The sequel to the End of All Things will be released in August. The End of All Things told the story of the pandemic that destroyed modern society. Carly and Justin traveled across the ravaged US, searching for a safe home, but it was also a journey into love.
The Land of the Shadow tells the story of their struggle to build a safe refuge for their growing family. Carly has to decide how far she's willing to go to protect those she loves when danger looms on the horizon.
Carly was still awake when he came up to their bedroom, reading by a kerosene lamp. She smiled at him and held her arms out. Happy to go into them, he gave her a kiss, sitting down beside her on the bed.
“Home from prowling?” she asked.
“I wasn’t prowling tonight. I was talking with our newest resident.”
“What do you think?”
“I think she’s going to fit in fine.”
Carly laughed. “Is that all you’re going to say?”
He nodded. “It’s all that’s important.”
He stood and went to undress, hanging up his clothes—they weren’t able to wash everything after one wearing like the old days. He pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, then climbed into his warm bed next to his wife. This was one of his favorite parts of the day, when he felt most content. This was a place where he belonged. Though he hadn’t realized it, he’d been searching for this all his life, and he had it at last.
“I guess it is.” Carly plumped up his pillow before he lay down beside her. “I’m glad you’re home. I always worry when you’re out there, you know.”
“I know. I worry about you, too. ‘Safe’ doesn’t really exist anymore. There are so many things—”
“Chicken thieves . . . alligators.”
“Don’t remind me.” He groaned and pulled up the sheet. It was all the covering they could stand in the heat.
“I feel safe with you.” She snuggled up against his side. “And I know you’ll do your best to keep our community safe. And your best is pretty darn good.”
“I’ll do anything I can to protect you and Dagny,” he said. “’Til my dying breath.”
“And the new world we’re building . . . it feels strange to think this is the beginning of someone’s history book. Like, we’re the Pilgrims, the new settlers.”
He smiled. He always liked when Carly had these grandiose fantasies. It meant she thought of their story as having a happy ending. That fate really was leading them, and the generations that would come after them, to a great destiny.
“Someday, they will write poems about you. The legend of the warrior-king.”
Carly said it in a light, teasing manner, but he knew she did wonder about it. How they would be remembered. How they would be judged for the decisions they made in its creation, and its protection.
“Someday, they will write fairy tales about you,” Justin replied. “The Druid Queen who could call animals to her side, whose judgments were compassionate and just, and whose beauty was like the summer sunshine.”
She smiled. “You are quite the poet yourself.”
“Will they remember how much I loved you? That’s the most important part of the story. I want the world to remember that. I want to write it in the stars.”
She turned and kissed him, and then there was no more need for words.
Praise for The End of All Things
But this isn't just a story of two people who find love in the unlikeliest people and places. This story is also about survival and the difficult decisions people have to make to ensure it. --Amy, Goodreads
The End of All Things is more about hope and second chances, and I very much enjoyed the tale .... highly recommended for all fans of apocalyptic fiction. It's a well-written book with excellent pace, plot, and best, it has real soul.-- Jade Kerrion, Goodreads
I am not usually fond of The End of the World As We Know It books, but this book was so much more than a post apocalypse story. It contained adventure, mystery, sadness and a truly sweet romance. --Pamela, Goodreads
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