Writing Hope into Dystopia: Insights from Author Aaron Ryan

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All right. I'm excited. We're live. Okay. Okay.

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So no prep needed has to be today. If you could

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call literally three minutes, like maybe two

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to three minutes, because Aaron wrote to me and

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said, where's that stream yard Lincoln? I'm like,

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okay, let me go look. And then when I looked,

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I'm like, Oh, it was like something juicy waiting

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for me. I'm like, I have to go peak. So I did

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peak. So I know what Aaron is. And if you are

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looking at maybe in your comments, but here's

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the thing. Erin, welcome to the show. We are

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live. You are brave. You're bold. You're not

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bald, which is good. You got like nice head of

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hair right here. Bold, bold. Bold. So, okay,

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so now we are going to have you introduce yourself

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to the audience you guys. Get your ears ready.

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Let's go. Clean them out and ready. Okay. Take

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it away, Aaron. Yeah. Clean out the ears. Yeah.

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So I am author Aaron Ryan, not to be confused

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with awful Aaron Ryan. So just, you know, make,

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make sure that you spell that one correct. Just

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like bold versus bald. Been authoring since 1981,

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which really kind of shows you how old I am.

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I'm working on book number 30 and actually at

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the cover for book 31. And then another idea

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I got on Sunday. But I am primarily a sci -fi

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and dystopian post apocalyptic writer Working

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on I finished a killer series last year an alien

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invasion series that seriously is killer because

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they kill you because they're aliens and The

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new one is called the end which is a Christian

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clean fiction post apocalyptic series and that

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is Doing really well two best -selling categories

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already number two is going to come out next

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month and got I got to start on volume three.

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I'm just kind of taking my time with it. Okay.

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So a million and a half questions are going through

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my mind. So I ask your questions too. By the

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way, you guys can make the comments. So, okay.

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So this is not like sci -fi like Star Trek. This

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is like fallout. Yeah. It's very grounded in

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reality. I don't like, I don't think I will ever,

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I mean. Cross my fingers, knock on wood, write

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a story about a spaceship set in the year 4692

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out in the middle of space. I like where they

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are attainable, where they're grounded in reality.

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And so my book, the whole dissonant series is

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on Earth, 16 to 19 years from now. And it's grounded

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in reality. The end is set in 2113 on Earth.

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It's dystopian and post -apocalyptic. So things

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have changed, but it's still Earth and recognizable.

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Okay, so since I just kind of started to watch

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shows like this, I think you just need to explain

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to my list of my audience of three. So the three

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of you out there, like I need you to understand

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this because they're like dispossion and what

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is those words and what does he mean? Is he talking

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about them by neighbors? So no, we're not talking

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about your neighbors. Well, maybe we are actually.

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We might be. Explain it. Yeah, so dystopian means

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there's a power differential. So it's the very

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opposite of utopian. A utopia is an ideal environment

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that you're living in. Dystopian is there's disarray,

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there's disorder, there's power differentials.

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You maybe have a leader at the top that's an

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autocrat or a despot or he is a tyrannical ruler

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of some kind. And so usually in that kind of

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environment, there's rich versus poor, the haves

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and the have -nots. and they are striving for

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more equality. Post -apocalyptic means after

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an apocalypse of some kind. So whether it's a

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meteor or it's the end of the world or it's a

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virus has swept through the earth, that's what

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post -apocalyptic means. So I thrive well in

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those two genres of dystopian and post -apocalyptic.

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So there you go. Okay, so what are we living

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in now? I think we're in a dystopian. Yeah. Gally

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as much as I love to talk politics It's it's

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so funny because when I wrote dissidents, you

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know 23 and 20 in 23 and 24 it was not at all

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a referendum on you know the imbalance between

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Democrats and Republicans and The Green Party

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and the Middle Party and everything but it really

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kind of reads that way if you want it to and

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it's so weird that all of the ads that I've run

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on Facebook that have to do with the end which

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is my which is my Christian post -pocalyptic

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series they all don't they none of them say anything

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about politics and yet when I mention a deluded

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techno trillionaire they go oh Elon Musk and

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I'm going oh it's just or it's Trump and I'm

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going that's not my ad that's not my book It's

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so interesting. So what part of the population,

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like how many people, let's say out of a 100

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people, how many people actually kind of love

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this, listen to it, watch, read, like how many

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would be your fans? Yeah, well post -apocalyptic

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in dystopian genres are pretty popular You can

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really only go up in such an environment So whether

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it's the Hunger Games, which is very dystopian

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or it's the maze runner, which is post -apocalyptic

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or I am legend, which is post -apocalyptic I

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draw upon visual references because oftentimes

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people can latch on more to the cinematic representations

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of those I certainly do I'm much more visually

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inspired than literarily inspired And so they're

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very popular. I love, I think, what epitomizes

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it most. There's a line from the Hunger Games,

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spoken by President Snow to, gosh, his first

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game maker. And Seneca Crane, I think, was his

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first game maker. And he said, there's one thing

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that cannot be killed. It's hope. It's the only

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thing stronger than fear. And so in a post -apocalyptic

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or a dystopian environment, Man, we cling to

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hope. That's all we have. So despite our fear,

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we're going to push forward in hope. And in the

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dissonance hexology of six books, our world's

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been overrun by aliens, yet we hold out hope

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that someday will be delivered. Oh, I, okay.

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I just, I love this. I'm thinking to myself,

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some of the shows I love, like Severance on Apple.

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I'm like, is Severance, what would that kind

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of be considered? Yeah, don't get mad. I've not

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seen Severance, although everyone tells me that

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I need to see Severance. Silo is another Apple

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TV production. It might be Amazon, I don't remember.

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I believe it's Apple TV and that is very post

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-apocalyptic. Everyone is down in the silo after

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a cataclysm has happened up above, above ground.

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And so they're living underneath in order to

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survive. Maze Runner is, again, another one of

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those. There's also the, what is that series?

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Divergent series That's very dystopian in nature

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as well, but I think anytime you think of something

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that is world shattering world ending and creating

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some kind of just massive apocalyptic, you know

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kill event Like an ELE at an extension extinction

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level event. It's what happens after that that

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is post apocalyptic So wouldn't that be fallout?

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Yeah, although are you talking about the game

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because I've not played the game in the movie

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so I watch both Yeah, so I have a nine and a

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five -year -old so we watch we watch Pixar and

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we play Minecraft That is okay, so tell me about

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five -year -old Aaron like so I want to kind

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of get an idea of what you were like growing

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up So I can understand this so five -year -old

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Aaron's interested in this or what like what

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age what where did you like go the fascination

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began Well, yeah. And this is listed in my About

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the Author. Shamelessly, I might add, because

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I think it's a really cute story. So I was in

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second grade, and I think second grade is you're

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roughly seven or eight. We were all given an

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assignment by Mrs. Walker. Hi, Mrs. Walker, if

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you're still out there, I don't know if you're

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alive. But our entire class was given an assignment

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to write a story on college rule paper, three

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-hole punch, construction paper, wrap -around

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cover. you know, crude pencil stick figure drawings.

