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.
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!
