Ancient Suspense

The Dowager Duchess has decided to sell off the less important family possessions. Blotto and Twinks are dispatched to help the valuer. He spies some Egyptian artifacts and in some excitement rushes back to London, leaving Blotto and Twinks alone in the attic, where they are drawn to a sarchophagus decorated with hieroglyphs. Twinks starts to translate: "Anyone who desecrates this shrine will be visited by the Pharoah's curse..." - just as Blotto prises the lid off.

March, AD 80. In Rome, the Emperor Titus has announced that there will be 100 days of games to open the new Flavian amphitheatre (now known as the Colosseum). Suspecting that their friend Jonathan is not dead, as they had thought, Flavia, Nubia, and Lupus organize an invitation to Rome on the pretense of witnessing this historic event.

In the fourth century BC, Sparta had established control over most of Mainland Greece, and nowhere was her despotic rule more brutal than in her own territory, where over three centuries before Sparta had conquered the original population, the Helots. Every year, to remind the Helots that they were slaves, the Spartans sent out their young men to murder their defenseless subjects. On one of those nights, after having seen his parents killed, a 14-year-old Helot boy named Protos escapes, killing one of his pursuers.

Love, Betrayal, and Power Await Beneath the Surface of History… When brilliant archaeologist Cassidy Reyes discovers a long-lost clue to the Sun God’s Heart—a mythical Incan relic said to grant untold power—her world erupts into a whirlwind of danger and discovery. Haunted by her mother’s mysterious disappearance and determined to protect a sacred legacy, Cassidy must race across continents and into the heart of Peru’s ancient ruins before ruthless treasure hunters reach it first. Enter James “Raven” McAllister—ex-special forces, infamous treasure hunter, and Cassidy’s ...

What happens when three college freshmen accidentally wake a cursed vampire in a crypt? Veronica, Kyle, and Cy thought their Sunday archaeological excursion would be just another extra-credit adventure—until they accidentally crack open an ancient crypt and summon vampire Kane Spencer, setting him free. He’s tall, dark, and terrifying… but also cursed, hunted, and in desperate need of Veronica’s help. Giving him her blood was meant to save him, but now she’s tied to a world of danger she never imagined. Kane’s past is coming for him—deadly twisted vampires, cryptic prophecies,...

A scroll is discovered, buried among the ancient papyri of the Dead Sea. Father Leo Newman, a priest from Rome, discovers that the text appears to be a fifth gospel. If the scroll is authentic - and if the radical, incendiary story it tells is true - all of Christianity itself will be open to a complete reinterpretation...

Survive the betrayal. Ignite the passion. Unleash the beast. Reap the dark. Welcome to my world—a world where trust is a double-edged sword and love can ignite the fiercest flames. My name is Calypso Violante. Former federal agent and dud. Dud. What the supernatural world calls regular humans. Those with no preternatural abilities. Former dud. That’s right. Now, I'm a panther shifter and a survivor. Shot by my traitorous partner, Nate, I'm left with a physical scar that runs as deep as the betrayal. But when Dominic, a brooding fire mage with secrets of his own, saves me, I find myself ...

A battle against darkness. A race against time. My name is Calypso Violante. Former federal agent. Present day panther shifter and… something else. My world hasn’t gotten any easier or any better. In a realm of magic and treachery, I find myself fighting to save the man I love. Dominic has fallen under the influence of the powerful Eye of Decay, and now I must race against time to break its hold on him. As I confront the secrets of my past and grapple with my own supernatural abilities, I discover a deeper connection to the magic surrounding us. Our fate hangs in the balance as I ...

It is the Olympics of 460 BC. Nico's best friend, Timodemus, is a competitor in the pankration, the deadly martial art of ancient Greece. Timo is the hot favorite to win. His only serious rival is Parmonos, from Sparta. When Parmonos is found beaten to death, it is obvious Timodemus must be the killer. The Judges of the Games sentence Timodemus to be executed in four days' time. Complicating everything is the fact that Athens and Sparta are already at each other's throats. If an Athenian is found to have cheated by murdering a Spartan, it will be everything the hawks in Sparta need to declare open war.

