Blog Tour: The Lives We Lost

I am so fortunate to be able to share with you a very special guest post from Megan Crewe, the author of The Fallen World series, for her blog tour to celebrate the release of her newest sequel, The Lives We Lost!

I had the pleasure of meeting Megan at her book launch for The Way We Fall last year, and I loved reading the first book in her series because of how frightening  it was in a very realistic way. The Way We Fall is incredibly creative and well-written, perfect for those of us who love survivor/apocalyptic books.

I hope you enjoy what Megan has to share with us today, because this guest post is a PERFECT fit for the struggles her characters experience in her books. And you know, this is really practical because honestly I don't think I knew any of these (I would never survive the end of the world - I just wouldn't okay? I'm useless.)

Surviving the Winter in an Apocalyptic World

Here are some tips I picked up in my research for THE LIVES WE FALL, to help you survive if you should find yourself out in the wilderness in the middle of winter as Kaelyn and her friends do. Some you may already know, but others I found not so obvious:

-Wear lots of layers. The air trapped between layers of clothes provides extra insulation to help keep you warm, and having layers means you can take a couple off if you start to overheat, rather than sweating and losing heat due to evaporation.

-Keep yourself and your clothes clean as clean as possible, even if all you can do is wipe yourself down every day. When fabric gets greasy, it doesn't work as well at trapping the heat.  And dirt on your skin can lead to rashes and more serious health issues.

-Stay hydrated. If possible, purify water (with tablets or by boiling) before drinking it. Running water from streams, rivers, and springs is ideal.  Keep your water container close to your body so it doesn't freeze.

-You can also melt snow into water. Fill a water bottle or bag with snow and place it inside your layers of clothing so your body heat will melt it while you're on the go. Or melt it over a fire. Make sure to put a little water in the bottom of the pot, as bare snow can scorch, which will give the water a burnt taste. Use ice instead of snow if available, as the same amount of ice will melt into more water than snow (due to ice being denser).

-If trying to avoid notice by other survivors, use dry wood from deciduous trees when building a fire, as it will produce lighter smoke than wet or green wood and wood from coniferous trees (which contain more resin).

-Hold off on drinking much shortly before you go to sleep, so you don't have to get out of your warm shelter to relieve yourself in the middle of the night.

-Wear a hat even when sleeping, because you lose the most heat through your head.

-Avoid sleeping directly on the ground, as your body heat will be leached away as you sleep. Lie on some sort of insulating material (blanket, leaves, grass). And if you have companions, snuggle close to them at night to share body heat!

Okay, I was wrong. I did know that staying hydrated was important (pretty sure The Hunger Games taught me that) and that you lose the most heat through your head. And see? Now we're all better prepared for any camping mishaps or contagious diseases - thanks to Megan!

Thank you SO much for taking the time to write up something special for us, and congratulations on the launch of your new book! I can't wait to read The Lives We Lost.

Bio:

Like many authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and two cats (and does on occasion say "eh"), she tutors children and teens with special needs, and--thankfully--the worst virus she's caught so far is the garden-variety flu.

You can find a more detailed biography on her main website.

Megan welcome questions and comments from readers. Email her directly or visit her blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Tumblr, or GoodReads profile.