The Nuclear
Catastrophe (a fiction novel of suspense) also published as "THE DISQUIET
SURVIVORS of the Nuclear Catastrophe
Set in beautiful sunny Southern California, Ben Harrington
and his pregnant wife, Sara, live in San Mirado. Ben is head of Whitewater
Nuclear Power Plant. On a fateful day, what could NEVER happen.....does happen.
Ben and Sara, the plant workers, the people living in San Mirado and those in
adjacent cities all have to make decisions as to what to do, where to go.
Their choices have have both good and bad consequences - and
some last forever.
This fictional story brings home the reality of what would
or could happen.. History has shown us time after time that......what can go
wrong....will go wrong. What would YOU do? Your answers may be different after
reading this novel.
As an
introduction, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Barbara Griffin Billig graduated from Washington University
in St. Louis at age nineteen with a degree in biology and chemistry. She taught
for several years in St. Louis before moving to Southern California. There she
owned a variety of businesses including pet shops, restaurants, and a real
estate brokerage firm. Deciding to take a sabbatical from the business world
for several years she wrote, in conjunction with another teacher, Bett Pohnka,
“The Nuclear Catastrophe”, published in hardcover. This fiction novel portrayed
what ultimately came to pass with 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Japan
Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown. A new updated edition of this, entitled
“THE DISQUIET SURVIVORS of The Nuclear Catastrophe” is now available in
paperback with the EBook edition keeping the original title, "The Nuclear
Catatstrophe".
What is
your book about?
This is a fictional story of what can happen if a nuclear
power plant were to suffer a malfunction and the surrounding residents were
forced to evacuate. Their lives would be
affected forever. And we should all be
prepared in the event the unexpected and unforseen happens to us. Our choices might make the difference
between living and dying. See what these
fictional characters chose.
When
and why did you begin writing?
In 1975 I decided to
take a different path. However, in those
times it was hard to reach the world as the internet did not exist. I had 2 books published but did not enjoy
traveling and speaking directly to groups.
So they sold to libraries and languished otherwise. Today, it is much easier to reach out to
people, and I enjoy both the writing and the contacts all over the world that
are created.
What
genre do you prefer to write in?
No preference
What is
your biggest writing achievement to date?
My fiction novel currently out that is being showcased
here. I had also written a non-fiction
book: "A Successful Business of
Your Own". It was bought
extensively by libraries, but the advent of the internet has made it totally
out of date. The other book, "The
Nuclear Catastrophe (a fiction novel of suspense) can still be found in
libraries across the United States.
What
inspired you to write this book?
Majored in science in college and saw into the future as
what was bound to happen with nuclear power.
It is eerie how I nailed in my story what eventually happened in
Fukushima 30 years later.
Who is
your favourite author, and what is it about their work that strikes a chord
with you?
Michael Crichton.
Wrote fictional stories based on actual science.
What
book are you reading now, and would you recommend it?
indie authors trying to get started and am amazed at the
high quality of writing that they have that has been overlooked by the small world of hardcover publishers. Try:
THE CATALYTIC PROGRAMME – a fiction thriller
written by Terry Callister
What
are your current projects?
Getting "The Nuclear Catastrophe" in front of the
public before I start another book.
Where
and when do you do most of your writing?
in the quiet of my
home office.
What
would you say was the hardest part of writing your book?
the editing. It's
hard to make those decisions yourself, as to what should stay and what should
go. To the author it is all
important. Join a writers's club and
submit to them for critique.
Who
designed your book cover – and was the cover something you deemed important?
#1 was designed by
the publisher. Cover #2 was designed by
me through Amazon. It is important. Again, submit to others for their reaction.
Did you
try to go down the route of traditional publishing first – or did you feel that
self-publishing was right for you from the beginning?
The first time I was
published there was no other route
except the traditional. When I
discovered my book, though out of print, was still be sold by Amazon, and
B&N, and some survival web sites as a used book, I decided to update it
& bring it back out. There is no
question that the indie author has a great advantage now over taking the lowest
slot in some publishers group. The book
gets out much, much quicker as self
published and then depends on the author taking the time to publicize it. I could write 10 pages on this subject and
some others have - the indie author now has great opportunities. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you
- do it yourself and do it well.
Where
can we buy the book?
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WDRWXY
Available for Nook as THE DISQUIET SURVIVORS of The Nuclear
Catastrophe
And available in paperback
Read an excerpt now:
http://bit.ly/pY8HxX
Do you
have a website or blog where we can keep tabs on you?
Blog:
http://www.thenuclearcatastrophe.blogspot.com
Web page: http://mysite.verizon.net/resrrmof/
Do you
have any advice for other writers?
I find it takes a
commitment of at least 2 hours a day to work on publicizing the book. If you are not willing to do that, I think
you will not have the results that you want.
And please, get a second opinion - or more - about what you have
written. The traditional routes of
publishing provide an editor. If you are
going to do the indie route - then join a writer's club.
And,
finally, do you have anything else that you’d like to say to everyone?
Good luck in all your efforts. They can pay off if you are persistent
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