Calypso Violante is in deep. She’s got to satisfy the terms of her agreement with the mysterious fire mage, Dominic while at the same time keep the members of the FBIC at bay—particularly Nate. Back to the terms of the agreement. Finding the supernatural, well hidden, even better guarded items that Dominic wants her to locate without being busted as a supernatural being herself. Who’d have thought staying hidden in a city the size of New York would have been difficult? Well, it turns out it is when the options are being a four legged beast or a naked statuesque brunette. Can a girl ...

101 A.D. Emperor Trajan, the heralded new Caesar of the Roman Empire, seeks to reverse 15 years of humiliating losses for Rome in wars against Dacia and its brilliant military leader King Decebal. To punish Dacia and Decebal, Trajan launches an invasion of Dacia with the largest army ever assembled in the history of Rome.

WINNER OF THE INDEPENDENT AUTHOR AWARD – Science Fiction Finalist in SPR Book Award “Searing and empowering…a dramatically original work of science fiction” Forget everything you think you know about sci-fi. The Matriarch Messiah isn't your grandpa's space opera. This is a wild ride through a world where ancient prophecies clash with cutting-edge tech, and two badass women are the only ones who can save the world (again). Zara, a devout Kurdish warrior, and Rachel, a brilliant Israeli archaeologist, are bound by an ancient matriarchal lineage and a shared, mind-blowing secret: a ...

Come take a dive. From sirens, mermaids, selkies, and more, these tales of the deep will tug at your heartstrings. Love can warm the iciest waters, but revenge is best served cold. Watery graves await for those who push boundaries or stray too far. Features stories by J.M. Rhineheart, Emma K. Leadley, K. Parr, Andria Kennedy, Fred Phillips, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Claire Davon, Nicholas Nethery, A.D. Watts, Toni Mobley, D.L. Lewellyn, Rienne French, Seth Taylor, Derek Kho, Anwen Redlake, and D.R. Birdsall.

After the death of her beloved husband Billy, Daisy Majesty falls into a deep depression. Everyone, from her family to her late husband's best friend, Sam Rotondo, worry about her. She's too depressed to eat and only mopes around the house.

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone. 'Don't go to the Grove,' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing? Soon that puzzle is overtaken.

Maybe a phrase, a line, a hint somewhere would reveal a reason, any reason, for the elderly couple's disappearance. They'd saved everything.... There was even a copy of the 'certificate of living existence', that nadir of bureaucratic imbecility.... What was the protocol, to use a word dear to government offices? Did one simply write on a sheet of paper something like 'I, the undersigned, Salvo Montalbano, hereby declare myself to be in existence', sign it, and turn it in to the appointed clerk?

27 BC. Intrigues and betrayals are commonplace in the Roman Empire. The thirst for power of many senators leads them to commit reprehensible acts against their own allies, and there are politicians who are willing to commit infamous murders in order to assert their authority above others. Julia Minor is unaware of what fate has in store for her. Her brother has been accused of murder and her family declared traitors. The only person capable of helping her in the tragedy that her life has become is General Lucius Maximus Magnus, the man she has always secretly yearned for. Together, they ...

Calypso Violante needs some help the damned shifting has gotten out of hand. Marcus brings in a shifter to help train her in the fine art of shifting at will while Marcus piles another quest on her. Retrieve a special crown. A what? That’s right. Some sort of crown. Now she has to sneak into the lair of a super-vampire? How does one even begin to do that? Maybe while dressed in a sexy ballgown that has secret compartments for her blades? Maybe. Until she gets busted that is. Then when the proverbial sh— Well, you know, when it hits the fan, she’s got to battle her way out of a vampire...

Peter, an exceptionally clever junior high school kid, is pulled into an adventure where he and a few friends have to solve a series of very challenging riddles and puzzles. Peter's mind, which has an amazing talent for problem-solving, is needed to save the world. This adventure sure is a big change from what Peter typically deals with in life: He gets called geek and nerd by everyone in the cool group. He tries to hide his love for learning, in a hope to stick out a little less. He fantasizes about a girl who is out of his league.

Pulpy supernatural horror short story from James J. Caterino the author of The Séance, Psychic Murder Incorporated, Time Travel Stories, The Promise, Pop Star, Watch the Skies, The Last Neanderthal, The Girl from the Stars, 50 Films, and much more.