Deities & Demons

Fiction4all proudly presents these second-edition versions of Charles J. Schneider's two debut novellas in a single volume. United by the common themes of romance and tasteful sensuality but contrasting sharply in fiction motifs, CYTHEREA provides light-hearted and witty entertainment while WITH TOWER AND TURRETS, CROWNED leads the reader into a dark realm of treachery and witchcraft.

CYTHEREA, positioned in the forefront of this anthology, tells the tongue-in-cheek tale of Jamie Broussard, a Professor of Anthropology and Mythology at Yale, who finds himself drawn into a digital relationship with Cytherea Sagapo, the author of an obscure treatise on the legend of Adonis and Aphrodite. In due course, the curious professor decides that he must meet her, and travels to Cytherea's hometown of Paphos, Cyprus, in order to do so; but when he arrives, it seems clear that his virtual girlfriend is actually the real Aphrodite and that he, surprisingly, may be the reincarnation of her one and only true love, Adonis! This unique story, which teeters between reality and a surrealistic dream until the very last page, features portrayals of the ancient Greek deities set in modern day, and will appeal to lovers of paranormal fiction and mythology alike.

WITH TOWER AND TURRETS, CROWNED takes place in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland during medieval times, where a powerful Gaelic warlord named Rhian MacDomhnuill falls deeply in love with Gwyneth, a beautiful and sultry peasant maiden. This tightly plotted tale of passion and demonic sorcery begins and ends in the highest room of Dunyvaig Castle's tower, where Rhian must face his spiritual nemesis embodied in his frigid wife, Sif: an Icelandic princess with a dark and evil soul. Although the action takes place in a brief five-hour timeframe on a cold January night and plays out exclusively within the confining walls of Rhian's stone fortress, a rich two-and-a-half year back-story is related creatively by the author in a series of flashbacks, memories and dreams. Based loosely on an old Scottish legend, WITH TOWER AND TURRETS, CROWNED is a historically-based psychological fantasy filled with intrigue, seduction, and magic.