MOOREFIELD – The Dead Lie is the first book in a mystery thriller series written by retired teacher Ivanka Fear.
The title has a triple meaning, Fear said, explaining dead people lie in graves, dead people tell lies, and lies themselves die when people keep them hidden for so long.
Inspiration came from a phone call that woke Fear, something she’s “still not sure” was real or a dream.
“The voice on the other end of the phone asked me if I was interested in coloured diamonds,” Fear recalls.
She thought, “Oh, that might make an interesting story” and began researching coloured diamonds online.
This research led to a story idea and a character formed in Fear’s mind. Some of the story is set in Croatia, near where Fear was born.
The series, Blue Water Mysteries, has five books, with one to be released annually.
Fear has finished writing the books, noting she wrote the fourth book first and wrote the rest while querying for an agent. After 15 months trying to find an agent, Fear got a call offering representation.
“It’s fantastic, a great feeling” to receive the offer, she said. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”
Fear is now working on a second series – the first book is called Where is my Husband? and the “tentative title” for the series is Jake and Mallory.
“As you write more and more the theory is you are supposed to be getting better,” she said – and she’s hopeful this sixth book is “the magic one.”
She’s written the first two books in Jake and Mallory and for the third she said she has “a long way to go but will hopefully be finished within the next few months.”
Where is my Husband? Is due to be released in October.
Fear, who has lived in Moorefield since 1982, noted, “I’ve been here so long I don’t really remember being anywhere else.”
She taught with the Upper Grand District School Board for 34 years, retiring about eight years ago.
For most of her teaching career, Fear taught at Centre Peel Public School. She also taught at public schools in Arthur and Drayton.
“Since retiring I’ve had time to pursue hobbies,” Fear said. “Writing was something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a child. I loved to read and write.”
She began writing poetry and short stories, which have been published in online and print magazines.
“After finding success with that, I decided to pursue something I’d always wanted to do – to write a novel,” she said.
“The hobby has fortunately become a second career for me.”
The Dead Lie is available as an ebook at Amazon.ca, and the print version will be “available in Canada probably in a few weeks on Amazon,” Fear said.
The Blue Water Mysteries series will also be available as audiobooks.
To purchase The Dead Lie locally, Fear recommends ordering it through a local bookstore.
