Rise of the Goddess Anthology

Title: Rise of the Goddess
Genre: Mythic Lore/ Anthology
Rating: PG 13 for mild language and mild violence
Release Date: March 20, 2014
Publisher: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
Editor: Catherine Stovall
List of Contributors:
Cover Art: Dave J. Ford

Authors:

Aubrey Diamant

Samantha Ketteman

Sinead MacDughlas

Michael Cross

Rebecca Poole

Catherine Stovall

Marion C. Lanier

Andrea L. Staum

Elizabeth L. Lance

Shebat Legion

Zoe Adams

Beth W. Patterson

Mariana Thorn

Cecilia Clark

Artists: 

Jackie McMahon

Rebecca Poole

Blurb:
The Goddess: a female deity who represents strength, love, dignity, sexuality, motherhood, wrath, peace, the elements, and so much more. She is the symbol of every woman who has ever been or will ever come to be. She comes from a myriad of places and beliefs, her image always changing, but her presence always there. In this collection of fourteen beautifully written stories and three lovely original artworks, the Goddess rises in many unique forms to remind the world of the strength and beauty that is woman and the connection she has with all things.
 ****All proceeds from the Rise of the Goddess anthology will go to benefit the Elliott Public Library****

Release Party: https://www.facebook.com/events/675995095794145/

Down came the Queen of Heaven By Aubrey Diamant

The world is falling into an early winter brought on by the wrath of the Great God Magnes. Nicasia, a minor vegetation goddess, refuses to turn her heart away from the mortals she helps daily. Disobeying her sovereign god, Nicasia falls to Earth. Arriving in the near barren field of a mortal, Caius, who she has long loved from afar, Nicasia brings his fields and heart to life. Magnes seeing Nicasia has disobeyed him punishes her by sacrificing Caius. When these two titans clash on Earth, only the strongest of them all will be left standing.

Bia by Samantha Ketteman

The Goddess and personification of Force is not one to be controlled. When Bia's brothers and sister attempt to thwart her visits to her human lover, her inner goddess rises and she will stop at nothing to be with the man that she loves.

Carmaterdea by Sinead MacDuhglas

The young goddess Carmaterdea has had her fill of godly debauchery. She is ready to make her own way, leaving behind the pantheon at Atlantis. Rather than the new life she's seeking, however, Carm finds an old world, an old god, and a lost piece of her heritage.

Goddess of My Heart by Michael Cross

Love, an unbreakable bond, formed from the threads of life that are woven through eternity. Isis, destined to become a goddess known to the world for her strength and beauty, must face her greatest test when her husband, Osiris, is ripped away from her. She searches for him across Egypt while his brother, Set, the man responsible for so much evil, follows behind her. Will she be able to reach Osiris or will Set win and destroy all that Isis loves including the future of her unborn child?

Her by Rebecca Poole

A lifetime of toil.  Believing when no one else does.  Staying steadfast, staying the course.  Being the last of his kind.  Waiting.  Sometimes patient, sometimes not.  He who serves his goddess understands when others do not.  He welcomes the final act, but devotion has a price.  A sacrifice.  And a goddess is unwavering in Her demands.

A Goddess’s Revenge by Catherine Stovall

The cries of her people broke through her mother’s enchantment, and the goddess Kel awoke to find that all she loved had been destroyed. The world of Wade has been ruled by loveless gods for too long, and all that the old goddesses built has been forgotten. The lands lay tainted and the people stand corrupted by all that has befallen them since the ways of the Earth goddess were laid to waste. Awakened by this tragedy, Kel and her warrior Kore must seek out the cause of such horrors and find a way to give new life to Wade.

Love, Lust, Beauty (Art) by Jackie McMahon

Hunting the Dark by Marion C. Lanier

Hunting the Dark follows Artemis as she flees from her traitorous uncle, Hades. She is the last remaining goddess... all other gods have been killed or have sworn fealty to the Dark.

Artemis tried to warn the others, but they wouldn't listen. After Hades made his move, Artemis went into hiding. In Hunting the Dark, Hades catches up to Artemis for a final family reunion where she shows us why she is truly the Lady of the Hunt.

Mother of Monsters by Andrea L. Staum

The time of the Olympian gods has long passed, but Echidna, the Mother of Monsters has adapted and hidden among humans as Erica, an instructor of the Institute for the Understanding of the Metaphysical and as an agent of the Clark Agency. Combining Urban Fantasy and Mythology, Mother of Monsters has Erica facing her past when one of her children crashes to Earth in a meteorite and begins creating havoc in the Russian countryside.

Goddess Touched by Elizabeth L. Lance

Moira McCain is the golden goddess of stage and screen. Everyone loves her, and she loves her fans. With that in mind, Moira books a USO tour, hoping to bring joy to those that fight for her country. Her first stop is Manas Air Force Base, where she plans to sing and debut her new movie. But Moira is in for a big surprise when she meets Colonial Mars.

Mars, the god of war, has been overseeing soldiers for centuries, guiding, protecting and giving them courage to face adversity in battle. With a little encouragement from a manipulative Minerva, goddess of wisdom, Mars takes a much needed break and finds that the entertainment is much more than a pretty face, she is indeed a little goddess.

The Cast Iron Skillet by Shebat Legion

An abused woman, in fear of her drunken husband, argues with her inner goddess as to the correct course of action to take in which to save her own life.

The Weaver by Zoe Adams

A long time ago, Greece was ruled by great and wise beings. The Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus. Years have passed, and many of the beings of myth have long moved on. Athena returns to Greece, hoping to get away from it all, and finds herself tested by a young woman, with a rather high opinion of herself. Will Athena let her be, or will she teach her a lesson that she will never forget?

Shield of Light by Beth W. Patterson

Handsome Frank Laska, an outwardly surly New Orleans bartender with a hidden heart of gold, is jaded from dealing with more than his fair share of darkness, dramas, and traumas. He finds his spirit to be sapped by the constant droves of needy people, namely the unpredictable Goth girl Maxilla. It all seems too much, until a kindly deity touches his life and shows him the light within.

Vanquish by Mariana Thorn

Driven only by a need for retribution…

Kalypso, a fae-vampire, was considered a goddess by the humans. Finally coming into her powers, her only desire is to destroy the one that made her this abomination. If it took her whole existence, she would be the hand that cuts her creator, Diokles down.

Seeking out the Halfling that could end it all…

Alkaios is a hellhound with a mission, wanting nothing more than to end the corruption with the hellhound hierarchy. With the Master of the hellhounds, Paldin consorting with a mad vampire, Alkaios seeks out the only one that could stop them both…

Falling For You by Cecilia Clark

When Jacob Childes, a young naïve archaeology graduate, is chosen for his talents to open a previously untouched temple of a Goddess, he unwittingly leads a team of thieves who want nothing more than treasure and he must find a way to protect the artefacts, the Goddess and himself.