Until a frantic phone call from a friend with mysterious government ties, Lily thinks her biggest quandary is fixing the problems in her struggling marriage. After she learns the world as they know it is about to end, she has the difficult job of convincing her husband Ethan that it’s really happening. As they scramble to survive the approaching solar event, and prepare for the aftereffects, their marriage remains on a shaky foundation. They face the daunting task of repairing their relationship while trying to live through the apocalypse. This novelette is a prequel to “A Reluctant Companion” and the first in the “After The End” series. It includes a three-chapter excerpt of "A Reluctant Companion." \This is intended to be a free read and is available without cost through most venues. Hopefully, Amazon will update the cost soon.\

When electricity is a scarce commodity, power is everything… A century ago, a catastrophic event disabled most electronic devices and killed hundreds of millions in the ensuing chaos. After The End, governments eventually reformed, but countries split into smaller factions. The United States is long gone, replaced by ten distinct territories. Commander Tiernan Archer rules the Northwest Federation, where Madison Cole has lived all her life. Her beauty enchants him, and he requests her as a one-night companion. Madison has an amazing night with the commander, but is dismayed when he wants her to be his personal companion and return with him to Seattle-Archer. Her family needs her, but he gives her little choice about becoming his reluctant companion. At first, it seems impossible that she could ever be happy with the man who forced her to give up her life, but feelings grow between them. Their relationship reaches a fragile new level that could deepen to something neither expected, if betrayal and treason don’t separate the lovers.