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And I wrote a story called The Electric Boy.

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And that really electrified me to write. I love

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the creative process. But man, it wasn't until

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I was about nine or 10 when I set my eyes on

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Lord of the Rings and mind officially blown.

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The world building, the level of depth and breadth

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inherent in the Lord of the Rings absolutely

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floored me and showed me the possibilities that

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were available as a writer. It just really opened

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my mind to the ability to become a writer someday.

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And to make a living off of it. Yeah, that we're

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not there yet. You can see behind me, this is

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a voiceover booth. I'm a voiceover artist. And

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so that officially pays our mortgage and funds

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the dream of pursuing author. But authoring is

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it's a long slog, and I'm also a self -published

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writer, which if you're traditionally published,

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you may get a little bit more traction. I like

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a little bit more creative control and commanding

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higher royalties and quicker time to market.

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So I prefer the self -publishing route, which

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means it'll just take me longer to get to Suzanne

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Collins' Hunger Games level. Oh, my God, I love

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it. Just for everyone out there, because I feel

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like people are going to be like, Wait, what

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kind of papers are you talking about? What holes

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in it? What is that? So maybe we should explain

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what that paper is first because the audience,

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my audience is probably like what? No, my audience

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is old. You guys know what that is, right? That's

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like the paper with the hole. Okay, good, good.

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So this, okay, so there are so many questions

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and I find this fascinating, but all I want to

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ask you is what the heck is a audit? Like what

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do you mean a booth back there? What are you

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talking about? What is behind you? What? Yeah,

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so I'm a voiceover artist. So right now if you

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hear or see a commercial for United Health Care,

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for example, I am their voice. I've been the

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voice of NutriSystem, Amazon, Wrangler, Cadillac,

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Microsoft, Uber. The list goes on, you know,

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Lee Jeans, Calvin Klein, Cadillac, just lots

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of Fortune 500 companies. And so I record them

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back in there on the microphones, which you can't

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really see through the window there. And then

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if you see a commercial where someone's talking

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but you don't see anybody, that's me, or you

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see something happening and people are talking,

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but it's not their voices, it's a voice placed

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over that, voice over. So I will audition for

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jobs as a voice actor. I will get those jobs,

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cross my fingers, knock on wood, and then get

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awarded those jobs and then record them, send

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them the files, they put them wherever they want

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to, and there you go. So you're really the difference

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with you is you're a good -looking guy. So you

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actually have a face for like like TV and video

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So I have a face for radio No, I have a face

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for radio. So can you give us a little example

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because my listeners are like what's voiceover?

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I don't know what he's talking about. So we need

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to know So it'd be impossible to conjure up one

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of those scripts, but like, you know, Cadillac,

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for example, I did some Cadillac commercials

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and it's basically, you know, dropping the voice

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and going Cadillac, dare greatly. You know, and

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you say that and you see these Cadillacs just

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go speeding across the terrain and Cadillac,

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dare greatly. That's me saying dare greatly.

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Or it's me in the United Health Care commercial

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going, you know, Enrollment ends December 1st.

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So remember sign up today get the all -in -one

00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:50.480
member IDU card, you know, that's me with enthusiasm

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over the footage shot for the United Healthcare

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commercial. So you personalized it for your clients.

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Yeah, that's amazing. When did you even know

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that you had that talent? What did that look

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like for you? That was 93 and I got into it accidentally

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because I was working as a telemarketer tell

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no one I was bugging people during dinner and

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calling, you know businesses and saying you know,

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calling on behalf of local radio stations and

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saying, hey, we are putting out PSAs, public

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service announcements, to encourage parents to

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use a kid code to prevent abduction or to, you

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know, encourage your kids to get into youth sports

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and activities so they don't have time for drinking

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and alcohol and drugs and all that stuff. And

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so, you know, good sound advice brought to you

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by Bob's Plumbing. So we'd call Bob's Plumbing.

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Hopefully Bob would sponsor this spot. It would

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air on the radio. And one time a customer goes,

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yeah, that sounds great. We'll buy it, but only

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if you get to read it on the air. And I was like,

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oh, hold please. And I had to talk to a manager.

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He wants me to read this. Can I read this? And

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I got in the studio and I read it, put the headphones

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on, and I went, I like this like a really lot.

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And it just turned into a career eventually.

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But yeah, it was a blast. It is a blast. You

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know, it's so funny. So I'm on this app called

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chatter social. I talk about it a lot. It's a

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social audio video app. So you go on. So the

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first thing you do is you hear people's voices,

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right? Real people. So today, Marcella got on

00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:26.080
and wow, his voice, like all the women, I think

00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.460
everyone was swooning. It was that deep bass

00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:31.560
voice or bass voice. So we're like, whoa. But

00:13:31.560 --> 00:13:33.759
now I'm doing a podcast. It's nice because I'm

00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.460
doing it with two other men and people are like,

00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:38.399
oh, your voice is good. And I'm like, I don't

00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.399
even like my voice, but that's a problem. We

00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:42.600
don't really hear our own voice, correct? Right.

00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:44.860
Yeah. Your voice sounds different to you than

00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:48.600
when you hear it in a recording. However, I think

00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.320
that's really true. I definitely remember feeling

00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:56.960
that emotion and recognizing that. I would call

00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:59.480
it a symptom maybe early on, but then you kind

00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:02.559
of just develop a familiarity with it. You get

00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:04.480
acclimated to the sound of your own voice. And

00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.419
so, you know, now when I'm hearing myself talking

00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:09.620
here and then I hear it later in this podcast

00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:11.720
or I hear another recording or the audio books

00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.159
for the books that I've written, I know it's

00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:16.700
me. You know, I can tell when it's me. This morning

00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:20.679
I was actually googling or YouTubing uh footage

00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:22.860
from an old video game that I was a character

00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:25.559
in and you know I'm skipping through the video

00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:26.940
because I never saw what the character actually

00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:28.840
looked like. I'm skipping through the video and

00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.299
oh there's Dr. Yan and I see him and you know

00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:33.940
I'm using a British accent and I'm like oh yeah

00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:37.419
that's me that's definitely me so. Oh this is

00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:39.809
so so cool. Okay, and by the way, let me just

00:14:39.809 --> 00:14:42.350
do a shameless plug. This one is totally I'm

00:14:42.350 --> 00:14:45.529
not ashamed. Okay, so catch nightly. We had our

00:14:45.529 --> 00:14:49.309
second episode of debate the news crime edition

00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:54.730
with Adrian Barker, Joseph Lobosco and J B. We

00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:57.490
can't say his last name because he's a former

00:14:57.490 --> 00:15:02.110
con. Oh, okay. So we're going to go back to and

00:15:02.110 --> 00:15:03.990
thank you so much. I'm in you're very sweet.

00:15:04.049 --> 00:15:05.970
I really appreciate it. So thank you so much.

00:15:06.389 --> 00:15:10.580
All right. So now you are, are you like five

00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:13.059
people all in one? Are you also doing your own

00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:16.100
editing? Are you doing your graphics for it?

