Deepwater-Release Technique for Rockfish

Fish, Kodiak Wildlife, , , , ,

This week, I ‘ll describe the deepwater-release technique developed for rockfish. In my last post, I wrote about rockfish conservation and talked about ways anglers can help preserve vulnerable rockfish populations. Due to their unvented swim bladder, rockfish are extremely sensitive to changes in water pressure. When an angler catches a rockfish in water deeper than 90 ft. (27.43 m) and reels it to the surface, the fish’s swim bladder rapidly expands, compressing internal organs and often pushing the stomach out through the mouth. These pressure change can also rupture blood vessels, tear the swim bladder, and cause bulging eyes or gas bubbles in the eyes.

Stomach protruding from yelloweye rockfish mouth
Distressed Rockfish

Sometimes rapid pressure changes cause physiological damage so severe it kills the fish, but in other instances, the fish can survive if the angler quickly returns it to the depth where it was caught.

Since a rockfish’s swim bladder rarely deflates on its own once the fish arrives at the surface, the fish cannot dive and instead floats until it dies or is eaten. Anglers sometimes mistakenly feel they can help the fish by either puncturing the stomach protruding from the fish’s mouth or puncturing the fish’s body to let air out of the swim bladder. This technique, called “fizzing” or “venting,” often leads to infection and eventual death.

Deepwater-Release Devices

Recently, biologists have developed a new deepwater-release technique to submerge rockfish as quickly as possible either to the depth where they were caught or 100 feet (30.5 m), whichever comes first. Research on this technique has shown a substantial increase in the survival of released rockfish. One laboratory study produced a survival rate of 96% for recompressed rockfish. Another study in the wild found only 22% of yelloweye rockfish released at the water’s surface managed to submerge, but 98% of yelloweyes survived when submerged to the depth where they were captured.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has now added the deepwater-release technique to its list of “best practices” for anglers to employ to minimize release mortality of rockfish. Biologists believe if they can convince anglers to use this technique, as well as follow other rockfish conservation methods, rockfish mortality will decrease significantly.

What is the deepwater-release technique? It is a simple procedure, but since time is critical, rockfish anglers should have the gear ready and be prepared to implement the technique as soon as the rockfish arrives at the surface.

Several deepwater-release devices, from simple to sophisticated, can be purchased, but you can also easily make your own deepwater-release device. Begin with a 3-lb. jig with a single hook and grind the barb off the hook. Next, take a fishing rod and attach the line to the bend of the hook. Assemble the device and have it ready to go before you start fishing. The fish is much more likely to survive if you minimize its time at the surface, so have the device assembled and make sure you know what to do before you catch a rockfish.

If you think you have a rockfish on the line, quickly reel the fish to the surface. The swim bladder will inflate regardless of your reeling speed. Remove the hook from the fish’s mouth and attach the release device. If using a homemade device, hook the barbless hook through the soft tissue of the jaw. Gently drop the fish back into the water and release the anti-reverse on the reel, allowing the line to free spool. Allow the fish to descend until either the jig hits bottom, or reaches 100 ft., whichever comes first. Then, give the rod a hard tug to release the fish. The faster you can perform this technique, the more likely the rockfish will survive.

Next week, I’ll discuss marine reserves as a possible management option to protect rockfish populations. Reserves are controversial because both sport and commercial fishing are prohibited in reserves, and many biologists question if reserves work as a form of conservation.

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y the way, Mary Ann’s books would make perfect Christmas presents!

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Rockfish Conservation

Fish, Kodiak Wildlife, , , ,

This week, I want to discuss rockfish conservation. Over the past few weeks, I’ve discussed how rockfish are more vulnerable to overfishing than most species of fish, and non-pelagic rockfish populations are particularly fragile. Rockfish prefer rocky habitats where anglers can easily find and target them, and rockfish are quick to take a lure, making them easy to catch. Also, they grow quickly but mature slowly, so they are often caught before they can reproduce and sustain their population. It is their physiology, though, not their lifestyle which makes rockfish susceptible to annihilation by anglers.

Stomach protruding from yelloweye rockfish mouth
Stomach protruding from mouth

Rockfish rarely survive catch-and-release fishing because they have an unvented swim bladder. The swim bladder is a balloon-like organ which adjusts the buoyancy of a fish. As the fish ascends toward the surface, the swim bladder inflates. If the swim bladder has a vent, it can easily again deflate when the fish dives, but a rockfish cannot quickly deflate its swim bladder, and since the fish normally remains in deep water, it has no need to make large adjustments in the inflation or deflation of its bladder. When an angler catches a rockfish, though, and reels it to the surface, the gasses in the swim bladder expand and compress internal organs. Often, by the time the fish reaches the surface, the stomach bulges into the mouth cavity. Other common pressure-change injuries include ruptured swim bladders, ruptured blood vessels in internal organs, and bulging eyes or gas bubbles in the eyes.

Once the swim bladder of a rockfish has completely expanded, it will not likely deflate on its own because it does not have a vent. If the angler releases a fish with an inflated swim bladder, the fish floats on the surface until it suffocates, or something eats it. Gulls often land near floating fish and peck out its eyes while the fish is still alive.

