Tag Archives: Kodiak Wilderness

Wilderness Author

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

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a wilderness author and why the setting I’ve chosen is so critical to my novels. I naturally like to set my novels in a place I know well, and since I’ve lived in the wilderness for more than 30 years, it’s only logical for me to place my characters in this environment. I understand the challenges of the Kodiak wilderness, respect its tantrums, and love its beauty.

I know not everyone enjoys reading mysteries (crazy as this sounds to me), and of those who like to read mysteries, only a small fraction embrace wilderness mysteries. Mystery novels come in all shapes and sizes. We have cozy mysteries (think Agatha Christie), hard-boiled mysteries, police procedurals, thrillers, and puzzle mysteries to name a few. Except for cozy mysteries which are often set in small villages or towns, a large percentage of mystery novels are set in big cities, whether it’s New York, London, Tokyo, Chicago, L.A., a fictional city or somewhere else. Cities make sense as settings for mysteries because a large number of people live in a relatively small area in cities, and crime is not unusual there. City dwellers understand crime novels set in a city, and even the rest of us mystery lovers are intrigued by how characters navigate the obstacles of city life.

I recently have been on a search for readers who enjoy wilderness mysteries. Most authors, except Stephen King, John Grisham, and a few others, must work to find readers. Nearly 5,000 books are published every day on Amazon, so in this sea of books, how does a reader find authors who write the type of books he likes? How does a new author make a living at writing? It isn’t easy, and it may be impossible to succeed in today’s book marketplace unless you are lucky or connected.

Authors are dreamers by nature, though, and I believe one day, I will find my core group of wilderness mystery readers, and they will tell their friends who will tell their friends. Over the last several weeks, I have been connecting with folks on LinkedIn and telling them about my books and my newsletter, and several of my new connections have signed up for my newsletter which thrills me.

I am an introvert, so reaching out to people on LinkedIn has demanded courage. I have been exhilarated by the results, though. Frances Joyce the publisher of the e-zine This Awful-Awesome Life asked me to write an article about Kodiak and its wildlife, and I jumped at the opportunity. Then, I connected with Pamela Beason, a popular wilderness mystery writer who lives in Washington state. We hope to work together in the near future to promote our books. Pam’s mysteries featuring wildlife biologist Sam Weston are excellent. If you enjoy wilderness mysteries, you will love hers.

James Hayman is my latest interesting LinkedIn connection. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the mystery series set in Portland, Maine featuring detectives McCabe and Savage. As soon as we connected, Jim asked me if I would be interested in writing a guest blog post for him about where I live on Kodiak Island and how I use this setting for my novels. My post is now available on his site: http://jameshaymanthrillers.com/blog/. I hope to convince Jim to write a blog post for me. I recently read his novel, The Girl on the Bridge, and I highly recommend it. I plan to read the rest of the series, and if you enjoy mysteries, I’m sure you will want to read his books as well.

Do you enjoy mysteries set in the untamed wilderness where characters must navigate hostile environments, raging storms, Kodiak bears, and other wild animals? If you think you would be interested in reading an Alaska wilderness mystery, or you know someone who would be interested, sign up for my webinar (http://bit.ly/2pcCOo6), and at the end, you can download a copy of one of my novels. The only purpose of my webinar is to introduce myself to new readers. You can decide for yourself if wilderness mysteries are for you.

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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. Sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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New Cook Arrives in a Fog

Living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, ,
Marcia and Robin on vacation in Hawaii
Robin and Marcia on vacation in Hawaii

The New Cook Arrives in a Fog is a story by my dear friend Marcia Messier. I first met Marcia in July 2004, when she came to work as a cook at our lodge. Marcia is from Massachusetts and worked for the Massachusetts court system. After she retired, she moved to Arizona and decided on a whim to apply for a cooking job at a remote lodge in Alaska, and that is how she wound up with us.

