Jan 9 2026

Why I Wrote ESCAPE TO NOWHERE + Excerpt

I’m currently in the middle of telling my tale of a remote colony world struck by a zombie apocalypse and ESCAPE TO NOWHERE is the third book. I hadn’t planned to write this one and then I thought it might be a short story but it became a 36K novella.

Les and Devora, the two main characters, were minor supporting characters in the previous book, TAMSYN. With each of them I had ideas about their backstory and I was excited to be able to do flashbacks to the earliest stages of the zombie problem. With Les, as the tour bus driver for a major rock star, I wanted to show the events that led to his arrival in Rosewater. With Devora, I had the chance to take an interesting side trip to the interstellar zoo in the nearest city, show how the animals were reacting, how the authorities were trying to cover it all up at that fairly early stage and provide a backstory moment for her that explained some of her choices in TAMSYN.

I also liked the idea of a romance developing between these two people as they flee the last town overrun and try to make it to the refugee camp. As I went, my Muse also started working them and the events of their journey into the plot for at least the next book, which I’m writing now (entitled JOURNEY but which will feature Tamsyn and Cody, a cyborg soldier from the original novel ARRIVAL.) Having Les and Devora opened up the scope of my plans for the next book. Also, ESCAPE TO NOWHERE was one of those rare (for me anyway) books where the entire plot comes to me in one big rush and I just need to write it all down. I always prioritize those! It’s a gift.

I don’t plan to get distracted from my main story again though. I already have an idea for another short story (which means my Muse will probably make it a novella too) about a zookeeper doing her best to survive and to keep her animal charges alive too. The whole topic of what happens to zoos in an apocalyptic time fascinates me. BUT I’m determined not to write that story until sometime after the next two books are published and I’ve written something else.

I know not all my readers are excited about zombies, even set in my Sectors interstellar civilization, so once this series is complete at five books total (ARRIVAL, TAMSYN, ESCAPE TO NOWHERE, JOURNEY and RESOLUTION) I’ll be going back to more of my typical stories. I just have always wanted to write a dystopian, post apocalyptic tale and I’m getting it out of my system with Planet of Last Resort!

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Here’s an excerpt from Devora’s experience at the zoo:

The weather was pleasant and she wandered the extensive grounds of the zoo for quite a while. There were no crowds, not even at the most popular exhibits, which she attributed to it being a weekday. Devora appreciated being able to get close to all the animals and took quite a few holos to share on her social media later. The animals’ behavior was strange today though. She’d never seen anything like it. Some were hiding in their burrows and others were poised at the highest spot in their habitats as if on guard. A few of the big predators were prowling back and forth restlessly.

She was having a good time and the animal-shaped fries from the food kiosk were as tasty as ever. Devora customarily made the big pond her last stop before leaving the zoo. It was a beautiful spot, curated with all kinds of exotic plants and flowers and there were turtles and colorful fish you could feed by hand with special treats bought from a vending machine. Long legged birds in a variety of vibrant colors waded in the shallows while others strutted the perimeter of the pond like kings, big tail feathers spread for an over the top display. She liked to sit on one of the graceful benches and rest before making the long hike back to the entrance. It was a place of peace for her and she was eagerly anticipating reaching the attraction.

As she walked along the enclosures on the way, she was startled to see the entire troop of Aldebaran primates hanging from treetops and perches in their area, screaming and baring their impressive fangs. Glancing around, she observed how the Antarean marmokats were huddling together in a massive pile of fur, right up against the door to their night quarters inside. A few were scratching at the portal and the whole group was keening. A few of the biggest animals stood guard on the perimeter of their fellows, eyes darting here and there frantically, tails twitching.

From another part of the zoo she heard tantoreans trumpeting and the whole effect was unsettling. Devora paused, unsure what she wanted to do, continue or give up seeing the pond today. The park com blared a musical note and an announcement came on. “The Zoo is closing early today. All guests are requested to head to the main gate immediately.”

