When Will Her World Stop Shaking? by B. Lynn Goodwin, author of Disrupted

 

 

When Will Her World Stop Shaking?

 

When tectonic plates shift below the surface of the earth and cracks appear in the sidewalk, we say we’ve had an earthquake. The seismology lab on the Berkeley campus of the University of California studies them and reports on when and where they occur, but no one can predict them yet.

A Few Basic Facts:

The earthquakes in Northern California, where I live and where my new novel, Disrupted takes place, occur along fault lines. The San Andreas Fault caused the big one in 1989 and we’re waiting for a predicted, massive eruption on the Hayward Fault.

Faults shift below the earth and anything from cracks in the pavement to broken windows to caved-in structures can result. If you’re a Californian and you feel rumbling below you, you may run for the nearest door frame.

Small quakes postpone the big one, which is supposed to happen within the next 30 years. Despite that prediction, we keep building developments and skyscrapers as if there’s no real danger.

There are older homes directly over the Hayward Fault, which withstood a 7.1 quake in Disrupted. You can imagine the potential disruption.

If your dog goes crazy, barking and running madly, an earthquake might be about to erupt. Spike, the Dalmatian Sandee keeps that belonged to her brother Bri, did that in Disrupted.

 

Here are a few earthquake mysteries:

No one knows why earthquakes are unpredictable.

Some earthquakes appear where there’s no apparent tectonic activity and no one knows why.

There are variations in earthquakes that scientists cannot explain…yet.

There’s no clear pattern of foreshocks or aftershocks, so there’s something the earth knows that we don’t.

William Shakespeare’s line, “There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio” certainly applies to earthquakes.

In addition to having her world rocked by a physical earthquake, Sandee Mason, the central character in Disrupted, lived through an emotional earthquake when her family got word that her older brother died in an IED explosion in Afghanistan.

 

Emotional Earthquakes:

Can you imagine losing a sibling when you’re only 15? What impact would it have on your parents and your home life? And what if you were the only child left?

Part of protagonist Sandee Mason’s mission in life is to live up to her brother’s successes. He was president of the student council and headed for college, but first, he wanted to serve his country, just as his father did. Maybe someday Sandee will go into the Armed Services or maybe she’ll work for a non-profit. Maybe she’ll become a lawyer who fights for justice or work to overcome poverty and discrimination. There’s a lot of life ahead of her, so if you have suggestions for what she might do, I’d love to hear about them.

Curious? You can find Disrupted on Amazon by clicking on the book name. It’s available in or other places, or ask your local bookstore to order it using the ISBN number.

 

B. Lynn Goodwin wrote two award-winning books, a YA called Talent, and a memoir titled Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62. Her newest book, Disrupted, came out on January 25^th. She writes author interviews, book reviews and articles for WriterAdvice, www.writeradvice.com,  for Story Circle Network, where she also teaches. She is on the boards of Story Circle Network and the Women’s National Book Association—NorCal and is a writing contest judge. She edits every genre except poetry, and loves helping writers improve.