Christopher H. Jansmann's Blog, page 13

The Day After

So here we are, the day after Bygones was released; it’s still too early to tell how well it’s doing, but I was exceptionally excited to see that the number of preorders for this latest Vasily Korsokovach adventure were greater than for the prior book in the series, Ditched. I don’t know if that is a good benchmark or not — I’m hoping it is, a possible leading indicator that folks are connecting with Vas and looking forward to each new outing. That seems to be the case with Sean Colbeth; my reserved Downeast Maine detective appears to have quite a following, which warms my heart to no end.

New releases are such a rollercoaster of emotion for me. While I’ve gotten faster at writing these novels, it still takes a fair amount of time to get them polished into the final product that appears for purchase; after all of that work, finally letting them go is actually a little bit traumatic. So many worries hit, literally, as I press the button to publish: did I miss a typo? Will the cover pop on the titles list? Was there enough character development? Was there too much?

My greatest fear is messing up the continuity of my universe. Back when I wrote Blindsided, little did I realize that choices I made for Sean would need to be carried through to the sequels; I cannot tell you how often I flipped through that first book as I wrote Outsider, desperate to make sure that little things like hair color, food choices and wry observations remained consistent. By the time I started writing for Vasily, I knew I needed to be slightly more organized and forced myself to start using Scrivener instead of my beloved Microsoft Word; as a tool for writers, Scrivener allowed me to keep very careful character and location notes that could be easily referenced as I wrote. That has saved me from accidentally changing Alejandro’s height (let’s not discuss how he went from 6′ 2″ to shorter than Vasily in the space of one chapter) or putting Vasily behind the wheel of a blue Camaro (it’s red, for the record).

So, what does an author do the day after a book release? I suppose, by rights, I should host a release party, but I’ve never done one before and have no clue if anyone would even come if I did. These days, I imagine something like that would probably be via Zoom, Teams or Facebook Live; I guess if there is enough interest, I could do one. Reading a few selected passages would probably be fun if not completely out of context.

I suppose I’ll be doing what most authors probably do on the day after: take a few hours to savor a job well done before diving into the next book. Because there is always a next book…

Fall Colors

That last post of mine had me surfing through my personal photo library to come up with some great examples of the sorts of colorful foliage Maine can often get. While there are a ton of variables around the timing and the vibrance of the display, for the most part, the shift happens in mid-to-late September and lasts nearly until Halloween. (At least, that was the case where I lived in Southern Maine — the timing does vary based on how far north you go — or how far south; we once took a ride up into the White Mountains of New Hampshire in late October and found that the trees there had just barely begun to display their fall wares.)

More fall colors in Maine (photo: C. Jansmann)

Depending on how the season has gone, when I return for my annual trip to see my family, we’ll often try to take a day and drive through some of our favorite parts of the state and see if we can locate any patches of color. It can often be hit or miss — probably more often, miss — but when we hit a spot where trees are putting on one heck of a show, we’ll pull over long enough to memorialize the moment. Often one massive burst of color is what we’ll get — but it will be so wonderfully amazing, it will have made the effort worth it. Of course, I don’t entirely deny that driving around like that is also another way of scouting for locations for my books — or that it’s a not so subtle way to spend time with loved ones that I miss dearly the other fifty-odd weeks I’m back in Arizona.

Obligatory fall ocean shot (photo: C. Jansmann)

The ocean shows an entirely different palette when fall rushes up the coast; the sky always feels more dramatic, a little bit grayer perhaps against the frothy dark blue of the ocean. It’s nature’s herald of the rapidly approaching winter, and the storms that will churn the water enough to lay thick swaths of seaweed along the empty beaches. Walking along the sand just ahead of such a storm can be a rather invigorating experience, with the smell of salt in the air and the wind whipping around you.

I do miss much of that, which is one of the reasons various pieces of it percolate into my novels. Where Vasily tends to live through the sorts of weather we have here in the Southwest/West Coast, allowing Sean to experience the seasons allows me to live through them once more, however vicariously it might be.