00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:19.340
Are you like 100 % all? Are you farming out some

00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:22.419
pieces of your books? Definitely farming out

00:15:22.419 --> 00:15:25.720
some pieces. I think as a self -published author,

00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:27.740
you really need to be a business person who just

00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:30.179
happens to do authoring. I also think of myself

00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:33.139
as a business person who just happens to do voiceovers.

00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.720
Because without the vehicle, your craft doesn't

00:15:36.339 --> 00:15:38.279
can't go as many places. The vehicle is your

00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:40.639
business. And so you place your craft on your

00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:43.539
vehicle, your vehicle takes it places. And so,

00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:46.940
yeah, as a self -published author, what I really

00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.080
appreciate is that I can command higher royalties.

00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:53.360
I can demand, create the covers. I can, you know,

00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.320
publish quicker time to market. rather than a

00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.620
traditional publisher can. I don't do the editing.

00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:01.200
My wife is a bona fide professional editor and

00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:03.720
she edits my books. It's really frustrating for

00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:05.080
her because she has an in -house client going,

00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:06.679
where you at? Where you at? Where you at? Tell

00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:08.840
me what you think. And no other client's going

00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.419
to do that. So I get to bug her that way. But

00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:15.179
yes, for the audiobooks, I really detest recording

00:16:15.179 --> 00:16:17.639
audiobooks as a voiceover artist. They take way

00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.360
too long and pay way too little. But I was not

00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.620
about to entrust this book or any of my other

00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:26.549
books to any other author, a recording artist

00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:29.929
or narrator, no one is going to love this story

00:16:29.929 --> 00:16:32.590
or these characters as much as me. No one's going

00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:36.250
to bring them to life as well as me. So, and

00:16:36.250 --> 00:16:39.470
there's tons of accents that I've gotten to do

00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:42.210
throughout all six of these books and, you know,

00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:44.889
the one for forecast, the one I'm doing now for

00:16:44.889 --> 00:16:47.570
the end alpha. And I love doing those other accents.

00:16:48.370 --> 00:16:50.610
Wait a second. So is your audible like is it

00:16:50.610 --> 00:16:52.090
more like, I don't know if I'm just saying audio,

00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:54.730
but is it like a theatrical performance too?

00:16:54.850 --> 00:16:57.490
Are you actually able to change your voice? Which

00:16:57.490 --> 00:17:00.929
sounds like you can. So you're, it's like a theatrical

00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:05.190
production for your ears. Yeah. Well, when you

00:17:05.190 --> 00:17:08.670
read, if there's a character who is British and

00:17:08.670 --> 00:17:10.569
they've been clearly identified as British and

00:17:10.569 --> 00:17:12.690
yet I'm going, Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Simon.

00:17:13.130 --> 00:17:15.549
You know, the listener is going to go. You know

00:17:15.549 --> 00:17:18.430
so and I tend to write that way for example in

00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:20.509
the end alpha the one that was just published

00:17:20.509 --> 00:17:24.109
The the protagonist was a girl was originally

00:17:24.109 --> 00:17:27.329
an 18 year old girl and I'm going oh shoot I

00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:30.210
can't I I'm not going to sound like a girl for

00:17:30.210 --> 00:17:34.549
an entire book So I had to change her to a him

00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:38.450
And I'm not going to write in an accent that

00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:40.910
I can't do well for example, you know like like

00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:43.549
in Indian accent I can't do that super well so

00:17:43.970 --> 00:17:46.950
Anyway, it's I try to think the whole process

00:17:46.950 --> 00:17:49.329
all the way through from start to finish and

00:17:49.329 --> 00:17:51.809
then cover my bases that way You know, I have

00:17:51.809 --> 00:17:54.690
to say there's something to the listening to

00:17:54.690 --> 00:17:59.230
books on on and you know, whatever app you use

00:17:59.230 --> 00:18:01.329
your favorite app, because I don't know, just

00:18:01.329 --> 00:18:03.309
closing your eyes, allowing your eyes to rest,

00:18:03.309 --> 00:18:07.049
but your mind can still see. And I just absolutely

00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:09.930
think that it's so good for people and also those

00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.569
that have trouble seeing it's a real gift to

00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:16.150
be able to go into like another land. So theater

00:18:16.150 --> 00:18:20.089
for your ears. It sounds amazing. Okay, so now,

00:18:20.630 --> 00:18:24.150
okay, so You're using this, but have you had

00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:27.210
any issues where someone wrote, Aaron, thank

00:18:27.210 --> 00:18:30.329
you. I love your book, but 25 pages were white.

00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:33.049
There was no print on it. Have you had any issues

00:18:33.049 --> 00:18:35.869
with the printing of the book? I don't think

00:18:35.869 --> 00:18:39.009
so. I have had an issue once where that would

00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:44.170
destroy me. No, the one issue that I have had

00:18:44.170 --> 00:18:47.089
is that they so when you create when you publish

00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:50.029
a new update to your book like let's say you

00:18:50.029 --> 00:18:52.529
caught a Glaring plot hole or something like

00:18:52.529 --> 00:18:53.930
that which thankfully has never happened But

00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:57.210
I like to tinker and improve over time as I've

00:18:57.210 --> 00:18:59.309
read all six books together Then I want to go

00:18:59.309 --> 00:19:00.970
back and change this little aspect about book

00:19:00.970 --> 00:19:05.049
one So I go in and republish it well if people

00:19:05.049 --> 00:19:09.190
if people order a book one After that new version

00:19:09.190 --> 00:19:12.130
has been published Amazon may have a few copies

00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:15.109
of these on its shelf That they want to get rid

00:19:15.109 --> 00:19:18.869
of and they give the old copy To the person additionally.

00:19:18.869 --> 00:19:21.170
I had published a manuscript that was the wrong

00:19:21.170 --> 00:19:23.970
one It was not the finished one. I think it was

00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:29.369
for dissonance volume three. I think No, I'm

00:19:29.369 --> 00:19:31.289
sorry it was forecast is my 9 -11 historical

00:19:31.289 --> 00:19:35.569
fiction novel and I published it and Then I I

00:19:35.569 --> 00:19:39.009
published the corrected script that has been

00:19:39.009 --> 00:19:41.250
fully edited. But what they did is they printed

00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:43.869
some of the incorrect script that was not quite

00:19:43.869 --> 00:19:45.470
edited. There were still some typos and blah,

00:19:45.529 --> 00:19:47.890
blah, blah. And some clients got those and I'm

00:19:47.890 --> 00:19:50.809
going, dang it. You know, Amazon, this is supposed

00:19:50.809 --> 00:19:54.349
to be print on demand. You know, not accumulate

00:19:54.349 --> 00:19:57.470
on your shelf. Yeah. So how did they, so they

00:19:57.470 --> 00:20:00.230
called and told you? Or they left a review or

00:20:00.230 --> 00:20:02.009
something. And there was one gal in particular

00:20:02.009 --> 00:20:04.960
who I knew, she's local. And I said, thank you

00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:06.539
so much for the review. I'm so sorry for the

00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:09.180
things. I know what happened now. I want to send

00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:11.579
you a new fresh copy of this book. And I did.

