Solstice Dayton crosses into the post-apocalyptic American West searching for the last sanctuary, only to be trapped in a brutal frontier overrun by war, plague, and fire.
With her friends, Solstice swears to protect the last refuge and the people on its borders. But just as peace begins to feel almost possible, war breaks out, a virus sweeps through the land, and the last forest goes up in flames.
Caught between rival enemies, savage gangs, and a rapidly unhelpful universe, Solstice discovers a hidden world beneath the desert sands and the key to getting home at last. She just has to survive long enough to use it. She might be slipping, though. She’s pretty sure her sword is also a talking horse that will one day become a surfboard.
In The Sunshine Border series, Solstice Dayton rides across a post-apocalyptic western wasteland, forges bonds with the people of the frontier, and learns she’s tied to the American West in ways she never expected. But also, apparently, Key West, because this apocalypse has range.
If you love young adult dystopian fiction, apocalyptic westerns, post-apocalyptic survival stories, strong heroines, found family, and slow-burn romance, you’ll gallop through The Sunshine Border. Fans of The Postman and Dances With Wolves will feel right at home in this wild, irreverent genre-bending adventure, but only if you imagine them with teens, cannibals, nests the size of people, 500 inches of snow, left-handed archers, National Parks, mudslides, staying out of Idaho, and zombie-like dazers.
Will Solstice uncover her mysterious past, find new love in the wild, and keep the alliance from imploding, or will the whole thing go up in smoke? Saddle up for the exciting new twist in the Solstice Dayton saga today.
Ocho, Wildcat, Selene, Hunter, Solstice, Sky, Shadow, Flare, and KC. New names for a new reality.
There’s good land in the West. From Lexington, walk toward the setting sun. Take I-70 when you find it. Go north at Aurora, Colorado. Cut across Wyoming until you reach the parks. You’ll find clear skies. One thousand hours. Two thousand miles. Ten thousand feet up. That’s four million steps. It’ll take you ninety days. You’ll find sanctuary there. But there's a secret, only a few know.
The rocky highlands in Wyoming mark the Sunshine Border, the easternmost point of Skyhaven, the last sanctuary.
As the winter dawns early, memories awaken, and it's time for a retro name upgrade. Are our favorite friends running from their past or toward a new future?
In the fire-scorched wasteland, winter comes early, even to the last sanctuary, hitting hardest along the Daylight Range.
What's up with the hunter's hair? Why'd he cut it?
Weird things happen in the national park, like running with the wolves, living in giant nests, burning all the furniture, and surviving on nacho cheese and soda syrup for days on end. Plus, the bad guys live in snow trenches and eat people. Pro tip: if it comes with huckleberry, get it.
When the Daze returns, Jackers set the last forest aflame to contain the virus, melting the Dazer's diseased flesh.
When 500 inches of snow melts in the firestorm, Solstice and Selene surf logs in the mudslides.
Beneath the desert sands of Nebraska, aka the Savanna Dunes, 77 miles of tunnels hide the last remnants of the American government from before the war.
The yearly walk by the President in tunnels under the Savanna Dunes from mile 77 to Lincoln Tower at mile 0. They must complete the trip in 7 days with only what they can carry.
William Adena. Senator, Vice President, President, a would-be father, the peanut butter of dads, and the desperate hope of a daddyless daughter.
Sometimes, just Bill, but always the worst.
[Reality check: When writing, the author thinks about what his awesome dad (Bill) would do and then has Silverfox do the opposite.]
Solstice, Selene, & Silverfox