Today I am interviewing Ryan Wieser, author of the new science-fiction novel, The Glass Blade, first book in the Hunters of Infinity series.
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DJ: Hi Ryan! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!
For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?
Ryan Wieser: Hi DJ! Thanks for having me! I am an author who currently writes in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I was raised predominantly in East Africa and I have studied and travelled all around the world. When I’m not writing, I love to read and travel with my husband, our baby, and our dog!
DJ: What is The Glass Blade about?
Ryan: The Glass Blade is about a young woman, Jessop, who saves two unsuspecting Hunters from a vicious attack in a tavern. This act leads to her being offered a place within the Hunters’ training facility, the Glass Blade. As she builds new relationships, her past, and many secrets, slowly begin to surface. Ultimately, this is a story about love, loss, and retribution.
DJ: What were some of your influences The Glass Blade and the series?
Ryan: It has always been important to me to write about powerful, strong women, who don’t need saving but who save themselves. I come from a family of strong women. While I have always identified as feminist and I have always known the importance of equality, recognition, and tolerance, it was really several years ago, when I first started writing The Glass Blade, that I took real notice of the disgusting extent to which the “Disposable Woman” was featuring in so many storylines—the woman who was written into the plot with the sole purpose of sexualisation and victimization to spur on the male lead’s agenda. Whether it’s on the page or the silver screen, it is an abhorrent representation of the female sex and the female narrative. I believe all writers, but in particular female writers, owe it to our mothers, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, wives, girlfriends, and friends to remove this “Disposable Woman” from our media and from our culturally accepted narrative. In developing Jessop, and many of my other characters, I was heavily influenced by the people in my life.
DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers with sympathize with them?
Ryan: I love my main characters! I think what makes Jessop cool is her strength, both her inner strength and her physical power. She has overcome so much and grows stronger by the day. While she has weaknesses and flaws, she is seemingly unbreakable. Falco is just, in my mind, the epitome of cool. He’s this strong, unapologetic male lead who knows what he wants and how he’s going to achieve it, and he will do anything for the ones he loves. He appears as one thing and quickly you realize that he might be altogether something else. He knows himself and I think knowing who you are and having a strong sense of self, can be really attractive qualities. Kohl is the kind natured, loving, character who keeps pushing himself to be better than he was the day before, and who really struggles the most when he realizes that perhaps he’s not as open-minded and tolerant as he wishes he was, or once believed himself to be. They all have incredible gifts and are skilled warriors, but it’s their nuanced personalities that I think make them cool.
DJ: What is the world Daharia and setting of the Hunters of Infinity series like?
Ryan: Daharia is a galaxy with many different environments and ecosystems, different species, varying levels of technological advancements, and vastly different groups—from the tribes beyond the Grey to the desert mages. The only thing they all have in common is the Hunters of Infinity—the group of warriors who police the territory under the rule of the Lord and Protector.
DJ: What was your favorite part about writing The Glass Blade?
Ryan: The character development. I loved investing myself into these characters, wondering who they were, what their histories and motivations were, how they would develop over the course of the trilogy.
DJ: What do you think readers will be talking about most once they finish it?
Ryan: Hopefully their excitement for the next instalment! I hope they talk about Jessop’s strength, and the theme of moral ambiguity throughout the trilogy. My main characters all undergo these transformations where they realize that their lives are the result of their own actions and that they need to be responsible and stop pointing fingers. It is my hope that my readers will wonder: ‘Was this character bad or good? Were they both? Maybe they were all both.’ Also, there is a definite twist at the end of The Glass Blade that many reviewers are already talking about!
DJ: When I read, I love to collect quotes – whether it be because they’re funny, foodie, or have a personal meaning to me. Do you have any favorite quotes from The Glass Blade that you can share with us?
Ryan: Sure, Jessop says: “No one is afraid of heights—they are afraid of their own inability to navigate them.” My sister actually pointed that quote out to me as one of her favorites!
DJ: Now that The Glass Blade is released, what is next for you?
Ryan: Still writing! I am still editing and working closely with Kensington Books/Rebel Base on the next two instalments. I already have my next story idea built and I look forward to starting that once the third book in the trilogy is released.
DJ: Where can readers find out more about you?
Website: https://ryanwieserbooks.com
DJ: Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to answer my questions!
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*** The Glass Blade is published by Rebel Base Books and is available TODAY!!! ***
Buy the Book:
Amazon | Barnes & Nobel | Goodreads | Kobo
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About the Book:
The Hunters of Infinity have been protecting the Daharian galaxy for years, but there has never been a female Hunter—until now.
In a seedy bar in the shadowy corners of Daharia, Jessop comes to the rescue of young Hunter Kohl O’Hanlon. Impressed by her remarkable sword-wielding skills, the Hunters invite her to their training facility, the Glass Blade, though not all are pleased with the intrusion. But they soon discover that Jessop learned to fight from the rogue leader of the Shadow City of Aranthol—and escaped. Now they want to use her intimate knowledge of their enemy to destroy him. As Jessop grows closer to this elite brotherhood, their leader succumbs to a mysterious ailment, and Kohl learns that Jessop is hiding dark secrets, raising suspicions about the enigmatic woman who saved his life. Has the Hunters’ security been breached—or do they have a traitor in their ranks?
Allegiances will be questioned.
Loyalties will be betrayed.
Vengeance will be brutal.
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