A silence to keep and a wicked queen to defeat. An exiled princess returns to her kingdom, bent on slaying the immortal sorceress, the Queen in the Glass Mountain. By her side is the Caster, guide and protector. Perils await them on their quest, and will test not only their strength but their hearts as well. Yet how will such thirst for vengeance serve the Princess, if not to lead to her own ruin? Follow the story of the silent Princess, from the fairy tales "Seven Ravens" and "Six Swans", retold as one of grief and hatred, of lost dreams, and above all, of how love can emerge from even the darkest of places. Cover art by Oliver Barcelon: http://oliverpaulobarcelon.daportfolio.com/

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

It started on Wattpad but now is EVERYWHERE! with a published book, a captivating Webcomic on WEBTOON, a published graphic novel, and an upcoming film adaptation by Wattpad WEBTOON studios in Partnership with Stampede. Read, scroll, or watch - Enjoy this romance in any way you like. Stay tuned for film release updates! Basketball star Caleb Lockhart had it all - until a chance encounter with a mysterious woman in red changed everything. For the first time in his life, Caleb wanted something; something he could never have. ***** College heartthrob Caleb Lockhart is the last person a girl like Veronica Strafford should be involved with. Intelligent and ambitious, with good reason to be cynical of the world, Veronica refuses to be the campus player's next conquest, even after a chance encounter sparks an undeniable attraction between them. But with nowhere to stay, and running from recent tragedy, Veronica finds herself leaning on someone else for the first time. Caleb has never wanted something like this before and he's determined to pursue her, even as the secrets of their pasts threaten to break them apart. Book 1 in the Red series

**Unedited, messy & with lots of mistakes. But you will still swoon if you give it a chance lol (but you've been warned)** After a bad breakup, Emily moves across the world to find herself. Getting involved in a relationship is the last thing she wants, but that changes when she meets a handsome stranger, who's perfect in every way, except one thing: he's the Prince of England. Prince with Benefits is a contemporary fairy tale filled with the delights and dramas of falling in love with the man of everyone's dreams. Thank you for the cover @moon_greyyy