THE FAE ARE STEALING HEARTS [Wattpad Picks: Editors' Choice] Many moons ago, a deal was struck with the fae by a young woman who wished to save her lover's life. Years later, Adalyn is called upon to repay the debt and tumbles into a realm entirely apart from her own. Lost within a sinister fae city, she must learn to live in a place where fates can be foretold, names are kept as secrets, and bandits can steal the beating heart from her chest. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's dangerous to wander into the Wystwood alone?" Fantasy│Adventure│Romance A Wattpad Editors' Choice Story [Cover designed by myself│Cover graphic '04 Dorothy Lathrop' attributed to Will (ajourneyroundmyskull) on Flickr, licenced under CC BY 4.0]

Malikah knows her place. It's with the other defects in the outer rings. In her world where perfection and Unitarianism are the only options, and all who don't fit the mold live out their lives in the slums of the outer rings she's used to doing whatever it takes to survive another day. Fighting in the pits and helping out at the baker's hut has become her daily routine for so long that Malikah doesn't expect anything out of the ordinary. But that's exactly what she gets. With her hard earned savings in hand, ready to buy her own pair of shoes she goes to the market place, but instead of shoes, a mysterious necklace seems to literally be calling to her, begging her to buy it. She does. And her whole life changes. With the help of a handsome stranger and a insanely strange group of people who say she belongs with them, Malikah may just find that she doesn't know her place after all and her world, might not be the only one there is. Thrust into adventure filled with strange creatures, Gods, betrayal, destiny, and maybe even love, Malikah must stay true to herself if she wants to not only save the world, but fulfill her destiny.

************************************************************************************** An outcast rogue must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. To survive, he'll need the sword of a maiden, the aid of an immortal, and the power of forbidden magic that could cost him the only girl he ever loved. ************************************************************************************ *** THE JACK OF SOULS won a Silver IPPY this year! *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the PNWA Competition in Fantasy! * *** THE JACK OF SOULS won 1st place in the Southwest Writers competition! * *** A "Featured Book" on Wattpad! * *** Now a "Staff Pick" on Kickstarter! * *** Available on Amazon in paper, hardback, and ebook ! * *** My contract with Kindle Select won't allow me to post more than 3 chapters here, but... *** Sign up for my newsletter on stephenmerlino.com for alerts when it's free on Amazon! * MY INSPIRATION I wrote this out of pure love of trickster rogues; I love the wit over brawn motif -- Odysseus over Achilles, Raven over Eagle -- so I like to play with it in my stories. In JOS I set the rogue and con-artist Harric against a foil of warriors in a land threatened by magic and civil war. Whenever possible I turn familiar tropes on their heads: instead of a handsome young Lancelot, I cast a broken-down ex-champion addicted to pain-killing herbs; instead of a dashing Squire Brian, the old knight reluctantly takes an ambitious young woman as squire. Similarly, I re-imagine the standard medieval milieu by infusing aspects of two of my favorite historical periods, Elizabethan England, and The American Frontier. Both eras boast a kind of nationalistic arrogance that borders on hubris, and a magnificent spirit of resourcefulness and re-invention that is fun to play with. SERIES The Jack of Souls is first in a series. I am posting parts of the sequel here now (The Knave of Souls), to help me refine the story.

A dangerous and filthy lie is prevalent throughout the land of Ralium. Nobles and Kings would have their subject believe that the kingdom resting in a time of peace. They say there is no war. No attacks. That there is no death, yet within this supposed peace there is a darkness creeping over the land. Men adorned with gilded snakes for tattoos wander the land in numbers, dragging broken peoples in chains behind them. These men, known as the Venom, serve the Savage King. The leader of Venom and the Royal family were tied by a peace treaty, one that ended a war many years ago. It was how Venom managed to prowl on the land. The people had achieved their peace, while Venom pillaged lesser villages. The people achieved their false peace, while countless lives are ripped from their families. Yes, they achieved their heartless peace, as people were reduced to nothing more than objects. However, the presence of an escaped slave had shattered their peace. By telling them of an emblem that rested on the Savage King's war table. |Book One of the Archives of Ralium trilogy| Special thanks to @pennywithaney for helping me with the blurb and for making the cover!