What are they going to do, come out here and collect me if I go to the pond? She thought defiantly.

Decision made, she continued with the plan to finish her walk to the pond but after a few steps she halted. There was a large figure shambling in her direction. Another couple was between her and the newcomer and she expected him to beg for credits but instead as she stared the disheveled man pounced on the woman and began biting her as she shrieked and her companion punched and kicked the attacker. Devora took three steps to go help and blinked as suddenly there were five more people in torn and bloody clothing lurching toward her. The Aldebaran primates behind her raised the volume of their cries and hurled fruit at the oncoming figures.

She retreated one step, then two, turned and fled in the direction of the main zoo. Behind her she heard the pounding of feet and when she risked a glance over her shoulder, nearly falling in the process, she found she was being chased by a group of the strange people.

“Lady, over here!” came a shout and Devora saw a park worker gesturing frantically to her from a partially open door. “Run for your life, lady.”

She did, running faster than she’d ever moved before and as she got close to the doorway the worker grabbed her arm, yanked her inside, where she fell in a heap and slammed the door behind her, locking it. Devora heard the slam of heavy bodies against the panel and a horrible smell of decay seeped in through the vents on the top third of the door. “What is going on—” she said, getting to her feet and leaning on the wall.

“Sssh,” he said urgently, finger to his lips. “Sound attracts them.”

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The Blurb and Buy Links:

Fleeing the zombie apocalypse on an isolated colony planet, two strangers find a common purpose and more as they strive to reach promised sanctuary in a refugee camp. Les McDaniel barely had a chance to get a cup of coffee in the town of Rosewater before it falls to the swarming infected. He steps in to drive one of the two school buses designated as escape vehicles. He didn’t ask for the responsibility for the lives of all these other people, most of whom he doesn’t even know but he’ll do his best to get them to the refugee camp safely. Then he’s off on his own, no government-run camp for him. Devora Sims was the police dispatcher for the town of Rosewater before the Western Flu hit and left hordes of vicious infected in its wake. The scion of a prominent local family stepped in when infrastructure failed and became a ruthless warlord. She found a temporary haven running his kitchen but then the compound fell to the infected, he was killed and she managed to get herself on one of the buses, with the additional responsibility for an abandoned toddler she rescued. Les and Devora forge an alliance as the bus trip continues and her feelings become deeply engaged with the reluctant hero bus driver. But he’s made it plain he won’t stay at the refugee camp and she can’t imagine trying to live on the run in the open, especially with a child. Will they reach the camp? Will it still be there? And what kind of future could Les and Devora build on a relationship born of the chaos? Author’s Note: This 36K word novella continues the story of the survivors of Rosewater and is related to books one and two of the Planet of Last Resort series. There’s a Happy for Now ending to this novella but Les and Devora will be continuing characters in book three, when the series reconnects with the main characters from the previous books.

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Dec 12 2025

Why I Wrote TAMSYN (A Planet of Last Resort Novella)

I’ve always enjoyed zombie apocalypse stories, especially with romance, and wanted to write my own, which I did earlier this year with ARRIVAL, book one in the series. Part of what fascinates me about any apocalypse or disaster is the time frame leading up to it. What early signs were there, how did people react, how would I have reacted and what happens when the crisis becomes full blown and civilization crumbles?

I kept thinking about what took place on this remote colony planet before my main characters arrived and decided to tell the story from the POV of a woman living in a small town in the northern area. I could also see how she would eventually fit in with my main characters as they made their way across the continent, heading for their own sanctuary. Her story opens up the world of Randal Four a bit more for readers.

It was fun to write. Of course then I got the impulse to write another novella about two characters we meet in TAMSYN (that book comes out JAN 5^th). I have a feeling I could spin numerous tales taking place on this planet but for now I’ve told my Muse firmly we’re going to write the next two main books, JOURNEY and RESOLUTION and get those out in Spring 2026. Tamsyn will be part of the action in those books and we’ll also see the two characters from the forthcoming novella as well.

