Rewriting the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Guest post by Beth Cato.

The pitch line for my new book Breath of Earth is pretty straightforward: "1906 San Francisco with geomancy and not-so-mythological creatures. Spoiler alert: there's an earthquake." I can't hide the fact that the earthquake happens--the date, the setting, and the cover give that away--and I'm fine with that. The cause of the quake is quite different from our reality.

This is a world where the American Civil War ended early due to an alliance between the Union and the steam-powered forces of Japan. In 1906, they are a world power dubbed the Unified Pacific, and in the process of dominating China. Much of their military might arises from geomancy. Geomancers act as a buffer during earthquakes as they pull in energy that otherwise would cause the earth to shake. That energy is then transferred into rare rocks that are used as batteries in everything from airships to flashlights.

San Francisco is a safe place thanks to the presence of the Cordilleran Auxiliary, a boarding school and base of operations for geomancers along the Pacific coast. After a disaster befalls the auxiliary on April 15th, Easter Sunday, the novel builds up suspense leading up to the day and time that the earthquake actually happened: the 18th, at sunrise.

One of the most famous incidents around the real earthquake is the opera Carmen performing on the night of the 17th, with the world-renowned tenor Enrico Caruso as Don Jose. I include the opera, but with a twist. I bring in a performance of a controversial opera, Lincoln, which celebrates the late president's Emancipation Proclamation and his late-life work on behalf of Chinese refugees. Abraham Lincoln lived to a ripe old age in this timeline.

The actual earthquake provided such a wealth of data that it was difficult to decide what to include. Even with the magic twist to the plot, I still use important places such as the epicenter at Mussel Rock and the presence of large cracks in the earth to the north of the Bay. San Francisco itself became a scene of horror, one that is well-chronicled in photographs, journals, and early film work. The earthquake knocked down a wide swath of downtown, and to make things even more devastating, broke both water mains and gas lines. Survivors trying to cook breakfast accidentally caused gas to alight, and firefighters could do little to contain any blazes throughout the peninsula. I incorporated many of these details--with the addition of a blue miasma of escaped energy forming an eerie fog throughout the city.

When it came to the actual feel of the earthquake, I didn't need to rely on books. I'm a native Californian. One of my earliest memories is being three-years-old and in the bathtub when a quake devastated nearby Coalinga. Tremors caused water to splash out of the tub on its own. I felt many more earthquakes as I grew up, included the last major quake to hit the Bay Area in 1989. I lived over two hundred miles away, but the feel, the rumble, was distinct.

It's that personal connection with earthquakes that inspired me to write Breath of Earth and look deeper into the history of my home state. It's my hope that readers will be inspired to read more about the actual earthquake, too. To that end, I include my research bibliography in the back of the book and on my website.

The book may be fantasy, full of magic and incredible creatures, but the foundation is firmly built on actual history, spoilers and all.

More about Breath of Earth: http://www.bethcato.com/breath-of-earth/

Online Research Bibliography: http://www.bethcato.com/breath-of-earth/research-bibliography/

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Beth Cato is the author of the Clockwork Dagger series from Harper Voyager, which includes her Nebula-nominated novella WINGS OF SORROW AND BONE. Her newest novel is BREATH OF EARTH. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona desert, where she lives with her husband, son, and requisite cat. Follow her at BethCato.com and on Twitter at @BethCato.

New Releases 8/23/16

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Paperbacks

Breath of Earth by Beth Cato

After the earth’s power under her city is suddenly left unprotected, a young geomancer must rely on her unique magic to survive in this fresh fantasy standalone from the author of the acclaimed The Clockwork Dagger.

In an alternate 1906, the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation— the Unified Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first target is a vulnerable China. In San Francisco, headstrong secretary Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of powerful geomancer wardens who have no idea of the depth of her own talent—or that she is the only woman to possess such skills.

When assassins kill the wardens, Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose the earth’s power to masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching American and Japanese forces, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies, transforming San Francisco into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor will set it off. . . .

Forced on the run, Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her already considerable magic has grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance of world power rests.

Multiverse: Exploring the Worlds of Poul Anderson edited by Greg Bear and Gardner Doizos

A tribute to the late great science fiction icon Poul Anderson, and a wonderful collection of stories by some of the genres top writers! Authors include Tad Williams, Terry Brooks, Greg Bear, Raymond Feist, Larry Niven, and Eric Flint.

Poul Anderson was one of the seminal figures of 20th century science fiction. Named a Grand Master by the SFWA in 1997, he produced an enormous body of stand-alone novels (Brain Wave, Tau Zero) and series fiction (Time Patrol, the Dominic Flandry books) and was equally at home in the fields of heroic fantasy and hard SF. He was a meticulous craftsman and a gifted storyteller, and the impact of his finest work continues, undiminished, to this day.

Here is a rousing, all-original anthology that stands both as a significant achievement in its own right and a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable writer and equally remarkable man. A nicely balanced mixture of fiction and reminiscence, this volume contains thirteen stories and novellas by some of today's finest writers, along with moving reflections by, among others, Anderson's wife, Karen, his daughter, Astrid Anderson Bear, and his son-in-law, novelist and co-editor Greg Bear. (Bear's introduction, "My Friend Poul," is particularly illuminating and insightful.)

The fictional contributions comprise a kaleidoscopic array of imaginative responses to Anderson's many and varied fictional worlds. A few of the highlights include Nancy Kress's "Outmoded Things" and Terry Brooks' "The Fey of Cloudmoor," stories inspired by the Hugo Award-winning "The Queen of Air and Darkness"; a pair of truly wonderful Time Patrol stories ("A Slip in Time" by S. M. Stirling and "Christmas in Gondwanaland" by Robert Silverberg); Raymond E. Feist's Dominic Flandry adventure, "A Candle"; and a pair of very different homages to the classic fantasy novel, Three Hearts and Three Lions: "The Man Who Came Late" by Harry Turtledove and "Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science)" by Tad Williams. These stories, together with singular contributions by such significant figures as Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Eric Flint, add up to a memorable, highly personal anthology that lives up to the standards set by the late—and indisputably great—Poul Anderson.

E-Books

Tales From Alternate Earths: Eight broadcasts from parallel dimensions edited by Inklings Press

Our world could have been so very different...

Eight stories take us on a journey into how our world could have been. What if the nukes had flown that day over Cuba? What if Caesar had survived? Imagine the Tunguska meteor with a different outcome. What if there was a true story behind HG Wells' most famous tale? See the world as it might have been if China discovered the New World first. And what if all of this was never meant to be and dinosaurs ruled the Earth?

Authors Jessica Holmes, Daniel M. Bensen, Terri Pray, Rob Edwards, Maria Haskins, Cathbad Maponus, Leo McBride, and collaborators Brent A. Harris and Ricardo Victoria show us the world that might have been - if the butterfly's wings had fluttered a different way, if the world changed between heartbeats, if a moment of decision saw another choice.

This is the fourth anthology from Inklings Press, aiming to provide a platform for new and upcoming authors and to open the door onto different worlds.

To readers, authors and publishers...

Is your story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.