A Great State Series

by Shelby Gallagher

A Great State: The Divide

the divide
The Divide

Julie Atwood is struggling with the day-to-day challenges of being a single mom. She works for a non-profit by day and clips coupons by night. The time in between is spent doing homework with her son. She wants a stable and secure life for him, but she needs a new start for herself. That won’t come easy, though. Julie is recently divorced, financially stressed, and still reeling from a violent attack in her past.

She is determined to make it on her own, however. She learns self-defense skills and enrolls in a women’s-only firearms class. That’s where she meets a like-minded woman who helps take her skills to the next level. Julie’s personal evolution continues as she uses her couponing know-how to stockpile essential food and survival supplies. She will become self-reliant—and never be a victim again.

The urgency of her efforts takes on new importance as society begins unraveling around her. America is divided. Conservatives and liberals are at war. Then the newly elected president cuts funding to so-called Sanctuary States, including her home state of Oregon. Julie loses her job. Everyone who lives off the government gets desperate. Riots. Crime. Fire.

Julie needs to flee to the safety of her family cabin in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Can she get there, though? There is an exodus of people, and the conservative states—now called Great States—have established border checkpoints. Refugees are being turned away. Will she be one of them? Will Steve, her ex-husband, let her take their son far away? Will he demand to go with them? There is a wildfire at hand. Civilization is crumbling. And Julie is running out of time.

The Divide is the first book in the A Great State trilogy.


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A Great State: The Aftermath

the aftermath
The Aftermath

In The Aftermath, Julie Atwood is settling into a new normal in remote Smoky Flats, along with her son and father. While the U.S. continues spiraling into violence and instability, Julie and her family hone their survival skills as they prepare to endure their first harsh winter in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Joining with others and building new friendships, Julie bolsters Smoky Flats’ security, sense of community, and commerce among residents. Together, they protect themselves from outside intruders, mountain lions, and food shortages.

Meanwhile, back in Oregon, life for Julie’s ex-husband, Steve, and his new infant, worsens. He falls victim to a crumbling employment sector and housing crisis, and is forced to live in horrendous conditions while working to further a radical liberal agenda. His money and supplies are quickly dwindling, and nearby protests are becoming more violent. Before long, Steve is beholden to a local gang and their demands on him become a matter of life or death.

Although hundreds of miles apart, Julie and Steve’s worlds collide when circumstances become so grim that he is forced to ask for Julie’s help to save his daughter’s life. Julie is now faced with a dilemma. She must weigh her moral obligation to help an innocent person against putting her own life in danger to do so.

In this second book of the A Great State trilogy, the everyday realities for those who prepared clash with the realities of those who did not. Lives are lost, and danger and uncertainty creep around every corner. Despite it all, there remains a sense of hope and renewal, and a vision for a future when people and the country can thrive again.


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A Great State: The Rescue

the rescue
The Rescue

In the final book of Shelby Gallagher’s A Great State trilogy, Julie and Ned embark on their perilous journey from Colorado to Pierce Point, Washington where Julie will rescue – and adopt – baby Addison. Julie hopes to save her from the danger that is only growing more extreme as society continues to collapse and Addison can no longer be safely cared for by her biological parents.

Meanwhile, unrest in Oregon continues to intensify and violence in the city becomes deadly as cultures clash and lawlessness begins to rule. Strange murders are happening regularly and the guilty parties will go to great lengths in order to preserve their freedoms.

The Rescue chillingly shows the lengths people will go to so they can survive and thrive in times of chaos and uncertainty. Will Julie and Ned survive the mission through the mountains so they can save an innocent life and help usher in a new generation of self-reliant survivors? What will become of Julie’s ex-husband once he surrenders his parental rights? Will Julie’s incompetent brother make it through the collapse on his own? Will the violence that is overtaking Oregon make its way to the Great States?


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