Saturday, April 6, 2019

*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Changing Earth Series by Sara F. Hathaway-GUEST POST


Day After Disaster
The Changing Earth Series Book 1
by Sara F. Hathaway
Genre: Dystopian

How fragile everything had been. People walked through life everyday taking it all for granted, their cars, their cell phones, their lattes, their dramatic social issues and their medical problems.

She started her day at her home in the mountains just like any other. There was nothing unusual about making the familiar drive down to Sacramento to go to work. Then in a flash Mother Nature decided it was time to create a new landscape. Follow the journey of a dynamic young woman, mother and wife, Erika, as she is thrust into a world turned upside down by a series of natural disasters. Alone in a mutilated city, she must navigate the path home, back to her family. Not knowing if they are alive or dead, Erika calls upon all of her survival instincts to traverse this broken environment. Will she make it home? Will her family still be alive? What will Mother Nature dish out next?






Without Land
The Changing Earth Series Book 2

I thought I was entering a brave new world of freedom but I walked right into the arms of soldiers I thought were there to protect me... They told us we were going to live at this ‘happy’ camp where we would be cared for until the country was stabilized.”

Erika thought America would let freedom reign forever but nine years after the Great Quake the reaction by the American Government was quite different. The Day after Disaster brought hardships to the world. The American citizens fought valiantly to bring back some sense of normalcy in a world that was shaken to bits. Many people were left landless and those still in possession of land had many obligation to fulfill for the citizens left fighting for their lives. Erika and her family are just another group left landless and forced to find their way in this new government construct. They are caught between a yearning for the freedoms they used to take for granted and a will to fit in and excel in this new landscape. However, Mother Nature will always have the last word and she isn’t done yet.




The Walls of Freedom
The Changing Earth Series Book 3

"I just hope I...Have the spirit to go on fighting. Have the power to take on forces that are so much bigger than me."

On the run, Erika, her husband, Vince, and their children flee the government forces in search of a new life. The Great Quake ten years ago left the United States devastated. FEMA camps sprouted up in Regional Districts to control the chaos and separate the landowners from the refugees. Erika and her family spent nine years as refugees in the camp before they found out that Vince's parents were still alive and they were searching for them. The Las Vegas FEMA Director, realizing his mistake, attempted to have the family eliminated to save his career. Vince and Erika take their family's future into their own hands and flee the camp in a cross country action packed adventure. Will they find Vince's parents? Will society accept them again? Can they accept this new government system?





Battle For the South
The Changing Earth Series Book 4

I’ve come to realize that staying true to your values and loyal to the people you love can make you into a legend...We must fight the hatred and fear that is crippling the spirit of our country.”

Unsure of the loyalty of her mentor, Erika and Vince take drastic measures to ensure the safety of their loved ones. After trying to merge back into an American society severely altered by the repercussions of the first Great Quake ten years before, Erika and Vince are unsure whom to trust. Time has spread the people they love out across the country and another Great Quake is imminent. One thing is for sure: they will not let their loved ones be annihilated by disaster. As the Federal Government takes steps to eliminate any signs of resistance among its citizens, Erika and Vince seek refuge in the free south where they can find help to rescue their friends and family from the Las Vegas FEMA camp. Can they make it in time? Are their loved ones still alive? Who is loyal to a freedom that was once provided under the Constitution?





Dark Days in Denver
The Changing Earth Series Book 5

 “I wanted to give up so many times. Take my family and find a hole to crawl into, but I believe in a country that once stood for something beautiful. A supreme message that gave all its citizens equal rights to exist.”

As the Earth continues to unleash a series of natural disasters at the surviving inhabitants, Erika finds herself hiding from the federal forces aiming to eliminate her. Rapidly trying to adjust to new circumstances, the refugees from the Earth’s fury spread out into new geographic regions, searching for someplace safe to live. The Federal Government’s grip on its lands tightens, as food becomes scarce and overpopulation intensifies. Fighting for control of the West, the world is turned upside down as the unthinkable happens to the planet and Erika’s family. Is this the end of life as they know it? Who will survive to continue the fight for the freedom of the American people?






