Dallas Tanner (born 1956), is the author of novels in the genre of thrillers and action/adventure. The Cryptids Trilogy consists of the bestselling and critically-acclaimed volume Shadow of the Thunderbird, Track of the Bigfoot and Wake of the Lake Monster. He has also written a nine-part, serialized novella, "Chupacabra". Noted for his meticulous historical and scientific research, his books have been used at the collegiate level to instruct on science and history, as well as in critical reading and creative writing courses for their interwoven plot and storyline elements.

Dallas is also well-known as an armchair enthusiast in subjects of the paranormal, especially cryptozoology. As a lecturer, author and radio show host, he has befriended many of the notable experts in the field. His first three novels are all dubbed cryptofiction, stories based on animals considered out of place or time, whose existence has yet to be proved. He spends anywhere from 6 months to 3 years researching his subject matter beforehand, often exploring the places he will write about, and calling on scientists and professors for the feasibility of his ideas. Along with his characters, he seeks to determine the origin and species of beasts in Native legend, historical records and eyewitness accounts that would explain the mystery of their continued sightings.

At various times, Tanner also worked as a singer-songwriter and cartoonist. His concept for a Farside take on Noah's Ark was picked up by a nationally syndicated publisher, adapted by a famous cartoonist and appears in many newspapers around the country. During his days as a musician, he performed regularly in concerts and on television, doing demo work which caught the attention of large publising houses and record companies. After meeting his future bride, he decided to settle down, returning to school to get a degree in the electronic commerce field in which he works and supports his family today. As life imitates art, he has recently been approached by agents for publication of his work, formed a publishing house to produce the work of others, and been offered the opportunity of becoming a professor at a local college.

Biographical sketch

Dallas Tanner was born in 1956, at the stroke of midnight during the worst storm of the century to that date, in the seacoast township of North Kingston, Rhode Island. The eldest child of a career naval officer, he attended 9 schools in 12 years, as they moved about the country. His interest in local myths, legends and all things paranormal grew out of the ever-changing diversity of his upbringing.

His first novel, “Shadow of the Thunderbird”, was required reading at a large technical college in South Carolina. He has frequently lectured, appeared on or hosted radio shows, and presented at conferences on his books and interest in cryptozoology. He is often cited in the media as an expert on unknown or unexpected animals.

He was instrumental in salvaging Dan Taylor’s Nessie chaser mini subs, the Viperfish and the Nessa II, and is currently pursuing an interest in fossil diving. When he isn’t exploring remote locations such as the Altamaha River, Mt. St. Helens or Loch Ness, Tanner is content to write novels in his home study under the watchful eye of his longhair Tabby, Samwise. He now lives in Greenville, SC with his wife Carla and their five children, where he is at work on his latest project.

Influences

As a boy, Dallas was a huge fan of both classic science fiction and fantasy novels, as opposed to many of the popular authors of the day. He cites as his greatest inspiration and influences Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. He still has every book he ever bought in an extensive library, which now also includes the works of authors whose novels inspire his writings today. These include James Rollins, Steve Alten, Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, Michael Crichton, Matthew Reilly, and last, but certainly not least, Clive Cussler.

First novel

Shadow of the Thunderbird was written in 2001, in an attempt by the author to both fill empty hours in the evenings while traveling for a consulting company, and offer an alternative to it. While it quickly gained popularity after its initial release and becamse the basis for The Cryptids Trilogy, Tanner insists that the ability to leave the road soon after its publication remains just a coincidence. It lead to appearances at conferences, lecturing at a local college where it was adopted by their English department, and hosting no less than two widely popular late night radio talks show.

Action-adventure novels

Shadow of the Thunderbird

For the past 160 years, giant birds have been reported in the skies above the Black Forest region of northern Pennsylvania. Now, it's up to one man and one woman, to find out where they came from, and where they've gone. Failed Ph.D. candidate and erstwhile assistant museum curator Ian McQuade is rescued by cartographer Alma Del Nephites, after an ill-fated expedition into the Amazon Basin. They travel to meet the enigmatic CEO of a secretive organization, where the two are given the opportunity to seek out proof of the existence of thunderbirds. A madman's journal will lead them into the heart of a 700 year-old mystery, where cutting edge technology designed to locate and identify such creatures will collide with an ancient power that has hidden and protected them for centuries. Ian must face his past, in order to believe in a future that couldn't possibly exist. With lightning in their eyes and thunder in their wings, who will control the fate and destiny of the thunderbirds?

Track of the Bigfoot

In the U.S. Geological Survey, there are over 100 tribal and 2300 location names, in the United States alone, for a creature that walks in myth and legend throughout the 25,000 square miles of the Pacific Northwest. As a young boy on a family camping trip, 9 year old Ian McQuade encountered one of the giant, apelike beings. The experience changed his life forever, limiting his academic prospects and ruining his professional career. Now, twenty years later, an anthroplogist and a Ph.D. in his own right, Dr. McQuade sets out on an urgent mission for Cyril Pritchard and the Chimaera Foundation in pursuit of Bigfoot, without partner Alma Del Nephites. In the process, two of the greatest mysteries about Bigfoot will be uncovered, in a desperate race against time. One must remain a secret at all costs. The other must be revealed, before it is too late...

Wake of the Lake Monster

Along the coastal waterways of Georgia's tidal marshes, there lives a monster that makes the Altamaha River its home. Over 20 feet in length, with a snakelike head atop its long neck, the Altamaha-ha has been sighted dozens of times by those who live along its namesake. A pregnant female struggles to return upriver and give birth. She is bound by those who captured her before, and pursued by others who already killed her mate for where she can lead them. A place marked as the abode of dragons by the Tama Indians, it is also the location of a treasure buried in the final days of the Confederacy. Drawn to the river and caught up in events centuries in the making, Ian becomes the unwitting pawn in a quest for world domination. He soon learns of his link to the Altamaha-ha, and that he must save it, if he is to save himself. Aided only by a few colorful locals, McQuade must defeat the enemies of the Foundation, before its technology is turned into a doomsday device.

Premise

What if the creatures of myth and legend had a basis in reality, and were in fact ice age survivors of prehistoric species? That is the premise of The Cryptids Trilogy, comprised of Shadow of the Thunderbird, Track of the Bigfoot, and Wake of the Lake Monster.

Tanner seeks to blend disparate elements of science and history into thrillers based on the mysteries of nature and humanity. He makes a compelling case for the animals accounting for the Native legends, historical records and eyewitness accounts in which they have been reported. If they survived into modern times, these living fossils would fit the evidence.

His thunderbird stood 6 feet tall, 11 from beak to tail, and had a 25 foot wingspan. Three hybrid primate species are cited as Bigfoot, yet he dispelled the most popular as not meeting the evidence. For the Altamaha-ha, a lake monster along the Georgia river of the same name, He eschewed the primitive whale and the plesiosaur in favor of a more modern, mammalian origin.

The binding factor is that they all lived in the areas he placed them, tens of thousands to millions of years ago.

Bibliography

Novels

2002. Shadow of the Thunderbird

2003. Track of the Bigfoot

2007. Wake of the Lake Monster

Novellas

2004. Chupacabra

External links

Dallas Tanner official web site