She is Alrianne Bloodrose, a smart, courageous, kind but sometimes cold hearted 16 years old vampire girl.She never interacts with anyone, she is mostly shy and independent. She is a pureblood. What will happen when she is going to a mysterious academy, the Cross Academy?

Jenna Yousuf has everything all girls envy. A mansion, fancy cars, diamonds and jewels, closets filled with clothes, shoes and purses. A hot husband. But she isn't happy. Who could be when you were forced to marry a man you don't love just to save your family? She doesn't want to give him a chance, nor does she want to try to begin a life with him. But what does she do when he turns out to be the sweetest man she has ever met? Can she keep him at bay, or will she cave, and accept it when she starts to have feelings for her husband? Hudayfah Sulayman has to protect his wife from the evil people who are out to get her brother. While he only married her for that reason, he didnt anticipate one thing; that he would fall in love with her. So much so that he would do anything to make her happy, except for what she really wants; to be let out of their marriage. He knows Jenna doesn't love him now, but should he hold out hope that one day she will?

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

This tale is told throught the eyes of a young vampire prince driven out of his kingdom for discovering dark secrets and is hunted down.The young prince has a secret himself and he must rely on skills in weapons combat and his strategy knowledge to survive and live.Follow the story of Vladix Bloodrose and learn what he has to share.