But for now, I hope you’ll enjoy TAMSYN. Here’s an excerpt from early in the story, when the first event occurs, although at the time no one is aware of the ramifications. The town of Rosewater is having an annual festival and Tamsyn and her ranch hands have come to take part.

The excerpt:

The day passed as usual at these events except for an incident in the middle of the afternoon when screams and shouts arose from the play area where the younger children were riding kiddie rides, having their faces painted and bouncing in a portable antigrav house designed to look like a fort on one side and a princess castle on the other. Many parents had taken holos of their offspring in front of one mural or the other. Tamsyn rushed to the spot along with everyone else, to find a weeping child being comforted by her mother, other children crying and wide eyed and several men cursing, including Drake, her senior ranch hand. He was holding his arm awkwardly.

“What the seven hells happened?” she demanded, trying to get a better look at his arm, which was bleeding.

“Kids were playing with a litter of feral kittens they found in the bushes,” Drake said. “Momma cat came home and went nuts protecting her babies. Little Maira got bit pretty bad, couple of the others are scratched. I got bit when I pulled the damn cat off Maira and threw it in the brush. Fucking thing came right back after me, tried to use my leg as a scratching post. Lucky my boots protected me. The kittens ran away and the mother followed. Coupla the boys are searching for them now.”

“Do you think the cat is rabid?” she asked.

“Wasn’t foaming at the mouth or anything. I been bit before,” he reminded her. “By bigger things than a cat.”

Tamsyn saw Doc Ortenbe kneeling beside the little girl who’d been attacked and she towed a protesting Drake over to him in time to hear the elderly physician say with great relief, as he checked his med sensor, “No sign of rabies in the bite. But it’ll need a couple of stitches and a good dose of antibiotic.”

“She loves cats,” the distraught mother said through tears.

“Not now I don’t,” Maira piped up.

“Doc, Drake here got bitten pretty badly too,” Tamsyn said. “Can you take a look?”

“We need to go over to the clinic,” he said. “I want to run the full decontam ray over these bites and scratches. Come on along, Drake.”

“Charge the bill for him on the ranch account,” Tamsyn said as the whole group prepared to move.

The doctor acknowledged her request with a wave and Tamsyn watched him lead his patients and their families and friends away, Drake trailing behind reluctantly.

The incident put a damper on the festivities, at least as far as the families with children were concerned and the park emptied out a bit.

At sunset things picked up as the band, hired by the Fafields from the city, arrived and set up their equipment on the bandstand, while a crowd gathered. Soon the group launched into their repertoire of songs, covering a range of genres. Dancing began as night fell. Sparkling lights had been strung all around the center portion of the park and things grew lively again.

Tamsyn was a good dancer and had no lack of partners, including one slow dance with Jonny Fafield, which she didn’t move fast enough to avoid. The two of them had been an item in high school, pretty serious, but then he’d gone away to the capital city for college and she’d stayed on the ranch and inevitably they drifted apart. Jonny had indicated any number of times he’d like to hook up on a casual basis but Tamsyn wasn’t interested. Casual wasn’t her. She’d also finally seen through his façade of being a rich, handsome nice guy to understand the dark bully who’d use his family’s power and position to get anything he wanted was the true Jonny. She’d rather stay single forever than be in a relationship with a man of such caliber.

The festival ended promptly at midnight, the band playing one last song, and then everyone left the park.

Tamsyn waited by her groundtruck until her three wayward ranch hands showed up, worse for the wear. Drake’s arm was heavily bandaged, Piers had been in a fight and was sporting a black eye and Clemt was drunk. She plucked a bottle of feelgood from his hand and threw it in the nearest recycling container. “By the looks of you you’ve had enough rotgut tonight.”

