What do you think?
Rate this book
Transformation Project #5
Gathering In
The world as you knew it is gone. Who is your neighbor?Isolated amid a crippled country, the people of Emmaus strive to survive through Midwestern grit and ingenuity as winter looms and desperate people threaten the town's borders. Distant opportunities beckon, food and medicine dwindle, and disease flares. With starvation just around the corner, a time of gathering in begins. Not everyone's going to live to spring.Shane Delaney prides himself on his ability to stay cool in troubled times, but he can't save everyone and now it becomes clear he may not even be able to save himself.When the world as you knew it goes off the rails, who would you bring home?
477 pages, Paperback
Published October 20, 2019
About the author
Lela Markham
30 books91 followersLela Markham is the pen name of an Alaskan novelist who was raised in a home built of books. Alaska is a grand adventure like none other with a culture that embraces summer adventure and winter artistic pursuits.
Lela has been a journalist, worked in the mental health field, and currently works for the State of Alaska, but her avocation has always been storyteller.
She's writing-publishing three series. Daermad Cycle (The Willow Branch, Mirklin Wood, and Fount of Wraiths) begins an exploration of the world of Daermad where a fractured kingdom leaves two races vulnerable to destruction by a third and opens the opportunity to mend old wounds.
Transformation Project (now 10 books published) focuses on a small Midwestern town coping in the aftermath of a national terrorist attack.
What If...Wasn't (now 4 books and growing) follows the life of a troubled young man as he reaches toward an uncertain future.
Lela has also written a political satire "Hullabaloo on Main Street" about America's "bubble" battles and her shorts have been featured in five anthologies. Her full-length romance pays homage to Lahaina as it was.
When not writing stories, Lela reads political philosophy, economics, history, mysteries, fantasies, science fiction, and the backs of cereal boxes and enjoys speculative tales on TV. For variety, she quilts, tackles home improvement projects, hikes the Alaskan wilderness well-armed against the wildlife, and holds blackbelts in cold weather living and mosquito annihilation. Oh, and aurora viewing … it’s all about the aurora watching.
Lela shares her life with her two fearless offspring and an brand-new Lab puppy who is just trying to figure it out. You can find her at Substack under Aurorawatcher Alaska or stalk her old-school at lelamarkham@gmail.com
Lela has been a journalist, worked in the mental health field, and currently works for the State of Alaska, but her avocation has always been storyteller.
She's writing-publishing three series. Daermad Cycle (The Willow Branch, Mirklin Wood, and Fount of Wraiths) begins an exploration of the world of Daermad where a fractured kingdom leaves two races vulnerable to destruction by a third and opens the opportunity to mend old wounds.
Transformation Project (now 10 books published) focuses on a small Midwestern town coping in the aftermath of a national terrorist attack.
What If...Wasn't (now 4 books and growing) follows the life of a troubled young man as he reaches toward an uncertain future.
Lela has also written a political satire "Hullabaloo on Main Street" about America's "bubble" battles and her shorts have been featured in five anthologies. Her full-length romance pays homage to Lahaina as it was.
When not writing stories, Lela reads political philosophy, economics, history, mysteries, fantasies, science fiction, and the backs of cereal boxes and enjoys speculative tales on TV. For variety, she quilts, tackles home improvement projects, hikes the Alaskan wilderness well-armed against the wildlife, and holds blackbelts in cold weather living and mosquito annihilation. Oh, and aurora viewing … it’s all about the aurora watching.
Lela shares her life with her two fearless offspring and an brand-new Lab puppy who is just trying to figure it out. You can find her at Substack under Aurorawatcher Alaska or stalk her old-school at lelamarkham@gmail.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 3, 2025
What a stunning novel ‘Gathering In (Transformation Project Book 5)’ is. It is indeed a scary dystopian world for the people of Emmaus as they battle to survive. A world where food and provisions are disappearing fast. Can Shane Delaney save the day?
I have always been a big sci-fi fan. One of the greats is John Wyndham, author of ‘Day of the Triffids’, ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’, ‘The Kraken Awakes’ and many more. The point of Wyndham’s novel was depicting what ordinary people do in extraordinary times. Talented author, Lela Markham, has continued where Wyndham left off, and has done a grand job.
The frightening aspect of ‘Gathering In’, is that, with the turmoil currently in the United States, it’s not difficult to imagine such a horrible scenario evolving in real life, although I choose to believe this story ends on a hopeful note.
I particularly enjoyed reading, ‘A Word From Lela Markham’ at the end of the novel.
Although written just prior to the 2020 election, Markham writes of her distrust of the political system, repeating the truism that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Markham also makes the point that salvation ultimately comes from ordinary people.
I have no hesitation in awarding ‘Gathering In’ the coveted 5 stars.
I have always been a big sci-fi fan. One of the greats is John Wyndham, author of ‘Day of the Triffids’, ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’, ‘The Kraken Awakes’ and many more. The point of Wyndham’s novel was depicting what ordinary people do in extraordinary times. Talented author, Lela Markham, has continued where Wyndham left off, and has done a grand job.
The frightening aspect of ‘Gathering In’, is that, with the turmoil currently in the United States, it’s not difficult to imagine such a horrible scenario evolving in real life, although I choose to believe this story ends on a hopeful note.
I particularly enjoyed reading, ‘A Word From Lela Markham’ at the end of the novel.
Although written just prior to the 2020 election, Markham writes of her distrust of the political system, repeating the truism that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Markham also makes the point that salvation ultimately comes from ordinary people.
I have no hesitation in awarding ‘Gathering In’ the coveted 5 stars.
February 6, 2020
Excellent series
I have enjoyed the first five books, the characters are real, flawed, believers, non-believers, mostly good, mostly bad or somewhere in between where the vast majority of us exist. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things, but it is not that simple. The author helps the reader to see what drove the person to make certain choices, the consequences, even years later of those choices, etc. I love this series and I have found a new author to follow and enjoy
I have enjoyed the first five books, the characters are real, flawed, believers, non-believers, mostly good, mostly bad or somewhere in between where the vast majority of us exist. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things, but it is not that simple. The author helps the reader to see what drove the person to make certain choices, the consequences, even years later of those choices, etc. I love this series and I have found a new author to follow and enjoy
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews