At age 30, publications editor Kelsie Taylor is slowly losing hope in finding her fairytale romance. The stories of the women around her who experience abuse and heartbreak along with her own experiences have made her cautious about entering a relationship. Her dream of finding forever love as a young adult is yet to actualize because none of the suitors she encountered so far have made a striking first impression. "I know that with Jamaican men I might have to kiss a few frogs before I find a prince but right now mi feel like a only frog deh here. Most of dem nuh worth more than a hi," she says to a man she only had brief, casual interactions over the past few weeks. He chuckles at her disclosure. "Yuh mean yuh just nuh kiss di right frog yet. And why yuh feel like yuh need a prince or a knight? You are no damsel in distress. You don't need saving." She shrugs at his observation, not sure how to respond. "You just need to get out of your way. I can bet you have written off men with a lot of potential with just one glance. But people are multilayered. You have to peel back the surface to get a better look at what's underneath before writing off a person," he adds. His advice might be just what she needs to guide her past the hurt she's witnessed and take the leap of faith to find true love. ⚠️Trigger warning: This story contains acts of violence and sexual abuse.

[Wattys 2015 Hidden Gem award winner!] Their leader: dead. Their family: broken. Their future: status, uncertain. When five disconnected cousins face the aftermath of a funeral, they must join forces to fix problems long-dormant in their family tree before their differences divide them. But Esau's evading the cops. His girlfriend, Mirrin, is hiding from her errant father. Brother and sister Seven and Eden are locked in a battle of best musician. And Seven's young protégée, Corrin, is just trying to sidestep his family's reputation. When relationships, dreams, and reputations raise the stakes of conflict, each must define for themselves the true meaning of family.

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

Relic and Ruin is now published as a Hardcover and E-book by Wattpad Books! As a Wattpad reader, you can access the Wattpad Books Published Edition here upon purchase. ***** In a place unlike any other, two brothers set off an ancient, epic, and never-ending battle ***** The world is controlled by the Necromancers and Reapers. And Nyx Lahey, born a Necromancer, but raised a Reaper, is on the front lines. While chasing a creature that's killing young girls, Nyx gets mixed up with Erebus Salem, an undead hunter on a mission to return home but with no memory of who he is. But other beings are lurking in the shadows. They know the truth about Erebus and Nyx. They know that the pair are the Relics, the only two powerful beings in the world capable of taking down the greatest evils known to any kind. Soon, Nyx and Erebus become the hunted, and must try and escape the evil plans of the war lord, Bellum. Can Nyx and Erebus master their newfound powers, and even if they do, can they survive? [[word count: 150,000-200,000 words]]

*** Just a few intro chapters - full book available on Amazon, or you can read the original version for free on Wattpad *** Pay your stake. Roll the dice. Do the dare. Getting divorced at twenty-five sucks. Teaching over-confident rich kids when you ought to be designing handbags for Mulberry sucks. In fact, every single aspect of Daisy Fitzgerald's life is one big fail. But when Xander, a veritable Knight-in-Shining-Cricket-Pads, knocks her off her wedge heels, Daisy topples into his world of It-girls, players and Michelin stars. At a party, buoyed up on champagne and escapism, Daisy agrees to play Forfeit, the ultimate game of dares. Round One was a fun way to pass an hour, Round Two wasn't for the faint-hearted, but no one wants to stake £5,000 to play Round Three, not until they're persuaded by a vitriolic social media campaign that's about to go viral. £25,000 is up for grabs, but the game's called Forfeit for good reason. Blackmail, betrayal, revenge... move over Gatsby, there's a new bunch of bored young things in town. *** Caution. Forfeit's rated at PG-13, but it does contain strong language and scenes of a sexual nature. Just sayin'. Cx *** Being open and honest, I'll only be posting the first 30% or so of #Forfeit here. If you like it and want to read the rest, it's available on Kindle. It won't break the bank - 77p, 99c are the launch prices and the Kindle App is free! Keep posted for chances to win signed copies and Kindle freebies. If you feel cheated that you can't read it all for free, the first/ original draft of Forfeit is still on here. It's posted as a book in its own right, but it's also at the end of the new #Forfeit chapters in this version. Thanks for reading. Cx

Gangs. That was the one thing that had ruined Evelyn Summers life since the start. With her brother being the leader of “The London's Eyes,”growing up in a world of cruelty was something Evelyn Summers had to become accustomed to. But thing's about to get a whole lot worse. Gangs are starting to form all over London- with the intention of destroying London's Eyes. What will happen when the leader of the most powerful gang offers protection in exchange for Evie? Will Evie be able to survive Sebastian King? She just might have to- because as we all know, Sebastian isn't planning on letting her go any time soon. +++++ Our breaths were heavy and ragged, our chests skimming against each other. "You're no good for me." I whispered, my eyes searching his emotionless ones. "Well that's just too bad, now is it?" +++++

Seventeen-year-old April Parker wakes up in an underground facility, a shock bracelet on her wrist and a five-day countdown on the clock. Dozens of other teens share her inexplicable fate, but their unseen captors never intervene no matter how brutal conditions become. When the ruthless - and unnervingly magnetic - Marcus seizes control, April's trauma-forged instinct is to lay low. But protecting her friends drives her to bargain with the boy she should fear most - a boy whose reality fractures with every tick. Then the countdown ends, and the real terror begins. Powers ignite. Alliances shatter. And predators are born. And with a saboteur among them determined to keep the doors closed forever, escaping what comes next may be the only way to survive it.

In a town where one misstep can turn into a national scandal, the students at D.C.’s elite Georgetown Academy know there’s only one rule: whatever you do, don’t get caught.

!! GOLD MEDAL WINNER - 2014 READERS' FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD CONTEST !! Do you think you know what it is like to be a famous teen star? Do you think she is always sexy and looking for her next party? Think again. Discover the Starlet Series and uncover the life of a talented actress caught in Hollywood's web of lies. ~*~ I'm actress Liana Marie Michael. I won an Oscar at 17 but whatever. Really. Celebrity is what it is: marketing a product. I'm part of a tight-knit group of kids of celebrities. I keep to myself and don't complain about my life. I've been happy until lately. Evan dumping me leveled me. Matthew shocked me. I knew he couldn't hurt me with my bodyguard so near, but his eyes...so I have trust issues. Dating super-hot Byron didn't help clear the confusion either. I'm torn between going to church on Sunday and making a living from pop culture. But experience builds perspective. My days of shutting up needed to end. First, I told Manuel. Then I told my mom. It turned out awesome until I learned the truth. Now I'm screwed. Totally. Let's face it: Hollywood's web entangles everyone. ~*~ Winner of the January 21, 2013 IBD Award! Gold Medal Winner, 2013 AUTHORSdb Book Cover Contest! "YA fans will absolutely want to check out this series, where they'll find a new heroine to root for in the flawed but sympathetic Liana." - BlueInk Review ---Genres: YA contemporary romance, teen love and romance, young adult, coming of age fiction, new adult fiction, edgy inspirational romance, multicultural romance. Contains premarital sex and mild swearing. Copyright 2013 by Carla Hanna, 2012 by Carla J. Hanna. All rights reserved. Wattpad version. You can find the edited, final version here: http://www.amazon.com/Starlets-Web-Starlet-Carla-Hanna-ebook/dp/B00A0XPODU

The mayor of Toronto collapses and dies while making a speech. The newspaper receives an email -- a fake obituary that claims credit for his murder. The note is signed by a secret society at a prestigious downtown university. Clare Vengel is given her first undercover assignment: to pose as a student, penetrate the secret society, and find out who killed the mayor.