A-Z Blogging Challenge - I is for Iceland

Write about what you know, they say – but I broke that so-called ‘rule’ twice in my novel ‘Changing the Future.’

How? Because Paul, my hero, was a volcano expert, and because a volcano in Iceland seemed to be emerging from its dormant phase.

Originally, the hero was a Geography teacher, but I decided I needed something more high profile for him. At the time I was writing the story, the Icelandic volcano with that unpronounceable name (Eyjafjallajökull) was erupting and causing huge disruption to air travel with an ash cloud that led to the closure of Northern Europe airspace for several days.

So I decided my hero should be a volcanologist. Only one problem with that – all I remembered from my schooldays was that volcanoes erupt from time to time. Hence I spent many hours researching volcanoes, how they’re formed, why they erupt, and the resulting effects. I probably only used about 5% of what I learnt, but hopefully it was enough for Paul to sound like an expert. I also gave the volcano a more pronounceable name!

Here’s an excerpt when Lisa is watching Paul on television:

Paul was being interviewed at Manchester Airport. “Yes, Mount Lakuda’s providing us with some interesting developments at the moment. There’s been quite an increase of activity this past week.”

“And when you get to Iceland, what are the main things you’ll be doing?” the interviewer asked.

“I’ll be working with the scientists at the Iceland Volcano Research Centre. I was out there a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been in close contact with Dr. Kristjan Dagsson, the head of the Centre.”

“There are reports of a bulge on the side of the volcano. How significant is this?”

“On its own, a swelling wouldn’t be considered serious. Plenty of volcanoes develop these bulges, which indicate the movement of magma, often several miles below the surface. We’re more concerned about the heightened level of seismic activity and sulfur dioxide levels.”

“I understand there have been several earthquakes in the last few weeks.”

“What we call an earthquake swarm, yes, a lot of small tremors, but none with a magnitude higher than three. Scientists at the Centre have been working around the clock analysing and interpreting the data from all the sensory equipment on Mount Lakuda, and I’ll be joining them.”

“Is this the build-up to a full-scale eruption?”

“Not necessarily.” Paul smiled. “It’s being monitored carefully but it’s very difficult to predict whether this activity will lead to any major eruption.”

The interviewer persisted. “If it does erupt, is there likely to be an ash cloud like the one which caused such major disruption to air traffic?”

“The ash cloud was due to a combination of factors, mainly linked to the jet stream, none of which are present in the case of Mount Lakuda.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hamilton.” The interviewer turned to face the camera again. “Dr Paul Hamilton, a leading authority on volcanoes, was talking about Mount Lakuda in Iceland.

 I also had to research Iceland, because I’ve never been there. From basic information such as the name of Iceland’s main airport (Keflavik) and the distance from there to Reykjavik, to more detailed facts about the roads and off-road terrain in Iceland, the scenery, and the geographical location of Iceland’s volcanoes. I studied maps and hundreds of photos and videos. Google Earth proved very useful, and also Streetview, which enabled me to ‘drive’ along some of the roads in Iceland.

In the end, I think (hope!) I gave a fairly accurate portrayal of Iceland in my novel. At least no one has told me (yet!) I’ve made any howling errors, but I did keep my descriptions fairly brief, just in case!

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