Lost and Found in Missing Lake is my very first published novel. It was a dream-come true to actually sit down and see if I could write a book and then figure out the publishing process.
The book was my job after I closed down my little veterinary clinic in Seeley Lake, MT, where I live. While I was proud of my clinic and the things we accomplished there it just wasn’t making money. There were all sorts of other factors that went into the closure and I have blogged about some of it on this site. The big thing was that I was left with lots of time in a sprawling house and the voices in my head wanted out.
Not quite ready to commit to the writing I let the artsy part of me begin. Learning about and practicing watercolor and pencil drawings gave my brain a break from being the sole medical provider in our entire community and it felt terrific.
Sleeping pets are fun but its a real bugger when they sense you there and get up.
The snow started to fall that year (2013) so I decided if I was going to write, that was the time to do it. We live way out in the middle of nowhere on the end of the road – if I want or need to get to town its up to me to do the plowing. That winter was spent in front of the computer or behind the wheel of our snow truck, Big Red.
We get a little bit of snow up here.
I didn’t know if I could even finish a book. Or if it would be any good. Would anyone want to read it? What would they think?
Writing is so personal. If people didn’t like what I had written that could mean my ideas and thoughts were wrong and I just wasn’t sure about really putting myself out there with this fictional tale I was telling. My husband, Alistair, my former office manager, Lynn and two good friends who are mushers, Dona and Gary, were the only people who knew I was writing at all.
They cheered me on and encouraged me and the book became real. I did try finding agents and editors but after two months of nobody responding or late-responders and people who just weren’t interested I decided to look into self publishing (as a note, writers are supposed to spend months and maybe years finding an agent so don’t give up if you are bound & determined to do it that way).
CreateSpace is the company I went with and they walked me through the process and suddenly I was published and for sale on Amazon and other online booksellers!
Yahoo!!!! This photo is how I announced what I had been up to all winter on Facebook!
Then came the book events and readings and sales and I am thrilled to say that people did like the book! And they wanted more. More Luke. Much more Tabitha. More of everything.
And fall turned into winter and the weather turned cold and the snow started to fly. So you know what happened next…
—
Lost and Found in Missing Lake is still available at Seeley Lake’s The Grizzly Claw, Double Arrow Lodge gift shop and Condon’s Mercantile as well as through all Amazon channels and other online book distributers. It is also in Watford City’s Visitor Center in North Dakota and you can buy it directly from me. I can ship anywhere but there are shipping charges to add so if you have Amazon Prime that is probably cheaper to get the book on your doorstep. Or, books….
tanyafyfe 