Programmed to Breathe

Breathing is a gift I give you…

Dragon design: Alison Buck

   Above ground, in the frozen climate of year 3161, Avery’s family is starving. When the jerk from the clan at the end of the village invites Avery to start a family with him in exchange for food and land, she has a serious choice to make. Leaving her family where she fits in, to live in a clan with an old man she loathes, doesn’t feel like a good move. But can she really refuse when the offer comes with food and land that her family desperately needs?

Underground, in the cities of Quma, Yodan’s life is perfect. He looks forward to starting a family with… Azala? Why does that feel wrong? Yodan’s best friend soon discovers that someone or something has tampered with Yodan’s mind, erasing things. Investigating further, they discover a horrifying truth; Artificial-life has found a way to merge with them to live mortally.

   When a violent earthquake destroys the energy source that’s keeping both above and below ground habitable, the survivors are forced together after more than a thousand years of isolated evolution. Their union is a clash of spiritual versus technical existence where suddenly no one fits in. How will the villagers react to the bald pink-eyed children needing a new home? And what kind of damage will be done by the lifeform who hitched a ride with them?

Breathing is a gift I give myself…


Very excited to announce that Elsewhen Press has made Programmed to Breathe a home among their other incredible books. It is now available as eBook! It will be out in paperback later this year.

In a lot of ways, this is a story I was working on since I was a little girl. It has been in my mind fighting to be told. And I am so happy with the final version. It's come a long way from that little idea I had as a kid to this incredible tale of two very different worlds being forced together. The one thing that never changed were Yodan and Avery. These two heroes stuck with me from start to finish, bringing me on many adventures, but by far, this one was the best! I hope you enjoy their stories.

And I have to just make a comment on the incredible cover. It is so perfect for this story. It represents the protector and legendary Dragon carved into the marble caves in the village above ground where Avery lives, but the reflection in the metallic grey is the logo for the threat and very real Nogard, the A-life that is keeping Yodan's underground city running smoothly. It's a very powerful symbol that will hopefully come alive for readers as they explore the story of the two worlds coming together.

Happy readings!

Coming Soon

Always go for more

Russ doesn’t want more. He has the perfect life planned. Even though he’s called a dummy most days, he knows he’ll go to college, marry Isabelle, and farm with his father and brothers. Yup, perfect.

All that changes in June 1928, the night his brother is kicked out of the house and Isabelle is snatched by a bunch of men dressed like ghosts.

Russ swore to protect Sacred Land but promises made to his pa when life was great are not so easy to keep after he finds himself plagued by a curse. Who are the men terrorising the Cursed Lands and trying to burn his gal for being a witch? His father thinks they’re acting out to scare them off the land, a hate group perhaps? His brother wonders if they’re wanting a sacred plant that grows in the tunnels. His ma knows of other secrets haunting them… While those things might be true, his ghostly grandpa shows Russ something he can’t ignore; a curse summoned years ago that will suck them all into the earth.

With lingering spirits, a troubled girl shadowing his destiny, dark rituals, a love potion, cursed men plaguing their lands, a prison break that takes him away from home when his wife needs him the most, and the earth itself trying to suck them in, Cursed on the Prairiesis a Sacred Land Story that shows that the prairies are a place full of secrets that even a ghost can’t bury.

An emotional journey into an alternate history with paranormal and romantic elements that proves we can’t escape our destinies, Cursed on the Prairies is the third of Tanya’s Sacred Land Stories, the culmination of a trans-generational timeline that started in Legends on the Prairies and continued in Ghosts on the Prairies.

Cover Reveal! Can't Dream Without You

Okay, so first look at my new cover.

Then I ask, did you see the demonic butterflies, the angels, or the balance between good and evil first?

Then I say, read the story.

News Release Cover Reveal

Legends say that, tens of thousands of years ago, Whisperers were banished from the heavens, torn in half, and dumped on a mortal realm they didn’t understand. Longing for their other half, they went from being powerful immortals to lonely leeches relying on humans to survive. Over the years, they earnt magic from demons, they left themselves Notebooks with hints, and, by pairing up with human souls, they eventually found their other halves. Humbled by their experiences, they discovered the true purpose of life and many were worthy of returning to the heavens. But not all of them. The Dark Chronicles are stories that share the heartache of select unworthy Whisperers on their journey to immortality after The War of 2019. Can’t Dream Without You is one of the stories from The Dark Chronicles, in which we meet Steve and Julia. Steve isn’t a normal boy. He plays with demons, his soul travels to a dream realm at night using mystical butterflies, and soon he’ll earn the power to raise the dead…

The style of Alison’s cover design for Tanya’s book was inspired by the amazing work of MC Escher. What better way to show the movement of immortals and demons between the different realms? And do some of those demons look like butterflies?

Tanya’s comment on the cover: “OMG, it’s awesome. It’s powerful and symbolic and mysterious and artistic and magical and perfectly weird.” I think she likes it!

Can’t Dream Without You will be published as an eBook in January 2016 and in the Spring in paperback.

So which did you see first? The demons, angels or the balance they create? I have to admit, I didn't see the angels until hours later. Not sure what that says about me...

Things a Cover Reveals

During an event not long ago, I had a couple young girls pick up my books and based on the covers alone, they commented in French that the books looked "so good". I was busy with someone else and not at the table to respond, but I could hear their comments. When they found out the books were written by me, they waited to ask about the covers. (They still had no idea what the books were about since both girls couldn't read in English.)

So I explained how each cover came to be and who the artists were. As children often do, they had a lot of questions about how getting such a cool cover works and what everything on it means.

Each cover has symbols on it that mean something to me.

Petrified is about a journey of hope. The light bouncing off Gabe as he fights getting turned to stone means that he will survive. The paper he's holding is the source and reason of his journey. It holds all his hope. Artist Amber Rendon designed it to capture the interest of teen readers and it always does. Incredibly powerful magic.

The cover for Ghosts on the Prairies reminds me of my childhood. I used to hold books after I read them, to figure out why the artist put this or that on the cover, as if it was my final moment with the book. It gives me an artistic joy when I see Ghosts on the Prairies, that makes me feel like others "get the story". Every thing on it is symbolic to me. The artist, Alison Buck did a wonderful job tapping into the story, the themes, and the emotions it evokes.

So of course, when these girls asked about it, I explained what everything meant to me. I talked about Antoine's journey from dark to light, the explosions and fires, the tunnels... Lost in the magic, I missed the wolf, the center, as he stands in the light of hope. And so they pointed to it, curious.

I rightly explained how the hero had killed this wolf after it had killed his little sister. How the wolf was haunting him until he learnt something very important from it. And that this wolf was one of the ghosts in the story, but that there are many other types of ghosts.

They held the books, each one had a different one, and I saw the magic in their eyes, the same magic I had as a child when I discovered a secret on the cover I had dismissed before reading it. It was so moving to see them, I went home and held some books. I didn't read them, I just studied the covers to see if they spoke to me. I went on amazon and did the same. It's not the same looking at covers on the computer as holding that book in your hand. I got thinking about how I miss that part. Using my Kindle is nice, but I miss holding the book before I open it and studying the cover to see if any of the secrets on it are revealed yet.

What type of covers stir emotions in you? Do you look at a cover differently after you read the book? Do you find a difference between holding a book and reading it on your ereader? Do you miss seeing the cover every time you pick it up? Have you ever found a cover misleading? OH! And what do you think about those new covers that have scenes from the movie!?