Christopher H. Jansmann's Blog, page 5

Secret Notes from Belie

I mentioned in my last post that I’ve not regularly talked about my personal writing process. There are a few reasons for that, not the least among them my fear that knowing how the proverbial sausage is made might diminish the appeal of my work to readers. Then again, as a fan myself of peeking behind the curtain any chance I get, I thought maybe I would dribble out a bit of my particular brand of authoring in the hope that you might find it somewhat interesting. (Let me know either way in the comments.)

Let’s take another look at that photo I teased in my last post:

The super-secret plan for Belie

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I use a product called Scrivener to write the initial drafts for each of my novels; that wasn’t always the case, though. Blindsided, Outsider and Pariah were all crafted using a traditional word processor (Google Documents and then Microsoft Word), an environment that I am extremely comfortable with. However, the further I got into both series, the more I realized I needed more than just a way to write; keeping track of the people, places and things in each plot requires a lot of separate notes, and some way of keeping track of them. Scrivener creates a space to do just that, although the learning curve was a bit steeper than I would have liked.

Even with Scrivener, though, I still tend to scribble down important notes when I’m writing, such as the one in the photo above; I also make liberal use of the Notes app on my iPhone to capture spur of the moment inspirations which come to me at the damndest times. Both of these sorts of scraps ultimately get transcribed back into Scrivener during the start of my next writing session, but some — like the timeline sketch featured in the photo — remain on my desk, just a few inches from my keyboard. Those serve to keep me on point, much like you might use a 3×5 card during a speech.

So how would I translate that set of notes? In the context of Belie, I have some very time-critical plot points that have to align properly in order for the narrative to work as I wish it to. There’s very obviously a note about a death taking place — for a poor soul named Leslie — but the eagle-eyed among you might have already noted that the next entry says shots were a week later (on a Monday). The box around the second entry is, essentially, denoting the entry point for the story; in other words, Sean’s first words begin at that specific date and time (a week after Leslie is dead).

I see you arching an eyebrow. And yes, it’s important. But, of course, I can’t tell you exactly why without completely spoiling things for you.

The third entry seems ominous — there is a reference to Bangor General, which is the major hospital closest to my fictional Windeport. Why is Sean going there? Is he hurt? Is he checking on a victim? Both of those could be good answers.

Wednesday’s entry shows that Sean is on the road again, first to Portland, then to Boston. That usually means he’s on the hunt, tracking down answers or tracing movements for a suspect. Or a victim. Or both. As to which of those apply this time around, I’ll let your imagination run wild.

Thursday shows jail on the itinerary. Not an unusual place for a law enforcement professional to find themselves, for sure, but if you didn’t catch the two letters in front of the note — “N.H.” — I’ll let you in on a little secret: Sean works in Maine, not New Hampshire. Intriguing, eh?

Friday’s note is the beginning of the climax for the book, although in this particular case (no pun intended) it will take through the end of the weekend for Sean to put all of the pieces together with his usual panache.

And what those pieces are! I rarely write a plot with multiple overlapping mysteries, so (naturally) I decided to do just that with Belie. That could also be a contributing factor for why it’s taking so much longer, but I think the end result will be worth it. I’ll be teasing more out of this novel in the coming weeks, so stay tuned…

Behind the Scenes on Belie

First, before I get too far — just a quick note of thanks to you, my faithful readers! Mirage has been out for a little more than a week as I write this, and I’m overwhelmed that it has managed to stay in the top ten for new releases during that period — and top fifty overall in it’s genre (LGBTQ Mystery).

Mirage in the top ten! That’s two Vasily books in a row!

Concurrent with that, my readers over on Kindle Unlimited seem to have found it with a passion — I’ve only seen such spikes in page reads once before, and, not surprisingly, it was with Vasily’s previous book, Requiem. It means the world to me that that people have connected with Vas and his universe; I know I say it so often now it’s like a mantra, but he is such a unique character, one that feels to me as real as anyone I actually know.

So again, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy or downloaded the novel.

