HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What a perfect guest for this Sunday! Do you know Ryan Steck, the author and editor? If you don't, you certainly know his iconic TheRealBookSpy, where he’s the founder and editor in chief. Ryan has been named an “Online Influencer” by Amazon and is a regular columnist at CrimeReads.
Anyone who knows and loves and cares about thrillers—well, you’ll meet all your faves at TRBS.
Steck lives in Michigan with his wife and their six kids, where he cheers on his beloved Detroit Tigers and Lions during the rare moments when he’s not reading or talking about books on social media. I cannot imagine when he sleeps. We’ll have to ask him!
But his most recent Matthew Redd book, Gone Dark, comes out on June 17 from Tyndale Fiction. But of course, Reds and Readers, you will hear about it here first!
And a copy of GONE DARK to one very lucky commenter!
Hank: How have your personal experiences influenced this story? Or have they?
Ryan Steck: Oh, wow. In a number of ways! Out of all my books, Gone Dark is the most personal for me. Not only does it continue to explore themes that I’m intimately familiar with—such as adoption, addiction, evolving relationships, and growing families—but it also features a new character named Jack, and I’m really excited for readers to meet him. While I love big, action-packed adventures, this book has more raw emotion than anything I’ve written before, and most of them come from my real-life experiences.
Hank: You’ve described Matthew Redd as being “with” you for a long time. How has he changed from his original incarnation until now?
Ryan Steck: Well, in a sense, Redd has always been Redd. I’ve always heard his voice, and I usually tell people that in any given situation I might find myself, I know exactly how I should handle things . . . and I also know exactly how Matty Redd would handle things. His way is usually more action-packed than mine! But one thing that has certainly changed over the years is that Redd is now a family man.
He’s no longer the lone wolf operator readers first met in Fields of Fire. He has a wife and kids, and their family is still growing. He has his war dog, Rubble the Rottweiler. He has his best friends, his biological father, and—in this book, without giving anything away—his inner circle widens a bit.
So that’s all pretty new, and while I like seeing the side of Redd that cares for others and has even learned to trust them, his opening himself up like that is a bit of a double-edged sword because now he has more to lose when bad guys come knocking.
Hank: I love Rubble—that’s so perfect. But you have such a wonderful group of supporting characters. Which one has changed the most over the series?
Ryan Steck: I think if I had to pick just one character to highlight here, I’d have to go with Emily Redd, Matty’s wife. Certainly, in this book, you see just how devoted she is to her husband, and I really love their relationship. In many ways, albeit with far fewer gunfights and bad guys, their relationship and what they deal with mirrors that of my own marriage with my wife.
We, too, have a big family, so I’m familiar with those dynamics, but my wife has always had my back and supported me, just as Em does Redd. And in turn, I’ve always been there for her through anything she may face, including some really tough medical issues over the past few years. So, I do draw influence from my wife when writing Emily, certainly. I’d also say that Mikey, Redd’s faithful best friend, has really come a long way, too, and more than ever, you see him step up when Matty needs him in Gone Dark.
Hank: So tell us about the book! What was the most exciting part of writing this story?
Ryan Steck: The entire story concept for this book came from my wanting to pair Redd with Jack, a little boy who is on his own and on the run, in need of someone to protect him. I’ve actually never been more excited for my readers to meet a character than I am for them to get to know Jack, who, in a lot of ways, reminds Redd of himself when he was a kid. So, anytime Redd and Jack share the page together, those are some of my favorite moments in the book. There’s another scene that involves a train that, without spoiling it, was also a lot of fun for me to write. I think my readers will know why when they see it.
Hank: You include real-world issues in this book-- drug addiction and forest fires, for example. Why?
Ryan Steck: I wanted to write something with a tad more heart and suspense, but I also wanted to explore themes that are important to me. I’m a recovering alcoholic and have now been sober for going on fifteen years. I’ve also struggled with accidental opioid addiction, meaning that I was prescribed pain pills following surgeries in my past, only to end up really addicted to them and had to get help. These are tough issues that I am intimately familiar with and now felt like the right time for me to finally address some of this stuff in my writing.
Beyond addiction, you see Redd grow into his faith a bit more with this book, and that was really important to me as well.
Hank: A romance question for you! Many authors leave their couples in an almost perpetual will-they-won’t- they loop. But you have Matthew marry his high school sweetheart, and they are about to have another kid. What are the advantages and challenges of having a strong married couple in a novel?
Ryan Steck: You know, this is a great question. I’ve covered thrillers for over a decade on The Real Book Spy, and I’ve worked as an editor for a long time as well. And I can’t tell you how many characters have had their wives or significant others killed at some point. In fact, many of them have lost several loved ones in a similar fashion, usually when the bad guys come looking for the hero and can’t get to them, so they kill the wife or girlfriend to hurt the hero and draw them out. I get it, and I appreciate those stories, but that’s not what I wanted for my series.
Now, I’m not saying that nothing will ever happen to Redd or Emily. I can’t make that promise, but I don’t ever want to leave readers hanging between books, and I sure don’t want my readers to always worry that their favorite character might be killed off. I’ll never say never, but I think Redd and Emily drive this series together, so it’s more about how will they get out of this? As opposed to will they get out of this?
All of that said, it absolutely can be a challenge to manage so many characters and relationships. I know other authors, friends of mine, who have killed off their hero’s love interest simply because they couldn’t find a role for them in future stories. And I get that, believe me, now more than ever. I’m currently writing the fifth Matthew Redd book, and trust me, It’s a challenge to account for everyone and all of Redd’s loved ones and family members sometimes, but I also think it makes for a richer reading experience.
Hank: Your faith is so important to you---how has it been affected by your writing journey? Or has it?
Ryan Steck: Since becoming an author, I’ve been really blessed to live out my dream and tell stories for a living, but that doesn’t mean things are always smooth sailing. We kept it pretty private, but my wife has faced a number of challenging health issues over the last three years. As a believer, I’ve always clung to my faith, but certainly, it’s harder to keep your eyes on the Lord when you’re in the middle of a storm.
More than anything, hearing from readers has emboldened me to speak about my faith more. I’ve gotten emails from so many people who’ve reached out to share the personal struggles they’ve faced while reading my books, thanking me for providing an entertaining distraction from whatever they’re going through. Those letters and messages are very humbling, but they’re also a reminder that everyone has something going on in their life, and I’ve tried to remember that when interacting with others.
Hank: Oh, such a perfect way to end our chat and start the discussion! Let’s talk about those will they/won’t they relationships. Tracy and Hepburn, Cheers, Moonlighting—you know the ones. Which ones in books do you love?
And what questions do you have for the fabulous Ryan?
And a copy of GONE DARK to one lucky commenter!
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