Thursday, July 24, 2014

A Smithsonian article on dangerous volcanoes

What makes a volcano dangerous? People

Their point is: volcanoes are most dangerous when there are people living nearby. They mention seven dangerous volcanoes, and of the Cascades picked Rainier (while I picked Hood for my novel!)

Monday, July 21, 2014

USGS has new earthquakes hazard map for US

This story explains a new seismic hazards map from the USGS. The red bit in the middle? I have a novel, Quake, set there, but the book needs one more revision before I self-publish it. Look for it around November 1.


Friday, July 11, 2014

Planning my next disaster novel

NOAA public domain image

I have two more natural disaster thrillers finished, and after a final edit, I'll be publishing those, and before the end of the year.

In addition, I'm in early stages of planning and researching for my next, a novel about a swarm of tornadoes. Growing up in the Midwest, I saw only one, as a teenager, while driving through farm country. It was alone, far from the main rainstorm, and (thankfully!) distant, a fat wedge of ominous blackness. Scared me half to death, and it's as close to one as I ever hope to be.

I'm reading some fascinating information about tornado formation and damage, and I'm going to enjoy setting a novel back in my home locale after years of setting novels in the western U.S.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

It's live!


The first book is on amazon, for sale as a kindle.



Mt. Hood in Oregon erupts with terrifying power. A shock wave slams into a helicopter carrying two volcanologists. A thousand-degree cloud of ash hurtles at hurricane speeds down the mountainside toward two hikers. Suffocating ash rains down on the campsite of a troubled teenager, stranding him and his family miles from help. Massive mudflows rush down the river valleys and into 23-year-old Chad Keppler's small town. His lifelong dream is to be a firefighter, but after he fails the physical test, that dream seems about to slip away. But he can do this one thing: wade into the swirling, debris-filled mud, to prove to himself that he has the strength and courage it takes to save lives.