Release date: January 18, 2018
Subgenre: Post-apocalyptic fiction
About Lessons Learned:
While a wildfire threatens High Meadow, an uninvited guest sows seeds of dissent.
The president arrives at High Meadow with his entourage of bureaucrats and faux-military. Tillie and Angus don’t have time for any distractions as a massive wildfire bears down on their settlement. It will take more than hard work and good intentions to get them through this catastrophe.
Martin is leery about sending all of his men to aid those in the path of the fire thereby leaving their borders unprotected. They are most vulnerable in their commitment to help others.
Wisp and Nick work the fire lines seeking out people fleeing the raging flames. Only Wisp can find those lost in the heavy smoke, risking his life to bring them to safety.
Behind their backs, certain people are questioning every decision. At a time when they most need to work together, the outsiders are creating divisiveness.
The president arrives at High Meadow with his entourage of bureaucrats and faux-military. Tillie and Angus don’t have time for any distractions as a massive wildfire bears down on their settlement. It will take more than hard work and good intentions to get them through this catastrophe.
Martin is leery about sending all of his men to aid those in the path of the fire thereby leaving their borders unprotected. They are most vulnerable in their commitment to help others.
Wisp and Nick work the fire lines seeking out people fleeing the raging flames. Only Wisp can find those lost in the heavy smoke, risking his life to bring them to safety.
Behind their backs, certain people are questioning every decision. At a time when they most need to work together, the outsiders are creating divisiveness.
Excerpt:
A siren screamed out into the night. Ted ran to the window with
Nixie right behind him. The latest batch of rescued children
clustered around them. He pushed the curtains aside, so they could
all get a look.
“What is it?” one of the littlest children asked.
Red lights strobed in the darkness. The heavy rumble of a big
engine approached. “It’s a fire truck.” The siren changed octave as
it raced past them down the road.
“What’s that?”
A tumble of emotions hit Ted. The youngest ones had been born after
Zero Year when public services had disappeared. In the chaos after
the flu had whittled down the human race, emergency services had
sputtered and failed. These children couldn’t understand the
undertaking Angus had initiated. It had required a major effort to
get this one small vestige of normalcy back into action. The
vehicle had needed work. People had to be found who knew how to
operate the equipment. And the road had to be cleared and repaired,
so they could drive quickly to where they might be needed. So much
had gone into preparation for this singular event.
Nixie slipped her hand into his. “Can’t remember something you
never saw,” she said gently. As usual, she saw the crux of the
matter. The children didn’t care about what it took to get to this
moment. They wanted to know about now.
He tried his best to narrow it down to something that they could
understand. Half of them were feral, having few memories of a home
or safety. Their lives had balanced on warmth, food and clean
water. Anything else was superfluous. “If there’s a fire that might
hurt somebody, the firemen get in the fire truck and go put it
out.”
“They didn’t need to run the siren,” Nixie grumbled. “Who would be
in their way?”
“It’s a warning.” Ted said. “Now we all know there’s a fire
somewhere. Anybody who wants to help can go after them.” The loud
wail had frightened him bringing with it the memories of crisis and
peril. He’d gotten so used to the silence of the new world without
any traffic or construction or manufacturing. This was an old sound
of warning in a world with different dangers. He forcibly shook off
the worry. The old fears had no place in Angus’s bright new domain.
“Do we need to go?” Nixie asked.
Ted looked at all the eager faces watching him. His young charges
were clearly marked by the changes in the world with eyes the color
of flowers, gold, burgundy and lavender. They were a reminder of
how different the future would be. “I think we should,” he said.
Even if they weren’t needed to lend a hand, it was important for
these children to be there. This was a historic event in some ways.
It was probably the first response by a working fire truck since
Zero Year. “They might need our help.”
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple iTunes | Angus & Robertson
About the A Changed World series:
- Book 1: Lethal Seasons (99 cents at Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple)
- Book 2: Scattered Seeds (Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple)
- Book 3: Gleanings (Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple)
- Book 4: Lessons Learned (Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple)
About Alice Sabo:
Alice Sabo is the author of the post-apocalyptic series A Changed
World, the space fantasy series Transmutation and traditional mystery
series Asher Blaine Mysteries. She lives in Asheville, NC, where she
gardens and tries to outwit the squirrels.
No comments:
Post a Comment