Southern California writer’s fear of earthquakes fuels “aftershocks” – Orange County Record

Novelist Marisa Richart spent her life in Southern California. Growing up in San Diego, she moved to Los Angeles in 1995 to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California and currently lives in Hermosa Beach.

Like other Californians throughout her life, she lived with the danger of an earthquake – The Big One – looming in the background. “There’s an idea that we’re kind of living by not thinking about it,” she says over the phone from her home (before the 4.6 earthquake late at night on September 18), “but not thinking about it is not doing us any favors.”

Reichardt researches and thinks about the potential effects of a very large earthquake to write “aftershocks.” The YA novel, which will be published on September 29th by Amulet Books, is the story of a high school water polo player who was in a sink when a 7.8 earthquake struck, trapping her and a man not much older than her, under the rubble.

“Aftershocks” confirm the often overlooked reality of earthquakes in our attempts to prepare for one: we simply don’t know where we will be when one strikes.

“I think the idea that it will be easy and that we will all be together is something we do to make ourselves feel better,” says Richardt. “But I think my biggest fear is to separate and thus to be in a situation where no one knows where to find me or look for me.”

In “Aftershocks,” Ruby struggles with friends and family. This earthquake will force her to rethink her relationships. Meanwhile, disaster will bring her together with a stranger, Charlie, who is also going through tough times. The two will communicate as they hope and wait for one of them to find them.

“I would like to think that if they had the opportunity to meet outside of something tragic, they would also communicate,” says Richard of her main characters. “But I think sometimes it takes extreme circumstances for us to find people to communicate with. We don’t look for him there. It happens when you least expect it. This is how I feel that Robbie and Charlie’s relationship was something unexpected but special.”

Ruby – water polo – also plays an important role in the story. Reichardt has always wanted to write about the water polo player. Her husband is a teacher and water polo coach and the two met while he was coaching Richard’s brother.

“I’ve been around water polo players and water polo teams for the past 30 years,” she says. But she just needed the right story for this type of athlete. “Aftershocks” it was. “I will put this person in a situation that requires tremendous mental and physical strength; this is a good time for a water polo player,” she explains.

The crux of the book is an understanding of the devastation a major earthquake can cause. For research, I looked at crises like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the war in Syria. I spoke to an emergency physician in San Diego about coping strategies for such a huge event and a friend with a PhD. In geology, he majored in the study of earthquakes.

Then Richardt will try to figure out how Ruby can move while she is trapped. The writer was lying on the floor, writhing in the poses she wrote for her character. How much space will be above it? How would she have moved if she was trying to get her phone out of her pocket?

“I would always have felt extremely guilty,” Richardt recalls. “I would get in those situations and panic and think, How did I do this to someone?”

It was a book that Richard Richard wrote quickly. “I think it was because I was in a hurry to get out of there,” she admits.

Aftershocks was not an easy book to write. “I was writing a really intense scene and I feel trapped and feel like I need to act after that,” she says. “I would have to get up from my office. I would have to go for a walk, or even just hit the target. I had to prove that you were not stuck in this space.”

“Aftershocks” are not just about waiting for the rescue. Richard also looked at what could happen when people, especially minors, needed medical attention. The nearest hospital, which is the one that family members would immediately consider checking, may not function. Communication channels may be very limited or non-existent.

“How do we collect minors?” Richardt asks. “You can’t just send them out on the street and say good luck. There has to be some kind of system in place.” This is where I took some liberties, trying to imagine how this situation would happen.

Richardt, whose first novel, Underwater, was published in 2016, often focuses on teens who deal with particularly difficult situations. “I really have great respect for teens,” she says. “I think they are constantly questioning the world and their place in it, so the idea of ​​writing stories about them and their circumstances is my main attraction.”

Her next book, which will be published in February, is titled A Snapshot of Normal. The film revolves around a 16-year-old girl who gets measles and then fights her anti-vaccination parents to get vaccinations against other diseases.

As for the “aftershocks,” she says, the process of writing them helped her better prepare for one. “I have earthquake kits now. We have a family plan. It says,“ My furniture is attached to the wall. ”“ I can’t say I’m completely mentally ready, but I feel like I did my best. ”

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