Kelly Evans

Caterina Sforza, Countess of Imola and Forli, dares to dream that her old life of treachery and despair is finally over. But after tragedy strikes, Caterina must rule as regent for her young son while navigating the intrigues of the rest of Italy and continuing to raise her family. Along with her trusted advisors, as well as new friends, Caterina rules fairly but firmly. And, when dealing with her enemies, her retribution is fierce. But Fate isn't finished with her yet. In part two of Caterina's turbulent story, she finds her path strewn with more pain, death, and bloodshed, and must keep fighting for her territories and her rights as a ruler. But when she faces the Borgia Pope's eldest son, Cesare, Caterina realises she is fighting for more than just her lands: this time she's fighting for her life. "Could I write all, the world would turn to stone."

Vilified by history, Caterina Sforza learned early that her life was not her own. Married at age ten, she was a pawn in the ever-changing political environment of Renaissance Italy. Resigned to her life as a fifteenth-century wife, Caterina adapted to the role she was expected to play: raising and educating her children, helping the poor in her new home, and turning a blind eye to her husband's increasingly shameful behaviour. But Fate had other plans for her, and soon Caterina's path would be plagued by murder, betrayal, and heartbreak. "Could I write all, the world would turn to stone."

They called her La Maestra. Elisabetta Sirani was a talented and prolific artist in Seventeenth Century Italy. Trained by her father, she was running his studio by the time she was sixteen and earned her first official commission the following year. Over her short career she produced more than 200 paintings, etchings, and prints, had patrons that included royalty and noble Italian families, and founded one of the first art schools in Europe exclusively for women. When she died aged only 27 of a mysterious ailment, all of Bologna mourned. Her fame has been eclipsed by her male counterparts, and her work often claimed as theirs. Doubted, scorned, admired, copied, and misunderstood, this is her story.

When King Henry VIII executes his second wife Anne Boleyn for treason, the young Princess Elizabeth is left to navigate the perilous waters of the Tudor court without her mother. England is suffering the most disruptive period in its history, and loyalties are ever-changing. Without support, what chance does an illegitimate girl have? Alongside her best friend Robert Dudley, Elizabeth grows and learns, but nothing is ever straightforward, and the lessons don't come easily. Surviving her increasingly unpredictable father, her unstable sister, and her many detractors will require strength and intelligence. Can she survive the treacherous path fate has set her? And who can she trust on her journey to the throne?

St. Brice's Day, England, Anno 1002. At the order of King Aethelred, thousands of Danes are murdered in a frenzy of ethnic cleansing. Outraged, the Danish king, Sweyn Forkbeard, swears he will take Aethelred's head, and his crown. But Sweyn needs allies. Chief amongst his supporters is Aelfgifu, an English noblewoman and head of a once great family. She has her own reasons to hate Aethelred and, as a pagan, she is sympathetic to the Danish cause. When Aelfgifu marries Sweyn's son, Canute, war is inevitable. But if Aethelred is weak, Emma, his Norman queen, is not. And she will stop at nothing to destroy the woman at the heart of the Viking army. Love, ambition and revenge combine in an epic struggle for justice during the most turbulent period in England's history.

The second installment of the Book of Horrors opens with a gruesome lovecraftian body horror with Blackmouth by S. Alessandro Martinez. The tome of horrors dives deeper into the depths of Lovecraftian horror with The Valley of Sex by Joseph Rubas. The perversion in The Valley of Sex is complimented by a chilling, yet hilarious dark and gritty horror with DOSE by Marc Shapiro. The Chasm Bridged by Carson Winter illustrates a tale of overpowering madness as a man chases the voices of his dearly departed. An Identity For Sam Piles by Spinster Eskie explores the life of a misogynistic, cynical, child-rapist as he struggles with what is either guilt or an urge for another kill. Patty Cake, Patty Cake by Ken Goldman is a play on an old schoolyard game with a social outcast and popular girl exchanging bloody secrets.