You can probably guess that there’s a lot of seismic activity in
Seismic Crimes from a massive quake to aftershocks. I had fun writing these thrilling
scenes and the aftermath of the quake. To really pique your interest in the
second installment and full novel of the Disaster Crimes Series, I’m sharing an
excerpt to show some of that seismic activity.
This is the official excerpt for Seismic Crimes:
The moment she realized Buck
was shooting under the cars to hit her, the tire she hid behind blew. She
squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to make herself smaller by pressing her
body into the SUV. The Morse code of bullets hitting metal started up again.
She could've sworn she felt the SUV shaking with the continuous beat of bullets
slamming into it, except the shaking was below her feet. It started gentle but
as soon as she noticed, it became violent.
Earthquake!
She fell backward and
struggled to get back up. Her body bounced up and down and rolled from side to
side simultaneously, which told her the quake's epicenter was close. The origin
could've been beneath the hotel for all she knew. A light came crashing down
from the ceiling and slammed into the concrete floor with such power it
exploded into a trillion stars. Glass shot out in all directions like the Big
Bang. Beth screamed and covered her face with her hands as tiny pieces of glass
bit the skin on her arms.
She fought onto her hands
and knees and hugged the tire to keep from falling over again. The intensity of
the tremors grew. The concrete below her feet didn't feel solid anymore. It
felt alive, as if two gigantic gophers burrowed through the earth. The truck
behind her slid with the vicious shock waves and bumped into her, pushing her roughly
into the tire. She let out a cry of panic.
(AND A LITTLE MORE....)
“Beth, get under the car!”
She heard Donovan yelling over the roar of the quake and shimmed underneath the SUV. When she was under the vehicle, she lifted her head to look for Donovan. The shaking suddenly increased, as if Mother Nature had her hands on the asphalt that smothered her creation and wanted to rip it off the ground. Chunks of concrete tumbled down. Donovan raised his arms to shield himself, and that was the last she saw of him before a wall of rubble came down between them. She screamed his name, but the sound of the garage collapsing swallowed her voice.
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QUESTION: In this excerpt, Beth is in an underground parking garage. Where would you NOT want to be during an earthquake?
In two words "IN BED".
ReplyDeleteIt must be frightening to experience an earthquake, why I'm scared of thunder storms
Great post Chrys,
Yvonne.
I wouldn't want to wake up in bed to one either.
DeleteGreat excerpt! On a major roadway or bridge would be bad, I guess, because those tend to crack and collapse.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't even imagine how frightening it would be to be on a bridge during an earthquake.
DeleteI wouldn't want to be near the crack that opened up, think you're safe and then boom, grand beneath you opens and you are sent to the center of the earth. Dinosaurs down there lol
ReplyDeleteAnd I certainly don't want to be with the dinosaurs. lol
DeleteOn the road or anywhere near the collapse. I also wouldn't want to be trapped in an apartment. There aren't earthquakes in Singapore (fortunately) and we generally don't get much education on what to do during quakes. When I stayed in Taipei for a month, there was a small earthquake and friends there said the first thing to do was to open the door and make sure there's an escape.
ReplyDeleteThe scary thing is, because fault lines are everywhere, an earthquake can strike anywhere. I don't think I'd remember to open a door during all the shaking.
DeleteI wouldn't want to be there!
ReplyDeleteI also wouldn't want to be on an elevated highway, as those always seem to come down in California earthquakes.
I wouldn't want to be there either.
DeleteI wouldn't want to be on a train. They're already underground. Don't want to be buried or worse have to deal with any fires that might break out because of the quake.
ReplyDeleteGetting trapped underground in a train would be bad.
DeleteI couldn't think of a scarier place except perhaps a bridge or tunnel. Yikes, that's a fear I have. Great book, Chrys. I really enjoyed Seismic Crimes. It's a real page turner!
ReplyDeleteA tunnel would be scary. Those can collapse so easily and then you're trapped. Thanks, Lisa! :D
DeleteHi Chrys - I most certainly wouldn't want to be anywhere near a major earthquake ... but certainly lots can be made out of them - story wise ...
ReplyDeleteI'd rather not think about it .. if you don't mind! Enjoy your happy weekend of Labour Day ... ? On this happy note - I shall leave ... cheers Hilary
A lot can be made out of an earthquake for a story.
DeleteThat's okay. I understand.
Thanks, Hilary!
Nice work, lady. You had me where you wanted me. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Excellent! :D
DeleteIn an underground parking garage. LOL Such a pretty cover. I must get to reading this...ASAP.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
I'd love for you to read it. :)
DeleteYesterday NZ had an earthquake scare. And then the tsunami warning. It was scary.
ReplyDeleteI know. There have been so many earthquakes this year. It's terrible.
DeleteOn a bridge. I've been on the fifth floor of a six story building once. The building just swayed. I think a larger quake would worry me there, though.
ReplyDeleteAs for the earlier comment of "in bed". That's not bad, really. As long as there's nothing over your head (and that's one thing that I'm careful about), everything just sways. I've had numerous times where a quake wakes me just enough to know it occurred, and then I go right back to sleep.
I think what would be scary about being in bed during an earthquake is waking up to it. I've been woken up just by a big bang and my heart would pound like crazy. I couldn't imagine how I'd react if a quake woke me up. For some who experience quakes a lot, I'm sure it doesn't rattle them as much.
DeleteGreat excerpt. Where would I not want to be? Good question. I think I wouldn't want to be in a tall building. The thought of it falling down and being buried beneath the rubble is scary. I've seen the pictures from that horrible earthquake (forget where) and it's a mess.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the images after a quake can be heartbreaking.
DeleteGreat excerpt, Chrys. Probably anywhere would be scary during an earthquake. A bridge would be the scariest to me.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about that!
DeleteI wouldn't want to be on a bridge, or in a cave or subway. I imagine one of the safest places is a wide-open desert where, with the possible exception of the sky, not much is going to tumble down ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe compelling excerpt is perfect for the fabulous cover!
Is there a chance that you might be in a cave? ;)
DeleteI think you're right about that being the safest place...unless the desert floor falls away. *gulp*
Great excerpt, Chrys. Glad I'm here, in a dull, motionless place at the moment.
ReplyDeleteMotionless place is a good thing. :)
DeleteI've been in 2 earthquakes that I could feel. Last year I was sitting at the computer desk and all of the sudden...boom! shake shake shake. 4.8 and it was over. Another time we were in bed just dozing off and the bed started to shake back and forth. I thought hubby was doing it but when he sat up and I knew it wasn't him, my first thought was ghost! LOL I've watched to many horror movies.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love that your first thought was that it was a ghost. :P
Delete