September

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With Bygones now just a few days away from release, September is on my mind in a big way — and not just because it happens to the the month in which the main events of the novel take place. No, as a guy who grew up on the East Coast, September has always been something of a transition month for me — that brief period between the awful warmth of August and the beginning of the crispness of October. School starts; leaves begin to hint at changing. At long last, the tourists head home and give the year-round residents a few weeks of quiet along the beaches or in the deep woods.

The shift in seasons happens here in Arizona, of course; it took me a number of years to recognize the subtle changes that take place beyond the more obvious decrease in temperatures. Bushes that had been dormant all year suddenly begin to flower, largely due to the summer monsoons; the quail show off their new extended family as they herd their brood across the top of my rear wall. Sunsets grow slightly earlier and much more dramatic, a nod to the change in the atmosphere as we ready for the shift to a more temperate winter. Browns shift to greens, creating a rich earth-toned palette that I find I cannot get enough of.

There will be a few more surprise days of triple digits between now and October, just enough to shock the first year students at my university; while I take no joy in watching the ill-prepared trudge, bedraggled, across the grassy mall at the center of campus, I do often marvel at how our campus visits for prospective students always seem to be scheduled in January. Then again, UMaine did campus tours in July, showing off their beautiful campus with not even the slightest hint of the six-foot snowbanks that would be everywhere come November.

One other memory that remains strong for me is shaving old crayons and placing the pieces between two sheets of wax paper also holding the largest, most colorful leaves I could find in the yard; of watching my mother fire up the iron and carefully press it to the paper, melting the crayons into a marvelous mix of colors that complemented the leaves I’d worked so hard to gather. Every time I smell a crayon I think of those times, and wonder if that sort of artwork is still produced in homes every fall.

Hopefully it is.

Bygones Tidbits: Part Four

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Just a few more days now until Bygones is available. How about a handful of tidbits to stew over while you wait?

16. In-n-Out still rocks

It wouldn’t be a Vasily Korsokovach novel without an appearance of his favorite junk food. The author may have made his own trip to see if he remembered how the hamburgers taste, given how this book was written during the height of the pandemic. (I did.)

17. The retention pond Vasily jogs around in Rancho Linda is pretty deep.

Deep enough to hide all sorts of secrets, though nothing a trained investigator can’t ultimately surface.

18. Happiness is where you find it.

Vas seems to have finally discovered his place in the world, and the right someone he can share it with. That doesn’t mean he’s stopped caring for Sean — far from it. While it took longer than he thought it would, Vas realizes it was worth all of the pain and agony to finally get there.

19. Three’s Company?

Not according to Alejandro, who has a rather visceral reaction to a new arrival in Vasily’s life. Maybe that Vasily emotional roller coaster isn’t quite over yet.

20. It’s not over.

Two more books are waiting in the wings behind Bygones: Focus and Requiem. I don’t have publication dates scheduled quite yet, so stay tuned to this blog for any announcements on that front. Requiem is already done and has entered the editing phase; I’ve just begun writing Focus, and if past is prologue, that won’t be completed until late September. A general rule of thumb for me is that most of my novels are published between six to twelve months after I write them — it takes time to get them polished — so that would likely mean Focus will appear next summer.

All right – that’s all the tidbits I’m going to do! I truly hope you enjoy Bygones; let me know your thoughts in the comments on this post or reach out through the site.

Bygones Tidbits: Part Three

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I’m at the annual Star Trek convention this week — if you see me, wave — but that won’t stop me from teasing a few more juicy details from Bygones.

11. The Chief Medical Examiner has a sweet tooth.

Vasily will never understand how Dr. Marguerite “Peg” Pembrooke is capable of eating or drinking during a post mortem, though he’s not entirely above continuing to bring her fancy coffee drinks to ensure his cases move to the head of the line. (It helps that Peggy likes Vasily, too.)

12. Vasily’s Camaro gets a bit of a workout.

With drives to St. Lucie, Palm Springs and Santa Ana, Vas racks up some miles in this one — and that doesn’t count his normal commute between Anaheim and Rancho Linda. Good thing he keeps his muscle car in top notch shape.

