Meet the #Author - Ryan Hill (@J_Ryan)

Please tell us a bit about yourself: I’m a Sagittarius, I like laughter, wine, and the occasional stroll under the moonlight.

Tell us about The Book of Bart: The Book of Bart is essentially Fletch meets John Hughes, but instead of Chevy Chase there’s a demon. Bart is a disgraced demon who’s forced to work with an angel to find a powerful religious relic. Their search eventually forces them to go undercover at a high school.

What inspired you to write this particular story?: Bart was a villain in an earlier, now abandoned, manuscript. I had so much fun writing him, I decided to give him his own story.

Please share a favourite snippet from your book: I don’t have a favorite, but I do enjoy the beginning:

The nerve.

All the time I’d put in should’ve counted for something. The years. The effort. In the end, I was seemingly no better than common street trash. So what if I tried to take over the place? Getting thrown back to Earth without a reason or goodbye felt bad enough. I didn’t even get a pack of smokes and some walking cash. It was the disrespect that hurt the most. This place sucked. I wanted to go back to Hell.

A demon like myself deserved better.

Curled up on my side on a stretch of damp pavement, I felt like a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy. My stomach felt sick and heavy. Even my bones vibrated like a tuning fork. Eventually, though, I managed to roll onto my back. High above me, framed by the squalid buildings that made up the alley, the crescent moon looked like a very pale butt cheek. I coughed, getting the last bit of sulfur and smoke out of my lungs, while questions bounced around in my pounding head.

What in Heaven was I doing back on Earth?

(nice!)

  

Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?: Personality

Any tips for aspiring authors?: Everyone says it because it’s true: write. A lot. Learn the business of writing. Train yourself to take criticism. Network with other writers if possible.

Questions for fun:

If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Yes. I would make sure the UNC Tar Heels were terrible at life for all of eternity.

Why/why not?: Because I don’t like them and feel they are the devil. (but I thought you liked bad guys, lol)

What super-power would you choose?: The ability to regenerate might be fun.

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?: Make writing a full time career. Write better. Make sure this place is better off than we found it.

Coffee, tea or wine?: This is a question? Wine. Good gosh. (Hey, your fans need to know what to bribe you with, right?)

What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!): High Fidelity, Catch-22, the Harry Potter series…etc.

Favourite genre and why?: I don’t necessarily have a favorite genre. I lean towards the silly and paranormal, but honestly my favorite books are the ones that suck me in and refuse to let me go even after I’ve finished reading.

Favourite colour?: Green

Upcoming news and plans for the future?: My zombie opus, Dead New World, is out Oct. 13. (can't wait to read it!)

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! And now go check out Ryan's books and stalk him!

The Book of Bart - Coming May 22!

Only one thing is so powerful, so dangerous that Heaven and Hell must work together to find it: the Shard of Gabriel.

With a mysterious Black Cloud of Death hot on the shard’s trail, a desperate Heaven enlists the help of Bart, a demon who knows more about the shard than almost anyone. Six years ago, he had it in his hands. If only he’d used it before his coup to overthrow the devil failed. Now, he’s been sprung from his eternal punishment to help Samantha, an angel in training, recover the shard before the Black Cloud of Death finds it.

If Bartholomew wants to succeed, he’ll have to fight the temptation to betray Samantha and the allure of the shard. After an existence full of evil, the only way Bart can get right with Hell is to be good.

About the Author:

Growing up, Ryan Hill used to spend his time reading and writing instead of doing homework. This resulted in an obsession with becoming a writer, but also a gross incompetence in the fields of science and mathematics. A graduate of North Carolina State University, Ryan has been a film critic for over five years. He lives in Raleigh, NC, with his dog/shadow Maggie. Ryan also feels strange about referring to himself in the third person.

Stalk him on Twitter as @J_Ryan

Add The Book of Bart to your Goodreads shelf HERE!