carpersanti | drama | Complete

* Know more about the books and read earlier releases on the official site: http://carpersanti.net/gaea/ * What would you do if in this world there was a Magic Spell able to make the one you love love you in return? And what would you do if,suddenly, what began as a joke, a mere expression of a hidden desire,awoke a dangerous and cruel creature determined to make you bend to his will? Mariane is a simple and introverted Human girl. Gabriel is a powerful Deiwos used to always get what he wants. And how can these two different existences, originated from such different worlds, ever hope to learn to live together, communicate and, who knows, even understand each other ...?

164.27 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:27

To Be Wanted

kiltsi | horror | Complete

A woman is overtaken by her past actions, slowly leaving one reality for another.

7.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:30