Blue moon

One of the things I researched endlessly while writing is La Luna. I learned quite a bit about our friend the moon, all of it fascinating. For instance, did you know the moon was formed by a massive collision of the Earth and another smaller planet over a million years ago? Okay, fine, everybody knows that. But did you know that the moon is slowly but surely moving away from the Earth? And that this will cause the Earth to spin more slowly, adding more time to each day? Of course it is fractions of a second per lifetime, so we'll never notice.

I was especially interested in the phenomenon of the "blue moon." Turns out the phrase generally refers to an extra full moon in a month, which happens about once a year. Boring. 

The literal blue moon occurs much less frequently, and only due to particles in the atmosphere usually relating to a volcanic eruption. So, like hardly ever. After the eruption that destroyed Pompeii, the moon actually appeared violet for 2 weeks. And when an eruption occurred in Russia 20 years ago, the moon appeared red. So my end of the world disaster scenario includes multiple volcanic eruptions and a red, red moon. Awesome, right? 

Because of my writing, I've become borderline obsessed with the moon and everything about it, to the point that when the moon is full, I talk to it and make it a point to write. I guess in that sense, it has become my muse. 

Screw you resistance.

J. L. Dodd

“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.” 


― Ming-Dao Deng, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony

“She didn't quite know what the relationship was between lunatics and the moon, but it must be a strong one, if they used a word like that to describe the insane.” 


― Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die