Goddesses Inc.
Autumn Bardot
Publication date: March 11th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Divinity was their destiny. Now mortality is 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, goddess of remembrance and mother of the nine muses, is fired.
Mnem isn’t the only one. Three other goddesses are also up a 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 an epic decision. One with deadly consequences.
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EXCERPT:
“You are no longer relevant, Mnemosyne. No one knows who you are or what you are the goddess of.”
Mnem touched her chest. “I’m Mnemosyne, Greek goddess of memory.”
Shee’s lips twitched. “I know who you are.”
“I—”
Shee held out a silencing palm. “Do you have a brand?”
“A what?”
Shee produced a cellphone from the folds of her kaftan and pushed the device across the desk. “A brand. A platform. Do you have followers?”
Mnem glanced at the cellphone. “What kind of followers?”
“Social media followers.” Shee tapped the phone with a long oval-shaped nail. “Twitter. InstaPic. Snap chat. Facebook.”
“I…” A Charybdis whirlpool churned in Mnem’s belly.
“You’re a goddess and you don’t have a twitter account, let alone a blue checkmark.”
“Neither do you,” Mnem shot back.
Shee laughed, a beautifully ugly sound devoid of mirth. “I don’t need one. I am All.”
Mnem felt the roiling waters move upwards. “You asked me here to tell me to get a social media account?”
“No.” Shee crossed her arms. “FEM and MAS are merging.”
MAS, Masculine Alliance Sodality. The cosmic counterpart.
Shee stretched her arm to the vista beyond, to the landscape of skyscrapers, factories, buildings, and domiciles. “The world is always changing. We change with it.”
Don’t throw up. “What does that mean?”
Shee lowered her arm, the kaftan’s fabric fluttering into perfect drapes around her. “It means, Mnemosyne, that we must clean house. Downsize. Free ourselves from goddesses and gods who are no longer relevant.”
“I’m relevant.” Mnem squeaked, her voice without relevancy.
“No, you’re not.” Shee’s mouth formed into her famous smile-frown. Pitying. Beneficent. Empathetic. And terrifying. “Darling, you haven’t been relevant for a thousand years.”
“I’ll change.” Mnem slid her phone from her metallic goatskin Chanel purse. “I’ll create a…a brand. I’ll start an account. How difficult can it be to get a blue checkmark?”
Shee sighed. “It’s too late.”
“What do you mean?” Mnem’s divine bones chilled to ice. “Are you firing me?”
“I prefer the term dismissed.” Shee crossed one leg over the other. “You’re one of many. MAS and I are streamlining. Redundancy is neither expedient nor prudent.”
All the air whooshed out of Mnem. Her belly constricted. Her bowels twisted. “What will happen to me?” Mnem’s voice cracked. Sounded human. A voice strangled by fear.
Shee graced her with another ghastly pitying smile. “You are now barred from FEM. All your privileges revoked forthwith. Don’t look so mortified, Mnem. This is your doing after all. You had choices.” Shee’s finger tapped the air. “You’ve always had choices. You chose to do nothing.”
Mnem squared her shoulders. “I am the mother of the nine muses.” Dear goddess, I sound pathetic.
“That’s not enough anymore.” Shee’s fingers fluttered in the air. “Look at you. Wearing all the latest designer clothing. You keep current with fashion. Have the newest phone. Enjoy an extremely active social and sexual life.”
“People love me.”
“No darling, you’ve become arm candy and a good time for a miles-long string of interesting mortal men.”
Author Bio:
Autumn Bardot is a multi-genre author who writes stories about fearless women and dangerous passions. She has taught literary analysis and writing for almost twenty years. This year Autumn is a presenter at the Historical Novel Society conference. Autumn was the featured author on Stoya's Book Club; has an article on BooksbyWomen.org; and was a guest speaker on several podcasts, library panels, and writing clubs. Autumn is currently writing her next novel and posting informational videos on her YouTube channel.
Autumn has a passion for history and a special affinity for the unsung courageous females that history neglects or misunderstands. She lives in Southern California with her husband and ever-growing family. She wishes she was one-tenth as brave as the women she writes about.
Autumn also writes as LZ Marie.
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