The Jack of Souls (Fantasy): A Rogue and Knight Adventure Series (Unseen Moon)

"The first volume in Stephen Merlino's 'The Unseen Moon' series, "The Jack of Souls" is a terrific read from beginning to end and clearly establishes Merlino as a master of the fantasy action/adventure genre. Highly recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections..." --MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

A NEW ROGUE & KNIGHT EPIC FANTASY SERIES BEGINS

Harric, an outcast rogue, must break a curse on his fate or die by his nineteenth birthday. As the day approaches, nightmares from the spirit world stalk him and tear at his sanity; sorcery eats at his soul. To survive, he'll need more than his usual tricks. He'll need help--and a lot of it--but on the kingdom's lawless frontier, his only allies are other outcasts.

One of these outcasts is Caris, a mysterious, horse-whispering runaway, intent upon becoming the Queen's first female knight. The other is Sir Willard--ex-immortal, ex-champion, now addicted to pain-killing herbs and banished from the court.

With their help, Harric might keep his curse at bay. But for how long?

And both companions bring perils and secrets of their own: Caris bears the scars of a troubled past that still hunts her; Willard is at war with the Old Ones, an order of insane immortal knights who once enslaved the kingdom. The Old Ones have returned to murder Willard and seize the throne from his queen. Willard is on the run and on one final, desperate quest for his queen.

Together, Harric and his companions must overcome fanatical armies, murderous sorcerers, and powerful supernatural foes.

Alone, Harric must face the temptation of a forbidden magic that could break his curse, but cost him the only woman he's ever loved.

* * * A tale of magic, mischief, and the triumph of tricksters. * * *

MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNING FANTASY NOVEL

In 2014, The Jack of Souls won the prestigious Pacific Northwest Writers Association award for fantasy. It also won the Southwest Writers annual award for fantasy.

REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS

"Of all the books I've read in the past couple of years, The Jack of Souls is by far my favorite. Merlino's remarkable imagination and storytelling skills had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I want to read the next book NOW!"

--Karen Duvall, author of Darkest Knight, and Demon Fare.

* * *

"An epic ride, a magical world, and fantastic characters that grab your imagination and won't let go... The Jack of Souls has it all."

--Corinne O'Flynn, author of The Expatriates.

* * *

"A rich and rewarding new fantasy mythos!" --Rob May, author of Dragon Killer and Roll the Bones.

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What was the inspiration for this story? 

The short answer is the this story came from my habit of asking, What if...? and dreaming up answers to that question.
 
What if there was a land where...
What if there was a young rogue and trickster who...
And what if his lover discovered...

Story Germination

Stephen King talks about stories beginning the moment he sees a specific character and setting in his mind. Then he gives the character a problem, and watches her spring to action to fix the problem. From then on out it's like following a string through long grass--never sure where it's going, but pretty sure of the direction.

That's the way I experience writing, too. I don't outline it. I start with a What if or two, and before I know it, I'm seeing visions of people and places.
For The Jack of Souls, it began when I imagined a young rogue on the edge of a frontier, making a killing conning slave masters and selling grain to land-rush pioneers.

Seeds of the American West

The image came to me as I led a history tour through the American West. In the days when I was a tour guide, I lived among stories of wilderness and adventure, and I especially loved tales of gold seekers and the people who supplied them. Few of the gold seekers held on to much gold, but the people who sold them supplies had bags of it!

I also admired the pioneers who answered the call of the Homestead Act--that most admirable legislation--that sent thousands west for free land.

So how did The Jack of Souls go from Western inspiration to Fantasy?

Easy! A great thing about fantasy is you can riff off of a variety of interests and mash them together to create something new. Along with the American West, I have a passion for Shakespeare's England--Elizabeth's England--which I studied in grad school.

I dare say the zeitgeists of the American West and Elizabeth's England have a lot in common; both were thrilling periods of exploration, thievery, optimism and immense national pride (not to say arrogance). So why not create a world where a kingdom like Elizabeth's England has a wild frontier full of magic and mystery and monsters?

And voila! The setting took shape in my mind. I saw a pacifist queen ruling alone, educating the ladies of her court, refusing to marry, and beleaguered by lords who wished to put an end to such nonsense by placing a warlike king on the throne. And I saw her creating a savvy political distraction for these malcontents by opening her frontiers and offering free land to any who would settle it.
Land rush! What lord could resist?

The Male & Female Leads

Which brings us back to the young man selling grain to land-rushing pioneers.
I wanted the main character to be a rogue. He wouldn't be particularly strong, but he'd be extremely clever and living by his wits. I imagined him as a frontier con artist with a heart of gold--that is, a trickster who only targeted corrupt, treasonous or abusive lords.

Plus, it would be fun if he had a girlfriend who was his muscle. Another interesting female! She would be one of the Queen's free ladies, intent on becoming a knight.

At that point I had two of three vital elements of story: Character + Setting, but for a story we still need a Problem.

Character + Setting + Problem = Story

So I gave him one. He's going to die on the following day unless he finds a way to break a curse on his fate. 

Ouch. That got him moving.

His girlfriend's problem? She wants to be a knight, but no man will apprentice her. She also understands horses better than she understands people--a lot better...yet she wants to serve the Queen in court.
And from there it was a just matter of watching him go and following the string through the grass of the world I'd imagined.