A girl with a heart of a warrior A girl with a courage that admired by all She will be a savior that everyone was waiting for A heart of gold, with a dragon of old She's Luna Estella Williams. _________________________ _________________________ //Thank you everyone// Started: February 3,2021 Finished: April 9, 2021 Started Editing: February 4, 2022 Finished Editing: June 4, 2024

Even when growing up, Elia didn't fit in with the other girls. They would dress up in dresses. She wore cloaks. They would cook and sew. She would throw knives. They liked boys. She liked bows. Elia was a bit of an outcast to her village, with her striking dark brown hair that was always kept back in a fishtail plait, and her light blue/green eyes that seemed to change colour in the light. She had no parents, and at 16 lives alone, and breathlessly waits each year to watch the dragons during the Week of Xanithar, admiring the way they fly, wild and free. This year is her year of testing, at 16. The first of the four dragon riders to get to the village can claim it. The moment that dragon rider sets foot on the ground of your village, the emblem of that academy is hung from the flag and any new dragon riders in their village are the new students for the academy. Each village has 4 new dragon riders, this is the way it has been for years. Male or female they are claimed and tested to find the four riders a week after. The challenge for the dragon riders in the Week of Xanithar is to claim as many strong blooded villages as possible. And now it's her turn.

*Undergoing editing. Half of these chapters were written when I was a child.* Book One: There is no prophecy. There is no tell-tale legend. There is no scripture written down in a book or a hidden cave. There is only the spoken word of the Gods. Dare not go against them, for life's very existence would be jeopardized. And the Gods never make mistakes. So why is everyone questioning their choices when it comes to a female? Men with a courageous nature and determined mindsets have made their legacy and are talked about in stories; even after death, they live on. The Gods never make mistakes; however, people believe the Gods have made just that when a girl is chosen to fight in a man's war. For, there has never, in the history that has been written in books and along the walls of undiscovered caves, been a female dragon rider. Highest ranking #1 in dragon #1 in dragonrider #1 in wings #1 in soul-mate #1 in magic #1 in academy #1 in war #1 in sexism #1 in fantasy-adventure #1 newstart

Allyson White dreams of an epic romance - for a Prince Charming to find her one day and sweep her to a world of fantasies. But real life is not a fairy tale, and Allyson learns it the hard way. In her story, there are seven boys, each bent on ruining things and making sure that her life is far from rainbows and true love.

"Anak, hanapin mo ang Manunugis at ibigay ito," inabot ng matandang lalaki ang isang maliit na lukbutan kay Pepe, "Sa kanya mo lamang ito pwede ibigay. Itago mo ito at huwag ilalayo sa iyong sarili," sabi ng matanda. Mayroong sikretong labanan na nangyayari sa pagitan ng mga Aswang at Hunters. Isang gabi, minalas si Pepe na masangkot dito. Pero malas ba talaga ito o swerte? Simpleng tao lang kasi si Pepe; estudyante sa umaga, tindero ng balut sa gabi, bukod sa dalawang iyan ay wala na siyang inaatupag kung hindi ang kanyang pamilya at ang kanyang lihim na pagtingin sa kaklase na si Pia. Bukod sa mga aswang; guguluhin din si Pepe ng mga bal-bal, kapre, diwata, mga mangkukulam at iba pa. At paano naman siya lalaban? Sa maraming paraan; nandiyan ang panloob na espiritwal na enerhiya na taglay ng mga tao, nandiyan din ang espiritwal na enerhiya sa paligid at mga elemento at higit sa lahat nandiyan din ang mahiwagang Dignum, ang misteryosong itim na kahoy na pwedeng gamitin na sandata o gamit. Unti-unti niya itong matututunan at tuluyan nitong babaguhin ang pagtingin niya sa mundo. Ito ang simula ng kanyang laban at pakikipagsapalaran. Ito ang kwento ng Aswang Hunter.

DAILY UPDATES amazing cover by @ellebonnett Edited version of the #1 Fantasy 'The Last Princess' ************************************************************************************* Elvina is the last elf princess of the Forest. Her seven older sisters were murdered. By their mother. The night before the princess's sixteenth birthday, the Queen kills them. There are five days left until Elvina's sixteenth birthday. Helpless but determined, Elvina tries to escape - and in doing so, she changes everything.

Adelina Mystica Bendithio has been overshadowed by her beautiful cousin Mirabel her whole life, until the month of her fifteenth birthday when she is told that she is one of the lucky few claimed by the powerful spirits of Eyenwar. To Adelina, this is a relief. It explains the glowing threads she can see whenever something bleeds. When Adelina is forced to accompany her cousin Mirabel across the continent, fate brings her face to face with an evil that might be closer related to her family than she could ever have thought.

In a cityscape populated by individuals with magically inclined abilities powered by Colour, Athira is a hunter. Known only as the Owl, a notorious criminal with allegiances to none but herself, she searches for answers from the worst the city has to offer. No one is above her notice, and once noticed, there is no escape. When her search leads to a series of magical disturbances and a girl who was supposed to be dead, Athira's world of solitude shatters. Predictions from the lost Colour mark her friend a saviour, and as an ancient horror begins to rise, Athira starts to wonder who she should have been hunting all these years.

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