Fourth book in Missing Lake series making a big impression

SEELEY LAKE - "I'm so happy I started it up again, I'm so happy I finished it and now I'm so happy that people are loving it," said award-winning author Tanya Fyfe about her new release "The Runaways of Missing Lake." "It just encourages me for that next one."

"The Runaways of Missing Lake" is the fourth book in the Missing Lake series that follows 16-year-old Luke Houser on his journey into adulthood. In the first book, Luke moved to rural Montana with his father and stepmother Jackie. He runs sled dogs with his father and has adventures with his friend Tabitha, an enormous crimson dragon. Readers meet Luke's friends and the dragons and they watch the relationships unfold throughout books two and three.

Fyfe's fourth book adds drama with a wildfire that threatens Missing Lake and some serious news shared by Zagros, the silver dragon, that will impact the entire dragon realm. She will be hosting a Book Signing at The Stray Bullet in Ovando Sunday, Nov. 8 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Fyfe loves to hear from readers if they see themselves in the character or how they relate to her books.

* * * * *

Fyfe began writing her teen fiction series in 2013 which began with "Lost and Found in Missing Lake." "The Dragons of Missing Lake" followed and then "Secrets Abound in Missing Lake" came next.

"The third book didn't end with a cliff hanger or anything because I really wasn't sure if three was all I had," said Fyfe. "There are definitely six books in my head but I didn't know if readers would want more. They have told me yes, absolutely."

"Secrets Abound in Missing Lake" received the Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award for Teen Fiction in 2018 and the 2018 NYC Big Book Awards.

"It was total validation that I made it," said Fyfe. "I was recognized by people who were not my friends and family but by readers out there."

Fyfe started writing the fourth book in the series "The Runaways of Missing Lake" at the beginning of 2018 after the Rice Ridge fire threatened Seeley Lake during the summer of 2017. A combination of the emotional drain involved with relying on her personal experience to write chapter six as well as starting her career in real estate, she stepped away from the book.

"I needed months off," said Fyfe. "There was a little worry in the months off if I could get back to this."

She didn't pick it back up until late 2019. Fyfe said she kept the theme of chapter six but made it cleaner and more positive. Then the book took off again.

"The shutdown was awesome," said Fyfe. "I got to stay at my beautiful house with my beautiful animals and just write. I love hanging out with these characters. They are fun. They are kind of dorky kids...it is a super clean book...Luke is just under construction."

Fyfe said it is important for her to keep the books clean because she started them that way.

"So many grandmas and grandpas love that," said Fyfe. "I do introduce vaping in this book. It is not a main focus but I hope it keeps it relevant."

Fyfe said "The Runaways of Missing Lake" continues the story of Luke growing up with dogs and dragons and his relationships with his family and friends. It also gives the perspective of a wildfire that threatens Missing Lake and how that affects a small community.

Fyfe named the fire the Galena Ridge to pay homage to Galena Mountain in Washington that was outside her house growing up and the Rice Ridge fire required Fyfe and most of Seeley Lake to evacuate for several weeks.

"I always weave in things that I hope people who know me or don't know me will pick up on," said Fyfe. "We address the fear and the smoke. I wanted to tell that story from our Montana point of view of how awful it is to go through that and how it affected the whole community."

With the fire and the news from the dragon world, many of the reviewers are picking out the theme of climate change in Fyfe's fourth book.

Fyfe said, "I'm not on a podium, necessarily about climate change, because Luke is a kid. But at the same time kids are aware of the situation and the planet. These kids are from a small town in rural Montana but they are talking about these things. Readers are really picking up on it."

Fyfe has always done a lot of research for her books. She collects information from dragon websites, what people think, what are the cultural norms and current lore. Fyfe also researched the Rice Ridge fire and brought in components of that that were historically accurate.

Also as part of Luke's English class, Mrs. Tanner has Sharing Sessions where the students research songs.

"I do this because I love music. As a figure skater I've been surrounded by music my entire life and researching songs for themes as a choreographer and putting music and songs together," said Fyfe. "I love analyzing songs and there is a lot of research that goes into that."