13. Don’t order the pancakes at the diner.

Not unless you are really, really hungry — something an out-of-town guest discovers, much to Vasily’s impish delight.

14. Vas has a nice office now.

Getting bumped to Deputy Chief means he’s out of the cubicle and into a spot with a window and a perfectly-sized counter for his new Keurig. Unfortunately, the office comes with other duties he’s not quite as fond of, but when in Rome…

15. Can time and distance can heal old wounds?

Bygones takes place nearly a year after the events of Blindsided and Vasily’s original abrupt departure from Windeport. Quite a bit has happened since then, but one thing remains: he’s never quite figured out what to do about his best friend, Sean Colbeth. Will he patch things up? Or are the two destined to forever travel different roads? (Yes, I know that Downhill is something of a spoiler…)

Okay kids, that’s it for now. Next time we will be under a week to release!

Bygones Tidbits: Part Two

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Continuing on my last post for teaser content from Bygones, which is due out on September 5, 2022:

6. It’s hot in Palm Springs.

I mean, no kidding, right? But it’s something that Vasily has forgotten given his near two-decades living in the more temperate climate of Maine — though experiencing it again while tracking down a lead for the case may have contributed to his new hairstyle.

7. It does rain in Southern California. Sometimes quite a bit.

I rather shamelessly use this joke later in Duality, but an excess of precipitation figures rather prominently in Bygones. It truly pained me to damage Vasily’s favorite running trail in Rancho Linda.

8. Yes, Olive Garden is still a favorite.

Vasily can’t seem to get enough of their lasagna and breadsticks. Who can blame him? Fortunately, Alejandro appears to also be a fan.

9. There’s Gnome place like home.

I can see you groaning but I couldn’t resist, especially when Vasily happens upon a yard full of the little critters.

10. Vas discovers telenovelas.

Although his watch list is already full to overflowing with science fiction and anime shows, he has Alejandro to thank for getting him hooked on soap operas. Watching them while eating dinner together is but one small part of the new domestic bliss Vas is enjoying with Alex — that, and the amazing talents in the kitchen his soulmate has.

Okay! We’re getting closer! More tidbits in my next installment.

Bygones Tidbits: Part One

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I thought it might be kind of cool to repeat something I did for an earlier book release and spend a few posts teasing out a few interesting nuggets from my upcoming novel, Bygones (available September 5, 2022). It’s been a while since we’ve visited with Vasily Korsokovach, and as much as it pains me to say this, it will be a bit before he returns as I have two Sean Colbeth novels waiting in the wings — with at least one of them needing to be out if I want the timing of the events in Requiem to make sense. (Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time I’d release books out of contiguous order…)

So, anyway, here are some nice, hopefully juicy, tidbits on Bygones:

1. It takes place before Downhill .

I mentioned in an earlier post that Vasily’s hairstyle in Downhill spawned a whole book. Well, Bygones is that book — now you can see in graphic, emotional detail how it happened. (Honestly, he’s still a little unsure about the whole thing…)

2. There’s a new investigator in town.

Did I sneak in a new character that may or may not have his own spinoff series at some point? I’ll never tell. (Or did I just spill the beans?)

3. We get to see Cal State Irvine for the first time.

Of course, much like the University of Eastern Maine, Cal State Irvine is a completely fictitious college, though it is an amalgam of several Southern California schools in the greater Los Angeles area. (The fountain that is featured prominently happens to be from a school on the East Coast I visited years ago. I thought it would look better in California.)

4. Rosie’s “cabin” makes an appearance.

Ever since its initial appearance in Pariah, I’ve been trying to work another visit to that marvelous structure in the fictional St. Lucie into another novel. I finally had the perfect excuse with Bygones.

5. We learn a bit more about Alejandro.

There’s quite a journey coming for our young diver and his relationship with Vasily. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say there are some challenges ahead for the couple.

