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Okay, apart from thinking that a bit more hair would be nice, thanks to Ian Dawson, I finally have some author photos that fit the kind of photo an author might have on their profile. I met Ian back in 2018 at the first Iceland Noir crime festival that I attended, and then briefly crossed paths a few times. Ian’s wife, Suzy Aspley, is a crime author with a debut book on the way, while Ian is an hugely experienced photographer and adventurer with a stunning portfolio that you can see here.

Yes, I do my best not to smile and I definitely prefer the “crumpled shirt” look. But hey, you have to work with what you’ve got, right?

And the one above is the photo I’ve been using (at least a tiny  square of it) for quite some time! 😉

I overreached… again. 🙂 I’m getting really good at it. Long November was supposed to be a repeat performance of A Dog Called Blitzen, i.e. a novel that I write during the month and release one chapter per day on my Patreon site. I was doing okay, until I realised Iceland Noir was just around the corner and I got a little sidetracked.

Okay, I got very sidetracked, lost momentum, and fell behind.

So, what have I got? Well, I’ve got over half a novel, and I’ll soon have a whole novel. But I chose to write this one a little differently, with lots of different POVs and lots and lots of characters. It has spiralled out of control in a really good way, and I love where it’s going, I just know that November would have to be a very long month indeed if I’m going to get it finished.

Right, I should write.

Back to it!

Chris

There are plenty of ways to beat winter depression in Qaanaaq, including baking vanilla cookies. Note the therapy lamp! 😉

Followed by decorating “the big tree”.

Looking for something different to deck your halls with this year? I’ve got you covered. Let’s begin with the Danish “nisse” or elf clutching a polar bear claw.

More nisser (plural with the ‘r’), but this time sitting inside sections of whale spine – found on the beach.

Iceberg water colour paintings, whale cartilage (discs), and Siberian nisser made in FIMO clay, and blue stones from Illorsuit! 😉

And one more nisse nestled in a coiled dog whip made of sealskin.

You didn’t know you needed any of these decorations, but now you’re thinking “oh, if only…”.

I feel your pain. The dog whip rotted as soon as we moved back to Denmark. “Oh, the humidity!”

Nivi let herself drift back to the icebergs in the fjord, as she watched Tinka run along a sandy beach, chasing the spumes of mist from the whales as they surfaced far out in the depths of the fjord. Life was simpler in the north, and harsher. Help, of any kind, was further away. Families had to provide for one another, and rivalry, no matter how strong, and for whatever the reason, had to be overcome, especially now, at the onset of winter.

This is short and cheeky post with little more than a quote from Seven Graves, One Winter, as at this point in the story, some readers will have guessed who the murderer is, while others will find out very soon.

So… Shhh… No spoilers!

Ah, but the beach in the photo above might, might just be the beach from the quote. 😉

Chapter 17 is now LIVE for all patrons, from the “Behind the Scenes” tier for 25 DKK and up, on my patreon page.

There’s a lot to read on my patreon page now, not just Seven Graves, One Winter. Please ask if you want to know more.

Alternatively, you can buy  Seven Graves, One Winter (digital and physical formats) starting from $0.99 USD.

This might need some explaining, but when we lived in Greenland, text TV was still a really important, sometimes central, part of life. Internet was (still is) prohibitively expensive and not always available. Text TV was a way of getting news and travel updates. So, when waiting on a plane, we would keep an eye on the TV to find out when or even if we should go to the airport/heliport. The text was in Greenlandic and Danish, switching between the two in series. The text in the above photo is Danish. I can speak and read Danish, but sometimes (this might be one of those “fading” episodes) the message can be difficult to interpret. What follows is a very rough translation of a very mixed message.

Lifetime Marriage Contract (white text at the top)

If one wanted to marry a Greenlandic woman from 1750 and get in the mood, when one speaks about cod just like shark fishing the image remains. This is clear after the regional council today, in an urgent negotiation – “We now have an idea of the eastern quota for fishing and hunting, to see if we can provide support for the situation,” says the Minister for Fishing, Hunting, and Agriculture, Ane Hansen.

Personally, when reading this, it felt like a cliffhanger. I mean, what if I want to get in the mood with a Greenlandic woman from 1750? Whether the then minister had any tips or tricks, I still don’t know. But I’m curious, as I imagine you might be too!

And later today, on Patreon, making a tad more sense, it’s a Long November, Chapter 25. Choose any tier, starting at app. $3 + VAT per month.