Speaker 1: Aro dot net A r r oe dot net. It
is more than just a podcast. It is a podcast network.
If you like me, when I get in the car
or I'm sitting at the office, I want to have
the power of choice. What am I in the mood for.
I don't want to just settle for anybody's subject. So
that's why I created street Speak. It's Alexa and my
real self having a conversation. It's the digital world versus
somebody who actually lived it. Street Speak on erow dot
net A r r oe dot net. Enjoy the exploration. Hello,
Hi is this Christopher?
Speaker 2: It is Hey.
Speaker 1: What's up dude? It's Aerocollins. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2: Good? How you doing doing?
Speaker 1: Fantastic? Looking forward to sharing a conversation about your new
book Big Shot, because dudes, you're in touch with something
here that I think is going to create a lot
of conversation.
Speaker 2: Oh good, good, I'm really glad to hear that. Thank you.
It's very kind of here.
Speaker 1: You embrace the what if factor, And that's what I
love about your writing is that it's like, oh what if?
Oh oh what what if? I mean, did you face
that while you were writing it?
Speaker 2: No? No, what I would say, is uh that That's
what I'm always thinking when I'm writing, is I'm always
trying to figure out what would happen if you just
took what's happening every day and then crank it just
a little bit, you know, ten degrees further.
Speaker 1: Don't you love that though, about being an author in
the way that you can put a thought on a
page and then you can work it out like a puzzle.
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, that's I mean, that's the whole reason to write.
It's to spill out what you know, what you've got
in your brain, to figure out what you know.
Speaker 1: Was there any oh wow factors when you were putting
this in there about Jesse and Ramsey, because we're talking
about two different people here that you know, they have
two completely different personalities, but their paths meet. All right,
I want to know how that met up on your page?
Speaker 2: Well? I think that there was always going to be
a I mean, first of all, you g always you
have to have conflict, You always have to have conflict.
But you start with I mean with any Jesse Stone novel.
What's what's great is that Robert B. Parker did the
hard work. You know, he created this this fantastic, fascinating character,
and often I have to do is just wind him
up and see where he goes. So what you have
with what you have with Jesse is you have this
guy who is always going to do the right thing,
no matter what the cost. And what I think what
I wanted to do was put him up against somebody
who has no scruples and no ethics and has made
a really good living out of that, has made himself
incredibly wealthy out of that. And those are two different
kinds of power. One is a very morally based power
that comes from authority and from respect, and the other
is the kind of power that you just buy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because when you when you when you bring in
Jesse and and you bring him into this this hedge
fund manager's issue, I mean it's like, I mean, it's
there's such a sense of awareness there in the fact
that he doesn't know everything but yet but he's now
inside this world that my god, these hedge find people
are these hedge fund people in the real world are
owning NFL football teams right.
Speaker 2: Right, There's a lot of power that comes with just
enormous wealth. Yeah, and you know, obviously this guy's fictional,
but you can. What you do is you take real
world characteristics and you try to like you were, and
like we were, just saying, crank them up to eleven
and see what happens.
Speaker 1: I love that kind of action because once again, that
is the what if factor, because somewhere within a reader's
what if, they're gonna see their identity. What if I
would have been this one here? What if I would
have been Ramsey? Or hey, do you think I could
be like Jesse? I mean, I mean, there's so many
what ifs that are in your writing because for some reason,
I always feel like that you see us.
Speaker 2: Oh thank you, that's really that's a huge compliment. What
I'm trying to do, yeah, is I mean, Jesse is
the person we want to be, guy who is battered
and bruised but is still trying to do the right thing.
And I think all of us deep down want to
be that guy. I think that there's only a very
few people who don't, and those people are sociopaths. And
that's who Ramsey is. Ramsey is a guy who will
do anything for himself.
Speaker 1: Well that that puts a lot of faith into this
this line here, which is a quote that I absolutely
love love, love. It's hard to get people to do
the right thing when their paycheck depends on doing the
wrong thing. Been there, how about you? We can relate with.
Speaker 2: That, right right, everybody's been in that situation. Everybody has
come up against a wall of somebody who just doesn't
want to just doesn't isn't going to see it, just
isn't going to do the right thing. And that's it's
it's incredibly frustrating, it's incredibly maddening when you come up
against that. So that's what that's. Yeah, I mean, if
I was trying to tap into anything with this book,
that was it.
Speaker 1: So did you do you know someone like Ramsey Devlin
in the in the way? Because I mean the you
make him sound so real and so authentic. I'd love
to know what your research was and or is there
somebody in your life or were you just staring at
a picture and said, yeah, you're the guy, You're the one,
come on, let's go for a ride.
Speaker 2: I was a reporter for a long time, and I
was an investigative reporter, and then I was a business reporter.