I have a confession to make: I am behind where I want to be with my latest work in progress, Belie. There are a number of reasons for that, none of them even remotely interesting other than the fact that I am wallowing in immense puddles of guilt over it. My wife — ever the sympathetic support — has gently counseled me that most of my deadlines are self-imposed and therefore, by definition, somewhat flexible. While she is (as always) correct, that doesn’t seem to help my writer’s brain that seems stubbornly stuck on the goal I set for myself how many novels I would complete this year. I’d planned on three; one is done (that would be Masks), and when I started number two back in March, I assumed I’d already be planning book three at this point in the summer — not limping to the final act in book two.

Well… I still think I can get three done this year, but it will be a bit of a crunch. Like I said earlier, I’ve not had nearly the same amount of time to devote to Belie as I have other books; grabbing time in small increments isn’t all that conducive to getting — and staying — in the zone as a writer, and, frankly, I’ve found it incredibly frustrating. The good news is that it appears I will have a bit of clear water in mid-July to try and pound out the final chapters of the book; if I can do that, I might yet still make the starting date for the final project of the year. Maybe.

The super-secret plan for Belie,,, don’t share this with anyone!

I don’t often talk about how I write my novels on this blog, though a few tidbits have trickled out in the podcasts I’ve been doing for each book. Since I happen to literally have everything laid out in front of me for Belie as I write this, I thought I’d share a sneak behind-the-scenes peek at one of my writing tools: the Scrap Paper of Destiny(TM). This little beauty is a repurposed page from my Star Trek daily calendar and as you might have already divined from looking at it, contains a simple timeline. It might look short and sweet, but in actuality it’s a cribbed version of a longer item I have in my virtual notebook — the line-by-line chronology I work out to ensure that the “beats” of my story “hit” when (and where) I want them to. I know it’s incredibly old school to have a note like this when writing on a laptop, but for me, the ability to quickly glance at the paper and ensure I’m where I need to be has been invaluable.

But what do this particular notes mean? For that, you’ll have to tune in next week.

Podcast: Mirage

I’m joined once more by my best friend to discuss my latest book, Mirage. You can get the podcast on your favorite platform, or can listen to it here:

While you’re here, did you know that I’m giving away a copy of my Christmas short story, Baubles? All new subscribers to my newsletter will receive an advanced copy of the short long before it becomes available to the general public in December. Don’t miss the chance to grab your copy!

Download Baubles

Mirage Tidbits: Two

Release day for Mirage is almost here — so how about a final set of teasing tidbits about the book? I’ll try not to spoil it too much, but if you’re worried, it might be better to order the book first and then come back to read these later.

Robbing the rich? Really?

Yes – but in a very modern way. I came across a security bulletin a while back detailing how most major scams wind up erasing people’s bank balances and started to wonder if the wealthy among us were just as susceptible as those with fewer zeros on their bank balance. While I don’t have a concrete answer to that, it did lead to an interesting what if…? moment that generated the major plot line in Mirage.

Your inner geek is showing.

No kidding. Then again, after spending three decades in the tech business, I’ve seen a thing or two – especially when it comes to this sort of digital legerdemain.

The last blog post said it was hard for Alex and Vas to travel now that they have a cat.

Like any pet parents, traveling just requires finding someone to take care of their fur baby when they decided to get away. While we don’t get to that wonderful beach house in St. Lucie this time out, the guys do get a well deserved long weekend in Palm Springs.

Palm Springs? Again?

What can I say – I like what I like. Then again, that desert city is far larger than you realize, allowing for a vast panoply of possible locations just far enough from Los Angeles that it feels exotic, but I can get my characters there in short order. For nothing is less sexy than writing scenes for them while they wait in an airport terminal.

Something tells me Alex and Vas would make the most of their time together at an airport.

Hey – have you been looking at my notes? Stop that!

Are the budget cuts you keep hinting at going to affect Vasily’s position in Rancho Linda?

