Jumat, 04 November 2011

Welcome back to History Undressed, guest author, Nancy Lee Badger!  Nancy has tantalized us so many times in the past with articles on dragons, ales and Scots, and she's back again to entertain us some more with her article today!

SCOTLAND’S EARTHQUAKE HISTORY
by Nancy Lee Badger
Earthquakes across the world havebeen in the news lately. From the recent devastation in Turkey, to theunderwater quake and its accompanying tsunami that caused thousands of deathsin Japan, when the earth moves, we listen. Even here in North Carolina, I feltthe house shake when an earthquake hit near Washington, DC just this pastAugust. What about another location where we rarely hear about experiencingtremblers: Scotland. Yes, Scotland has earthquakes but unless you live there,you probably do not hear talk of them on the news. Why, then, are earthquakesfound in my latest romantic fantasy, DRAGON IN THE MIST?

When I write a story—any story—Iresearch the location. To me, location is also a character, and as important asmy hero or heroine. Where a story takes place is quintessential to my plot, so myreaders can feel they are there, in the story. For DRAGON IN THE MIST, looselybased on the Loch Ness Monster, I needed a secondary reason for my hero, theAmerican scientist Rory Hawthorn, to travel to a small town on the banks ofLoch Ness. When my research gave me a glimmer of an idea, I quickly made mypresent-day American hero a geologist. Covertly searching for the root of afamily curse, he told his family he was traveling Scotland to research itsearthquake history.

Does Scotland experience quakes? Iwas as surprised as you to find statistics reporting several large earthquakesevery century. One of Scotland’s largest quakes occurred back in 1816, so I setthe beginning of my book in the past and used my heroine, Nessía—in her LochNess Monster from—causing the quakes by slamming her head into the loch’sunderwater sheer sides. 1816 fit the timeline I wanted to show in the book’sfirst chapter, after which the story continues in present day.

So, what exactly causes anearthquake?  Let me start with a littleinformation about the area that includes Loch Ness, where my book takes place. LochNess, south of Inverness, is 23 miles long and about 1 mile wide. Thoughnarrow, it averages a whopping 600 feet in depth, making the loch dark, cold,and eerie. The loch is shaped like a long, deep trench and follows the line ofthe Great Glen Fault. The area was originally beneath a huge glacier.

Yes, Scotland’s Loch Ness has afault similar to the large, active San Andreas fault in California. Luckily forthe residents of the Highlands of Scotland, the Great Glen Fault is much lessactive, but it has seen activity for over 400 million years. Scientists havediscovered Foyers and Strontian granite from the same intrusion now 66 milesapart. Let’s just agree the land is shifting and moving, slow but sure.
Guess where the shatter belt ofrock produced by the fault movement mostly lies? Under Loch Ness! Visitors to Urquhart castle overlooking theloch might not have noticed the shattered rock evident in road cuttings. Heatand stress evidence tells local geologists that movement occurred over andover.


Let’s get back to the earthquakefrequency. The Loch Ness area, where DRAGON IN THE MIST is set, averages 3earthquakes each century that measure at least a 4.0 on the Richter Scale, themethod used to describe an earthquakes ferocity. In comparison to the strengthsand amounts of quakes that hit the state of California, Scotland’s rumbles arerare. Could I use such a history in my story? You bet! I twisted this historyto claim that my heroine, Nessía of the Lake, caused the earthquakes while inher serpentine, underwater wingless dragon form.



Why not? In fiction, even in aromance where I have set my story and its characters in our same world, I havethe freedom to change the rules a little.



Whatabout other areas of Scotland? I found an article from August 2011 about recentScottish earthquakes. Apparently, five earthquakes were felt in the westHighlands followed by the recording of three lesser quakes. The BritishGeological Survey (BGS) recorded the first and largest, of 2.9 magnitude, atLochailort, with smaller quakes recorded between 11:13 and 18:24. The weekend'sevents occurred in the Lochaber Geopark. As reported by the BBC.com/UK, Parkdirector Noel Williams said: "Most earthquakes in Lochaber occur asunweighting of the earth after the melting of the ice formed during the lastglacial period some 12,000 years ago. The land effectively 'bounces back upagain' a process Earth scientists term isostatic rebound."The BGS saidearthquakes were a common event in the west Highlands but added that to havefive on the same day was "slightly unusual".

As Imentioned earlier, earthquakes measuring over 4.0 are rare, but these smallerquakes still made the news because they were noticeable in quiet places, duringa quiet time. A previous quake was reported in Knoydart on 30 July. Earthquake ‘swarms’have also been recorded in Dumfrieshire and in parts of Perthshire. I did findanother story reporting a 3.5 quake rocked the western shores of Scotland inJanuary 2011, which included the southern end of Loch Ness. People in Inverness,at the northern end of Loch Ness, reported feeling it over 120 km away. It issafe to say Loch Ness rippled!