And you do see unfortunately people like that. You do
see people knows I mean again ninety percent of the
people I ran up against when I was a business reporter. We're,
you know, good decent people just trying to make their
business work. But there are always people who want to
gain the system and scam people and hurt them. And
when I was an investigative reporter, I ran into a
lot more of those. And you will always see somebody
who figures that just because somebody else has it doesn't
mean it's theirs, and it's yeah, that's the kind of
guy Ramsey is.
Speaker 1: Yeah, But are you like me, Christopher in the way
that because I deal with con artist as well, I
mean literally every week. And the thing is, though, is
the way that I identify them is I impersonate their voices,
because a con artist keeps coming back, keeps coming back,
keeps coming back, And so what happens is that as
you're trying to explain the story, all of a sudden,
now I'm impersonating their voice. And then but I love
what you did. At least you put it in a book, man,
to where you can sit there and give people their
own voice, where they can have their own interpretation what
they envision about what's going on with Ramsey. I mean,
it's like there's just so much going on here.
Speaker 2: Right What I think is really personally disappointing and saddening
to me is that a lot of people today right
now don't see the problem with being somebody like Ramsey.
I know, you know, we have a lot of I mean,
we have a lot There is no consequence for being
a thief or a scam artist. It's like there's a
real worry in my mind that you're the sucker. You
don't take advantage of somebody else. And I think and
I think that it's really unfortunate that a lot of
people have taken that as as gospel. That we've got
people who have proven that you can just fail upwards.
Speaker 1: And yet what what what I mean right here in
your own pages. I mean, you you talk about the
new heights that you can reach, but then all you
also identified that it could be fake, it could be criminal.
I mean, you're playing both sides of the fence there
where you're giving that reader that opportunity to say, Okay,
what side of the fence am I going to go on?
I'm going to go with the dark side because I
just think that wearing the black cowboy hats of where
I want to be.
Speaker 2: Right right, I think that there's a lot of that.
I mean, you can you see it in a lot
of the stories we're telling right now, not and I mean,
but you can also just see it in the news
every day. You see it in people like Sam Bankman Treed,
or Elizabeth Holmes from Far Andose.
Speaker 1: Please Do Not Move. There's more with Christopher Farnsworth coming
up next. The name of the book, Big Shot from
Christopher Farnsworth. So what is it like for you to
report at Because I realize you know that that we
are authors, but at the same time, we're also journalists,
and you kind of report in a way that you
know how to get to that person that's inquisitive, but
you also want to get to that person that wants
to be taken for a journey or a ride through
their imagination. I mean, you've nailed both sides of this.
Speaker 2: Dude. Well, that's that's really kind of me to say,
But yeah, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying
to make this entertaining and not a sermon or a lecture,
but I'm trying to trying to get that message out there.
Speaker 1: Are you thinking of a series here at all? I
mean because even as a writer, I sit there and go,
what happens if this turns into a series or a movie.
You can't you can't push that stuff aside anymore because
they've made it so readily available for authors.
Speaker 2: Right right, well, I mean yeah, Jesse, I mean, Jesse
is a series right now. So yeah, he's going to
continue to do I mean, I'm going to do the
books as long as they'll let me. That's a mess,
but I what, I yeah, what I That's again. What
I love about Jesse is that you can put him
in any situation and you will he will do the
right thing. And that's the great thing about it. He's
an actual hero.
Speaker 1: Are you guilty of talking to Jesse when in the
room and people think, who are you talking to? Because
I'll do that because I because if I if I
see a real life situation where I know that a
book character will fit into it, oh hell yeah, I'm
playing this out like actors on a stage, right. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think everybody. I think every writer has those voices
in their head. And I think you always try to yeah,
and I mean, yeah, you're always talking to yourself. The
great thing about being a writer is that you have
imaginary friends all the time. You're never lonely.
Speaker 1: We got to talk about that book cover because when
they go to Amazon or they go to Barnes and Noble,
I want them to know that book cover when they
walk in, because there is such a mystery inside this
book cover. It's darkened out the coins versus the cash.
You know, there's the suit, the tie and you and
your mind is going oh oh, oh oh, and then
you have to pick it up. You've got to pick
up the book just for that book cover.
Speaker 2: That's really nicely. Yeah, I think I think Putnam did
a fantastic job on the cover. But yeah, it's a
guy in a suit and he's he's surrounded and there's yeah,
gold bitcoins falling from this from the sky, and it's
it's the dream that all of these guys push is
that Yeah, money is you know, it's it's suits and
cash and but there's this darkness behind it. It's this
beautifully symbolic cover.
Speaker 1: Well, what is it like for you as an author?
We're talking about the bitcoins. We have physical evidence that
the bitcoins are on that book cover, but but the
average person still has no idea what a bitcoin is.
They're envisioning things, and it's like, I think it's digital,
is it not?
Speaker 2: Right? I mean, that's the That's part of the problem
with it is that it it invites that sort of
mystery that's sort of like confusion. A lot of you know,
people are investing in bitcoin and not really knowing what
it is. It is. It is complicated, but essentially it's
a security that it's only its only value is itself.
It only goes up because people invest.