Rockfish are good to eat and are harvested in commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries from California to Alaska. Anglers have depleted many rockfish populations from British Columbia to California, and even when fisheries managers enact strict regulations or completely ban fishing in certain areas, these populations are slow to recover. Only older rockfish can reproduce, and few rockfish larvae survive to reach maturity.

Rockfish swimming

Rockfish are not easy to manage because they live in deep, rocky spots where biologists cannot employ traditional sampling techniques. In Alaska, researchers do not know the abundance of most rockfish stocks, so fisheries managers have elected to implement strict regulations for catching and retaining rockfish, especially for yelloweye and other non-pelagic rockfish. Since even the rockfish anglers release are likely to die, though, biologists now focus on informing anglers of the fragility of rockfish populations.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game distributes literature to sportfishing guides and posts informational signs near boat ramps to encourage anglers to follow these guidelines to avoid catching rockfish or to at least minimize rockfish harvest.

Angler's Guide to the Rockfishes of Alaska
  1. If you are not targeting rockfish, avoid fishing where you are likely to catch them. Rockfish inhabit the steep sides of rock piles and reefs. Lingcod are found at the top of rock piles and reefs, and halibut lie on the flat bottom near a reef.
  2. If you are targeting lingcod or halibut, keep your jig 10-15 ft. (3-5 m) off the bottom. Researchers in Oregon found this technique significantly reduced rockfish bycatch but did not affect the odds of catching halibut and actually increased the success rate for landing lingcod.
  3. If you want to retain a few rockfish along with other species, target the other species first and retain any incidental rockfish you catch.
  4. Fish with a circle hook. Circle hooks stick in the mouth and are not ingested, so they are easier to release and less likely to cause a serious injury.
  5. Remember, rockfish only have a freezer life of four months, so don’t catch more than you can eat.
  6. If targeting rockfish, implement deep-water-release methods.

In my next post, I will discuss deep-water-release techniques in more detail. This simple concept produces surprisingly successful results.

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Several weeks ago, I mentioned the Reader’s and Writer’s Book Club started by my publisher and some of my fellow authors. You can still claim your free lifetime membership to the club by following this link, but free membership will end within the next few weeks. I am currently writing a mystery with the aid of club members, and I invite you to join the fun!

As always, thanks for visiting my blog, and don’t forget to sign up for my free monthly mystery newsletter about true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Black Rockfish

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Black rockfish (Sebastes melonops) range from range from Amchitka Island, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands to California. Two weeks ago, I wrote about rockfish in Alaska, and I explained that biologists classify rockfish by dividing them into two groups: pelagic and non-pelagic. Last week, I wrote about yelloweye rockfish, a non-pelagic species. This week, I’ll write about black rockfish, a pelagic species and the most common rockfish in Alaskan waters.

Although not related to the bass family, anglers often refer to black rockfish as black bass because their shape resembles a bass. They have a mottled gray-black body, usually with dark stripes extending from the head to the gill cover. The sides are lighter than the back, and the stomach is pale gray. Black rockfish have a large mouth and a spiny dorsal fin. As with other rockfish, venom sacs lie at the base of each spine. The venom is only mildly toxic to humans, but it does cause pain and can lead to infection. Their light-colored stomach, the lack of pores or a knob on the lower jaw, black mottling on the dorsal fin, and their large mouth which extends past their eyes, are all features which distinguish black rockfish from similar species such as dark rockfish and dusky rockfish. Black rockfish grow to a maximum length of 29.6 inches (69 cm) and weigh up to 11 lbs. (5 kg).

Black rockfish are found anywhere from the surface to 1200 ft. (366 m) deep, but they usually inhabit water shallower than 492 ft. (150 m). They are sometimes seen in large schools at the surface when they are feeding, but they most commonly occur in rocky areas or remain above rocky pinnacles.

Black rockfish are much more mobile than yelloweye rockfish, but biologists in Oregon performed a tagging study and learned the average home range of a black rockfish is only .2 square miles (.55 sq. km). A rockfish sometimes travels outside its home range during the reproductive season or to feed.

Black Rockfish

Black rockfish reach sexual maturity between the ages of six and eight years. After mating, the female stores the male’s sperm for several months before fertilizing her eggs. Then, between January and May, she releases between 125,000 and 1,200,000 larvae. Black rockfish have a maximum lifespan of fifty years.

Black rockfish feed on zooplankton, crab larvae, and small fish species such as herring and sand lance. Predators of rockfish include sablefish, halibut, other fish species, and seabirds such as pigeon guillemots.

Black rockfish populations in Alaska are considered stable, but fisheries managers set conservative limits on all species of rockfish. Because black rockfish grow and mature slowly, live nearshore, and have small home ranges, they are susceptible to overfishing by sport and commercial fishermen. They are easy to find and easy to catch. Like other rockfish species, they have an unvented swim bladder, and when anglers reel them to the surface, they usually do not survive if released.

