YA Eco Mysteries, Memoirs, Novels & Travel
Middle Grade Eco Fiction
ECO Fiction Writer's Blog Episode Two
20/12/21 10:23 Filed in: Environmental Fiction
Gray Whale Stranding Episode 2.
Would you like to go on a journey with me to faraway places—one that takes unexpected twists and turns? You don’t need to pack a thing or purchase a ticket. I will be your guide as we travel through time and space, meet fascinating people, and gain a different perspective as I research and write my newest eco adventure, Whale’s Lament (working title). All you need to bring along is your curiosity and imagination and, of course, internet access. To receive my Newsletter with links to new episodes: subscribe by email: cldatnow@me.com. To begin reading “A Writers Journey: A Whales Lament,” visit my blog on: mediamint.net.
Send Your Questions and Ideas to cldatnow@me.com—they are most welcome
Our Journey begins in Nahoon, Alaska as Alysie Muckpa searches for the gray whale, she has named Natsilane:
Chapter One. Episode 2
The breakers swirled around the inky shadow in broad circles, then drained away as if sliding sideways from a submerged rock. As the shadow wallowed closer, Alysie could make out a huge, streamlined body and narrow head. Leaping off the boulder, she raced closer to the shoreline.
Storm Clouds Icy Point Straight Alaska (Boris Datnow)
There was something about its sluggish movement that made goosebumps prickle her arms. As if she were in a nightmare, Alysie could not turn away. “Calm down, get a grip!” she chided herself.
The body kept on rolling closer. The pull of the receding waves sucked it back pulled it forward. With each incoming breaker she could see the shape more clearly: the hump on its back, the line of knobs along its spine, its paddle-shaped flippers and broad tail. Push-pull, forward-backward. The ocean rocked the mighty whale in its arms, sending it closer and closer to shore where it would be stranded, trapped, unable to move its great body back into the water.
Alysie rushed into the churning ocean. Above the drumming of the waves slamming on shore and the thunder rumbling around the cove, she screamed “Natsilane stay away! Stay Away!” Pursing her lips tight over the tip of her conch shell she blew with all her might. Nothing happened. She blew again, AAAARRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! The wind tore the sound around the bay. But the incoming tide had Natsilane in its grip. As if she could shove a forty ton whale back into the ocean, she stood there with her hands outstretched. Still the whale kept on coming.
Dragging her eyes away, Alysie squeezed them shut and sent up a prayer to the Tlinglit warrior, Blackfish, who rode on the back of a whale.
Tlingit Totem Pole Hoonah Alsaka (Boris Datnow)
A sour odor, like a shred of rotting fish, slammed into her. With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, her eyes flew open . . .
To read the next episode: Subscribe to cldatnow.
Send Your Questions and Ideas to cldatnow@me.com—they are most welcome
To inspire you along the way here are ideas, travel destinations, and books to enjoy.
Travel: Boris and I visited Alaska in 2019. The villages and towns we explored inspired the background to this story. We are planning to visit Baja California in February 2022 where gray whales migrate to the lagoons to mate and have their calves.
Documentary: Life Among Whales, streaming on PBS, narrated by Robert Payne.
Books: Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs
Ice Whale by Jean Craighead
Song for a Whale by Lynn Kelley
Articles: The Last Whaling Station in America http://www.lakata.org/arch/whaling.html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (and an exceedingly long list of other resources)
https://hakaimagazine.com/features/are-we-on-the-verge-of-chatting-with-whales/
Subscribe to my newsletter and blog at mediamint.net to read the next episodes.
Would you like to go on a journey with me to faraway places—one that takes unexpected twists and turns? You don’t need to pack a thing or purchase a ticket. I will be your guide as we travel through time and space, meet fascinating people, and gain a different perspective as I research and write my newest eco adventure, Whale’s Lament (working title). All you need to bring along is your curiosity and imagination and, of course, internet access. To receive my Newsletter with links to new episodes: subscribe by email: cldatnow@me.com. To begin reading “A Writers Journey: A Whales Lament,” visit my blog on: mediamint.net.
Send Your Questions and Ideas to cldatnow@me.com—they are most welcome
Our Journey begins in Nahoon, Alaska as Alysie Muckpa searches for the gray whale, she has named Natsilane:
Chapter One. Episode 2
The breakers swirled around the inky shadow in broad circles, then drained away as if sliding sideways from a submerged rock. As the shadow wallowed closer, Alysie could make out a huge, streamlined body and narrow head. Leaping off the boulder, she raced closer to the shoreline.
Storm Clouds Icy Point Straight Alaska (Boris Datnow)
There was something about its sluggish movement that made goosebumps prickle her arms. As if she were in a nightmare, Alysie could not turn away. “Calm down, get a grip!” she chided herself.
The body kept on rolling closer. The pull of the receding waves sucked it back pulled it forward. With each incoming breaker she could see the shape more clearly: the hump on its back, the line of knobs along its spine, its paddle-shaped flippers and broad tail. Push-pull, forward-backward. The ocean rocked the mighty whale in its arms, sending it closer and closer to shore where it would be stranded, trapped, unable to move its great body back into the water.
Alysie rushed into the churning ocean. Above the drumming of the waves slamming on shore and the thunder rumbling around the cove, she screamed “Natsilane stay away! Stay Away!” Pursing her lips tight over the tip of her conch shell she blew with all her might. Nothing happened. She blew again, AAAARRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! The wind tore the sound around the bay. But the incoming tide had Natsilane in its grip. As if she could shove a forty ton whale back into the ocean, she stood there with her hands outstretched. Still the whale kept on coming.
Dragging her eyes away, Alysie squeezed them shut and sent up a prayer to the Tlinglit warrior, Blackfish, who rode on the back of a whale.
Tlingit Totem Pole Hoonah Alsaka (Boris Datnow)
A sour odor, like a shred of rotting fish, slammed into her. With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, her eyes flew open . . .
To read the next episode: Subscribe to cldatnow.
Send Your Questions and Ideas to cldatnow@me.com—they are most welcome
To inspire you along the way here are ideas, travel destinations, and books to enjoy.
Travel: Boris and I visited Alaska in 2019. The villages and towns we explored inspired the background to this story. We are planning to visit Baja California in February 2022 where gray whales migrate to the lagoons to mate and have their calves.
Documentary: Life Among Whales, streaming on PBS, narrated by Robert Payne.
Books: Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs
Ice Whale by Jean Craighead
Song for a Whale by Lynn Kelley
Articles: The Last Whaling Station in America http://www.lakata.org/arch/whaling.html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (and an exceedingly long list of other resources)
https://hakaimagazine.com/features/are-we-on-the-verge-of-chatting-with-whales/
Subscribe to my newsletter and blog at mediamint.net to read the next episodes.
