Seven years ago, early in 2011, I pitched to New Holland a book about earthquakes – they asked me to write a book on volcanoes instead. ‘Eruption! Discovering New Zealand Volcanoes was released in 2012 and reprinted several times (and still in print). Three major earthquakes later, New Holland asked if I’d write a book about earthquakes. I worked throughout the Christmas holidays to get it finished in time, asking three experts to check it. (One of the experts turned out to be a world expert on the subject!)

Like the volcano book, I have a character narrating some text boxes – this time Rūaumoko, the Māori God of earthquakes and volcanoes helps us out. Marco Ivancic drew a fantastic image for the book.

I worked closely with the designer to get the look that would make it as visually appealing to kids as possible. It’s also interactive, young readers can figure out what type of earthquake from symbols, follow the QuakeVid key words to find videos, and answer a tongue-in-cheek multi-choice question about what to do if caught in an earthquake.

In 2013, I experienced the Seddon earthquake so know just how scary they can be. I’m hoping kids will find the book fun, interesting and it’ll be helpful if they’re ever caught in an earthquake.