When social services threatens to take away her younger sister, budding singer Kamree Philips must accept help from her young, attractive boss in order to keep her small family together. ***** In a kingdom filled with music and Destiny, Kamree Philips is perhaps the only individual who doesn't believe in love. She can't afford to. With a demanding job and a little sister to take care of, love is the last thing on her mind. However, when social services come to take away her younger sister, Kamree must accept help from her music producer boss, Daxton Cavenaugh, to keep her family together. Despite her notions on relationships, the more time she spends with Daxton, the more Kamree begins to question herself. Love doesn't exist...right? (Book Two of the Anonymous Series) (Can be read standalone)

*completed NOW A PUBLISHED NOVEL!* An ancient Cursed bloodline, a world-crossed romance, tyrant kings, a princess with dragon wings, a forbidden love affair, and a sorcerer meant to reign in chaos... this is the Redemption Saga. Bride of Alvar What if your entire life your mother declared you're destined to wed a king from a magical world? Would you believe her? Probably not. I didn't believe her either, until a handsome, other-worldly king showed up to claim me as his bride. Despite my annoying attraction to him, I let the magical king know about a complication: I'm already engaged to somebody else. However, when monsters from Alvar's world kidnap my best friend, I find myself whisked away to his realm marrying him anyway. But marrying a man I barely know and adapting to a fantastical new world is nothing compared to learning just how many dark secrets my new husband hides and that the fates of both my world and Alvar's rest on MY shoulders. For the edited paperback of this book go to this link: https://www.amazon.com/Bride-Alvar-Redemption-Silver-Reins/dp/B08LNJL4LN Best ranking: #1 in Fantasy

[20 Chapter Preview of 2021 Edition. 2025 Edition coming soon to Amazon] Fearing for Will's life, Alex crosses the Rim to save him from the Rhean monarchy, but the dark truths awaiting her will make her question everything. ***** Two months have passed since the battle at Holly, and Alex has worked tirelessly to master her power. Training under the Command has taken a toll on her health, but she welcomes the distraction - anything to keep her mind off the elusive Rhean prince. No one has heard from Will since his departure, and while her peers implore her to wait for his return, Alex has never known patience. Accompanied by two unlikely allies, she ventures into Rhean territory, desperate to save her friend. But one rescue mission might just cost her everything. ***** (Book 2 in the Ephemeral Series)

When Alam promises a dying priest that he will return a sealed box to it's true owner he unwittingly puts himself in the center of world shaking events beyond his abilities. Within days he, and everyone he loves, are under threat. An unstoppable hunter, beasts of the night, and sorcerers able to tear the very fabric of reality begin to converge on the box. Alam must decide. Should he give up the box? Should he fulfill his promise to find its rightful owner? Or can he somehow open it himself and discover why it is the center of so much destruction? Engraved - the Hunted Warrior is a fantasy novel set in a Central Asian inspired land of long winters and warring clans. It is full of adventure, action, and more than a hint of romance. Copyright © 2017 | All rights reserved.

With the White God in Europe, Dustin is left alone in Miami to protect the Grey God, a man-god struggling with his identity, and the White God’s mate. One of the Black God’s vamps in Miami suddenly goes rogue and starts killing humans by the dozen. Dustin initially doesn’t think much of the ruthless, human-hating thug, Talon, until it becomes clear that the vamp is receiving help from otherworldly beings whose intentions are nothing short of destroying humanity. To make matters even worse, Dustin’s begun to dream of his dead sister, who tells him he’ll be seeing her soon. Dustin rescues Bianca and her troubled brother, a Natural whose mysterious talent makes him vital to Talon’s plans. Bianca, a woman as sunny and sweet as Dustin is hard and cold, has the rare Natural gift of healing. She can bring the recent dead back to life or turn a vamp back into a human. She can even reach Dustin’s heart, which he locked away long again after his sister’s death. Convinced he’ll be killed soon, Dustin won’t risk his heart or Bianca’s, despite their mutual attraction, and Bianca discovers even her incredible talent can’t save both the men she loves.

COMPLETED. "What are you?" he asks, his deep melodious voice vibrating in my ears. I refuse to show him any weakness, any fear at all. I stare into those endless eyes. "I don't know..." my body is covered in shivers when he lights up in rage and punches the brick wall behind me, creating a perfect dented hole, as if the wall was made of plaster. "Don't test me, princess," he hisses, bending further in towards me. "You have no idea what I could do to you." he licks his lips, and I have just enough time to catch a glimpse of pointy teeth before a raging pain slices through my neck. ............... Emma Sanders is a seventeen-year-old girl, moving to a foreign town, one of those that you wouldn't find on a map, except maybe if you measured it by inches. But a secretive group of blood, fangs, and mystery has her attention, and it would destroy anything in its path to figure out what she really is. ............... Copyright 2014 - Sophia Kjeldbjerg No part of this story may be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted to anyone. It cannot be transmitted or copied by any means - such as by electronic devices, photocopies, recordings, mechanics or any other forms - without prior written permission from the author. Copying this story is a violation of the copyright law.