**ATTY AWARDS 2012 SHORTLIST** My humble entry for the Atty Awards, in a thematic collection that talks about 10 of my favorite Historical women, in different poetic forms: Joanna the Mad (Limerick); Empress Jingu of Japan (Tanka); Gorgo, Queen of Sparta (Double Acrostic); Elizabeth I (Tyburn); Lucrezia Borgia (Villanelle); Joan of Arc (Petrarchan Sonnet); Mary Magdalene (Triolet); Cleopatra (Rondeau); Anne Boleyn (Tanaga); All Women in History (Ode).

There was a time when the king of the human world raged war between humans and dragonkind, forcing their rulers to seal the portal between both worlds and leave the one thing they loved above all else behind. Now, in a land full of turmoil, one huntress learns of her bloodline and how she alone has the ability to harness her dragon's power and save both lands. Will she be able to free the human citizens from their tyrant leader and save her own people from extinction? Or will she fall prey to those wanting to use her powers for their own greed? *Currently working on re-writes of this story. Will be awhile* -3/14/23 *Cover is made by Christina aka Surehuinel from deviantart.com, her work is amazing please check it out http://surehuinel.deviantart.com/

"Who will we send after the little witch?" The room went silent as one of them stood up from her throne, pacing forward. Her skirts flowed over the marble floors as silently as a whisper. Every eye was drawn to her. "I will go after her and make her my slave." She revealed flawless white teeth in a playful smile. "It will be fun. Like a game." The other Gods relaxed, confident that Alice Cunningham didn't stand a chance. After all, no one could resist Aphrodite.

Alice Cunningham is back! First stop is Prague, a city drenched in ancient magic. It's beautiful, haunted and full of history. Maybe too much history. When Alice is confronted by a deranged and powerful witch with a grudge, she decides it's time to move on. But the past isn't going to leave her alone, and Alice finds herself caught up in a war she cannot possibly hope to win.

Alice Cunningham thinks she's inherited her Great Aunt's vacuum cleaner shop, instead she is sucked into a magical community and finds herself with some strange companions: a love-struck elf, a wisecracking thief and a mysterious woman in the body of a tiger. Soon she meets the seductive titan-turned-pop star Alexie Ambrose, who seems to take a sudden interest in her. Alice must navigate the dangerous politics of his court and learn what motivates him without getting entangled in his spell, or worse.

"What the hell?" I took a step closer to the mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief. The person looking back was still me, but at the same time it wasn't. I had the same thick, dark, curly hair. The same hazel eyes. The same olive skin with a light dusting of freckles (ugh) scattered across the bridge of my nose. But my curls were now streaked with highlights. And not the subtle, golden-brown ones that sometimes appeared during the summer. No, these were an aggressive, dazzling blond that went from the roots of my hair all the way to the tips. It looked like I had spent a full day getting my hair done in some upscale salon. Never mind that I had never set foot in such a place since the day I was born. My eyes appeared somehow wider and more luminous. The colour brighter, my eyelashes darker up against them. And, when I looked closely, my pupils seemed to be slitted almost like a cat. I looked down at my body. My skinny arms-which had always refused to gain any definition no matter how hard I exercised-were lined with flat, wiry muscles. My bony shoulders were now curved and smooth. My scrawny legs were toned like a dancer. I reached down and lifted my shirt, revealing two subtle lines running vertically down my perfectly flat stomach, hinting at the rock-hard abs underneath. My whole body was rippling with strength. Like liquid steel.

Cyrene never set a paw outside of Abandoned Atra. For the past year and a half of her life she had never said a word that wasn't heard by her brother or sister. In fact the closest she had gotten to the other glarings, and out of Abandoned Atra, was dreaming about the day she could join them. On an island there lives a haven of creatures. Believed to be superior, the island was divided up into three nations: the felines, canines, and birds. Atra is set up so that any feline, of any age, may switch glarings once in their life if they feel the need to. Cyrene, along with her brother, Ares, and her blind sister, Otium, can't wait for the day. However, it all changes when Cyrene is told that she belongs to the glaring, Veilded. She soon is pulled into a world of magic, murder, and not-so mythical necromancers. Cyrene finds herself weaved into an inescapable prophecy, that doesn't just involve her and her family, but the future of Atra too.