"Prostitution required the violation of my body. Piracy required my soul. The first enslaved me. The second set me free. "

Against all odds, a prostitute becomes the most powerful pirate chieftain in the South China Seas. Sold into slavery by her parents, Xianggu works on a floating brothel for ten years before a midnight pirate raid changes her life. Determined to rise above her lowly status, the fearless young woman embarks on a journey requiring beauty, brains, and brawn.

Red Flag boss, Zheng Yi, is captivated by the spirited Xianggu and soon makes her his wife. This begins her adventure into the violent world of sea banditry. But Xianggu must do more than learn to wield a sword, sail a ship, and swim across a bay. She must become indispensable to Zheng Yi or risk losing everything, even her life.

In 18th century China, when men made and enforced the rules, the Dragon Lady lived by her own.

Divinity was their destiny. Until mortality became their fate.

Mnem has everything. A glamorous lifestyle, beauty, family, and immortality. But she doesn’t have a platform. Or followers. Or relevance. Which is why Mnemosyne, the goddess of remembrance and mother of the nine muses, is fired.

Mnem isn’t the only one. Three other goddesses are also up the mortal creek without a divine paddle. Now they must build a life—a real one.

Although their divinity is gone, their soul and courage remain. But mortal life is so frustrating! As the four ex-goddesses struggle to find friendship, love, and purpose, mortals get in the way. Sexy mortals. Obnoxious mortals. And dangerous ones. Before they have a chance to get a handle on the whole mortality thing, their lives take an unexpected turn with one epic decision. One with deadly consequences.

Available now from Cleis Press!

Who knew the ancient world could be so downright… arousing?

Like uncovering a sexy diamond in the rough, LEGENDS OF LUST, EROTIC MYTHS FROM AROUND THE WORLD reveals the fiery passions lying dormant behind your favorite mythological stories. This adults-only, debut collection of the fourteen steamiest erotic short stories by Autumn Bardot is an explosion of sexy, nasty, and romantic retellings that will take your love of myths to a whole new level.

Odysseus, a mere man, becomes a god-like master of the tease in the eyes of the sex-starved and eternally lustful goddess, Calypso. The tale of Amazonian queen, Hippolyta, and Theseus gives “love-at-first-sight” a whole new meaning that will enthrall your senses. The encounter between Vishvamitra and Menaka takes them to explosive new levels of bodily nirvana. And Gilgamesh, the mighty god-king, sends temple prostitute Shamhat to tame a wild man, but instead he teaches her something about man’s most primal instincts… and is not left wanting.

Run wild in your personal Elysian Fields of pleasure with this spicy, irreverent peek into the sensual world of our most beloved gods, heroes, fairies, and shape shifters from every corner of the earth.

Unfettered by responsibility, Locusta, the daughter of a vintner in the Roman province of Gaul, enjoys the indulged childhood of the elite. Concerned with only the day’s amusements, she rides gentle ponies, reads Ovid, and learns the herbal arts from her handmaid. A family problem compels Locusta to go to Rome, a decadent and treacherous city where she has little desire to remain.

Despite attempts to keep her herbal skills a secret, the Roman elite soon discover Locusta’s talents. And use them for their own nefarious purposes.

Thrust into a world of depravity, scandal, and murder, Locusta’s life changes forever when a young Emperor Nero requires her expertise. Caught in an imperial web, it’s a profession she must embrace or die.

But sometimes love has a different agenda.

The year is 1464, and young King Matthias controls Hungary, his family, and the fate of the world’s most notorious political prisoner, Prince Vlad Dracula.

Ilona Szilágy, the king’s cousin, is young and ambitious. Dracula is determined to marry into the Hunyadi family. It is love at first sight…but the king has other plans. The Impaler Prince, however, never takes no for an answer.

This begins Ilona’s journey into the treacherous world of court intrigues, family betrayals, and her husband’s dark desires. Eager to become Vlad’s trusted confidant, Ilona soon discovers that marriage to man tortured by his past comes with a price.

Woven throughout is a peek into the life and times of one of the world’s most enigmatic and maligned rulers…the man before the legend.

With Bardot’s decadent period detail and a cast of gritty evocative characters, The Impaler’s Wife offers a fierce yet sensuous glimpse into the violent 15th century.

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Coming 2021

Does the word symbol make you shudder? Discover how powerful symbolic word choices can enrich character, plot, emotion and more - your way.

Words are powerful magic, imbued with nuance, subtext, connotation, and emotions that reside deep within our collective consciousness. Words and symbols impart meanings readers respond to on a visceral level that extend beyond the literal meaning.

Discover all the ways that iconic symbols can provide thematic, foreshadowing, contextual, plot, and characterization beyond the superficial. This is a quick guide, a springboard meant for you to leap high and dive into powerful symbolic word choices.

Symbols and their layered meanings act as a diving board into a deep pool of emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and intellectual dynamics that you decide how to mold and manipulate. It’s one more tool for your writing toolbox.