The three men loaded themselves into the truck and she got behind the controls, shaking her head. Pretty much the usual for these affairs. The ranch hands are going to have a hard time rolling out of their bunks to work tomorrow.

Briefly she considered giving them the day off but the ranch work was waiting and there was fence to be mended, a stock pond to be dredged and refilled, a barn roof to repair before the next windstorm…the list was endless. She compromised.

“You can have the morning to sleep this off,” she said loud enough to penetrate their stupor. “Report for work at one o’clock or get docked for the day’s pay.”

Drake patted her shoulder awkwardly. “Aww, you’re a good boss.”

“Yeah? Don’t forget it when we’re on the big cattle drive next week. Less complaining would be a sweet relief.”

She let the truck’s AI take control as she passed through the neat little suburb outside the town proper, nothing special, simple colony housing, but kept with pride, landscaped as much as anything could be in this environment, and then she hit the open road which would take them to the ranch’s turnoff eventually and the truck accelerated to top speed.

Thank goodness it’s four months till the next damn festival Mrs. Fafield intends us all to celebrate. Tamsyn leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She trusted the AI to get them home safely as it had done many times before. She hadn’t overindulged in feelgoods like her men had but she was tired after a long day of socializing and the dancing had been vigorous. She couldn’t seem to nap though as she kept having dreams which were dark and full of ominous shadows, with giant feral cats surrounding her, their eyes glowing and their teeth dripping blood.

VS: Now let me state I love cats and have always had them as pets so it was a little hard for me to make them the vector for the virus which turns people into zombies. But no cats are harmed in the book or later books! The cats are carriers, not victims. There’s a mystery about this aspect of the outbreak which will get resolved in a later book.

TAMSYN: A PLANET OF LAST RESORT NOVELLA by Veronica Scott

The story of one small town on a remote colony planet and the rising zombie apocalypse…Busy running her ranch outside Rosewater, Tamsyn Wendover doesn’t pay much attention to the goings-on in town. But when one of her ranch hands is bitten while trying to help a child, she’s drawn into the mysterious flu outbreak spreading over the planet. As the deadly flu worsens, striking the town and the ranch, the chaos intensifies and Tamsyn is drawn into the desperate fight for survival. Author’s Note: This 20K novella is a prequel to the events in book one, mostly occurring prior to the arrival of the main characters on the planet in ARRIVAL. There’s no romance in this novella although Tamsyn does meet the man she’ll fall in love with later as the story goes on in upcoming books. Tamsyn will be a continuing character in the adventures on the Planet of Last Resort.

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Pre order links for ESCAPE TO NOWHERE – it will be available wide and on KOBO Plus

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Aug 15 2025

First Meeting Snippet from ARRIVAL (PLANET OF LAST RESORT) SciFi Romance with Zombies

VS: I always wanted to write a post apocalyptic zombie story and me being me, I had to put the events on a remote colony planet in my interstellar civilization the Sectors. Here’s how the book starts, with a hint or two of the disaster to come:

Melly stood on the cracked landing field and took a deep breath of fresh air, rejoicing in being home, finally. Four long years at a mid-Sectors university, then completing her degree and residency as a doctor and she was finally able to return to Randal Four. Sure she owed the government five years of service as a doctor now to pay off her student loans but all Melly had ever wanted to do was practice medicine on her home world and take care of people. The fact Randal Four was still designated as a colony, despite its three bustling major cities and other amenities, had made it possible for her to accomplish her dream.

One week from today she’d be reporting to the big hospital here in Central City as Dr. Jericho, thank you very much, and her long journey to achieve her goals would be complete.

If the darn robo ground tram ever showed up to whisk her and her luggage away from the landing area and off to the terminal. Shading her eyes with one hand, Melly stepped away from the flimsy shelter offered by the robo dropoff area and stared across the shimmering surface toward the terminal. Nothing. There was a small cargo mover quite a distance away but it wasn’t moving and the doors were open. Was that a body on the pavement next to it?

She blinked and tried to refocus. Surely not.

