Last fall, I took a deep dive into Antarctica to write my novella “Slow Thaw.” It was an amazing experience to immerse myself so deeply into setting.
Now I’m setting my sights a little higher.
My next novel is a stand-alone in the Liminal Sky universe tentatively titled “The Long Redemption.” I am pulling together everything I have learned over the last four years of writing – plot, characterization, overall fabulousness – and I am really excited to get into this one.
Much of this new story is set on the Moon, a place which I have never visited. To prepare, I’m digging into everything I can find about it. I bought a Moon globe, downloaded Google Earth (which has a Moon section), and ordered a Moon atlas, which I have been reading diligently
The Moon is a fascinating place, full of all kinds of unusual geological formations. There are craters large and small, lava tubes, vast seas of frozen lava, and mountain ranges – all the result of almost four billion years of meteor collisions, lava flows, and assorted trauma.
The lava tubes caught my attention immediately. Future Moon citizens will need a place to live that shields them from harsh solar radiation, and these tubes seem perfect for the task.
There are a bunch of them on the western edge of the nearside, in a place called the Marius Hills, so I am currently scouting the real estate there, looking for a nice fixer-upper – a place with lots of room, nice floors, and location, location, location. I hear the market up there has really cooled off the last several billion years.
But don’t worry – I’ll send you my forwarding address when I get settled in.
For my writer friends – what’s the most fun you’ve had researching a new story?