Thursday, November 11, 2021

Can You Dig It? by Paige Shelton


Jenn McKinlay: I have been waiting for the latest release by the Mary Higgins Clark Award nominated author, Paige Shelton, since...well, since I devoured book two, Cold Wind, in her fabulous Alaska Wild suspense series. And now we are mere weeks from release day!!! The third in the series, Dark Night, drops on December 7th, so you have just enough time to read the previous two! Go get 'em! And now here's Paige to tell us about what inspired book three.

ORDER NOW!

Paige: I remember when I first read about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s dugout house on the banks of Plum Creek. I was a kid, so it sounded cozy and adorable. Back in the early 2000s, I took a Laura Ingalls Wilder road-trip and drove to the spot outside Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where the dugout had been . . . dug out. It was unexpected. You travel up a country road, wave at a smiling couple who sit in rocking chairs on their country home’s wide porch, and make your way to the creek and surrounding wide open prairie lands. 

I have to admit, the tiny home wasn’t exactly how I pictured it. What is though? The dugout has collapsed so there’s not much to see – no small beds or table and chairs, just collapsed earth, some interesting signs, and the creek. Still, I’m glad I took a look and would travel out of my way to see it again someday. I wouldn’t trade that trip for the world. 




When I started working on my latest Alaska book, I needed to come up with a hidden place, a home where no one could be found. Of course, living off the grid is a real thing in Alaska, and in my mind, I concluded that an underground home would REALLY be off the grid. However, though I did find some impressive underground homes in my research, they had been constructed using the finest materials, some with wonderful skylight windows over the top. These wouldn’t make good secret hideaways. The permafrost is pretty stubborn in our 49thstate, so heavy duty excavating equipment is needed for anything fancy.  

Also, living off the grid can be more expensive than you might think, if you do it legally and want to spend some money to make a modern shelter, that is. 

But I wasn’t interested in modern. I wasn’t interested in following the rules (fictionally; of course in real life, I’m all about the rules), so I dug (pun intended) a little deeper. 

Let’s say you have someone who wants to hide in Alaska, wants to live off the grid but doesn’t want to file all the proper paperwork, could they, feasibly, find a remote place, and when the permafrost has melted some, dig out a home, or a shelter, without all the big equipment that would make it easier?

Well. I think the answer is maybe.

It seems that back around 800 BC the Norton or Dorset Paleo-Eskimo groups did build semi-subterranean houses that had been excavated partially or completely below the ground surface – and they did this to take advantage of underground geo-thermal protections during the harshest weather. 

In fact, there are many versions of this kind of house over time in all arctic regions. *The Alaskan homes were heavily insulated and had been constructed to allow some privacy and some social contact for large groups of people despite the harsh weather raging outside. And they were all built without a Home Depot in sight. They were made with cut sod, stone, and whalebone, insulated with sea mammal or reindeer skins and animal fats then covered with snow.

Their interiors possessed cold-traps and sometimes dual seasonal entrance tunnels, rear sleeping platforms, kitchen areas, and various areas for stowing food, tools and other household goods. They were large enough to include members of extended families and their sled dogs, and they were connected to their relatives and the rest of the community via passageways and tunnels. *

Another name for semi-subterranean dwellings is Pit House. Archeologists have found evidence of them having been used as winter homes throughout the world, but mostly above 32 degrees latitude (Dallas, Texas is at this latitude) – because of their thermal efficiency. Heat loss is 20% less in shelters built at least partially into the earth than those completely above ground.

I know 800 BC was a long time ago, but it’s impressive to see the ingenuity of the Alaskan natives and of many populations throughout the world who had to figure out how to live in a place that was always trying to kill them. It’s was about survival, not hiding, but I figured I could still use the idea. 

Before all the modern amenities, it was a smart way to live. 

So, could a single fictional character who is desperately in need of shelter, dig to get what they need, by themselves? We ll, I think that almost anything is possible in fiction.  


What about you, Red and Readers, could you live in a subterranean home? 


Thanks to Jenn and all the Jungle Reds for letting me stop by today! 

 


*-* I took the details from this article. The above picture is included, but I don’t think it’s actually part of a subterranean home. https://www.thoughtco.com/prehistoric-arctic-housing-169866

 

Paige Shelton has lived a whole bunch of different places, but in 2015 she and her family moved to Arizona. She loves the desert life and hopes to stay for a long time. For more information, check out her website, www.paigeshelton.com



51 comments:

  1. This is fascinating, Paige . . . it’s hard to imagine digging an underground home anywhere, but especially in Alaska. I don’t think I could happily live in a subterranean home . . . much too confining and definitely claustrophobic.

