Author: rchazzchute

Robert Chazz Chute writes full-time from his blanket fort in Other London. The winner of fifteen writing awards, he pens apocalyptic epics with heart and killer crime thrillers with muscle. A graduate of the University of King's College journalism program, he studied book and magazine publishing at the Banff School of Fine Arts. He has worked as a crime reporter, science journalist, editor, book doctor, speechwriter, and magazine columnist.
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What holds up?

When I was in university, I loved Crime and Punishment. I loved In Cold Blood. I tolerated Good Guys Don’t Dance. Recently, I found out Spotify offers audiobooks. I was curious to see what classics from dead authors I might devour as I worked out and did the dishes.

Since Crime and Punishment was a hit with me, I decided to commit to Dostoevsky’s much-admired masterpiece, The Idiot. I’m not far into it, but the listening experience has me doubting myself. I read Crime and Punishment in paperback. Listening is much less demanding, and yet I find I don’t have the patience for The Idiot.

The ponderous character descriptions do not end. The exposition falls flat. Was I more patient in the ’80s? Have I changed that much, or is it the text? Maybe I’ll have to reread Crime and Punishment to test my mettle. Am I the idiot now?

A recommendation



Meanwhile, I just began Matt Haig’s The Life Impossible. The Midnight Library was good. I find myself charmed by this story of an elderly woman solving a mystery in Ibiza. You know how a certain turn of phrase can catch you? That’s what happened to me with The Life Impossible. To paraphrase, “The woman spoke with a voice so cool, her words might have just been pulled from a refrigerator.”

Nice. I wish I’d written that.

To my question: What book do you read and reread that holds up years later? I welcome your recommendations.

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Anger, Humour, and Spite

Let’s pull back the curtains and open the kimono. What goes into writing a book? I’ll just talk about inspiration and craft here. There are many more moving parts than what I could jam into one post.

  • My life. All fiction is autobiographical, from the knife held to my throat when I was a kid to all the other injustices for which I have an eidetic memory.
  • Environment. Growing up in Nova Scotia, I was in a target-rich environment for hearing interesting dialogue. My next thriller is set in Maine, and I take great delight in putting fresh spins on familiar idioms. (My dad had a hundred weird expressions. “That smell would drive a dog off a gut wagon,” for instance.)
  • My major was journalism, and my minor was philosophy, but I had better chances to feed my work. My first year of university was a survey course called The Foundation Year Program. A unique offering, it’s been described as the history of philosophy or the philosophy of history. FYP seemed to cover everything, from classics of literature to classical music and jazz. I read a lot of stuff I wouldn’t have read otherwise. It was a great opportunity to discover how much I didn’t know. To quote Ted Lasso, “Be curious.”
  • University isn’t for everybody, and a decent library would suffice. However, I’d worked for my family’s business since I was thirteen. My main goal was to stay out of the workforce for four years. (University was insanely cheap, then, lest you think me a brat. Besides, I kept up with my studies just fine.) University was best for the gift of time. I used those four years to read, and read, and read. I’d read a lot of science fiction through my teens. Most of my spare time in university went to American writers. I remember reading Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in one go, only stopping briefly to nap and eat.
  • My obsession with reading didn’t stop. Usually, I’ve got ten books going at once, though lately, I’ve turned more to audiobooks as a time management strategy. Everything feeds my work. Astute readers will note the parallels between This Plague of Days and The Stand. William Goldman’s prose was my awakening to how I plot a story to provide delightful surprises to readers.
  • Movies. One of my family’s companies was a video store, so I got to watch everything. I love movies and bring that sensibility to my writing. If you think my action scenes are cinematic, that’s probably why. When you’re reading my books, I want to put a movie in your head.
  • Wikipedia and assorted trivia. At my last dental cleaning, I blurted some obscure fact to the dental hygienist. She said, “How do you know that?” I know lots of useless factoids. A doctor once asked me if I had medical training. I replied (putting on a Southern accent because I’m funny), “I’m an educated fool, suh! Born to high privilege and of low station, beyond the delightful and obscure, I am otherwise useless to society.” (That didn’t help the psych evaluation, I can tell you!) However, interesting factoids are woven into my narratives, and readers appreciate them.
  • I have help. My editor, Gari Strawn, is a gem to whom I am so very grateful. My prime beta reader, Russ, has quite an eye for detail. Last night, he messaged me about whether there are hubcaps on Lincoln Continentals. This morning, he messaged me with suggestions for alternative classic cars the villain could drive in Vengeance Is Hers.
  • Anger, humour, and spite. Some people who could have been mentors, more helpful, or at least kind, told me I had delusions of grandeur. Fuck ’em.