Fyfe said while this is the fourth in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone book.

"It is great to have the first three books behind you but you don't need it," said Fyfe. "You would see how all the relationships develop."

Fyfe said over the past seven years, the goals for writing her books has changed. The goal for the first book was to see if she could write a book that people would like. Since people fell in love with the story, now her goal is to entertain people and bring hope and positivity through Luke as a role model for young adolescents. She would love to work with a screenwriter and develop this into a movie.

For her readers, Fyfe wants to introduce people to the world of sled dogs and mushing, how the animals are cared for, the amount of work and dedication and the excitement of racing. She feels the sport has gotten a bad wrap and wants to teach people more about it.

Another goal for readers is to demonstrate healthy step-parenting relationships. Fyfe said these can be great relationships while still maintaining normal, healthy relationships with biological parents.

Finally, Fyfe hopes to provide a glimpse into veterinary medicine even though it is not always in the easiest of lights. She shows that it is a lot of work but the passion for animals and how someone can fall into it, like she did when she became a veterinarian in 2005.

"Luke has a gift and a natural way with animals, he doesn't see that, but that is how the dragons have picked him as a dragoneer," said Fyfe. "There is that hope in this book that maybe we can look off into those mountains and maybe there are dragons out there."

It wasn't until Fyfe's good friend Heidi Weaver pointed out her progressions, like an artist developing her skills through the first three books, that Fyfe realized how much she had grown as a writer.

"That was really important for me, even though I didn't know it was important until she said it. I hadn't thought of seeing evolution in my writing," said Fyfe.

Looking back, Fyfe said writing her books has been very therapeutic. After closing her veterinary clinic in Seeley Lake in the mid-2010s, she created Jackie, the veterinarian, to live vicariously through and created the dragons for her to care for.

"I didn't get how therapeutic it was and how much it means to me to get these things out," said Fyfe.

Fyfe is confident that there at least one, maybe two more books in the series. Her mother Cynthia Koftinoff told her this book was the best book in the series and after reading the last page she was ready to pick up the next one.

Fyfe said the goal is still to do this sled dog race in Oregon that Luke and his dad have talked about since they moved to Montana.

"Hopefully book five will get us there," said Fyfe. "I feel like I owe it to [Luke and his dogs]."

This winter Fyfe plans to market the series and work with her graphic designer Ben Brick to release a second edition of her first book "Lost and Found in Missing Lake" with a new cover.

Fyfe launched a 20-stop virtual tour with Teddy Rose Book Reviews. It started Oct. 21 and continues until Nov. 20. These tours include reviews and excerpts, interviews and guest posts by Fyfe.

With nine reviews posted, many reviewers agree that the book can appeal to all ages and they are looking forward to the next book in the series. Fyfe is surprised by what reviewers are taking out of the story.

"This was a very fun, action-oriented book with a great moral and a very timely message," wrote EllenSee from Library Thing. "I enjoyed Luke as a character and how optimistic and kind he was. Few Young Adult stories these days share the core of idealism that this story pulled off so beautifully."

"This is a series of hope, love and friendship while also being a story about caring for others," Terri on Amazon wrote. "It is about being more than just yourself, which comes at a crucial time in our planet's history."

"The point of this book I loved the most, is that no matter what our lives turn out to be, don't freak out or lose hope. Just figure out the way to solve it," wrote GoodReads reviewer Naima Khalid. "With an appreciative and creative writing style by Tanya Fyfe, this book will surely grip you and keep you captivated till the end. It certainly did for me!"

"I'm just touched by the different takes that people are getting that I didn't intend in this book. They are saying it is really meaningful, it's timely and it's perfect for right now and just everything going on in the world," said Fyfe and smiled. "I started writing it two years ago so it is like wow, I didn't mean for it to be so impactful."

Fyfe's books are available at the Grizzly Claw and Double Arrow Lodge as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. She is also working on a book signing event at Double Arrow Lodge.

For more information follow Fyfe on her website https://tanyafyfe.com/, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tanya.fyfe.9, and tanyafyfe on Twitter and Instagram.