Tsunami Wake: Post Apocalyptic Thriller (Calm Act Book 4)

by Ginger Booth

  Later, as he led me out, Jay asked me just once, quietly, “Remember how badly you reacted, when I told you I’d work for the Department of Defense?”

  “That was then. This is now,” I told him firmly.

  “Just checking,” he said, with a wry grin.

  My brother escorted me to the altar, symbolically giving me away to Emmett. The three surprise guests were a wedding present from Sean Cullen, the man I expected to give me away. My attempts to suggest that I give myself died in favor of Sean, not Jay. But I was too delighted to see Jay again to quibble.

  Brandy, my maid of honor, looked great in tight blue-green brocaded sheath, split up the thigh, despite the camera affixed to her face. Emmett and Cam were a polished matched set in their formal uniforms, right down to similar medal collections.

  Though thousands of people were staring at me – and millions more would see every twitch by Internet – they all vanished right then. Emmett, perfectly calm and assured, took in my dress and smiled. And nodded. And we climbed the platform to the altar.

  Inside a presidential box, we stood out of the wind to say our words behind bullet-proof glass. Reverend Connolly took our vows, pastor of the non-denominational Protestant Union Church from West Totoket. The words were traditional, without personal embellishments. We got our rings back.

  Then, as we’d practiced at home, Emmett swooped me down for the dramatic ‘you may kiss the bride’ moment, to great cheering.

  Then we turned to wave at the crowd.

  In Cambridge, I’d been shocked by the palpable waves of rage directed at us, standing in front of the mob. The crowd in Central Park was nearly the same size, a parallel I hadn’t noticed until just this moment. But the surge of love and congratulations, applause and cheering, from this crowd of supporters, were even headier than the mob. With the power of this crowd on our side, I felt like we could accomplish absolutely anything. I stood transfixed by the sensation, daunted and overwhelmed, humbled and grateful.

  “Uh-huh,” Emmett murmured beside me. “Wave, darlin’.”

  I smiled at him, jarred from my reverie. We did the royal wave. We descended the steps, back into the battering wind, to greet our subjects. We were only make-believe royalty, just for the day. And the crowd were Sean’s subjects, not ours. Yet those feelings were real, and potent.

  I was profoundly fearful of the next new normal, yes. But it was ours to shape.

  From the Author

  Hope you enjoyed Tsunami Wake!

  If you want more, I’m writing further installments

  in the Calm Act series, and I’m eager for beta readers.

  Please!

  I’d deeply appreciate a review on Amazon. Reviews help sell books. But also, I’m energized by feedback, to write more, faster, better. Reviews tell me that people care. So please leave a review – no matter how short – and help me create the next book.

  Sign up for the author’s release newsletter, and get free copies of Dust of Kansas and Civilly Disobedient.

  Acknowledgments

  I’m deeply grateful to my test readers. My beta readers put up with reading the manuscript while I’m still writing it, to let me know where credibility fails, or the pacing goes wrong, and which plot threads they’re most interested in. The hard-working team for Tsunami Wake included Bob Brazeau, Keith Brown, Beth Grem, Brett Jarman, Ron Kaminski, Karen Reinertsen, and Suella Tucker. Thank you so much for your time and insights. And most importantly for your friendship, and urging me on.

  I nearly gave up on the whole book-writing enterprise during this manuscript. But the beta readers and emails from fans kept me going. Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to let me know you care. I needed that!

  This was the first book I wrote with the luxury of an active mailing list. I offered the list a chance to be Tuckerized – donate their names for walk-on characters. The Tuckerized this time around were: Army nurse Albert Adderley, programming project manager Alixandria, Father Philip Bilik, Resco Lt. Colonel Bob Brazeau, Army Specialist Cherie, seamstress extraordinaire Jewel Colvin, handy MIT undergrad Ken Porter, Cambridge mayor Peggy Lanford, landscaping boss Don Murray, Seneca Falls Coco Marie Roberts, regular Army Colonel Netty, Master Sergeant (ret.) Jeremy Spring, and Army Captain Mike Sump. If you volunteered and your name hasn’t been used yet, don’t worry. You’re still on the list.

  I’m also grateful to all the advance readers, who read the almost-final manuscript, ready to write reviews for book launch day. I can’t list your names at this writing. But your efforts help sales. Thank you!

  Thanks to my brother Jim Booth for proofing the softcover edition.

  And thank you, for reading my book. Especially if you’re so kind as to post a review on Amazon, or to tell someone else about it, or drop me a line. Books take a long time to write. Feedback is the fuel that powers the next story.

  Books by Ginger Booth

  Calm Act series:

  1 End Game – time ran out on climate change

  2 Project Reunion – daring plan to save the dying New York City

  3 Martial Lawless – martial law vs. religion run amok in Pittsburgh

  The Calm Act Books 1-3 – box set of the volumes above

  4 Tsunami Wake – sea level rises faster

  Calm Act Genesis prequel stories:

  1 Civilly Disobedient – Dee Baker attends a riot in Philadelphia

  2 Dust of Kansas – Emmett MacLaren at the birth of the Calm Act

  Nonfiction:

  Indoor Salad: How to Grow Vegetables Indoors

  E-Cigarettes 101: How to Start Vaping

  E-Cigarettes 102: DIY E-Liquid

  Calm Act Timeline

  Years counted from the enactment of the Calm Act. Most books cross a New Year, so the year given is at the book start.

  -1 : Civilly Disobedient – food prices skyrocket due to Dust Bowl and GMO blight, rioting begins

  0 : Dust of Kansas – U.S. withdraws from foreign involvement, air travel banned, internal refugee crisis

  1 : End Game – Calm Act begins; severe censorship, inter-state borders; NYC Ebola outbreak

  2 : Project Reunion – northeastern states band together to relieve NYC survivors, Penn attacks New York

  3 : U.S. officially disbanded in March

  3 : Martial Lawless – nation of Hudson established, others follow

  4 : Tsunami Wake – East Coast tsunami, sea level rise, Hudson and New England merge