Meet May Bird: a very shy, very precocious young girl who wants nothing more than to live in a world where she’s accepted and loved. One day while walking in the woods she finds that world—or falls into it, really. Through a pond, May enters the Ever After, a world of ghosts. Here, towns glow blue beneath zipping stars and the people—are they really people?—walk through walls. Here, the Book of the Dead holds the answers to everything in the universe. And here, if May is discovered, the horrifyingly evil Bo Cleevil will turn her into nothing. May Bird must get out. Fast. As May journeys through fantastic lands, she gathers an unusual group of new friends who join together to overcome Bo Cleevil and find the way back home.

[2013 Watty Finalist] Thea Gibson lives a normal life. She waitresses at her local bar, pays her bills on time, has a secret crush on Detective Josh Cooper and let's her friend Shae drag her to parties when she'd rather be curled up at home buried in the latest paranormal fantasy. In one night though, her life becomes a paranormal fantasy when she is attacked by Titans and saved by a man claiming to be Hermes, Messenger of the Gods. Hermes tells her she is a reincarnated deity, with latent powers she must remember so she can return the recently escaped Cronos back to Tartarus. Thea refuses to believe such nonsense but with the strange things happening around her, Thea begins to discover that fantasy is more closer to reality than she once thought... Note: Some myths have been altered for this story. Please do not presume to correct them as they are altered for the purposes of my story. Forsaken Deity Copyright © Melissa Lucas 2013 All Rights Reserved. No part of this literary work may be reproduced or used without written consent from the author.