Cradle of Fire

This sci-fi novel is a thrilling adventure of danger, suspense, and romance!  A desperate woman takes a perilous gamble to save her family from a brutal murderer and takes them through an illegal  portal to the Forbidden Colony of St. Antoni. But it proves a dangerous haven. It's citizens have created a society as different from the Post-Apocalyptic Earth they fled as Mars is from Venus. With almost no resources, Jade takes a job as an illustrator for a book company owned by the elderly Hortense Jones. Here, she meets Hortense's nephew, Levi Jones, a former Enforcer with a dangerous reputation as a gunman. As Jade is drawn into the deadly feud between the Jones and the Smith families, she must find a way to keep her family safe and find happiness on St. Antoni.