Christopher H. Jansmann's Blog, page 6

Celestial Moments

Spoiler alert: this blog entry reveals specific plot points in Vengeance . If you don’t want to spoil any surprises, you might want to save this entry for a later date. (You’ve been warned.)

Reverse view of the UA Mall on April 8, 2024 during the solar eclipse

One of the incredible perks of working for the University of Arizona is experiencing first hand just how deeply ingrained science is to our collective DNA. In my two decades on campus, I’ve been privileged to watch as we landed a robot on Mars, landed another robot on Mars, and then returned a sample from an asteroid to Earth — and that’s just the big stuff that made a public splash. Most people don’t know we help to chart Near Earth Objects that might someday crash land, or that we pioneered wastewater reconnoissance during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Honestly, I often find myself quite jealous of the work my colleges in the various labs across campus do; it makes the business applications I design seem somewhat less elegant in comparison.

The recent solar eclipse on April 8 was an excellent, albeit rare, chance to see that science in action; along with a colleague from my team, we traipsed over to the wide, grassy mall at the center of campus in the hopes of peering through one of the many special telescopes the Lunar and Planetary Sciences department generally has available for sure celestial events. As you can tell from the photos, though, the place was jam-packed with people from all walks of life, there to experience a unique moment that likely won’t pass again through our region for another couple of decades. I had a pair of trusty eclipse glasses with me, so despite not being able to reach the telescopes, I still had a fine view of what was about a 70% totality — just enough to make the day feel slightly overcast for about an hour. Walking back to the office, I thought about how it didn’t seem all that long ago that I’d been standing in that same spot back in September 2017 watching a total eclipse with my wife; we’d taken the morning off to experience it together, a moment I will treasure forever.

I mention those two waypoints as they are interesting touchstones in my journey as an author. In 2017, I’d begun to seriously think about pulling together the various threads of what would become Sean Colbeth and his universe, but hadn’t quite gotten over that initial hurdle of sitting down and pounding out the first draft. Now, in 2024, I’ve just published the sixth book in that series and am well into work on the eighth. What an amazing journey it has been in such a short, short time.

Vengeance has done relatively well in its first few weeks out on the market; I am, as always, humbled to know that there are fans out there who took the time to pre-order a copy in advance, or grabbed a copy within a few days of release. What has been immensely fulfilling for me over these last six — well, I suppose eight — books is watching how Sean Colbeth has evolved as a character. Blindsided will always have a special place in my heart, to be sure, but the version of Sean appearing is quite different than the one in Vengeance. Admittedly, some of that is due to how I structured that first, pivotal book in the series; I didn’t want to load down the plot with tons of backstory, opting instead to spool that out over the course of the series.

I’ve also grown as a writer, something that has allowed me to explore every nook and cranny of the people I’ve created for these stories. The real world around me has changed since I began, too; I can’t help how some of that has affected the tone of the stories, the environment Sean finds himself in or the people he’s often forced to deal with. When I started writing Belie a few weeks ago, it was during an unusually turbulent period for me emotionally; while I often use real-world events as inspiration for the cases that Sean investigates, I think my somewhat bleak view had me returning over and over again to the mass shooting that took place in Lewiston last year. Having grown up just an hour or so south of there — and in a state where such things simply didn’t happen — I started wondering first how the community would react, and then, ultimately, how Sean might handle working such a tragedy.

The answer has surprised me. Picking up a few months after the events in Solitude, I found my hero unexpectedly short-tempered and on the cusp of burning out. His relationship with Suzanne is still on uncertain ground, too, which pushes him into some questionable decisions that will come back to haunt him. While not exactly a hot mess, he’s kinda close, questioning why he accepted the position with the State instead of just riding off into the sunset at the end of Vengeance.

Okay, so admittedly Sean isn’t the kind of guy who would do that… but then again, he’s in such a different place in Belie than I’ve ever seen him before. Maybe this Sean would. He hasn’t yet — and I’m not expecting him to — but just the fact that I’m even thinking that about him has me worried. They say that people often have second acts in life; I’m starting to wonder if Sean has designs on something I’ve not yet considered. A third of the way through Belie, I honestly have no idea. Yet.

Stay tuned.

Vengeance: Tidbits

With the release of Vengeance just a few days away, I find myself short on time to do my traditional list of (possibly) teaser tidbits in advance of publication. So, instead, I’ll do them all into one slightly longer post, but in the format of a traditional question-and-answer session. Feel free to ask more questions in the comments; I’ll try to answer as many as I can before the book arrives on shelves.

