The balance of power on the planet Rychter has changed. The battle for Brekka has left the once mighty fortress city crippled. The gateway to the south and the first line of defence for Rychter's human colonists, it is vulnerable for the first time in living memory. With the brutish Scraegan warbands in the badlands biding their time and gathering strength, it seems more bloodshed is inevitable. Ryke Vannigan, commander of an elite squadron of Hunter-Killer battle mechs, lived through that siege, but when a coalition of political and military leaders from the North descend on the reeling populace of Brekka to take control of the war he finds himself pushed to the margins. In the eyes of the North, Brekka's leaders have failed in their duty, and if the Scraegans can no longer be contained, they must be destroyed. He and his companions are soon drafted to join an army with a single purpose: complete extermination. The battle for Brekka might be over, but the war for Rychter is about to begin. || BOOK 2 in the HUNTER-KILLER SERIES

After decades of all out war between human and Scraegan, the planet Rychter has finally settled into an uneasy peace. Both sides can rebuild, lick their wounds, and for the first time try to coexist. But the war isn't over for everyone. Without the unifying threat of the mysterious Crawlers, factions on both sides are once again spoiling for a fight, threatening to tip the world back into conflict. The closest thing humanity has to an ambassador, Sergeant Ryke Vannigan finds himself in the eye of the storm once again. He must help keep the peace between human and Scraegan, while investigations into the origin of the Crawlers reveal uncomfortable truths about the planet's past. Before the arrival of the human colonists, someone else had plans for Rychter. And they're about to put things back on track. || BOOK 3 in the HUNTER-KILLER SERIES

Life on Rychter would be hard enough for most people - a hothouse of scorching deserts, violent dust storms and volcanic eruptions, it is a place that breeds survivors. But the biggest danger for the humans unfortunate enough to live there are the planet's original owners. For decades Rychter's colonists have lived in state of perpetual war. For Ryke Vannigan, a teenager with a score to settle, that war is his chance at payback. When he and his classmates are conscripted into Rychter's military forces, he joins the elite ranks of the Hunter-Killer Corps. Piloting a fifteen ton war machine and harbouring a thirst for revenge, Ryke is about to write his own bloody chapter in Rychter's history, and change the war forever. IMAGINARIA AWARDS WINNER: SCI FI CATEGORY IMAGINARIA MINI-CATEGORY WINNER: BEST BATTLE || BOOK 1 in the HUNTER-KILLER SERIES

Maclovin, a ruthless hitman with a single rule-complete the job at any cost-finds his latest target, Dr. Michael Hayes, turning the tables. As Maclovin recounts his dark past and his mentor's dying wish, the therapist's unexpected plea for his life leads to an explosive turn of events. "Beyond the Kill" delves into the cold heart of a killer and the unlikely bond that forms when secrets and survival collide.

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

In a city full of villains, would you dare to be the hero? In Lincoln Grove, there hasn't been a hero in 12 years. Villains run rampant through the streets. The biggest question on everyone's mind is where is Titania, the heroic super that took down Steel Hawk years ago? Della waits for someone else to step up to the plate, but when no one does, she takes action. She needed a hero, so that's what she became. What she doesn't expect is for Red Raven, the town's biggest threat, to recognize her behind the mask. How will Della defeat Red Raven when he knows her every move and how will she finally coax the city out of their shells? *FEATURED ON WATTPAD ADVENTURE* Highest ranking: #5 in Adventure Sequel: Villains Rise (completed) *Unedited, to be edited in the future*

A Dystopian Sci-Fantasy Series In what was long ago known as the State of South Dakota, the AR0Cs City-State known as Alitto City is the sprawling walled domain of Hugh Alitto, the allegiant of Soraka Delano the leader of the Sovereign Coalition of Federated Territories in the year 2158. In a future controlled by an authoritarian government, a group of young adults flee their walled city where humanity is now forced to live under the rule of despotic allegiances in tyrannical city-states. Barely escaping, and now on the run, they must learn to survive on their wits and scavenging abilities. Escapees are officially placed on a list rumored to be known as Mermaid Scavengers by S.C.0.F.T. They must stay hidden as they refuse to bow to the system and while they remain on the fringes of society, they are relentlessly hunted and the bounties on their heads are just too attractive to ignore. And one man, it seems, has them in his sights. Shank Venin is determined to collect that million credits bounty for bringing in, the ever elusive, Mermaid Scavengers. ⚠️🅆🄰🅁🄽🄸🄽🄶🅂 Ⓜ️Mature Content. 1/2/2024 🥷Violence, Fighting, Use of weapons, Strong language. 💌 Romantic discovery, boyxboy, girlxgirl, as young adults seek to discover themselves in abnormal situations of survival. 🤚Militant use of force and coercion by futuristic corrupt law enforcement. 🔊This is a work of futurist fiction commonly called Dystopi

-Complete- A zombie apocalypse with a twist of Native American Lore. It all began from a sequence of events so absurd, complicated and uncommon as to be unbelievable but an ancient Hopi Pueblo Prophecy predicted a time when the dead would roam the earth. They called them the Sleepwalkers. Monsters created during an unsurvivable cycle called the Sleeping Sickness, which would last for the length of time it took for only those born during that fateful era to grow up. There was no promise ANYONE could survive such an event. Nor was there ever any oral account as to how it might happen. Only a promise their Great Spirit would give them a sign. 𓅣 Enter Investigative Journalist and War Correspondent, Nathan O'Connor Sr. While covering a story for the WHO in Ethiopia he stumbles upon a dark plot originating in secret medical bio-labs that had the power to wipe out humanity, and runs concurrent with a Hopi prophecy predicting this event. Gathering as much information as possible, he took his findings to WHO HQ in Switzerland. He just never imagined his hard work would never see the light of day. Until it was too late. 𓅣 🎖️Rated #1 in Prepper! *week of 02/20/24 🆆🅰🆁🅽🅸🅽🅶🆂 ⚠️Rated [M] for Mature Audiences ☣️Sci-fi Zombie Apocalypse. 🚨Adult situations occur throughout the story with themes such as: marital strife, arguments and anxiety; with references to extreme delusion, self-medicating, drinking, smoking, revenge, narcissism trauma and teen pregnancy with descriptions of birth. ☠️Descriptions of mass death, murder, suicide, sexual encounters and zombie attacks. 🔫The characters in this novel carry guns for protection and use them. If any of these issues are triggers for [you] please do not read this book. 🐎 Otherwise, enjoy the Apocalypse!

*Sequel to The Lady Knight* As the heiress presumptive of Monrique's largest duchy and a Lady Justice in training, Lady Therese De Beauharnais of Roche has her hands full with her duties, studies, and of course - fending off all her suitors who seem to be only after her money and her body. However, as her father, the Duke of Roche, inches towards his death, and it becomes increasingly likely that she would succeed him without a husband by her side, she faces trouble from someone who does not want a woman to govern Roche in her own right. One of the Monriquan Armed Forces' best archers, Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne is at the lowest point in her life. Desperate for a diversion, she is quick to accept a foreign Emperor's invitation to teach archery at his newly founded women's military academy. However, someone who does not want the initiative to succeed is determined to cause harm to the Emperor, and the students of the academy. Both women are no strangers to injustice. As they struggle with their circumstances, only one question remains on their mind - do truth and justice always prevail in the end?