00:20:11.900 --> 00:20:15.180
And she modified her review. I'm an author of

00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.420
it's not my secret to share I got to go back

00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:19.980
in and do my second edition and update it But

00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:21.900
I wrote the book for myself. So I figure I share

00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:24.259
it with everyone else But it's and it's not like

00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:27.579
like like what's the secret? It's just like the

00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:30.299
burden and consequences of secrets and growing

00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:33.140
up in a family business and just how many I've

00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:35.160
spilled the beans more than I should I've listened

00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.259
to someone else's beans more than I should so

00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:40.539
I have some experience but very interesting I'm

00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:42.539
sure a lot of people just took that little tidbit

00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:45.660
away. Okay, so So now what happened? So now you

00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:48.640
are, so when did you, so you said 1981 and you

00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:53.559
were born, you were born in the 70s? 73. So you're

00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:57.200
born in 73. So, oh, you are fairly young then

00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.019
when you got, so how old were you when you wrote

00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:02.720
this book? That was 1981. So I would have been

00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.519
seven or eight. I don't know if I turned eight

00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.440
yet, but yeah, seven or eight. Whoa. Okay. And

00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:12.089
parents? Yep, still alive. And let me be clear.

00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.009
That was just a school assignment. So it wasn't

00:21:14.009 --> 00:21:15.990
something that we published. It wasn't something

00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:17.849
that was available out there by, you know, a

00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:20.250
publisher. It was a school assignment. It was

00:21:20.250 --> 00:21:21.910
the very first book that I ever wrote, though.

00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:24.869
Yeah. Do you still have the paper? No, dang it.

00:21:24.930 --> 00:21:28.890
My mom gave it to me. She kept all of the things

00:21:28.890 --> 00:21:32.250
that she's kept over the years, like our certificate

00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:36.259
of achievement or whatever. And I know that I

00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:38.000
saw it. She gave it to me in a collection of

00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.740
other stuff and I cannot for the life of me find

00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.039
that book. It drives me absolutely crazy that

00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.500
I can't find it. You gotta just think about it

00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:50.480
and then let it flow to you. Okay, so now you,

00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:53.180
so you're writing all these books and are like,

00:21:53.819 --> 00:21:56.220
First of all, I always think when I see books

00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:58.859
like this that you have a dream, it's got to

00:21:58.859 --> 00:22:01.880
be in the film and you want to play it apart

00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:05.359
because you secretly love Stephen King and you're

00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:07.420
like, he plays in every movie and I just want

00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:10.000
to play in a little part of it. So is that something

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.720
that you want? How do we get it in the eyes of

00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:16.339
the filmmakers? Well, so and I know you put a

00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:19.619
comment in here. I am so delighted and privileged

00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:23.480
to to announce and to know and to say that distance

00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:25.619
volume one reality, which is the first one I

00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:27.619
wrote and then I went back and wrote five more.

00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:30.259
This one has been adapted for the screen and

00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:32.420
right now it's being pitched to streaming networks.

00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:37.480
So it is it's very true to the book. The pilot

00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.279
has been created. So not the whole book has been

00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.759
created yet, but the pilot for this novel has

00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:46.400
been created and is being pitched. Again, it's

00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.240
epic. It's grounded in reality. So big studios

00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:51.519
could look at this and go, there's a real story

00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.240
here. And what I'm most proud of is that, yes,

00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.640
they're aliens. Yes, there's an alien invasion

00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:01.339
that happens. But strip all that away. You have

00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:05.519
a human survival story. that is very human, that

00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.759
is loaded with parenting through trauma, that

00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.980
has thematic depth, that has a ton of heart,

00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:15.759
particularly the first prequel. They're just,

00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:18.819
it's a survival story where they just happen

00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:21.339
to be surviving from aliens. There's just a lot

00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:22.960
of human heart at the center and I'm grateful

00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:26.660
for that. Well, I mean, obviously I believe in

00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:29.099
aliens and you know, when they're reading the

00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:32.099
book because they can read, they're very brilliant

00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:34.349
and You know, I have a couple neighbors that

00:23:34.349 --> 00:23:36.789
are aliens. I know what's going on here. I did

00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:38.710
a five month road trip with my daughter and we

00:23:38.710 --> 00:23:41.390
were in New Mexico. We were going through that

00:23:41.390 --> 00:23:43.930
like area, the alien area. What is that called?

00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:48.190
And it was pouring rain. I'm like, Alana, look

00:23:48.190 --> 00:23:50.849
for hotels. And she's like, you know, our motel

00:23:50.849 --> 00:23:53.599
and she's like, there's the alien motel and I'm

00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:56.819
like we're going there so literally we drove

00:23:56.819 --> 00:24:00.059
up and there's aliens all around and I'm like

00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:02.380
oh this is fun let's go and I knocked on the

00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:05.319
door I didn't expect the real alien to like answer

00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:07.680
the door the guy looked like he scared the crap

00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.160
out of me he's like we don't have any rooms and

00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.460
I'm like dude I don't want to stay here because

00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:14.539
like I ran to the car though actually I said

00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.440
to him I go do you think I just sit in your parking

00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:18.599
lot for a few minutes while the rain comes down

00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:25.230
and as a normal alien he said No, leave. They're

00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:29.250
not even friendly. So I do actually believe in

00:24:29.250 --> 00:24:31.750
it. So I just, I think this is amazing. All right.

00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:34.210
I have a question for you. So Amazon, you have

00:24:34.210 --> 00:24:37.089
your book, but I also just found out that, is

00:24:37.089 --> 00:24:40.450
this what you mean that Amazon will also like

00:24:40.450 --> 00:24:42.390
you could do the same thing as KDP. You could

00:24:42.390 --> 00:24:46.269
also do it for your films. Well, so I've published

00:24:46.269 --> 00:24:48.750
through Amazon and through a vendor site called

00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:52.779
draft two digital. a distributor called IngramSpark.

00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:55.079
IngramSpark will get you into like Barnes & Noble,

00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.819
for example. Draft 2 Digital predominantly for

00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:01.500
eBooks. I distribute wide, but those are just

00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:04.180
the books. So I don't know that, I don't think

00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:05.779
my screenwriter has actually taken my book and

00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:08.319
pitched it to Amazon for Prime, for Prime Video

00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.420
yet. He may have, I don't remember, but he's

00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:13.160
pitched to someone. We have some very big ones

00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.839
coming up. Whoever decides that they want it

00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.380
enough, they can do one of two things. They can

00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:21.230
option it. which means they're exercising their

00:25:21.230 --> 00:25:23.869
right to use this script as an option for one

00:25:23.869 --> 00:25:26.789
of their productions in the future, which basically

00:25:26.789 --> 00:25:30.730
doesn't tell anyone else to back off. It's basically

00:25:30.730 --> 00:25:32.809
like they put a down payment and we're going

00:25:32.809 --> 00:25:35.230
to consider this one. Then they're invested in

00:25:35.230 --> 00:25:37.630
it because they've put that down payment on it.