The islands off the western coastof Scotland were formed by volcanoes, and volcanoes breed quakes. I set my bookDRAGON’S CURSE on the island of Staffa due to its odd hexagonal rock formationsand huge caves. Scotland has no dormant or active volcanoes, but plenty of‘plugs’. A plug is the remainder of the neck of a Volcano. Devil’s tower inWyoming is a good example of an ancient volcano neck. In Scotland, ancientdwellings have been discovered on the summit of North Berwick Law, the roundedvolcanic remains which sit 613 feet above sea level. It even has a ‘tail’caused by a retreating glacier. A famous tourist attraction sits on another plug:Edinburgh Castle.

Earthquakes might be considered aminor aberration in Scotland…unless you live there! What my research taught me,is that you never know what you might find when you delve into the historybehind the topography of a book’s location. Use the facts to your advantagewhen writing to give your readers a better perspective while they fall in lovewith your characters. And to my readers, I hope you fall in love with Nessia,Rory, and Scotland when you read DRAGON’S CURSE and my latest release, DRAGONIN THE MIST.

Nancy has a prize for one very special commenter! Leave a comment and be eligible for a lovely 2012 Scottish Calendar full of lovely photos and funny comments! Sure to put a smile on the face of any laddie or lassie.

BOOKBLURB

Life without love is not worthliving.
Nessía of theLoch has lived beneath the murky water of Loch Ness since ancient times. Thepain of loneliness manifests in anger so strong, the entire valley shakes withearthquakes. In 1816, a Faerie queen pleads for her to cease the tremors andrewards Nessía with a human form. To stay human, she must find love. When theman she believes she loves casts her aside, Nessía responds to the betrayal bycursing the men of the MacDonald clan with the inability to keep a woman’slove. Only an act of true selflessness will break the curse.

After centuriespass, Nessía again searches for love. When Rory Hawthorn, an Americanscientist, arrives under the pretext of researching the earthquakes but inreality to research his MacDonald heritage and the curse, she believes she hasfound the perfect mate.

Amid stolenkisses, another earthquake, a steamy night of passion, and a broken heart,Nessía returns to the murky depths of the loch. When Rory dives in to followher, he meets the green, scaly Loch Ness Monster. Assuming Nessía is in danger,he is intent on killing the monster and saving the woman he loves.

EXCERPT

“Whydid he call you Nessie? You obviously don’t like it. What’s your real name?”the stranger asked while his gaze bore into her chest.

Let him feasthis eyes.

Hesipped his ale, all cool and calm, as he waited for an answer. She pulled backboth shoulders. Waiting until he glanced up, she turned away to ring up adeparting customer’s bill, then added the excess to her apron pocket.

Ha! Monty gaveme a ‘tip’ then left me for his wife.

“Ido not share familiarities with strangers, sir.” She preferred to tug thedress’s lace edging up, but held back. The trim chafed her low neckline andupper arms, but Mac insisted his servers dress in period costume.

“Forthe tourists, lass,” Mac explained the day she walked in and asked for a job.She did not mind the long dress and doeskin shoes, per se. The whole idea ofclothing was bothersome. She enjoyed swimming to the dark depths of the lochclad only in deep green scales.

Evennow, she yearned to swim naked.

“Well,now. I can fix that.”

Ittook Nessía a few heartbeats to understand his comeback. Did he refer to herclothing, or to swimming naked? Only oneway to find out. “Fix what, sir?”

“I’llintroduce myself, and then you tell me your name. ‘Easy as pie, and polite asrain’, my father always said.”          

Nessíafroze. No, her response caught in her throat and her blood thickened into ice.Fingering the coins in her apron, she willed her talons to stay retracted whileher left foot tapped the plank floor. The stranger’s sultry voice was notfamiliar, but the words rang true, because Monty had spoken those, centuriesago.

Nessíastepped closer to the bar. A million questions popped into her head, but shestayed silent. Let him speak first andprove he has no affiliation to that damnable clan.

“Igo by Rory Hawthorn. Though I’m American, I’ve traced my ancestors to thistown. I plan to be here for quite some time exploring. Learning. Studying theunusual earthquake history of the area.”

Earthquakes?What would he say if he knew I caused those tremors?

RoryHawthorn, so called, moved closer. He leaned on the bar, and whispered as ifthe next words were for her ears only.

“AndI very much want to know you better.”


AUTHOR BIO

Nancy loves chocolate-chip shortbread,wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander, the clangof dirks and broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. Nancy lives thedream. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sonsin New Hampshire, Nancy moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Sheand her family continue to volunteer at the New Hampshire Highland Games eachfall. Nancy is a member of RWA, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Sisters InCrime, FF&P Romance Writers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers.

Check out her website www.nancyleebadger.com
and her blog www.RescuingRomance.nancyleebadger.com.
Follow her on Twitter @NLBadger
and on Facebook http://on.fb.me/scmtx5


Title: DRAGON IN THE MIST
Author: Nancy Lee Badger
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Length: 17,000 words
Amazon: http://amzn.to/nNpfNV
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/pzEYYh
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/oKGRDY

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