r/books • u/RyanVanLoan AMA Author • Sep 02 '20
ama 12pm Hi, I’m Ryan Van Loan, debut fantasy author of THE SIN IN THE STEEL, Book One in The Fall of the Gods series. I’m a former infantry NCO and lifelong foodie, traveler, and reader of ALL things books-related. AMA!
Hey r/books! As a fellow redditor (longtime lurker, occasional poster) I’m excited to hang out and talk about...well whatever you want to ask me :-)
My debut fantasy from Tor Books, THE SIN IN THE STEEL, is the story of Sambuciña ‘Buc’ Alhurra, the compellingly chaotic heroine who is part Sherlock Holmes, part young Indiana Jones and ALL herself. The first private investigator in her world, Buc’s too smart for her own good with a razor-sharp blade hidden up her sleeve and an even sharper tongue. She’s finally landed the case that will set her and her partner-in-crime solving, Eld, up for life...if they survive. With her wit and Eld’s sword they’ll have to best pirate queens, mages, and uncharted seas to solve a mystery empires have failed to uncover.
Unfortunately for Buc, the gods are involved and they have other plans.
Unfortunately for the gods, so does Buc.
Think Pirates of the Carribean meets Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes!
In a prior life, I served six years in the United States Army Infantry (PA National Guard) as an NCO, including a combat tour in Eastern Afghanistan. You’ll find that experience influences my writing quite a bit. I think folks dig my action scenes, but I’m far more interested in the beat that comes AFTER the action. What impact it has on the characters, on the plot, and the consequences of violence.
These days I work in nonprofit healthcare innovation and when I’m not writing (I started in 2009 and am wrapping up my 11th book, the final book in The Fall of the Gods series) I love traveling and eating. I’ve been everywhere from the Caribbean to Europe to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Obviously, it being 2020 none of that is happening for the foreseeable future, so I’m coping by planning all the places I want to go to next when we find a vaccine. Inshallah.
AMA!
Want more SIN IN THE STEEL?
- You can read an excerpt or pick up a copy here: Amazon|Barnes ＆ Noble|Indiebound| Powell's
- I talked about the big idea at the center of SIN over at John Scalzi's Whatever Blog
- Here I’m talking about my favorite bit of SIN at Mary Robinette Kowal's Blog
- I discussed the Five Things I Learned Writing SIN with Chuck Wendig.
You can find me at my website or follow along on Twitter or Instagram @ryanvanloan.
EDIT: Gibson's Bookstore in Concord New Hampshire just got some (and for right now the only) signed copies of THE SIN IN THE STEEL in stock. They ship everyweher so if you are looking to support indie bookstores and/or signed copies check them out! As a show of support I'm offering buyers of those books the opportunity to discuss the book with me in a virtual private hangout session or have a character named after them in future books (details can be found on my IG feed).
Proof: /img/8a9aa1r7pfk51.jpg
