An ex-spy's quest for redemption leads her into an uneasy partnership with a genetically-engineered dragon. For decades, an elite group of spies within the CIA has kept the existence of magic secret from the world. Katrina Harris counted herself among their number, until a drunken brawl with a co-worker got her fired. She’d do anything to re-enter the thrilling world of supernatural espionage—even infiltrate a terrorist cell without backup. Dr. Phyllis Harper has an Arctic fortress, a dozen magic-wielding soldiers, and a flock of genetically-engineered dragons capable of knocking American warplanes from the sky. All she needs are pilots. A chance encounter lets Katrina talk the doctor into recruiting her. If Katrina escapes Harper’s fortress with intelligence, she can convince her old bosses to take her back. But neither magic nor science can prepare Katrina to have a dragon in her mind. A creature cunning enough to ferret out all her secrets . . . and one whose own fierce memories tell Katrina she might be working for the wrong side. This story contains mature themes, including alcoholism and suicide. Now complete!

When dragons brawl after millennia of peace, Aeris loses her entire family in the ensuing war. After ten years of hiding underground from powerful families seeking her Draconian blood, Aeris's hopes for restoring balance depend on reviving her family's fallen dragon Khaus. As a vengeful voice invades her head, Aeris resolves to destroy the man who took away everything. Soon, her mind and body are not her own and she finds herself a pawn in a dragon's game since the dawn of time. Humans are not her only enemies... Content warning: This story contains some violence and death. [[Winner of the Wattys 2014]] [[Winner of the "Junior Award" as Second Place in The Write Awards 2014]] [[Featured fantasy book by Wattpad]]

Marie wanted to be as good as her mother wanted. Since her older brother was diagnosed with autism, she is considered the family's "normal" child. She thus feels she must be perfect in every way, which soon turns out to be a haunting task. Desperate for love and to make sense of her mother's contradictory behaviors and spiritual changes (from her mother's infidelities and alcoholism to a strict religious cult, and back again), Marie starts a friendship with a make belief friend, Ana. Ana is beautiful, loving, all-knowing and lives in an older version of Marie's house. Ana is the best friend one could hope for...that is until she encourages you to pursue a life threatening path. A book loosely based on my life: my relationship with my mother, my father, my autistic brother and my sister; my life in a cult; and my battle with anorexia. Nevertheless, this book is a work of fiction (imaginary friend, haunted house, mystical creatures, paranormal, etc).

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

Poetry on nature and experience

Brusenna is the last. All the other witches have been captured, their songs stolen and twisted from harmony and growth into chaos and death. She alone must stand against an evil much older and darker than anything she could ever imagine-an evil every witch before her has failed to vanquish. In that, Brusenna must be the first. And join my mailing list to stay up to date on my latest releases, cover reveals, and free books: http://eepurl.com/l8fl1 Purchase links: Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/amber-argyle Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=amber+argyle Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Argyle/e/B004YE1BR4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

The first volume in the epic fantasy series Soulwoven. Litnig Jin has spent his life yearning for the power to weave the souls of the dead into magic. His brother Cole has spent his believing in nothing bigger than his own two hands. When a dragon sinks its claws into their nightmares, both of their lives will change forever. A dream of moving statues, shattered chains, and seething clouds of darkness sets the brothers on a journey into the unknown. A prince asks for their help. A necromancer hunts them. The bloom of first love gives Cole something to believe in. And as the brothers travel the world of Guedin seeking to prevent the hatred of a god from coming to life, Litnig learns that there are prices to pay for all power, and that the power he seeks may cost him more than he can possibly imagine. Soulwoven is a story of high fantasy, high adventure, and high soul searching in eight points of view, written with people between the ages of 15 and 30 in mind. I love it, and I hope you will too. Edit: An updated version of Soulwoven is available commercially. Help me write more and buy a copy! The print book will look great on your shelf, I promise. :-) Favorite reader blurbs! "This is the finest piece of literary work I've read in months." - @yakotseal "Very very like a piece of steak" - @incipient "THIS BOOK IS SOOO DAMN AWESOME A.K.A COOOOOL" - @jewell122 "Once it picks up it's impossible to put down." - @RonDoolin -JS