Named one of NPR's Books We Love In this riveting take on One Thousand and One Nights, Shaherazade, at the center of her own story, uses wit and political mastery to navigate opulent palaces brimming with treachery and the perils of the Third Crusade as her Persian homeland teeters on the brink of destruction. In twelfth century, Persia, clever and dreamy Shaherazade stumbles on the Malik’s beloved wife entwined with a lover in a sun-dappled courtyard. When Shaherazade recounts her first tale, the story of this infidelity, to the Malik, she sets the Seljuk Empire on fire. Enraged at his wife’s betrayal, the once-gentle Malik beheads her. But when that killing does not quench his anger, the Malik begins to marry and behead a new bride each night. Furious at the murders, his province seethes on rebellion’s edge. To suppress her guilt, quell threats of a revolt, and perhaps marry the man she has loved since childhood, Shaherazade persuades her beloved father, the Malik’s vizier, to offer her as the next wife. On their wedding night, Shaherazade begins a yarn, but as the sun ascends she cuts the story short, ensuring that she will live to tell another tale, a practice she repeats night after night. But the Malik’s rage runs too deep for Shaherazade to exorcise alone. And so she and her father persuade the Malik to leave Persia to join Saladin’s fight against the Crusaders in Palestine. With plots spun against the Seljuks from all corners, Shaherazade must maneuver through intrigue in the age’s greatest courts to safeguard her people. All the while, she must keep the Malik enticed with her otherworldly tales—because the slightest misstep could cost Shaherazade her head. This suspenseful first-person retelling is vividly rendered through the voice of a fully imagined Shaherazade, a book lover whose late mother bestowed the gift of story that becomes her power. Created over fourteen years of writing and research, Jamila Ahmed’s gorgeously written debut is a celebration of storytelling and a love letter to the medieval Islamic world that brings to life one of the most enduring and intriguing woman characters of all time.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

Armed with only his wits and his cunning, one man recklessly defies the French revolutionaries and rescues scores of innocent men, women, and children from the deadly guillotine. His friends and foes know him only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. But the ruthless French agent Chauvelin is sworn to discover his identity and to hunt him down.

Please note this book is exclusively available on Itch and is not for sale on Amazon. Follow a fellowship of sapphic knights as they’re seduced by witches, queens, goddesses—and each other—in a dark, lush fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend. Under the reign of King Theomacha the Exalted, the Land of Maidens flourishes. Her knights protect and explore the realm, seeking artifacts lost to time and fending off wicked, cunning magics.  Born in the isolated Brocéliande Forest, Valerin is raised as a warrior by druids of great power. Her unusual strength and invulnerability is said to be the blessing of a goddess, but when Sebille, a sorceress empowered by fire and rot, arrives to challenge her claim, Valerin must come to terms with her true nature — or fall to the seduction of the woman she's destined to kill. Valerin the Fair is a 15,000 word high heat F/F fantasy romance featuring: ➼ a genderfluid butch protagonist ➼ an older high femme sorceress ➼ highly intimate duels and notions of chivalry ➼ consensual / body-affirming transformation This is the first book in the Out of True novella series.

Ashes to ashes, lust to lust. Two hundred years ago, in a frantic fit of grief, my mother stole a piece of Death and bound me to the old god to keep me safe. Two hundred years ago, my own grief had driven me to say things I didn’t mean, but can’t take back. And yet… Time heals all wounds. And I’m drawn to the dying for a mere glimpse of him. But I’m tired, and lonely, and when I finally decide enough is enough—it uncovers a jealous and possessive streak I hadn’t known existed. He wants his ring finger back—returning it is akin to a divorce in the old gods’ realm—and I want what I should have taken centuries ago, even if he’s determined to make me see the worst of him.

It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

One of the most recognizable but misunderstood Greek gods, Hades plays a valuable role that has not garnered much adoration. Using myth, storytelling, and practical exercises, author Jamie Waggoner shows how Hades is more than the keeper of souls and the land of the dead. She reveals his true nature and provides everything you need to build your own rich devotional practice. Discover Hades's real story with passages written in his own words, excerpts from historical texts, and Jamie's personal experiences. She helps you cultivate an unexpectedly life-affirming relationship with him through meditations, altar building, and other magical work. With Hades's wisdom, you will develop a deep appreciation for the glorious spectrum of experience we can have in this mortal lifetime.

A dynamic re-envisioning of the tarot, including tarot card imagery, that describes how the tarot is queer, that the archetypes are alive, and that tarot doesn’t tell the future; it creates it. Radical Tarot meets the tarot in a space of evolution, deconstruction, and creation, using the historical and common meanings of the cards as a launchpad for digging into limiting beliefs and societal conditioning and unlocking the personal truths beneath. The Fool’s Journey is re-envisioned as a journey to non-binary thinking, the gender essentialism is ousted from the Major Arcana and the Court Cards—and all the cards—are reframed through a non-hierarchical, anti-capitalist, and intersectional lens. The archetypes are re-imagined in modern, progressive, and queered contexts. For Radical Tarot also touches on Charlie’s personal story of how tarot helped them embrace their queerness, leave their marriage, and radically change their life. It speaks to their queer awakening and how tarot became, for them, a tool for social justice and conscious awareness of the world around them. Their words and experience will help anyone who wishes to be closer to their own authentic selves.

When Mr. Earnshaw, master of Wuthering Heights, returns from a trip with an unkempt orphan in tow, he announces that the child, Heathcliff, is now a member of the family. While young Catherine Earnshaw becomes close with Heathcliff, her older brother, Hindley, sinks into bitter resentment. As Catherine and Heathcliff mature, and their affection blossoms into desire, Hindley’s resentment boils over into hatred, setting the stage for a tragic drama whose aftermath will shake the foundations of their world.

"The perfect follow-up to Krakauer's riveting account of a perfect storm." -- Miami Herald "Kodas's absorbing description of the narrow moral compass governing human interaction at the top of the world is bound to shock both armchair adventurers and seasoned mountaineers." -- Chicago Tribune "(Kodas) discovered more deceit, thievery, and double-crossing among his climbers than you find in a Martin Scorsese gangster film. High Crimes is both an adventure story and an expos of a sport riddled with danger and corruption." -- Washington Post Book World "Kodas's descriptions of the struggles confronting even the best-prepared climbers leave the reader breathless." -- Dallas Morning News "[High Crimes] is hair-raising and lays bare the excitement and fear that face great explorers at the top of the world. . . . Well written, and as deftly plotted as the finest mystery novel, Kodas brings to life a disturbing picture of society at high altitude." -- Austin Chronicle "Kodas does an excellent job exposing the ways in which money and ego have corrupted the traditional cultures of both mountaineers and their Sherpa guides. . . . His narrative is as hard to turn away from as a slow-motion train wreck." -- Publishers Weekly High Crimes is journalist Michael Kodas's gripping account of life on top of the world--where man is every bit as deadly as Mother Nature.

An impulsive word can start a war. A timely word can stop one. A simple act of friendship can change the course of history. Cliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god. He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person. He has never once touched his lord. He has never called him by name. He has never initiated a conversation. One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday. The mere invitation could have seen Cliopher executed for blasphemy. The acceptance upends the world.