Author’s Note & Acknowledgments

 

Thomas Chisolm is a fixture in the first seven River City novels. In fact, he is arguably one of the leads in Under a Raging Moon and plays a large role in most of the others. He’s part of the River City mythology and deserves that legendary status, if you ask me. Obviously, he’s one of my favorite characters. He’s also based on a real cop (one of the very few times in my fiction that I’ve done this).

Chisolm’s Debt can certainly be read as a stand-alone adventure. But I think it reads better within the greater context of the River City series. This short novel provides a more detailed and complete ending to the arc of this character, who has been a staple of the series for seven books.

Was it sad for me to see Chisolm retire at the end of Dirty Little Town? Of course. Endings are bittersweet at best, and tragically sad at worst. But the River City series, like most of my work, is grounded very firmly in reality. And the reality is, cops eventually retire and move on. New faces and names take their place, and the world moves on.

It does so for all of us, Chisolm included.

But I owe the man and his alter-ego a thank you. Thomas Chisolm always provided veteran presence, courage, perspective, and wit to the story, and those are valuable traits. He was fascinating to explore and a pleasure to write.

Much the same can be said for the man he was based on, Tom Chapman. Tom was a truly great cop, a career patrol officer who served on S.W.A.T. and as a field training officer, as well as putting in a ton of time out at the police academy. His wit and observations on human nature are a delight, and his perspective is uniquely his own.

When I wrote the first draft of Under a Raging Moon in 1995, I was a two-year police officer. Tom Chapman was a patrol god. So it is no surprise that Thomas Chisolm made his way onto the page. It was something more than an homage but less than a direct transfer. Chisolm is an idealized version of Tom Chapman, captured at particular stage of his career, with some additional tweaks. But anyone who knew the real man will recognize him in the fictional one.

Of course, a funny thing happened along the way. From the moment Chisolm arrived in River City, his path diverged from Tom Chapman’s. He became his own person. His journey differed substantially. I won’t say that at the end of the journey you’ll find Chisolm a quite different man than the real-life inspiration he was based upon, but there some pronounced differences.

So, let’s be clear. Chisolm is based upon Tom Chapman, but he isn’t Tom Chapman. Even if he sometimes seems very much to be at times. I mean, I used one of my favorite photos of Tom for the book cover, so that says something, doesn’t it?

Here’s an embarrassing admission: when I wrote the first book, I never thought to ask Tom if it was okay that I based Chisolm on him. I reached a point where a small publisher was interested in publishing the book before I realized I’d better have that conversation. I mean, imagine pissing off Thomas Chisolm!

Thankfully, Tom was incredibly gracious. Not only did he give his blessing to the homage, he embraced it. The use of his photo for the cover of this book certainly speaks to that. Years later, when we met for dinner with our wives, he suggested a particular restaurant because “it seems like a place Thomas Chisolm would eat.”

So let me offer my sincerest thanks to Tom for being the inspiration for one of my most iconic River City characters, and for embracing the role. Even more importantly, I appreciate his guidance during my career and, of course, his service to our nation and to the community of Spokane, Washington.

Most all, though, thanks for the friendship.

As long as I’m thanking folks, I’d also like to recognize a bevy of friends and colleagues for helping me with this novella (not to mention many other projects):

John Emery, Louise Saylor, Sara Griffin, Kim Dennie, Brad Hallock and Melanie Donaldson, all for being great readers and offering their own unique perspectives to the book.

Matt Rose, for being a talented photographer (he took Tom’s photograph that ended up on the cover) and for working so hard to design the original cover.

Zach McCain for redesigning the 2022 version of that cover.

Jani Mahoney, for late game heroics.

Jill Maser. She knows why.

My first reader, Kristi. She knows why, too.

 

 

Frank Zafiro

August 2013

Spokane, Washington

(Revised January 2021 and March 2022

Redmond, Oregon)