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

Warning: CG has been published. The last ten chapters of this book have been taken down due to copyright reasons. When the future Alpha, a major player rejected her for the Queen B, Genesis and her two best friends came up with a plan to give the arrogant future alpha the taste his own medicine. What happens when your plan works too well? What happens when you attract not only the arrogant alpha but also a powerful creature that won't take no for an answer? "Now my sunshine, we're all alone," he utters with some satisfaction. His hair is mussed up sexily. His skin is a bit flushed from all the running he just did. Oh goddess, he's still the sexiest man I've ever laid my eyes on. "What are you planning to do to me?" I ask him warily. His eyes rake up and down my body as if he can see through my clothing. "What do you think I would do to you, sunshine?" he sounds amused, almost indulgent. His lips curl up into a feral smile. His silver-gray eyes flashed with anger and hunger and desperation. It sets my pulse racing. He's not really amused. I can tell. "Maybe I'm tired of waiting. Maybe I'm tired of chasing after you. Maybe it's time for me to catch you, Genesis." Cuddly bunnies and fuzzy slippers!!! I don't know about this. Do I want to get caught?

Penny: I still remember the first moment our eyes met, something happened. Those icy blue eyes. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I could feel the magnetic pull and we're both helpless against it. Our eyes met constantly across the room. He would be the first to tear his eyes away. He's so powerful, though. So charismatic. He's a lycan. I'm just a regular werewolf. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I made up my mind that I would make him love me. I would fight for what I want. I would deny my own mate if it means I get to keep him. Three years I went after him single-mindedly. I laid my heart out for him. He kept pushing me away. Then one day he pushed too far...and I'm tired of fighting for us. There's no us. I'm just a fool. I'm done fighting. I made up my mind that I'm going forget him. I'm going to go out there and lose my virginity, over and over again if I have to. I mean, why hold on to it, right? It's not like I'm getting an award for keeping it the longest. Not likely that my mate will keep his virginity for me. Darius certainly didn't. Why the double standard? So, why can't he just leave me alone now? Why is he so hellbent on breaking me? Stupid lycan. Ughhh...stupid, stupid lycan. Darius: The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she's my erasthai. The one. The exotic looking dark haired beauty. Dark eyes taunting me. Haunting me. Only I'm not looking for the one. I'm a warrior, there's no room for a mate. A mate will make you weak. My enemies could get to me through my mate. Then it happened. She finally gave up. For some reason, it makes me mad. Not only did she give up, but she gets this crazy idea that she's going to lose her virginity to some random stranger. Fvck that! That's not going to happen. Nobody else is touching her. I'll make her wait until she finds her mate. She's so stubborn, though. She's driving me crazy. So, why can't I leave her alone?

"*Completed*"I froze the first boy I ever kissed. And I don't mean he got cold feet..." Megan is pretty unhappy when she's forced to move to a tiny, freezing town in Canada. It's going to be totally boring, right? Things heat up when she discovers that she possesses a growing power that's becoming more and more difficult to control. Not only that, but the power has attracted some interesting people. A smouldering young man who claims to be her rescuer, and his icy but attractive enemy. They're both claiming to be the good guy, so who exactly is she supposed to trust? Megan finds herself embroiled in an ancient battle between two kingdoms, slowly discovering an identity she never knew she had. Cover designed by Marie Tilmant

Alyssa Barnes must conquer her monsters or risk becoming one herself - but gang leader Daimon Kross might be a dangerous distraction. ***** Past traumas have taught Alyssa Barnes to not shy away from dangerous men and to show no fear, not even when she encounters the deadly biker gang leader, Daimon Kross. But the notorious Kross bikers may not be all they seem to be, and Alyssa might not be the only one with secrets to protect. Will the power struggle lead to bloodshed? In ways she never expected, Alyssa finds out that sometimes love doesn't just bite...it howls. Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of sexual activity, abuse, self-harm, and suicide that may be triggering for some readers. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]] Read Fatal Contingencies (Book 2, the Fatal Trilogy Series) here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/142024187-fatal-contingencies-book-2-the-fatal-trilogy Cover designed by Ren T

Set in the 1860's or so! The life of a lone wolf is a dangerous one. Holding onto your territory without the help of a pack can prove to be deadly. Grange Michaels has managed to do that for years. This tiny western frontier town is his. Those he considers his pack are humans and he protects them viciously. No one knows what Grange is, though there are rumors about his seemingly constant state of youth. Yes being a lone wolf has its difficulties but Grange liked it that way. Then he meets his mate, a young mortal woman, and suddenly he starts dreaming of starting a pack of his own. All of that, his town, his people, his mate, his future, are threatened when a rival pack tries to move in and of course they want to wipe out the competition. Can Grange win his mortal mate, save her life and the town, while also avoiding the monster hunting lynch mobs? Or is this the end of the lone wolf's reign?

NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND E-BOOK This is a 10-chapter sample of a published novel. A stolen kiss. An unstable curse. One big mess in the making. Derric Harver never expected to amount to anything more than the palace stableboy, but when Princess Maria's curse keeps her from accepting a prince's proposal, she turns to him for help, and he doesn't dare refuse. With the help of a lady's maid and a prince, Derric and Maria embark on a dangerous adventure to find the sorceress who cast the curse. Along the way they battle monsters, make friends, and discover new truths about themselves--not to mention the undeniable chemistry between them. Reaching their destination won't be easy, but the true danger lies in the truths they've fought for years to hide. A Stolen Kiss is the first in the Stolen Royals Series--an adventure with magical creatures, dangerous lies, and being true to the power within.

“A breathtaking new epic fantasy series. Morgan Rice does it again! This magical saga reminds me of the best of J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, Rick Riordan, Christopher Paolini and J.R.R. Tolkien. I couldn’t put it down!” --Allegra Skye, Bestselling author of SAVED The epic coming of age story of one special boy, a 14 year old from a small village in the Kingdom of the Ring. The youngest of four, the least favorite of his father, hated by his brothers, Thorgrin senses he is different from the others. He dreams of becoming a great warrior, of joining the King’s men and protecting the Ring from the hordes of creatures on the other side of the Canyon. When he comes of age and is forbidden by his father to try out for the King’s Legion, he refuses to take no for an answer: he journeys out on his own. But King’s Court is rife with its own power struggles, ambitions, jealousy, violence and betrayal. King MacGil must choose an heir from amongst his children, and the ancient Dynasty Sword, the source of all their power, still sits untouched, waiting for the chosen one to arrive. Thorgrin arrives as an outsider and battles to be accepted, and to join the King’s Legion. Thorgrin comes to learn he has a special gift, and a special destiny. He falls in love with the king’s daughter, and as he struggles to make sense of his powers, the king’s sorcerer takes him under his wing and tells him of a mother he never knew, in a land far away, beyond the Canyon, beyond even the land of the Dragons. With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A QUEST OF HEROES is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders.

❝She kills without second thought.❞ • Micajah's PoV: "Ah!" I shout out in pain, unable to hold it in any longer. I clutch my hand to my injured leg and cry out desperately when another blow is landed to my other leg. Tears of pain gather in the corners of my eyes, and I curl into a ball of humiliation, trying to shield myself from the bullies. "You worthless piece of shit," He says menacingly, his muddy brown eyes set in a hard glare aimed at me. I flinch when I see Chance pulling back his fist, raising my arms in defense. But to my utter surprise, the blow never comes. Instead, a sickening 'crunch' resonates through the hallway, surprising me. I tentatively open my eyes once again, cautiously peeking from behind raised arms. What- or more correctly who I see takes my breath away, every fiber of my being stirring at the incandescent sight. There, standing there like an avenging angel over the groaning body of Chance in the floor is a girl. But 'girl' would be too simple of a word to describe her. Her red hair flows down in luscious curls, framing her heart-shaped face, which is set in a furious scowl. Her feline eyes are a stormy grey, the electricity in them, static. Her sharp, straight nose accenting her full pink lips that are shaped like a cupid's bow with such a perfection, giving her an ethereal look. No, the person before me is not a girl. She's a Goddess. The jocks bow their heads in submission, murmurs of "Alpha," passing around the group. My Wolf gets agitated and keeps on saying something but I ignore his persistent calls, as my fogged brain is unable to register anything except the exotic beauty standing before me. Her steel grey eyes roam around the circle in one swift movement before they settle on me, darkening, yet instantly softening at the same time. Finally, her pink lips part to let one word escape them, the one word that changes my life. "Mine," • Completed ✔️ MICAJAH IS A GUY's NAME #5 in WEREWOLF #1 in TEEN FICTION