Okay! That’s it for this post – tune in next time for more goodies on Bygones…

That Other Hobby

My completed 1:350 model of the starship Enterprise. (Photo: C. Jansmann)

If you’ve read my bio in the back of each book, you might recall there is a line in there that one of the driving factors in diving into being an author was to find a way to unwind from the pressures of my day job. As fulfilling as my IT gig can be, there is no way to truly explain the stresses involved in trying to keep up with the constant changes in the field, nor the challenges of accommodating ever-shifting needs of our clients. To be fair, it’s meant I’ve enjoyed nearly thirty years of fascinating experiences that continue to keep me fresh and engaged, but it also underscores how important it is to find a way to unwind.

I’m not entirely sure I consider writing a hobby at this point — not with nearly ten books out now — though right up until Blindsided finally appeared, it probably would have qualified. I tried my hand at novels earlier, of course, and there are a ton of half-formed stories sitting on my hard drive that didn’t go anywhere as a result. Deciding to become an author — for real — pushed me into considering it a line of work, though one just different enough to provide that change of scene I’d needed from my day job. (A quick aside: writing is work — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It just happens to be, much like my IT day gig, work I truly enjoy.)

Hand painting parts of the model made for an interesting challenge, along with the fear of getting the decals placed incorrectly. (Photo: C. Jansmann)

I dabbled with plastic models when I was a kid, though I always felt as though talents in this area skipped a generation. My first true kit build was (surprise, surprise) the 1979/1980 Star Trek: The Motion Picture version of the Enterprise; in my memories, it came out far better than the version that actually sat forlornly on it’s side atop my bookcase in my bedroom. Next up was a version of the Original Series Enterprise, and this time around I actually managed to paint it fairly close to what the instructions called for.

With some help from my far more talented father, we together built the Star Trek II version of the Enterprise, and while we never finished it off with decals, it proudly hung above my desk right up until junior high school. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the final model, for what with swimming, Boy Scouts and my focus on getting into college, there was very little time for anything else.

The idea of getting back into that hobby became stronger after a friend and I drove to the International Plastic Model Society’s annual convention in Phoenix; combined with finding an avid modeler or two on YouTube willing to share their tips, tricks and secrets, the bug bit me hard enough that a new kit with all the trimmings arrived in my hands before I knew, truly, what I’d decided to do.

A classic angle on the ship, showing the botanical garden (lit, lower right) and the detail around the deflector dish. I hadn’t yet put the docking decal on the upper airlock. (Photo: C. Jansmann)

Building the movie Enterprise took me the better part of two years, mostly because I was deliberately slow about how I went about the process. I desperately wanted it to come out looking like the starship of my dreams, the one I grew up watching soar across the screen in adventure after adventure. I cannot tell you how many coats of paint are on that ship, nor how difficult it turned out to be to ensure that the lights were placed at the proper angles to breathe life into the model; halfway through, I found myself wondering if it was truly necessary to put together the landing bay/cargo deck, since no one would ever see it. That was when that same dear friend of mine told me something that has resonated since.

“You’ll know it’s there,” he said, “and that makes all the difference.”

He was totally right, too.

The completed version of the Enterprise now sits proudly in our dining room, though for some time it had pride of place above our television in the living room; a recent change to our furniture pushed it into the Delta Quadrant. I’ve worked on a few smaller models since, including a 1970s era kit for the Original Series Bridge, and have in fits and starts plugged along on another 1:350 scale starship. Writing has taken up more of my time than I expected, so that’s frustrated my ability to get much work done on that other hobby of mine. After writing ten books over three years, my wife made the sage observation that it might just be okay to take a week or two away from the keyboard; tackling the outstanding steps would be a welcome mental reset.

I hasten to add, in case you are worried, this doesn’t mean I’m taking a break from writing; far from it. While there is something serene about sanding away the rough edges on a piece, then carefully bringing it together with another to form something new, it’s perhaps not unlike a detective slowly putting together the puzzle of a mystery…

Hiking

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Unlike both of my main characters, I was a Boy Scout growing up. I have so many memories of participating in that program that it would fill a sizable portion of any memoir I might write, with more than a few chapters highlighting the amazing people I met along the way to my Eagle. Whether by design or not, the process of earning all of those merit badges exposed me to possible careers I could pursue as an adult, but perhaps more importantly, provided me with a far more diverse view of our culture than I would have ever received anywhere else.

