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Lily is a conscientious college student with a gift for songwriting and a passion for music. Life on Ember Island is pretty conventional until the morning Lily wakes up to a transformed world. As she begins to discover her roommates and entire campus have been impacted by some sort of fiendish disease, Lily finds herself all alone and heads for the city in an attempt to understand what is going on. In the scramble for survival, Lily meets the charming yet unpredictable Halen, and comes to understand they are now living in a dystopian society.
Although the quick-tempered Halen has a distrust for almost everyone she encounters, she seems to make an exception for Lily. They have an instant attraction to each other, which Halen is more forward about and finds enjoyment in making Lily nervous by this sudden attention.
With only each other to depend on, they face dangerous obstacles to escape the island. As they fight for their lives, Lily finds herself fighting her feelings for Halen just as much while Halen develops a strong urge to protect Lily. Will the two be able to trust their connection and find refuge on the mainland and within each other?
Read an Exceprt
I go to another place for a while on my drive to the city. I think I’ve hit my max of what I can process, and it all still feels surreal. As I turn off the highway, I begin to look for any signs of life. Nothing. Not even bodies. I turn down the narrow street where my grandma lives, park my car, grab my backpack, and head to the gate. Three men stumble toward me in the parking lot, their pale skin glinting in the dim light. I quickly close the gate behind me as more stagger my way. I take off running through the alley, hoping to get inside the building, when I slam into someone.
She’s standing there, emerald specks in her eyes. “Are you a being?” she asks. I barely have time to respond before she yells, “Then we need to go. There’s a swarm on this side.” She boosts me onto a dumpster, guiding me toward the fire escape. My arms strain as I grab the ladder, her strength helping me up. Heights aren’t my thing, and panic sets in when one of them grabs my shoe. Suddenly, a loud sound erupts, dampness splashes over me, and their grip loosens. I look down—blood, but safety above.
On the rooftop, she trains a gun on me. “Did he scratch you?” she asks coldly. “No!” I stammer. Satisfied, she puts the gun away. Then we hear them shaking the ladder below. She tucks her curls behind her ears. “They need to feed,” she states. My heart pounds as I watch her flip a body over the ledge to distract them. Chaos, blood, survival—this is my new reality, and I can’t catch my breath.
Q: What is your favorite scene in this story and why?
A: One of my favorite scenes in the story lives in Chapter
7, because it marks the moment when the connection between Halen and Lily truly
shifts from survival to desire. Up until that point, their bond has been forged
in urgency through danger, loss, adrenaline, and the constant need to keep
moving. Chapter 7 is the first time the world quiets just enough for them to
spend time with each other in a more intimate way.
This scene isn’t just about physical closeness, it’s about
awareness. Halen is acutely attuned to Lily through her breathing, her
hesitation, the way grief and fear live in her body. Halen doesn’t rush her,
she listens and she reads the quiet cues. That sensitivity is essential to who
Halen is to Lily, especially in contrast to the violence and chaos surrounding
them.
There is some spice in this chapter, but it’s a soft,
sensual, slow-burn kind of spice, not explicit or graphic. It’s charged not by
urgency, but by consent and curiosity. Every touch is deliberate. Every glance
carries weight. I wanted the intimacy to feel earned, not consumed. Halen’s
desire is never louder than her care for Lily, and Lily’s vulnerability is never
treated as weakness. That balance…heat without harm, desire without dominance, was
incredibly important to me as a writer.
Ultimately, this chapter represents the heart of the story
for me. Halen and Lily allow themselves something tender, something human,
something hopeful. That matters to me deeply as a writer, because it reminds us
that even when everything is breaking, intimacy can still be a form of healing.
Even at the end of the world, love still finds a way to bloom.
About the Author:
Amanda is a sapphic romance author based in Westminster, Colorado, where she balances her love of storytelling with her role as a People Development Manager and devoted mom to a spirited little girl. When she’s not writing about the supernatural and soul-deep love, she can be found exploring local coffee shops and bookstores, experimenting in the kitchen, or going on various adventures with her daughter. Known for her warmth, humor, and passion for human rights, Amanda brings equal parts compassion and imagination to everything she does—both on and off the page.
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