Sunday Snippet: Hot as Hades

Okay, big game over. Food coma close to happening. But blog post must go up. LOL

Tonight's Sunday Snippet is from another work in progress that got a start a long time ago. Not quite twenty years, but still…the sages have been rather stingy with the story on this one. Cheeky buggers.

Hot as Hades developed out of a brainstorming idea for Ellipses Press and their Pantheon brand. Take a god or goddess of any realm and have them interact with humanity. Let the fun time ensue. J

Here's the tagline:

Roxie St. Clair, an up and coming artist, wants to live and work on her own terms. But when the god of the underworld informs her of the underhanded tactics of her former employer, she decides to turn the tables and fight back.

And the preview snippet…

The god of the underworld paced the confines of his private chamber, muttering curses under his breath. If he said them out loud, his underlings would, no doubt, make certain every last one of them were carried out.

He might be pissed off at Aphrodite…but he also loved her to pieces and didn't really want to see her trussed up and held over an open vat of acid. He just enjoyed venting with a creative flair.

Leave it to her to remember a promise he'd made eons ago. The one she'd tricked him into making. There had to be some kind of loophole to get out of it. He had zero desire to spend a month away from his realm. He liked being melancholy. He didn't need to be surrounded with happiness. Aphrodite just didn't get it.

He snorted. Of course she wouldn't.

But, as she would remind him, a promise equaled a promise. It didn't matter that it had been made in a moment of weakness. Not to her.

So…he would keep it. And venture out into the mortal world to spend a month among the living.

How fun.

Not.

"You have to give it a chance, darling."

Hades no longer wondered how Persephone always seemed to know exactly what his thoughts were. Several lifetimes together might have something to do with it.

"I don't have to do anything." He snapped the words and regretted them as soon as they left his mouth.

Persephone bristled. "No, no you don't." Her voice took on a haughty tone. "But you could choose to not be such an ass and maybe, just maybe, discover something worthwhile in the land of the living." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she walked regally from the room.

Hades sighed. So much she hadn't said. Didn't have to.

Seph spent half a cycle in the land of the living. His reticence to leave his domain and spend any kind of time in her world implied he didn't find her worthwhile. And it always became a bone of contention between them.

And it hurt Seph.

He'd certainly mucked that up.

Hades might not like to interact with humanity, but Roxie ends up getting to him and not in a romantic way. Persephone owns his heart. Hades has just the man in mind to help Roxie thwart her grabby handed former employer. That's when things get interesting. LOL

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed.

Cheers!

Skye