After “Where do you get your ideas?”, the next question I’m usually asked is “How do you get all of the details? Have you been to all of the places you write about?” For Disruption, I’ve been to a few of the places in the story, but not all. But even in those I have been too, I’ve not been to the exact locations in the story. My goal is to have Disruption be as authentic as possible; authentic enough that someone might be reading the story and say, “I know that place!”
So, here’s my secret. Google Earth is a cool resource.
As the events story of Disruption unfolded, I kept my river maps on the wall, and Google Earth on a screen to help me identify just where things were taking place. For example, the image here shows the Grammercy Bridge, just above New Orleans. If you’ve read Disruption, you know what takes place here, and the image shows exactly where those things were. As you read the story, why not scroll the screen and see things just as they were? It’s all there.
One of these days I’m going to hop on a boat and follow the story as it moves. Now, that will be cool!
If you’re read Disruption and are up to the challenge, why not fire up Google Earth and see if you can locate these places:
- Gil Arbel’s Office.
- Alma’s house.
- Alex Mantelle’s final parking spot.
- Shallenger’s lab.
Enjoy the trip!
