Date Published: 11/18/2025
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Narrator: Nathan Westhoff
Run Time: '6:37
Determined to get his prototypes back, he enlists the help of a professional hurricane surfer, an Alaskan oil worker, and a French salt farmer. But he's no criminal mastermind, and they soon find themselves caught between a growing hurricane and a surprise algae field.
Will Moro succeed? Will they beat the hurricane surfing world record? And how exactly does one farm salt?
It's a hopeful climate heist—a solarpunk blend of Ocean's Eleven, The Martian and Michael Crichton.
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
The most
challenging part of writing for me is to really get into the minds of a diverse
cast of characters. It’s really interesting when I pull it off — but it’s
mentally challenging. It requires a long period of calm concentration and
getting into the flow, and a lot of self-honesty. Because you can still write
if you’re not in this flow state, but it’s going to be missing a certain depth,
a certain authenticity, that’s very hard for me to add in later in the editing
process.
What are your most played songs?
The book actually
has a playlist! And it contains several of my favorite songs - you can listen
to it on the book’s website at https://howtosurfahurricane.com/
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I used the free
website Critique Circle to find beta readers as I wrote each chapter. Some of
those early beta readers turned into amazing critique partners that provided
feedback for the whole book. I highly recommend the website.
What book are you reading now?
The Nothing is
Promised series by Susan Kaye Quinn — a fellow solarpunk writer I discovered
through publishing How to Surf a Hurricane!
How did you start your writing career?
By committing to
writing a book! I spent a year writing the first draft. Then, knowing my first
draft would be rough around the edges, I hired a professional editor on Reedsy
to give me feedback. After some pretty major revisions, I sent it out to publishers.
After 39 rejections, I almost gave up — until Atmosphere Press said yes, and
the rest is history!
Tell us about your next release.
My next project is an anthology of
solarpunk short stories, based on the free hopeful storytelling game Solarpunk Pen
Pals.
Todd studied Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He worked on self-driving cars and board games before discovering a passion for clean energy. He spent four years working on grid-scale battery storage and now offers Product Management consulting to clean energy companies.
Todd spends his free time playing games, climbing rocks, and gleefully riding his electric bike everywhere. He is currently working on expanding the Hurricane universe.
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