My writing space has three desks, and I feel very lucky to have this writing life.

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Sincerely, what else can I do for you?

I’ve learned most about writing fiction from reading fiction, especially that of William Goldman. More than likely, you know his screenplays, most famously The Princess Bride. His novels are sublime and are now largely ignored as people favor the film medium. That guy sure knew how to delight with unexpected yet inevitable surprises.

For influences, I also have to name-check Stephen King for his dialogue and character work and Blake Crouch for pacing.

But this post isn’t about brilliant writing. I want to hear from you.

This post is about what else readers want, what you want.

It is startling how much work a publisher and author can put into promoting their books and still fail to move the needle. Our focus is pulled in many directions. The attention economy is fragmented. Marketing gurus insist an author newsletter is paramount, but very few people seem to read them. I’ve got a bunch of old subscriptions to newsletters sitting in my inbox. I will never get to them. Their appeal feels dated now.

What can I give you besides a great story and hours and hours of inexpensive entertainment?

  • A revered teacher once said, “You know what people want? Everything yesterday, through the mail, for free.” That’s a high bar to meet for a micro-business, but there are free promotions. To launch the book, some readers will pick up freebies (hopefully to read, love, and review). I’ll apply for a Bookbub promotion and set up various giveaways to prime the algorithms and get reviews.
  • Audiobooks. That’s on my radar, and I do have a home studio. So far, I’ve only used the blanket fort for podcast interviews. However, I feel Endemic and Vengeance Is Hers need a female narrator, not my voice. It’s an expensive proposition with no guarantee of remuneration, but of course, that’s true of any enterprise. It’s a question of making the budget work while calculating the risks.
  • Merch. I’ve got T-shirts and bookmarks in the works. This is not usually a major factor, but I plan to sell a lot of my books in person in 2025, so extras are a sweet idea.
  • Special editions. Because I’m shipping from Canada and most of my readers are American, I haven’t seriously explored this before. However, with in-person selling, I see the value in making some of my books extra special. For select hardcovers, I plan to add ribbon bookmarks and painted book edges.
  • Social proof. When seeking validation, authors always think of reviews first, and they aren’t wrong. The more reviews a book gets, the more it pushes the online stores’ algorithms. Readers read reviews to make buying decisions. Mass mailings to Booktubers and Booktok folks can be prohibitively expensive. There’s still Bookfunnel for free review copies, but unless the reviewer can hold up your book on social media, it’s less impactful.
  • Awards. Some authors question their value, but it’s one more subtle way to reassure readers they are in good hands. I’ve won fifteen awards for my writing. Does that help? It doesn’t hurt to quote a third party’s enthusiasm when hyping a book. (Not all awards are created equal, but that’s a different post.)
  • Engagement. One of the joys of my life comes daily as I talk with readers who have become fans and friends. I post on social media, but the core group is Fans of Robert Chazz Chute on Facebook. As I worked to recover from two hip replacements last year, I got a lot of love, sympathy, and support there. That went far beyond what I could do for them as fans of my work.

Writing a novel is difficult. Finding readers is much harder.

It’s easy to overspend on marketing that goes nowhere. You can write a great book, but too often, it gets lost in the deluge. There are a hundred variables outside of the writer’s control. Hundreds of marketing companies and PR firms promise the world. Marketing gurus say they possess the special sauce or magic secret. None of them admit that luck and timing play a huge role in what ranks.

My dad was successful in business, and he often said something I hated. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I hated it most because (a) I’m an introvert pretending to be an extrovert, and (b) I suspect he was right. For instance, it seems the hosts of Slate podcasts will interview authors as long as the guest is a sister, mentor, someone they went to school with, or mentee. Incessant logrolling is strong with the elite, and I’m not in that club.

Note the sincere face as I ask this.

What can I give you?

I didn’t write this post to whine. I’m asking you, as a reader, what do you value? Endemic won multiple awards. This Plague of Days is a best-selling zombie apocalypse novel. Citizen Second Class is trenchant and relevant to our times. My crime fiction (The Hit Man Series and The Night Man) is both knuckly and funny. Besides offering compelling novels with surprising twists, heart, and action, what grabs your attention?

My team and I are working hard to make Vengeance Is Hers a great story. What else can I do to become one of your favorite authors?

