My time as an indie musician foreshadowed my desire to be an indie author. It’s the D.I.Y. spirit that drives you to control your own creativity and destiny in my opinion.

Ryan McGinnis – 20 November 2021

The Back Flap

With the threat of global genocide looming over the world, one man races to put together the pieces before it’s too late…

Xavier Greene had retreated from his life of violence. In a secluded temple, he contemplates his life as an assassin, determined to walk away from his employer, the Citadel forever.

But a vast, global conspiracy draws him back from the shadows. A deadly pathogen, Tears of the Dragon, has been created in a secret lab hidden at the base of the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua. Now it’s on its way to the United States, where a group of radicals plan to release the apocalypse-level virus, unleashing untold death and destruction on millions. Xavier finds himself in a race against time to uncover the details and locate the virus before the unthinkable can happen.

Xavier’s mission is complicated by the arrival of F.B.I. Agent Bill “Wild Bill” Logan. Logan is as famous around the Bureau for his unconventional style as he is closed cases. However, when he and his partner Stacy Martinez cross paths with Xavier Greene, they find themselves swept up in a vast conspiracy that could cost them their careers, if they don’t lose their lives first.

Now all of them find themselves in a life or death struggle against a vast international conspiracy that threatens to consume the entire planet. With betrayals and the body count mounting, can Xavier find a way to stop Tears of the Dragon before it’s too late?

About the book

What is the book about?

Tears of the Dragon tells the story of Xavier Greene, an asset for a multinational organization known as the Citadel, as he races to stop an international conspiracy to unleash an extinction level event. The story is fast paced and the action very intense. At the heart of it, I tried to imbue Xavier with a lot of humanity. I wanted him to struggle with the immense pressure that being in these crazy situations would bring. So many times you see secret agents in the movies go through all these traumatic situations with no consequences. I wanted to show how the trauma would affect the characters in a realistic way.

When did you start writing the book?

I actually started writing it a while back. Since this was my first book, it started as a hobby. Over the last several years I’ve gotten more serious and finished it, as well as several short stories, which were subsequently published. I like to think I took my time in order to properly learn the craft.

How long did it take you to write it?

Once again, quite a while. For the longest time when it was a hobby, I would write a chapter periodically and then come back to it weeks later. Over time I started polishing my writing and the last half of the book was written over a period of several months. Now the new works in progress are moving along at a much quicker rate.

Where did you get the idea from?

In the beginning this story was to be an homage to the old James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. I can’t remember where I came up with the idea of the virus, as this was conceived years before the Pandemic. Ultimately, I took a lot of things that I thought were cool and started weaving them into this story of intrigue, violence, and betrayal.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

I think the entire thing was a learning process. At first, I struggled with the action scenes. I wanted to portray them with the proper energy. What was really a challenge at first was dialog. I wanted it to sound natural and flow like a normal conversation would. It took a lot of time to develop that. Due to that, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to conversations, even as I participated in them, in order to get the proper flow.

What came easily?

The outline process. For some reason the story just kind of poured out. I’ve done a lot of outlines since then and it hasn’t always came that easy. This one was special.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

These characters are 100% fictitious. I don’t actually know any spies, FBI agents, or assassins.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I’ve read a lot of authors who have influenced my work. Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child, Steve Alton, Ian Fleming. I think Craig Johnson’s Longmire series actually helped me a lot with knowing when to let a reader fill in the blanks. I also love the conversations in the Longmire books because they seem so real and relatable.

Do you have a target reader?

I think anyone who has an open mind and wants a fast paced, high intensity read. I don’t think the book is limited to your typical “thriller” or “espionage” audience.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

My typical writing process involves writing an extensive outline where each paragraph serves as an outline for a chapter. Once I’ve got that, I plug it into my writing program and start filling in the blanks. It’s a very efficient way to work.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I extensively outline. As in, I describe what I want to happen in a chapter as a very detailed paragraph and fill in the rest later. Although I have recently experimented with writing on my phone and not having an outline at all. The resulting story had ten chapters written on the phone before I moved it to the computer. It will be a completed novel at some point next year.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I try to wait till I’m finished. However, if I go back and read a chapter to get myself caught up before starting the new chapter, I always end up editing any problems I see. I think it’s impossible for me to read it and not edit it.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I have not so far. I have been lucky enough to have several friends who are English Majors and were able to help me with the editing process. With the future, I can see it. But I also feel like you have to find an editor that is the right fit for you. It’s a collaborative process, so you have to find the right collaborator. Much like finding the right bandmates.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Sometimes. I do find I have to listen to strictly instrumental music. I can’t have lyrics play while I’m writing. Mostly I listen to latin jazz, or some other form of jazz while I write.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

No. I have not.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

Before I was a writer, I was a musician. I’ve been on record labels and been told when and where to play, and my band has also had its own label at another time and we told ourselves what to play and where. My time as an indie musician foreshadowed my desire to be an indie author. It’s the D.I.Y. spirit that drives you to control your own creativity and destiny in my opinion.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I actually created it myself. I do quite a bit of graphic design at my day job so I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like. I’m not against working with other people, indeed I would be interested to see other artists interpretations of my stories in the near future.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

This is my first book so I have a plan, but I feel it’s really important to be versatile. I’m always analyzing new techniques and how they could help me. I think it’s important to have a strategy but also to incorporate other ideas if you find something that works.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I’m a new author myself so my advice would be to go for it. I think the single most important thing you can do is write. Write as much as possible, whether it’s writing your own stuff, writing for a local newspaper, writing for a blog. It’s super important to get good at your craft so take any opportunity you can get to write.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Stanley, North Carolina, which is a small town outside of Charlotte NC. I spent a lot of time hanging out at the local library reading mostly science fiction and horror while my Mom worked at the local insurance office.

Where do you live now?

I currently reside in Brownsville, Texas, which is on the southernmost point of Texas on the Mexican border by the Gulf of Mexico. I love the culture, the weather, the food, and the beach in this region. It’s a wonderful place to live.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I’m approachable. Message me from my website and I guarantee I will message you back. I grew up on the Charlotte NC underground music scene so I know the value of community. Back in those days everyone had the “Do It Yourself” mentality and we all worked together to make our scene and community better. I still have that attitude. If you read my books, you’re family. I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read my stories.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on two novels. One is the sequel to Tears of the Dragon. The title of it right now is The Osiris Initiative, although that could change slightly. It takes things further down the rabbit hole than the first book, while also exploring the effects of the events of the first book on the characters. I’m having a lot of fun with it so far, which is a good sign.

The other novel I’m working on is a bit of an experiment. It’s called La Canicula and it started out as a writing exercise on my phone. I had read author Andrew Mayne talking about how you should maximize your writing to get as much done as possible. He advocated occasionally writing on your phone. So one day while I was waiting at the veterinarian, I pulled out my phone and just started writing a story. It’s important to point out I also decided to do this story without my usual plan of writing a full synopsis and working on filling it in. I decided that in addition to writing the story on my phone, I was also going to be a “pantser” on this one and just make it up as I went along. Long story short, I wrote the first ten chapters on my phone, before transferring it over to the computer. Now I’m continuing to write it without an outline. It’s a fun experiment to sort of see where the characters take me.

End of Interview:

For more from Ryan McGinnis visit his website, follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Get your copy of Tears of the Dragon from Amazon US or Amazon UK.