I want to introduce you to William A. Liggett. William is the author of Watermellon Snow and Panic Peak. Panic Peak is the second novel in the series. William has written a guest post just for my readers. Enter below to win a signed copy of both books Thanks for stopping by.
Book Title: Panic Peak by William A. Liggett
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 254 pages
Genre: Cli-Fi Thriller
Publisher: Consilience Press LLC
Publication Date: February, 2024
Content Rating: PG-13: Very occasional f-word and sh*t in dialog
This paradox confronts a young glaciologist Kate Landry as she looks down at her research site buried under shocking mounds of new snow. Little does she know that Mount Olympus is in the bulls-eye for a sophisticated geoengineering experiment being conducted by a scientist who has convinced a secretive international oil cartel to fund his dubious climate modification techniques. While Kate struggles to understand why the glacier is growing and begins to unravel the entire nefarious scheme, she also struggles to avoid the unraveling of her developing relationship with social psychologist Grant Poole. The more Kate uncovers on the glacier, the more her own life is at risk. Can she expose the unethical and dangerous geoengineering operation without being caught before she’s stopped? And at what risk to her life?
Bill Liggett writes fiction that blends behavioral and earth sciences in the recent cli-fi (climate fiction) literary genre. His goal is to paint a hopeful future based on solutions to global warming.
He holds a BS in geology and an MA in education, both from Stanford University, and a PhD in applied social psychology from New York University. Among the many positions he has held over the years, he taught in high school and college, conducted behavioral science studies for IBM, and consulted with health care and educational organizations.
Wherever he lives, he loves being outdoors. Home for him has included the West Coast, East Coast, Alaska, and now Colorado, the state of his childhood. He and his wife, Cathy, live in Niwot, Colorado.
Guest Post:
The Blue Glacier is Both a Setting and a Character
What is a better place for conveying danger with every step than a mountaintop glacier? What is better to demonstrate the effects of global warming than an alpine glacier as it melts? I situated my two novels in my Warming World Adventure Series on a glacier where I lived and worked for three months as a young man. I stayed in a small research station about the size of a two-car garage (see photo) located about a thousand feet below the summit of Mount Olympus west of Seattle, Washington.
Blue Glacier is a perfect setting for an adventure because it is isolated without roads or any features of civilization. It is also near the center of a national park with no commercial or private buildings nearby. My characters are flown to and from the research station in small aircraft (ski-plane and helicopter).
When, in my first novel Watermelon Snow, a deadly illness infects the crew and a violent “bomb cyclone” storm hits at the same time, the two main characters, Kate and Grant, are trapped. No aircraft could safely navigate the mountains through the violent wind gusts. Their desperate hike out to safety is only the beginning of their adventure, but ironically it plants the seeds for their ultimate romance.
In the sequel, Panic Peak, Kate finds herself alone on the glacier trying to document and understand the extreme snow buildup and unusual weather conditions, while Grant tries to
support her from a distance. Soon she learns that the glacier has been the target of an illegal geoengineering operation that puts her life in danger. The theme of danger from nature compounded by human actions creates an ominous and unpredictable setting for the story.
Normally characters in a novel are people with distinct histories and personalities. I wanted Blue Glacier to have such a pervasive influence on the thoughts and actions of the human characters to be equivalent to being a character itself.
When I tried to describe concisely the personality of the glacier, I realized that it varied widely depending on the conditions at the time and the mood of the character who was interacting with it. For example, when Kate was feeling anxious and vulnerable, the once-familiar features of the glacier became ominous and foreboding. When she was looking at a gorgeous sunset from the research station, her warm feelings reminded her of the time that she had watched the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean from that very spot the year before while holding Grant’s hand. No matter the mood the glacier remains powerful. It tends to reflect and amplify the experience of the human characters in dramatic ways.
When the helicopter ices up and nearly crashes while Kate flies to the glacier, she learns that ice can form whenever the conditions are right regardless the time of year. A glacier creates its own micro-climate. The snow storms on the glacier over the previous winter dumped a deep enough layer that Kate concludes that the melting trend was replaced by growth when most glaciers around the world are shrinking.
Glaciers by their very nature present risks to travel on foot. My characters must avoid falling into the deep cracks in the ice—the crevasses. Often such falls are fatal without the proper precautions and equipment. Similarly, the huge icefall on the Blue Glacier, is much like a slow-motion waterfall where car-sized blocks of ice break free and fall thunderously hundreds of feet. My characters must know to stand clear when these are happening. Wind-blown snow can produce cornices, overhanging structures, that create a danger of breaking off and falling if someone unwittingly stands on one as does one of my characters.
At the same time that the glacier presents risks, it allows my characters to witness pristine beauty and spectacular sunsets creating feelings bordering on the spiritual, as the clouds catch the brilliant reds and oranges of the setting sun. This combination of danger and natural beauty leaves indelible memories in all of my characters who encounter them. I could not think of a better setting for a cli-fi adventure and thriller.
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