I’ll never say never on that, but for now, no. The most visible part of the ongoing budget crisis in our fair city is the plan to raze the current headquarters building and move the department to a new facility in another part of town. I’m honestly a bit excited about this prospect, for it allows me to craft a new set (as it were) for Vasily’s professional life, without him having to leave his role with Rancho Linda. The situation also lets me explore the pitfalls of centralization and consolidation — a periodic infatuation that seems to grip both the public and private sectors with alarming regularity without regard to the consequences.

Okay, that’s it until the book comes out; don’t forget to order your copy today. Be on the lookout for our podcast discussing Mirage, which will hopefully drop within a few days of the book being released.

Mirage Tidbits: One

We’re just a few weeks away from Vasily’s latest novel, Mirage, hitting shelves so time now for some (possible) spoilers about the upcoming story. I’ve become a bit of a fan of the Q&A format despite it being a conversation with myself; then again, I have all of these characters running around in my head, anyway, so maybe this is just a natural outgrowth of that.

I listened to your podcast for Vengeance and you hinted that a wedding was in the works…?

I did, didn’t I? Well, not to spoil things too badly but there is movement on that front.

Movement? That’s not an answer.

No, but it’s the best you’re gonna get until the book comes out.

It sounds like you are dealing with Vasily’s past as the son of a wealthy family. I thought he was disowned?

Most of the plot in Mirage revolves around the well-to-do of Orange County, especially a key incident that brings Vasily’s mother back into the picture. I spent some time painting in the background of what it was like for Vasily to grow up in Southern California in Requiem, and that exploration left me wanting, well, more. I’ve always had in the back of my head that his relationship to his parents — and his past — was far more complicated that Vas had actually revealed to us, and Mirage allowed me to surface it; doing it as part of a murder investigation adds some delicious angles and opportunities that might not have otherwise presented themselves.

Please tell me that Rosie makes an appearance.

Oh yes, our favorite millionaire author is definitely in this story. She even has a part in helping Vas solve the case this time out — something she’ll likely never let him live down, I suspect. We also get to see her for the first time navigating the shoals of high society, something that I fervently wish we could see on television someday. (I keep changing my mind about the actor that could play her; obviously, were Lauren Bacall still around, she’d be my first choice. But as of late I see a little bit of Kate Mulgrew in her.)

In Requiem, Alejandro seemed unsettled in his new career at Cal State Irvine. Are changes afoot?

I noticed that as well, and those misgivings do become even more pronounced in Mirage. I’m not entirely certain where those are heading, honestly; we’ll see more on that front in Masks, with a possible resolution in the novel set after that.

How has adding a cat to the mix changed writing Vasily?

Oh, brother — quite a bit, actually. Before our feline fur baby arrived at the end of Requiem, Alex and Vas were footloose and fancy free. Now they have to actually plan their getaways since Chat is not a fan of being alone. Gone are the spur of the moment long weekends traveling; I actually feel guilty each time I leave the poor kitty alone for a few hours. (Weird, right?)

Okay, that’s it for now! Be sure to order your book now so it arrives the instant it becomes available on the Kindle. For fans of paperback and hardcover, those will be available to order on the day of release.

Riding the Rails

I had a chance back in March to visit the Gadsden-Pacific Toy Train Operating Museum, something of a hidden gem here in Tucson. As an avid model railroader myself, I’d long wanted to get there and finally had the perfect excuse when the photography club I belong to organized a field trip to facility. It was a marvelous morning spent among an impressive collection of layouts representing just about every scale available. To my great surprise, they also had original rolling stock dating back to the dawn of the hobby — all in nearly pristine shape as they swiftly road the rails for our amusement.

I’m going to use the rest of this entry to post some of my favorite photos from the trip and keep the commentary to a minimum; the artistry on display truly needs no augmentation, in my opinion. Enjoy.

June 1, 1984

I often tell the story of how, when I was in the fourth grade, a fellow student stood up during the show-and-tell period and announced to the class that Spock had died at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Back in those days, without social media or the internet, it was far easier for surprise twists in movies to remain just that — a surprise — so having such a gut-wrenching portion of the plot casually revealed had quite an effect on me. I don’t quite remember all of the details at this point, but I know I harangued my parents mercilessly for days afterward to take me to the theater; once we finally went, I do recall thinking my classmate had lied to us, for Spock does actually “die” within the first ten minutes of the movie — only to reveal that it was part of a training exercise for a cadet.