As a promotional side-note: if you’ve not had a chance to pre-order your Kindle copy, there’s still time to ensure you get it the day it releases; hardcover and paperback options will also be available the day it drops.

Now, on to the tidbits!

The cover seems a bit dark…

You noticed that, did you? At the risk of engendering some confirmation bias, the original cover showing here on the website was intended to be a not-very-subtle foreshadowing of the extended plotline for the book. This is actually the second cover done in this manner; Bewitched has a similar tonal selection though in comparison it’s far lighter. I actually have an updated cover for Vengeance that my art department has been working on, but it wasn’t ready by the time I had to make my final submission. It will make an appearance later.

And yes, the darkness is significant.

You didn’t leave Sean in a very good place at the end of the last novel.

No, I didn’t. Bewitched was a complicated case that became even more thorny when (slight spoiler) our hero makes a rookie mistake at a critical moment. That sort of thing can’t go unaccounted for, and the first tendrils of that appear at the end of the prior novel. As much as I would like my characters to exist in a utopia where they get everything right 100% of the time, I know that would reduce them to some sort of derivative version of themselves that no one would find interesting — especially me.

If you are worried about where things are going, remember that Vasily went through a similar situation in Ditched. While I’m not saying it is analogous to what is ahead for Sean, it will give you an idea of how I like to tie things up in cute little bows. (Though it might take more than a single book to do it.)

Well, at least he has Suzanne to help him get through whatever it is you’re gonna do to him.

I’m not touching this one other than to ask, have you read Snow Drifts yet?

Will we see more of Norm?

Much more, yes. As this book starts, Norm is finally beginning to settle in to being Sean’s number two — though he’s still not quite ready to make important decisions without checking in with the boss first. And with his own budding relationship on the side, he’s never been happier…

The ellipsis at the end of the last section is worrying.

As it should be. Did I mention Vengeance is darker than the last book? It might also be a good time for me to remind you, dear reader, that my titles tend to hold more than the obvious meaning when it comes to the overarching story.

Next, you’re going to say that Vasily doesn’t make an appearance.

Fear not. Both Vasily and the now mythical Chat Noir costume are included in this tale (tail?). I will reveal, however, that most of Vasily’s moments are over the phone this time out, mostly because he’s got his hands full with another case while Sean is dealing with his own.

Will there be a podcast on this novel?

Yes. We’re taping it the weekend prior to the book release with the intention of having it air concurrently. That also means my friend is furiously reading an advanced copy so she can pepper me with questions; if you have something you want her to ask, add that to the comments on this post and I’ll forward them to her.

Okay, that’s about all I have time for — hopefully this has whetted your appetite for what I think is a pretty cool new story for Sean. Now I’m off to write the next story in the series…

Audiobook Options

My first experience with an audiobook was on a roadtrip to visit our friends in California; my wife and I were getting ready to read P.D. James final work, Death Comes to Pemberley, a murder mystery set just after the events of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As it had been years since either of us had read Austen’s seminal work, we figured we’d make good use of the seven-hour drive and refresh our memory of the characters — and plots — that had been part of the story. The reader was amazing, and brought life to the story in ways that I’d not thought possible. I wasn’t initially a fan of Jane Austen, though much of that was based on being forced to read her work as part of my high school English curriculum; there are a number of classic novels on that same list of books I will never pick up again, a list I had to re-evaluate after finishing the audio version of Pride and Prejudice.

When I began to publish my own works back in 2020, I considered adding audio versions to the mix. I quickly found that as an independent author, the cost for getting something done professionally was well beyond the meager budget I have, so it was an idea that I shelved until such time as I could afford to do it — and then promptly forgot about it.

This year, the force of nature that is the Artificial Intelligence revolution finally caught up with indie authors; a service provided by Audible became available that would produce an audio version of a Kindle book using a completely generated AI voice. I have to admit to initially having a healthy dose of skepticism as to the results, but I went through the process and found myself pleasantly surprised at what came out the other side. The reader sounds authentic, and for the most part, seems mostly capable of correctly getting the emotional aspects of the manuscript right. There are some unusual pauses, and I had to correct more than a few pronunciations, but on the whole the end product is reasonably good.

I was completely torn after that, and it took me a few weeks to decide if I truly wanted to go in this direction. The benefit seemed enormous, especially since it would make my works available to a new audience that preferred to consume their books in this manner. Combined with the automatic tie-in to those who have Kindle Unlimited, I decided to add all the books I have at the moment to the service; I’ll see how it goes for the next few months and what the reaction is from readers, and then make any changes after that.

