Tiffinie Helmer ~ Write on the Edge

Fishing is a hard way to carve out a living. Not to mention, very dangerous.   I was recently asked—since I’m currently going crazy preparing to head to Bristol Bay this week—”Why do you do it?”   Lord knows, there are easier ways to make money, but maybe not as exciting.

Bristol Bay fishermen fighting for their share of the catch.

It got me thinking.  Why do I put myself through it?  I could be working on my tan this summer instead of bundled up in fishermen bibs and rain gear trying to stay dry and warm during fishing periods.  The weather where I’m headed is harsh.  The wear and tear on your body brutal.  And there are bears.  Lots of bears.  Did I mention bears?  But scarier than the bears are the other fishermen.  Seriously, not pulling your leg here people.

 Again, why do I do it?  You might not like my answer.

There is nothing like being close to death to make you feel really alive.  It’s like touching God.  It can be a drug.  My son is a thriller junky.  For some reason, it doesn’t scare me as much as it does his dad.  But then I have a bit of that thriller gene myself. 

Now relax.  We aren’t a bunch of idiots.  We do everything we possibly can to ensure the safety of our crew.  After all, every member of our crew is family.  Five are teenagers, three are my kids–including the thriller junky mentioned above–and my niece and nephew, who’d I’d gladly call my own if my brother would give them up. Even with every safety precaution taken, the Bering Sea is still unpredictable as hell.  Which is why I like it!

What do you love that has people stopping and asking you, “Why do you do it?”

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I recently had rotator cuff surgery so I’m not doing much besides reading or being zombiefied by the television.  My lovely drugs help with that.  Anyway, I got an email from a friend about a friend’s book being available on Amazon.  It’s currently only available as an ebook, and since I can’t make it out of my pajamas, I easily looked it up on my Droid.  After all, I needed a break from of my workout with the remote.  I read the blurb was intrigued, and it was an easy couple of clicks on my phone to buy for only 99 cents.  

There went my afternoon. 

I was sucked in.  Then my phone ran out of juice.  What the hell?  I was in a great place, not one where I could put the story down and wait.  I don’t wait for anyone.  Thirty minutes later my husband found me hunched over the kitchen counter with my phone plugged in trying to read.  Why is my power cord only eighteen inches long?  After he laughed over my predicament, I straightened and groaned. 

This was not the way to read a book.  For one, I’d been there long enough to strain my shoulder, not paying attention to how I was stooped and the amount of weight distributed on my elbows, irritating my newly stitched together rotator cuff. 

Now, I own a NOOK, which I love, I also have the Kindle app for my phone.  This book was currently only available on Amazon, which was why I was reading it on my phone.  I prefer reading on my NOOK.  I love that books are being made available in so many formants.  I’ve been moving along with the younger generation with all the computer/digital stuff.  I’m hip.  Do kids say hip anymore?  So here I am in pain, impatiently waiting for electricity to recharge my phone so I can continue reading.  This answers the question for me about print books. 

How can print books ever be a thing of the past?

The power can go out with a print book and I can keep reading with a candle or flashlight or sunlight, depending on the time of day.  A print book doesn’t ring in my hands interrupting me with an incoming call, freaking me out when I’m in the middle of a tense sense.  My Droid flipped out of my fingers, and I had a heck of a time catching it before it hit the ground.  Those things are fragile.  I’ve dropped a book in the bathtub and it’s survived to be read.  My Droid wouldn’t recover from a baptism let alone a hard drop.  for that matter, neither would my NOOK.

The ebook that stole my afternoon was “Serendipity” by Diane Darcy.  You can check it out here: www.dianedarcy.com 

What are you thoughts on print book versus ebook?

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Easiest Salmon Ever.  I promise! 

I get a lot of people asking me for recipes for salmon.  This is one of my favorites.

Use your favorite salmon.  I prefer Sockeye (Red) Salmon or Silver if I have it, but any salmon, except farm fish, will do.  Stay away from farm fish.  When in doubt, ask before you buy.  If they don’t say its wild Alaska Salmon don’t eat it.  Farm fish is full of dyes, antibiotics, and toxins.  It’s not only terrible for you, it tastes bad. 

