Writing tips and tricks for those who are writing or wanting to write Fantasy! T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Middle Earth - A full worldbuilding questionnaire to help you leave not one stone unturned in developing your fantastical world Hogwarts - Magic help & magic systems galore! The Yellow Brick Road - A guide to help you outline your story before you write it. The Magic Mirror - No pointless MacGuffins here! The Land of Stories - SHARE YOUR FANTASY STORY Narnia - MY OLD REQUEST FORM FOR MAPS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A MAP MADE FOR YOUR STORY, PLEASE VISIT THE BOOK ON MY PROFILE TITLED MAP SHOP - Thanks! :) The Enchanted Forest - An encyclopedia of mythical and magical creatures to spice up your story What's in a Name - A helpful guide for naming and correctly tagging your book The Mirror of Erised - A full questionnaire to help make your characters unique! The Diamond in the Rough - Quintessential characters your book needs Klingon, Parseltongue, or Atlantean? - A helpful guide to including fictional languages in your book He Who Must Not Be Named - a part dedicated to the dastardly evildoers of your book If you have any suggestions as to what you would like me to write about next, don't be afraid to request!

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

[Completed] In a kingdom ruled by a cruel king, no one is out of the watchful eye of the royal family. Not even Roux Aimrey herself, hidden away in a refugee village built from the ground by her parents. If dealing with the looming eye of their leader wasn't enough, Roux's power, an immortal strength, is dangerous and untrained. She believes facing the hypocrisy of the village is the worst of her problems until a powerful storm invades their home, and it's not just any storm. Standing in the chaos, Roux finds the prince of Esaria has come for her; he requires her power to aide his own. Roux must navigate her new life in the castle and learn to leave her old one behind, all the while learning to trust her power and what it must take to force her way into the prince's black heart. Beautiful cover made by @scmimi Book one of a four-book series! Reached #1 in darkfantasy Reached #1 in prince Reached #1 in magic Reached #1 in witch Reached #1 in sword Reached #1 in king Reached #1 in castle Reached #1 in epicfantasy