00:25:38.109 --> 00:25:40.750
Or this is what we're really going for is for

00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:42.730
someone to actually just flat out by the rights

00:25:42.730 --> 00:25:46.210
to it, which means if they do that, that signifies

00:25:46.210 --> 00:25:50.779
full intent to produce this. And to make it make

00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.920
it you know big and give it the life that it

00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:57.759
deserves Whether or not it flies In streaming

00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:00.539
beyond that depends on how well it's produced

00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:03.980
how engaging it is and all that I know that the

00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:06.039
book and the story and everything is engaging

00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:09.900
and big and epic and rich It just depends how

00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.059
they produce it as well. How many hours are you

00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:14.480
thinking is this like a two three eight episode?

00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.059
well So the combined length of the audiobooks

00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:22.200
of all six books is 54 hours. That's if you were

00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:24.759
going to read them through all the way, like

00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:28.039
the narration as well. The books are not the

00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:30.579
same, obviously. That's why you convert it to

00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:32.720
a screenplay so that it's, you know, you have

00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:35.160
this much narrative and you have this much resulting

00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:38.500
screen time. So it really depends. But what they

00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:41.420
would be trying for are an episodic treatment.

00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:44.500
So like maybe a 42 minute episode or an hour

00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:47.259
long episode or whatever. Again and again and

00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:49.980
again and again in a series and then they would

00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:52.779
have different seasons, right? So dissonance

00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:55.400
season one episode three or whatever they would

00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:58.779
do That kind of is the purview of the producers

00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:01.359
and the production studio how they want to chop

00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:06.579
it up So do you So you need to go to bed and

00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:09.380
see yourself, right? See yourself signing it

00:27:09.380 --> 00:27:12.140
over your rights and see yourself attending the

00:27:12.140 --> 00:27:15.440
premiere and see yourself saying, being like

00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.680
an executive producer, like, yeah, go to bed

00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:21.059
and see yourself. You got to manifest this. Yes.

00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:23.480
You have to visualize it. Absolutely. Right.

00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:26.160
It doesn't work. What's really funny is that

00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:28.859
and i know this is true for many authors when

00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:30.960
you write something and you've immersed yourself

00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:33.039
in this world so much and you've kind of been

00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:35.900
staying in this world granted i wrote this one

00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:39.740
book and i thought. That was gonna be it. But

00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:42.799
then it demanded two sequels as i was writing

00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:44.380
and i'm going okay i'm gonna write a trilogy

00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:46.640
there's just enough here to write a trilogy so

00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:50.380
so it demanded two sequels so i have a trilogy

00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:53.319
now and then it demanded two prequels and another

00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:57.079
sequel. So there's a ton of story here. There's

00:27:57.079 --> 00:28:00.380
six books worth of story. It was so immersive

00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:02.960
in the writing and in the reading that I've actually

00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:05.539
taken my characters who I just love to death.

00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.099
I've taken their birthdays and put them in my

00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:11.559
real life outlook calendar. I mean that line

00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:14.759
between fiction and reality is absolutely blurred

00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:18.920
and I don't care. Call me crazy. I love it. It's

00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.619
real. Oh my god. Yeah. So real. Okay. Wait. Sorry.

00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:25.160
Alexa was bothering me. Um, okay. So you like,

00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:27.559
so I'm really curious about this. So you're writing

00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:29.920
and all of a sudden there's like a little knock

00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.440
on the door dad. Dad, can you come play ball

00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:35.039
with me? Is it really hard to like be like, I'll

00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:38.359
be right there after the next book, chapter or

00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:42.990
page. So you answer. There have been times where

00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:44.569
we've had that. Thankfully my kids are pretty

00:28:44.569 --> 00:28:46.970
autonomous and independent, and they're good

00:28:46.970 --> 00:28:48.630
that way, but they're only nine and five, so

00:28:48.630 --> 00:28:52.170
they do want daddy time as well. For the most

00:28:52.170 --> 00:28:56.190
part, though, I'm writing during the workday,

00:28:56.549 --> 00:29:00.309
so when they're at school, or I write when they

00:29:00.309 --> 00:29:03.390
go to bed. I very rarely will pull out my laptop

00:29:03.390 --> 00:29:06.289
and start writing a story while they're awake.

00:29:07.249 --> 00:29:09.710
And that's just part of my commitment to being

00:29:09.710 --> 00:29:11.970
with my kiddos in the off hours when they're

00:29:11.970 --> 00:29:15.029
home from school. Because they want dad time.

00:29:15.190 --> 00:29:17.069
Quality dad time is not me sitting on my laptop

00:29:17.069 --> 00:29:20.009
writing a story. It really is. I guess I want

00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:23.630
to understand, when you start to write, can you

00:29:23.630 --> 00:29:25.670
walk away? Is it like, OK, I'm going to write

00:29:25.670 --> 00:29:27.430
the story, or I'm going to write a couple pages,

00:29:27.509 --> 00:29:29.589
or I'm going to write a chapter? I just want

00:29:29.589 --> 00:29:32.309
to get in your head for a minute. Yeah, sometimes

00:29:32.309 --> 00:29:35.400
what I'll do is I'll actually take If I'm interrupted,

00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:40.960
for example, I will know more or less where I'm

00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:43.500
headed with what I'm writing. And so if I need

00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:45.240
to pull away from that for any reason, I will

00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:48.880
just quickly type up some bullet points of things.

00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:50.779
I'm going to remember it. I always usually do,

00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.960
always usually. I will always remember where

00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:57.200
I was going with that. But it does help to have

00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:59.140
just some bullet points of just some key things

00:29:59.140 --> 00:30:02.019
that I know I wanted to remember in that writing.

00:30:03.779 --> 00:30:06.059
And then I'll just come back when we're all done

00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:08.700
or when it's bedtime for them and then start

00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:11.599
hammering away again So how did you marry an

00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:14.079
editor? Is this like what the heck was this your

00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:16.980
editor first and you ended up saying let's get

00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:21.220
married? No, she's no not at all. She she's always

00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:23.380
been a wordsmith. My wife is a wordsmith and

00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:30.190
puts a huge She she has a great puts a great

00:30:30.190 --> 00:30:33.849
premium on the words that she says and she's

00:30:33.849 --> 00:30:36.809
the kind of person who will you know hammer out

00:30:36.809 --> 00:30:39.630
an email to someone and her finger will hover

00:30:39.630 --> 00:30:42.930
over the send button for a week because she can't

00:30:42.930 --> 00:30:46.190
take words back and she realizes the value that

00:30:46.190 --> 00:30:49.519
words have in the power that they hold. She's

00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:52.140
always been a wordsmith. She's a poet and she's

00:30:52.140 --> 00:30:54.359
really helped me find ways to say things that

00:30:54.359 --> 00:30:57.519
are you know not par for the course They're more

00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:00.039
unique that way, but she didn't get into editing

00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:04.140
until after I got into writing Having edited

