𝗘𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 ＃𝟮 || As the next head of the Shinigami tribe, Rielle was given a mission to infiltrate their archenemy's base, Tantei High, in search of any information about the legendary seventh sense. Her animosity toward the Senshins made it hard for her to get closer to her goal, and worse, Hideo, the heir to the Senshin's tribe seat of power, had already deemed Rielle suspicious. But as she spent more time with the Senshins, she had began questioning the beliefs and principles she had adhered to for a long time. Trapped between her responsibility as an heir, and her personal feelings, Rielle must choose the side she'd stay with.

𝗘𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀, 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 ＃𝟭 || As the war ended, another problem has arisen.

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