If I had one negative experience at all from having participating in the program, I have to finally admit that I never really became a fan of the classic Scouting weekend of camping and hiking; while I do have an appreciation for Mother Nature’s bounty, spending two days fending off black flies while carrying what always felt like twice your weight on your back just never appealed to me. I’d love to write it off to the kind of equipment we had back in the 1980s, but that feels like a cheap excuse; no, I think I spent one too many cold Saturdays picking my way through the forests of Maine, drenched from the inevitable downpour that always seemed to appear at about the time it became apparent there was no turning back.

I love driving through the various National Forests we have here in Arizona, though I am still not used to calling a sea of saguaro cactus a “forest.” My wife and I and enjoyed the same experience back on the East Coast before we moved; working our way up into the Mount Washington Valley during the burst of colors Fall always provides was a regular event on our calendar. Still, after I graduated from High School and the Scouting program itself, I pretty much hung up my hiking boots. Roughing it went from trying to make spaghetti over a wood fire in the pouring rain to risking a stay in a hotel that didn’t have cable (or later, internet access).

So it’s probably not a surprise that I drew from those experiences when crafting some of the pivotal scenes in my latest book, Bygones. While I hasten to add that nothing as nefarious as what is depicted in that novel ever took place in my own personal history, I have been the lucky recipient of happening upon a hidden glade just off the beaten path, or spending that rare morning enjoying the beauty of a mountaintop sunrise from just inside the flap of your tent. More than a few bubbling brooks provided cool refreshment at the end of a particularly grueling hike, and honestly, there isn’t anything quite like sharing ghost stories around a crackling campfire beneath a starry night sky.

Will I ever hike again? Never say never, I suppose, but for now I am perfectly content to sit back and simply imagine how my characters might experience such a thing — and share that with you.

Time To Geek Out

Captain to the Bridge! Spending a few minutes on this set makes me feel like a kid again. (Photo: C. Jansmann)

If you’ve followed me for a while, you probably know that Star Trek is a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of watching reruns with my father on the small television in our first home, or of scampering across my grandparents massive backyard chasing Klingons while brandishing a stick almost shaped like a phaser. But beyond that, the overarching concepts that underpin the Star Trek universe have percolated into my view of the world, allowing me to truly appreciate (as they say) the infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

While I wait for my one-in-a-million chance to write the science fiction novel of my dreams, I continue to refine my craft with my two amazing detectives, Sean Colbeth and Vasily Korsokovach. There are lots of adventures still in the queue for them, so these best friends will be around for quite a while; maybe one or two of them will catch the eye of the current keepers of the franchise. Stranger things have happened…

(As a side note, I’ve been considering updating the landing pages for these guys, pulling together the character notes that typically appear as part of Amazon’s X-Ray service for Kindle. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that my readers using a more physical form don’t have ready access to that.)

We are in a fortunate period for those of us who are fans of Star Trek. Beyond the amazing STLV convention I’ll be attending again this August, there are five in-progress series currently airing. Five! And we just ended an incredible run of something like forty weeks of new content in a row — nearly a full year of adventures that offered stories for longtime viewers such as myself (Picard, Strange New Worlds) or folks who are finding the universe for the first time (Discovery, Prodigy, Lower Decks). The attention to detail in each of these shows is phenomenal, and it’s clear that those working on them truly love the franchise. (I take it back, maybe I should be holding out for a spot in one of those writer’s rooms…?)

I’m hoping my buddy and I get some cool sneak peaks at what is to come when we head to Las Vegas in a few weeks. Even if we don’t, though, the chance to hang around with people as plugged into Star Trek as us is truly a treat. I only belong to handful of fandoms, so it’s not terribly scientific when I say that trekkies* are some of the warmest, kind-hearted and open fans on the planet. Everyone — and I mean everyone — is welcome, which is quite refreshing. It’s one way that I charge up my optimism batteries, allowing me to get through the next year and everything that it might toss at me.

(*Yes, I am aware that there are two terms in the fandom – trekkie and trekker. Honestly, I flip between the two depending on my mood and the subject being discussed, so please don’t hold that against me.)