00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:06.440
some of my stuff and other people's stuff. She

00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:08.420
just kind of went you know I think I want to

00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:11.640
do this. This is a very enjoyable and it's a

00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:15.240
second income stream for us And you don't bug

00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:18.019
me too much hubby when I'm editing yours. Yes,

00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:21.740
I do But I think it's just, it's a natural fit

00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:25.059
for her being a wordsmith. Oh my gosh, I love

00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:28.200
that your children five and nine get to like

00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:30.200
see this and understand you really write the

00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:32.420
power of words. Sticks and stones will break

00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:35.220
my words, but words will never hurt me. No, no,

00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:37.920
they hurt just as much. Yes, we have to really

00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:41.960
change that narrative. So true. So you're getting

00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:45.430
books on podcasts. Let me ask you why? Why do

00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:47.849
you want to be on a variety of podcasts? What's

00:31:47.849 --> 00:31:50.710
your goal? I love sharing about it. In fact,

00:31:50.829 --> 00:31:53.849
one avenue that I have started to pursue again

00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:57.480
is public speaking. I've done it for many years.

00:31:57.579 --> 00:31:59.400
I used to be a traveling Christian performer

00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:02.700
and speaker. And I really love getting out there

00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:04.940
and sharing about a variety of things. One is

00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:06.460
something we talked about at the beginning of

00:32:06.460 --> 00:32:09.339
this podcast, being a business person first and

00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:11.200
your craft comes second. Your identity comes

00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:13.819
first, your craft comes second. Now I've always

00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:16.200
been a storyteller in like virtually every career

00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:19.339
that I've had. So, but I can go out there and

00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:21.440
talk about storytelling. I can talk about creative

00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:24.420
marketing. I can talk about adapting and overcoming.

00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:28.299
I can talk about pitching to agents, to literary

00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:31.500
agents. I can talk about just, you know, goal

00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:34.640
tracking and focus and vision and mantras and

00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:36.819
anthems and, you know, mission statements and

00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:39.039
all those things that are inherent with running

00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:42.240
a good operative business that has forward momentum.

00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:45.319
And taking it seriously, I mean, treating this,

00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:48.519
this authoring pursuit, you can write all the

00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:51.480
books that you want. But if you're not putting

00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:54.339
your, if you're not investing your dollars behind

00:32:54.339 --> 00:32:57.180
it, and you don't have a long term belief in

00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:59.839
your own value as an author or writer, you might

00:32:59.839 --> 00:33:03.119
flame out. And I just, I'm never, this is what

00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:05.960
I was called to do. So it's never going to be

00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:08.900
a sunk cost fallacy for me. This is what I was

00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:11.099
called to do and what I'm, what I'm absolutely

00:33:11.099 --> 00:33:14.460
meant to do. I heard David Meltzer speak a couple

00:33:14.460 --> 00:33:16.440
of weeks ago and I love what he said, you know,

00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:18.380
the saying, if you love what you do, you never

00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:21.099
work a day in your life, but he said, no, he

00:33:21.099 --> 00:33:23.690
said, if you love what you do, learn to love

00:33:23.690 --> 00:33:26.910
the parts that you don't love what you do. So

00:33:26.910 --> 00:33:29.109
are there any things that you do when writing

00:33:29.109 --> 00:33:30.950
that you're actually like, oh, I'm not loving

00:33:30.950 --> 00:33:38.730
this part? Writing? Not necessarily because I'm

00:33:38.730 --> 00:33:40.750
inherently a creator and I love creating the

00:33:40.750 --> 00:33:42.750
whole process. There are definitely elements

00:33:42.750 --> 00:33:44.930
of voiceovers that I don't enjoy, but those are

00:33:44.930 --> 00:33:48.670
those are much more client centric. So your hands

00:33:48.670 --> 00:33:50.650
on with clients and some clients can be difficult

00:33:50.650 --> 00:33:52.609
and I as a voiceover artist can be difficult

00:33:52.609 --> 00:33:55.490
to be fair. So you're working with people, you

00:33:55.490 --> 00:33:58.869
know, you're gonna do this sometimes. But as

00:33:58.869 --> 00:34:01.710
a writer, you're creating something as an offering

00:34:01.710 --> 00:34:05.210
to someone with very little input from anyone

00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:11.289
else. You rise and fall on your own merits. I

00:34:11.289 --> 00:34:14.530
think maybe the only bit of pushback that I might

00:34:14.530 --> 00:34:16.769
say is when I write something and my editor,

00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:21.260
My wife will come back and say, you know, I don't

00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.920
think this is necessary. And for me, I like to

00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:26.300
include everything. You know, I think that's

00:34:26.300 --> 00:34:28.099
that's necessary. Yes, it is necessary. You got

00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:29.900
to keep it in. And she's like, you know, she

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:33.019
trim this and pull it out. I'm going, OK, I will.

00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:36.079
But secretly, I'll keep it in. You know, I want

00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:37.519
you to flip the switch for a second. I'm going

00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.599
to have you flip for a second because I want

00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:42.679
you to we didn't these questions. I believe me.

00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:45.619
I only knew just what I put in there in the in

00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:50.079
the chat. So when you get immersed in a book

00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:52.800
like this, share what it does for the person,

00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:55.639
the reader. How does this help the reader? And

00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:58.679
I'm thinking it also helps with mental health,

00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:00.380
right? Like if you're going through something,

00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:02.079
can you share a little bit? Because we never

00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:06.199
hear an author talk about the beauty of actually

00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:09.980
helping the reader and why. One of the things

00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:12.159
I absolutely love about being a storyteller is

00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:15.860
providing escapism. This is a very, very bizarre

00:35:15.860 --> 00:35:18.800
world that we live in. The harsh reality is that,

00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:21.280
you know, we can't really believe anything we

00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:23.559
see anymore, what with AI and the weird reels

00:35:23.559 --> 00:35:27.019
out there. And misinformation campaigns and politics

00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:30.760
are just so divisive. And so what do you do?

00:35:31.300 --> 00:35:33.920
You want, you need, not want, well you want to,

00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:38.820
but you need that respite. You need that endearing

00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:41.519
rabbit trail that goes off this way where you

00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:45.059
can Enjoy something over here and give you a

00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:48.280
you know come up for error Right, so and that's

00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:50.440
what I love I love taking people on a story that

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:52.820
I created and you know I'm like this all the

00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:55.480
time as a reading because I worked so hard and

00:35:55.480 --> 00:36:00.360
put so much Thought spirit heart into it. It

00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:02.840
gives them an opportunity to receive thought

00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:07.079
spirit and heart And I love that connection some

00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:10.059
of these readers I'll never meet but there's

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:13.360
nothing I mean this, nothing better than getting

00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:15.380
an email from someone that said, hey, I read

00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:18.079
your book and I absolutely loved this person

00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:21.000
and why'd you kill off so and so? But they're

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:23.739
so invested in the story that they care and I

00:36:23.739 --> 00:36:26.440
love that they care. It's like brain healthy.

