Christoffer Petersen

Authentic Arctic Thrillers

greenland

Upcoming releases – February 2022

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I’m still putting things together for January, and hope to put out a couple of short stories on the fly. However, two books are scheduled for release in February, including:

The American Artisan (novella)

When ghosts from an old case haunt an American artist as he walks the streets of Nuuk, Constable David Maratse is recalled to Greenland’s capital to investigate.

The American Artisan is the twenty-third in a series of novellas to feature Constable David Maratse in Greenland.

This is a fun one as one of the main characters is named after a backer of a recent Kickstarter campaign. The tone, however, isn’t fun, as that character is in peril, of course.

The Crocodile Beat* (novel)

In Australia’s vast and desolate Northern Territory, Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen’s most southerly missing persons case might just be her last.

Forced to take some well-earned leave, Petra searches for solace in the Australian Outback, only to find herself caught up in the search for a missing police sergeant.

The Crocodile Beat is the thirteenth in the Greenland Missing Persons series of novellas and novels normally set in the harsh, unpredictable Arctic, rich in tradition, myth and culture.

Both books will be posted to Amazon on the day of release, but may take up to a day to be visible.

However, The Crocodile Beat will be available in more stores as I try something new. It won’t be available in Kindle Unlimited, but it will be available for streaming in Kobo Plus. I’m trying new things in 2022 in the hope to gain more exposure.

We’ll see what happens.

Chris

*Edit (February 5, 2022): The Crocodile Beat will be a stand-alone novel. Sigh. 🙂

Magic 101

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I’ve been going through my photos from Greenland. No small task. I have 325 gigabytes worth. 🙂 Fortunately, most of it is ordered in folders with the date I took the photo (or video).

Most of it.

There’s some curious stuff in there. The photo above is from January 5th in Uummannaq. The sea ice is forming and is pretty good in places, but with lots of open leads. I’m not sledging on that, but the hunters are.

And then, on January 5th in Qaanaaq, I recorded these videos.

I was a teacher, and I was teaching the younger kids, a couple of years older than Luui. I’m pretty sure I recorded these for a class. English? Yes, but I think I wanted the kids to record their own videos, and I’m also sure I wanted them to do magic. It’s possible I have an instructional video, but you don’t need to see that! 😉 In Qaanaaq, English is the fourth language they learn, and they have to go through three others to get there!

So, on this January 5th, I’ve decided to do magic.

I’m in our house in Qaanaaq, and beside the backpacks, just behind my head, you can see a fox pelt. I can’t quite remember how we came by it, but am pretty sure we bought it. Whether we wanted it or not is another matter.

Yeah, I know, but I think Luui would approve. 🙂

Chris

The Carpathian Connection

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And the first release of 2022 is The Carpathian Connection! Now, it is a short story, and unfortunately I can’t claim the words for my million word challenge as I wrote it in 2021. But it’s LIVE!

The Carpathian Connection is a short story, written as a reward for a Kickstarter campaign (I did change the name of one of the characters for this release). It’s around 8,000 words, or just over 25 paperback pages. The story features Constable David Maratse and reunites him with Constable Nujakina Uppik. She turned up for the first time in The Skin Drum, and I’m curious that she returned for this story. It’s one of those odd moments when needing a character for the story, they just arrive, as if waiting in the wings, holding up their hands, and saying, “I’ll take this one.”

I know. It’s weird. But that’s what happens.

The story starts with the discovery of a body, of course, and then Maratse does his thing. There is a chase, plenty of Greenland “stuff” – you know, boats, bergs, and bodies.

I think it’s a fun read. 🙂

I’ll be back with another post tomorrow. (Note to self: got to figure out how to get a girl out of a burning barn… working on it!)

Chris

Washing on the line

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You might be wondering, what’s with all the domestic chores photos this Christmas? Well, I went hunting for pictures from Greenland in December, and found a tonne of very dark daily life stuff. Like hanging out the washing in -25C. The clothes go stiff the second you hang them up, but when they start to flap in the wind, you know they are dry.

Cold, but dry.

I’ve got another photo somewhere of my underpants on the line, but hey, it’s Christmas – you don’t want to see them!

But you’ve got the image in your head now, haven’t you? 😉

That’s my little gift, from me to you.

Chris

P.S.

It’s dark, of course, because there is no sun, and at this time of the year, there won’t be for another few months.

P.P.S.

This is the back of our house (actually the front, because they built it with the front door facing away from the road). If you keep going straight, past where I’m standing, and then up, you’ll get to the ice cap.

Extra leg room!

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Facing the rear of the aircraft

We didn’t drive home for Christmas, we flew. Practically from the North Pole! (Just 800 miles shy of it.) The flight to Qaanaaq had already been delayed due to weather – I can’t remember, but let’s just say “fog in Upernavik” because it was probably true. But then, snow, high winds, and everything in between is more likely. Suffice it to say, we were late departing, but we did depart, and once the ground crew had emptied the plane of a couple of passengers and a lot of Christmas cargo (including potatoes preserved in glass jars – very important!) there was plenty of leg room.

Facing the cockpit

In fact, we got up for a stroll halfway through the flight to have a look at the island of Uummannaq, where we used to live. The only thing missing was a tray to put our cups of coffee on during the flight. 😉

While I have never flown First Class, not even Business Class, in my mind, there’s nothing classier that flying in a de Havilland Dash 7, in the Arctic, in winter.

And that, folks, is why my characters always fly in Dash 7s. Because I love ’em!

Chris