As I have mentioned several times over the past few posts, both pelagic and non-pelagic rockfish are highly susceptible to barotrauma, physical injuries due to rapid changes in pressure when an angler catches a rockfish and brings it to the surface. In my next post, I will discuss ways to spare rockfish from barotrauma and methods to protect fragile rockfish populations.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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L

Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus)

Fish, Kodiak Wildlife, , , , , , ,

The brightly colored yelloweye rockfish looks like a fish you might expect to see swimming near a tropical reef, but yelloweyes live in the frigid waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean, from Baja California to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Anglers sometimes call yelloweyes red snapper, but they are not snappers and are not related to the red snappers found in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yelloweyes are among the largest rockfish found in Alaska and can grow to 36 inches (91.44 cm) in length and weigh 24 lbs. (11 kg.). They vary in color from orange-yellow to orange-red, and they tend to become more yellow as they age. Juveniles are usually bright red and have two vertical stripes, one above and one below the lateral line. As they age, the stripes fade, and their color changes to a red-orange or orange. A very old rockfish might be yellow. While their fins tips of adults are usually black, the fins of juveniles are tipped either white or black. As their name suggests, their eyes gleam bright yellow, making them easy to identify. In addition to the spines found in their dorsal and anal fins, several small spines sprout from their head.

Adult yelloweyes are solitary fish and live in steep, rocky areas, where they can find shelter. They typically live on the ocean bottom, and they don’t venture far from their rocky homes. They usually live between 300 and 600 ft. (91.44 – 182.88 m), but they have been found in only 48 ft. (14.63 m) of water and as deep as 1,800 ft. (548.64 m). Because yelloweyes live in rocky areas near the bottom and have small ranges, biologists classify them as one of the species of non-pelagic rockfish.

Rockfish are long-lived and slow to mature. Yelloweyes can live over 100 years, and the oldest recorded was a 121-year-old individual caught in Southeast Alaska. Yelloweye males mature when they are approximately 18-years-old, while females do not reach sexual maturity until 22-years of age. Males fertilize a female’s eggs internally, and the female then carries and nourishes the eggs until they hatch into larvae. One female can give birth to as many as 2,700,00 larvae.

Since the female nourishes her eggs and gives birth to live organisms, you might expect rockfish to have a higher reproductive success rate than do other fish species where eggs receive little or no parental care, but unfortunately, only a small percentage of rockfish larvae survive to adulthood, and even fewer survive until they are sexually mature. As soon as they are released, ocean currents sweep most of the larvae out to sea, and the young fish die before they have a chance to feed and grow. Other larvae starve to death from a lack of food, while many fall prey to larger fish, seabirds, and other organisms. The few larvae that survive, drift with the ocean currents while they eat and grow into small fish. They then settle to the bottom where they can find protection from predators among rocks and under kelp. As the young grow, they move into deeper water.

Yelloweye populations are fragile and vulnerable to overfishing. Females do not reproduce until they are over twenty-years-old, and once the female releases her larvae, few of the young survive. Recruitment of young fish into the population is slow, and if a fish reaches sexual maturity and is then caught by an angler or eaten by a predator, the population suffers not only the loss of this one individual but also the loss of all the potential young this one fish could have produced during its long life.

Because yelloweyes seldom move from one area to another, they are easy targets for anglers, and they are easy to catch. Even strict regulations which prevent the retention of non-pelagic rockfish do not protect yelloweyes because when an angler reels a yelloweye to the surface from a depth greater than 90 ft., the fish usually cannot return to the bottom, and when released, it floats at the surface until it dies. Yelloweyes, like other rockfish, have an un-vented swim bladder, and as the swim bladder inflates when the fish is reeled to the surface, it compresses internal organs and often pushes the stomach out of the mouth. The fish cannot deflate its swim bladder at the surface, but the swim bladder will deflate to the normal size if the angler can return the fish to the bottom where it was caught. New deep-water release techniques have helped improve the survivability of released rockfish.

The best way to avoid killing a yelloweye is to avoid fishing in the rocky areas where they live. Fisheries biologists find it difficult and expensive to manage non-pelagic rockfish because hauling them to the surface to tag them would likely kill them. Researchers believe most yelloweye populations in Alaska remain stable, but they’ve enacted strict regulations to protect these beautiful fish.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Rockfish of Alaska

Fish, Kodiak Wildlife, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Scientists have identified more than 102 species of rockfish belonging to the genus Sebastes, and over thirty species live in Alaskan waters.] Although anglers sometimes refer to yelloweye rockfish as red snapper, and many call black rockfish black bass, there are no snapper or bass in Alaska.

Rockfish belong to the family Scorpaenidae, the “scorpionfishes.” Scorpionfish have venomous spines in their fins, and the venom in some species is extremely toxic. Rockfish venom is only mildly toxic, but it causes pain and swelling and can lead to infection. In most species of rockfish, the venom sacs are located at the base of the dorsal and anal fin spines, but in a few species, other fin spines are also venomous. They use their venom to defend themselves.