00:36:26.599 --> 00:36:29.440
I think when I was younger, Bob C twins and the

00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:32.199
Nancy Drew series, like it's so funny if I knew

00:36:32.199 --> 00:36:35.019
that I could like have written to them to say,

00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:36.940
oh my gosh, I love that. So I think that's a

00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:39.199
beauty of authors too that you can nowadays,

00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:42.019
you can find you. And so my final question to

00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:45.219
you is like actually about like the cosplays

00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:49.179
or co -play, like is that so are there, so I

00:36:49.179 --> 00:36:52.280
know the character ones. But are they the science

00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:55.260
too, or there's just like the sci -fi ones? What

00:36:55.260 --> 00:36:58.599
does that look like for like the cosplay events?

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:02.239
So cosplay, I haven't done any cosplay, but I

00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:05.380
mean, they're easily cosplayable for sure. Is

00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:08.440
that even a word? It is now. I coined cosplayable.

00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:12.119
I think the Gorgons that are the aliens in the

00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:14.179
story, they're called Gorgons because like Medusa

00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:16.420
the Gorgon, you cannot ever look them in the

00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:20.599
eye. They will immobilize you. they'll consume

00:37:20.599 --> 00:37:22.480
you at their leisure and you're gonna feel every

00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:26.039
excruciating bite while they do it. They are

00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:28.940
awful, terrifying predators, they're animals.

00:37:29.659 --> 00:37:31.599
And so, you know, they kind of look like a little

00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:35.440
bit like a space octopus and they, you could

00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:38.440
easily fabricate outfits like that and go cosplaying.

00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:41.739
I also think that the soldiers that are involved

00:37:41.739 --> 00:37:45.329
in the story Granted, this is not too far in

00:37:45.329 --> 00:37:46.869
the future, so they're gonna look very similar

00:37:46.869 --> 00:37:50.409
to the soldier in infantry outfits that we have

00:37:50.409 --> 00:37:52.750
today, the army outfits that we have today, and

00:37:52.750 --> 00:37:55.469
the technology that we possess today. So very

00:37:55.469 --> 00:37:58.230
easy to get dressed up that way. Beyond that,

00:37:58.309 --> 00:37:59.989
I don't think that there's really anybody else

00:37:59.989 --> 00:38:05.030
other than people in just rag tag clothes, eking

00:38:05.030 --> 00:38:08.690
out an existence in the shadows after the aliens,

00:38:08.989 --> 00:38:11.710
after the Gorgons have killed off 85 % of humanity.

00:38:12.059 --> 00:38:14.480
you can throw anything on it, just be a survivor.

00:38:15.320 --> 00:38:18.719
So we'll see what happens one day. One last one.

00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:21.780
This is the question. Do you offer like a cheat

00:38:21.780 --> 00:38:25.079
sheet? Like when I was watching fallout, like

00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:26.699
I was like, geez, I need a little sheet that

00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:28.960
like says, okay, Gorkins, don't look them in

00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:32.800
the eye. Do you have something in the book where

00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:34.780
I could be so that when I'm reading, I'm like,

00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:36.880
wait, I forgot what they do. I could go back

00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:39.219
to this cheat sheet. You do? Yeah, I actually

00:38:39.219 --> 00:38:41.719
have a character Bible. And the character Bible

00:38:41.719 --> 00:38:44.320
is something that you invent by way of having

00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:48.320
your book converted to the screen. So there's

00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:50.380
several things that you develop in tandem with

00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:52.440
the screenplay. One is the character Bible. One

00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:55.619
is the treatment for it. One is the pilot. One

00:38:55.619 --> 00:38:59.159
is a pitch deck. And there are different things

00:38:59.159 --> 00:39:02.139
that you have that you can now toss out to whomever

00:39:02.139 --> 00:39:04.260
needs them. But that was really fun to create

00:39:04.260 --> 00:39:08.719
a sheet, a one -up. that has all of the key players,

00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:12.960
main protagonists, but also the tertiary characters

00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:16.699
who are going to come and go, and who they are

00:39:16.699 --> 00:39:18.500
and why they matter and why they don't matter,

00:39:19.260 --> 00:39:22.380
who the antagonists are. I think that was really

00:39:22.380 --> 00:39:24.000
cool to create, so I do have something, yeah.

00:39:24.340 --> 00:39:26.539
That makes sense to me. Okay, the last, I promise,

00:39:26.679 --> 00:39:30.019
I promise. So demographics, like so who actually

00:39:30.619 --> 00:39:33.360
It does it cross all party lot not party lines.

00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:35.099
I'm kidding you on that one. Does it cross all

00:39:35.099 --> 00:39:38.360
age groups? So, you know, I'm 62 and I'm like,

00:39:38.420 --> 00:39:39.960
I'm kind of getting into this, but there was

00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:42.320
part of my life for 30 years. I would have been

00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:45.139
like, no, I just want to watch this is us. Now

00:39:45.139 --> 00:39:47.960
I kind of enjoy it. So what does that look like?

00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:51.929
Or is it really just scan the ages? It does I

00:39:51.929 --> 00:39:53.849
mean obviously it's gonna be some scary content

00:39:53.849 --> 00:39:56.530
for some of the younger kids Because the Gorgons

00:39:56.530 --> 00:39:58.210
are just no joke. They're no laughing matter

00:39:58.210 --> 00:40:00.909
and there is some profanity in here I really

00:40:00.909 --> 00:40:03.289
struggled with that because I wanted to write

00:40:03.289 --> 00:40:05.849
something that was clean fiction that happens

00:40:05.849 --> 00:40:09.269
with With the end series. There's no profanity,

00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:12.289
but these are aliens and they're terrifying if

00:40:12.289 --> 00:40:14.329
they attack you you're not gonna go Oh shucks,

00:40:14.510 --> 00:40:16.769
you know, you're gonna say something else and

00:40:16.769 --> 00:40:19.329
so there are there's some profanity and I don't

00:40:20.900 --> 00:40:23.260
I think there's enough of that for kids out there.

00:40:23.380 --> 00:40:24.840
I don't need to contribute to that cesspool.

00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:30.900
But teens and young adults end up. So I would

00:40:30.900 --> 00:40:34.519
say 13 and up is probably the age range. But

00:40:34.519 --> 00:40:37.000
I've had readers who have appreciated it in their

00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:43.280
high 70s. I've had readers as low as 11, I think.

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:45.820
who have read it because they tend to read up

00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:48.119
a little bit. So definitely a span. And I wrote

00:40:48.119 --> 00:40:50.800
it easy. I wrote the books to be an easy read,

00:40:51.019 --> 00:40:53.059
for sure. Can you hold for a second? I have a

00:40:53.059 --> 00:40:57.539
call. Yeah. Hello. Oh, Elon. Yes. Yes. I'm with

00:40:57.539 --> 00:41:00.500
Aaron Ryan, Elon. Hello, Elon. We're friends.