My relief was short lived, however, for it wound up being the ultimate head fake on the part of the producers; the pain of seeing the character actually meet his doom at the climax of the movie is something I’ll never forget (and revisit each time I see the movie). I truly couldn’t believe Spock was gone; I’d grown up with the triad of Kirk, Spock and McCoy and couldn’t conceive of any adventure without all three of them present. And yet, things seemed quite final when the strains of Amazing Grace played during Spock/s funeral; the ending scenes showing the casket nestled among green ferns lifted things up a bit, perhaps, but not entirely.

Now I know you’re out there fairly screaming, hey, it’s just a story!

That’s true. No one really died, of course; even as a youngster in 1982 I knew those were characters played by actors — actors who frequently popped up on other stuff besides Star Trek. Still, for me, the entire main cast of the original series felt like people I knew, intrinsically. I’d watched and re-watched all seventy-nine episodes of the series so many times, I could quote most of the lines by heart; my first VHS tape of The Motion Picture actually wore out from being used to much.

So, yeah, I went into a bit of funk as the credits rolled from Star Trek II — one that lasted until Entertainment Tonight announced that a third movie was planned.

A third movie? I remember thinking as I watched the news article with my parents. About what? And without Spock? It would be terrible.

Still, whatever misgivings I had began to vanish when I heard the actor playing Spock, Leonard Nimoy, would be directing the film. And when the title was finally revealed — The Search for Spock — I began to get intrigued. Star Wars had already created the concept of seemingly dead characters coming back to aide others, though I didn’t think Star Trek would be able to get away with the Jedi-master ghost routine. And then I stopped thinking about it while I got busy becoming a teenager. Besides, like I said earlier, the 1980s was a bit of a dead zone when it came to insider information about movies; if it didn’t make Entertainment Tonight, no one knew about it.

Star Trek III Movie Poster from my day-to-day calendar

Fast-forward to late May, 1984: the local newspaper, which I delivered as a paperboy, carried the first announcement about Star Trek III opening on June 1st — it was nearly a quarter of a page in the movie listings, and had a black and white version of the poster that appeared on my calendar this year. With the image of Spock front-and-center on the poster, it was clear they weren’t messing around; taking a cue from the ad, I began my own campaign with my parents. After having been burned by a classmate, I was determined to get to the movie on opening night; there would be no surprises this time, at least none that weren’t in the movie itself.

My long-suffering mother agreed at length to take me; at my insistence, we arrived far, far too early and wound up killing some time by getting something to drink at the neat little café just next door to the Nickelodeon Cinema in downtown Portland. Then it was back to the theater, where I took up position just behind the velvet rope, impatiently awaiting the showing ahead of ours getting out.

Once we finally took our seats, it felt as though time had sped up: as action-packed as the movie was, sooner than I’d expected we were back on the sidewalk outside the Nickelodeon, headed home. So much was packed into what would ultimately be known as that bridge movie between two and three it took me a bit to digest; while I was satisfied at how the eponymous search concluded, it wasn’t without additional sacrifices, including one very big surprise I hadn’t been prepared for. (I will say in the more scientifically grounded universe of Star Trek, they wound up concocting something quite believable with respect to restoring Spock.)

That third movie started a number of things for me; among other things, it was the first time I’d gone to a movie on the night it opened, a tradition I maintained right up through Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002. Over the years, Star Trek III has moved up and down my list of favorites; as I’d said elsewhere, the first movie has a special place at the top, but III and IV — the one with the whales — always vie for the second spot. Honestly, it’s a bit like having children: I love all of them in their own way, so selecting a single one is always hard.