A rockfish has large scales, and in addition to its  fin spines, it has smaller spines on its head and gill covers. Species range in color from bright reddish orange and yellow to gray and black. Individuals of some species grow to 40 inches (101.6 cm) in length.

Black Rockfish

Scientists divide rockfish species into two groups based upon their preferred habitats: Pelagic and Non-Pelagic. Pelagic species can be found at any depth and usually swim in large schools above rocky shelves. Pelagic species include black, dusky, dark, and yellowtail. Solitary non-pelagic rockfish remain near the bottom in rocky areas, sometimes hiding in cracks or under rocks. They usually live at a greater depth than pelagic species. Non-pelagic species include yelloweye, tiger, quillback, silvergray, China, copper, rougheye , and shortraker. 

Rockfish are some of the longest living vertebrates. A yelloweye caught in Southeast Alaska was 121 years old, and shortraker rockfish can live over 150 years.]

Some species of rockfish reach sexual maturity at five to seven years old, but others do not begin to reproduce until they 15 to 20 years of age. Most fish lay and fertilize eggs externally, but rockfish mate internally, and the female carries and nourishes the eggs for several months before giving birth to thousands or even millions of tiny larvae. The larvae are at the mercy of the ocean currents and wind, and most get swept out to sea and don’t survive. Those that do survive, are subject to predation. The larvae feed and grow in the ocean column for several months before they settle onto the ocean floor where they can seek protection in the kelp and rocks. As the young mature, they move into deeper water.

Researchers have found that while pelagic rockfish sometimes travel hundreds of miles, most maintain a range of only twenty miles. Non-pelagic species have very small ranges of only a few-hundred yards, and some spend their entire lives on the same rock pile.] Because non-pelagic species do not travel far from their rocky homes, they are easy targets for anglers and are vulnerable to overfishing.

Rockfish eat plankton, crabs, shrimp, and small fish, including smaller rockfish. They are preyed upon by Pacific cod, lingcod, sablefish, other rockfish, halibut, king salmon, sculpins, sharks, seabirds, marine mammals, and humans.

Non-pelagic rockfish are more susceptible to overfishing than most fish species. Not only are they easy to find and catch, but they rarely survive catch-and-release fishing because their air bladder or swim bladder has no vent. A fish uses its swim bladder to adjust buoyancy, and when a rockfish is caught in its deep home and reeled to the surface, the balloon-like swim bladder rapidly expands and pushes against its internal organs. By the time the fish reaches the surface, the expanded swim bladder often shoves the stomach into the mouth. Once it is at the surface, the fish is unable to deflate the swim bladder, and if the angler releases it, the fish will float at the surface and die.

Rockfish at the Surface

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In my next post, I will discuss yelloweye rockfish in more detail, and in the following post I’ll focus on black rockfish. Then, I’ll talk about rockfish management and techniques anglers can employ to preserve non-pelagic rockfish populations.

I have been traveling for the past two weeks and will be on the road for another three weeks, so my posts have been less frequent than usual, and I probably won’t return to a steady schedule until I get home. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are enjoying a great winter.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

Happy New Year 2019

Living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, Writing, , ,

Happy New Year! Time flies, doesn’t it? I feel as if I just wrote my 2018 New Year’s post. Since I post my resolutions on my blog, I can’t pretend at the end of the year to forget what resolutions I made in January. A quick look back at last year’s post reminded me I did not finish as many writing projects as I’d planned.

I work hard to be a successful author, but as an author, I must wear many hats. On my best days, I’m able to sit down and work on my novel, and on my worst days, I spend my time promoting my books, my website, or my mystery newsletters. I couldn’t have known a year ago how much time I would spend in the coming year working on promotion and on building my author platform, and the more time I spend on promotion, the less time I have available to write. It’s a trade-off, and usually, I choose writing, but during the last few months, I decided to get serious about my author business.

Although my next novel, Karluk Bones, is not yet ready to send to my publisher, I finished the rough draft this past week. I resolve to send Karluk Bones to my publisher by late spring and have it in the hands of readers by late summer or early fall. I know how long it takes to edit and publish a novel, so this seems like a reasonable resolution.

My second resolution is a promise to myself to finish editing my wildlife book and get it published and to market by the end of the year. I made this same resolution last year and didn’t accomplish it, but I hope 2019 will be different. My wildlife book requires extra time and energy in every facet of the writing and editing process. I know the book will never be perfect, but I want to do the best job I can on it, and I hope it will be worth the wait.

Karluk Bones and The Wildlife of Kodiak Island will be my two be my two main writing projects for 2019, but I hope to begin my next novel sometime this coming spring or summer. I already have a rough idea for the plot, and I would love to start writing it now. My next planned non-fiction book will be a compilation of my true stories of murder from Alaska. These are the tales I write every month for my Mystery Newsletter, and I have more than enough compiled for a book.

I’d better stop before I promise too much. I plan to remain active in The Reader’s and Writer’s Book Club, and I hope to write more articles for True Crime: Case Files and Medium. I also want to leave enough time in my schedule to explore other opportunities I discover.

