Where Shadows Rise, Heroes Wander, and Stories Linger.
The Post-Apocalyptic genre is incredibly varied. Zombie take-overs (and a plethora of different takes on those undead villains), nuclear war, and world-wide plagues are just a few aspects of a very colorful range of stories to choose from. They all fit within this genre, but they are all unique in their own way. And The …
Continue reading Life After The War of Rebirth: Building a Post-Apocalyptic World
There’s something seductive about ruin. Something strangely beautiful in imagining what’s left behind when the world as we know it ends — not with a bang, but with a slow unraveling. Poetic, even. Skyscrapers overtaken by vines. Roads cracked open and swallowed by the earth. Silence where there was once traffic, crowds, sirens, noise. I’ve …
Continue reading The Allure of Post-Apocalyptic Worlds: Why We’re Drawn to Ruin and Rebirth
It’s wild that in 2025, we still have to talk about the importance of strong female leads — but here we are. First, let me start off by noting that there is a misconception that "strong" women need to be brutish, or, strong in physical strength alone. But that just isn't the case. It's much …
Continue reading Why Strong Female Characters Still Matter — And Always Will
Readers love a memorable protagonist—The ones that claw their way back from the abyss. But Eva Calloway isn't the only character that I've developed by shattering them to pieces. Many of my characters are built this way. Why? I believe that true transformation (especially in a Post-Apocalyptic world,) doesn't come from comfort. It comes from …
Continue reading Breaking Characters: Destruction Before Rebirth
One of the most prominent forces in The Wanderer Trilogy are the Gangs. And in the same way that many other writers create their worlds, I pull examples from real-world scenarios. Power corrupts. But that power is a multi-faceted creature that manifests within the groups that I've created for this trilogy and beyond. I wanted …
Continue reading New Kings: What the Gangs of The Wanderer Trilogy Teach Us About Power and Survival
In the overgrown ruins of a world reborn, the Nomads tread lightly through the city with faces painted in reverence—not for war, but for spirit. Their Spirit Markings aren't just symbols, they are representative of a sacred contract between the spirit, the Great Mother, and the totem that watches over their life. The Old Times …
Continue reading Understanding Nomad Spirit Markings: A Connection to Nature
At the heart of The Wanderer Trilogy is a woman with bloodied hands and a blazing fire in her chest. Eva Calloway. She's not a hero, at least, not in the traditional sense. She is neither flawless nor fearless. She is neither wholly good or wholly bad. Let's be honest, who is completely good in a post-apocalyptic environment? Everyone 'good' is dead, usually. Nevertheless, Eva chooses (in some sense of the word) to walk through hell over and over again. But... who is Eva? Truly?
I nearly gave up. Drowned by internal and external criticism, self doubt, and the big "P" word (procrastination). A THREE year gap and I constantly felt a shadow over me, looming in the back of my mind. I nearly gave up on Eva, which meant that I nearly gave up on myself.
Brittany Hanson | Sci-Fi & Post-Apocalyptic Author 