Would I prefer a human reader? No question, and when I have the financial resources to re-do all of these with one, I will. But it was more important to me that I provide another alternative way for people to experience my books — kind of along the lines of still producing print copies for those that want a tangible experience with the work.

If you did listen to an audio version of one of my books, let me know your thoughts and/or share your comments as part of this post. I genuinely want to know if it’s an avenue I should continue — or if I should refocus on other options instead.

Formatting Updates

In late summer 2023, I was introduced to a software package that allowed for far more customization when creating the finished versions of my novels. Up to that point, I’d used some other tools that did a fairly good job but, to my eye, looked just a little bit too generic. The first book to use the updated software was Focus, and I was so pleased with the results that I went back and re-did all of my prior releases using the enhanced fonts and layouts that were now available to me. For those of you who purchased my works on Kindle (or read them on Kindle Unlimited), the revised editions will automatically appear the next time you open one of my novels; paperbacks and hardcovers were also updated, but those will only kick in for any orders placed after I made the changes.

Concurrent with those changes, I also made the tough decision to shift away from the printer I was using for my hardcovers; as much as I liked the physical book that was being created, the amount of time it was taking to fill an order was extraordinarily long, and the price was far higher than I would have liked. The upside to using this particular printer was the ability for my books to be available in a traditional bookstore as well as online outlets; while my new printer does offer a similar service, I know it’s less likely independent bookstores will work with them. I had to weigh many factors in making this call, one of them being that, overwhelmingly, most of my readers favor a digital edition over print; I nonetheless continue to offer print versions for as long as it remains a viable option.

I continue to analyze whether to produce versions of my novels on other e-reader platforms beyond Amazon; industry numbers tell me that the majority of sales are done through the Kindle platform, so I am reluctant to diminish my presence there by diverting advertising dollars. Many of the independent author groups I belong to have long, vibrant discussions around this very topic, and, honestly, don’t seem to have reached any sort of consensus. For the moment, it’s a “stay the course” path I am choosing, with a watchful eye on which way the wind is blowing.

Shifting Gears

Time now for a bit of an update on where things stand in the Chris Jansmann writing universe.

As Winter fades into Spring, my thoughts have begun to focus on my next novel; the major writing will occur in March and April, concurrent with the next NaNoWriMo camp. Sean Colbeth is up next in the rotation, though which particular story I have in mind for him is not quite set. This often happens to me — I have multiple kernels of a plot to choose from, and since they all seem amazing, I have a difficult time selecting one until the actual starting line heaves into view.

One of those options happens to be the alternate ending to Bewitched, a thread that I wound up clipping out entirely and then ignored through two more stories (Vengeance and Solitude). In fairness, I did use a portion of that thread at the end of Vengeance, but I don’t want to spoil which part that might have been; still, the story that alternate ending was supposed to lead into is kind of a cool one. Sean has also grown quite a bit through those next two stories, allowing me to take an unusual angle on the plot that hadn’t been available two stories earlier. If I go in that direction, I have to refine things a bit more — and, fortunately, I have a few weeks left to do that.

The other story I have planned for Sean takes him on a bit of an adventure to another state (not California, I hasten to add); again, without spoiling too much of my future plans, it will be a full crossover with Vasily and, quite possibly, tie up some intriguing loose ends that have been dangling since Blindsided. I don’t think the timing is quite right for that story — at least, not in the strange chronology in my head for the Windeport Universe. A few more pieces have to land… just… so… before I can spring that tale on people.

My last effort was for Vasily; Masks won’t be out until sometime next year, mostly because I’ve got a book in the release queue ahead of it that needs to get out there first. I might rejigger the schedule slightly to speed things up — maybe — but no promises, for trying to turn around three novels each year seems to be my limit. I’m happy with how Masks turned out, though; aside from an interesting mystery, I found I was able to move the Vasily/Alex storyline along quite nicely. I won’t lie — I truly enjoy writing that couple; they slightly edge out the Sean/Suzanne romance, though not by much more than a whisker.

Sadly, I’ve abandoned — for now — the urban fantasy mystery I’d been working on since December. The further I get into the story, the less I am liking how it’s developing; I love the characters and the universe I created around them, but tacking on a murder mystery is proving to be one humdinger of a problem. I thought I could power through my misgivings, but as the manuscript approached fifty thousand words, I’m simply unhappy with the tale as it stands today. I might circle back again, but my instincts are telling me that would be a bad idea. On the other hand, these characters are still very much alive in my writer’s brain, so there is a better-than-average chance they wind up in a more standard police-procedural type tale. I don’t want to lose the work I’ve put into the story, and it wouldn’t take much to clip out the fantasy angle and replace it with a more dramatic through-line. There’s plenty of angst between the two leads, so I think that might make for a better story. I’ll have to get back to you on that, though…

It’s shaping up to be a busy spring, either way. I’ll keep the blog up-to-date with my progress, so be sure to subscribe to get the latest scoop.