    Could you tell us a bit about “Dark Night?”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joan - DARK NIGHT brings a suspicious census man to Benedict, Alaska - along with some other surprise guests, and a murder (of course) that makes everyone look suspicious.

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PAIGE: Welcome back to JRW! I remember reading THIN ICE a few years ago, and need to catch up before DARK NIGHT releases next month.

    Your research into living off the grid in Alaska sounds fascinating.
    Like Joan, I doubt that I could live in the pit house or another subterranean dwelling, although the larger ones with subterranean tunnels sounds cool. The Alaskans were definitely used what they had in creative ways to build a shelter.

    And I am envious that you got to visit the site of Laura Ingalls Wilder's dugout in Walnut Grove. I devoured and re

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WEIRD: The last sentence got cut off!
      It should read "I devoured and re-read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books growing up, probably because I was also a big fan of the 1970s TV show".

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Grace - I'm pretty glad I don't have to dig out a home just to survive or have shelter. And, yes, the LIW trip was pretty wonderful, even if my 12-year-old son (he's 27 now) didn't think he'd have any fun. He did. :)

      Delete
  4. I'm with Joan - I have a touch of claustrophobia and love lots of light in my home, preferably light from the outdoors. Un underground home wouldn't be for me. But your next book is! Can't wait.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Edith. Same. Some friends who live in Alaska (above ground) need light therapy. I'm sure I'd need lots of it.

      Delete
  5. Paige,

    Let me first say that I could not see myself living in subterranean home. I'd be too worried about it collapsing in on me and never being able to get out. So that's a big NO for me.

    Regarding DARK NIGHT, I can't wait! I've loved the first two books in the series (got to review the first one for Mystery Scene) so my anticipation level is high for Book 3.

    These books are just so darn good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jay - you're awesome! Yeah, big NO for me too. I hope it never becomes a real possibility.

      Delete
  6. Congratulations on Dark Night, Paige ! I like Alaska as setting and I’m looking forward to read your new book.

    Like many others here , I’m a little claustrophobic and don’t like enclosed spaces. However, I can understand that for survival, you have to do what you have to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Danielle - yep, gotta do what you gotta do. Let's hope we never "gotta." LOL.

      Delete
  7. Congratulations on your new release!

    Having a grass for a roof in a subterranean house has always appealed to me, but I crave sunlight too much. Especially in Cincinnati, with a gray sky (all the grays on a paint chart, gray owl to steel wool) all winter long.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fascinating, Paige. I'm not particularly claustrophobic, but I'd need light. I know going days without sunshine is terrible on me. So I'm not sure I could live in a completely subterranean home. But maybe a partial one. With a fireplace where I can curl up when it's dark outside.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No to subterranean living for me, thanks, but yes to your books, Paige, that I'm off to find. And #jealous of your road trip to see Laura's dugout home. It's a fantasy of mine to do the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Amanda - I recommend the trip. The Pepin, Wisconsin cabin was my favorite.

      Delete
  10. I could live in a subterranean house but would I want to the answer is no. I would have concerns like Jay about collapsing esp if there was a very heavy snow build up. One thing I like about the Alaska series, is that it is someone starting over and rebuilding their life in a new area. She arrived with just the clothes on her back. As a child I would daydream before going to sleep about the boxcar children building a new life in the boxcar. I didn't realize until many decades later that there were more books. I read the book in the 50's so there probably weren't many continuing books at that time. Looking forward to the release of Dark Night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lynn. I love, love, love the Boxcar Children. They were such compelling books to me when I was a kid. I had some of the same daydreams. Good stuff.

      Delete
  11. Congratulations on your upcoming release!

    I couldn't live in a subterranean house. Not over the long term. I remember in Girl Scouts we were taught to make survival huts from pine branches and had to live in them over a weekend. The snow that covered them served as insulation and I guess we were lucky our troop leader picked a snowy weekend, but I remember being quite happy to get back to "civilization." I am a light seeker. Living underground would make me cranky. Okay, crankier :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kait - now that was a good Girl Scout troop. I wish mine had done those sorts of things; great experiences.

      Delete
  12. I couldn't live in a subterranean house. I need the concrete jungle at my disposal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dru. I hear you. Yep, I'm all about the ease of close-by conveniences.

      Delete
  13. Paige, love this idea! When it comes to survival, I'd say yes to almost anything being possible. Would I want to be cut off from the light in a subterranean dwelling? No. Not even seasonally.

    Looking forward to Dark Night!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Flora - Right? You gotta do what you gotta do, but let's hope that doesn't become a thing.

      Delete
  14. Fascinating! And I agree, Paige - as long as you can write it convincingly, anything is possible in fiction. But no, I'm quite sure I could not live subterranean or off the grid. Love Kait's memory of Girl Scout survival huts. All we made were sit-upons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sit-upons! I haven’t thought about that for 50 years!

