BarbZaneson

(ONC2023 shortlist) Minnie, a retired airship pirate, and Eleanor, Minnie's respectable new wife, discover what's at the bottom of the seemingly bottomless pit that has opened in their steampunk city. Can they survive the strange world below, and protect their home city from disintegration?This is my entry for the ONC2023, using the following prompt:38. A seemingly bottomless pit was found, for which the depth can't be determined. Over time, scores of people began using it to illegally dump trash. Many have jumped believing that they'll find life's answers within it. Today, we learn the truth about the hole.…

BarbZaneson

My contest entries for the Gloves Up SmackDown contest.…

BarbZaneson

A steampunk time travel story and a story about pirates and mermaids, soon to be followed by more short stories written for Wattpad contests by Barb Zaneson.…

BarbZaneson

Space pirate Clementine accidentally lands on an alien planet, where a telepathic prince of the blue lizard people wants to add a human to his collection of curiosities. Clementine has other plans.I wrote this story for the Will You Be Mine contest, from the following prompt:You step out of your emergency pod and your feet touch the soil of an undiscovered planet. The grass is blue and a warm breeze makes the pink leaves move peacefully in the tall trees. You smile to yourself. It could have been worse. Way worse.But then you spot a pair of turquoise eyes peering at you, and blue scalelike skin behind the lush vegetation. The question is, is the humanoid a friend or a foe?…