Indigo’s 21 with Ryan O’Leary 6/12/13

Another treat for the ladies today! I’ve go Mr. Ryan O’Leary in the hot seat!  You’ve probably seen him around facebook, charming the ladies effortlessly.  He’s handsome, fun, flirty, a brilliant writer…the list could go on, but I’m sure you’d rather hear him talk, so without further delay…let’s get to know Ryan!

Bio: Rarely will you find Ryan O’Leary in a state of rest; if he’s not on the ice or kicking around a soccer ball, he’s plotting his next story or out on the town with friends. His fun and flirty nature makes it possible for him to write the kind of romance that makes the reader both smile and tingle.

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your books.

I’m Ryan. I like to play sports and write steamy stories. My books are designed to get the readers pulse racing. May it be from the humour, the drama or the way I turn the heat up at every opportunity.

2. What genre(s) do you write?
I write erotica. I write those books that until the 50 Shades craze hit, were whispered about and hidden underneath the sink in the bathroom.

3. What was it like to see your first book published?
I self-publish my own stuff, so I didn’t get that sense of accomplishment from having one of my books bought by a publisher, but it felt pretty cool to see something available for purchase that had my name on the cover. It also felt good to know that despite my deficiencies when it comes to computers, I still managed to figure it out all on my own and follow through with it.

4. How dear to your heart is writing? Do you think you’ll continue to write for the rest of your life?
I like doing it, but to me it’s more of a hobby than a passion. Writing doesn’t pay my bills, but as long as I keep thinking of new stories to tell, I’ll probably keep writing.

5. Do you ever lock up?  Have those moments where you just stare at your screen and think, “Yeah…I got nothing”?
I’m prone to stares, but I don’t really suffer with writers block, with me, it’s more a lack of discipline, I’ll sit on the couch when I have something in my head I need to get down, so when I do write, I’m pretty proficient.

6. How difficult is it for you to come up with ideas for your books?
Difficult actually. I don’t find myself at the keyboard every day and I’m not the fastest writer, unless I actually have an idea. Usually an idea will just come to me and I’ll decide to get down to it. My stories all include sex of some sort and what’s more fun to write than that?

7. What about characters? Are the names and personalities difficult to develop?
I’m not sure if I’m different than most writers, but I don’t really think about developing the characters and their personalities. Maybe that makes my characters a little more one-dimensional or even predictable, but when I write, I’m more focused on telling the story than I am on developing a character. The reader will decide what the character is like, of course you can make them anyway that you want, but their morals and beliefs will determine what the character is like. Sure, there are clear heroes and villains, but the reader is going to decide what the characters motivations and feelings are. The reader is the one who decides what the story looks like in their head, which is why the book is almost always better than the movie.

8. Do you ever find yourself struggling as a writer?
Like I said earlier, it’s more of a hobby for me, so I don’t feel any pressure to write. If I’m struggling, I put it away for a while and come back to it later. First and foremost for me, writing is about enjoyment and if the time ever comes that it isn’t, I just won’t do it anymore.

9. About how long does it take for you to complete a book, from concept to completion?
So far, I’ve focused my attention on short stories, little yarns from 5-10 thousand words. I spent years writing full-length novels for my own enjoyment and they took anywhere from a few years to 8 months as I got better. I can bang-out the first draft of a short story in a day and have it ready for consumption in another day if I don’t have any distractions. I’m working on a full novel for J and Travis, the characters from my J’s Closet series. I started that a few months back and I’m about half-done it. Luckily, I’m co-writing with the incomparable Sable Hunter right now. She’s amazing and pushes a pretty fast pace when she writes, so I have a little trouble keeping up with her, but she’s just about the kindest, sweetest woman you’ll ever meet and she lets me work at my own pace.

10. Do you have a ritual before, during and after finishing a book?
I always have one thing that I get for each book I write. With the J and Travis novel I’m writing, I have a pink breast cancer bracelet I wear every time I work on it. For Thunderbird, the novel Sable and I are writing, I bought a black, button-up shirt with a neon blue dragon on it and I wear that whenever I’m working on Thunderbird. I know, the shirt is kinda weird, but I need something that symbolizes what I’m working on, something I can put on, or a bobble I can have by that connects me to the story. I have a bottle of Jack Daniels on my desk and I take a celebratory shot every time I hit publish on a new piece of work. We all need some kind of reward or ceremony to complete a job I think.

