Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Isla Ryder grew up around horses but never owned one of her own, instead settling for riding lessons and every horse book she could find. When those books stopped being enough, she began writing her own. Throughout school, she loved creative writing classes and earned a BDIC degree from UMass Amherst. She has published a series of sweet cowboy romance novellas and loves working with other authors as an alpha reader and developmental editor.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Boundary Lines is the final book in my Harris Twins Series. It follows two brothers and their family ranch. I have always loved horses and have been riding as long as I can remember. I’ve been at many farms over the years, in all different riding disciplines and situations—show barns, auction barns, family farms—and I wanted to write something that I could use all those little experiences to make feel authentic. When I started book one of the series, I wasn’t sure it would be a series at all, but as I began, I knew there was much deeper to go and I couldn’t stand to leave the ranch just yet. Soon after, books two and three followed to round out the series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to write fast. I don’t do a lot of plotting or planning. I sit down and just type with a vague outline in mind. Characters always come to me through dialog and the way they speak for before I have a physical idea of them and I don’t worry much about searching my mind for those types of descriptions until I start revising. If I pause too long to worry about it, my flow is broken. Understanding what a first draft is for (getting the story down) has really helped my writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like to read many genres. I don’t have many favorites, but I admire prolific writers—the ones that can’t seem to stop producing creative work. I connect with that need to create and hope someday to be among them.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am putting the finishing touches on a short story prequel to my Harris Twins Series that features the twins’ parents meet-cute and first date. It can be a total stand-alone but gives some fun tidbits for the main series, such as how the ranch gets its name. When I hit publish on Boundary Lines (book 3) I was bereft—I wasn’t ready to leave the ranch, so that same day I started this story and I can’t wait to share it with readers.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am still learning about marketing, and love exploring really niche groups within my genre of sweet cowboy romance. I also love stepping outside of ‘reader specific’ areas and jumping into horse groups and pages. Horse people can be leery of horse fiction, and with good reason, as many writers don’t do enough research and have never lived the life. I enjoy offering something authentic to them and seeing them come around and get back into horse fiction without being worried about being pulled from the story by inaccuracies.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just start writing! I know that seems obvious but you can edit a draft but you can’t turn a blank page into a bestseller. Find someone who believes in you and your story and work with them or trade critiques. Be open to suggestions but know that you aren’t obligated to take 100% of someone’s advice. It is your story, after all!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve heard echos the advice I like to give. I think I got the sentiment originally from a NaNoWriMo pep talk back in my senior year of high school when I did not know what I was doing, only that I wanted to write. And I did. I ‘won’ Nano that year with my 50k novel. Was it good? No, but it was finished—I had done it and that was enough to show me I could do it. The next time would be better, and the time after that it would be even more so. Even now, if I look back at my writing from only a few years ago, I can see how I’ve improved. You just have to keep writing and keep revising and you will make progress.
What are you reading now?
I am currently reading Like Water Catching Fire by E.M. Lindsey. While it is not a typical pick for me, I won it in a contest and am pleasantly surprised by it. It portrays a deaf character in a very realistic and sensible way that doesn’t feel likes it’s just for show or hashtags. It is also surprisingly sweet. I may look into more books from them.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Right now, I am working with a group of writer friends to create a sweet romance anthology. Collecting, critiquing and polishing up stories from many authors—both new and established is so fun and rewarding and has prompted me to make sure that my submissions are as good as they can be too. Next up will probably be a stand-alone equestrian romance based in the show-jumping world.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
There are very few books that I ever re-read but I can list them off in a heart-beat: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Einsteins Dreams by Alan Lightman, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My fourth would likely be House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. It’s a gorgeous book, but it has been on my nightstand waiting to be read for far too long.
Author Websites and Profiles
Isla Ryder Website
Isla Ryder Amazon Profile
Isla Ryder’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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