Thursday, September 3, 2015

Check the Weather...and the Doomsday Clock



The idea for my latest novel, FINAL SOLSTICE, had a very simple origin. During the past decade or more, it's been all but impossible to escape the tirade of doom and gloom warnings from scientists, non-scientists, professors and politicians, and everyone who's ever lived through a hurricane or tornado. Climate Change. It's here, it's getting worse, it's all our fault (or not, but there's still maybe something we can do about it). It's a tremendously complicated subject, as much as many want it to be cut and dry. The earth (and its surroundings) has an incredible system of interrelated elements governing its climate--from geothermic forces to ocean tides to methane release and solar wind and magnetic atmospheric activity. But what if...?  (I wondered) What if this all could be manipulated?

In my research, there have been plenty of attempts to control the weather, all with varying degrees of limited to zero success. Apart from more controversial and wilder speculations that there are secret facilities than can harness microwave energy to cause drastic weather or geological activity, what if there existed a secret group of people with ties going way back to the early days of civilization, a group of wizard-scientists who could actually control the forces of nature? We've all heard of the Druids. Of the rumors about how Stonehenge was built, of human sacrifices and magical ceremonies, of amazing cures and incredible natural power.  So my next logical thought was to apply that What-If question to today's climate conditions. Things are getting worse, or so it seems. Polar Vortex, massive hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis. What if all this environmental mayhem is not just the result of our gradually expanding carbon footprint? Maybe there's another agenda, another force at work.

Enter my idea for Final Solstice, and right away I had the perfect hero and villain, and a cool high level concept. Think Grisham's 'The Firm', but with global and apocalyptic stakes. An everyman meteorologist and family man, but one with a history of weather-related tragedy, is recruited by a mysterious environmental firm with a charasmatic CEO who claims he can predict major weather conditions--and provide a humanitarian solution to saving lives. Only once our hero is in the thick of things, he finds out there is of course a far more sinister purpose to the firm's long term objectives...

So that's the basis for FINAL SOLSTICE, which was tremendous fun to write, to research and to now have published by Wordfire Press. I'm also thrilled to have it included in a great collection of 11 novels all dealing with disasters and survival.  Check it out at Storybundle and pay your own price! Don't miss out on this deal that lasts only 3 weeks!