The Grim Empire Trilogy
A Gothic Horror retelling of Hades and Persephone,
set in a twisted magical Jazz Age
ruled by vampires, villains, and mob queens.
Demetrius Raske strikes a deal with the Devil to stop a monster stalking the city, but he may have unleashed another villain entirely…
The Capital of the United League of Nations glitters like jewels on a dame’s neck—a city of wicked splendor and possibility. The deals struck in the Senate are as ruthless as the ones struck in the city’s criminal underbelly. No one knows this better than vampire politician Demetrius Raske, who walks both worlds.
Demetrius fights for a bill that will grant humans and vampires equal civil liberties. But many citizens don’t share his sentiment, especially after the murders begin. Body after body, drained of blood, appear throughout the city, threatening the League’s tenuous peace treaty between humans and vampires. If Demetrius’s bill doesn’t pass the Senate, his campaign for a united future will be crushed. Only one man has the ability to apprehend the bloodthirsty monster—a man known simply as the Devil. And rumor has it, he isn’t a man at all. Together, they strike a deal to catch the murderer before Demetrius’s bill fails—a disaster that would push the League to the brink of civil war.
But Demetrius’s calculated moves don’t go unnoticed. He catches the attention of Gabriella Rose, a journalist whose hunt for her next big headline pushes her right into the murderer’s path, costing her everything she holds dear. Now something dark grows within Gabriella—a power her allies wish to control and her enemies want to exploit.
The only way Demetrius and Gabriella can save themselves—and the city they love—is to strike another deal with the Devil. But their villainous partner is playing his own game. And soon they will learn how the Devil earned his name.
Releasing April 24, 2026
Winter grips the Capital of the United League of Nations. A series of murders has cast a pall over the city, but only four people know the truth.
Demetrius Raske wrestles with the damning secret that his own uncle murdered dozens, challenging his faith in his kingdom, his family, and even himself. Desperate to redeem his family name, Demetrius throws himself into the fight for peace between humans and vampires. But an increasingly hostile Senate threatens that dream. If only Demetrius could apprehend his missing uncle. . . But Xavier Raske has disappeared into the city’s shadows. Fortunately, Demetrius knows the Devil who owns every dark corner and shadowed alleyway in the city’s underworld.
Hades Cronus, the sorcerer-gangster who runs the city’s largest crime syndicate, has problems of his own. His involvement in League affairs has attracted the attention of rival ganglords. Hades must decide where he belongs: as clandestine official or as an Eastgate kingpin. A growing attachment to his protege Gabriella Rose complicates matters. Meanwhile, Gabriella’s growing mastery of her newfound powers has ignited her thirst for revenge. That hunger evolves into dark fascination with the gangster tasked with protecting her. She senses that Hades possesses answers about her parents, Xavier, and the League’s darkest secrets. Answers she’s determined to pry from his defenses.
But Hades Cronus is running his own con, one with consequences none of them can predict. Soon, the city will learn how the Devil of Eastgate earned his name.
A bloodthirsty vampire fantasy series with the sinister vibes of …
Peaky Blinders
x
Sinners
x
A Forbidden Alchemy
x
Peaky Blinders x Sinners x A Forbidden Alchemy x
The GRIM EMPIRE TRILOGY presents a horrific twist on the Hades and Persephone legend. Part horror, part fantasy, Scythe and Pen is the first installment in a rip-roaring series that will sink its fangs into your heart and refuse to let go. Readers have compared the story to A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan, The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, Priest of Bones by Peter McClean and the popular BBC series Peaky Blinders.
now available in Italy.
31 March 2025
Now on KU!
a viciously dark fantasy perfect for fans of Six of Crows, Peaky Blinders, Dance of Thieves, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and Priest of Bones.
available at all major retailers
“A broad, tall man melted from the black. His appearance was like the slow drawing of a knife: glittering and lethal. A snapbrim fedora obscured his features. A cigarette slid to the corner of his mouth.”
— A.C. Hobbs, Scythe and Pen
“Her beauty was an assault, a weapon wielded to distract and disarm. But Demetrius Raske was not interested in distraction.”
— A.C. Hobbs, Scythe and Pen
GRIM EMPIRE
The final installment in the Grim Empire Trilogy, currently in production. Check the author’s Instagram for regular updates!
Tentatively scheduled for 2027
A dark jazzy book playlist
In the mood for some jazz and blues? Listen to the Scythe and Pen playlist. Tracks have been specifically chosen to coordinate with novel events and characters. A mix of sultry blues, dark ballads, and toe-tapping jazz, the playlist will put you in the mood to dance … or hunt down a monster.