Check out all my books using this universal Amazon link:

http://author.to/RobertChazzChute

The Night Man cover
Citizen Second Class
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This is my first novel with a disclaimer

My next novel, Vengeance Is Hers. is packed with ways to wreak vengeance upon your many, many enemies! May righteous vengeance be yours!
But wait there’s more (and caveats)!


As previously stated (see previous blog post), I have a problem with forgive and forget. Forgiveness is nice in theory, and it’s good for you, of course. Without contrition from the offender, however, I fear this high-minded principle turns people pleasers into doormats.


As for forgetting? What? Like a lobotomy? I have an excellent memory, and I know what you did!

The novel kicks off with a disclaimer for all my well-researched mayhem:

This is not an instruction manual.

All acts of vengeance detailed herein were performed by fictional trained sociopaths.

Do not attempt.

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Forgive and forget? But how?

“I don’t have to be so angry about the past, anymore,” Molly said.

“Really?” Dylan’s doubt was evident.

“Oh, yeah! It’s time to get angry about the future.”

~ A snippet from Vengeance Is Hers

It sounds wise and peaceful to tell someone to forgive and forget. But is it really helpful?

I know it’s the healthier choice, even as I carry my heavy grudges around my neck in a bucket. I’m still angry, or at least annoyed, with people who are long dead or otherwise oblivious to my ire. They have forgotten their trespasses against me. I can’t.

A friend once insisted I make up with someone. “It’s called learning,” I replied. “They treated me badly, and I won’t give them more opportunities to repeat the offense.”

I remained obstinate, especially since the offender expressed no remorse and failed to apologize. They were drunk at the time, and their anti-social behavior was habitual. They may not even have the courtesy to remember they passed my standard for assholery.

The best I could hope for might be an insincere apology followed by the observation that I am overly sensitive. In which case, their penance shall be a throat punch.

Advising someone to forgive and forget is easy, but how do you do it?

When Tony Stark meets Bruce Banner for the first time, he’s intrigued by how he controls himself. Banner doesn’t allow his anger to turn him into the Hulk. Iron Man asks, “You’ve really got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?”

But we all know Bruce Banner’s secret. As he tells Captain America, “I’m always angry.”

I await your helpful suggestions and judgemental comments.

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Crime Thrillers are a Different Kind of Apocalypse

I’m happy to be working on a thriller about vigilante justice (see the post below). The apocalyptic genre has much cooled. This Plague of Days provides many solid tips for doomsday preppers, but fewer readers are inclined to read end-of-the-world stories when they fear they’re about to actually experience them.

If you enjoyed my apocalyptic works (TPOD, AFTER Life, Citizen Second Class, Robot Planet), you’ll still groove on Vengeance Is Hers. Besides retaining my voice and sense of humor, all my writing is about societal failure and seeking safety. My crime fiction is about finding ways to deal with suspenseful chaos (as seen in Bigger Than Jesus, Higher Than Jesus, Hollywood Jesus, Resurrection, and The Night Man). Whatever I write, you’ll get a dab of hope and a bunch of heart in the end.

But about those end-of-the-world scenarios outside your window

While immunologists worry about H1N1 jumping species to humans, RFK wants to freeze immunization research and remove mandates for common vaccines (which is absolutely not how herd immunity works). He thinks the solution to depression is simply to send the afflicted to farms where they have no access to processed food.

Last night, Bill Maher hosted a Stanford-educated doctor who claims med school taught her nothing valuable and that eliminating processed foods is the answer to all metabolic problems. So, “Doctor,” aside from the problematic classism in that stance, you’re telling me that RFK has all the answers, and Trump supporters everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief when you take away all their hamberders?

There was one powerful person who advocated healthy eating, and they condemned her as a fascist. Remember? Her name is Michelle Obama.

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COMING IN 2025

If you can’t forgive and forget, what’s next?

When the school bully attacks a fellow student, the authorities in Poeticule Bay, Maine, prove useless. Molly Jergins knows life isn’t fair, but she’s determined to make it so. Enraged, she launches a campaign of vigilante justice against the school bully.

As threats and vandalism escalate to a war ending in death, the line between right and wrong blurs. Molly tries to be good, but if you’re hunting monsters, the safer route is to become a better monster.

Is revenge the best success?

Robert Chazz Chute is a former speechwriter, magazine columnist, and crime and science journalist. A graduate of the University of King’s College and the Banff Publishing Workshop, Robert has won fifteen awards for his writing. He pens suspenseful crime fiction with muscle and apocalyptic tales with heart. Robert’s hidden headquarters is a blanket fort in Other London. Vengeance is Hers is his twenty-ninth book.