Going off the grid…

For the next week, I’ll be at sea. 

I wish that was as dramatic as it sounds. I’m going on an Alaska cruise, not some hardcore high seas adventure. However, I’m viewing it as a research trip in addition to a vacation. 

Seabound is set primarily on a post-apocalyptic cruise ship. It’s easy enough to do research for the book on the internet. I’ve been on behind-the-scenes YouTube tours, studied marine diesel engine manufacturer websites, and learned more than I ever thought was possible about water desalination. I’ve spent hours watching the ships in Victoria Harbour and snapping pictures out of ferry windows.

But before Seabound goes into the next round of revisions, I want to get a better feel for the atmosphere aboard a huge floating city. I want to make sure that the words from my imagination and research match the reality. I want to walk down the passageways and peek into corners and doorways to make sure my book is as faithful as possible to life on the ocean (considering it’s an entirely fabricated apocalypse, of course).

We’ve decided not to buy an internet package for the cruise, so we’ll be going off the grid for the whole week. I can’t wait to immerse myself in a self-contained world. I plan to take lots of notes and pictures and see what fresh ideas come.

In the meantime, I’ll be sending out the cover image for Seabound to my email list. It’s seriously cool. If you’d like to see it, please add your email address here.