Her train of thought was interrupted.

“Does it usually take this long to pick up arriving passengers?”

Startled, she turned to the man who’d spoken. He was good looking, imposing in size and build, with a military stance, despite being dressed in casual clothing. Four men stood at his back. They’d all flown to the planet with her in the robo shuttle, Randal Four wasn’t big enough to warrant an actual piloted shuttle. The only ships which touched down here were government, military or free traders. Cheap cruise liners like the Solar Flower operated with a minimum of crew and even fewer luxuries. It was a tired old ship plying the Outer Sectors and ferrying humans and other sentients from one colony world to another. It had been the last leg of her trip from the Mid Sectors and at each stage she’d found herself on less congenial vessels, with the Solar Flower being the least amenable of them all.

But it was cheap. The price was right. The government only paid so much to transport a brand new doctor like herself to her assignment.

Melly hadn’t seen these five aboard the cruise ship but she’d pretty much stayed in her tiny cabin. Since they’d landed she’d been observing them surreptitiously, not wanting to seem rude, but the five were an interesting group. “No, I was wondering about that myself actually. There should have been ground transport here waiting for us.”

“Hmmm.” The man contemplated the far off terminal complex with a frown before giving her his attention again. “Jeff Pearson, recently retired from the military,” he said, putting his hand out.

“Welcome to Randal Four,” she said, shaking the proffered hand. Mr. Pearson had a firm grip and a direct gaze, his blue eyes piercing. “Dr. Melisande Jericho. I’m coming home after completing med school and my residency.”

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ARRIVAL (PLANET OF LAST RESORT BOOK ONE)

Melisande “Melly” Jericho is a newly licensed medical doctor, returning to her home planet to practice family medicine. She hasn’t been home in years and is excited to see her friends and family again. But when her shuttle lands, the spaceport seems deserted and she can’t get her handheld to connect to the network to call for help. Stranded on the landing pad far from the terminal, she joins forces with the only other passengers to arrive, never dreaming they’ll all soon be plunged into a life-or-death situation.

Jeff Pearson, retired Sectors Special Forces captain and his friends have come to colony planet Randal Four to take up ranching. He’s attracted to the curvy doctor as soon as he sees her on board the shuttle to the planet and hopes he can at least get her com details and maybe set up a dinner date before he and his team leave the city to reach their waiting ranchland. His tentative plans come to a crashing halt as a strange horde of moaning, growling people emerges from the terminal, headed in their direction with clearly murderous intent.

Jeff, Melly and the others make a desperate run to escape from the mob and begin an adventure the likes of which none of them could ever have predicted. As they struggle against overwhelming odds to survive, evade the infected, escape the city and reach her family home, the attraction and trust between the two grows ever hotter. But so does the danger and the mystery of what happened to the people of Randal Four

Planet of Last Resort is book one in a new scifi romance series set in the Sectors. This book will end in a Happy For Now situation for the two main characters; however the series arc will continue and the challenges and dangers will not be resolved in this book. Melly and Jeff will find some of the answers they’re seeking with more mysteries to solve.

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Jan 31 2025

Why I Wrote ARRIVAL (PLANET OF LAST RESORT BOOK ONE) + Excerpt

The simple answer is that I always wanted to write a dystopian, post apocalyptic novel and now I have!

The first one I ever read was the classic Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank and it immediately became one of my favorite genres. I’m not really all about the gore and violence – I’m always fascinated by the people and when did they start to suspect something was wrong, how did they react in the moment when the apocalypse of whatever type it might be struck and then how do events unfold thereafter. I like to compare their reactions to how I think I would react. When I decided to write this new novel of mine, I knew I wanted to place it in the Sectors and I had to think hard about what kind of apocalyptic event would make sense in that framework.

