Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Ryan, and I’ve never known how to talk about myself. I’m an author and a musician living in Jeffersonville, Indiana with my wife, Lisa. People and social situations make me nervous; I don’t party, and I don’t have many friends. I’ve battled severe behavioral inhibition all my life. It’s a very misunderstood struggle.
I finished my first book when I was about 15, and I’ve written four more since then, along with many short stories, poems, and songs. I’ve always liked making up stories, and I’ve never felt lost for inspiration, but I focused heavily on music for the first 20 or so years of my life. Almost all of my energy went into writing songs, though stories were always slipping out. When I reached a point of deep frustration with my attempts to make a career in music happen, I started to think more about making a real try at publishing a novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is The King’s Eagle, and it was inspired by all kinds of things. After writing and reading a lot of heavy, philosophical stuff, I wanted to take a break and write something light and fluffy. The King’s Eagle didn’t turn out to be light and fluffy because – apparently – I don’t have that in my repertoire, but that was my original intent. It all started when I got heavily into roleplaying online. After a difficult period, I was jobless and spending a lot of time playing video games and reading. I love Transformers, and I developed an itch to find a Transformers game I could play online. Thus, I discovered MUs – MUDS and MUSHes and the like – and I got involved in text roleplaying in these MU communities and in creating my own games. This really got my creative engines working, and I started thinking about all these story ideas I has baking in my head and which one would be the most fun to try and tackle first. Originally, I was going to write a generic fantasy story about dragon riders, but I decided against dragons because so many other people have written about them. I chose giant birds instead, because I love birds, and the story just started to fall into place. It outgrew my desire to write something simple, and I quickly found myself deeply engaged. I even created a language for my story – Imnura, the language of Emnor – and that has been a whole endeavor of its own – and a wonderful one. So online roleplaying was a big inspiration. Also, I was reading The Book of Lost Tales Vol. 1 by J.R.R. Tolkien (as compiled by Christopher, his son) while I was writing The King’s Eagle, and that strongly influenced my voice in the story. I was also feeling very cooped up and unwell, and focusing on writing was a way to expand beyond that. Lastly, I was taking daily walks back then, and there were frequently rabbits feeding and playing in the area where I walked, and I found that peace very inspiring, too.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure what a usual writing habit would be. I don’t type with my feet or anything. I like to write in total silence, and I write best very early in the morning. Insomnia is a big motivator for me, I guess. I like to act out parts of my stories while I’m writing; maybe that’s unusual. A lot of that happens in the shower. In fact, I think almost all my story ideas are born in the bathroom. Is that unusual?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Tolkien has got to be number one on my list of influences. He was the first author I really remember loving. I love the way he describes landscapesaz. He liked to take walks, too, but he had much more interesting terrain to explore than I have behind my apartment complex. He went all over, and you can really tell. You can feel how much he loved the uncultivated world through his writing, I think. Frank Herbert has also been very influential not just on the way I write but on my whole personal philosophy in general. The Dune series and Fight Club are two books that really made me think about the way I understood the world – and how I wrote about it as well. I also love Joseph Conrad, Dante, Milton, Sylvia Plath, Nabokov, and Petrarch. And Neil Gaiman, too; his Sandman series is amazing.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m writing a book called Graveworld. The next book I publish, however, will be Melidora, which is in my editor’s hands. I’m also translating Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into my conlang, Imnura, for a large project honoring Lewis Carroll and Alice. That has been a very time-consuming task, as it’s the longest translation I’ve ever done, but I’m really enjoying it. And, of course, I’m still writing and recording music.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m terrible at self-promotion. I mention The King’s Eagle on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr all the time. I also have a TKE Facebook page and an Imnura blog. That’s all I’ve got going to spread the word at the moment – with the exception of this interview.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read all the time. Read everything; don’t just read one genre. Read everything you can. Read Harry Potter, Animal Farm, The Silmarillion, Greek myths, the Bible, Hellboy comics – everything. Read things that you don’t understand so you’ll be forced to look things up. A lot of people say that they don’t have time to read, and I find this ridiculous. I just don’t accept it. Lots of people who are really busy find time to read. You can do it, too. In fact, you have to read if you seriously want to write. Trying to write when you don’t read is like trying to learn to speak without ever hearing anyone say anything. It’s not impossible, but, when it does happen, we call it a miracle. Also, keep a dictionary of interesting words. I found that very helpful.
This might be good to say, too, though it’s going to sound a little bitter: writing a story is the easy part. Making a career out of writing involves 5% writing and 95% whoring yourself out to promote Brand You. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably find that process demeaning, but you have to do it. When it comes to marketing, there is just no place for people with scruples or dignity. You have to sell your soul.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I don’t know that I can narrow the list down to a single quote! I’ll offer a few.
“One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self.” – Fred Rogers
“This is your world. You’re the creator.” – Bob Ross
“Never be complete. Stop being perfect.” – Tyler Durden in Fight Club, paraphrased
“The universe is quite big, and almost none of it has anything to do with humans.” This is from the book Atheism Explained by David Ramsay Steele. I’m an atheist, and I see this quote in a theological context as well as a broader, social one. One of the things I love about going for walks is the feeling of being part of something that is larger than myself. I don’t want to be wrapped up in myself all the time: I find myself boring. I like knowing that, in comparison to the billion-year history of life on Earth, my life has amounted to practically nothing. I know that seems depressing, but it calms me. It helps me realize that I put a lot of pressure on myself, and that, if I put it there, I can take it off, too. Seneca said, “Our fears are more numerous than our dangers, and we suffer more in our imagination than in reality.”
What are you reading now?
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller. I picked it up because it seemed to tell a story that is similar to the one I am telling in Graveworld. I’m also looking forward to reading The Lightcap by my friend Dan Marshal, and Sisyphus Shrugged by Robert Peate, whom I’ve known for many years. They are next on my list once I’m finished doing a million things at once.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on publishing Melidora this year. I’m also going to be releasing a corrected edition of The King’s Eagle on August 31, the year anniversary of the first edition’s publishing. I’ve written a sequel to Melidora, but I’m going to sit on it for a bit. I’m not sure about it. I’m not really a serial writer, I don’t think – at least not yet. I would love to tell more stories set in and around Emnor some day, though.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I can only pick one? Oh, man. The Lord of the Rings is my go-to answer. I also love Heart of Darkness. It’s hard not to say The Divine Comedy, though. You know? And Paradise Lost. I guess I can’t name just one.
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