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Entering autumn with book two in the post-apocalyptic The Path That Takes Us Home series seems like a suitable way to end a summer filled with war, instability, and wildfires. Where The Ashes Find Their Grave has just been published by Durham-based Chicken House Press, and follows last year’s When The Trees All Burned, picking up just moments after the dramatic conclusion of that engaging book.
Author Alanna Rusnak joins the books together well, reminding us of who is who and where we are in the story without having to stall the plot to do so. With little effort she drops us right back into the characters’ varied points of view and experiences. New characters and POVs are added along the way, and the narrative follows a non-linear progression, alternating from the present post-apocalyptic storyline to flashbacks set days, weeks, or months before.
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Chicken House Press announces the release of Where The Ashes Find Their Grave, the highly anticipated second book in Alanna Rusnak’s series The Path That Takes Us Home
The date is deliberate. In When the Trees All Burned, self-proclaimed prophet Rajiv Montgomery Noah named Labour Day as the day the world would end. Book one counted down to it. Book two begins the moment the countdown runs out—because Labour Day has arrived, the trees have already burned, and the survivors inside Rajiv’s sealed sanctuary must now answer a harder question than what if: what now?
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Apocalyptic literature goes back to the Mesopotamians and The Epic of Gilgamesh with its recounting of a Great Flood, and it has not gone out of style since. Such tales satisfy both our fear and curiosity about ‘the end’, and, over time, our consumption of disaster stories has morphed from the page to the screen with, ironically, no end in sight. While the tropes of crumbling landmarks and eviscerated humanity have become familiar, that does not mean a well-crafted story cannot be formed around the themes of global devastation.
Alanna Rusnak’s When the Trees All Burned is just that: a well-written, deftly-plotted story about people – not just tropes – and the effect, for better or worse, that the looming prophecy of death-by-fire introduces into their lives. The human element propels the narrative as we meet various characters situated throughout time and place, each with their own poignant story and each experiencing vast life changes while facing down the greater cataclysm to come.
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Join local author Alanna Rusnak on Tuesday, April 29, as she discusses her books and performs her work in front of the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library fireplace.
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Award-winning publisher and award-nominated author Alanna Rusnak announces the release of her highly anticipated novel When the Trees All Burned, the first book in a gripping new trilogy, launching on April 1, 2025 through Chicken House Press. The paperback will be available wherever books are sold, with the ebook exclusively available on Kindle for the first ninety days.
The April Fool’s Day release date is no coincidence but rather a calculated choice that underscores the novel’s central themes. In When the Trees All Burned, humanity dismisses the warnings of eccentric billionaire Rajiv Montgomery Noah as entertainment, folly, or delusion—only to discover too late that he was telling the truth all along. The April 1st release brilliantly reinforces this narrative of ignored prophecies and misplaced mockery, asking readers to consider: Who is the real fool—the one who warns of danger, or the one who laughs at the warning?
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Award-winning publisher and award-nominated author Alanna Rusnak announces the release of her highly anticipated novel When the Trees All Burned, the first book in a gripping new trilogy, launching on April 1, 2025 through Chicken House Press. The paperback will be available wherever books are sold, with the ebook exclusively available on Kindle for the first ninety days.
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Alanna Rusnak is a pragmatic romantic carving space in the publishing industry. I've been inspired by her award-winning publishing company and magazine, and her warmly persistent support for authors is infused in everything she does. Her podcast reflects both her own creative journey and stewardship toward aspiring writers, using her own experiences to inspire, hold herself accountable, and reach a broader audience.
In this episode, we talk about how she navigated motherhood and creative entrepreneurship, from getting back into writing through socials and blogging, to now having her own Chicken House Press headquarters to write and pursue her entrepreneurial vision. We discuss how her strategies have evolved while honing her creative discipline and intuition.