An Excerpt from My Next Thriller

I added a little scene to my vigilante thriller yesterday, so I thought I’d share it. Here’s what you need to know: Molly Jergins attends Poeticule Bay Consolidated High School. After a fellow student, Barry Graves, is attacked by the school bully, Keith Faun, Molly confronts Keith. After that scene, a teacher shows up. Molly proves that, despite her young age (or perhaps because of her youth), she’s made of sterner stuff.

Oration: Scene fragment / Molly and Mrs. Simmons

Molly’s history teacher, Mrs. Abby Simmons, pushed her way through the crowd. “Hey! People! The bell has rung! Get to class! What’s going on? I’ve got an empty classroom, and I get lonely talking to myself! All of you have somewhere to be!”

Molly, sporting a wide and grateful grin, turned to her. “Sure, Mrs. Simmons!”

Keith turned and walked away, and Molly called after him, “You’re welcome!”

Some students snickered. Mrs. Simmons shushed them and waved them on. The crowd dispersed. A few of the juniors and sophomores touched Molly’s shoulder as a silent gesture of respect as they passed. She was relieved, certain that those witnesses and their phones had saved her from getting a black eye, or worse.

“What are you up to, Molly? Did you just make a bad situation worse?” Mrs. Simmons demanded.

“Me? Nah. That guy is like an ice cream headache. He’s going to get worse before he gets better. Not that anyone cares, but a lot of us don’t feel safe going to this school.”

By her eyes, Molly could tell the teacher didn’t disagree. Mrs. Simmons didn’t feel safe, either.

“You should know,” Mrs. Simmons said, “when you’re young and immature, you’ve got a lot more anger and energy. You look at the state of the world and….” She trailed off. They were alone in the corridor, but the teacher still looked around nervously to make sure no one else was within earshot.

“What is it, ma’am?” Molly prompted.

The teacher’s jaw worked for a moment as she searched for the right words. Finally, Mrs. Simmons said, “I just think you should appreciate that a lot of people around here, not just the students, are appalled by the incident between Keith and the Graves boy. But we’re also tired and just trying to get through our days. The police and the principal were informed. The ball’s in their court now. What’s best is to leave it be. Not our monkeys, not our circus anymore, right?”

Molly cocked her head to one side. “You’re tired?”

“Of this business? Surely and immeasurably.”

“If you’re tired, imagine how exhausted Barry must be. It sounds like you’ve given up, ma’am.”

“You will, too. Everybody does. When you learn the limits of what you can do, it makes sense to set your sights lower.”

“Spoken as a true educator, Mrs. Simmons! You’re an inspiration!”

The teacher shot her a sour look. “Tend to your own knitting, Molly, and get your butt to class.”

“I’ve got a free period in the library, ma’am.”

“Then get to it.”

She’d meant to curb Keith, not shame Mrs. Simmons. “Sorry,” Molly said, “maybe you’re right. I guess a lot of people do give up for whatever reason. I understand you’re trying to help me.”

But Molly couldn’t leave it at that, couldn’t stop herself. “As long as I’m still young and full of energy, though, I think I’ll keep on being angry when it’s right to be angry. Your way, powerless people stay powerless. You taught me that in your history class.”

Molly thought she had earned herself a detention, but Mrs. Simmons said nothing more. The teacher spun on her heel and strode back to her classroom.

Whatever happens, Molly cautioned herself, don’t turn into her. Don’t get so chicken of being wrong that you don’t do right.

Vengeance Is Hers

by Robert Chazz Chute

will be released in early 2025.

November 29, 2024November 29, 2024

It’s beginning to look a lot like Book Christmas

Looks like we’ll get our first real snow here tomorrow. The malls are packed with shoppers, but people don’t go into panic-shopping mode until the weather turns and it really looks like Christmas is coming. Now that December 25 is just a few weeks away, it’s time to order your Christmas books.

