Ciara O'Connor is a terminally-ill Biology professor whose life is upended when she's transformed into a dungeon as Santa Cruz is devastated by a nuclear weapon at the outset of World War Three.

Her memories and personality remain, but Ciara's nature isn't what it once was. Shy and introverted as a human, Ciara experiences savage hunger and murderous urges following her evolution. With her spirit guide Sven, Ciara learns about her daunting new reality while coming to terms with the humanity she's lost, as she seeks to revive her local ecosystem during the onset of nuclear winter.

Joe Schimpf, a US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, was out fishing the coast north of Santa Cruz the morning the war turned global.

With his best friend Mike Elliott, Mike's son Michael Elliott, and Michael's childhood friend Rihelah Najibi, Joe searches for his wife, Anna. Along the way, they meet Ciara's students Siobhán Killarney and Joy Peterson as they brave raiders and radiation, deep inside the blast zone.

Santa Cruz: First Dungeon on Earth is a post-apocalyptic tale of Civilization's remnants colliding with the advent of magic and Ciara's deadly dungeon, against the backdrop of a much larger conflict that threatens Earth's very existence.

Enter a daunting universe ruled by Godlike Dragons and their kin. Earth will never be the same.

Chapters will typically be 2500 words.

The release schedule is one chapter per day, Monday-Friday.

This novel contains a smattering of LitRPG elements, harsh language, war, romance, gore, fantasy species, traumatic content, animal maulings, and highly suggestive sexual scenes. Reader discretion is advised.