"Magick ain't pretty, it ain't stars and sparkles. Magick is dirty. It's rough. Raw. It's blood and guts and vomit. You hear me?" When Prime Lord Hark is found in a pool of his own blood on the steps of his halls, Tonmerion Hark finds his world not only turned upside down, but inside out. His father's last will and testament forces him west across the Iron Ocean, to the very brink of the Endless Land and all civilisation. They call it Wyoming. This is a story of murder and family. In the dusty frontier town of Fell Falls, there is no silverware, no servants, no plush velvet nor towering spires. Only dust, danger, and the railway. Tonmerion has only one friend to help him escape the torturous heat and unravel his father's murder. A faerie named Rhin. A twelve-inch tall outcast of his own kind. This is a story of blood and magick. But there are darker things at work in Fell Falls, and not just the railwraiths or the savages. Secrets lurk in Tonmerion's bloodline. Secrets that will redefine this young Hark. This is a story of the edge of the world. ---------- You can also now read the second book in the trilogy-Bloodmoon-at: https://www.wattpad.com/story/45459244-bloodmoon-scarlet-star-trilogy-2. The third and final book-Bloodfeud-is also now out and available from www.bengalley.com or all good bookstores.

"The night is totally black, now, except for the guardian light of the street lamps. No one is out besides me. I fold my arms, missing my army jacket's warmth, and head home quickly. It's dangerous to be out at night. But I don't run. If you run in Rimwick, something chases you." There are two rules in the small town of Rimwick: 1. Don't be different. 2. Don't go outside after dark. Riley Fey broke both the rules. And breaking rules in Rimwick doesn't mean you get grounded; it means you might end up dead. Dead is not a situation Riley wants to be in, even though everyone at school hates her, her dad is MIA, and her mother is the town witch. But when a wolf shows up at Riley's door and takes her to a dangerous land outside her town, "dead" begins to seem a whole lot more likely. #6 in Fantasy A Wattpad Feature Novel Promoted by Goosebumps movie Winner of the HQ Wattys Award Nominated for The People's Choice Award

Follow Esri, a Toronto teenager, who starts having vivid dreams about cave people. With the help of Clea, a mysterious old woman, Esri discovers that she's a Mender with the power to move through time, mending the past to create a better future. Under Clea's guidance, Esri is living a parallel life 75,000 years ago when cataclysmic events reduced the human race to mere hundreds. The events that unfold within the Flat Rocks clan will set the direction for the social evolution of the human race. Esri bounces back and forth in time trying to accomplish her Mending while keeping her everyday life on track. She finds help from many new and somewhat unusual friends - critical allies when she confronts the evil Disruptors, strange beings who can also move through time, bitter enemies of the Menders.

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

Muus is only a thrall, a chattel without rights, but he knows the small, blue shard he picked up belongs to him alone. His commonsense saves their lives from cold and starvation. Kjelle, heir to the Lord of a rich mininghold, is spoiled, and covetous of his thrall's tantalizing find. His greed causes an avalanche that leaves both young men marooned on an icy mountain slope. Birthe, young wisewoman and huntress, mother of baby boy Búi, is brave and clever. She knows her way through the snowy wilderness of the Norden and her songs are filled with magic. Now the three young people are bound together on a danger-laden journey to a lost and burning land, where Muus needs to connect the skyshard to the Kalmanir, the standing stone that is the world's wellspring of all magic. The Kalmanir's time is almost up and it urgently needs to be replenished before the magic of Gods and men runs out. The two boys have to learn to trust each other, for all around them, enemies abound. Rebels threaten both the kingdom and Kjelle's holding, and a tribe of mad idolaters is trying to recall the banned primordial Old Gods. Even more imminent is Muus' danger, for it comes from nearby, from the shard itself. An action-packed adventure in a snowy land full of betrayal, rebellion and danger.

Siena can heal wounds with a touch of her hands. A captive since birth, she is used as a tool of war by a Plainsmen tribe. A chance escape into the forest proves successful... and deadly. Rescued by the Forestfolk--a group of people she always thought were nothing more than bedtime stories--Siena remains on edge. Trust does not come easily when persecution is all she's ever known. Keeping her abilities a secret seems like the right thing to do, until a tragic accident renders two Forestfolk spiraling toward death. If she chooses to reveal her abilities, she risks being subjugated again. Treated as no longer human. Maybe even sent back to the Plainsmen. But keeping her talent to herself means ignoring the injured around her, even allowing them to die. The choice seems obvious to Siena, but living with the repercussions of that choice is another matter altogether. A journey of self-discovery, a bit of adventure, and a splash of romance. On the Wattys 2017 Shortlist!

Asher's best friend has been poisoned. He has three days to live. The only cure: a unicorn horn. The only place to find one: Dragoncliff Cove, where none dare go. ***Book #1 in a series of fantasy novellas*** "In an age when people lived off the land and the Wild was still wild—when a young Queen warmed the throne and her Bulwark Knights patrolled the unruly borders—the edge of civilization was a place where dreams went to die." Welcome to Southwind.

Imagine if, right now, clattering underneath your feet was a secret train system that could take you anywhere in minutes. Imagine a trip full of mystery and excitement from New York to Barcelona to the wind-swept coast of Italy to the edge of space. Imagine dangerous strangers, amazing friends, and high adventure. Imagine Mytro. This book is about kids who find an amazing underground train system that spans the globe and holds great power. The first in a trilogy by the former editor of Gizmodo.