It happened- book 3 finally happened! Granted, it happened months ago, in the spring of 2017 but thanks to golf, a stint at career #1, wildfires and subsequent evacuations, conferences and situational changes I’m just now getting this page put together to promote the book! I’m so happy to introduce Secrets Abound in Missing Lake.

There was no secret what one of the main topics of this book was going to be based on how I left everyone at the end of book two, The Dragons of Missing Lake. I was excited to see how I could hatch a couple of baby dragons in the lair and what sorts of ideas would come to me as I wrote.

I definitely did a lot of thinking and researching and I like the baby dragon characters a lot. Up until the actual hatching I still wasn’t sure whether to have two boys, two girls or one of each and I’m happy with the result and how the young ones are already developing personalities.

In one late-night telephone conversation with my brother, who has teenaged boys, he told me, “You know, you’re going to have to grow these kids up at some point.”

He was right.

I’ve enjoyed the relatively clean aspect to my teen characters in the books and I know a lot of my readers do, as well. It allows the book to be read to and enjoyed by younger people than my high school characters and I believe it is why so many mature people get into the story.

But Danny was right, we had to get a bit more real with adolescence and high school. I focused plenty of attention on the inter-personal relationships between the main character, Luke and his friends and I enjoyed getting to know each of them all a bit more myself. It is one thing that many people find enjoyable about this third book in the series and it will serve as a strong foundation for book four.

 

I once again turned to the talented Ben Brick for my cover and artwork. The reviews after he crafted the art for book two were wonderful and I think he really “gets it” in regards to what I’m trying to do with the book. We used more colors on the third cover, which is in tune with the changing seasons and the warmth felt by my characters. Winter can be tough in western Montana (trust me, we had four feet of snow on the ground last week and I was running out of room to put it) so when the world starts to warm up and suddenly we’re into summer, there is color everywhere. This cover reflects that.

Ben and his wife, Rebecca are personal friends and they have met many of our animals over the years. Our little Boston Terrier grand-dog, Loki, who was a muse for all three books until I had to help her over the Rainbow Bridge after completing chapter 15, was a very large part of our world and Ben was able to honor her on the cover. (Luke has a Boston Terrier named Baxter in the book so it fits for me and fits the story.)

 

I haven’t been able to get the marketing done that I had hoped thanks to some fun adventures in 2017 which are all detailed in the regular blog posts. So many things happened rather quickly and I just didn’t have the time to plan book events even though I did get back up to Canada for a few days this fall.

This is why we have hired a marketing group to help me target media and bloggers and I’m thrilled with the releases they have come up with. We only have to nail down release dates and then the follow-up is up to me. This might entail countless emails but I’m ready to build my audience if I can.

I’m ready to start book four but instead of writing for my awesome fans, I’d like to create more of them because I’d love more people to imagine life in the mountains living with dragons.

 

A friend from Watford City, ND, was doing a prolonged substitute teaching job with fifth-graders and she read my first book, Lost and Found in Missing Lake to them. We were able to set up a Skype-like session where the kids were able to ask me questions about the book. I was impressed by their questions and the fact we kept at it for close to an hour and they remained engaged the entire time!

I would love to be able to do more of that and maybe this marketing campaign will be the ticket. We are targeting Montana, North Dakota and Canada so hopefully my audience of fans will grow!

All three books are once again at Seeley Lake’s Grizzly Claw as well as in the Double Arrow Lodge gift shop. You can also buy online through Amazon outlets and through me, as well, although my shipping rates will likely be more expensive than Amazon. You do get the books signed, though.

I’m excited about this book and I’m excited about the series. I know all of you want Josh to somehow come back and join the Dragoneers but I still have misgivings about that. He is certainly one of the most asked-about human characters in the series and I love that he touched so many readers.

So here’s to a great marketing campaign! If you’re a teacher and are interested in having the books either in your library or classroom please contact me at tanyafyfe@outlook.com. I’m also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (finally! @FyfeTanya) Thanks for reading!!!

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May 19th, 2018, Secrets Abound in Missing Lake is now an award-winning book! In April, the Independent Press Awards were announced and we are the Distinguished Favorite for teen fiction! #awardwinningauthor #putastickeronit