#Excerpt: STATE OF HOPE by Summer Lane

State of Hope
Summer Lane
(Collapse #10)
Publication date: June 9th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE SMASH-HIT PHENOMENON FROM #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR SUMMER LANE.

This is it.

Cassidy Hart and her comrades have returned to their home: California, the final battlefield in the fight against the global terror, Omega. Commander Chris Young is in critical condition, the United States Navy has acquired new weapons, and the militias have just made a discovery that could change everything.

Faced with tragedy, heartbreak, and destruction, Cassidy is tempted to give up.
But she is a fighter. Defeat is not in her blood.

When confronted with the possibility of resurrecting the leadership of the United States of America, she will do anything to make the dream of stability a reality. She and Lieutenant Uriah True, along with the legendary strike team, the Angels of Death, undertake a dangerous and outrageous mission, unlike anything they have ever attempted. They will find themselves in the very epicenter of Omega’s stronghold.
Yet doubt remains. No one can be trusted in this dark new world, and their hope may not be as black and white as it seems. Disappointment and rejection cloud Cassidy’s judgment.

Friends will be lost. Tears will be shed. Sacrifices beyond the imagination will be made. The grim reality and bitter destruction of war will inflict one final sucker punch. The militias desperately attempt to hold their ground, and the Freedom Fighters will do everything they can to destroy the greatest evil this world has ever known. The apocalypse has taken everything from Cassidy, but she will not stop until her heart ceases to beat, and until there is no breath left in her body.

She holds onto hope – hope of a future, hope of victory, and hope of love.
There is no going back. It all ends here.
Are you prepared?

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EXCERPT:

When I gather my gear before deploying with Beckham and the rest of the troops, the full realization of what is about to happen next rips through me. It tears my heart in two, thinking about the people we’ve lost leading up to this final fight. And it terrifies me to know that there is a very good chance we will not emerge from this battle victorious.

If anything, I promise myself that we will damage Omega enough to weaken them, so that future generations will have the courage to fight back, too. So that they can remember what it is to stand, to have courage, and to lay your life down for your friends, your family, and the things that you believe in.
At the very root of our humanity, something greater binds us all together. If not spirit, then it must be the will to survive. Because that is what is at the heart of everything we do: the desire to continue to survive for the sake of our children and for the sake of the history of this country we love and call home. For the sake of the good memories of this place, for the sake of the rolling hills and the towering mountaintops. For the sake of freedom and love and family and unity and security. For all of us.
I know, as I strap my rifle across my back and slide my knife into the sheath on my hip, that what happens in the next few weeks will bring our doom or our victory. Either way, our destiny is waiting. The last fight looms ever closer on the horizon, like a hellish red glow moving on the wind.
I set my backpack on the floor and take a knee, resting my arm on my leg.
“God,” I whisper. “If you’re listening, and you’re good like Father Kareem says you are…watch over us. I’m not a praying girl, and I’m not good at asking for help…but please. We need something, and it’s got to be more than a rabbit’s foot or a lucky charm. We need something bigger than that. I’m begging you…I’m begging anyone.”
I lift my head, looking at the ceiling, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks.
If this is how I die, I have made peace with it.
If this is how the Freedom Fighters perish, we will rest in peace, satisfied with our sacrifice and our devotion to the cause of freedom. As I leave the house behind, and I see my friends gathered around Beckham’s convoy, waiting to take us to the airfield where we will depart for Monterey, one thought strikes me. I cannot shake it, and it cycles in my head, over and over again, until I say it aloud.
“Don’t give up hope,” I say.
I hold onto this shred of goodness with every ounce of my being because I know it is the only thing that has any chance of keeping me alive until the end.

Author Bio:
Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of the national smash-hit books of the Collapse Series, Zero Trilogy, Bravo Saga, Collapse: The Illustrated Guide, and Unbreakable SEAL. She owns Writing Belle Publishing, and is also an extensively experienced journalist and creative writing teacher. Summer operates Writing Belle, an online magazine where she has worked with hundreds of authors from around the world and helps bring exposure to their work. Summer takes great pride in being an entrepreneur, creative spirit and business owner.

Summer lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, Scott (who can fix anything!), and their German Shepherd, a sweet girl named Kona. Summer loves to travel, read and cook. She uses the experiences of her traveling adventures as inspiration for her books. Some of her favorite places in the world include the forest (any forest, anywhere!), Hawaii (the tropical setting is beautiful!) and Southern California (so many story possibilities!).

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