A Utah author’s dream came true. Here’s how she feels about closing the chapter.

West Valley City • The first book that Utah cowboy romance author Lyla Sage ever published was dedicated to her late grandfather Leo, the second to her readers and her grandmother Corrine and the third to her readers and her father.

But, it’s the fourth and final book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series (“Wild and Wrangled”) that she dedicated to herself: “This one is for me — for the girl who had a dream and for the woman who made it come true.”

“Since it’s the last book, I finally got to look back and say, ‘I did this and I get to be proud of it no matter what,’” Sage said. “‘Wild and Wrangled’ [is] my love letter to everything that I’ve done over the past four years.”

Sage took to Utah’s beloved country bar, The Westerner, on Tuesday night to celebrate the launch of her new book alongside 350 fans who saddled up to celebrate the Rebel Blue Ranch world one last time. The event was hosted by two indie bookstores: The King’s English Bookshop and Lovebound Library.

Fans showed up in Meadowlark (the fictional Wyoming town where the series takes place) merch, cowboy hats and boots of all colors, fringe jackets and bags full of books for Sage to sign as they lined up outside.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans line up outside The Westerner ahead of the book launch event for the last book in Lyla Sage's best-selling series "Rebel Blue Ranch" in West Valley City on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

Celebrating the book’s launch as a local author, with local fans and bookstores, is something that brings tears to Sage’s eyes.

“There has been nothing more rewarding for me as an author than to watch my books be loved and supported close to home,” she said. In the week leading up to the launch, Sage estimates she signed nearly 2,000 copies of her latest release. At the event, she personalized many of those books for fans in attendance.

Sage self-published her first book “Done and Dusted” which eventually blew up on BookTok, the book side of TikTok. Then, it was picked up by Dial Press, an imprint of one of the ‘big five’ publishing houses: Penguin Random House.

Since then, the Utah author’s career has taken off at a breakneck speed.

“The whole thing kind of feels a little bit serendipitous, because so many things had to go right for this to happen,” Sage said. “If you told me this story — my publishing journey — and I wasn’t the one experiencing it, I wouldn’t believe you.”

The skyrocket to success has been jarring at times for Sage, like learning to juggle reader expectations and staying true to herself. But, as she packs up her boots and hits the road leading away from Meadowlark, she feels nothing but content.

With “Wild and Wrangled,” Sage said she had the opportunity to do something radical: write something “just for me.”

“I got to kind of take back some of that joy that I’ve experienced [while] writing my whole life,” she said. “I never thought I would feel this and it’s probably the only time I will.”

Sage’s next book, “Soul Searching,” will take readers to a ghost town called Sweetwater Peak, two hours north of Meadowlark. It will be a paranormal story with elements of romance and horror that will be released in September.

But, for now, readers have one last rodeo to take part in.

The Westerner was the perfect spot to celebrate a cowboy romance — with its mechanical bull and line dancing space — transporting readers into the culture of the series they love.

Pink cowboy decor popped around the venue, a banner that read “Long Live Cowgirls” sparkled in the neon lights of the dance floor. Among the fans, Sage’s proud and awestruck parents, taking it all in. While Sage primarily dedicated “Wild and Wrangled” to herself, she also dedicated it to her mother, who taught her how to dream.

On the tables, QR codes directed fans to quizzes that determine which female character of Sage’s they were most like, or which cowboy from her world was their best match. A custom cocktail menu sat on the bar, featuring: Dusty’s Crop Top (whiskey cocktail), Rodeo Rita (tequila & triple sec cocktail) and the Lyla Cocktail (vodka and diet coke).

Readers quickly became friends while waiting in line, like Jane Rowberry, from Utah, Sage Wilson, who came down from Wyoming, and Macie Conn, who trekked over from Idaho.

Rowberry has previously attended Sage events in Utah and couldn’t wait to see her again. “It’s just really cool to see somebody who this was just their dream, and then had it be fulfilled,” she said, talking about Sage.

In many ways, leaving the universe of Rebel Blue is akin to leaving home for Sage. The universe’s name traces back to nicknames her grandparents had for each other. It’s why in the pages of the books readers clutch in their hands on Tuesday night, there’s a postcard that invites them to come home to Rebel Blue Ranch.

“There’s no better way for Rebel Blue to sunset for now than ‘Wild and Wrangled,” Sage said.

“As a writer, I have done basically all of my growing within Rebel Blue’s property line, so it’s hard [and] scary to leave,” she said. “If Dusty Tucker and Clementine Ryder have taught me anything, it’s that home’s always going to be there … but that doesn’t mean that I can’t go to other places too.”

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