As the German Reich collapses in fire and chaos, a squad of exhausted American infantrymen clears what remains of a Nazi concentration camp. What should be a final, grim duty turns into something far worse. With his last breath, a prisoner begs them to save his wife, Elise, before the SS executes her in a nearby subcamp.

Most of the men want nothing to do with it. The war is nearly over. They’ve seen enough death. But one soldier cannot turn away—and his decision will drag the entire squad into an unauthorized race across a dying nation. In the wreckage of a broken Reich, they must navigate a chaotic world filled with desperation and danger. Along the way they will discover how much humanity can still be salvaged… and how much it can cost.

Inspired by true accounts, In the Ashes is a gripping, unflinching novel of loyalty, guilt, and the final brutal choices of war.

In the quiet corners of Middle America, ordinary lives collide with the extraordinary. This sharp collection of short stories from Zac Northup peels back the layers of everyday existence to reveal the raw beauty, quiet desperation, and hard-won resilience of people just like us.

• Places People Fall thrusts a lone hiker into a life-or-death struggle in the desert, where survival demands choices no one should face.
• The Thevenin Cipher follows a young man unraveling a Revolutionary-era mystery that blurs the line between past and present, turning history into a dangerous personal quest.
• The Bar on Fuller Street traps three strangers inside a neighborhood bar as a city riot erupts outside, forcing them to confront their own fractured realities amid the chaos.
• Seconds explores the razor-thin margin between life and regret, where a single moment can redefine everything.
• And The Life and Death of an Unimportant Man delivers a poignant meditation on legacy, invisibility, and the profound weight of an unremarkable existence.

These five stories capture the heart of America—its triumphs and tragedies, its hidden ciphers and sudden falls. Honest, unflinching, and deeply human, they remind us that every life holds a story worth telling, even (and especially) the ones that seem ordinary.

Perfect for fans of literary fiction, character-driven drama, and tales from the American heartland. Short enough for a single sitting, powerful enough to linger long after the final page.

The nation is no longer what it once was. Across a fractured landscape marred by “The Strife,” a low-intensity insurgent war has become the grueling status quo. Bombs, assassinations, and violent mobs are the backdrop of daily life, leaving thousands dead or displaced in a slow-burn conflict that threatens to permanently change the world.

Fletcher Whitney, a Research Agent for the agency known as A5, is tasked with reconstructing the truth from the greatest collection of human knowledge ever assembled, now the exclusive domain of a massive quantum core known as Big Blue. When Fletcher is sent to interrogate Silas Boreasby, a mysterious hermit living in the mountains, he discovers a manuscript that shouldn’t exist: a perfect, step-by-step blueprint of the war written years before the first shot was fired.

In a notional world where propaganda has poisoned history and political factions have abandoned morality, Remnant explores the chilling intersection of AI, war, and divine intervention. As the Boreasby manuscript unspools a future already written in blood, Fletcher Whitney must decide if he is a researcher of the past or the final variable in an ancient, unrelenting war between good and evil.

The year is 1774, and the Virginia frontier is a powder keg. When ruthless outlaws commit an brutal series of murders, the fragile peace shatters, unleashing a wave of savage reprisals. In the calamitous events that follow, the lives of British colonists, Shawnee warriors, a young enslaved girl, and an Irish indentured servant become inextricably linked in a desperate fight for survival. This isn’t just a war for land; it’s a battle for their very way of life, threatening to consume everything they hold dear.

As the frontier bleeds, ordinary people are pushed to their limits. Some unearth a remarkable inner strength they never knew they possessed, rising to meet unimaginable challenges with courage and resilience. Others, however, descend into the darkest corners of human nature, their humanity eroded by fear and violence. When the dust settles, no one will emerge unchanged; the crucible of war will forever alter their souls.

Lord Dunmore is back in Williamsburg, and the reality he faces is chilling: the very Virginians he rallied to fight the Shawnee are now poised to ignite a rebellion against King George III. Desperate to keep the Old Dominion under Great Britain’s flag, Dunmore schemes with a mysterious operative, hatching a treacherous plot to assassinate the leaders of Virginia’s burgeoning patriot movement. His aim is clear: decapitate the rebellion before it can erupt into full-scale war against the Crown. This web of intrigue, espionage, and murder ensnares the lives of John Dickinson, Lydia Townsend, Red Hawk, Cornstalk, Logan, and Henri Thevenin. Once again, they find themselves thrust into a perilous fight, forced to risk everything they hold dear to protect their families and their homes from both external tyranny and hidden dangers.

As the second installment in the Fading Darkness series, Beyond the Fading Darkness reignites the journeys of characters you’ve come to love—and perhaps even despise. This rich narrative seamlessly blends captivating history, intricate political intrigue, high-stakes espionage, and deeply complex characters into a truly riveting thriller. The echoes of Dunmore’s desperate gambit resonate with a striking relevance, making this historical drama feel as urgent and compelling as if torn from today’s headlines.

A blizzard has buried the Virginia frontier under an unforgiving blanket of snow. It’s the brutal winter of 1776, and at Dickinson’s Meadow, a solitary settlement clings to existence. With the Virginia militia on winter furlough during the second year of the American Revolution, the fort’s already sparse population has dwindled to a hardy few. Among them are David Smithfield, a man haunted by personal loss and sense of duty; Henri Thevenin, a French-Canadian woodsman whose easy charm belies a steely resolve; and a mysterious trapper, new to the area, who brings news of a gruesome massacre in the snow-laden forest.

Meanwhile, within the heart of the Shawnee Nation, a different kind of storm is brewing. Chief Cornstalk, his sister Nonhelema, and the ambitious young warrior Blue Jacket grapple with a burgeoning internal threat. Whispers of dissent and dark practices spread like wildfire among the clans, threatening to tear apart the very fabric of their society at a time when unity is paramount. As the shadow of war darkens their borders, the Shawnee must confront this insidious danger from within. The future of their people, their traditions, and their very survival hinges on their ability to quell the unrest and stand together against an increasingly hostile world.

As Smithfield and his companions delve deeper into the mysteries of the massacres, they unwittingly draw closer to the heart of the turmoil gripping the Shawnee. And as Cornstalk, Nonhelema, and Blue Jacket fight to contain the growing threat, they too will come to understand the interconnectedness of their struggle, nature’s wrath, and man’s darkest impulses.