Blog Archives
Cocaine In Her Wedding Dress
Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black follows two people planning to be married who are harboring secrets that could shatter their well-conceived plans. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Honestly, I went to a wedding where the bride did cocaine in her wedding dress, and I was like this would be a great book.
All of the characters are engaging and have memorable qualities. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I always love the idea of my characters being real people. Alan Heathcock, who wrote the book Volt, said he likes to believe his characters are real people, and he writes down what they do. I just love that people aren’t one hundred percent good or evil.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
This book was huge into the concept of second chances. Paige and Leo being the huge aspect of that. I think everyone makes mistakes or timing isn’t right in their lives, so it’s magical when life gives you that second chance at love, a career, or being your true self.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The next book to come out will be The Bitch Cup on 8/3.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
The only problem is Paige is still in love with Leo, her college sweetheart, and Joshua has been sleeping with Joey, the best man.
Unknown to the couple, Joey plans to sabotage the wedding because he is in love with Joshua. To further complicate things, Chelsea, their new wedding planner, wants to humiliate Paige to get back at her for their messy past with Leo.
Paige and Joshua are friends; more than that, they are engaged to be married. No, obviously not for love but to find their individual happiness. Joshua needs to marry a woman to keep his inheritance, and in return for entering this loveless marriage, Joshua will pay off the debt that looms over Paige’s parents. It is a win-win! The issue is that betrayal, scandal, and a deadly accident lie below the surface of this simple marriage for convenience.
Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black
Paige Marcus finds herself in dire financial straits, burdened with debts that demand immediate attention. Meanwhile, Joshua Samuels is caught in the delicate web of his mother’s demanding expectations, desperately yearning to secure his rightful inheritance. In their pursuit of personal gain, both individuals agree to maintain the facade of love, upholding the esteemed Samuels family name through an elaborate wedding. Adhering to the Samuels’ cardinal rule of not disrupting their carefully orchestrated plan becomes paramount. However, the resurgence of Chelsea, the wedding planner, threatens to unravel their schemes. Armed with their deepest secrets, Chelsea harbors a vengeful agenda, prepared to stoop to unimaginable depths to exact retribution. Yet, for her plan to come to fruition, she must coax the guardians of these secrets out of hiding. Will Paige and Joshua be coerced into assisting Chelsea’s quest for revenge? What unsavory skeletons lie concealed within their closets, capable of jeopardizing their picture-perfect scheme?
Zachary Ryan’s Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black thrusts us into a world centered around the intertwining lives of Paige Marcus, Joshua Samuels, and their relentless antagonist, Chelsea Mann. With a festering grudge stemming from Paige’s past transgressions of stealing Chelsea’s boyfriend, an opportune moment arises when Paige decides to enter into marriage with Joshua, motivated by personal gain and ulterior motives. Seizing this opening, Chelsea meticulously crafts her revenge, enlisting the aid of various accomplices. While Paige wrestles with conflicting emotions about her union with Joshua, he conceals a series of past mistakes and a double life that could shatter his family’s cherished reputation. As the specter of Chelsea becomes aware of this grave web of deception, her intention shifts from creating a grandiose wedding spectacle to orchestrating a ceremony that would forever mar the annals of socialite history.
Within the pages of Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black, Zachary Ryan skillfully weaves a captivating narrative brimming with intricacy and suspense. The notion of revenge permeates the story, offering a compelling foundation. The true triumph of this work lies within its characters. Chelsea’s enigmatic persona, unapologetic nature, and masterful manipulation make her a force to be reckoned with. However, the character of Leo remains enigmatic and perplexing. While empathy emerges for the hardships he has endured, the choices he subsequently makes elicit frustration. As the secrets Joshua conceals come to light, one cannot help but anticipate Chelsea’s inevitable delight in exploiting this newfound vulnerability.
Zachary Ryan’s Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black is a riveting tale of vengeance and subterfuge that draws readers into a whirlwind of lies and deceptions. With well-constructed characters, each flawed in their unique ways, and an expertly crafted plot riddled with tantalizing secrets, Ryan successfully hooks his audience from the very first page. The novel delivers an engaging read filled with dramatic tension, emotional depth, and unexpected twists. For anyone seeking a sophisticated narrative of scandal, revenge, and clandestine love, this book offers a deliciously dark foray into the hidden corners of the human psyche and the dire consequences of unchecked ambition.
Pages: 406 | ASIN : B0BY7SDT53
A Story About Her Music
Ride follows two estranged sisters who are brought back together after the death of their mother and are forced to face the past they tried to leave behind. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The biggest inspiration for this story was the music of Lana Del Rey. I have always been a huge of hers, and I wanted to write a story about her music. She had her sister in her video for Music To Watch Boys to, and I thought about having this sister relationship. They’re complete opposites of each other, and I truly believed that was what was beautiful for the both of them. I wanted them to be able to rely on each other and realize that they have faults the other one considers a strength.
What was your inspiration for the characters and their relationship?
