Nearly a decade after making his debut, author and Crazy 8 Press member Russ Colchamiro has gone back to the beginning with a new and updated version of his first novel, the wild scifi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers.

Crazy 8 Press: Finders Keepers is one of the novels you are most known for. What inspired you to issue The Definitive Edition?

Russ Colchamiro: Haha fair enough! When I first published Finders Keepers back in 2010, it was intended to be a stand-alone tale of cosmic lunacy in the vein of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, with a complete, self-contained story I very much wanted to tell—and in the way that I wanted to tell it.

But when I expanded the adventures into a three-book series, which include the sequels Genius de Milo and Astropalooza, I wanted the first book to more closely match the tone, pacing, length, and style of books two and three, so the entire series feels more cohesive.

C8P: Makes sense! What’s different about the new version?

Russ: Looking back on the original Finders Keepers, there were elements I wanted to change. Passages that needed to be cut, sections that could easily be combined, and a few character traits I wanted to approach with a bit more nuance, especially as the original was a bit rough and raunchy in places.

Maybe this updated version is me showing my age (or maturity or a few bumps on the head!), but I came to accept that some of the more raucous, sex comedy elements in the original might be distracting from the rest of the story (consider the original the Raw and Uncensored edition!).

C8P: New readers won’t notice any changes, but what about for fans of the original?

Russ: First off, for anyone who read and loved the original and thinks, “Whoa! Dude! What gives? We love Finders Keepers the way it is” … you’re awesome! But have no fear! This new version contains the same plot, the same adventure, and the same characters … only with far fewer f-bombs and naughty passages.

It also comes in at a lean 81,000 words, down from nearly 95,000. (Yup. I killed my darlings. Lot’s of ’em.)

C8P: Whew! Sounds great! For those who haven’t read Finders Keepers… what’s it about?

Russ: Finders Keepers is still about our bumbling backpackers Jason Medley and Theo Barnes, two guys in their early 20s from opposite ends of the Earth, caught in that netherworld between college and a career, zig-zagging Europe and New Zealand to have one last hurrah before they have to… blarg!… become responsible adults.

And while they’re out there, find a way to get the girl, discover the meaning of life, and, of course, save the universe, whether they realize they’re doing it or not.

C8P: You’re calling this the Definitive Edition. Does that mean…?

Russ: Yup. This is it! No more versions. No more tweaks. And it’s got a snazzy new cover from my go-to cover man Roy Mauritsen.

C8P: Thanks, Russ! Where can folks pick up Finders Keepers: The Definitive Version – and the entire series?

A: Sure thing! You can find Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo and Astropalooza here on the Crazy 8 Press site. They’re also available through various online channels, including but not limited to Amazon and Barnes & Noble .

 

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Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space opera, Crossline, the outrageous SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

 

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, They Keep Killing Glenn, and Brave New Girls.

 

He is now working on three collaborative novella projects and the first full-length novel featuring his hardboiled intergalactic private eye Angela Hardwicke.

 

For more on Russ and his books, visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter and Instagram @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor.

 

Russ is repped by The Zack Compnay.