By Katlin Sweeney

Features Editor

Altadena native Chris Wesley  has combined his passions for music, photography and art to create his first novel, “Regret in Triptych.”

“Regret in Triptych” highlights the story of Andros Koresh, a man searching for information about the recent death of his wife. However, the only person who may hold the clues he is looking for is his ex-girlfriend.

Instead of a storyline based around the traditional love triangle, “Regret in Triptych” focuses on a love square where the spouses of the two main characters are also involved in the story. Much of the inspiration behind the novel comes from Wesley’s past experiences and the fact that his ex-girlfriend is now his best friend in real life.

“The way [that the main character Andros] responds to stuff is very much [like] me. He thinks the way I do, although he does things I wouldn’t do. The other characters are composites of certain people I know,” Wesley said.

Art history classes that Wesley took are what ultimately inspired the title of the novel.

“The book is three chapters, hence the word ‘triptych.’ It’s kind of playing off of the historic meaning of triptych, which is usually in churches, where a painting is done in three panels. In this story, I took that concept of three panels and three chapters. It begins the story outside in open air, open space, the second chapter comes inside the house, the third chapter goes inside the people,” Wesley said.

Art is heavily involved throughout “Regret in Triptych,” and is even seen in the promotional material. Instead of making business cards or fliers to promote the book, Wesley has designed The Pilgrimage Vignettes, cards that have a photograph he created on one side and pieces of the story that are not included in the book on the other. He has also created original music that flows with the book’s storyline.

“The music I am creating is all in character, so it spans from rock to hip hop to the different forms of electronica. There will be a few other genres, but those are the main ones. With the promotion cards, I wanted to create something that isn’t throw-away. I like photography and so for these pieces, it was important that I use my art. Eventually I want to do a gallery-type of show with art that fits in the story. Also, I wanted to give people who have the cards something more so that they don’t already know what’s going to happen in the book. The Pilgrimage Vignettes gives me an opportunity to explore the love affair of Andros and his wife Nicole, [which is not in the book], without me having to write an actual romance novel,” Wesley said.

To find out more about Chris Wesley’s photography, music and book, visit chriswesley.com or aristicagenda.com. “Regret in Triptych” is available at Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com as a Kindle eBook or a NOOK Book.