A grounded post-apocalyptic survival thriller about family, resilience, and the hard choices ordinary people face when the systems holding the world together disappear.
The sun changed. Everything else followed.
The world unraveled in a single morning.
The power dies. Cars stop running. Phones fall silent. When strange colors fill the sky and every modern system fails, thirteen-year-old Logan Hopkins realizes this is far more than a blackout.
His parents are hundreds of miles away. His younger brothers are looking to him for answers. And their nanny, Becca, may be the only adult left standing between them and a neighborhood beginning to collapse.
At first, people wait for help.
Then food disappears. Water runs low. Strangers come to the door. Neighbors who once waved from driveways start watching from windows. And as fear spreads, Logan learns the disaster may not be the greatest threat.
It may be the people left behind.
Their only hope lies somewhere to the south — if they can reach it.
But the road is no longer safe. Every mile brings new danger, impossible choices, and a truth Logan is not ready to face: when everything people depend on disappears, protecting the ones you love may require becoming someone you never expected to be.
Because when everything falls apart, the only thing that matters is the ones we protect.
Very well-written novel. Once I started I could not put it down. It had a way of making me feel a connection with the characters. It would be versatile and enjoyed by both adult and adolescent readers. Highly recommend.
A fresh take on the post-apocalyptic genre with an exciting story from beginning to end. Great character development that shows how raw grit can help you persevere in almost any situation.
"He finally faded off, knowing the decisions were his now. Whether they made it home would depend on what he did with them."
Kevin Hawkinson is a commercial insurance professional moonlighting as an author, which sounds a little more mysterious than it probably is. He writes grounded post-apocalyptic survival fiction focused on family, responsibility, resilience, and what ordinary people do when the world suddenly stops playing by the rules.
A longtime reader of survival fiction, thrillers, and science fiction, Kevin has always been drawn to stories that ask big "what if" questions and then drop regular people into impossible situations. Some of his favorite influences include A. American, Andy Weir, Cormac McCarthy, Joshua Dalzelle, and Jack Carr, among others.
Writing began as a creative outlet and quickly became something closer to therapy. In his day job, Kevin spends a lot of time thinking about risk, planning, exposures, and worst-case scenarios. Fiction gives him a place to explore those same ideas with more imagination, more heart, and thankfully fewer spreadsheets.
His goal is to write fun, grounded stories that readers can enjoy while still taking something meaningful away from them. Although his work fits within science fiction and survival fiction, Kevin tries to write stories with threads that connect across different readers — teens and adults, mothers and fathers, casual readers and true survivalists alike.
Kevin's interest in preparedness, outdoor skills, firearms training, amateur radio, and contingency planning helps shape fiction that feels realistic and close to home. He believes the best survival stories are not just about gear, food, or the end of the world. They are about people, choices, family, fear, courage, and the quiet responsibility of protecting those who depend on you.
Kevin lives in the American South with his wife and children. When he is not working, writing, reading, or spending time with family, he can usually be found training, organizing gear, or thinking through "what if" scenarios.
"If the world ever stops, may you be the decent one. The one who stands up when others step back, protects those who cannot protect themselves, and keeps civility alive when the darkness comes."
"The world wasn't done testing them. And he would be ready."
— The Ones We Protect