Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Shannon Skaer
What draws you to the time period about which you write?
What’s not to love? Scattered tribes struggle for survival on a planet caught in the grip of the Ice Age, after a global apocalypse (Noah’s flood) destroys civilization. Sprinkle in a handful of strange, almost mythical beasts with names like glyptodont, smilodon and “dire wolf”, add some outsized natural disasters, and what have you got? A story world that science fiction and fantasy authors would kill for–but it actually happened.
What was your inspiration for the story?
An inland ocean burst at the end of the Ice Age, sending 500 cubic miles of icy water tearing across the Pacific Northwest at speeds over 60mph. My childhood home was covered by more than 300ft of water. We have evidence to suggest that this catastrophe–arguably the biggest flood since Noah’s–was witnessed by native tribes. What was it like for them? I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
What sort of research did you do for your story, and was there an exceptionally interesting tidbit you knew you had to include?
Imagine a LEGO man standing in front of a 9ft wall–about a foot taller than the average ceiling. Now
How has your book changed since your first draft?
The Last Climb began as a chapter in another manuscript, from the point of view of “Old Mother”, who is a side character in The Last Climb. Which only goes to demonstrate that everyone you meet is the main character in another story–even the crabby grocery store clerk. It just happens to be a different story than yours.
How does your job prepare you for being a novelist?
I’m a homeschool mom of nine, ages 2-16. What my kids don’t realize is that they’re also research subjects who teach me more about a novelist’s favorite subject–humans–every day.
What is one thing you wish you could do?
Time travel–in a safe, invisible craft. I want to see the past, I don’t want to be stuck in it, thank you
What was your favorite childhood book and why?
Childhood book? Too many to name. But as a mature, thinking adult, I have come to acknowledge the obvious truth that the best work of fiction ever created was Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.
What books are on your nightstand right now?
After the Flood, the early post-flood history of Europe, by Bill Cooper, From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple, and Foul Play by Charles Reade.
What is your next project?
I’m working on a novel about the Tower of Babel. Action, adventure, murder, romance, political intrigue, the last few dinosaurs from Noah’s Ark…all the good things.
About The Last Climb
The earth vibrates and a sound like a distant roar filters through the forest. Parents call for their children, warriors gather in tight knots, throwing frightened glances at the sky, the trees, the ground. A monster comes.
With the article What Was the Missoula Flood by Michael Oard, this little book will give you a snapshot of the true apocalyptic disaster that shaped the landscape of the Pacific Northwest forever. In the days of cave bears, saber toothed cats, ice and wooly mammoths, the Pacific Northwest was a different place. This true fiction book about an apocalyptic disaster will change the way you see the Columbia Gorge and the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
I’d love to connect with you!
Download a digital copy of The Last Climb for free https://BookHip.com/QJVWAXH
Website/Blog: www.shannonskaer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RJSKAER
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Skaer/author/B0DLFG62VX
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/shannon-skaer
Photo Credit (Lego): Pixabay/Ralf1403
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