I think a common thing lately in my novels is being able to realize that your actions can influence someone for years to come. Alayna and Morgan’s parents had caused this ripple effect in their own tragic lives that bleed into Alayna and Morgan. I wanted to show how even something so small could be so huge for someone else.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Cause and Effect was a huge one. Like I said in the characters and their relationships with others. That became a huge driving force in this novel. Plus, I wanted to talk about forgiveness. I wanted you to be able to forgive those who have destroyed you or hurt you.
What is the next book that you’re working on and when can your fans expect it out?
My next novel is Something Scandalous, Treacherous, and Black. It’s a campy, sassy wedding book. It’s going to be out at the end of March.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
Sisters, Alayna and Morgan, are reunited through grief. When Morgan returns home to Annapolis, MD after the death of their mother. However, despite the solemn circumstances at play, the two siblings can’t avoid reopening old familial wounds. Both had dreams of fame and fortune, but each one took separate paths.
Alayna, was well on her way towards becoming a famous singer. While Morgan, spurred on by what she felt was rejection at the hands of her mother, moved to Los Angeles to make movies. Only one sister’s career would endure though. As Alayna, supposedly her mother’s favorite, had her dreams unceremoniously undercut by her mom’s vituperative ways. A cycle of abuse she had to suffer alone, when Morgan absconded to Hollywood.
Alayna feels her sister abandoned her. And even as her husband Noah routinely pushes for her to renew her musical aspirations, Alayna also doesn’t want to dash her father’s hopes for grandchildren; and starting a family. Despite the latter abandoning her, and her sister when they were just teens. Meantime, after venturing out into the world and making a name for herself. Morgan, upon returning home, struggles with the omnipresent hole in her heart over her father’s departure years ago.
A sense of loss, compounded by having lost two separate lovers to drugs, and suicide back in LA. Additionally, Morgan also clashes with her sister over having never left town. A choice Morgan feels resulted in her becoming coddled, and inhibited her personal growth. Can these two sister’s put both their past, and present pain behind them, in order to pave the way for their future as a family?
Ride
Morgan wanted out. After spending her childhood with her abusive mother, alcoholic father, and successful sister, she wanted nothing more than to carve her own path in life as a film director. Likewise, Alayna wished to have a picture-perfect family, even if it meant putting her dreams of singing behind her. Separated by the trauma of their past and brought back together by the death of their mother, these two sisters want nothing more than to move on with their lives. But that’s easier said than done, especially when home means old ghosts are lurking around every corner.
Inspired by the music of Lana Del Rey, author Zachary Ryan tells the compelling story of two sisters trapped by circumstance and family ties as they try to right the wrongs of the past in his newest novel, Ride. The story itself is a beautifully written tale of trauma and healing. As the chapters flip between Alayna’s and Morgan’s perspectives, the reader is welcomed to the full scope of the story and both sides of the sister’s harsh upbringing. In this gripping book, Ryan doesn’t stray away from difficult topics such as suicide and drug abuse but accepts them as a brutal part of life. His willingness to discuss both the good and the bad brings the story to life.
Zachary Ryan tells a narrative that makes it hard not to feel genuine sympathy as you watch the sisters work their way through old ghosts and drudge up long-buried trauma. He writes the story in a way that allows you to bury yourself under the words. With the exception of a few jarring jumps between past and present, this book was a captivating and smooth read, and I found it hard not to put it down.
Ride is a compelling women’s fiction novel about the strained relationship between sisters and the struggle to work through past trauma. Readers will be taken on a journey of self-discovery and reflection as the sisters heal from their upbringing and find a way to move forward in life.
Pages: 341 | ASIN: B0BKYHV2PT
Be Herself Without Fear
The Perfect Sister follows a young woman who joins a sorority in hopes of starting a new life, only to realize her secrets are not meant to remain hidden. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I have always been inspired by Gossip Girl, and Pretty Little Liars. I wrote a trilogy called High School Queens. I took the girl Bethany from that story and originally put her in college. The story went completely different from her, so I made it its own trilogy.
Tinsley wants nothing more than to leave her past behind her, but her new sisters won’t allow that to be the case. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I think the biggest character development for her is being able to grow from her mistakes. She did all these things to fit in, and she was starting to do them with Kappa Zeta. She learned to have a backbone and be herself without fear. It was why at the end she stands up for Codi against the Kappa Zeta sisters.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I honestly wanted to explore the themes of forgiveness. People make mistakes all the time, but can you forgive them and yourself for said mistakes. You see both sides of letting go of people’s mistakes and using it for revenge.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next novel Ride will be out in November. It’s a story of two sisters as they deal with trauma. One of them is a recovering alcoholic, while the other is trying to find her love for music again. It’s inspired by the music of Lana Del Rey.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
Tinsley came to Campbell to escape the problems and mistakes of her past. She thought she would have a fresh start, but at Kappa Zeta, there’s not such thing as a fresh start or hidden secrets.
