When a knight-in-training sets out on a dragonquest to win the hand of a fair princess, he expects to return in time for a pavilion wedding in the fall. But after fifty years of tracking his quarry across godforsaken hinterlands, he is starting to wonder if he has the stamina to finish the job.

Incipience (\in-ˈsi-pē-ən(t)s), noun: the act or process of bringing or being brought into existence. The meteors came without warning. Hundreds of thousands of them came raining down to the Earth, but they did little damage to the planet itself. It's the people that they brought ruin to. Upon impact, the meteors combusted into this fine powder that saturated the planet in its entirety. Within a few weeks, billions grew weak, millions were sick, and hundreds of thousands were dead. That's when they came. These beings from across the stars, the Inovarians, landed on the UN's front lawn with technology capable of fixing the planet within a few weeks. People around the world celebrated until we realized what their help would cost: us. Follow Charlotte-Amalie, a teenager from the USVI, as she feigns assimilation into Inovarian society and races against the clock. She has a year of experimentation to survive through before having to face an ultimatum: be drafted into the military to fight the Inovarians' war or forced into their breeding program. With the help of a covert rebel sec of the military, Charlotte-Amalie may just be able to beat the clock in time to get her and a few of her fellow Earthlings out before the battle begins. Book 1: Chapters 1-12 (Complete, publishing with New Degree Press Winter 2021) Book 2: Ongoing (Update Hiatus to meet publication deadlines for book 1)

If you have not read ALL IS SILENCE, this book will have spoilers. This is an EXCERPT from my second published novel, approximately the first third. The original uploads [several drafts from new] are still there. If you only want to read the nearly final draft, just read the chapters labeled [Final Beta] It is out now in ebook and print, those editions are a draft after the final beta. If you want a deal on buying the completed novel join the newsletter at www.desertedlands.com for information on Giveaways, Sales, and other releases. Thanks, Rob [PG-13 - Profanity, sexuality, and violence. This Realistic Apocalyptic YA novel is part of the Deserted Lands series. Find out more at www.desertedlands.com.] What if safety felt like prison? How does a girl who never had a place in the world before it ended, find her place in the new world? Ninety-five percent of the people on the planet are dead. Lizzie is pregnant from an end of world one-night stand, and the situation is complicated. Her family, friends, the government of Provo, aka The City and one of the last outposts of civilization, all want to keep her safe. And it's driving her nuts. She should be staying safe inside the walls of The City, but she's got to get out. A dangerous mission is exactly what she needs right now.