As I’m posting a chapter of Seven Graves, One Winter on my Patreon page every Sunday until the end of the year, I thought I would add a few related “behind the scenes” anecdotes and photos here on the blog. These posts will include things like the thoughts I had when writing the book, what happened during the publishing phase, and the events and places that inspired elements of the story.
No spoilers, just background.
We’ll start with the graves!
In 2010 Jane and I left Uummannaq. We were moving to Qaanaaq. Jane and her twin sister spent the summer touring southern Greenland. I went on a month-long solo kayak trip. My trip was a sponsored expedition, and the idea was to visit each of the seven settlements in Uummannaq Fjord. I visited five of them and one of them was Niaqornat. This settlement has a population of around 40 people, and even though I didn’t know it at the time, it was the perfect place for Maratse to “retire”. I renamed the settlement Inussuk for my book, and of all the seven settlements Maratse and Petra visit in my stories, Niaqornat remains the only one to have a fictive name. I’ve got lots of other fictive settlements and places in my stories, but they are simply made up. Inussuk is real, although the events that occur there are not, fortunately. 😉
The settlement itself has a beach on both sides with a small lake of brackish water between the beaches. The beaches are volcanic black, with a lot of pebbles on the southern side (above) and mostly sand to the north (below). Niaqornat is often the first place cruise ships visit when they enter Uummannaq Fjord.
The photos above are taken from the graveyard (below) which looks out onto Uummannaq Fjord. It’s important to note that Seven Graves, One Winter is complete fiction, I just happened to be inspired by this fabulous settlement.
You can get a better idea of where it is by looking at this map I drew of the area. Niaqornat is above the airplane in the middle of the map.
There are 22 Sundays before the end of the year, so I’ll leave it there for now. If you’d like to read along and support my work at the same time on Patreon, you can subscribe for as little as 25 DKK (roughly $4 USD + tax) per month. I’ve got a lot of stories on Patreon now, with a lot more on the way. Here’s that link again.
Alternatively, you can buy the Seven Graves, One Winter (digital and physical formats) starting from $0.99 USD.
Chris
I remember that back when I was reading “Seven Graves, One Winter”, before I knew that you had lived in Greenland, I figured you must have been well acquainted with a similar place – your descriptions were so vivid that what i pictured in my mind at that time are nearly identical to the real spot in your photo above!! ••• And I have always admired the MAPS that you occasionally provide in your books – but I didn’t know that YOU drew them!! So impressed!! (especially if you drew the cool map in ‘The Herd’ series!! . . or was that Iago Jones??) :o)
Thanks, Dave! Yes, “Inussuk” is an amazing place. I’ll confess, I draw the maps in Photoshop, and if the coastline has an extra wiggle or twelve, it’s when the mouse jumps! 🙂 Ah, Iago Jones… Yes, he has a better eye for such things! 😉
What a wonderful idea telling back stage stories on Sundays!!! A question: why did you decide to get a fictional name to this little settlement? Ok, two questions: why Inussuk?
Thanks, Ana Catarina. As for why? Well, the name Inussuk is Greenlandic for cairn, and I like the Canadian Inuit’s inuksuks I have read about. It seemed like a good name. As for why give it a fictional name? Well, I thought I might write about terrible things happening there, and I wanted to choose a “safe” name for such a place. Hmm… this could have been a behind the scenes blog post! It might still be. 😉
Thanks for explaining. And, yes, definitely worth a blog post!