Speaker 1: In the speaking of things that go up. Why did
my guard instantly go up when you introduced Gary Armistead
because I mean, all of a sudden, I think, is
it because you you introduce him as a politician, and
all of a sudden, my mind is going, ah ah
yeah politician, Ah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Gary is yeah. Gary is is the consummate politician.
He's everything that Jesse isn't, and he's the mayor of
Paradise and he will it's you know, it's it's an
amazing thing that the smaller the pie is, the harder
people fight for their piece of it. It's a very
small town. But Gary wants to be the absolute and
only authority in it, so he of course hates Jesse.
Speaker 1: But see there's conflict again. That takes us all the
way back to the very beginning, right.
Speaker 2: Right, And yeah, Jesse and and Gary do not get
along and what and Gary is ostensibly his boss. But again,
Jesse has the moral authority in that he actually works
to protect people. He doesn't care about elections. He cares
about doing that.
Speaker 1: I think, am I wrong to think that Jesse is
the is the epitome of being a modern day chameleon,
because it seems like Jesse fits into everything.
Speaker 2: Well, I know, I don't think that's wrong. I think
that I think he's quiet. Yeah, I think so. Ye,
So few people have that sort of you know, stillness
at their center anymore, where they just they take things
as it comes. And honestly, I mean again, I didn't
create the character Robert B. Parker did. But when I
think of him, when I think of that, I think
of my grandfather, who was a very who was a
quiet but extremely funny, wise moral man, and I was
very lucky to have him in my life. But he
had this he had this simple, quiet dignity and things
would come at him and he would just he would
just take them as they as they came. And that's
what I try to. That's what I try to convey
when I'm conveying Jess at the center of all this turmoil.
Speaker 1: So what is it like for you as an author
to step into a storyline that's been set up by
somebody else and then to bring it forward? And the
reason why I bring that up is because, my god,
I've got forty some odd years of writing here. So
I need you to come over here and go through
my writing and say, yeah, when I was sitting down
with Arrow, he was this is what he was writing with.
I mean, because I think it's so fascinating that you
can tap into the energy of another creative spirit and
walk forward with it. I find that to be magical.
That is something that that's a gift.
Speaker 2: I really appreciate that. But I think that also, I mean,
to me, I've been given a gift. I'm giving this
huge legacy and I get a chance to put my
mark on it. And it's very it's very humbling in
some ways because he's a big shoes to kill. Robert B.
Parker was, you know, for a lot of people, the
greatest guy ever to do it, the greatest private eye
writer ever, the greatest mystery writer ever, and that's a
that's a huge legacy to be handed.
Speaker 1: Well, don't you see this as a dear future reader moment,
because I mean he obviously has handed this to you.
So therefore, dear future reader, this is yours. Now take
it to the next level.
Speaker 2: I'm trying, Yeah, I'm trying to do my best, you know,
and you just, yeah, you do your best and you
give everything you possibly can. It's it's not anything you
should you take for granted.
Speaker 1: Do you ever sit there though in wonder, like when
you see students in elementary school or even middle school,
it's like the one thing that authors get what through
life as they get older, is that understanding of why
writing is so important. But it's like at that level
in school, they're missing something. It's almost like you have
no idea what writing. Sure, go read the book, but
you got to write as well. There's something in the
writing that you need for your future self.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, absolutely, I think it's part of what makes us human.
And that's one reason, like, for instance, AI really disturbs
me so much, is that it's so many people are saying,
well that we can take that, we can take that
away from kids, we can take that that effort and
make it easier for them. And it's it shouldn't be easy.
You should be you should have to work on how
to express yourself because that is such an important part
of what makes you human, but also what makes you
able to communicate and convey yourself in the world.
Speaker 1: See, you're not just an author, you're actually proving something.
You're also proving to people that make this authentic. Make
your work authentic. You know, this is what happens when
you invest the time and the real human energy into it.
And that's why I'm so proud of you, Christopher, and
why your books are so important.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. That's really kind of you. I want
to I mean, everybody when they write should be trying
to find that they're authentic. Yes moment. And I had
a really good writing teacher named John Rember and one
of the things he taught me was he said, writing
is the process of naming the things you love. I
love that, Yeah, it was. I mean, it's true. It's
like you should figure everything you write. There's nothing you
write is just a one off or just you know,
you know, like anything that you should just scribble out.
That everything you write should come from your authentic self.
Speaker 1: Wow. Where can people go to find out more about
you and everything that you're putting inside your writing and
future endeavors.
Speaker 2: You can go to www dot Chris Farnsworth dot com.
You can also find me on Facebook at author Chris Farnsworth,
and those two places will have all the information you need.
Speaker 1: Man, you got to come back to this show anytime
in the future. The door is always going to be
open for you.
Speaker 2: Dude. Oh, that's really kind of you. Thank you so
much for taking the time. I really appreciate you well having.
Speaker 1: You'll be brilliant today.
Speaker 2: Okay, you too. Take care