A still from Star Trek III on my television

Forty years later, I get to watch this brilliant movie from the comfort of my own home as often as I would like. In celebration of the anniversary, a special 4K version was released, forcing me to (once again) purchase yet another copy of a movie I already own (in 4K, no less). The package came just a few days before the actual anniversary, and, channeling that teenage from forty years ago, I simply couldn’t wait to slip the disc into my player. This time around, it was my long-suffering wife who humored me, proving once and for all that love truly has no bounds…

A Season of Departures (Part Two)

“As much as you wanted the Enterprise, I want this.”

Captain Decker, Star Trek: The Motion Picture

I already knew that dealing with my friend Bryant’s retirement was going to be difficult; I’d barely adjusting to even thinking about it when my other friend snuck into my office one morning and closed the door behind her. While that’s never a good sign under normal circumstances — and perhaps owing to my heightened sensitivities on the subject — I almost immediately knew what the excited smile on her face meant. Then and there I finally understood the full meaning of the phrase, gut punch, for I truly felt as though I’d been hit by a prize fighter several times my weight.

Karen and her amazing cookies

Karen and I go back to our shared time at Career Services, a magical place for most of the decade I was part of that organization. She joined the department the same year as our longtime director retired (seeing a trend here?) and found herself weathering some rather significant organizational changes as a result — one of which landed her on my team. Karen quickly took to her role, assisting students and employers as they navigated our various systems; she also took a starring turn in one of our (extremely) low-budget promotional videos that was a thinly veiled spoof of Law and Order. She was a joy to work with, so, naturally, when I left Career and moved across the street to my old gig at the business college I began to lobby for her to join me there. It took far longer than I’d hoped for the right position to come along, but when it did, she jumped and never looked back.

I don’t quite remember when I discovered Karen had been part of the original crew opening Disney Stores across the United States back in the 1980s, or that she had helped launch the short-lived Mickey’s Kitchen. Her stories about working for The Mouse House were endlessly fascinating, and her love for the company was still vibrant decades after she’d left them. Having had the privilege of working with her myself, I know she would’ve been an incredibly decorated district manager for The Disney Store had they not been ruined by a series of dubious decisions by the company, not the least of which was selling the chain off to a non-Disney retailer.

Karen had long been the voice of calm reason in my orbit; the stranger the situation, the more she worked to keep everyone on the level with a well-timed batch of freshly made cookies. Keeping things moving in I.T., even in a department as small as hours, requires a diligence and a level of organization few possess; she had both in spades, and managed in her time with us to clean up an operation that had grown rather long in the tooth. On top of that, she had killer skills when it came to data; routing out incorrect information was her superpower, one that came in especially handy during the final project she worked on for me.

So her gentle announcement that she, too, would be retiring this spring hit me a little hard. Coming on the heels of my friend, Bryant, making his own decision final, I felt a little bit like the world had taken a strange left turn without warning — and I’d not properly fastened my seatbelt. I couldn’t blame her, though; her husband had retired from the County the prior fall, and with that, the urge to continue on their quest to explore every National Park was simply to great to ignore any longer.

I probably shouldn’t admit this — and I’ve never actually told Karen — but the character of Raphael Gonzales was inspired by her love of the National Park system. The stories she’s told me over the years about friends of hers who have worked in the system led me to some digging, which in turn generated the idea of a National Park Police Officer keeping an eye on the treasures of our country. Up to now Raphe has been pretty much a secondary character, but I do hope to have him someday appear in his own book. Maybe that would be a fitting tribute to my friend in honor of her retirement; I’ll have to reach out and see what she thinks.

As I write this, it’s been nearly two months now since Karen retired, not that I’m keeping track. The office has somewhat settled into the new normal, but it’s extremely hard for me to see someone else in Karen’s office — even if they happen to be from my own team. I truly miss seeing her everyday, and especially on those fabulous Mondays when the leftovers from her weekend cookie experiments would appear for consumption. Chatting with her each week has been a wonderful touchstone, but I can’t get used to her now being one of the “formers” that join us on a weekly coffee zoom call. I’m feeling severely outnumbered in that department. At the end of the day, I’m happy that she’s moved to her next act, and even happier that we’ve kept in close contact. Soldiering on without her council has been difficult, but grows easier with time.

Not having weekly cookies? Now that has been hard.