TFOB 2024 Recap

I have made no secret of my love for the Tucson Festival of Books, nor my desire to someday be a featured author on one of their many panels. My first dream — to be invited to attend as an author — came true last year, resulting in a memorable experience meeting engaging readers under the beautiful March Southern Arizona sunshine. I treasured every minute of the three hours I was slotted into at the Independent Author pavilion, and came away hoping I’d be invited back in 2024 — though I knew the odds were quite long, given how many submissions the Festival organizers get each year.

So I wasn’t entirely surprised when I received the initial email in January that I’d not made the cut; there are a ton of amazing authors out there — I can’t imagine how difficult it had to have been for the organizers to decide who to invite. For my part, I accepted a spot on the waitlist and then made plans to attend the Festival as a reader, never expecting I’d actually get the chance join the pavilion for the second time as an author this year.

If you’ve been following along on my blog, then you know that the call came in nearly at the last minute; I had to scramble to pull together items to have at the booth, but it was a joyous problem I was more than happy to solve.

The giddy author at his booth during the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books

I tried to take some of the lessons I learned from last year to heart and shifted how I priced my on-hand stock; one big change was to essentially show I had multiple copies available to sell. I’d hidden the backstock beneath the table last year, and that seemed to telegraph to people I was not truly selling anything. Focus was the book I submitted for consideration this year, which feels odd now since it came out back in 2023; it’s a bit of a reminder of how far in advance applications for these festivals open. When I wasn’t invited to attend in January — and instead added to the waitlist — I had to gamble as to whether to order stock for the show, and ultimately made the wrong call. The only copy I had on hand was my personal one, which I rather shockingly sold during the first hour(!). Lesson learned.

My neighbors this year were incredible; Mary Tolan shared my table, and is a fellow Arizona-based mystery author who was debuting her very first novel, Mars Hill Murder. We had an amazing time chatting between visiting with readers and even swapped books with each other; in fact, we had such a great time together, I’m hoping we both get to come back next year and again snag a corner of the pavilion together. On my other side was Jill Richards, a romance author also from Arizona. After dabbling ever-so-slightly in that genre with Snow Drifts, I have an insane respect for masters of that space — and Jill is definitely among their ranks.

Despite not being in the printed guide — and being accidentally placed beneath a banner declaring I was actually a nonfiction author — the stream of readers visiting my corner of the pavilion was constant. Much like last year, I had wonderful conversations with mystery aficionados as they perused my work; just about everyone took a card, and quite a few purchased one of the books I had on offer. I wasn’t expecting having actual fans of my work appear, but more than a few did, warming my heart in ways that are hard to explain. You never really know as an author was sort of connection you’re making with a reader when you produce a novel; while I get all sorts of feedback through my website and various social media outlets, nothing truly compares to speaking with someone directly. It’s one of my favorite aspects of attending the still-intimate Tucson Festival of Books, both as a reader and, now, as an author.

My friend of many years surprised me with custom cookies at the event!

The biggest surprise of the day came when my dear friend, Karen, appeared at my table bearing a small tray of hand-made cookies. She is an amazing baker and has recently begun experimenting with a high-tech gizmo that can print images on her cookies; I was floored when she presented me with cookies bearing tiny representations of my various book covers, the logo for the festival and an actual map of the event (with the Indie Author tent cleverly centered).

Pretty cool detail on each cookie

It was an amazingly thoughtful gift that meant the world to me; as I write this, I am rather guiltily eyeing the small stack of what is left, for they are just as delicious as they look. Should I be fortunate enough to be invited next year, I’m so totally going to order several dozen to give away at the table. (You don’t have to wait quite so long, though. Karen takes orders on her website, Ladybug Cookies, for those who are in the Tucson area. I’m not certain if she ships, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. The cookies are worth it, believe me.)

And then, just like that, there was a gentle hand on my shoulder telling me it was time to pack up and make way for the afternoon shift. The time simply flew by; those last few minutes before we cleared out seemed to go at triple speed, but not before I swapped contact information with my new friends. I am sincerely thankful to the organizers for thinking of me when they needed to unexpectedly fill a space; the opportunity to interact with readers is always welcome, especially at something as wonderful at the Festival.

