Sara F. Hathaway
Books > Characters
Meet the Characters
These are the people of The Changing Earth: the family at the heart of the story, the friends who stand with them, and the ones who stand in their way. The bios are spoiler-light, so you can read them before you start the books.
Where the Story Happens
These characters live in a country reshaped by water, with flooded coasts and the great Ogallala Lake running down its middle. The map shows the regions of the series, from the Badlands in the west to the Appalachians in the east.
At the Heart of the Story
The four people whose choices drive the series.
Erika Moore
Erika is a fiercely protective mother who crawls out of a flooded Sacramento bomb shelter into a shattered America and sets out to find her family. Her grit, her fighting skill and her refusal to give up carry her through one disaster after another. As the years pass, people begin to call her The Savior of the Refugees, and she has to decide how much of herself to give to a cause bigger than her own home.
First appears in: Day After Disaster (Book 1)
Vince Moore
Vince is a devoted father, builder and engineer who keeps his family fed and together when everything else falls apart. In the camps he builds aquaponics systems to grow food for people who are going hungry. Where Erika is the spark, Vince is the solid ground under everyone’s feet.
First appears in: Day After Disaster (Book 1)
TJ Swenson
TJ grew up hungry on the streets of St. Louis, and he learned early that only power keeps you safe. After the Great Quake he builds an empire on fear and scarcity, and he carries a bullwhip he calls Sheila. When he is hired to hunt down Erika Moore, the job turns into an obsession.
First appears in: Dark Days in Denver (Book 5). His own story is told in the side read Swenson.
Cole Virgis
Cole is a survivalist and a natural leader who loves adventure and plans for everything. When volcanoes and earthquakes shatter the West Coast, he leads his team into ruined California to find a teammate’s missing family, and what he sees there changes him. After a young fighter named Cassidy Baker saves his life, Cole begins quietly helping the people he was hired to police.
First appears in: Without Land (Book 2). His own story is told in the side read Virgis.
Family and friends
The Moore children and the people who stand beside them
Patrick Bennet
Bennet starts out inside the system, training Rescue Squad recruits at the Las Vegas FEMA camp. Watching Erika’s courage up close wakes his conscience, and he chooses to protect her family. He becomes a mentor to the Moore children and a steady hand when the family needs one most.
First appears in: Without Land (Book 2)
Daniel Moore
Daniel is a baby when the world breaks, and he grows into a gentle, observant boy who loves painting the living Earth. Danger seems to follow his family everywhere, and he worries about being a burden. With training and grit he proves he can take care of himself, without losing his kind heart.
First appears in: Without Land (Book 2)
Dexter Moore
Dexter grows up without a normal childhood, behind the fences of the Las Vegas FEMA camp. Trained by his mother and by Bennet, he becomes quick, clever and hard to fool. Later in the series he is pulled straight into TJ Swenson’s world, where TJ gives him a new name, DJ, and how Dexter handles it shapes his whole family’s future.
First appears in: Day After Disaster (Book 1)
Star Moore
Erika finds eight-year-old Star alone in the first days of the disaster, after Star loses her mother. The Moores take her in as their own, and Star sees every day since as a gift. She grows into a skilled fighter and the family’s blunt truth-teller, the one who will not let anyone give up.
First appears in: Day After Disaster (Book 1)
Cassidy Baker
Cassidy is stubborn, magnetic and fiercely independent, and she refuses to bow to anyone. A painful loss sets her on a collision course with Erika Moore. The two women have to decide whether an old wound matters more than what they could build together.
First appears in: Without Land (Book 2)
Johnny McClintock
Johnny lost his mom in the Great Quake when he was eleven, and his father, General McClintock, raised him after that. Johnny grew close to Cole Virgis instead and later served under his command. His hunger for glory can pull him into trouble as easily as it pulls him forward.
First appears in: The Walls of Freedom (Book 3)
Standing in the Way
The power players supporting TJ Swenson
Yuri Popalov
Yuri runs security at TJ’s compound, and he sees any softness as a weakness. He is the one man around TJ who will question his boss to his face, especially when it comes to Erika Moore. His twin brother, Serge, first appears in Dark Days in Denver (Book 5).
First appears in: The Endless Night (Book 6) and the side read Swenson
Nicholas Henderson
Henderson is a careful planner, and he knows a legend can be more dangerous than an army. He won't let Erika die and become a martyr, because he wants her alive and under his control. By the time he rises to Supreme General, his plan is to marry her and unite the people under his rule.
First appears in: The Walls of Freedom (Book 3)