Find my author profiles using the links below:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon Canada

November 29, 2024June 8, 2025

Read Banned Books

As my beta readers review my latest manuscript, I’m preparing for my next book launch. Some marketing gurus say authors should start promoting their books at least a year in advance, or the at the moment of conception, whichever comes earliest. That sounds like an exhausting marathon for both of us, but I’m cranking up the hype machine. In the meantime, there’s plenty of books to read while you eagerly await my next masterpiece. Right? Right?

There are many variables with these endeavors.

When I launched Endemic in October 2021, Amazon sabotaged me. Despite multiple calls to customer support, they wouldn’t allow me to run ads. It was obtuse, but my story about how people change and how they don’t was hidden from view. Oh, yeah, and the backdrop was New York, fallen to a pandemic. No doubt, the AI bots at Amazon suffocated my baby because of the title. They thought my sci-fi content could some misleading or controversial statement about the real world. It was fiction, not misleading, and possibly controversial to some pearl-clutchers.

Happily, Endemic went on to win the prestigious North Street Book Prize in genre fiction, a Literary Titan Award, and first place in science fiction at both the New York Book Festival and the Hollywood Book Festival. Vindication!

Eventually, Amazon lifted the ban, but the experience left me bitter, gun shy, and feeling a deeper sympathy for authors of banned books everywhere. I’m assuming that, because my heroine in Endemic is asexual, the book would get banned if the censors were paying attention. (Looking forward to that! I’d be in good company.)

Given the state of the world, it’s significant that some of the censors’ favorite targets make political points. I’m with Stephen King on this: If they don’t want you to read it, add it to your reading list. Throughout history, the book banners have never been the good guys. Some examples of banned books I’ve read that I consider essential are:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This is not a comprehensive list, but if you haven’t read any of the above, I recommend you fill that gap. Or even read this one:

Ovid Fairweather is a neurodivergent book editor in New York when a deadly plague sweeps the United States. Bullied by her father, haunted by her dead therapist, and hunted by marauders, Ovid must find courage amid the chaos to become the person she was always meant to be.

She was a nail., She will become a hammer.

CLICK HERE TO BUY ENDEMIC

November 25, 2024June 7, 2025

Inspiration, Off the Beaten Track

Tired of endless tired movie sequels? Me, too. However, renewed creative energy and inspiration can come from anywhere. Maybe you’ll see it in a sunset or in a lyric from music that fires up your imagination. Today, I found the spark in a comic book store.

My son and I had a grand day out. After shopping for groceries and Christmas presents, he took me to Heroes, London’s largest comics shop. The last time I stepped inside Heroes, it was located across the street a couple of decades ago. I collected in the ’80s. When I bequeath my collection, it won’t amount to much monetarily. In the ’80s, everybody collected comics. But now, in 2024, the indies made me happy and brave.

Recently, I read a graphic novel about Leonard Cohen. I thought I already knew a lot about Cohen, but that graphic novel taught me a lot more. Djuna, by Jon Macy, is about Djuna Barnes, a fascinating literary figure of whom I knew nothing. I probably would not have discovered her biography were it presented in a different medium.

I’m not reading The Flash or Daredevil now. I’m reading inventive and original stories about what happens when Americans flee America and become illegal immigrants, That’s Americatown. Or how about Reckless? It’s a crime thriller by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Any Empire by Nate Powell “presents a vivid examination of war and violence, and their trickle-down effects on Middle America.”

When so much of what’s sold on Amazon begins to look the same, you have more alternatives. Small independent publishers with unique stories told in imaginative ways are waiting. Small indie publishers often do what huge publishers won’t. That applies to novels by independent publishers, too.

You’ll see what I mean when my next novel, Vengeance Is Hers, hits in 2025. Please stand by for that, but in the meantime, check out some graphic novels and see what you think. See things you never imagined you would see.

November 22, 2024November 25, 2024

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.

November 21, 2024

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.

November 19, 2024

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.

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?