Welcome to another week of Author Chat. This week’s guests are Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood. They did the interview like they write their books, together. That means we get two sets of answers instead of one. Interesting fact: Ryan and Joshua don’t live far from me, though we’ve never met. (I’ll need to change that once we get my daughter vaccinated.) They write steamy MM hockey romance novels like their current release, Fire in the Ice.
Check out their interview to learn more about this awesome writing duo, make sure you join their mailing list, and enter the giveaway.
Now, let’s chat with Ryan and Joshua!
ACwA Guest: Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
How did the first story you ever wrote influence your career as an author and how do you feel about that story now?
Ryan: Our first book, No Brief Affair, has a good amount of autobiography in it. It started out as the story of our own romance and marriage, which we tweaked into a work of fiction. Putting the book together gave us a love of writing romance, and we’ve written eight gay romance books now.
Josh: From that book and its sequel, we learned a lot not only about writing fiction, but also about characters and character development. Having to remake our characters into fictional versions of ourselves taught us a lot about what to do and not to do. We feel that writing good, memorable characters is one of the things we do best.
Ryan: In terms of how we feel about No Brief Affair currently, the brutal truth is that I don’t think we’d write it again. We put too much of ourselves into it, so some of the negative reviews really hurt. We learned it’s better to allow fiction to be fiction.
Josh: I agree, but I wouldn’t take anything from the book. We’re proud of it, and people like
Which of your characters is most like you (or someone close to you.)
Ryan: Liam Macadam, one of the main characters in No Brief Affair who also appears in some of the other books is a lot like me.
Josh: By the same token, John Lawrence from No Brief Affair is very much like me.These choices make sense because the characters were actually based on us.
What is your favorite trope and why?
Ryan: Probably hurt/comfort, because in the comfort/salvation you get to see some of the best of humanity.
Josh: I agree. The characters are not only drawn together, but there has to be a lot of trust and determination. The hurt character has to learn to trust the comforter, and the comforter has to be drawn to the hurt character enough to withstand inconsistencies and mixed messages.
Ryan: You see this played out very well in our book Too Close to the Flame. The characters are irresistibly drawn to each other, but one tries to hold back for fear of being hurt again. The other character has to work hard to earn his trust.
How many half-written stories are on your hard-drive and what do you plan to do with them?
Josh: Not too many, actually. We’re pretty good at finishing what we start. There are some, of course.
Ryan: The book we’re working on now was actually one of those false starts. We liked it, but it wasn’t the right time. Now, we’re loving it.
Josh: We’ve changed quite a bit from the first go-round, but we still have the same characters and general storyline.
Ryan: Some of the others may become books or short stories in time too.
What are you working on next?
Ryan: Lately, we’ve been writing a set of hockey romances. I say “set” instead of “series” because we work hard to make sure they’re all good standalones, but the books are related in many ways.
Josh: Our current WIP is another of those hockey books. We aren’t ready to talk too much about it, but of course there’s a hot professional hockey player who falls in love with another hot guy.
Ryan: (Snickers.) Is that all we’re going to say, babe?
Josh: I think that’s all we’re going to say for now. Stay tuned!
Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood’s Newest Release
BLURB
What if love threatened to destroy everything you’d worked for?
Hockey right winger Tyler Jensen isn’t thrilled to get the news he’s been traded to the Bethesda Barracudas. The team may be red-hot in the rankings, but there’s someone there he’d rather not have to see every day.
Defenseman Kevin Moore is one of the top-rated rookies in the country. He’s living the dream playing for the Barracudas—until he hears that his old high-school crush Tyler is joining the team. Ty was once everything Kev wanted, but their age difference got in the way. Tyler decided a three-year gap was too much and left Kevin behind.
In Bethesda, Tyler doesn’t take long to notice that Kevin has grown up into precisely the kind of man he can’t resist—brawny, brainy, and beautiful. Kev feels the pull too, and as the men become closer, they work hard to keep their budding relationship secret. Professional hockey may be welcoming gay players now, but Ty and Kev aren’t sure management would like the idea of two Barracudas taking teamwork to an entirely new level.
As the playoffs loom, news of their romance gets out. Ty and Kev, caught in a storm of controversy that threatens to destroy them, need a power play to save their careers. How will they find one before it’s too late?
Fire in the Ice delivers on the promise that second chances can work and dreams can come true. If you like exciting hockey, plenty of humor, a beautiful HEA, new adults, young athletes, and enough heat to burn down the house, this book is for you. Approximately 81,000 words.
Buy Links
Giveaway!
Ryan & Josh have come here bearing gifts!
Want to win a MOBI copy of Fire in the Ice by Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood?
Here’s your chance! All you gotta do to enter is –
– Join Ryan & Josh’s official Facebook group
– Leave a comment to this post
About Ryan & Josh
Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and share their home with a big, cuddly German shepherd. Ryan and Josh enjoy travel, friends, and advocating for causes dear to their hearts. Ryan also loves to swim, and Josh likes to putter in the garden whenever he can. The romance they were so lucky to find with each other inspires their stories about love between out and proud men.
I really enjoyed this interview.
Not entering. I loved Fire in the Ice. I’d just like to say that your books do stand alone very well. But I think you should link them into a series. Why? Because a lot of readers really like to read stories in chronological order even if they do stand alone. I know of a lot of series where the books are only loosely connected but still let readers know the order if they want to read them that way. 🥰
Loved the interview! I have read and own all of their books. Loved them all! They each are special on their own. I love their style of writing and how the characters feel so real.
N/E – Thank you! This looks great! It’s a great book and I wholeheartedly believe everyone should read it. As many people will tell you, it stands alone very well. Whether you are a series lover or prefer individual stand-alones, this book is one you shouldn’t pass up. We all have personal preferences but the main thing you should know is that this book is full of heart, love, hope, and wonderful agae appropriate characters that will steal your heart as you read it. Goofy grins and warm fuzzies are on the horizon for you when you pick it up.
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Great interview! I loved the book and would love to listen to the audio. The hockey season is done for the moment but it never ends for hockey romances!
Great interview and I am so looking forward to your next book.
I feel sad that you were hurt by comments about No Brief Affair but love that you still include ‘bits’ of you in your books up to now❤️