Award Winning Author Aaron Ryan

Award Winning Author Aaron Ryan

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with sci-fi author and voice artist Aaron Ryan steers firmly into storytelling, creativity and persistence, offering plenty for anyone who leans on books as part of their healing or distraction. Jim Hirtle chats with Ryan about his love for building believable worlds on a blank page, often grounding alien invasions and dystopian futures in real streets, landmarks and human emotions.

Ryan explains why accuracy matters so much: if someone from a real town spots their home on the page, "boy, they're going to judge that thing... and they want it to be accurate." A big section focuses on character growth and why readers need to care about the people they’re following. Ryan talks about creating flawed, sometimes unlikeable characters who slowly reveal their humanity.

Jet from the *Dissonance* saga, for instance, starts out bitter and vengeful but learns to trust others and let justice, rather than revenge, take the lead. As Ryan puts it, "Humans are usually the worst enemy of other humans, not the aliens." He and Hirtle swap writing habits, from rough daily page goals to bursts of 30–50 pages when inspiration hits.

They talk honestly about the realities of indie publishing: learning to market your own work, handling crowded platforms, and the challenge of "bragging" about your book without feeling arrogant. Ryan’s solution? Don’t brag, be an enthusiast, because "people love to buy, they hate to be sold." There’s also plenty of craft talk about cliffhangers, series structure, crossover characters, audiobook narration, and the surreal thrill of seeing a story adapted for the screen.

If storytelling, imagination and steady creative discipline are part of how you stay grounded, this chat might leave you asking: what kind of story are you writing with your own life today?