I haven’t written a wildlife post in several weeks, but I’m returning to fish and will write about rockfish over the next few weeks.  Thank you for reading my posts this past year, and I hope you will stay with me through 2019.

Happy New Year, I wish you health, happiness, and prosperity!

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Happy Holidays

Living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, Uncategorized, Writing, ,

Wherever you are and whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year, I wish you peace and happiness. I celebrate Christmas, and I thought this year it would be fun to follow my friend, Author Mary Ann Poll’s lead. For my Thanksgiving post, Mary Ann sent a note from her protagonist, Kat, describing how Kat celebrates Thanksgiving in Ravens Cove, Alaska. So, for my Christmas post, I decided to look in on my main character, Jane Marcus, and see how she celebrates the holiday.

For those of you who don’t know Jane, she is a fisheries biologist at the Kodiak Marine Center. She is unmarried but has a long-distance relationship with an FBI agent who lives in Virginia. Let’s see how she’s doing this holiday season.

I disconnected with my father and wiped the trickle of tears from my face only to open the dam for a full flood. I knew now I should have flown back to Kansas for the holidays. Nothing happens at the Marine Center during the Christmas break, and I could have taken leave for a week or two to fly home to see my father. He sounded lonely on the phone, and although he told me he’d spent a nice afternoon with my brother and his family, I could tell he missed me, and I missed him. I hadn’t seen him in a year.

I’d made the trip to Kansas the previous year for Christmas, but I hated flying during the holidays, and the family obligations overwhelmed me. This year, I wanted peace and quiet, so I stayed in Kodiak, and now I wanted my family. I laughed at myself. I needed to adopt a cat or maybe a goldfish.

I didn’t plan to spend the entire day at home alone. My friend, Dana, invited me to a Christmas party. I think Dana and her current boyfriend, Jack, invited half the town of Kodiak to their Christmas buffet. Jack volunteered to host the event at his place since Dana’s tiny house wouldn’t hold a crowd larger than three.

As I walked down the hall to my bedroom to change my clothes, I heard my phone chirp in the living room. I hurried back, grabbed the phone from the coffee table, and felt a smile play across my mouth when I read the phone’s display.

“Merry Christmas, Agent Morgan,” I said.

“Merry Christmas to you, Jane. Where are you?”

“I’m at home in Kodiak, and you?”

“I’m in my apartment in Virginia right now, but I’m flying to Miami tomorrow on a big case. I’ll  be there for a few weeks,” Morgan said

“I thought you were working on a string of murders in Indiana.”

“I was,” he said. “My involvement in the case ended yesterday.”

“Did you catch the killer?”

“We did, but not until after he’d murdered six women.”

“At least you got him,” I said.

Morgan didn’t say anything for a moment, and then, “I’m sorry Jane. I have another call, and I need to take it.”

“Maybe I’ll see you one day again.” I hoped I hid the bitterness I felt.

“You will,” he said. “Take care.”

I sank into the couch and began to cry again. Once the tears stopped, I realized I was in no mood for a party. I called Dana. She must have been busy because she didn’t answer until the sixth ring.

“Where are you?” She asked.

“I’m sorry Dana, but I don’t feel well. I won’t be able to make it to your party.”

“What? Nonsense. I’ll send Jack to pick you up. He has agreed not to consume alcohol tonight, so he is our designated driver for the evening.”

I thanked Dana but told her I was in no mood for a party. I headed to my kitchen, grabbed a bag of potato chips, poured myself a glass of wine, and turned on the television, quickly flipping past a parade of holiday shows until I found an old episode of Dateline. I settled on the couch and tried to concentrate on the show.

Fifteen minutes later, my doorbell rang. I opened the door a crack, and saw Jack’s smiling face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I told Dana I wouldn’t be able to make it to the party.”

Jack smiled and shrugged. He looked even more handsome than usual. His black parka matched his eyes, and even in the fading light, I could see the dimple on his right cheek.

“You know Dana,” Jack said. “She gets what she wants, and I do as she says. She told me to collect you using any means necessary and bring you to our party.”

I laughed. “Do you plan to kidnap me?”

He shrugged again. “Speaking of kidnapping, Dana said to tell you we are discussing the recent abduction in Anchorage.”

“What abduction?” I asked

“You didn’t hear about it?”

I shook my head.

“A big oil executive. I can’t remember which company, but anyway, three masked men entered his house while he and his wife and kids were celebrating Christmas Eve. One of the guys pulled a gun and told him to come with them, or they’d start shooting his family.”

“Whoa,” I said. Then I took a step back and narrowed my eyes at Jack. “Are you making this up just to get me to go to your party?”

Jack held his hands in the air. “It’s true. You can check the Internet. Dana says with your detective skills, we need your input on the crime.”

“You’re playing dirty, jack,” I said. “You know I can’t resist discussing a crime.” I pushed the door open and let Jack into my house. “Have a seat,” I said. “I need to change my clothes.”

Have a wonderful holiday, and I will be back here next week to discuss my New Year’s resolutions. Meanwhile, leave a comment and tell me about your resolutions.

