WARNING: This middlegrade book touches on topics of cyber bullying, death, murder, and abandonment--rated PG.
A/N: May 31, 2023 - Super excited to announce that Merlin's Curse made the ONC Short List! And...I cracked 2k reads today. Great day for Merlin--super grateful for all of you, my dear readers. Thank you!
A/N: April 26, 2023 - I finished Merlin's Curse today!!!!!! What an amazing feeling. I have a bit of editing to do between now and April 29th when final submission is due for ONC 2023, but this is an accomplishment worth celebrating! I'm so grateful to all of you, my readers--for so many wonderful and helpful comments and notes of encouragement. I LOVE following along your journey with Merlin through your comments. Freakn' Merlin's beard!!! Keep them coming :)
And super fitting: Merlin hit the No.4 ranking on the tag "nerdy" today.
A/N: April 19, 2023 - Merlin's Curse has qualified for round three of ONC 2023!! I have until April 30th to finish his story and submit so PLEASE - love to see your comments on what you like, what you don't, what's confusing...and if you find any gramatical errors. I'm at 35,000 words right now, and I think--hope--two chapters away from finishing.
A/N: April 16, 2023 - Merlin hit No.1 ranking on "middlegrade" tag April 5th! And on April 8th, Merlin passed the 1000 reads mark and 200+ stars!! Fun milestones. I also updated the book cover with an AI generated image of Merlin in front of The Breakers Mansion -- at least the best renedition I've been able to create thus far using the starryai app. I kind of love the new version of the cover--feels much more middlegrade and captures Merlin's story.
A/N: March 23, 2023 - Super Excited that Merlin's Curse has hit No.2 ranking on the middlegrade tag! Here's a fun list of ranking milestones.
No.2 Ranking on "middlegrade" tag 3/23/2023
No.1 Ranking on "speculative" tag 3/20/2023
No.4 Ranking on "witty" tag 2/27/2023
No.3 Ranking on "ONC2023" tag 2/23/2023
A/N: March 21, 2023 - Merlin's Curse has qualified for round two of ONC 2023!! Maybe he's not so cursed :) Give him a day. I'm sure he can scrape into a bit of trouble. Please, please, please - love to hear your thoughts as you read so please comment and star the chapters that you love.
A/N March 19, 2023 - I've hit my 20,000 word mark for ONC and Merlin has taken on a life of his own. Keeping this under 40k words will be hard. I love his quirky nature and the emotional rollercoaster he's on. Life is hard. But life is good, too. I've had a LOT of comments on the first two chapters. And I'm grateful for every single one. I would love for you, my dear readers, to help me with all that comes after chapter 1 and 2. Maintaining Merlin's voice throughout is my most important objective. So if you feel he's a little lost or not coming through as strong - PLEASE - let me know. And please star the chapters so we can help Merlin shine on a larger stage. He so wants to be read. And understood. And to have a friend.
A/N: Feb 13, 2023 - The story is based on Open Novella Contest (ONC 2023) prompt No. 47: You had a dispute with a cyberbully/keyboard warrior on social media. So you decided to step up and track down the account to confront. But you were shocked when you discovered who the person(s) is/are.
ONC Round 1 (2000 words) is due Feb 28th, so I'd love your feedback and comments and votes, especially on chapter 1 & 2. What do you like most? Is there something missing? How likable is Merlin? Is his voice strong enough? Is the story compelling? Does it move with pace?
The favorite part of my day is reading and responding to your comments. I have thick skin so I'm eager for constructive comments on how I can improve the story and what you like most. Best wishes and happy reading!
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Merlin's Curse
Science Fiction[8X FEATURED] Merlin is the greatest-eleven-year-old nerd the world doesn't know because his name has cursed him--he's all parts nerd and zero parts magic and all he wants is to be cool. When Merlin hacks a new encryption code designed to protect on...