I’ve already bookmarked the application page for the 2025 festival and will count down the days until the next event. Keep your fingers crossed that I am able to get in again next year…

Appearance at the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books

It’s been quite the whirlwind week here, capped off by a welcome surprise of an email from the Tucson Festival of Books. I’d submitted Focus for consideration as a included work at the 2024 edition of the festival and unfortunately hadn’t made the cut; while I’d agreed to be on the waitlist should another author unexpectedly bow out, realistically I’d never expected it to happen.

Until it did.

Should you happen to be in the greater Tucson area today, March 9, check out the published schedule to find out exactly where and when you can find me. From 10:00a – 1:00p, I’ll be in the Indie Author Tent halfway down the University of Arizona mall. For those of you familiar with the area, it’s the patch of green grass between Bear Down Gym and the Modern Languages Building. There are a number of other authors who will be there with me at the same time, so it should be a wonderfully lively experience for those who might swing by.

The email came late, late Thursday night — late enough that I won’t have any copies of Focus on hand. I will have a limited number of hardcopy editions for two of my other books available for purchase — Bygones and Downhill — as well as information on how to get your hands on paperback or Kindle editions if those are more to your liking. I’m also planning on posting about my experience in realtime, so if you can’t be in Tucson, you can live vicariously through my Facebook or Mastodon pages.

Hope to see you there!

Goodreads Giveaway

I’m running my first-ever Goodreads Giveaway, putting 100 Kindle copies of my debut novel, Blindsided, up for grabs. As Sean Colbeth is such a unique character — and has grown so much over the course of now six books — I often think of Blindsided as something of a gateway drug (gateway book?) allowing readers to get to know my Windeport universe.

If you’ve not yet met Sean, throw your proverbial hat in the ring and enter the Giveaway at the link below. (I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a free book…)

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/383893

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Giveaway ends March 23, 2024.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

P.D.Q. Bach

I stumbled upon the obituary for Peter Schickele about a week after returning from my Disneyland trip. If you’ve not heard of this amazing musician and composer, all I can say is rush to your nearest library and check out the plethora of albums he was produced for the (non-existent) 18th-century composer, P.D.Q. Bach.

My own journey with the self-proclaimed musicologist who “discovered” this lost child of the better known Johann Sebastian Bach began when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Maine. I used to spend long hours in the library digging through the piles of material I needed to memorize as a then-pre-medical student, and to try and make it a slightly more palatable experience, I would grab one of the loaner portable CD players and snag one of the many classical CDs on offer. Though today I far prefer to have smooth jazz as my background, as a student, I often found it easier to study with the relatively calming orchestrations of some of the greatest romantic composers in history.

I’m relatively certainly I thought I had plucked a true Bach album from the rack that particular session; all I recall now is that I thought at the time the cover for 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults was a bit unusual. That became more of a concern when the first track played and “Professor Pete” began to explain the background of the initial piece — and then promptly began to drown when the river he was standing next to flooded.

Hooked, I wound up mesmerized as I went through the rest of the album; at one point, I know I was chuckling loud enough that the student in the next study cubicle over had to tap me on the shoulder to shush me. Not a ton of studying got done that night; the next weekend I was home, I shot down to my favorite music store and stocked up on what albums were then available. I’ve tried to collect all of them — but that would be quite a feat, considering how insanely productive Schickele was. I did lose track of him a while back; once his half-hour show on our local NPR station ended, he sort of retreated into the background. Knowing now he is gone has seen me pulling out everything I own, listening to — and enjoying immensely — every terrible pun and every amazing piece of music that went with them.

Sadly, Professor Pete might be gone — but P.D.Q. Bach will live on forever.

Ten Meter

I’ve mentioned before that I spent much of my formative years as a competitive swimmer; when I got back into the water as an adult, I joined a Masters team, mostly for the workouts but with the aspirational hope I might once again find myself atop the starting blocks, raring to go another round against the clock. I didn’t quite make that second goal — actually, these days, running has pretty much eclipsed swimming for me as my primary exercise — but I still retain a special affinity for the sport. I know it’s one of the reasons both of my detectives are swimmers, and in no small part why a third character is a diver.

As I was wrapping up work on my most recent Vasily Korsokovach story, I got to thinking a bit about how much courage it takes for Alejandro to get up there on the Ten Meter platform and do what he loves to do. I tried my hand at springboard diving when I was a teenager and hated every moment of it; my one and only time climbing to the top of a diving tower had me swearing I’d never, ever, do that again. In the list of promises I’ve made to myself, that is one that has yet to be broken; if you want to know why, check out this documentary The New York Times produced a number of years ago.

I guarantee your heart will start pumping as hard as those in the video who stand at the edge of the platform and try to force themselves to make the choice to jump…. or not…