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Okay, I have a few confessions, straight from Iceland! One, I don’t really read crime books, so putting me in a crime festival… Well, it doesn’t really make sense. 🙂 I mean, I write crime books, or, as I like to say, adventure stories with crimes in them, but I don’t really get all that excited about reading a crime novel.

What I did get excited about, was meeting Thorin Oakenshield!

Now, Richard Armitage only plays Thorin in The Hobbit films, and he was at Iceland Noir to talk about his crime book. I have bought the book, and I am reading it, but… Thorin!

So, I was playing it so cool, but when a photo op presented itself, I do admit to leaping at the chance to have my photo taken with Thorin… I mean Richard. The author! If I had thought about it, I might even have put the flash on the camera. But, alas, it’s a grainy and murky shot, but because you asked (and even if you didn’t) here it is – me geeking out! 😉

I’m trying something a little different this December. I’m going to post an Advent Calendar and open a new window for each day up to and including December 24. Behind each window will be a story that can be downloaded or read online, the link for which will be underneath the calendar image for that day.

I’m going to make the downloadable stories “pay what you like” leaving readers to choose if they want to read for free or choose to pay something. No pressure. It’s fine to read for free. The main story will be available to read for free on my patreon site, and readers can choose to sign up for free and get the story sent to their inbox, or simply read online in their browser.

Repeat offenders will recognise and might even have read some of the stories already, but there will be new content too.

And so, with today’s post, I’m officially gearing up for Christmas.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what happened to the Kickstarter campaign for a calendar novel, then I chose to cancel it as it simply wasn’t doing very well, and looked unlikely to fund. I’ll still release the story, but at a later date, probably next year. 🙂

Chris

Earlier this month I had a meeting with a publishing house in Denmark. I won’t say who. It was exciting as shortly after I pitched my books – to be translated from English into Danish – we agreed to meet before I flew to Iceland. It was a pleasant meeting. It’s always nice to hear people in the industry telling you they think your books will sell. I mean, that never gets old. But what was once old, will never be new again. You might read that last sentence a few times before it makes sense, and I’m not even sure it will make sense, but I can explain.

I presented my publishing and writing story – the potted version – for five minutes or so. And then the director hit me with the “we’re going to use AI to translate your books.”

I have to admit, I did a double take, followed by a louder than planned “What?”

And there it is, the old ways of translating books using a human are something of the past, as more and more publishers are choosing AI (or Large Language Models, LLMs) to quickly and very cheaply translate books. I’ve even heard of translators being hired to copy edit the work of LLMs and being paid a pittance for it.

I was concerned. I am concerned. But I continued the meeting, thinking that I really want my books in Danish. I mean, I live here, it would be nice to have some books in the stores, and while I can speak and write Danish, I’m just not good enough to translate my books. Also, it’s pretty time consuming and, honestly, I could be writing new stories. So, it was tempting.

But then, the clincher.

There’s no advance.

To be honest, that last bit wasn’t much of a surprise. Advances are for celebrities and big name authors these days. But still…

So, we drove home and I thought it all through. I was pretty clear it wasn’t going to happen, I was definitely going to turn it down. But, you know, books in Danish! It’s not the biggest market, and it’s more of a personal thing as friends and family keep asking “when are we going to see your books in Danish?”

Anyway, I was ready to send a “thanks, but no,” email that night, but decided to just wait a bit and see the contract at least.

The contract came, along with the deal breaker.

The publisher reserves the right to sell the rights to my books to a third party.

Hmm… I’m giving them something for nothing, and they can sell it on?

I don’t usually swear on my blog, but you know, unprecedented circumstances and all that lead me to a loud and very clear “f*ck off!”

There were other Danish-specific things that were also deal breakers for, but won’t make much sense on this blog. However, as crappy as this deal sounds, I would rather not see my books in Danish than say yes to something that makes zero, and that would be zero sense.

What worries me is when new authors say yes to anything and everything to see their work in print and chase the bright lights of success.

Me?

Nah.

Indie all the way!

Chris

I have a lot of catching up to do! Please bear with me, Iceland Noir was a lot of fun, and I’m still processing all of it. I’m not even going to begin to suggest that the next chapter of Long November is ready. I am about seven chapters behind the posting schedule.

But, you know what?

I had a lot of fun.

I’ll be back soon with more.

Until then, I’ll leave you with a couple of fun photos from my panel taken by Maite in the audience. I’m sure I said something intelligent and interesting in the last photo, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was!

Chris

P.S.

I’ll sort out the Long November chapters and get them posted on Patreon asap. November ain’t over yet! 😉

Petra spends a lot of time in Katuaq, Greenland’s cultural centre, and the reason is, so did I! Before we lived in Nuuk, I worked with a group of teachers to write the English exam for the 9th and 10th grades. I was flown from wherever I lived, and put up in a hotel, and worked long, long hours to get the papers – we had to prepare a backup in case the first was “compromised” – finished and ready for printing.

We had a break-in one year, and computers were stolen from the educational department where we worked, including all our work for the two papers. We needed to get a new paper done in record time, and we needed a theme. Low and behold crime was the topic to which all the questions were related. Life imitating art, eh?

But the interesting thing about Katuaq, is the thoroughly modern, and aesthetically pleasing building – inside and out – that really thrusts Greenland into the modern world and shatters the stereotype image of a developing country. Greenland is a modern country with a strong culture rich with tradition. I think Katuaq is one of those places in Nuuk that successfully combines the two, with regular exhibitions, talks, and events. There’s also a cinema. And, yes, I’ve seen a Jason Bourne movie there! 😉

And, also on Patreon, later today, it’s a Long November, Chapter 5. Choose any tier, starting at app. $3 + VAT per month.

Chapter 16 is a character-driven chapter. It’s a few years now since I wrote Seven Graves, One Winter, and I was still developing (still am developing) my writing skills. I wanted to give Malik a more human side. I didn’t want him to be a complete bastard all the time. So this chapter is set in Malik’s family home. It’s full of drama, and it’s not pleasant for Malik, and it only gets worse and more confrontational as the chapter goes on. But I think it was in this chapter that I started to really get to know him, and perhaps even glimpse his future, as Malik returns in several of my books, the most emotionally-charged of which is The Greenland Manifesto.

But back in Seven Graves, one could say that Malik is one of the victims in the story. Things certainly don’t always go his way. I used his character to say something. He was projecting a lot of what I had experienced while living in Greenland, and during the elections of 2009 especially so. Of course, the book would be very different without him, and as the years passed, and I wrote more novels in this series, I grew to like him more and more. While I’m not sure he will ever get his own series, his daughter, Pipaluk, goes on to great things in later books, as some readers may have discovered.

Gosh, it’s hard writing this “behind the scenes” chapters without giving stuff away. So, I had better stop. 🙂 Must add, the above photo is Nuuk!

Chapter 16 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.

And, also on Patreon, later today, it’s a Long November, Chapter 19. Choose any tier, starting at app. $3 + VAT per month.