I settled on a virus that produces zombies, which may or may not have been manufactured by alien enemy agents. Now personally I enjoy a good zombie tale, from The Walking Dead to World War Z to Kate L. Mary’s Broken World to Dee J, Holmes’ Pandora Strain trilogy. I’m not into the gore part of things though and so I guess my zombies in this book are “zombie lite” in that I don’t get into too much explicit detail of how they look, or the fight scenes.

The Female Main Character is a doctor (I seem to gravitate toward the medical profession for my FMC’s on occasion) and the Male Main Character is a retired Sectors Special Forces operator who has come to Randal Four to claim his veterans’ acres and ranch.

There’s a dog, which survives of course!

I enjoyed placing my characters into various scenarios as they make their way across the planet, taking some of my favorite parts of the post apocalyptic genre into account. I’m always trying to write a book that I’m going to want to read – that’s why I started writing in the first place, way back when I was seven. I hope you’ll enjoy the adventure and action in this one, as well as the romance of course! I definitely plan on at least two more books in the series.

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the book:

One week from today she’d be reporting to the big hospital here in Central City as Dr. Jericho, thank you very much, and her long journey to achieve her goals would be complete.

She blinked and tried to refocus. Surely not.

Her train of thought was interrupted.

“Does it usually take this long to pick up arriving passengers?”

But it was cheap. The price was right. The government only paid so much to transport a brand new doctor like herself to her assignment.

“Impressive! Congratulation.” He waved at the other four men, who nodded as he made a rapid-fire introduction. “Cody, Zach, Samms and Trent. We’re here to take up our veterans’ acres and make a living ranching.”

“Welcome to the planet then,” she said with enthusiasm. She was matching her observations to the names and trying to keep the four men straight in her mind. Cody was the one who’d been pacing and playing with a spinning fidget toy, which made her dizzy to watch. Trent had been listening to music, tapping his toes, very much at ease. Samms played some game on his handheld and barely took his eyes off the screen to wave at the introduction. He reminded her a bit of her younger brother, who was also an avid gamer every chance he got to play. Zach was built on a massive scale, with tatts on his bulging biceps. He stood well over six feet and dwarfed the others, even Jeff, who was pretty buff himself.

“My guess is we need to hike, captain,” said Zach now. “No one’s coming with a welcome wagon today.”

“All right,” he agreed, turning away from her. “Get your gear squared away and let’s go.”

She certainly wasn’t going to wait endlessly out here on the landing pad either, so Melly gathered up her backpack and small carryon. “Mind if I join you?” she asked, walking over to where the group was dealing with their own possessions.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Jeff’s grin lit up his face, which she’d already decided was handsome enough for a highly effective recruiting poster. “Not leaving you here by yourself. Can you manage your things or do you need us to carry them?”

With a laugh she surveyed the men in front of her, each with his own rucksack. “I can manage, thank you. The rest of my stuff was in the cargo pod which hopefully landed okay a few hours ago.”

“We sent ours ahead on an earlier ship,” Jeff told her. He looked past her to the two businessmen. “You coming, gentlemen?”

“I suppose,” one said, running a hand over his sweaty face and sounding aggravated. “Really the service here is abysmal, Paulson. If we didn’t need the contract so badly—”

“It wasn’t this bad last time we came through,” his companion said as if trying to make up for the first man’s brusque remark. “Probably a minor thing. Once we’re at the terminal we’ll be fine, Baird. We have plenty of time to make our first meeting.”

“After you,” the captain said to Melly, with a good humored expression and a sweeping gesture as if inviting her to a dance.

Feeling more lighthearted now she was taking action, Melly began walking. She speculated where exactly the men were going to stake their veterans’ acres claim and hoped it wouldn’t be too remote. She realized the group had formed up around her as if she was a celebrity they needed to protect as they proceeded. The two businessmen trailed behind, Baird huffing and puffing. She might have to give him medical attention by the time they reached the terminal. The thought reminded her of what she thought she’d seen beside the stationary cargo mover. She paused and looked in that direction again.

