Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today, I am absolutely thrilled to
welcome New York Times bestselling author Ryan Douglass to the
blog for an exclusive author interview. Ryan is stopping by to chat all about
his gripping new YA horror/thriller, Night of Madness. I don’t
usually read much horror, but since this one is also a fast-paced thriller with
a highly compelling main character, I was hooked from the start!
Today, Ryan is giving us a peek behind
the scenes of his writing process, sharing how he brilliantly balances horror
and suspense, and discussing his journey as a seasoned author. with a fantastic
book giveaway! Read on to see our full conversation, enjoy the book
blurb, and leave a comment below to enter to win a copy of this chilling new
release.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
.jpg)
Teen
influencers compete in a horror movie–themed overnight competition, only
to realize the real test is staying alive in this chilling, blood-soaked horror
novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The
Taking of Jake Livingston and the production company behind Clown
in a Cornfield.
Mara is a horror buff whose only fond memories
of her dad are bonding over movies by Jack Stanley—the producer of
the eighties. Stanley’s campy slasher movies may have kept Mara’s fraught
parental relationship on life support and gained a cult following, but the man
himself has faded from the public eye…until he announces a contest centered
around Asylum, his most terrifying film. Five teen influencers will
be invited to spend the night on the fully constructed set; whoever sticks it
out until morning wins a hundred thousand dollars.
Stuck in a dead-end job, Mara seriously needs
that cash. She may not be a famous influencer, but there has to be a way to
manufacture an online presence that will capture Stanley’s attention. With the
help of her brother and best friend, Mara finds some creative solutions to her
dilemma and lands herself onto the roster of the lucky chosen few by way of her
engaging authenticity.
When Mara and the other contestants arrive on
set, it’s a horror fan’s dream being immersed in the asylum setting, but as the
night wears on, they realize the danger is more than movie magic… They’re not
there to win or lose but to live or die. As Mara fights to survive, she
discovers an inner ruthlessness she didn’t know she had. Just how far will she
go to see the sunrise—and will she still recognize herself by the end?
IWSG
Post
We are also celebrating the Insecure
Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) post day.
Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.
Purpose: To
share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of
appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer
assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all
kinds!
The awesome co-hosts this month are: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Liza at Middle Passages, JH Moncrieff, Jemima Pett!
Optional Question: Many people are calling for
writers who use AI to disclose it. Most who employ ghostwriters do not admit it
- do you think authors who use ghostwriters should have to disclose that, too?
I’m going to skip the question this
month. I’m sorry that some of you may have had trouble accessing Literary
Rambles. Alex let me know about the problem last month. Since then, I’ve been
brave and changed Literary Rambles to a secure site by myself, with Google’s
help. The link is https://literaryrambles.com instead of http://literaryrambles.com.
That made me feel really brave, and
I just finally installed Google Analytics all by myself, again with Google’s
help. Now I’m trying some new features so that Google sees and recommends Literary
Rambles more as a help to writers on their journeys to publication. I’m also
hoping these changes will help make my author interview posts more visible,
because I feel that with shifts in blog popularity, it’s harder for me to
support the authors I feature.
Finally, I'm really sorry, but it may take me time this month to visit your blog. I just recovered from a bad case of the flu and need to go visit a dear friend in hospice at a nursing home today. I also suddenly lost my dear nephew two days. I hope you'll understand if I get to your blog late or don't get to your blog this month. And the best way you can support me today is to support the author I'm featuring today.
Author Interview With Ryan Douglass
Hi
Ryan! Thanks so much for joining us.
1.
Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.
I had a natural love of
storytelling even as a toddler. I would always want to read or hear a story
before bed, so after a certain age, I just started writing my own so my grandma
wouldn’t have to keep coming up with them and my mom wouldn’t have to keep
buying more books. As I grew up, I just kept writing to make sense of my
experiences. I studied theatre in college, and I think that experience shaped
how I handle character. I’m still discovering the writer I am, and having fun
on the journey.
