Sydney has managed to rebuild her life from the ashes and forge one that is filled with secrets and half-truths. She has given up hope of ever finding someone who would see her for who she really is - not the daughter of the man responsible for destroying countless lives. So why is she so affected by the one man who has tarred her with the same brush as her father? Ethan McMasters only has time in his life for one thing: Work. After a chance encounter, he find himself drawn to a woman he is convinced is as crooked as the man who sired her. There's something about the elusive and feisty woman that has him determined to uncover the enigma that surrounds her like a veil. But in unlocking her secrets, will he discover more than he bargained for?

~ retelling of Hades and Persephone ~ EVERY TEN YEARS, THE GOD OF DEATH TAKES A BRIDE. In the Kingdom of Minoa, a sacrifice of a virgin girl is given to the God of Death to try and appease the never-ending winter. She's accompanied by a male sacrifice, intended to be her guardian so that she can reach the Underworld safely. THIS TIME, SHE'S NOT A SACRIFICE. SHE'S A RECKONING. When Nerissa, a bold and willful young woman, volunteers to be the bride, she forfeits her human life. Along with her less-than-capable guard, Mercer, they make their way to the palace of the Underworld to meet her husband: the King of the Underworld, and Death himself. BUT AN ANCIENT CURSE IS BINDING THE KINGDOM... Death's bitter foe has cursed him, so that he spends his days awaiting the return of his love, Persephone, who will bring back Spring. One night with Death, and Nerissa will be granted half his power...and the ability to find her brother's killer. ...SHE HAS ONE MONTH TO OUTSMART DEATH. Despite their increasing attraction to one another, her husband insists on keeping her in the dark. Nerissa must use all of her guts and guile to do the one thing he's not used to: people outsmarting him. DEATH IS ABOUT TO HAVE THE (most problematic) TIME OF HIS LIFE.

"Y-you," she stuttered, staring at the handsome man sitting on the sleek black throne, "you're..." He rolled his eyes, waving his hand impatiently and said, "Hades. Come on, say it with me. Ha-des." "Hades," Ariel breathed out, still not believing the sight before her. Every picture she had seen of the gods had not depicted Hades' beauty. The god sitting before her was not a crusty old man with a white beard; no, he was a Calvin Klein model. "Yes," Hades clasped his hands together and grimaced, "the God of Death and riches; that's me." Ariel nodded, still refusing to believe but knowing she had to and Hades' grimace turned even bitter, "And you, darling, will be staying with me for quite some time." ~*~ Cover: _nymphomaniac Published: 8/6/14

Thanks to a horrible twist of Fate, Loki was not discovered by Odin after the Battle of Utgard. Growing up on Jotunheim, he lived as an outcast due to his small stature - until unfortunate events led him to other Realms. Familiar lands and people play their parts in this distorted tale. BAMF! Jotun!Loki AU. Set pre/during/after Thor/Avengers Assemble. MCU-verse. [See end of Chapter 1 for tags and warnings!]

May Khan's life was always pretty normal, but with final exams, prom and graduation looming around the corner, she didn't care much for anything except for getting out of high school. On her eighteenth birthday, however, her entire life changes. After finding a mysterious man claiming to be the Pharaoh of Egypt, a strange vision and her aunt's teachings force her to help him. Pharaoh Akhenatem had ruled Egypt with a stone heart and an iron fist. And when his cruelty gets out of hand, a red-eyed wizard curses him and sends him thousands of years into the future to a world where ignorance, arrogance and selfishness rules. But of all the places he could have landed, he ends up finding his way into the life of May. With the help of May's kind and selfless nature, an unexpected love finds the both of them as May comes to realize that evil is not as simple of a concept as it seems and that everyone has their own story. [Self-Published!!!]

Who but modern master of outrage Clive Barker could create a poetic homage to the transgressive popular art of past master of scandalous effrontery Edward Gorey, as exemplified in his 1963 "children's alphabet book," The Gashlycrumb Tinies? Barker continues to carry aloft Gorey's deliciously dark banner of contrarian delights with his own Alphabet, which records the unfortunate happenstances befalling a motley collection of unfortunate souls.