Ingredients you will need: 

Salmon

Favorite jar of Pesto

Pine nuts (optional)

Sliced tomatoes (optional)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Lemon cut into wedges 

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut a salmon fillet into serving sizes of 2 to 3 inch strips.  I like to cut the skin off, but you can leave it on.  The easiest way to remove the skin is to have the meat facing up, skin down, on a cutting board and slice the knife just above the skin while holding the fish down.  The knife cuts off the skin without taking the meat.  Once the skin is removed, it’s very easy to pull out any remaining bones.  I use pliers for this.  The bones come out quickly with no fuss.  

Place the salmon on a greased cookie sheet and spread your favorite pesto on top.  Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.  Add sliced tomatoes if you like.  Bake for 15 minutes or until meat is pink and flaky.  I usually start rice right before I spread the pesto on the salmon and they both finish around the same time. 

Squeeze lemon over the salmon to taste and serve over rice.  Enjoy! 

I lot of people don’t like to cook salmon because of the time and labor involved.  This recipe takes care of both.  Before you know it you will be having salmon 2 to 3 times a week and feeling better because of it.  There are many pestos out there to experiment with.      

I’d love to hear your reactions to this recipe. 

www.TiffinieHelmer.com

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It’s June and that means I’m getting ready to head to Alaska to commercial fish on the Bering Sea.  You’re probably wondering what this has to do with writing.  You wouldn’t think the two had anything in common, but surprisingly they do.  

My family fishes for sockeye salmon—red salmon for some of you that aren’t up on the lingo.  We also fish with gill nets, not a pole.  Poles are for sport fishermen on vacation.  This is commercial fishing.  Serious fishing where you cast a net into the ocean that is 200 fathoms and hopefully haul in 5,000 to 6,000 pounds (yes I said pounds) of salmon per net.  Sockeye salmon weigh on average 8 to 10 pounds each.  

Once in a while you catch something bigger.  Like a king salmon.  King salmon don’t fit in the small webbing of our net.  They are simply too big.  The only way we catch them is to snag them.  Usually their mouth is snagged on the net.  One hard pull and they could free themselves and often do.  But sometimes you get one snagged tight enough that it stays caught until you’re able to pull it into your boat.  We love these surprises and take up bets on how much they weigh. The above picture is of a king caught in just this manner and when weighed came in around forty pounds.  

The big six in New York are the king salmons of the publishing industry.  They are elusive and hard to catch.  Much like a king. You cast your net—send out queries—hoping to snag a big fishes’ attention.  When you do get that request, you’ve only got them by a tooth.  One upset and they’re swimming away. 

So what do you do?  

First, you must cast your net wide and often.  You quit fishing and you won’t get published.  Ever.  Second, you must have your manuscript in the best condition to send them and snag them so tight that you can pull them into your boat. 

There’s a saying in fishing:  “It’s called fishing, not catching.”  But in order to catch, you have to fish.  

Here’s to catching that big one.  See you in August!

www.TiffinieHelmer.com

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Over looking Kachemak Bay. Homer, Alaska

One of my favorite authors is Janet Evanovich. There are many things about her writing that I like, humor being at the top, but she does something interesting. As a writer myself, you tend to study a good book rather than just enjoy it. Occupational hazard. And one thing that Janet does is to dump her characters into situations that they can’t possible get out of. I’ll see it coming, and I’ll say, “Janet, don’t go there. You’ll never get those characters out of that mess.” But it’s always “balls to the wall” with her and she dives into mayhem without a pausing a beat. All the while, I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how the hell will she get those characters out of that situation. But she does, every dang time.

Janet is an author who writes on the edge. She isn’t afraid of what is on the other side of that edge, she takes the leap anyway. That is the way we should all write. It doesn’t matter if you write romance, young adult, sci/fi, or fiction try writing on the edge. Now if you write mystery or thrillers you’d better be on that edge already. You’d better have a cabin.

Try taking your characters someplace that you can’t see writing them out of. And then figure out a way to save them. Believe me, if you can’t see how they are going to get out of whatever mess you put them in, neither will your readers. And don’t we all love to surprise our readers? Heaven help us if we write something predictable.

Today, forget the outline. See that side road off to the left, take it and see where you end up. You might like the view.

Posted by Tiffine Helmer ~ Writing Romance on the Edge ~ www.TiffinieHelmer.com

Check out Janet Evanovich’s website: www.evanovich.com

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