"It" is my newest novel, The Tower. It's available in paperback and is part of Kindle Unlimited. It's pretty different from my other books and I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

Like most of my stories, the main character is an unlikely heroine. Her name is Evie. She is not a former soldier, a Krav Maga instructor, or an outdoorsy herbalist in the forest. Instead, she's disabled, chronically ill, perpetually anxious, and lives on the top floor of a condo building downtown in a big city. When the power goes out for good, she finds herself trapped in her home. How will she manage to survive a city that grows more brutal by the day?

Here are the first few pages to introduce you to Evie. I hope you find yourself cheering for her.

Prologue

The first person I ever killed died over a can opener.

The fact that it was true was one of the least strange things that had happened to me recently.

I did not feel equipped for apocalyptic survival. I was a romance author, for crying out loud. I wrote stories where mortals fell in love with creatures from other realms, and everyone got a happy ending if they survived that pesky third-act misunderstanding.

Despite my lack of consent to participate in the Craptacular Cascading Apocalypse I found myself in, I had put down my pen and picked up a weapon.

Back before all the dystopian nonsense, I had paid extra for a condo with a perfect view. Now, I regretted that view almost every day. The things I saw belonged to a world that seemed like badly written fiction. "Very exaggerated. It goes well beyond willing suspension of disbelief," I would say seriously, if I were talking to my agent.

My telescope had been a very successful impulse buy. Much more successful than the dangling feather hair clips. I ordered them late one night after watching Lagertha kick butt on Vikings. In my fog of inspiration, I had been certain they were just what I needed to join a shield-maiden army.

Anyway, back to the telescope. I set it up to explore the heavens from my condo, finding stars and constellations in the city sky on those frequent nights when insomnia struck. I absolutely loved staring through it at the beauty beyond my reach.