In the beginning

I'm terrified of earthquakes. I grew up in Victoria BC where we experienced an occasional temblor or two, frequently enough to remind us how vulnerable we were.

When I moved to Australia, I put that worry behind me. Instead I learned to respect the terrible might of bushfires. Our house was built on a ridge, looking down over 10,000 acres of national park. I became a volunteer firefighter (CFU) and learned to sleep with one ear open during bushfire season.

Then I moved back to Canada and my husband and I bought a house on the side of Mount Fromme. We now live perched on top of the Pacific Ring of Fire. It's not a matter of if a major quake will ever shake the Pacific Northwest, it's a question of when. Geological time is vast, though, and it may not happen for another thousand years.

Or it could happen today, as I sit here typing. I started thinking that way a couple of years ago and that's when the idea for my novel Lockdown was born. I wanted to go some place that really frightened me and in writing this book, I found it.

My novel will be released by Great Plains Publishing early in 2014 and until then, I'm going to explore my fascination with earthquakes on this blog.

Welcome to my nightmare.

 *** 

Photo: Christchurch, March 2011 by BluesandViews

Comments

[Allison]

I can't wait to read it in print!

[Maggie Bolitho]

Me too! I'll really believe this is all happening when I finally have a copy of it in my hands.