Book Nook: North Wind

In North Wind by Michael Hale, four friends in the Canadian wilderness find themselves stranded after disaster strikes the United States (Nuclear attack). They head out in search of their families and only a small clue gives them hope of finding them alive. They battle the weather, wild animals, and four unhinged brothers hell bent on stopping them.

I had a chance to interview the author to learn more about the book.

What was the inspiration behind this book?

I am an avid fisherman and have taken yearly fly-in fishing trips into the Canadian wilderness since the mid seventies. A float plane drops us off on a lake and we are the only ones there for a week with no contact with the outside world. The harsh reality is that while we are in the bush events occur in the world without our knowledge. In 1997, on the last day of our trip, the pilot told us of Princess Diana’s death as we loaded the plane. That triggered the question... ‘What if we were never picked up?’ From that day forward North Wind had begun its development.

How do you keep the idea of a post-apocalyptic world fresh?

The characters journey is not in the contaminated world, it is north of it. They see the outgoing and incoming missiles and try to send a warning to their families still in the U.S. They do not know if the message was received but rush to reach the destination they sent to their family to hurry to.

What do you hope readers take away from your book?

North Wind is a story that could happen tomorrow. There is nothing in it that is complete fiction. I want readers to feel the love between the characters, the passion to survive, and the eerie sensation of 'What if?' I believe I have achieved that based on early reviews. The characters are like your neighbors, their behaviors are drawn from real friends and relatives of mine, as are most of the names. I want readers to experience Northern Canada as I know it, just from reading the descriptions. When they close the book for the last time I want them to say "Wow, I need more."