Book Goodies

Connecting Readers and Authors

  • Home
  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Advertising
    • Buy Home Page Features
    • Advertise Your Bargain Book
    • List Your Free eBook
    • Feature Your PermaFree Book
    • BookGoodies Multi-site Landing Pages And Book Buyer’s Guides
    • Author Advertising PrePay and Save!
  • Deals Newsletter
  • Featured Books
    • Buyer’s Guides
  • Book and Kindle Sleeves
  • Use Coupon Code BookGoodies10 for 10% off your purchase from the BookGoodies Store!
  • Free Books
  • PermaFree Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Interviews With Authors
    • Podcasts with Authors
  • Authors Start Here
    • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
    • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
    • Submit Your Interview
    • Feature Your Free Books
    • Feature Your Bargain Books
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
You are here: Home / *Reading Room / Interviews With Authors / Interview with Author – Matthew D. Ryan

Interview with Author – Matthew D. Ryan

By Book Goodies Leave a Comment

Matt_Ryan_1-Small
About Matthew D. Ryan:
Matthew D. Ryan lives in northeastern New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. His writing has been featured at Apheliondotcom and YesteryearFictiondotcom. He is the operator of a web-site which features his blog, “A Toast to Dragons,” a blog dedicated to fantasy literature, and, to a lesser extent, sci-fi. He is the author of the dark fantasy novels “Drasmyr” and “The Children of Lubrochius” as well as a growing number of fantasy short stories including: “Haladryn and the Minotaur,” “The River’s Eye,” and “Escape.”

What inspires you to write?
I love fantasy. I’ve spent the bulk of my life reading fantasy novels and playing fantasy games like AD&D, Magic, and Talisman. All that experience gels together and gives me a rich substrate to draw from. That is the basic backdrop of all my stories; at this point, having spent years as a Gamemaster, telling fantasy stories is almost second nature. Specific inspirations, though, can come from anything: a picture, a beatific scene in nature, a song, or even another story. I once wrote a short story entitled “The River’s Eye” which was inspired by a painting at my aunt’s house. I came up with the title first, and wrote from there.

Tell us about your writing process.
My first book, “Drasmyr”, was written as a seat of the pants writer. The older I get, though, the more I’ve started relying on outlines. “The Children of Lubrochius,” for example (the sequel to “Drasmyr”) was written with an outline. Generally, I do my initial outline by hand on lined paper. Then, I type it into my computer and begin revisions. The revision consists of printing out a hardcopy of the current outline, editing it as I see fit, and then updating. It’s a lengthy process, but it’s also fun, too.
Yes, I create character sketches … or I do now. Didn’t need them for the first book. Nowadays, I have a little grey notebook filled with all the information I have on all my characters. I refer to it periodically, but usually just when I forget a detail.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
That actually doesn’t happen to me. I create the characters, write down what I need to know and remember, but that’s usually the extent of my effort. There’s no imaginary conversations … I have enough psychological problems as it is that I don’t need to have imaginary conversations 🙂 . Anyway, no, that’s not a technique I use.

What advice would you give other writers?
Be persistent. Edit. Edit. And edit some more. For every hour you spend writing, you’ll probably spend somewhere from two to four editing, maybe even more. Be prepared for that. And don’t give up. If you really love it, keep at it. There’s lots of options these days from the traditional route to the indie author route. Regardless, be prepared to be your own strongest advocate. You’ll have to wear a lot of hats: author, editor, marketer, and more.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I tried the traditional route first, but got fed up with all the rejections. There are just too many authors competing for too few publishers. I finally went the self-published route. There are perks–namely, you have complete control over the entire process, you don’t have to edit by committee, and others–but its a tough slog. I would advise other authors to try the traditional route first–who knows? You might get lucky–Give it a few months, maybe a year, and if you don’t get any bites, go indie. You’ll have to handle all forms of marketing and other business decisions, but it’s worth it to see you’re name in print on a book.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Ebooks are the wave of the future. The unfortunate reality is, though, people are becoming less and less willing to pay real money for an ebook. Many people expect to get their ebooks for free. This makes it very difficult for new authors, even established authors. Standards are down and not everyone reads at the same level. A book with lots of grammatical errors, if they are subtle, might still earn five stars from an unsophisticated reader. This can distort ratings on all web sites. As a result, poor books can become superstars and stellar books can fail. It all depends on how the market reacts, and much of the market is not as discerning as the average writer or editor.

What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?: dark fantasy

What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Matthew D. Ryan Home Page Link
Link To Matthew D. Ryan Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site

Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit (other than removing hyperlinks in the body of the text), to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.

Filed Under: Interviews With Authors Tagged With: dark fantasy, demon, Drasmyr, magic, Matthew D. Ryan, quest, rogue, vampire, warrior, wizards



Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!



 

Sign up for our email newsletter to get daily notices about free, bargain and featured books.Be notified of instant access to free books AND Amazon Gift Card and book giveaways.

 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

six + eighteen =

Join Our Newsletter

Fiction

  • Fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Science Fiction
  • Women’s Fiction
  • Fiction Audio Books

Try Kindle Unlimited Today

Listen to Your Favorite Books

Nonfiction

  • Art/Photography/Coffee Table
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Business Books
  • Cooking and Food Books
  • Crafts and Hobbies
  • Educational/How-to
  • Essays
  • Faith and Religion
  • Gardening Books
  • Health & Fitness
  • Humor
  • Inspiration and Photography Books
  • Pet and Animal Books
  • Science and Math
  • Travel
  • Nonfiction Audio Books

More Good Stuff

  • Featured Books
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • *Reading Room
    • Interviews With Authors
    • Audio Books
      • Nonfiction Audio Books
      • Fiction Audio Books
  • Spanish
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
  • Readers: What Podcasts Do You Listen To?
  • Readers: What Devices do You Use to Read eBooks?
  • Readers: What Do You Like on an Author’s Website?

For Authors

  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Author Interview – Tell Us About Yourself
  • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
  • Advertise Your Bargain Books
  • Advertise Your Free eBook
  • Advertise Your PermaFree Book
  • Universal Link Tool for Amazon Books
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletters
  • BookGoodies News

Copyright © 2021 BookGoodies Network