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 murder mystery set in a school for wizards. When apprentice wizard Adramal moves to a new school to complete her training, she discovers that several ritual murders have been committed by magic, threatening the fabric of the world. The evidence points to the killer being one of Adramal's teachers, and the City Watch recruit her to go undercover to unmask the murderer. Can she find what she needs before the killer strikes again or - worse - without blowing her cover and putting her own life in danger? This book was one of four finalists in the May 2015 #Wattpad4 contest. The judges said, "I was pulled into the story from the start. It delivers what it says with a strong premise and threat-filled plot." Three further books in the series, Plague & Poison, Dust & Water, and Stone & Silence, are on sale. The whole series is available in ebook, paperback and audiobook, read by the author. Search for "Steven J Pemberton" on Amazon, Apple, Audible or Barnes & Noble, or visit http://www.pembers.net/books.html for other retailers. (This book was posted on wattpad.com. If you are reading it on another site, it was probably put there without my permission, by someone who was too stupid to remove this notice. Please go to Wattpad to read the original book.)