I got my first physical copy of Megaflood today. There’s nothing like the thrill of holding the product of so much hard work in hand. The cover is a thing of beauty and, like the story itself, required much background research and detailed crafting. Historical accuracy (prehistorical?) is key in a novel that is as much about a time and place as it is about people and events. Everything had to be scientifically verifiable, and I must say, few art projects have ever consumed so much of my time and effort.
Every part of the cover addresses an aspect of life in those times. Glaciers flowing down from the Okanogan Highlands of Eastern Washington are no mere fancy. They represent the massive ice inundation that, in the Ice Age 14,000 years ago, blocked the flow of the mighty Columbia River and diverted it east and south to carve out the stupendous gorges of Grand Coulee. Vertical cliffs of layered volcanic rocks remain there to this day. They figure dramatically in the story as inhabitants desperately seek safety above floods a thousand times greater than anything seen in modern times.
Zeroing in on the center of the cover, the mammoth-hide tipis of Two Falls Village face certain destruction by an oncoming wall of water. The deluge will sweep away everything—and everyone—unless a hero can lead the people to safety.
Animals shared the fate of humans. Even titanic Columbian mammoths, the largest elephants of all, stood no chance against a wall of water many times their height. Other great animals would perish was well, from colossal short-faced bears, to giant ground sloths, to cave lions, to sabertooth cats. The last of these is represented on the cover by its likeness carved on its own fang, an amulet charm worn by the young hero Temokin and dedicated to his love, Denawe, who helped him overcome the snarling beast to which the fang originally belonged.
I’ll write more about the amulet, and the people and places touched on here, in my next post. Meanwhile let your mind soar over this dramatic scene, like Thunder Eagle at the top of the cover. What an awesome spectacle must have played out below him! Many villagers believed it was Thunder Eagle himself who set loose the deluge to clear evil, sinning people from the land. Only those of the greatest virtue would survive this ultimate test of nature.
Megaflood is available for pre-order and will be released on May 1, 2022. So, if a mystery/romance/action/adventure story suits your reading preferences, why not click over to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or other outlets and reserve your copy today? At $3.99, it’s $1 off the list price. You won’t be charged until the book ships, and you’ll be among the first to get it. Furthermore, by pre-ordering, you’ll help me make the day-of-release book sales more impressive to Amazon’s computers, which in turn will cause them to show the book to more potential customers. Thanks for your help, and I hope you enjoy the story!