“Something wrong?” Jeff asked, coming to a halt beside her.

“I—I think maybe someone is on the ground next to the hauler over there,” she said, pointing. “You go ahead—I need to check on them.”

“We’ll go with you,” he said. “We’re in no rush and if the person does need attention, you may need help.”

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ARRIVAL (PLANET OF LAST RESORT BOOK ONE) by Veronica Scott

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Sep 11 2020

5 Post Apocalyptic #SciFi Novels to Distract You From Current Events

VS Note: Portions of this post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record…

Combine a long hot summer and the current events in the world, between politics and the pandemic, and I guess it’s not a mystery why I’ve been in the mood to read a lot of post-apocalyptic (PA) science fiction novels recently. I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you this month.

These are definitely not romances, although some of the books may contain romantic elements, and quite a few of them are heavy on the horror element — I tend to skim the worst parts frankly, but I’ll keep reading if the rest of the story grabs me. As a longtime fan of “The Walking Dead” TV series and movies like “World War Z,” I’m pretty much prepared for the gore factor in some of these books. I’ve read a lot in this genre.

I started reading apocalyptic fiction with the classic Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, detailing what happens in one small Florida community after the U.S.A. and Russia go to war and the bombs drop. The book has held up pretty well since he wrote it in 1959, although its age shows now, since the advent of cellphones and the internet and many other things Frank didn’t have and which his characters have never heard of. I still reread this one at least once a year. When I first read it as a 12-year-old, reading my dad’s battered paperback edition, the whole concept of what life might be like after a huge event of this nature was fascinating.

Usually, in these novels, the events are kicked off by a war, or a virus, which may result in zombies or other no-longer-human creatures to prey on the main character survivors, or an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from space or a hostile nation, or any number of other events, some scarily plausible. There are some genre tropes a PA author will probably tick off along the way, including the breakdown of civilization, the looting and scavenging, the “preppers” — good and bad — who were ready for this and take it all in stride, the gangs and criminals and bad guys, sometimes a grand conspiracy theory-come-true behind the disaster, which must be fought along with just trying to survive the day — there are lots of variations.

Mike Kraus is a prolific author and publisher who co-writes with various other individuals and I enjoyed his six-book Flashpoint series, written with Tara Ellis. Beginning with a gamma ray event, which decimates the world’s population, this series takes a disparate group of people and chronicles their various journeys and efforts to survive. I was drawn in by the characters and the fact that one part of the story dealt with how a small mountain town survived the initial event and then became something of a magnet drawing in the other characters. I felt the series provided me something different than the standard “after the apocalypse” fare.

Jacqueline Druga is a very prolific writer who tends to write standalone books, although she has several long-running series — and even created two seasons of a limited TV show based on one of her series, although the reviews relating to the production values and quality of the acting weren’t all that encouraging. Once I discovered her, I went through many titles on her extensive backlist of novels, although I didn’t try any of the series yet. Her science is a bit questionable — especially in the early books — as far as the specific causes for the various apocalypses she visits on her characters, but one thing I especially enjoyed about her novels was that the main character is usually a woman who hasn’t been too concerned about disasters, “bug out bags,” “prepping” or anything else beyond her family’s daily life — pretty much an average citizen suddenly thrust into this new world who has to survive. Druga has written a huge variety of disasters — one of my particular favorites was Red Line, which starts with a group of morning commuters on the subway, totally unprepared for the end of the world. I also liked The Last Woman, although it starts off in a very grim fashion.

Just a warning: In her books, whole families may perish. If a heroine starts off with a husband and three children, odds are, she’ll be widowed and down to one or none offspring fairly rapidly. Not always, but fairly often. There’s a lot of loss for the main characters to endure before the story focuses in on how they go on to survive the grim new world.

