Artistslife Stories

"Treasures of Halkidiki" is a mystical and exciting novel written by the artist Ksenia Yarovaya, the main feature of which is that its chapters accompany and illustrate real paintings of the artist. This unusual story took place on the Halkidiki peninsula in Greece. The young artist Nicole Spring gives up a successful and well-established life on one of the popular tourist islands of Greece, and returns at the call of her heart to Halkidiki, where she lived for several years previously. Having settled in a secluded house by the sea near the nearest village in Sithonia, inspired by her return here, Nicole feels some inexplicable connection with this land and is ready to settle here and start her life from scratch. In search of inspiration for her paintings, she goes to a village located a few kilometers from home, where she learns a local legend from its residents. Overcoming the quirks and trials of fate, Nicole feels that she is somehow intertwined with this ancient land, as well as with the secrets hidden in these places. As if painting her life, Nicole follows a thorny and sometimes dangerous path in her destiny, where art, love, and pleasure go hand in hand with pain and suffering. Will she be able to unravel the mystery of the past, which is hidden behind crystal waves, majestic pines, and misty hills, and find the treasures left by the ancient Gods? This story reflects not only the external journey but also the deep inner path of the heroine. The novel is about returning to oneself, about the search for true values ​​and about the inseparable connection of man with the land on which he lives. Inspiration, magic, and secrets of Greece await you on the pages of this unique work.

Cassandra Undone Some ghosts don't haunt rooms. They haunt skin, silence, and the brushstrokes left behind. Cassandra Villalobos once believed she had left the worst parts of her life behind-a controlling partner, a forgotten childhood, and the trauma buried beneath layers of paint. But when her reclusive world is shaken by a mysterious artist and a circle of radical creators, Cass finds herself pulled into a new world of expression, friendship, and slow-burning desire. As she dares to create again, Cass begins to untangle the threads of her past-the art tutor who violated her trust, the partner who weaponized her pain, and the voice inside her that was never quite silent, only suppressed. But just as she steps into her power, a betrayal upends her sense of safety, and a figure from her past returns with a chilling message: the price of healing is never paid in full. Set against the backdrop of underground art shows, late-night studios, and criminal undercurrents lurking at the edges of the city, Cassandra Undone is a haunting, lyrical journey through trauma, survival, and self-reclamation. Raw, intimate, and quietly defiant, this is the story of a woman unmaking the version of herself built to survive-and becoming the one brave enough to live.

Elena Vasquez, a young Christian noblewoman, dreams of becoming a full time artist. But her family sees art as useless, a waste of time, and forbids her from pursuing her passion. She finds solace in nature, animals, and the soft colors of her paintings, secretly inspired by Monet. Kaiwen Liang, a Buddhist heir, has everything-wealth, skills in piano but no purpose of his own. He is an only child, bound by his parents' expectations, hiding his true talent as a master painter. Their worlds collide when Kaiwen discovers Elena painting in secret. What starts as mentorship slowly turns into a forbidden love. In a city divided by a massive stone wall and families entrenched in rivalry, they must hide their feelings from everyone. Two souls, one passion, and a love they were never allowed to have. Can their hearts survive the walls their families built or will their dreams and love be torn apart forever?