Author Sara F. Hathaway is an individual with an insatiable urge for learning. She grew up in the woods of Michigan, fishing, hunting, gardening, canning, and horseback- riding with her family. She loved to learn about the stories of times past from her great-grandparents and grandparents. After moving to the rural mountain landscape of California, she attended the California State University of Sacramento and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in General Business Management. She managed many businesses, all while working on the manuscript for her first novel, Day After Disaster. Eventually, she realized that her passion for the outdoors and learning about survival techniques outweighed her passion for the business world. Sara still lives in Northern California with her husband and two sons, where she is at work on the next installment of The Changing Earth series.




GUEST POST
How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
The original name for Day After Disaster was going to be The Beginning of the End. However, there were already lots of books with that title so we changed it to Day After Disaster. I thought it was appropriate because I wanted to tell the story from the moment of the disaster forward. Lots of Hollywood films show up to the disaster and then it is averted or some time after the disaster but rarely do they show the chaos that immediately follows.

The title for Without Land came to light during editing. Without Land tells the story of what happened to the people who lost their land or were not landowners at the time of the disaster. The government couldn’t allow them to run amuck all over the place. Skirmishes and lawlessness was gripping the country. All of the refugees and non-landowners were rounded up and put into FEMA camps. With the lack of oil, the landowners needed labor to farm and feed the people. A system was developed to adopt out refugee families to landowners to fill this gap. Thus, the title Without Land seemed very fitting.

The title for The Wall of Freedom seemed appropriate because as the Moore family is re-integrated into the new societal structure, they learn that all of the regions are separated by walls. The landowners call them “the walls of freedom” because they keep everyone on the inside safe from the chaos going on outside of them.

Battle for the South was an easy title to pick for obvious reasons. Vince and Erika head south to help save loved ones from a new ocean surge. The government is not going to try to evacuate anyone. Instead, they plan on dealing with the aftermath and taking back the south. On a mission to stop this from happening, Vince and Erika help the battle for the south to begin.

The title Dark Days in Denver seemed appropriate because this novel takes place in Colorado. Even though the beginning is a peaceful time of character development, the end is all about the battle for Denver. Mother Nature rears her ugly head again, causing further chaos and Erika’s life is forever altered.

My new book coming out in June of 2019 is titled The Endless Night. It is a dark time for the planet as well as Erika. She enters the Central Region as a hostage of TJ Swenson’s, believing her family has been murdered. Hopelessness and misery overwhelm her as the sun is hidden from the sky.

Who designed your book covers?
I design all of my own book covers. Originally, Day After Disaster, the original was designed by a self-publishing company that I used. I was unhappy with their work, so I educated myself on how to publish the book and design my covers myself. Originally the cover showed Erika paddling towards buildings. I wasn’t crazy about the idea and always wanted her paddling towards the mountains so I reworked the cover and now I am very happy with it.

The two covers that I am most proud of are the covers for book three, The Walls of Freedom, and The Endless Night which will be coming out in June. It was tricky to make the word “Freedom” for The Walls of Freedom cover look like graffiti on the wall with the handprint underneath but I think it paints a powerful message. The cover for The Endless Night is spooky. During this story the villain, TJ Swenson, watches Erika constantly and the sky is always gloomy without sun. The cover is a black clouded sky with a tiny bit of orange glow at the bottom. Then, I blended TJ’s eyes into the clouds to make them appear like they are staring at the reader.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
If I had it to do all over again, I may have put more military technical information (like gear, equipment, etc.) into the Denver battle. However, I like to tell the story from an individual character point of view so the reader can feel like they are there rather than doing an overview. Also when you delve into to technical information like that it is lost on some readers and over scrutinized by others.

Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
I learned that Arizona is a good deal higher than sea level. This is important to know where the water would go as it floods the land.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
I have no idea but she would need to be one kick butt fighter. I am really bad with names and pay very little attention to the activities of Hollywood. I would like to see my series become a TV series and usually more obscure actors and actresses are chosen for these roles.

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Hold on tight it’s a wild ride. Along the way you are going to learn a lot. You will face a plethora of ethical decisions. Characters you love will triumph and others will not make it. In the end, you will have a solid understanding of why our relationship with the planet is essential and why individual freedoms are worth fighting for.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?
I have many favorites parts of all of my books but the thing that sticks out in my mind the most is Erika’s relationship with Bennet. Bennet is always pushing Erika to do more, be a better person and continue the fight despite the pain. They have a love/hate relationship that changes multiple times throughout the story. Their interplay is funny when Erika is playing a punk with him and heart wrenching when they must step up and look out for one another.



Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!












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