Lola was always considered to be a tomboy.But the stereotype never really bothered her because she was happy with her life. The moody Wesley Lewis was seen as the resident bad boy. He didn't really care what people called him as long as they stayed away. Not very long into their unavoidable summer together Lola decides Wesley needed someone to teach him how to enjoy life again.

Hailey always thought she had a pretty ordinary life. The only thing that could be called unusual in her life was that her mother had disappeared into thin air not long after Hailey's birth. Soon, though, her mother is not the most important thing on the young girl's mind as she discovers a hidden side of herself and meets a strange winged boy who pulls her into a magical world she could never in her wildest dreams have imagined. Follow Hailey in her adventure as she learns more about her true heritage and discovers things she never would have believed before. (COMPLETED) Featured in Wattpad's magazine, Wattzymag. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2013 and 2014

Sandy Burks is a doll. A living, speaking doll. She lives with her parents and her younger brother Troy in her small white, dollhouse in the playroom of a human girl. Every day they pretend to be made of plastic, to be lifeless, empty and hollow. One day though a stranger called Gregor enters Sandy's room through the window. Sandy finds out that all dolls are in danger of being burned - because of the growing popularity of video games. Sandy sets off with Gregor to save them all - and perhaps she learns why playtoys are important for children.

************************************************************************************** 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.