Imagine living a full life, dying months after your beloved wife passes and being buried. Only to wake up 300 years later, called out of the grave to fight a final war against an alien invasion. Join Max Niekro, formerly living and now Risen as he deals with this reality as the forces of Earth, both living and dead, are marshalled in a last ditch effort to save the world. **cover by hellvis

For best friends Mestoph and Leviticus the end of the world can’t come fast enough. Mestoph is a demon and troublemaker for Hell Industries, while Leviticus is an angel and cubicle jockey for Heaven, Inc. They might be unlikely friends, but they have something in common – they both hate their jobs. Unfortunately for them The End is nowhere in sight. The two take matters into their own hands when they come up with a scheme to get themselves kicked out of the Afterlife without spending an eternity in Purgatory. Their misadventure will take them from the tiny town of Truth or Consequences, NM to the highlands of Iceland as they cross paths and pantheons with Neo-Vikings, Greek and Norse Gods, and a Scottish terrier named Sir Reginald Pollywog Newcastle III. Content Warning The story you are about to read is intended for mature readers due to its content and language. It may not be appropriate for all audiences. Please read at your own discretion.

In war, what is great shall be ground to dust; what is low shall be raised to power. The hearts of the brave shall melt in fire, and the strength of the weak shall harden like stone. The Wolf stalks the earth and the Raven soars the heavens. A terrible power has become manifest in the world of man to shake him from the streams of time into oblivion, and the fate of all hang on the balance of the love of one and the hate of the other.

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

YOU WANNA FIGHT? FIGHT ME! Or we could have a cup of tea and a biscuit if you prefer. Ever found it hard to get to grips with how to put together a fight scene, or a battle sequence? This guide runs you through the basics, talks about different styles of fighting and weaponry, how to put together fight scenes, plan out battles, and talks about how you include Fantasy or Magical elements as well as the various Dos and Don'ts of writing Action. Now with added flamingos... are we sure that it's spelled like that? There's an aardvark with an Uzi somewhere too.