Christoffer Petersen

Authentic Arctic Thrillers

Christoffer Petersen blog

Butter wouldn’t melt…

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Yep, squeezing another random something or other into the blog today. Hidalgo and Balto got real big real fast! And they really turned on the charm when trying to invite themselves inside the house.

Interesting Fact no.1: Greenland Sledge Dogs and small houses do not mix! Actually, any houses, or interiors of any kind. 🙂

What you don’t want to know, is the thing Hidalgo is standing on, is the spare toilet bucket, with a lid and a rock on it, waiting to be picked up. I’ll spare you the photos of what happened next!

See Interesting Fact no.1 above!

Chris

Maratse milestones!

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So… I’ve written a few Maratse stories. That might be a bit of an understatement, and I suppose I know it is when I look at a the above image of the omnibus editions. So far, I’ve written 24 novellas about Maratse. I tend to think of the novellas as behind the scenes or background stories, written primarily to get to know Maratse and to help me write the novels. I relax when writing a Maratse novella. It’s like coming home and visiting an old friend. We’re both getting on a bit now. Maratse’s birthday is July 3rd, 1979, so he’s a few years younger than me (six, but who’s counting?).

He’s a quiet fellow, passionate and unstoppable when suitably incited into action, but reluctant to engage or be engaged in conversation. He grunts more than he speaks, and I love him for that. Of course, choosing the right “voice” for Maratse is difficult when he says so little. However, he has been known to be unnaturally loquacious in one or two novellas, often when talking about dogs and ice.

Typical.

The question I often ask myself is will there be more Maratse novellas in the future? The answer is yes, and probably, and then definitely, when I feel a story coming on. Who knows? It might just be that the cheeky teaser covers for future omnibus editions might be published in the future… especially as novella #25 is already “in production”. 😉

I use covers as inspiration and motivation to produce stories, so you’ll have to forgive this glimpse into the future. Number 25 might be “in production” but three more omnibus editions is 12 more novellas!

I’m useless at maths but that’s… ah, that will be 26 novellas…

… deep breaths…

I guess I’ll be spending a lot of time with an old friend!

Chris

First Day of School

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I don’t often post photos of other people, and certainly not kids, but these “kids” are adults in their twenties now, so I’m going for it! The first day of school in Greenland is a seriously important day.

The girls wear custom sewn traditional clothes, and the boys wear smart smocks and trousers. You won’t need to eat for a month after visiting all the kaffemik hosted by the proud parents sending their first year kids to school.

The mothers and women connected to the family wear traditional costume too.

Big day!

Chris

That sledge bag I mentioned…

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I’ve mentioned it more than a few times in my stories, but the sledge bag is a hugely important bit of kit on a sledge. It’s typically made of canvas, and looped over the “uprights” at the back of the sledge with handles sewn from webbing straps. I made my own, but this one is better. 😉 Uprights are basically the sides at the very back of the sledge you hold onto when pushing the sledge.

You can keep all kinds of goodies in a sledge bag, and the softer the contents, the more comfortable it is to rest against when sledging.

And a sneaky photo taken from the lounge window one winter just to cool off!

Chris

 

The first Greenland photo!

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Yep, still going through the hard drive! This photo, taken on this day in 2006, is the very first photo I took in Greenland, in Kangerlussuaq. It might not be the most remarkable image, but we got off the big plane and onto the little one on the left (or maybe the other little one to the right of the Airbus), and so started my love affair with the Dash 7.

So, first photo taken in Greenland followed by the first photo of the first helicopter we had ever been on. I know, bear with me, here. 😉 This is Qaarsut, with the first glimpse of Uummannaq mountain in the background.

I had no idea just how big an impression the planes, the mountains, the ice, and not least the people of Greenland would have on me, and how Greenland would shape my life from that moment on.

Phew… talk among yourselves, I need a moment…

Chris

Borrowing kids… and struggling to give them back!

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I’m not good at reading the small print. I really thought I could give them back, or at least return them, get my money back… something… anything. But Tiuri and Liva were both adorable and nonrefundable during the two months Jane and I spent with them, and their parents, on the Yukon River.

In the summer of 2016, we returned to the Yukon with the intention of paddling to the sea. Jane and I got off the river in Tanana, Alaska. The kids, with their parents Lars and Suzi, paddled a little further to Galena.

Jane and I plan to return as soon as possible.

You can expect photos spliced into blog posts as I go through the hard drive. You’ve been warned… again! 😉

Chris