Stories

New Adult Fantasy e-books and Short Stories

Welcome to my collection of New Adult Fantasy e-books and short stories! Thank you for dropping by 🙂 This is where I will post links to my published novels and short stories as  they become available either online or in anthologies. Looking for a story that’s not here? Feel free to send me a message! 

A New Adult fantasy ebook cover with a woman standing in front of a window. She appears to be wielding magic in a green color and is dangling a necklace with an emerald gem in one hand. She's dressed in a black tunic with hood and cape and black leggings at boot. There is a dagger on her hip. The text says "Scorn and Shadow. The Water Stone Trilogy. J.M. Lasley."

Scorn and Shadow- a new adult fantasy novel

This New Adult Fantasy with romance and a strong female lead is available at your favorite ebook retailers and on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as a paperback! 

A thief in
debt.

A kingdom in
crisis.

Her arrest
could change everything for both.

 

Talented thief and wind-spinner Emerald has been stealing
heirlooms to pay her apprentice debt to the master thief. But a chance run-in
with her childhood crush, now one Knight Captain Owyn Tramaine, leads to her
arrest and the revelation that she is, in fact, Lady Keira Azfarran—the eldest
daughter of the noble Azfarran line.

 

With her secret revealed and a new debt to pay to the Kingdom in penance for her crimes, Emerald must find a new way to achieve her dream of freedom. While serving as a royal maid, she is offered an opportunity to pay her debt faster by spying for the throne. 

But when Emerald discovers a plot against the Queen’s life, the future of the Kingdom is suddenly at stake.

Battling her desire to run with her wish to be truly free, Emerald faces a bully from her past, confronts her conflicting emotions for Owyn, and endures the scorn of her family and the courts.

If the Queen’s life is taken, the Kingdom could descend into civil war, making these irritations the least of Emerald’s problems. Emerald must discover who is plotting against the Queen and why before time for both her and the kingdom runs out. 

The First Mark

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Emerald has one last chance to prove herself. If she doesn’t, she’ll face being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

As an apprentice to the most notorious thief in Lunaria, Emerald is used to hard work. Now that she and her fellow apprentice and rival, Eldin, have been taught everything Duke has to offer, it’s time to get to work. While they’re taking jobs, they’ll be giving Duke a cut of the profits—to pay back their apprenticeship fee.

 

A new adult fantasy novella ebook cover. A dogger stabs down from the top edge, with a starburst shining around it's edge. At the bottom is a medieval looking castle and city on a hill. The Title is The First Mark by J.M. Lasley

If Eldin fails to pay, he’ll face larger cuts in profits and more time under Duke. If Emerald fails to pay, she’ll be auctioned off to the highest bidder, just as Duke threatened to do to her when she first met him four years ago. 

But the first job Duke assigns them to test their skills is bigger than either of them bargained for. It’s a famous heirloom owned by one of the most powerful families in Neomea. And the best part? They only have a week to steal it.

As Emerald sets out to win her last challenge as an apprentice and prove her worth to Duke, she’ll have to put everything she’s learned and all of her skills to the test. But the biggest obstacle of all is the one she never saw coming—her conscience.

This high-stakes fantasy novella is the prelude to the Water Stone Trilogy.  Get to know Emerald, her world, and her stakes before the events of Scorn and Shadow.

Wish Perfect- a contemporary fantasy short story

Revisit my story “Wish Perfect” in this “Best of 2020 Anthology” from Fantasia Divinity Magazine.

Amberly didn’t know what she was looking for when she went thrifting one day–but picking up a beautiful vintage tiffany lamp would prove to be the missing piece for more than just her living room decor.

“Wish Perfect” is a contemporary new adult fantasy short story that explores the ideas of wishes and friendship. 

Anthology description:

Featuring 18 of our favorite authors and stories published in 2020, this collection of drabbles and short stories is sure to take you on a magical journey! With stories of fantasy, science fiction, and even horror, there is sure to be something to excite any reader.

“Fatherly Love”

Read my story “Fatherly Love” in this Valentine’s Day edition of the Grumpy Old Gods Anthology series free on Kindle Unlimited! Each book is a compendium of stories about Greek and Roman gods.

Anthology description courtesy of Amazon: 

 Love is about to get Grumpy:

In any era, it’s hard to be a love deity (we privately think it might be harder for anyone who has to deal with one). In the fourth installment of the Grumpy Old Gods Anthologies, our writers took up the challenge of writing love gods with total irreverence, a great deal of wit, and, in some cases, more alcohol than was strictly necessary.

Fatherly Love by Jocelyn Lasley takes us on a journey of discovery wherein a young demigoddess learns that love can’t be borrowed, earned, or taken by force – it has to be given freely or it doesn’t mean anything. (No matter how many upgrades you make to Cupid’s arrows.)

(For additional short story descriptions, check Amazon listing page)

NOTE: The stories in this anthology deal with love and sometimes sex. This stuff is funny, but it’s not going to be everyone’s particular brand of vodka: and if you are too young to drink vodka you need to ask yourself if you are old enough to read this.

 

Pick up your copy of Grumpy Old Love Gods today!

 

“He Comes at Night”

Read my story “He Comes at Night” on Writers Resist website

Genre: Horror

I wrote this story after hearing Billie Eilish’ song “bury a friend” too many times, watching American Horror story, and wondering what a person would do when she has no options.

Trigger Warnings for: Mental Illness, Self Harm, Sexual Assault