Written by Maggie Bolitho, the upcoming novel ‘Lockdown’ throws readers into the Pacific Northwest, to experience the real-life ‘Big One’ earthquake that millions of residents fear. While the initial disaster is bad, what happens to society afterwards ensures readers will need only the edge of their seats.

North Vancouver, BC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/10/2014 --Everyone fears it, everyone has been warned to prepare for it and residents in the Pacific Northwest know deep down that the dreaded ‘Big One’ earthquake will ultimately shake their world. Anticipated to strike the Cascadia Subduction Zone at some point, the megathrust earthquake is brought to life before it actually strikes in a compelling new novel by Maggie Bolitho.

‘Lockdown’ focuses on the societal aftermath of the disaster, told from the perspective of a well-prepared family who ultimately become the fiercest victims of the West Coast’s biggest threat.

Synopsis:
When a great earthquake rocks the Pacific Northwest, fifteen-year-old Rowan Morgan is hiking in a suburban forest. Tremors rip the coast from Oregon to Alaska and turn Rowan’s world upside down. After her father is wounded and taken to the hospital, Rowan and her brother shelter inside his earthquake-proof, survivalist home. While the electrified fences offer some protection, it isn’t long before mobs gather, desperate for some of the food and water rumoured to be held inside.

Rowan knows that if the hungry neighbours had any true idea of the riches in father’s cellar and water tanks, they wouldn’t be so easily sent away. Early one morning, Rowan leaves the compound and sets off in search of her father. She is turned away from the hospital and so goes to check on nearby friends where she finds a local gang has moved in. She escapes from them only to run into a stranger she met in the forest the day before. Why is he following her and what does he want?

As the author explains, while her story could seem far-fetched, the prospect of the ‘Big One’ is very real. “My narrative explores the lengths some people may go to if it strikes.”

‘Lockdown’, published by Great Plains Publications, is available 7th April 2014: http://amzn.to/1dNKonR.

More information can be found on the publisher’s website: http://www.greatplains.mb.ca/buy-books/lockdown.

About Maggie Bolitho
MAGGIE BOLITHO is curious by nature and over the years has been a soccer player, a horsewoman, a martial artist, a scuba diver and a cyclist. Born in Victoria BC, her wanderlust took her across Canada and back. Before making her permanent home in British Columbia, Bolitho lived in Australia for twenty years. In Sydney her home was in a red-zone, the highest bushfire risk possible and it was there, when she trained as a member of the CFU (Community Fire Unit) as a firefighter, that her interest in disaster scenarios came to life.