2.
Where did you get the idea for Night of Madness?
I wanted to write a horror
story about performance and the way people consume other people’s suffering as
entertainment. I was thinking about the ridiculous emphasis we put on social
media, and the blurry line between watching something horrible and
participating in it. The basic premise came from the idea of a group of young
influencers being offered an absurd amount of money to spend the night in an
abandoned asylum. From there, I asked myself what kind of person would sign up
for this, and what kind of person would run it. So, you get big
personalities mixed with old-school slasher energy, and a sense that things
could go completely off the rails at any moment.
Writing Process
3. Yes,
we do put way too much emphasis on social media. Did you plot out this story,
or were you a pantser? Why do you think this process works for you?
I had the major beats,
character arcs, reveals, and ending before I started, but discovered the
texture of the actual story while writing. Sometimes the things I planned to be
scary aren’t scary once they hit the page or a character starts behaving in a way
I didn’t anticipate and that becomes more interesting than what I had planned.
I need enough structure to keep myself from wandering too much, but enough
freedom to enjoy the process.
4. Night
of Madness is both a horror and thriller story. How did you weave both
aspects into your story and make them work to complement each other?
For me, the thriller
element is about momentum and solving clues, while the horror element is about
fear. The thriller asks, “What is going to happen next?” Horror asks, “What
happens when you realize you’re doomed?”
So, characters are constantly learning new information about the situation
they’re in while simultaneously losing control of it. The more they understand
about the place and each other, the worse things become. I also wanted the
book to have the feeling of a game where you’re trying to figure out the rules
while sensing that the odds are stacked against you.
5.
That’s a great way to frame the difference between the two. Mara, your main
character, finds a ruthlessness in herself that sounds like she needs to
survive and live. How did you balance this side of her with other parts of her
character so that she would be a likable teen that readers want to root for?
I think because the
situation requires Mara to fight for her life, she’ll naturally make decisions
that are selfish, violent, or frightening. At the same time, I wanted Mara to
have empathy and humor and relationships that reminded us she’s an ordinary, relatable
person who wants things beyond simply surviving the night. I think that
contrast is what makes her compelling, because ruthlessness doesn’t erase her
humanity. It’s actually an expression of how desperately she wants to keep
living so she can save the people she cares about.
Road to Publication
6.
This is your third book. What was your road to publishing your first book, The
Taking of Jake Livingston, like?
It was a
long process that kind of surprised me. I wrote Jake Livingston in
college while I was figuring out if being an author was a realistic career path
for me, so I wasn’t even sure if it would be published, because I was pitching
various books at the time. The concept was popular while querying, and we sold
it in a few months. Then I had the experience of realizing publishing does not
make you into a career author after one book. Once it published, I felt weirdly
lost, in wondering how to pull it off again. My debut taught me how to work
with publishers which is great experience, because I know how it works now.
Lately I’ve been figuring out for myself much exposure I want to the industry
stuff outside of writing. To be honest, I prefer to be a recluse, and mostly
private, and to let my work speak for itself.
7. I
think many writers would prefer a quiet, solitary life too. How has submitting
manuscripts and getting publishing contracts changed since you were a debut
author? Do you have any tips on this for other authors hoping to sell more
manuscripts after their debut book?
I understand the more
exploitative aspects of the business better now. When I was a debut, I was
hopeful about enjoying my time in publishing. Now I treat it as more of a job
and I know there are lots of things to keep my distance from. That may sound dark,
but I do think it’s worth it to be prepared for what it means to business with
big corporations, especially for people who have a lot of creative passion, as
authors do. I’m less interested in trying to convince a market that a book
is valuable than polishing my own distinct, creative instincts, and drawing
those out. If I’m constantly chasing what I think publishers want, I can end up
writing a soulless version of my work that makes me lose passion for the craft.
There are others whose main goal is to satisfy publisher demand and make money,
so sometimes it works.
