The Upside of Almost Drowning
I joined my
first competitive swim team at age seven and went on to compete in that sport
until I finished high school. I don't
remember feeling scared the first time I submerged my entire body under water,
and some of my earliest memories involve being overwhelmingly excited to jump
off the diving board. Being 100%
comfortable holding my breath and diving beneath the surface was always
something that came naturally.
Except once.
During swim
practice one morning, I was feeling the burn.
I was fourteen and I'd been attending practices twice a day for
months. Just as I pushed away from the
wall at the deep end, my flexing calves where suddenly overloaded with
stimuli. Both muscles spasmed so
violently that I was forced to grab each leg to somewhat relieve the pain. I sank to the bottom of the pool.
I'd
experienced muscle cramps before (Charlie horses as my grandpa would say) but
nothing as painful as this. I remember
sinking to the bottom and screaming. For
a second I was surrounded by bubbles and when they all cleared, I realized I
was out of air. My dilemma: my lungs
were slowly starting to burn but I was in too much pain to move. Besides that I felt light-headed. I went through a brief moment of panic. My chest felt like it was gradually being
crushed and my legs were practically on fire.
In my book
MUTINY, one of the main characters Eric experiences something similar. He's chained and tossed in the ocean for
betraying his Chief Commander. Eric eventually
sinks to the bottom and finds out what it feels like to drown. While writing that scene, I drew from this
frightening experience, though I don't have the ability to regenerate like Eric
does.
Just as my
body started shaking, my coach realized what was going on and jumped in the
pool. He pulled me out and helped me
work through the spasms with a chest full of oxygen. Since then any sort of muscle twitch startles
me.
It's a
little weird to say that that experience turned out to be helpful, but it
did. I'm very happy with the way the
drowning scene turned out. While reading
back through it, I can almost feel that same sense of hysteria I once felt at
the bottom of the pool. I only went
through a tiny sliver of what Eric goes through at the bottom of the ocean, but
luckily Eric's 'special' abilities get him out of it.
Mutiny
M.E.R. series, #1
Book Blurb:
Eric's life aboard a top secret stealth submarine as a member of the government’s M.E.R. program has been about discipline, cunning and survival.
As both a soldier and a natural born regenerator, he can heal from any wound, but to stay alive he must accept a vein-burning serum that prevents his DNA from over-mutating. In exchange Eric must follow his Chief Commander’s every order. And never ask questions, no matter the assignment.
When he goes ashore on his first solo mission he runs into a complication he didn't expect; Mariella, the target’s daughter. She’s about to change everything.
Author Bio:
Jacqueline Gardner works as a Story Editor for the production company, Labragirl Pictures. Her love of storytelling began at an early age when she would make up stories with her grandmother before bedtime.
In early 2010, she completed her first novel and has been stuck on writing ever since. She resides in Colorado and loves hiking, writing, fantasy fiction, and all things cupcake.
Website: www.jacquelinegardner.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorjacquelinegardner
Twitter: @Writer_Jacque
3 comments:
Nice, but scary, story. I can't imagine what that must've been like, but at least it was beneficial for a scene. Great start to the tour :)
That was a scary experience! Oh dear me... But it definitely benefited you in your book. All the best for the blog tour! :)
This book sounds so good!! I'd love to read it. One of my biggest fears is drowning (I don't like the ocean at all). That said, I do love to read action stories and this one sounds great, with a little romance thrown in. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
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