​A former community journalist from Goderich, Ontario, Canada has written a new novel with a climate change theme.

​Tim B. Cumming grew up in Port Elgin and Stratford and later lived in Seaforth. He now lives in Goderich, Ontario, Canada.

His novel is in two parts.

The first book is called X8 (Exit).

The second book is called Climb8 (Climate).

The two books are combined in the eBook or novel called Plan8 (Planet).

The impact of extreme weather and ongoing changes to our climate is a main focus of the novels.

Excerpts of the books are published at www.climatechangenovel.com 

The story is set 300 years in the future but the start of the work is set in the 20th Century and focuses on an oil lobbyist and climate change denier, a character named Daniel Wentworth, from Stratford, Ontario.

The beginning of the book includes some references to locales in Stratford, where aspiring writer Tim B. Cumming went to secondary school.

"Society’s addiction to carbon leads to a predictable conclusion and humans can no longer live on the face of the planet,” the writer explains. “People are forced to relocate underground.”

The author has self-published the book with his vanity press publishing house, Colbourn Publishers.

The second of the two Plan8 books is called Climb8.

The two novels are combined into a single book called Plan8.

“This novel is your typical post-apocalyptic love story," the writer says. “A young couple and a career criminal have reasons to leave the underground society in the hopes that there is still life on the surface of Earth.”

To order the books or to find out more visit www.colbournpublishers.com or www.climatechangenovel.com

I started this journey back in 2005 when I saw the provocative question about whether people would rather die than living underground forever. That, combined with the frightening reality of growing changes to our climate, started my reflection that ened up with a story that is now 190,000 words and growing. Two years ago I thought the first draft was almost done ... the book is double the size it was then and I don't fell like I am much farther than I was then. However, I am still holding on to the dream that I can finish this as early as this year ... until reality tells me otherwise. Thanks for everyone's support and I hope I will be able to share it with you one day soon.

This comes several days late, but I would like to say a million and one thank yous to the musicians, actors, and writers (and family members!) who showed such generosity in making a novel draft come alive in Goderich, Ontario on December 17, 2012. I was moved by the kindness of the 40 people who took the time to come, some travelling from a considerable distance, and give of themselves and their valuable time during a season when time is so scarce and conflicting demands are so taxing. I do not know what will happen when climatechangenovel.com / Heartland Village Incorporated comes out next year (2013), but I do know you gave me an early Christmas gift by coming out to the Candlelight Tavern (thanks, Gus, for hosting!) and laughing (at the right times!) and asking questions about the story, and providing constructive criticism, and giving a standing ovation to the talented musicians (thanks, Kate, thanks, Sharon!) and talented readers (Duncan, Rick, Rob, Dean, Dave, Gary, Shelley, Peter, Nick, Shelleen, Karen, and my beautiful Judith) who made my words sound better than I had written them. I can't predict the future of this project but I can say you have already humbled me by your faith in me and your friendship and your commitment to the creative process and your belief that we must do more to mitigate and adapt to the changes in our weather and climate if we are to avoid a walk down a treacherous path.

I remember when the Goderich Little Theatre and Duncan McGregor staged my play, about John Galt, called The Tiger's Lion. Days and hours before the play was to take place I began to wonder if my wild vision of a magic spell gone wrong at Tiger Dunlop's Tomb and a bizarre kind of purgatory that was part jail and part Scottish pub, a place where architects of Canadian development and the greatest writers in the English language congregated together, would actually make any sense to the theatre public. Thanks to the talents of Duncan and Greg Reynolds and a devoted team of creative people the story somehow worked on stage, and people laughed, and it sold out the theatre on several occasions. I have the same feeling now that I felt before the staging of that play. I have a fantastic story to tell, and I think it is a story worth telling, but until people begin to read it I don't know if it is something that will resonate with an audience greater than one. I hope so. I'm a little scared. Sometimes that's a good thing.