My advice for anyone would be to develop mastery of your craft. Know what you
want out of the business, including what you want your visuals to be for your
covers. Don’t assume that the people who work with you naturally will give that
to you. And don’t let rejection convince you that your work is not valuable. A
career is longer than one book and this industry is ever-changing, with
everyone looking at everyone’s paper to see what can be done, and what’s up
next. Just be you as brilliantly and vibrantly as possible.
Book Marketing
8.
How are you celebrating the release of Night of Madness?
It feels like a lot of
logistics and making sure I show up for things on time, so I’m trying to
actually be present for it and be grateful to everyone who helped bring my
third book into the world. With what happened between 2022-2025, and how my
career was kind of in this slow-moving place, and how Black authors are being
sidelined, that part feels pretty miraculous to me.
9.
How are you planning to promote it in the coming months? Has your approach to
promoting your books changed over time? IF so, how?
My approach to
promotion has not changed much, but I am more intentional about collaborating
directly with readers. I promote my work with the capacity that I have, but I
have to set boundaries with how much work I’m doing outside of writing, which
is my real job. I don’t think authors should have to turn themselves into
content creators in order for their books to be seen. Social media is useful,
but I’m interested in tailoring promo to specific outlets and focusing on
reader outreach, so I can build a creative practice that exists beyond
constantly shouting “buy my book” into a void. For Night of Madness,
I’m excited about the conversations around the book, because I haven’t had
conversations with the horror community in years. Campy horror is such a fun
genre for reactions.
10. It
sounds like you have a good balance and focus on what’s most important:
writing. What are you working on now?
I’m working on several
adult projects because I’m so excited to move into that market.
I’m interested right now in an American Gothic story with family dynamics
that’s looking at an underrepresented part of history, and exploring
religious trauma. I’m also working on a soft sci-fi project that focuses on
achieving personal freedom when you’re behind bars. I’m finishing up
another Night of Madness story, so I’m very much still in that world, seeing
what I can draw out about the pressures that the digital age puts on young
people. But beyond that, I’m trying to allow myself to move at a comfortable
pace. Three books in, I don’t feel like I need to constantly prove that I can
write a novel anymore, or that people will want to read it. Now I’m much more
interested in building a life around my creativity that feels less like asking
for permission, and more like setting myself free.
Thanks
for sharing all your advice, Ryan. You can find Ryan at ryandouglasswriter.com
and on Instagram.
🎉
ENTER THE LITERARY RAMBLES NIGHT OF MADNESS BOOK GIVEAWAY! 🎉
Want to win Night of Madness? Thanks to the publisher for supplying a
book for this book giveaway contest.
How to Enter:
- Leave a Comment: Drop a comment below by October 17th with your email
address. To protect your privacy from spam bots, please write your email
address using the "name [at] gmail [dot] com" format.
- Bluesky Bonus: If you follow me on Bluesky, mention your handle in your comment
for an extra entry!
- Sharing Bonus: If you share about this contest on your own social media sites or
blog, let me know in the comments for an extra entry.
- Author Bonus: If you
follow Ryan Douglass on social media, let me know in your comment for an
extra entry!
- Blog Follower Bonus:
If you follow Literary Rambles via
Blogger or email subscription, let me know in the comments for an extra entry.
🌍 Eligibility: The book giveaway
is U.S. only.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and
Blog Hops
- Monday, October 12th: Guest post by Shifa Saltagi and a giveaway of her MG Sisters
Alone
- Wednesday, October 14th: Agent spotlight interview with Jenny Lewis and a query
critique giveaway
- Friday, October 16th: Participating in the Silly Pumpkins Giveaway Hop
- Monday, October 19th: Interview with Kate O’Shaughnessy and a giveaway of her MG Brittle
Magic
- Wednesday, October 21st: Agent spotlight interview with Cate Hart and a query
critique giveaway
- Monday, October 25th: Interview with Jackie Garcia Morales and a giveaway of
her MG Pesky Rules
I hope to see you on Monday!
.jpg)
