On a soggy day like today, in a usually damp city like ours, it may be hard to imagine a world without water. But that’s what West Seattle author Susan Whiting Kemp did for her new novel “The Climate Machine.” Pre-orders are being accepted now for the e-book, officially publishing February 4th. Her announcement says the movel is about “a botched effort to combat climate change.” Here’s the synopsis:

No one seems to know why the waters are vanishing from the Northwestern United States. In the greater Seattle area — an area of over three million people — crime and chaos reign as society collapses.

Marella Wells, a young employee at a worldwide chemical company, thinks she may have discovered what is happening to the water. But there is no way to alert authorities and no time to spare.

With her mentor-boss and a displaced college student, Marella travels through the depleted regions of the Pacific Ocean to stop the run-away Climate Machine.

Along the way, the small band of unlikely warriors must battle for survival through unprecedented droughts, storms, and fires. To make matters worse, a violent religious doomsday cult is at their heels. If Marella and her companions fail in their mission, all life on Earth will perish.

This is the author’s first novel; she is one of three short-story writers who contributed to “We Grew Tales,” published in paperback and e-book formats. Options for “The Climate Machine” pre-orders can be found here and here.