Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Lane. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

My idea for my first book “I’m A Book Dragon” came from my love of being carried away by a story, really living the adventure the characters in the books were on. I wanted to teach children that that’s what reading can be like. Cassandra, the main character in my book, is an astronaut one day, a superhero the next, then a deep sea diver, and then she is a dragon. She continues being a dragon long after the story is finished and decides that she is also collecting treasure like the dragon in the story but her treasure is books because she is a Book Dragon.

Most dragons hoard treasure (gold and jewels) but for us Book Dragons our treasure is books, we hoard them, treasure them and protect them because they’re precious.

My next book, “All The Best Readers Are Dragons”, coming out fall of 2025, is all about finding that special something that helps a person fall in love with stories and discover that they can provoke feelings and imagery and even take us to fall off places.

Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As an Early Childhood Educator I work with students ages 3 to 6 years. I teach literacy and how to read but I also want to instill a love for books and reading in my students. Being able to read is important but a person who enjoys reading has so many new adventures and learning opportunities.

A great deal of the lessons I teach start with a book, from there we build on ideas, feelings and new concepts. One of my favourite projects that I offer my students is the opportunity to write and illustrate their very own book and share it with their classmates and families. The pride and ownership they take of their project is amazing to witness and I have often been blown away by the creativity of their stories.

As an author I am able to add stories to the many books educators and parents share with the children in their lives. I love being able to share the concept of being a Book Dragon with students.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have always enjoyed being creative and although I have fun with paint and colours I’m not particularly skilled in those mediums but I have found my love for the written word in bringing these stories to life. The most rewarding aspect of writing for me is when a child mentioned that they have read my book and enjoyed the story or when a parent tells me they read it to their child all the time. I love that my book gets read and reread, that the corners are dogeared and a child’s copy is well used. It means that that child found something in my book that resonated with them, that they enjoyed Cassandra’s adventures and maybe that they are Book Dragons too.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The first draft of “I’m A Book Dragon” was hurriedly written one morning before work, almost making me late as the story flowed from me onto the page. I carried that notebook with me for weeks after, revisiting the story, making very few minor changes. From there is sat for longer than I care to remember, I finally wanted to do more than have it in a notebook, I talked to friends who had been published, trying to figure out what that could/should look like… I talked to someone about doing the illustrations and left the ideas with them for a little while to see what they could do. Then it sat again. Eventually that person didn’t think they could produce they style of artwork I was looking for and the idea sat with me for a while longer kind of stalled. Then I spoke to Melanie Skene who also happens to be my amazing Aunt. An artist by profession but the style I had in mind was definitely outside her wheel house. She sketched, played with different mediums, painted and played with the ideas for a long time they whole while getting closer and closer to my vision. So far this had been several years since the story fell onto the page that morning before work. Then I met Lacey Bakker of Pandamonium Publishing House and shared my story with her, She loved it and wanted to help make it into a book. Being a nontraditional publishing company I now had the opportunity to be self published but with the support and expertise of Lacey and her team. No longer was I trying to figure out self publishing solo with some online site or sending my manuscript to random people found online. Now it was getting real. I signed a contract with PPH and in less than a year I had a book in my hands and was ready to start sharing it with the world. The resilience in my story is in my patience but also the burning desire this story put in my heart to be shared. There were certainly a great deal of adversities in the process, finding the funds for publication and losing my Grandmother a couple months before the story and art was due was hard on both myself and my aunt but the persistence and dedication have been worth in when I have someone come over because they saw a dragon book, or were brought in to find out what a Book Dragon was or better yet in talking to people and discovering that they are already Book Dragons and that I have a new book to add to their library.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pandamoniumpublishing.com
• Instagram: nicole_lane_author
• Facebook: Nicole Lane Author

Image Credits

Nicole Lane
Michel Fauvelle