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

Introducing Author Masterminds’ Readers and Writers Book Club

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 As a way of saying THANK YOU for supporting me as an author, my publisher has authorized me to give my blog readers a free gift—a LIFETIME membership to the new Readers and Writers Book Club.

Memberships will soon be selling for $99–but you’ll never have to pay, as long as you accept my gift and sign up soon.

Your free lifetime Readers and Writers Book Club membership includes:
– Member Newsletter: Hear directly from authors in your inbox!

-Members Only Access: Unlock the private members’ area and exclusive content from the club’s authors.

– Community Access: Inside our private Facebook group you’ll have direct access to authors and will be able to share in the fun with other readers as well!

Here’s how to claim your gift (worth $99) to receive a lifetime membership for FREE!

Step One: Go here>> http://www.readersandwritersbookclub.com/join-the-club and enter your email address to claim your FREE lifetime membership to the club.

Step Two: Create your username and password on the following page.

Step Three: Login to the members’ area and enjoy the goodies published there!

You’re also allowed to give these memberships as a gift, as long as you forward this email or the link to whoever you’d like to share it with!

The club is expected to close free memberships after the first 2,000 people join, so make sure you grab yours here: http://www.readersandwritersbookclub.com/join-the-club

I hope to interact with my readers in several ways. I would love to read and discuss wilderness mystery novels, and perhaps we can choose a different novel every month. I encourage readers of my true crime newsletters to stop by the Facebook group and discuss the latest crime I’ve profiled. The Facebook groupwould also be a great place to talk about wildlife and Alaska, so please signup, and enjoy the fun. We have authors in our group who write in a wide variety of genres, so we have something for everyone!

Send the club link to anybody else you’d like to gift a gift to this season. 

Thank you once again for your support!

I look forward to meeting you at the club.

Robin

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Mary Ann Poll’s Journey to Becoming a Published Author

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Three weeks ago, I introduced you to Mary Ann Poll when she generously shared a post about her character Kat’s Thanksgiving in the small town of Ravens Cove, Alaska. This week, Mary Ann has written a guest post for my blog about her journey to becoming a published author. Mary Ann writes Christian-based, supernatural thrillers. I’ve read Ravens Cove, and it is a thrilling ride. I’ll let Mary Ann explain her books to you.

My Journey to Becoming a Published Author
by Mary Ann Poll

There is one thing to be said for coincidences. There aren’t any. And, before you think I’m crazy or just ‘narrow-minded’ consider the following story of how I became a published author.

A day came when I was confronted with an indisputable fact: My eternal soul lives in nothing more than crockery. That day came in May 1998.

I awoke for another day of work. Hands reaching toward the ceiling in that wonderful morning stretch were stopped instantly by sharp, tear-producing pain. As the initial pain subsided, I downed a pain reliever and was at my desk by 9 am. The pain returned with a vengeance by noon. At 1 pm I found myself in the emergency room. A disc had herniated in my neck, and I faced surgery with a long recovery.

This small writing is from a piece I wrote several years ago when I was asked to describe how I became an author. As they say, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Indeed, He does. Because if a disc in my neck had not herniated, if I had not read 100 books in ninety days because I could do nothing else while I healed, and if I had not listened to a good friend who suggested I write a novel, I would not be writing this article today.

My first book in what is now the Iconoclast series took many more years before it saw the black and white of printing. That journey was full of trips down other paths – going back to work time and again to make the almighty dollar and avoid the emotions and mental weariness that writing took. I took courses, joined online chat groups and talked about writing until I was blue in the face. In the end, I accepted the idea of writing was not going to go away. That was the day I sat down to write a book. It took twelve years to summon the courage and face the passion that would not leave, no matter what I did.

In all of the trips down other pathways, one helped me. I found out about National Novel Writing Month from a contact I made on a Christian writers forum. This is a yearly event where over 300,000 writers come together and grind out a novel in 30 days. I had tried everything else, so what was there to lose? So, I committed to the project. Low and behold, Ravens Cove was born.

Once written, then I was faced with the frightening and somewhat overwhelming question every writer has: “What now?” My answer for several months was, “nothing!” This was when I first discovered that writing a book is akin to giving birth. I wasn’t putting my ‘baby’ out into the world for criticism and rejection.

So, I let the book sit in the dark for several months. It stayed in the rawest of formats, and I think I was actually in denial that I had written an entire novel. I didn’t have (or make) the time to edit it because I had no clue where to go and who to trust with my ‘baby.’

My husband read the prologue and told me it was great. Of course, he did. He wanted dinner and to sleep in his own bed – what else would he have said? I knew he meant it. I also knew he loved me, so I dismissed his compliment.

It just so happened that my father-in-law came to visit the summer after I wrote Ravens Cove. He asked if I might allow him to read it. His reading it was not such a frightening thought, and, to be honest, I really wanted his opinion. And, I trusted his view because he has a Ph.D. in education and had published works of his own. He also happened to be the most avid reader I had ever met. So, I thought if anyone could

I gave him the book. He and my husband left that weekend for our RV in Anchor Point. He read it there. He came back and told me he really liked it. He said he had read authors he thought should have never been published. And, he thought mine should be.