00:41:00.699 --> 00:41:03.940
We're friends. I have his 25th daughter. So,

00:41:04.059 --> 00:41:08.340
Elon, Aaron wants to know if you see, oh, you

00:41:08.340 --> 00:41:10.900
have seen the real, oh, you have seen the, what

00:41:10.900 --> 00:41:14.150
do we call? Oh, that was William Chapner. He

00:41:14.150 --> 00:41:19.409
was a Gorgon. Gorgon. Gorgon. Oh, all your employees

00:41:19.409 --> 00:41:22.469
are Gorgons. Just kidding around. That was not

00:41:22.469 --> 00:41:24.690
Elon Musk in case anyone thinks, and I'm not

00:41:24.690 --> 00:41:27.090
having a baby with him just in case. Do that.

00:41:27.210 --> 00:41:29.309
Really getting out there. I'm 62 for a crime

00:41:29.309 --> 00:41:31.949
scene. Okay. This has been really fun. Really

00:41:31.949 --> 00:41:35.210
interesting. Okay. So you kind of mentioned it.

00:41:35.530 --> 00:41:37.449
So Amazon and then there's a couple of other

00:41:37.449 --> 00:41:40.880
places. Are you in? What is that place called?

00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:43.880
The book place? Well, you can go to, you can

00:41:43.880 --> 00:41:46.380
go to author Aaron Ryan dot com. Um, just to

00:41:46.380 --> 00:41:48.780
be clear, it's not awful Aaron Ryan dot com.

00:41:48.820 --> 00:41:51.960
It's author Aaron Ryan dot com. And there's links

00:41:51.960 --> 00:41:56.099
to the, the, this is the end website. Uh, there's

00:41:56.099 --> 00:41:58.440
links to the dissonance, the series website from

00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:01.199
author Aaron Ryan dot com. There's all my socials

00:42:01.199 --> 00:42:03.880
there, but there's also a shopping page and on

00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:06.079
that shopping page, you can go there and find

00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:08.340
all the links to wherever you can buy it in whatever

00:42:08.340 --> 00:42:10.539
medium that you want to. Find it out. I love

00:42:10.539 --> 00:42:12.139
that. OK, I'm putting this in the show notes.

00:42:12.280 --> 00:42:14.480
Well, in the show notes, it will be. But Link

00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:17.420
follow. I love that they can follow you, my friends.

00:42:17.780 --> 00:42:21.519
Do you find a lot of your readers are also game

00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:24.860
players that they do the games? Sometimes I've

00:42:24.860 --> 00:42:27.280
had suggestions that dissidents could very, very

00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:29.699
easily and successfully be turned into a game.

00:42:30.039 --> 00:42:31.659
I think that'd be awesome. I don't know how they'd

00:42:31.659 --> 00:42:34.179
do it, but I think it'd be very cool. There is

00:42:34.179 --> 00:42:35.860
that like right now. It's really interesting.

00:42:35.980 --> 00:42:37.639
So fallout is the one my daughter's boyfriend

00:42:37.639 --> 00:42:39.539
explained all this to me because he saw him I

00:42:39.539 --> 00:42:41.159
was what he told me to watch it because he made

00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:43.400
it so interesting and then I'm like, oh, this

00:42:43.400 --> 00:42:46.900
is really cool. Oh, oh, wait, JC Dornick. Wait,

00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:49.340
is who's your favorite public speaker? Aaron

00:42:49.340 --> 00:42:52.500
or me? No kidding. I don't know. You know, there's

00:42:52.500 --> 00:42:54.039
so many great people out there. I told you I

00:42:54.039 --> 00:42:55.840
had three. That's exactly what's watching. So

00:42:55.840 --> 00:42:59.940
anyways, Aaron, this was an amazing interesting,

00:43:00.360 --> 00:43:03.199
no prep needed because I really had no idea.

00:43:03.579 --> 00:43:05.280
And I was like kind of thinking another social

00:43:05.280 --> 00:43:07.440
media, which nothing wrong with that. But this

00:43:07.440 --> 00:43:10.000
is fantastic. You're cool. So all right, so we're

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:13.500
going to follow you. I will tag you. And I really,

00:43:13.719 --> 00:43:16.219
I just can't thank you enough. So thank you and

00:43:16.219 --> 00:43:18.780
say hello to your beautiful wife, the editor.

00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:21.920
I love that she uses words. So she's got a talent.

00:43:22.159 --> 00:43:24.639
She should also get on podcast because that's

00:43:24.639 --> 00:43:26.739
really interesting talking about the power of

00:43:26.739 --> 00:43:28.719
words. I think that she would be incredible.

00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:32.860
So all right, go off and meet an alien today,

00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:36.059
everyone. Just make believe all your friends

00:43:36.059 --> 00:43:40.360
are aliens. And next time you are with your family,

00:43:41.019 --> 00:43:42.800
pick one of them and make believe they're an

00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:46.500
alien. Right? And then just start talking to

00:43:46.500 --> 00:43:48.239
them in a really funny way. How do aliens speak

00:43:48.239 --> 00:43:50.340
so I can just make sure everyone knows? I don't

00:43:50.340 --> 00:43:52.099
know, but some some of my relatives are clearly

00:43:52.099 --> 00:43:57.179
aliens already. So yeah. Do you remember the

00:43:57.179 --> 00:43:59.079
old, oh, when the kids are, oh, you have a five

00:43:59.079 --> 00:44:00.659
year old, when the kids are little, you put a

00:44:00.659 --> 00:44:02.619
blanket over and then you tell them they're,

00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.460
you can't see them anymore and they're invisible

00:44:04.460 --> 00:44:06.980
and watch the reaction. I kind of think of it

00:44:06.980 --> 00:44:09.980
that way. I used to love to do that just never

00:44:09.980 --> 00:44:12.000
can get enough. Finally, one day they're like

00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:15.980
12 going, mom, we finally get it like stop. Yeah.

00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:19.699
All right, Aaron, thank you so much. And let

00:44:19.699 --> 00:44:22.639
me just say as a reminder, catch me and Joseph

00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:26.940
and Jay on chatter social. We are doing DTN debate

00:44:26.940 --> 00:44:30.780
the news crime edition. And it is really cool.

00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:32.900
We're very excited to talk about crimes. We did

00:44:32.900 --> 00:44:36.920
Casey Anthony. Last night we did Ariel Castro.

00:44:37.019 --> 00:44:39.179
So I don't know what we're doing next, but I'm

00:44:39.179 --> 00:44:41.639
living my dream too. Erin, I love that because

00:44:41.639 --> 00:44:43.820
when you actually do have a dream and you work

00:44:43.820 --> 00:44:46.519
towards it, it will come true. And I just feel

00:44:46.519 --> 00:44:48.699
like you had your dream when you were nine and

00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:51.059
look at you now. So really you're an amazing

00:44:51.059 --> 00:44:53.400
guest. So thank you so much and have a great

00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:56.159
rest of the day and week. Thank you for having

00:44:56.159 --> 00:44:59.260
me. Appreciate it. It was amazing. Better than

00:44:59.260 --> 00:45:01.800
I could ever expect it because I love it. All

00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:03.239
right. Thank you. That was really