When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.
My name is Ryan and I've been writing ever since I grabbed one of my dad's old tax ledgers and created this masterpiece:
see image.
My writing has since improved, though my obsession with wolves has remained relatively the same
(I even own a wolf-hybrid pup.) My childhood was a happy, sunny thing. I grew up on a steady diet of fairytales, salt-marshes, music and brothers who would re-enact Redwall battles with me in the back yard. I went to an artsy sort of high-school that allowed cello recitals in the hallways and impromptu poetry slams in the cafeteria. It was there I decided that writing was what I wanted to do more than anything.
I'm officially a grownup now (I suppose one must admit that once they turn 26). My diet still includes fairytales, salt-marshes and art, but there are a few new loves thrown in. A big one is travel. Pieces of my heart are scattered like breadcrumbs all over the globe--I've bartered them off for writing inspiration, so I suppose it's a fair trade.
When I'm not cramming my earthly belongings into a backpack and waiting in airport security lines, I'm doing one of the following: Writing YA novels, Photographing weddings with my husband, Making our little white cottage more homey, Playing with my wolf pup, Trying out Korean récipes, Haunting local coffee shops with my friends.
Oh. That’s a hard, hard question. Of all time? The Harry Potter series.
The moment where you type THE END and mean it. I love working hard and finishing and having something to show for it. It’s always so rewarding after the agony of drafting.
Currently I’m obsessed with BBC’s Doctor Who and Sherlock. Clearly I can’t get enough of British boys! ;) But I’m also a huge fan of LOST and Firefly.
Lord of the Rings (all three of them). I’ve been known to marathon the extended editions with my brothers in 24 hours. I also moved to New Zealand for a month and a half because I loved them so much (but that’s another story).
Well, first I would be able to sleep in (I’m not a morning person. At all.). Then I would wake up to a strong pot of coffee and a few hours of writing. I would go for a nice long hike in the wilderness with my wolf-dog and husband (Exercise! Family bonding!), then get a few hours of writing done in the afternoon with a pot of tea and biscuits. Dinner would magically appear at my table at 7 PM. I would spend the evening marathoning Doctor Who and planning a trip abroad. Also, magic elves would come and clean my house in the middle of the night.
Time by Hans Zimmer (it’s from the Inception Soundtrack). I’ve played it 1385 times on my iTunes.
Ooh, another tough one. I’m a big foodie. Thai food is some of my favorite (Tom Kha Gai soup and Cha Yen tea are the awesomest!). I’m also a huge fan of Ethiopian food
I love Touchstone from Nix Garth’s Abhorsen trilogy! He’s handsome, humble, an amazing fighter with a tortured and mysterious past. If you haven’t read this series then you’re really missing out! It’s so good!
Both? I actually love stories that root in mythology (I did a little bit of this in ALL THAT GLOWS and a lot of this in ALL THAT GLOWS sequel!) because I think this gives them added depth, anchoring them into a commonality of larger stories. It makes the story larger than itself. And magic. Magic makes a story fun. Those are two big properties I find in books I love to read: a fun story that’s larger than itself.
Young Adult, clearly! But within young adult, I veer much more fantastical than contemporary. I love high fantasy, paranormal, sci-fi, alternate history… the works.
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” – Jack Canfield
Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Firefly, LOST, Sherlock, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, pretty much anything written by Neil Gaiman.
I would love to meet J.R.R. Tolkien and talk with him about world-building and linguistics and his days with the Inklings.
Well, since you asked me my favorite fictional boy, I’m going to provide you with an example of my favorite fictional girl. I’ve always admired Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She grew up a woman in a land of warriors and was told to stay at home when all of her kith and kin went off to war. She had her heart broken, but she didn’t let the men’s words or her own heavy emotions stop her from doing what she knew she had to. She rode to war, fought and brought down a Nazgul. I’ve always admired her tenacity in the face of doubt and darkness—her drive to fight even when all seemed lost—and how she used these things to save her people.
I want to thank you guys for reading. Not just my books, but every book. Thank you for believing in stories and investing your time, resources and emotions into them. Thank you for giving our characters space inside your heads.
Of course! ALL THAT GLOWS is the story of a Faery named Emrys who is assigned to guard Prince Richard of Britain from immortal threats. While she struggles to protect him amidst the chaos of paparazzi and palace murders, she also finds herself fighting for her heart.
Creating Emrys’s world was definitely difficult! Not just the magical aspect but also her life among the royals at Buckingham! I had to do a lot of research from all angles, but I also had to let it grow somewhat organically as I was drafting. I had to establish the rules of magic and Fae hierarchy as I went along and then go back to make sure I followed all of these rules! I think the best part about Emrys’s life are her powers, in particular her ability to fly.
Emrys is both old and quite young. She’s still learning about the world and trying to find her place in the Fae hierarchy. She’s incredibly talented in weaving magic, moreso than most Fae her age. She can change appearances whenever she wants, but she’s kept her hair red ever since the time of Elizabeth the First. (She loved the way it looked on the human queen and wanted to keep it that way!).
On the outside Richard can be a bit rough. He parties and pubcrawls with his friends from Eton and shirks his royal responsibilities. He’s a gorgeous, lost and lonely boy who doesn’t want to grow up. (Yet.)
I really love the Tower Ravens who first appear in Chapter 3. When I first went to the Tower of London as a teenager and heard about the legend of the ravens (if they ever left the tower the kingdom would fall) I was captivated by them. BUT I think it would stink to have your wings clipped and stick around in one place all your life (even if you were an avian seer). I’d probably choose to be a Fae. They shapeshift and fly and have all sorts of fancy tricks! Plus being immortal wouldn’t be so terrible!
I loved writing the action scenes! Especially the chase scene that takes place in London’s creepiest cemetery (see Chapter Twenty-Five).
“We dance even after the last notes die, moving about in each other’s arms to some unheard song. We dance until nothing is left.”
Emrys - Karen Gillan. Ever since I first saw her appear as Amy Pond in Doctor Who she stole the role in my mind! She’s a gorgeous, precocious redhead with a Scottish accent.
Prince Richard – Francisco Lachowski. He’s not technically an actor, but he is a supermodel who is the spitting image of what Richard looks like in my head.
Princess Anabelle – Blake Lively. She’s perhaps getting a bit old to play a teenage princess, but I think Blake Lively’s persona and acting style would fit Anabelle to the tee!
Mab – Tilda Swinton. She’s regal and gorgeous and just a touch cold.
Herne the Hunter – Benedict Cumberbatch. Of course. Because he has an amazingly scary monster voice!!!
I have another book coming out this year! My thriller
THE WALLED CITY will hit the shelves in November 2014.
"There are three rules in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run.
Also, ALL THAT GLOWS’s sequel will be hitting stores a year from now, so keep an eye out for that as well! Me and my stories will be around for a while.
Ryan chose her favorite creature from All That Glows and the one she'd like to be. Let us know which creature you'd choose to be from All That Glows (if you have read the book) or which magical/mythological creature you'd like to be.
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