One of the main characters in climate fiction isn't human at all. That character is Mother Nature. Usually a very ticked off, overheated Mother Nature.
In The Shade Ring and Albedo Effect, the first two books in The Shade Ring Trilogy, runaway global warming plays a major role in the plot. Without giving away too much, the weather events include severe flooding that’s submerged coastal cities, extreme heat and a mega-hurricane. In book three, which comes out in the spring, there will be more climate events that impact Neave and the other characters. (To be notified when book #3 comes out, sign up for updates here.)
That’s why I set my story a hundred years in the future. I wanted to examine what climate change could do to our world. I admit having these changes occur within a hundred years would involve very rapid warming. But an overwhelming majority of scientists agree that humans are, without a doubt, causing a rise in Earth’s temperature and CO2 levels, and the scenarios in my books are likely to play out eventually.
So, not only does Neave have to struggle against her megalomaniacal father and his minions, she also has to deal with the obstacles an overheated Mother Nature throws in her path. I’ve done a good bit of research on what scientists expect to happen as the Earth’s temperature rises. And the natural disasters in my books could become much more common than we’d like to think. From extreme heat to earthquakes to water wars, Mother Nature could negatively affect the lives of our grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. And wouldn’t that be a bummer?