Pilot Project is a collection of unfinished stories I have rattling around in my head. When I get an idea for a new story I often create some characters, flush out a basic story and setting, and then write a few chapters of it so I don't lose the idea or what I had planned for it. This is a place where I can post them to see what the community thinks of them.

The world as we know it ended 209 years ago. From a desert wasteland springs a single kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical King and trapped in an endless war against the shadowy desert warriors. As a desperate bid to save what remains of humanity, society has been split into two distinct classes, nicknamed the Court and the Commons. For an oppressed population on the brink of revolution, a common thief could be the last hope. Up until now, Kay has survived by her wits alone. Reckless and impulsive, wanted by the King's guard, Kay has become known as the Runner. Using the city's rooftops as her personal domain, she manages to keep one step ahead of the King with one hand buried in the purses of the courtiers. Driven by the plight of the commoners and the unjust death of her family, Kay seizes the chance to graduate from small-time thievery to full-scale rebellion. Her opportunity comes in the form of Will, a wealthy ex-soldier with a dark past. Plucked from the streets and thrown into the shimmering palace court, Kay must use her every strength to blend into a world where she doesn't belong, closer to the enemy than she ever thought she would be.

A devastating blast destroys civilization as Beatrice knows it, forcing her to face an entirely new kind of life. But life after the blast has more wonder and hope in it than she imagined. ***** After a series of atomic blasts force Beatrice Hicks and her family into their prepper bunker, they emerge to discover they are among the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse. Soon they find themselves clashing with rogue groups and contending with death in their quest to survive and build a new life in this daunting world. Amidst it all, Beatrice must fight to maintain her humanity, so that she can learn to see the beauty in her life after the blast and even find love where she least expects it. 2014 Watty Award Winner! Content Warning: death, gun violence, and assault