Oops. I accidentally deleted my original Author's Note. I'm sorry to have lost your supportive comments, ☹️ but words can always be rewritten, right?

This isn't an empty update, though, because in case if I haven't been loud enough about it yet, I created a new book cover that uses my drawing, and I'm proud of it. Yes, this is my baby. As is the drawing in the banner.

If you're curious how I made this cover, I added an entry about it in my Artbook (find it under my Short Reads reading list). Over on my blog, I expanded that description into a comprehensive write up (link on my profile).

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N

OTE:
This Wattpad book is the first draft of The Madman of the Woods as it was written for Open Novella Contest. I have since expanded the story into a better version which is not on Wattpad. You can find a link to the latest version on linktr.ee/IsobelLynx (link in my profile too).
I'll keep this novella here for now in the spirit of ONC, but that might change in the future.

This was my 4th Open Novella Contest. As all others, it resulted in a story I fell in love with.

We've made it to the Shortlist. Yay.

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Content warnings: Blood and gore. 

Note: There are a couple of chapters that have a self-harm trigger warning added at the top. No one is trying to end their life there, these are vampires, but what they're doing could mean something else to us, humans. In case if that content triggers you, I added a summary after so you can skip that part.

Summary: 

Lailoken is a powerful, ancient vampire with peculiar fog powers. After a long slumber in his beloved woods, he thirsts for an adventure in the modern world, ready to bring chaos everywhere he goes. If not whimsical, then bloody...

He crosses paths with Josie, a strong, independent woman who isn't intimidated by his fangs. He's convinced that destiny put her in his path to guide him into the twenty-first century, but Josie hides a secret from him, one he doesn't care to discover. 

While hunters are on their trail, looking for a vampire killer on the loose, Lailoken and Josie go on a road trip, hide out in shady motels, dance in vampire clubs, and their friendship grows into something more.

But charming as he may be, Lailoken is a killer, and Josie has the means to bring him to justice. Trusting her may be his undoing.

Trivia time: Lailoken is a mythical figure. None of the myths confirm that he was a vampire, but they also don't deny it. 😎

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Here are ONC 2024 prompts that I used in this story:

13. Every family has that one member of whom no one speaks, and that's you.

15. "Why are you glowing blue?". 

22. You get ready for work one morning as usual. When you arrive at your car, which is parked in the street, the windshield is covered in blood.

58. In a world where family business means being a bounty hunter, you're not really keen to be part of it.