A Season of Departures (Part One)

“No Goodbyes — just good memories.”

Tasha Yar, from the Season 1 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, Skin of Evil

Honestly, I’ve spent weeks struggling with how to write these next two entries for my blog — partly because I didn’t want readers to come away making some assumptions about a) the length of time it has been since my last post and b) the meaning behind the title. So let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate — no, I have not lost a loved one, a pet, or even a potted plant for that matter.

But that leads me to the main reason I’ve been dragging my feet: in a way, I have experienced a loss of sorts. And, frankly, the pain is nearly as acute as if I had lost a loved one, a pet or that pesky potted plant that I’ve been trying to kill for the last decade. (Fortunately for the plant, it’s plastic and already quite dead.)

For some two and half decades, my friend Bryant was a near-constant presence in my life; we met the day I joined the I.T. team as a fresh-scrubbed young’n from New England, with stars in my eyes and a boundless enthusiasm for coding my way out of nearly any impossibility. He was the semi-grizzled old-timer who had already seen it all — despite being barely ten years older than me.

Bryant and I at ST:LV 2017

The two of us bonded over all things tech, discovered we had a mutual affinity for Star Trek and modeling. In sort, we were the sort of duo who could sit and endlessly talk about starship design and the latest advances in cloud computing without having whiplash. Our significant others often rolled their eyes whenever we were together, for truly, the two of us are poster children for Geeks United.

It was Bryant who talked me into returning to my former position after a decade away; he was also the one who, when I observed how few of the remaining cast members from the original Star Trek series were still doing the convention circuit, rather sensibly recommended we do something about that — thus beginning our annual sojourn to Las Vegas each August. Had we not had the pandemic interruption of 2020, this would be our ninth consecutive year of attendance.

Bryant and I at our first ST:LV in 2015.

So I could be forgiven for choosing to ignore his hints about wanting to retire; they had been sprinkled in here and there, but felt more like the kind of aspirational mantra one uses when it’s been a particular bad day at the office. Bryant’s first overt comment had come over margaritas and street tacos at Guy Fieri’s restaurant while we were at the 2019 convention; our drinks had seemed especially strong that evening, the perfect recipe for allowing truths to surface that we’d normally keep buried. I’d shrugged it off with a smile and told myself there was no way Bryant was ready to walk away from the amazing work we did at the U. Not yet, not when the field was exploding the way it was.

The pandemic altered everything, of course; we came out of it as different human beings, for better or worse. I realized I was wasting precious time commuting back and forth to the office — time that could be better spent with my family; it took me a long, long time to accept being back in the office full time. Bryant had been the one — once again — carefully guiding me into embracing our new reality. It was his way, perhaps, of gently reminding me that nothing remains static.

It’s not much of a surprise, then, that after our return from the convention this past summer even I could see my friend was ready for a change. When he finally made it official in March, I was sad to see the end of an era but also had a heart full of joy: Bryant would finally be able to get through that endless list of projects that has never grown any shorter in the years I have known him.

The building is far emptier without his buoyant, wry presence, and I dearly miss poking my head into his office next door to chat about anything and everything. I still see him, of course; it’s just a more deliberate thing now, something we have to actually plan for. Calls and texts are fine, but it’s simply not the same as having him around. Friends are our chosen family, no question, and this particular member of mine feels a bit like he’s taken off for the north country on permanent hiatus. We’ll find an equilibrium over the summer, I’m sure — and, of course, we’ll be going to Las Vegas again in August. So, I suppose, not everything has changed.

But enough has.

Podcast: Vengeance

I’m a little late getting this posted — the original plan had been for the podcast to appear the same week as Vengeance being published, but life conspired to prevent it from happening on time. In any event, I’m pleased to offer another wonderful conversation with my best friend about my writing — one that allows us to dig into the various twists and turns currently taking place in Sean’s life. I hope you’ll join in on the discussion.

You can listen to the latest episode on any of your favorite platforms, directly download it from my podcast site or use the embedded widget on this blog page.

Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment on this entry, especially if there is anything you’d like to hear in a future episode.