After five failed lifetimes spent trying to beat fate, Ellie Blackwell's faith that things will be different this time is long gone. Her heart has been shattered one too many times and she's not prepared to let it happen again. Broken and beaten down, she has all but given up. Her's is a destiny that cannot be changed; she's accepted that now. But there is one path she hasn't tried before, one choice she's never made, one man she's never said yes to... Could he be the key to changing her fate? Or will burying her heartache in another just make everything worse? Surrounded by the same souls that have followed her for seven lifetimes, Ellie decides to forfeit her fight with destiny before it even begins. But ignoring your heart after two hundred years isn't easy; especially when the past just won't let go. In the fourth and final book of The Return Series we bounce back and forth between present day and Ellie's sixth lifetime in the late 70's. Mysteries will finally be solved and questions will finally be answered. And, with Ellie's eighteenth birthday rapidly approaching, she somehow needs to find the strength to fight for her life. But will she be able to take all she's learned over these past seven lifetimes and change her present enough to give her a chance at a future? Or is Ellie still cursed to have this lifetime end like the ones before? ***If you haven't read the other books in The Return Series, it's HIGHLY recommended that you start this mystery from the beginning. All the books can be found on my profile page and should be read in the following order: The Return (Wattpad Featured Book, Watty Finalist) The Resurrection (Over 2 million reads) The Revival (Top ten in Murder/Mystery) The Restoration (Watty Winner 2015) A special thanks to @SoCameraShy for her cover work on this book, and all of the books in The Return Series, be sure to check out her amazing work!

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

To move on from her past, an extraordinary girl must tear down the walls she has built to protect herself. Mackenzie Douglas seems to have it all: good looks, a great boyfriend, a passion for biking, and a little sister who worships her. But under the veneer of perfection lie the emotional scars of her childhood, inflicted by her father. Though her memories have faded with time, the wounds on Mac’s subconscious remain. Having vowed to never be a victim again, Mac focuses on a journey she’s always wanted to take: a summer bike trip on her amazing new RoadCap bike. But as the excursion finally gets underway, memories Mac long ago buried start to claw their way back to the surface, forcing her to confront a past she has done everything she can to forget. To prevent her sister from enduring the same trauma, Mac must let go of everything in which she’s found refuge. To break a cycle that needs to be broken, Mackenzie summons her strength and risks shattering the world she has so carefully built, exposing hidden secrets, long-told lies, and a horrific crime. Hello, Readers! It took me nine years (seriously!) to finish this YA, Dancing With the Devil, and Diversion Books has published it both digitally and in paperback versions. But guess what? I'm also putting it up here on Wattpad, free. Serialized, so it might make you crazy, but still, cool, right? And the whole thing will be here. I'm serializing twice a week every Sunday and Wednesday and the completed story will be one of the Wattpad Featured Stories starting on June 6th. You'll just have to wait to read the whole thing. After it's all up, I get to answer questions in a LIVE Q&A book club! Talking to readers will be a dream come true. Sign up here to make sure you don't miss the event: http://katiedavis.com/devilbookclub

The SECOND book of the award-winning series THE FATES: a saga of three mortal girls who also happen to be mythical goddesses... and the all-powerful directors of human destiny. The series alternates between their modern-day drama and their epic adventures across world history! ** SPOILERS ahead – please proceed only if you have read Book I ** Since coming down to earth, the Fates have changed. Their lives are twined with mortal threads upon the Loom. Clotho has felt love and loss; Lachesis has faced fears and found new hope; Atropos has been fighting darkness, in the world and in her soul. As primordial Chaos urges them, all three must fight on against the darkness in the heart of humankind, to strive to save their mother from impending doom. Thousands of years later, in 2015, three mortal girls are on the verge of fateful self-discovery. Cloe, Lacey, and Atria have all arrived in Greece, where they've crossed paths with one another—and with a mysterious grey-eyed woman whose presence in their lives may have awakened certain powers. Amidst heart-stopping love triangles and other twists and turns, the Fates will find that they have much to learn about their true identities, abilities, and interwoven destinies. ~~~~~~~~~~ Join the Fates and all their lovers, friends, and foes as they embark on the second installment of this star-crossed journey across space and time! Much luv as always to all my dear Fatefuls—and for any new folks out there, a warm welcome to the big, happy #Fateful family :D Note: Book I of The Fates is available at http://www.wattpad.com/story/14913477-the-fates-book-i-2014-watty-award-winner [PG-13 for adult language, non-graphic sexual content, mature themes]