Authors Interviewing Characters: Susan Sizer Bogue
DEEP TIME
For adventurous fiction lovers, this debut novel tells the story of a young geologist working with ancient rocks who finds herself in present mortal danger when Mount St. Helens erupts with catastrophic power.
After an inspiring trip to the Grand Canyon, Lauren Brown falls in love with geology—so much so that she convinces her husband, Kenny, to follow her from Philadelphia to East Texas, where she enters a male-dominated graduate program at Texas Polytechnic. Lauren thrives on the adventure geology affords her—studying undersea volcanoes, shepherding clueless undergraduates in a remote national park, and climbing canyons in Oregon to collect rock samples—but at home, things are deteriorating. After separating from her straying husband, she becomes best friends with Chris, an honorable male colleague who helps her fend off a predatory professor.
When Mount St. Helens awakens, geologists from all over the world flock to Washington. Lauren is determined to be part of the action and witness an erupting volcano. The dream event of a lifetime is at hand. On a Saturday in May, she and Kenny, with whom she has reconciled, convene with Chris to stake out Mount St. Helens.
The first day, the mountain remains annoyingly quiet. The next day, it erupts with catastrophic power—and irreversibly upends Lauren’s life.
Interview with Lauren from Deep Time
In this interview, novelist Susan Sizer Bogue interviews her main character Lauren, who became a geologist at a time when there were not many women in the field.
How did you get interested in becoming a geologist–a pre-dominantly male occupation in the 1970s?
When I first saw the Grand Canyon from a small plane on my way to a raft trip on the Colorado River, I was astounded by its beauty and mysteries. The gorgeous layers of rock represented different times in Earth’s history. Then I saw Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona. I had to know what was hidden inside volcanoes and what caused eruptions. It didn’t occur to me to wonder whether being a geologist was a male or female job.
Of all your adventures while studying geology, which were most memorable?
My first ocean voyage to study undersea volcanoes was fabulous. When we were on station, we dragged a chain link bag across the tops of undersea mountains to pick up rocks for clues as to why tectonic plates move. The weather was beautiful, and the sea was kind and smooth the whole month. Water was clear thirty meters down, and sunsets lasted for hours.
Just as memorable was another geology trip, this time in West Texas. I had to keep two clueless undergraduates and myself alive when we became separated from our group while hiking in a remote national park. Lost and out of water, we had to find a source of water in a desert climate and then guess as to which direction to hike to civilization.
After you and your husband separated, what did you do?
I was devastated, of course, but I found an apartment and continued with school. Then I made a bad decision and became involved with my professor. At first, I was thrilled someone paid attention to me and wanted me, so I repressed the fact that I was still in love with my husband. When I ended the relationship with my professor, he became jealous and vindictive. I met Chris, a male colleague, who helped me fend off the professor.
What do you find most fascinating about volcanoes?
Their destructiveness aside, volcanoes keep our planet habitable by making new land, stabilizing the heat at Earth’s core, and enriching the soil with lava and ash so we can produce abundant crops. Also wine. The best vineyards in the world are planted in volcanic soils. Incidentally, volcanoes have created 80% of Earth’s land surface. Without volcanoes, we wouldn’t be here.
When Mount St. Helens awakened, how did geologists react?
Geologists from around the world flocked to Washington. Seeing an erupting volcano is a coveted experience. For once, the earth is in action in the same time scale as humans. I was determined to see a major eruption. Mountains uplifting, continents shifting, oceans forming—these take millions of years and are invisible to people. But an eruption is exciting and shows the power of the earth. Geologists monitor volcanoes in numerous ways because of the potential for devastation and loss of human lives.
What were signs that Mount St. Helens was awake?
Earthquakes, eruptions of steam and ash, gas emissions, and a bulging north side of the volcano made it clear the mountain was awake. In the last previous eruption of Mount St. Helens in the 1800s the eruptive products were mainly confined to the area of the cone, so the Red Zone boundaries set by the governor of Washington reflected the expectation that a major eruption would mostly affect the cone.
It wasn’t just geologists who were excited about an active volcano in Washington State.
Tourists from all over wanted to see an eruption. The only active volcanoes in the United States are in the Cascade Arc, Alaska, and Hawaii. Seeing an eruption was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They made Sunday drives, camped out nearby, and took tourist flights over Mount St. Helens. On Easter, about a month and a half before the big eruption, cars lined both sides of the road to the volcano. Radios blared, people picnicked, and booths sold food and tee shirts. It created a party atmosphere. I was thrilled to see my first ever eruption that day, even though it was a very minor one. And even though Mt. St. Helens upended my life.
The catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens upended your life. How did that affect your feelings about volcanoes?
The eruption was incredible. It showed the magnificence of the earth and its renewal forces. To understand, feel, and be part of it was an experience of a lifetime.
Thank you for sharing your story with us!
BUY DEEP TIME HERE
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Susan Sizer Bogue is a lawyer-turned-writer who has published many humorous essays and written the script for the musical The Christmas of the Phonograph Records. She lives in the Denver, Colorado, area. Denver author – Susan Sizer Bogue
Category: Interviews, On Writing
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