Not your typical good-girl-meets-bad-boy story, SWEET POISON is a romance laced with the kind of suspense and sexual tension that will have you running out of breaths as your finger scrolls through the pages. ____________________________________________ When Kassandra notices the stranger's intense stare from across the room she can't tell if he wants her body in his bed...or a casket. Liam's feline-blue eyes and slick tongue change everything when his shadow looms over her petite frame. The only thing Kassandra has in common with Liam is tonight. He's twice her age and knows exactly what he wants. There's the gold ring he's clearly forgotten is on his finger and the cigarette he indolently tugs at—both observances that should make her want to run in the opposite direction. But she can't help but wonder what could happen if she lets the buttery leather of his sleek sports car hold her as he takes her to his luxury high-rise. What's the worst that could happen? Everyone who's ever mattered to her in her life has abandoned her. But Liam, he wants her. Or in his words, "needs" her. _____________________________________________ This capsule story is a pre-story to BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE, a psychological suspense I'm currently querying for representation. I'm going the traditional route, but wanted you to get to know Kassandra first. With that said, I will post the COMPLETE story here on Wattpad. You can look forward to a new chapter every Friday afternoon @ 1:00PM (Eastern/Standard time).

Lord of the Rings meets Knights of the Roundtable in this epic new saga from bestselling author Matthew Wolf. When legends come to life the world trembles from a single name. Ronin. Once-heroes from a different age, they wield elemental powers... wind, water, fire, stone, forest, sun, moon, flesh, and metal. At the same time, a young man discovers his best friend with a sword in her stomach, and dark wings sprouting from her back. Guards rush onto the scene, accuse him of the act, and he is forced to flee. In a new world without his memories, Gray must find his way amid legends and darkness, as he wrestles with an elemental power inside himself. A power all too similar to the infamous Ronin...

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

Widowed on her wedding day, Eleanor Peyton, has no intention of losing her independence by remarrying, and love isn’t even a consideration. William Rudhale has no problem getting any woman he chooses and has recently become steward to Eleanor's father. When Eleanor returns to her childhood home, the beautiful yet spiky woman fascinates William. When he wagers he can win a kiss by Midwinter’s night, whose heart is at more at stake, and what will happen if Eleanor discovers the truth behind his interest?

Puck You is now available in paperback and e-book! Grace wants to prove herself by making the men's hockey team at her new school. Will a rivalry with the captain - or an attraction between them - get in the way? ***** When Grace Gillman moves to California, she's determined to play hockey -- even if that means making a place for herself on her new school's only team. But Sebastian Evans doesn't want a girl on the men's team, even if she's a great player. He's convinced she'll distract the other boys and cost them their shot at the championship - and with it, his only chance at a scholarship to his dream college. But despite his icy attitude towards her, he can't help but feel a connection building between them - which quickly gets complicated when he learns she has eyes for someone else. Will they remain rivals on the rink, or will things heat up between them? [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

She's fae. He's human. He should never have followed her into the magic realm... Violet has one job: protect humans from dangerous magical creatures. It's a job she's good at-until the cute human guy whose life she just saved follows her into the fae world. Now she's broken faerie law, risking her future at the Guild of Guardians. She needs to get Nate home and make him forget everything he's discovered. If only someone wasn't intent on hunting him down. Vi and Nate are pulled into the darker side of the fae world, where deadly magic and long-forgotten secrets exist. Vi might be one of the best, but can she get them out alive? Dazzling magic, page-turning action, family secrets, and swoon-worthy romance. Start reading today to be swept away into this enchanting world! (Note: This is a first edition. The second edition with minor changes is now available on the Google Play store, Apple Books, Kobo, Amazon and other ebook and print book retailers.)

The Demon Diaries are a series of paranormal comedy stories. A HINT OF MAGIC - Prequel Dora Carridine is fed up with her life as a preacher's daughter and sets out to explore the darker side of life instead. If she can find some magic in the world, then maybe she will find a place she belongs. When she comes across a coven of witches, she takes on their trials to try and join them. But the witches aren't all they appear to be, and Dora finds herself slipping into a darker world than she imagined. She has to make a choice to do the right thing, but Dora's never been very good at doing anything right... DEMONIC DORA - Book One She's finally managed to summon her first demon... Dora Carridine is trying to summon a demon, but she's not very good at Latin and nothing ever works out the way she plans....

"Who'll notice if we blow up another planet, Angie? Plenty more where this one came from." A paradise planet, a lost world...and love. Angie and Des, terraforming engineers on the vessel Genesis, encounter a new planet. With no signs of life except some ancient ruins, they begin transforming the surface so that it can live again. This is the story of the first man and woman in a pristine paradise. Some stories always repeat. Will this be the start of a new dawn on a new planet, or is all life there doomed to die? Cover features photographs sourced from David Berkowitz and NASA. All images used are licensed under Creative Commons for commercial use or in the public domain.

❝Do you want to survive, or do you want to live?❞ When King Clement of Etheron is killed, he leaves behind a shattered kingdom; from Brightsnow in the north, to the port of Tibera in the east and all the way to the tribes of the Yaguar in the far south, unease is spreading. Will the new King succeed in binding the country together once more? Or will chaos erupt and break the kingdom apart? #1 of The Broken Crown trilogy.