Authentic Arctic Thrillers
The final installment of Yule at Aurora Station is LIVE!
The story concludes in typically dramatic style and then continues over the last few days from the fourth Advent Sunday to Christmas Eve.
Has Luui saved Christmas?
Is there hope for the Arctic?
And what happens next?
Grab your copy today and find out!
You might prefer the complete edition, also available via Payhip or Amazon.
Something a little different today. I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for a podcast with the hosts of Book Lover’s Companion.
It was great fun and Edith and Teacup were generous hosts. We covered a lot of ground – most of it covered in snow – as we talked a lot about Greenland and the inspiration for my stories, and the Greenland Missing Persons series in particular.
And I tease a lot more information from my background, and more personal Greenland experiences, of course.
I also talk about being an indie author, and air my thoughts on what it takes to make a career outside of traditional publishing.
I hope you’ll join us for Episode 45 – Greenland Noir: Talking Murder and Fishy Business with Christoffer Petersen.
Aartaajik’s Challenge Song
© Christoffer Petersen, 2021
I hear a challenge came
flung from south to north
and I prepare my answer.
What words will I sling
Upon this great southerner?
Hunter intrepid
claiming adulterous behaviour.
He says I stole a thing
valued highly,
and I say better to
treat well those
one would keep near,
than weep when they
wander further,
as if mourning.
Ai ja ja, ai ja
Ja ai, ja ja.
And here he comes
marching, stoop walking
he drags his club
meant for my head
no doubt.
And I am here,
armed with words–
no more.
Keep your club, friend,
and tackle me mouth to mouth
with resuscitation,
like I did your wife.
Ai ja ja, ai ja ja
Ja ai, ja ja.
Yes, I’ve been naughty
I’ve been bad
But your living-widow
deserves to be touched by a man–
caressed, excited,
not possessed, nor slighted
I was the lover that loved
while the loved-one rubbed
the world the wrong way,
on the ice
in the far bay.
Guilty, I am.
Judge me.
Ai ja ja, ai ja
Ja ai, ja ja.
It’s ready! The second installment of Yule at Aurora Station is live on Payhip!
Before I tease a little about the story, let me just add that I am selling the stories on Payhip first to try out a range of possibilities I don’t have when selling on other platforms.
For example, you can get 25% off your purchase if you share the sale on social media.
Also, and even more exciting from my point of view, I can add bonus (digital) material to the sale. So, with Yule at Aurora Station, for example, I am adding a JPEG download of the artwork (6000×3000) suitable for desktop wallpaper.
I can’t do this on other platforms. So while I realise that for some readers who often buy my books on other platforms (thank you!) it might be a bit irritating to buy from a new platform, I’m hoping that the discounts and the bonus material will make up for that.
I will be releasing the bundled Yule at Aurora Station in one volume, about 100+ pages, later in December for $2.99. But if you want to read along each advent, and grab the bonus material, then I hope you might be tempted with Payhip.
But. back to the story!
Luui, as you might have guessed, is in trouble.
No spoilers, but if you grabbed the free copy of Part 1 (now with additional bonus material which you can grab, even if you already downloaded it) you’ll know Luui is protecting the last known female polar bear in the Arctic, together with the help of her tiny friends Kalaagi and his sister, Naaluk, and the big, friendly helper spirit Âmo.
Yes, it’s that kind of story!
But hey, it’s a Christmas story.
That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it!
Anyway, polar bears, a container cabin, resupply via parachute, and a nefarious big corporation hunting for the bear … or Luui … I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, and here’s the kicker, you’ll have to read it to find out. 🙂 But like any Christmas story, it will be resolved by Christmas Eve!
I’ll leave you with the promise of the next installment “dropping” on the third Advent Sunday this Christmas: December 12. You can always check the Yule at Aurora Station page on this website for updates.
Merry Christmas! (Kind of early, but hey…)
Chris
I know, there’s still one day before December, but I was looking through my photos – seven year’s worth – and found these fuzzy photos from November 30. Now, interior design is not my forte, but I had a go. The first photo is a little of everything, and a few books from the shelves for those of you wondering what Jane and I were reading in Greenland.
The next photo is of a bit of whale bone I found on the beach. I couldn’t tell you what whale exactly, but I’m guessing the bone is part of the spine.
And the last photo is of a sealskin heart. Sealskins are often dyed for commercial use, and this one is, of course, rather festive. Jane made some in craft classes in the evenings, but we bought this one. Jane also made the tiny stars – you can get kits for these. I have yet to make one successfully.
These decorations are not typical of what you will find in Greenland. They are simply what we put up at the time. The small Christmas dolls are, however, very Scandinavian, and are meant to be nisser – Christmas elves, not necessarily helpful, but all over Denmark right now!
Now that I think about it, flags are a part of both Danish and Greenlandic decorations. We have some very tired and much-loved paper Greenlandic flags draped over a frame in the living room.
Which also reminds me, that even with the glare from the camera flash, you can see the print we have framed on the wall. The artist is Emmanuel A. Petersen (1894-1948) – no relation – from Denmark. You can read more about him on Nuuk Art Museum’s page.
I went a bit nuts on my first visit to Nuuk (and subsequent visits) and bought quite a few Petersen prints. They’re still hanging on our walls, although the frames have been changed after taking on a little too much water from Baffin Bay. More on that story another time.
The goose is just a goose … although, cue one of my favourite photos from one summer in Qaanaaq:
I love the way mum and dad are looking out for the kids!
Chris
Ivory in my Pocket
© Christoffer Petersen, 2021
Eight hundred miles north
Across a shrinking desert of ice,
Is magnetic north – a wandering Pole,
Closer than my parents’ house. Such giddy latitude heights
Where I live at the very top of the Earth.
I do my best to visit – weather permitting,
Arriving with ivory in my pocket, scrimshaw,
Etched with history, carved with a hunter’s eye,
Or showing off my prized polar bear claw –
stiff knuckle hairs still bloody from killing.
I’ve seen the great beast, you know? Carpet stretched
On a curing rack in the settlements
Pinned beside the bright pink and orange towels,
t-shirts and jeans from a wind-bitten residence,
blistered paint and parched wood – winter etched.
The houses are clumped beneath the mountain,
Paths traced with hoof-footed rubber boots
From one tiny house to the next
Where children play in winter suits,
Like regular kids – laughing, shrieking, and shouting.