I knew that to complete the marathon of writing a novel it would need to have meaning for me on a personal level as well as being a good story. I believe that climate change is very real, and we cannot know how it will impact on our societies, but it was something I wanted to write about. I didn’t want to write a far-future story set beyond a time that is recognisable. I wanted to write about what might happen immediately after a disaster caused by climate change.
I’d read extensively about the glacier shrinkage. If all the ice in Greenland fell into the sea it would increase sea levels by six metres. But that could only occur in a slow way. The West Antarctic ice shelf is a more likely candidate for causing a sudden rise. Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about this vast volume of ice and snow and the likelihood of it detaching from Antarctica. Should this happen the impact on sea levels would be immediate, flooding cities containing billions of people.
Questions began popping into my head. How would people survive this disaster? How would they live in the immediate aftermath. Nuclear power stations, oil refineries, and logistical infrastructure are all commonly sited on coastlines. People would have no power, no fuel, no transport.
On this small island of Britain, currently dependant on imports to feed its population, what might occur in the weeks and months after the flood?
Water and Blood is an attempt to answer some of these questions; not at the macro, governmental organisation level, but how individuals and families might experience this catastrophe.
The way people behave towards each other has long held my interest and I have worked as a family therapist in the past. I have witnessed what stress can do to family relationships.
Water and Blood is more than a record of potential disaster. It is a story of the breakdown of family relationships, a story of deviousness, deception, and betrayal; and the extremes people will resort to when compelled.
From the back cover:
‘Not for the faint hearted but I couldn’t put it down.’ – Penny Mountain
When the flood came people drowned; or starved.
Few were prepared when water ravaged the world. Lucy Marchand and her family believed they were the lucky ones.
Isolated in their North Cornwall smallholding the family thought they had enough to survive the bleakest of winters.
Shortages, attacks, and sibling rivalries bring out the best, and the worst, in the family, forcing Lucy to make impossible choices.
A story too plausible to be ignored.
Compelling and fast paced, “Water and Blood” is both thrilling and horrific.
Read this gripping debut from Rik Lonsdale
Rik Lonsdale 2nd September 2023
A version of this post appeared in Patricia's Pen on 22nd March 2023
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