11. Do you have a special time or place to write?
I write when the mood strikes me, no set place, no set time.

12. Any funny experiences or quirks you’d like to share with your readers?
Nah. I’m pretty boring.

13. How do you find the time to balance your writing and family life?
One thing anyone who knows me will tell you, is that my time, is my time and I do what I want with it. That’s just how I am and that’s how I’ll always be. I do what I want, when I want. Not everyone finds it endearing, but I stopped caring what people think years ago.

14. How much down-time do you take between books? Or do you just jump right into the next?
Like most writers, I’ve already started my next book in my head before the current one is done. When I have an idea that is. If I don’t have another idea percolating, then nothing gets done until one comes to me.

15. Do you have any interesting hobbies that you enjoy?
I’m just an average Joe. I play hockey in the winter and soccer in the summer. I was a jock growing up, there was no offseason for me as a kid; I’d go from hockey right into soccer or lacrosse and then back into hockey. That was my life from age 5 until 15, then it just stopped. I discovered girls at 15 and I got away from sports, but I found my way back a few years ago and I’m glad I did, it’s the one hobby that I hope I always have.

16. If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
I’m not one for travel; I’ve never really been anywhere, but I think it’d be cool to walk on the Great Wall of China.

17. What’s next on your agenda?  Any new books in the works?
I’m actually working on 2 books right now. The main book is my first co-authouring venture with Sable Hunter. We’ve worked together in the past, but this is our first stab at splitting a book. Thunderbird is the first book in what will hopefully be a great series tentatively titled The Equalizers. Thunderbird is a love story of Kyle and Hannah. Kyle is the Thunderbird, a member of the powerful Chancellor family in Texas, he was a college football star, but passed up a chance to play in the NFL, instead choosing to go fight for his country. Hannah is a poor illegal immigrant that Kyle falls for when she volunteers on his campaign for the senate. It’s full of great twists and turns. You’ll cry along the way, get angry, and laugh, that is, when you aren’t aroused. The other book I’m working on (but not really working on to be honest, I hit a wall a while back and haven’t really gotten back to it), is the story of how Travis and J from my J’s Closet series met and wound-up together. A lot of people enjoyed the short stories for J and Travis and I knew I just had to tell the tale of how they got together in the first place. This one is going to be pretty heated. Everyone says how much they love the banter between J and Travis and with this book, I haven’t held back on the banter so far, so hopefully they will enjoy it. I have to confess something. I’m sure most people would assume that the actually, physically sex is my favourite part to write, but it’s actually the flirting and the back and forth I do between the male and female characters, that’s where I have the most fun.

18. What advice would you give to others who want to make writing their career?
Write. There is a lot of other stuff that comes along with trying to sell your work. Of course you have to tell people about your work, get your name out there in the sea of thousands of other writers who are vying for the public’s attention, but the most important thing you have to do is to write, because, you can’t sell anything, if you don’t have anything to sell. So write, get a little collection of work under your belt and then try to make money. I’m yet to meet anyone who has retired off the profits of one short story, so sit your ass down and create something, and when that is done, create something else. It’s not easy, but practice makes perfect.


19. What authors inspire you?
Successful ones.

20. What’s something unique about you that not many people might know?
Unique? Not sure, I’m painfully ordinary.

21. Is there anything you would like to share about your writing and publishing experience that might inspire and support new and struggling writers?
I’ve learned that I really know nothing about any of it, but I learn as I go and that’s what everyone should do. Thanks so much for having me on your blog Indigo. Now how about you let me buy you a drink…or 2?

Absolutely.  Make it three!  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us here today!  Now, inquiring minds need to know…where can your readers stalk you?

Sin, Indigo. (2013, June 12). Indigo’s 21 with Ryan O’Leary 6/12/13 [Blog Interview]. Retrieved from http://indigosin.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/indigos-21-with-ryan-oleary-61213/