DRYP: The Final Pandemic by R. A. Scheuring was extremely well written, I thought, although the plague the author sets loose on the world kills pretty much everyone. No zombies here, but a 99% mortality rate for anyone who catches the bug. One of the primary settings for the plot’s action was close to where I live, so that was fun as the characters moved around on the freeways I drive. This is a standalone, so far, but I have hopes there’ll be a sequel because the few survivors do appear to be moving toward a meeting at the end of the novel.

Sam Sisavath’s Fall of Man series started off with a bang, as many people suddenly become “rabid crazies,” ravening beasts — not zombies — who only seek to kill. I liked the extremely capable ex-soldier hero and in the second book. I was impressed by his equally indomitable wife. Book three won’t be out for a while but I’ll be reading it. The Break was the first book and held my interest from start to finish, including the motley group of survivors the hero collects and defends, despite his best intentions to be a loner.

Right now, I’m on book 10 of a 12-book zombie series by Adrienne Lecter, The Green Fields and I am pretty enthralled. I’ve been reading until late in the night, finishing about one book a day. Lots of genuine gore and horror along the way, but I’m hooked on Bree and Nate, the two main characters, and their relationship. The primary focus of the novels is not the romance, and these two — a scientist and a deadly soldier — bicker almost constantly but I can’t get enough of them. I stick around for the adventure and the moments where they stop bickering and let their emotions show. It’s been fascinating to watch them evolve and how they support each other, each in their own way. I’m also interested in the various approaches the other survivors are working on in an attempt to create some kind of civilization despite the zombie presence.

This is a series where I’ve relied heavily on reader reviews in Amazon to tell me if I want to keep reading and to warn me about particularly gruesome events coming in the next installment. Lecter doesn’t shy away from describing disturbing scenes in quite graphic and lengthy detail. I personally like spoilers rather than being surprised, but I won’t give you any here. If you decide to try the books, don’t get too attached to anyone not named Bree or Nathan is my sincere advice. Incubation: Green Fields Book #1 is the first book in the series, which the author has completed. Several of the books end in cliffhangers but the next novel is always right there with one click immediately if you’re a voracious reader like me.

I have a few sci-fi romances and the latest Mary Balogh Regency romance waiting on the Kindle for when I’ve finished all this apocalyptic, dystopian reading and need a change of pace to lighter fare. I’m sure I’ll be more than ready by then.

VS Update: Since I wrote this post for the Roswell Daily Record, I finished reading all twelve Green Fields books AND two books of related short stories and I even signed up for the Author’s Patreon to get my hands on the novella prequel. I’ve never signed up for a Patreon before but I was driven to have every morsel of Green Fields fiction there was. So I guess you can see how much the series really grabbed me. The prequel was tremendously helpful in explaining how and why Nate and Bree came together in the first place and establishing the foundation of their relationship through the entire series. The novella was really more of a scifi romance in style (and sex scenes) and clarified some things about the couple for me. Having the short story collections was great too because she wrote from Nate’s POV (the series is all Bree’s POV). I’m glad I found this series after it was complete, not sure I could have handled the cliff hangers otherwise. (The first book was published in 2015 as far as I can tell.)

The last book takes a hard left turn into a development I certainly never saw coming, as to how certain things are resolved. Looking back, the author did lay clues throughout the books leading up to this revelation but still…it was unexpected and left me sort of blinking. Okayyyyy…

I have to say again, these are very gory stories (as well done zombie novels tend to be) and by the end of the series I’m frankly not sure how entirely human Nate and Bree are any longer. Literally. I still cared about them and their eventual fate though. Hence the binge buying of all the short stories etc! Gruesome things occur along the way, although the author is quite effective at setting the scene for these plot developments. I do skip over the specific upsetting details when I read and I kind of cheerfully ‘forget’ some of the things…so for me the series worked because I was highly invested in Nate and Bree. I was satisfied at the conclusion, given the world they’re living in.

So there’s my trigger warning, without giving spoilers, in case you decide to try the series. It’s a very rough ride for them in the new, zombiefied world and for the reader who gets to see it all happen….