Due to the maritime climate of Kodiak, fog can be a problem, especially in June and July, and when it’s foggy, all air transportation to and around the island comes to a halt. While this can be frustrating, it is a fact of life for us, and we’re used to it, but when Marcia arrived in Anchorage in route to our lodge and learned her flight to Kodiak had been cancelled due to fog, she found this unacceptable and was concerned she would be late arriving for her new job. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and I was impressed and amused when I heard Marcia had found a way to by-pass the Kodiak fog. I knew immediately I would like her, and I also knew Marcia was about to learn her first lesson about life on Kodiak Island.

The New Cook Arrives in a Fog

By

Marcia Messier

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A little fog never stopped planes from flying back East, so why was I stuck in Anchorage, Alaska with every flight to Kodiak canceled? Fog..? This wasn’t going to work, after all, I had a new job lined up as cook at Munsey’s Bear Camp and was to report to work today!

I observed many people wandering about the airport with piles of luggage and groceries, grumbling about the weather situation. After a time, I struck up a conversation with two couples bound for a fishing lodge somewhere near where I was headed, at least I thought it was near where I was headed. After commiserating for a bit, one of the women said she knew a pilot who owned a small jet, and if we were all willing, she would call him and see if he would fly us to Larsen Bay. We agreed, she made the call, and he said he thought he could find a way through the fog and into Larsen Bay “the back way”. His fee was divided by 5 and after claiming my luggage, we were off to another runway and a private jet! I wasn’t able to see much of Kodiak during the flight, a few flashes of emerald green, and suddenly we were down on the runway at Larsen Bay. An impressive bright red Hummer was there to greet us, and I assumed to take us to the airport, but all I could see was what appeared to be a small village held up on pilings sunk into the muddy beach. This was the cannery at Larsen Bay.   I had arrived!

Next, to find a phone and call Robin and Mike. I had no idea of the distance involved out here, only that I was closer to my destination than I had been in Anchorage. A nice young man in the cannery office seemed to know of Munsey’s Bear Camp and made a radio-telephone call to ask them if they were expecting a cook. After a brief conversation he told me Mike would pick me up in the Boston Whaler in about an hour. Finally, I could relax a little, sit down and observe life at the cannery. It seemed to be a happy place with college age kids running in and out of odd-looking buildings, and others all jammed up waiting to use the phone booths. No cell phones? No, but as I was about to learn, radio transmission news travels faster than cell phones!

Soon, a man’s head popped up beside me from the beach and introduced himself as Mike Munsey, was I Marcia?

I had made my job deadline: July 2, 2004!

The trip from Larsen Bay to Munsey’s Bear Camp was spectacular! The fog lifted, and I could see emerald green mountain peaks rising straight up out of Uyak Bay. I understood canceled flights due to fog, now. The water was calm, and at full throttle, the Whaler flew over the bay. Mike pointed out Fin whales spouting in the distance and seals on nearby (yikes!) rocks.

Munsey's Bear Camp
Munsey’s Bear Camp

Robin greeted us back at camp and sat me down to a delicious dinner, a glass of wine, then guided me upstairs to my room for a much-needed sleep.

Next day I had a lot to learn. First, I was introduced to the generator. I learned to respect this growling monster in the shed. He ran a tight ship. His schedule was as follows:

7AM-ON     All electrical work is done: computer, baking in oven, mixers,  washing machine, dish washer, vacuum cleaner.

9AM-OFF   No electrical work done. Prepare bread dough, cookie dough,                             soup, tidy up cabins & main house, burn trash… take a break.

5PM-ON      Everything is on and the race is on to make dinner & clean up.

10PM-OFF  Ah, quiet…time to have a glass of wine and celebrate the day!

I can hear the float plane approaching, the first guests are arriving! We rush to put on our boots and run down to the dock to greet them. Quickly, I had to run back to the kitchen and retrieve a baggie of cookies for the pilot. Cookies are a MUST, the pilot is always hungry! As the guests stepped out of the float plane, I immediately noticed their beautiful Italian leather shoes and smiled to myself. Rubber shoes and boots are standard footwear on Kodiak Island….I was learning.