Remember girls, you better keep your secrets close to your chest and make sure none of your sorority sisters have a knife they’re dying to dig into your back.
The Perfect Sister
Uncover the deep, dark secrets of Kappa Zeta, and maybe you’ll discover the events that led to a young sorority pledge’s death. When Lydia was found dead, it made national headlines for being the college’s scandal of the year, and the disbelieving news rocked the college community. Unaware of the tragic accident that plagued campus society, new pledge, and South Carolina native Tinsley joins Kappa Zeta with the hopes of leaving a mysterious, haunting past behind her. With her fair share of secrets to hide, Tinsley hoped to keep the closet door closed on her skeletons, but keeping secrets wasn’t part of being the perfect sister. Would her experience as part of this infamous sorority be the epic high she was seeking or the crushing downfall that led to her demise?
Zachary Ryan’s The Perfect Sister is written in a style similar to Gossip Girl. This book leaves readers on the edges of their seats with the subtle hints the narrator drops throughout the story. A creepy, sinister tone concludes each chapter, and the cliff-hanging clues keep your eyes glued to the page. The writing is simple, but this works in favor of the plot at times. There are great, simple physical descriptions of characters, painting a clear image of the character in your reader’s mind. However, sometimes simple writing is not enough in some areas of this book. I felt that the novel could have made use of more literary devices to strengthen reader engagement.
The Perfect Sister is a suspenseful psychological thriller novel that will keep readers on edge from one chapter to the next. Everyone has secrets to hide, but hiding them from your sorority sisters isn’t an option in this story. The drama and mystery will keep readers returning to find out who they can trust if anyone.
Pages: 326 | ASIN : B0B89G9F77
Missed Calls
In Missed Calls by author Zachary Ryan, Cheyenne and Vanessa have been friends for nearly their entire lives. Although life’s circumstances have taken them in different directions, their friendship remains. While both friends appear to have it perfect on the outside, Cheyenne and Vanessa envy what the other has. Cheyenne longs for a family and stability, while Vanessa feels as if she had settled when she gave up her dreams of becoming a dancer. Full of emotion and heartache, Vanessa and Cheyenne have to learn that everybody comes with their own baggage, and sometimes the person who seems to have it all just needs a friend to lean on.
Author Zachary Ryan has done an excellent job of expressing the emotions of his characters. As a reader, I could empathize with Cheyenne and what he was going through in life, feeling as if he’s never been enough in his relationships. He really did keep getting one raw deal after another, although he did bring some of it on himself. Still, although he was full of drama, he was very likable.
Cheyenne and Vanessa’s relationship was one that I feel many people can relate to. They’ve been friends since childhood, high school, and adulthood. So, the ups and downs they face are realistic, as is the lingering question of whether they are still really that close or holding on to the nostalgia they once shared.
I had mixed feelings about Skylar’s character. At first glance, she appears to be a villain and is rather dislikable. However, upon further inspection, I can sympathize with her in a way. How many of us can honestly say that we’ve never acted irrationally out of fear of losing somebody important to us? Skylar was just reacting the best way she knew how, even if it came off in a negative light.
One aspect that I enjoyed was the flashbacks that Vanessa and Cheyenne had. It shed light on each of their backstories and why they are the way they are. Both had suffered their own traumas along the way but felt they were alone in dealing with them. Part of their problems stemmed from just not being completely honest about their past. Readers will enjoy seeing the characters grow and learn along the way.
Missed Calls is a heartwarming family life fiction novel that focuses on friendship and the struggles that can build over time. This is the kind of lighthearted story you want to take with you on vacation and just relax as you follow the characters through their own self-discovery.
Pages: 268 | ASIN : B09SM2Y6TJ
My COVID Story
Camp Afterlife follows a teen who overdoses and ends up at a camp that gives him one last opportunity to find peace before moving on. How did you come up with the idea for the camp in this story?
Honestly, it was my Covid story. I had been hospitalized with Covid right when the pandemic happened. Everyone said I should write a Covid novel, but I didn’t want to. I liked the idea of when you die that you go to camp. It made me happy to believe that is what could happen. It gave me some comfort with the afterlife.
What were some emotional obstacles you felt were important for Gus to face in this story?
I think the biggest issue was that everyone isn’t out to get him. I felt like he felt so alone in the world and no one cared for him. I wanted Gus to figure out that he had people in his life that truly loved and cared for him.
What is a common misconception you feel people have about loss and grief?
I think that it goes away with time. I lost my brother twelve years ago to suicide, and those emotions never really go away. You just learn to deal with it. That was why I loved the dynamic of the brothers.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next novel is called Missed Calls. It will be out in February. It’s about the rise and fall of a friendship over the years and how politics can ruin friendships sometimes.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
Meeting kindred souls like himself, Gus began to heal at Camp Afterlife. All thanks to his friends and blossoming relationship with Luis. This makes him pause, were Gus’s best days actually the ones after he took his final breath? Or will the guilt of his mistakes during his life going to cause him to self-destruct once more?
LITERARY TITAN 