A drunk Russian communist warrior. An angry Rogue cursing in Cantonese. An Italian who would sooner shoot people dead with words then with his arrows. An African American pointed his wand around like a gun, then pulled its imaginary trigger. And there's me, the typical Asian guy you will last pick for dodge ball team. This was my first ever VRMMO RPG team. This is the world of [Unlimited Dreams]. Highest rank in Fantasy #68 (2018/03/13) Highest rank in Light novel #2 (2018/05/08) Highest rank in RPG #1 (2018/08/14) Highest rank in Action #42 (2018/07/08) Highest rank in vr #1 (2018/08/28) Huge thanks to @Creaking_Shadow for making this ridiculously good cover (≧◡≦) Disclaimer: The background music used inside does not belong to me. All political views and religious view is strictly fictional views of characters and by no means to offend or persecute any race or religion.

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

A Steampunk novella excerpt. The Department of Supernatural Investigation steps in when things go wrong in weird ways. When monsters start prowling the streets of New Pittsburgh, a shady monster hunter charges a fat fee to exterminate the creatures and Agents Mitch Storm, Della Kennedy and Jacob Drangosavich step in to check things out. Are the new monsters connected to the sudden disappearances of psychics and mediums? And is the notorious Dollmaker behind the mayhem? It's an action-packed adventure full of airships, mad scientists, dark magic, clockwork creatures, carriage chases and plenty of explosions! (5 of 6 sections are posted here. The full novella is available in ebook on Kindle/Kobo/Nook). Cover photo © Jeff Thrower / Shutterstock

When teenagers Liana Keamy and Jerrim Lightrun decided to run away seeking adventure, they couldn't have imagined what would be in store for them. Coming across a strange old hermit hiding away from society, Liana and Jerrim find much more than the fabled treasure they were seeking, but with deadly consequences. They'll have to decide if they can trust the old man when danger comes looking for them, and hope to return home alive. * First Place winner of the Blue Rose Awards Adventure category * "Some of the most vivid and descriptive scenes I've read. I'm on the edge of my seat" - @byconcept "I am still sitting here 20 minutes later, on the edge of my chair with my mouth hanging open!! :) :D" - @HelenGraul