Where possible, I try to visit the locations I write about, or at least ones that are similar. This is obviously not always practical, and with the likes of Google Earth, today’s authors have an amazing resource that can take them anywhere in the world. But it can’t replicate the sounds and smells of a place, or how you might feel actually being there. 

In Deep Impact many of the underwater locations described are real. When we first meet Suki’s character in an underwater tunnel - that’s real. When she’s trapped by the Russians in a cave - that’s real, and the cove in Japan that traumatizes her as a child, that is also real, along sadly with the events that take place there.

When writing dramatic sequences, having actually experienced, to some degree, what the characters are going through, allows the author a freedom and authenticity to take the reader right to the heart of the action and make them feel as though they are really there.

This is no more true than for the typhoon sequence in Deep Impact.

In 2013 I was diving in Palau when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines killing over six thousand people. Before reaching the Philippines it had swept through Palau. Most of the devastation was in the more northerly islands, and while further south, only the tail end of the storm was felt, it was enough to destroy buildings and flatten palm trees, creating a terrifying few hours until it had past. No amount of video or second-hand stories can replicate the experience or fear that was felt at the time.

Of course, to tell a story, reality is always heightened to some degree and things are pushed to the limit, but sometimes real life can be exciting enough!

Mike Seares