Christoffer Petersen

Authentic Arctic Thrillers

maratse

Revamping and renaming Maratse!

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No, I’m not changing Maratse’s name, just the title of a short story.

I wrote A Bright Pink Hat in February 2021, just one month into a year-long short story challenge. I like the story. I never liked the title. But I was a bit stressed at the time, and couldn’t think of anything better. The title came from a prompt from the short story challenge.

So, one year later I am ready to call it something different, something a bit more Maratse.

A Bright Pink Hat is now The Canine Prize.

It’s still short and it’s still free.

Oh, and it’s got a new cover. 😉

Chris

Valentine’s Day – four years later!

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So this is pure indulgence, but before Seven Graves, One Winter, this happened:

“Konstabel Brongaard,” the officer said and stepped forward. “My name is Premierløjtnant Vestergaard. I’m the investigating officer for your case and you are now in my custody,” Vestergaard said and waved the policeman forward. “Cuff her, Maratse.”

Fenna watched the Greenlander as he walked towards her. About the same height as Fenna, he wore the classic Greenlandic look of casual indifference together with a matching swagger. Fenna studied him as he approached. She glanced at Vestergaard and then flicked her eyes back to the policeman. He is Greenlandic. He understands this place. She allowed herself a breath as Bahadur let go of her arm. He might understand me.

This is from Chapter 2 of The Ice Star, and it is Constable David Maratse’s first appearance in any of my books. He was a side character, but things took off from there.

I feel as though we’ve known each other a while now, but he’s still rather aloof, and still not very talkative. Although, every now and again, he has one of his loquacious moments, usually when I’m trying to describe something Greenlandic, and Maratse takes over and talks about it.

Anyway, four years ago on Valentine’s Day 2018 I self-published Seven Graves, One Winter, and the rest is history.

Damn, that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. 🙂

Talking of cheesy romantic stuff… cue silly “Arctic couples” selfie.

 

Témpano de sangre

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Témpano de sangre (Blood Floe), book two in the Greenland Crime series, comes out today in Spain.

Here’s the teaser in English:

David Maratse is settling into early retirement in the remote Arctic settlement of Inussuk, when an expedition yacht is discovered at the edge of the sea ice. Patches of blood have frozen to the decks. Three of the crew in the cabin are unconscious but alive, the rest are dead or missing.

Blood Floe has a bit more action than Seven Graves, One Winter, and sets the scene for the much darker We Shall Be Monsters.

I’m still making it up to Petra for “Monsters” with the Greenland Missing Persons series.

The Greenland Crime series has always been a bit darker, a bit bloodier, and in the case of “Monsters” … well, not so nice to be honest.

Prefer your books in Portuguese? Blood Floe can also be read as À Flor das Águas.

Chris

 

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. 🙂

The Mammoth book of Maratse stories!

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This week has been, and continues to be, about admin. I’ve got a lot of books. Checking the links, thinking about covers – really want to redo a handful of them, updating the website. Well, I could use six months on that alone!

I haven’t got six months.

Not if I want to write, too.

So I’m doing some housekeeping and searching for loose ends and lost books. I found this whopper lurking on my Payhip store. So, if you’re looking for almost all of Maratse’s novellas in one massive eBook, this is it.

Maratse: The Greenland Stories eBook collects the first 20 novellas. They have all been previously published, and they also exist in 5 separate omnibus editions. But I stuffed them all into one big one! That’s a lot of Greenland stories. 🙂

If you’re interested in this eBook, referring a friend at checkout gives a 25% discount.

Right, on to the next job on the list!

Chris

The Jacket – a poem

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The Jacket

© Christoffer Petersen, 2021

He wore his jacket on the hunt,
Weave-soaked in sweat, blood and grime.
Sweeping his eye across the sea ice, his words barely a grunt.

The police emblem blazed yellow and green on the front,
Faded with time.
This was the jacket he wore on the hunt.

The sledge creaked, runners bumping, jolting with a shunt.
The fan of dogs before him, panting, aged in their prime.
He swept his eye across the ice, no words, just a grunt.

Maratse tugged a bullet from his jacket pocket, thumbing the tip–it was blunt.
He scraped a scale from the brass shell, removing the grime.
He wore his jacket on the hunt.

Maratse slowed the dogs, soft slapping the whip on the ice–just a bunt.
He saw the seal, winter fat, bearded with thick whiskers of rime.
Maratse scanned the sea ice, silent, save for a grunt.

He lifted the rifle–a tricky shot, worth a punt,
And put a bullet through the seal’s eye–no bigger than a dime.
He unzipped his jacket after the hunt,
Eyes sparkling across the sea ice, elation contained in a single grunt.

     from the Greenland Noir poetry collection