My husband, with the I-told-you-so-look, agreed. Then, he took it a step further and emailed links to several publishers and publishing houses with information on what it took to get the book to press. And, here’s where Providence is again disguised as coincidence. One of those names was Publication Consultants.

I debated sending out query letters to the ‘big houses.’ I heard stories of books that were tied up for months, even a year or more, by those ‘big houses’ that had initially accepted the author’s work and then left them hanging forever. I debated the self-publishing houses and again read and heard of the horror stories of authors that were taken financially to the point it wasn’t worthwhile to pursue marketing their books. With all this, I decided I wanted to be able to look a publisher in the eye. So, I met with Evan Swensen of Publication Consultants.

Before I did, I reviewed the website and the different contracts available to an author. They all seemed above board and fair. I reviewed what authors had said about them, and it sounded good. So, I called.

Evan reviewed the first few pages of what was to be Ravens Cove. There were some problems but he told me the story was good and he would publish it-after I took it to an editor to fix the ‘boulders’-his word for problems. The rest is history. Since 2010, I have been privileged to call Publication Consultants my publishing house.

Publication Consultants was and still is invaluable to this me. They have taught, and are still teaching me, the ins and outs of the road to becoming a successful author. There have been numerous mountains to climb and valleys to traverse. They have stuck with me throughout the process and have opened doors that self-publishing could not. Without Evan Swensen and his staff, I would not have reached the goal of becoming a published author.

As I stated when I began this article, there are no coincidences. Each occurrence that seemed so small in and of their selves led me to Publication Consultants and the adventure of being a published author. To date, the journey continues. The entire Iconoclast Thriller series is complete. And, when ready and God willing, the next book will be published with the assistance of Publication Consultants.

Thank you, Mary Ann, for sharing your incredible journey with us. In my experience, writing a novel is the easiest part of the “author” process. The true work begins with editing, followed by publishing, and finally, the never-ending, tedious job of promotion. Mary Ann and I work very hard to promote our books, and we both belong to a promotional group called Author Masterminds. Our group is opening a reading club, and soon, I will invite you to join us. In the meantime, check out Mary Ann and her books. If you would like to know more about Mary Ann’s journey to becoming a published author, watch her webinar. At the end of the webinar, you will be able to download one of her books for free!

By the way, Mary Ann’s books would make perfect Christmas presents!

Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

Karluk Bones

Living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, Writing, , , , , , , ,

Karluk Bones is the title of my fourth Alaska wilderness mystery. The book has taken me longer to write than I had planned, but I think it will be worth the wait. This week, I want to share a portion of the opening scene with you.

Those of you who have read my other novels know Dr. Jane Marcus is a biologist at the Kodiak Fisheries Tech Center. In this scene, Jane and three of her friends camp near Karluk Lake on Kodiak. The next morning, they plan to float the Karluk River, but a fire in the middle of the night derails their expedition.

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Karluk Bones

Saturday, May 24th

“Fire! Wake up! Fire!”

The cry yanked me from a pleasant dream where my camping companions and I sat around the campfire roasting marshmallows. Now, I realized the smoky inspiration for my dream emanated not from a campfire but a forest fire.

I struggled to sit in my sleeping bag while my fingers fumbled with the zipper. Did we leave our campfire burning? No, I remember Geoff throwing water on it, and then we all watched until the last curls of smoke evaporated.

I’d worn my clothes to bed, and as soon as I struggled out of my bag, I crawled through the fly of the small tent. Smoke filled the air, and my friend and colleague, Geoff Baker, my friend, Dana Baynes, and her new beau, Jack Parker, all stood, staring to the north. I followed their gazes and saw the flames, but the fire had not yet spread far.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“It looks like a campfire got out of hand,” Geoff said.

“It’s so dry,” Dana said. “It’s bound to spread before they can put it out.”

“And the wind is blowing this way,” Geoff added.

“We’d better help them,” Jack said.

“You’re right,” I said, “but I fear only Mother Nature will be able to extinguish a blaze in the midst of all this dead, dry vegetation.”

“I’ll dump out our food buckets,” Geoff offered. “We can use those to scoop up lake water to throw on the fire.”

“Sure,” Dana said, “We’ll do a bucket brigade.”

I doubted anything we did would help, but if we stayed where we were, we’d be burned alive. “I suggest sticking anything you can’t live without in your pocket,” I said.

“Good point, Doc. I’ll grab my phone,” Geoff said.

“I’m grabbing my raincoat just in case,” Dana added.

I nodded. “I hope we need our raincoats. Rain is the one thing that will extinguish this fire.”
Geoff, Jack, and I carried our bear-proof food buckets now empty of their contents, and Dana shouldered a pack full of first-aid gear. She also carried a small camp shovel.

