A couple of weeks ago I met a woman realtor who lives within ten miles of a nuclear power plant. We talked about my book Jolt: a rural noir and the information regarding nuclear survival in it. 

Before writing Jolt, I spent a lot of time studying survival, but I did it from the point of view of person who lives beyond the five to ten mile area most likely to be affected either directly or indirectly by a meltdown. So the realtor had many questions I could not answer. Like how far out would the fission reach? And the associated ionizing radiation?

All I know about meltdown fission is what an oncologist and ionizing radiation expert told me he had learned from a woman scientist who had witnessed such fission: It gives off a blue light. 

Well, so much for that. 

Then I explained to the realtor that power plants today are not constructed as Chernoble was. Chernoble kind of 'blew.' Today's plants would be more likely to collapse inward. She accepted as reasonable.

I told her there would be no plume. She knew that.

We talked about the spent fuel risk. She seemed less aware of that.

I did not tell her about the night emissions from the plant so I'm not sure if she knows about them. Or the problems with spent waste.

Well, since that night, I have ruminated a bit on point of view . . . the author's point of view . . . mine . . . in the writing of Jolt.  And what I decided needed be said is that Jolt is about survival after a nuclear event, whether it's a meltdown, explosion, or just a plain old misleading, upsetting, but not really so awful, dirty bomb.

In other words, I wrote Jolt for those of us who following the assumed nuclear event, would walk out uninjured. So, you see, I wrote it for most of us.

Also, I assumed there would be two prongs to survival thereafter. One would be to prevent or escape the effects of ionizing radiation. The second would be related to aspects of protentially becoming a forced emigrant. I just did not write Jolt for the families who would not be able to get out, probably because they live not more than a stone's throw from the affected nuclear plant or explosion. 

Now the realtor is buying a copy of Jolt for her husband. (He loves sci-fi and thought Jolt looked promising.) So after it becomes available, probably near the end of this month, maybe I'll get to learn from him if the difference in point of view for people who live near a plant in comparison to all the rest of us is real or just my imagination.

Roberta M in Po-Town