Here you'll find the stories and writing-related ramblings of Meri Greenleaf. If you'd like to learn more about the stories and characters or read about my musings as a writer, those pages and blog posts are available in the menu above.

For easy access, here are the short stories and novellas I've shared to this blog; the title links will take you to the full story.

Short stories from the Unexpected Inspiration series
These are a collection of short stories about artists, inventors, and carnival performers. They're set in my lighthearted/comedic lgbt+ fantasy series Unexpected Inspiration. I'm currently writing the first quartet (previously a trilogy) of books in this series, so these short stories go along with those characters. I'm always adding new stories to this list! The stories are listed oldest to newest, so the most recent are at the bottom.

• "Three Keys"
  Friendship, trust, and keys. Sweetness abounds.
• "Who Picked Whom"
  The trio reflects on fate being weird. This never should have happened.
• "A New Beginning"
  A would-be thief gets offered a job after a strange blue woman catches him.
• "Rising to a Challenge"
  A young arcane chef regrets her decisions and wonders if her restaurant is cursed.
• "Mile Long Cow"
  Some myths and legends go back centuries. This one goes back five minutes and you'll probably want that five minutes back.
• "Soul-Marks"
  It would help if anyone ever went by their real name.
• "Lost and Found"
  Sure, blame the newcomer when your stuff goes missing. That won't come back to bite you.
• "Roommates"
  What do you do when your new roommate is an offbeat inventor who can control fire? First step: make him wear pants.
• "Of Parties and Potions"
  A mischievous scheme causes chaos at a costume party. The healer enlists the help of a cat and a mouse to right a lizard's wrong.
• "Sheltered"
  Adair wakes up and finds that he has been left alone. He's not happy about this.
• "The Shrine"
  A familiar face is discovered at the center of a stranger's altar.
• "Change of Choice"
  If Adair's choice had been different, would the chosen be changed? And why does an artist need a room full of spoons, anyway?
• "All Washed Up"
  Revenge is a dish best served soaking wet.
• "Secret Shadow"
  A new friend introduces itself to a lonely girl.
• "Spirits by the Campfire"
  Is the new boy a ghost or is he just goth?
• "A Surprise Gift"
  Blythe is given a new special memory.
• "Adair's Domestic Fluff"
  Aka "Extreme Makeover Home Dork Edition"
• "Is This Closet Mine or Yours?"
  A look inside the daily life of some dorks-  cats, pencils, arguments, and all.
• "A Glimpse of the Past"
  A telepath's magic forces her to relive one of her own memories.
• "Rooftop Reprised"
  The trio gets a second chance at their first date.
• "This For That (Re)Quest"
  One simple request sends Adair on an adventure.
• "Stuck With You" - Chapter 1 (Adair), 2 (Etri), 3 (Firedrake), 4 (Blythe), 5 (Sol), 6 (Adair), 7 (Blythe), 8 (Etri), 9 (Sol), 10 (Firedrake), 11 (Adair)
  A platonic soulmate AU series told in multiple parts with each chapter/scene from a different character’s POV.

Novellas
These longer stories are about the Magic & Messengers series I was writing previous to Unexpected Inspiration and are set in the "Dungeons and Dragons" world my husband and I created. I've since moved on from elves and traditional fantasy, but these stories hold a special place in my heart as the ones that gave me my love of writing.

• The Acolyte's Map
A powerful magical artifact has been unleashed! Unfortunately it has fallen into the unlikely hands of a hapless young priest who is now bound by its bizarre curse. This is the tongue-in-cheek tale of a half-elven cleric who is trying to locate and free the unwitting victim from said item's grasp with the help of his mischievous (and not always competent) brethren. Along the way there will be magic, intrigue, mischief, and a talking dog.
• Hidden Magic
A young elf takes up the task of hunting down a band of orc trespassers with the help of her centaur brother. When she stumbles into a pitfall, Meren finds an object: an amulet that gives strange new powers. Little does she know that an increasingly desperate young wizard is looking for the very same amulet and that their paths are destined to crisscross in a weave of chaotic magic...

Writing Status
Currently I'm alternating between the 3rd drafts of Colorweaver and Sentinel (books 1&2 in the Unexpected Inspiration series), but I'll also frequently write a new short story based in that world. If you'd like to follow me on Wattpad or Tumblr, I'll share the short stories there as well as on this blog.

As time allows, I'm also in the process of editing/touching up Hidden Magic so that I can share it on Wattpad, too; I'm aiming to breathe new life into the story when I update it a chapter at a time on Wattpad and on this blog. So far I've adjusted up through Chapter 4.

If you'd like to be alerted about new content (like short stories and moodboards), as well as updates about my writing, you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

~Meri