We hiked along the shore of Karluk Lake. It was a dark, chilly night. Correction, it was a dark, chilly morning. Darkness is an infrequent visitor in late May on Kodiak Island, but I can testify it is dark at 3:00 am. We wore headlamps to light the beach along the lakeshore, and I glued my eyes to the ground so that I wouldn’t stumble over a large rock or a tree branch. The smell of smoke grew stronger with each step.

As we neared the fire, I could see the flames growing in intensity and slowly but steadily spreading toward the south and our camp.

“We should have packed our stuff and moved it out of the line of fire,” I said.

“I don’t think we could move our stuff far enough to get it out of the fire line unless we brought it with us and stashed it upwind from the flames,” Geoff said.

We clung to the lakeshore and skirted around the edge of the fire. As we neared the tent camp where the blaze had started, we saw four young men frantically packing their tents and gear and moving everything down the beach. Miraculously, it looked as if the flames had not touched their camp.

Dana ran toward the men. “Is everyone okay?” She called.

One of the young men stopped in his tracks and looked toward her, obviously surprised by her presence. “Our campfire got out of control,” he said. “I thought we put it out but guess we didn’t.”

The man slurred his speech and seemed confused. At first, I thought he had a natural physical or mental impairment, but then, I realized he was drunk, or to be more accurate, he hadn’t completely sobered up from being drunk. I took in the entire scene and watched his camping companions stumble to move their gear, their actions clumsy and awkward. They were all in the no man’s land between drunk and sober, the period of the night when you wake up and curse yourself for drinking too much alcohol. I admit I’d been there a time or two, and now I tried to muster some forgiveness for them stupidly getting drunk and letting their campfire burn out of control.

Forgiveness was not on Dana’s mind, and she immediately understood the situation. She dropped her pack on the ground and stood, hands on hips, glaring at the young man who had spoken to her. “Are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” he said. “I’m not quite sober.”

“You are camping on an island with 3500 bears.” Dana walked toward him, her voice as loud as I’d ever heard it. “Many of those bears live near this lake.”

The young man looked at the ground and said nothing.

“If you want to camp on this Refuge, you need to be responsible.” Dana gestured to the spreading fire. “You started a fire by not putting out your campfire.”

“We tried to put it out,” the young man said.

“You tried?” Dana was now only about four feet away from the poor guy, all five feet nothing of her intimidating the young man as she screamed up at him.

Although the situation was dire, I nearly laughed as I watched the much larger man cower while petite Dana approached him. He flinched at each of her words as if she were slapping him in the face, and I thought she might slap him in the face when she got a few steps closer.

“I saw a video the other day,” Dana said. “An observant camper watched and videotaped a bunch of yahoos like you and your friends. They ate breakfast around their campfire, threw a little water on the fire, packed their gear, jumped in their raft, and headed down river. A few minutes after they’d left, a curious bear began sniffing their campfire. He put his paw on the hot embers, burned his paw and limped away, holding his burned paw in the air.” She took another step toward the young man who was now backing away from her. “I thought their lack of regard for the environment was disgusting until I see what you idiots managed to do here.”

I stood, caught up in the drama of Dana and the young camper when Geoff thumped me on the shoulder.

“Here, Doc,” he said, handing me a full bucket of lake water. “Let’s get this bucket brigade going.” He looked at Dana and the cowering campers. “Yo!” he yelled. “We need some help here; we have a fire to put out.”

The campers seemed happy for any excuse to escape Dana’s withering gaze and sharp reprimand. They found two more food buckets in their gear, emptied the contents, and hurried to stand in line between the lake and the burning fire.

I knew I couldn’t be the only one in this group who saw the futility of fighting a spreading wildfire with buckets of water, but buckets were all we had, and we needed to do something. There was no firefighting agency to call in the middle of the night to help put out a fire on the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. If the fire hadn’t been extinguished by morning, we would notify the National Wildlife Refuge office in Kodiak, and perhaps they could ask for assistance from the Department of Natural Resources. Dana was a biologist for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, so she would know what to do. At present, Dana stood in the bucket brigade between the four campers, still lecturing them. If they weren’t sober by now, they would be soon, and between excessive alcohol, smoke, and Dana’s piercing voice, I didn’t envy any one of them the headache he would have for the next several hours.

We continued the steady progression of bucket passing as the sky slowly lightened. At 5:00 am, my arms were numb, my shoulders screamed with pain, and I had one of the worst headaches of my life. My comrades and I silently passed buckets, refusing to admit defeat. At 6:00 am, Mother Nature decided to lend us a helping hand. It started as a drizzle, but soon the rain pelted us in sheets.

I stepped out of the bucket line and said, “I think we can stop now.”

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While hiking back to their campsite, Jane and her friends stumble across human bones exposed by the burned vegetation. Are the bones ancient or modern, and how did this individual die? These are the first of many questions Jane asks Alaska State Trooper Sergeant Dan Patterson, and Jane won’t rest until she uncovers the answers and learns not only the identity of the man whose bones she found but also what or who caused his death.

I will share other outtakes of my novel at intervals over the next few months. Please let me know what you think. The above scene is the beginning of the book. Did it grab you and make you want to read more?

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Mystery Newsletter

Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.