Edge Of Somewhere by Kris Farmen

Edge Of Somewhere by Kris Farmen is an easy-reading, truly unique and thoroughly enjoyable surf infused novella.

Like the sound of that? Buy a copy on Amazon now or read on to find out more.

Meet the surfers

The two main characters are:

Charlie Deacon – born and raised in Alaska where he learnt to surf on Kodiak Island. Graduated in computer science and briefly became a pro surfer. Currently spending summer working on a US National Science Foundation base in Antarctica, and the winter season surfing Oz and Taz.

Amy Glanton – also born in Alaska and a surfing nomad. She has the “rare combination of genuine acting talent and model-grade looks”. Currently starring in a low budget sci-fi series, similar to Xena: Princess Warrior.

About Edge Of Somewhere

Edge Of Somewhere is a contemporary tale of love, fear, and surfing. Spoiler alert: it starts with a shark attack, leaving Charlie with physical and mental scars. Already a bit of a loner who prefers peace and the outdoors to loud music and parties, the effects of his shark encounter do little to improve his social charm.

Until he meets Amy WWOOFing in Tasmania. With lots in common (Alaska, surfing, travel, semi-stardom) a disjointed relationship begins. However, rolling stones gather no moss and whilst strong feelings remain the relationship falters, with other romantic interests filling the gaps.

So we follow the unconventional and turbulent lives of Charlie and Amy whilst they surf and move around to soothe their troubled souls. Will they ever be able to heal their damaged hearts and minds?

My Review

World class surf, wild locations, shark attack survival, tempestuous love and young adventures. Edge Of Somewhere contains exciting ingredients cleverly mixed to make a sensational surf story.

I particularly enjoyed visiting some of the world’s less explored shores. From the frigid landscapes of Antarctica and Alaska to the tropical extremities of Tasmania and West Oz. If you love surfing and travelling this book will tick your boxes.

Where can you buy Edge Of Somewhere?

You can buy Edge of Somewhere on Amazon as an ebook or printed copy.

Or on Barnes and Noble here.

About Kris Farmen

Writer, historian, surfer and Alaskan. Many of his books include an Alaskan or historical flavour but this is his first book about his other passion: surfing. He’s lived in Alaska most of his life with a two year spell in Adelaide, South Australia.

Discover more about Kris and his other books on: www.krisfarmen.com

Interview with Kris Farmen

Kris generously took time to answer my pesky questions, I hope you find his answers as enjoyable as I did:

• What are your local waves like?

I currently live in Fairbanks, Alaska which is about 500 miles from the nearest surf break. However, I lived and surfed on lower Cook Inlet (Southcentral Alaska) for 15 years. The waves there only come in fall and winter, with occasional lucky swells in the spring. It never gets more than head-high, and there’s a 20-foot tidal range that you have to learn to navigate to pick the choice conditions. But it’s an amazing place to surf. When I moved there it was just me and a couple other guys in the lineup. Now it’s a crowd of 15 or 20 surfers. Still not even approaching crazy crowds, but it’s more than I prefer!

• How’s the surfer / dad balance going these days?

At the moment it’s a lot more dad and a lot less surfing. My wife’s family lives in Florida, and lately I’ve been doing most of my surfing there when we go to visit. My hope is that we can start doing more surf travel to places like Costa Rica, Chile, France, Morocco, etc. And my fondest hope is that my five-year-old daughter will get into surfing so I’ll have an excuse to take those trips, but right now we’re still working on teaching her how to swim.

• Is Edge Of Somewhere your first foray into surf fiction?

Yes, Edge of Somewhere is my first work of surf fiction. But I think there’s more to come. I have another Charlie Deacon story rattling around in my head.

• What made you want to write about surfing?

Surf writing tends to focus on non-fiction memoir-type stories (A.C. Weisbecker’s In Search of Captain Zero, Daniel Duane’s Caught Inside, and William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days come to mind). And what fiction there is tends to be not very reflective with respect to what surfing is and the role it plays in a surfer’s life. Kem Nunn’s Tapping the Source is a great novel, obviously written by an author who knows the surfing world, but it’s not what I’d call a deep dive into the soul of surfing and surfers and our motivations.

Surfing is kind of like golf or fly fishing in that (in my experience, anyway) it tends to turn its practitioners into philosophers, and that’s always struck me as a fertile field for fiction writing. And I wanted to tap into that. To tap the source, as it were, and go deep into a character’s relationship with the sport. At the same time, I’ve been interested for a long time in trauma and how it marks a person, both physically and mentally. Charlie Deacon getting a love bite from a great white seemed like a great opportunity to do that.

• They say write about what you know, how much of this novella reflects your own experiences?

(I’m quietly hoping you’ll say ‘yeah I was a pro surfer punching sharks 10 years before Mick Fanning and like to do a bit of archaeology in Antarctica.’)

I wasn’t punching sharks 10 years before Mick Fanning, but I did have a very large shark swim past me in the lineup once, which is where the inspiration for Edge came from. I made it out of the water in one piece, but it was impossible not to imagine how things could have gone very differently. I’ve seen other sharks in the lineup since then, and even had my board bumped once, and it takes a lot of resolve to keep your cool. And as you may have figured out, I lived and surfed in Australia for several years; that’s where my in-depth knowledge of Australian pubs comes from.

• What’s in the pipeline?

I presume you mean what’s in the pipeline with my writing, and not the oil that runs through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. I mentioned that there’s another story about Charlie Deacon in my head, but he’s going to have to take a number and wait in line. I have a trilogy of novels set during Alaska’s time as a Russian colony coming out in just a few weeks–shameless plug: it’s called Seasons of Want and Plenty. And I’m currently drafting a novel set in a dystopian near-future version of Alaska. Neither of those have anything to do with surfing, but the time will come (maybe this year, I hope) to send Charlie on another surf trip.