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Hallie - you all had much better troops than I did. We used a lot of yarn, if I remember correctly.

      Delete
  15. Paige, this is fascinating! Humans are so creative and adaptable. I've been interested in the idea of turf houses for a long time, but I'm not sure I could live somewhere without any natural light. I can't wait to read Thin Ice and see how you've used this in the story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Deborah - Turf houses are fascinating. It's never convenient to put all that together and make it real, but very cool stuff.

      Delete
  16. On the Banks of Plum Creek was the first little house book I ever read and it has remained a favorite ever since! But I am not sure at all that I could live underground, at least for any length of time.

    Definitely looking forward to reading your books, Paig!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Judi - I'm thinking a weekend would be about enough. :)

      Delete
  17. Oh, I am such a fan! And so eager to read this ! ummmmmm nope, don’t think this sounds very tempting. Although sometimes when I work in my study all day, and I go out to the front porch and get the mail or some thing, and I realize I have been in a room with closed doors for eight hours, I sort of feel as if it might’ve been subterranean!
    But this post is so fascinating!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Hank - yes, emerging from writing caves is very important. And, nope, not for me either. XOXO

      Delete
  18. Thanks for the wonderful links to the subterranean house info, Paige. I confess to falling into the rabbit hole of related articles.

    It is not always necessary to sacrifice light in an underground home. Many modern ones have light tubes or skylights and wide front windows that pull in lots of light. Most of them are built into a hillside with one side open. I've been fascinated with them for decades.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KAREN: That may be possible but how many hours of natural daylight do you get in Alaska in the winter? We get less than 7 hours of sunlight in Ottawa so I would guess they get only 4-5 hours? It's not the cold but the prolonged winter darkness that would get to me...seasonal affective disorder to the max!

      Delete
    2. I didn't think of that, but it doesn't apply to most of the lower 48 states here.

      When you don't have any light to begin with, it must be very hard to get natural light.

      Delete
    3. Thanks, Karen. I think it's so cool that you've been fascinated with them for a while. I'm intrigued by the assistance with the temperature too, warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer. Interesting stuff.

      Delete
  19. I'm so excited about this new Alaska Wild book, Paige! I love this series.

    As for a subterranian home, sure I could live there if there was room for all my critters and good light to read by. All the mod cons in terms of cooking and storing food. Could I/would I choose to live in an arctic region? Probably not. However, those subterranean homes might come in handy in Dallas, too, if it gets too hot in future years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Gigi. I was thinking the same for Phoenix. It seems to just be getting hotter and hotter here.

      Delete
  20. Congrats on the third Alaska Wild book, Paige!

    I'm fascinated by pre-industrial buildings, because I think we as a culture need to start going back to residences that work with the environment rather than plopping a box on a site and expecting central heat/cooling to compensate for everything. Humans have lived in extreme heat or cold for millennia without relying on oil, natural gas and non-renewably sourced electricity. We need to get back there.

    Not meaning to rant - this just pressed one of my big buttons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well said, Julia! But how many of us are willing to give up those comforts? The "big boxes" anywhere does press my buttons, too. Especially when federal flood insurance let's one build it back again in the same wrong place.

      Delete
    2. Thick-walled adobe in the desert, for example. Check out superadobe - my son is living in one and his organization is teaching others how to make it! https://www.plenitudpr.org/superadobetraining

      Delete
    3. Thanks, Julia. I think you make perfect points. I agree completely.

      Delete
  21. Nope. Couldn't do it. I gripe enough about the lack of natural light in our house! I could stay in one for a day or two just for the novelty, but not full time. Congratulations on your latest book, Paige!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Pat. I thrive on the light too, but since we get so much of it in Phoenix, I sure enjoy the cloudy days too.

      Delete
  22. Living in AZ, I have to admit the idea of a subterranean home (cool in the summer!) seems like a slice of heaven! I can't wait for Dark Night and another edge of the seat suspense novel from the fabulous Paige Shelton! Thanks so much for being with us today, Paige.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Paige, I must read this series. I will begin with book one.

    As for underground houses, I suppose I could live in Bilbo's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, now there's an idea. Why didn't I even think about that? Thanks, Judy.

      Delete
  24. The book sounds very intriguing, Paige! Before we started building our log home on a hill in the country in 1988, we did serious research for a year, including bermed-houses. After
    being discouraged by home-owners insurance companies in our area, we gave up on that idea.
    Wouldn't you know,10 yrs. later some newcomers(with piles of money)bought property a mile or so down the road from us and built a huge bermed place, and even installed a pool!

    ReplyDelete