One Queen of an Ending
Zachary Ryan
(The High School Queens Trilogy, #3)
Published by: Kingston Publishing Company
Publication date: August 26th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
It’s time to say goodbye to our Johnson Prep favorites before they all head off to college.
After the gossip-worthy events of graduation and the shocking death of one of their classmates, it seems The Queen of Queens wants to give Danielle, Bethany, Calvin, Tucker, and Aman one last hurrah.
Will everything have a happy ending, or will one of our favorites end up 6 feet under? How will the war end with the salacious arrival of returning students, Andrew and Jasmine? They all had one lesson left to learn: Just because high school is over, doesn’t mean the high school drama ends. They’re all about to take their curtain call, but will it end as a comedy or a tragedy?
Discover this sultry and thrilling end to the High School Queens Series.
Please welcome Zachary for an interview!
1.
Did you
always know you wanted to be a writer or did you want to be something
else?
I think for me I’ve always been writing. I wanted to be a crime
investigator, a lobbyist, and a therapist, but the one thing that always was
consistent in my life was to be a writer.
2.
How long
does it take you to write a book from start to finish?
It takes me 1-2 months to write a novel. Editing takes me another month
too.
3.
How do you
come up with themes for your stories?
I honestly just start thinking of characters, and then I let them tell
the story. Eventually the themes come themselves.
4.
Do you have
a schedule of when you write?
I try to either start on the first of the month or the fifteenth of the
month. I don’t know why it makes me feel right to start then.
5.
How are you
able to balance other aspects of your life with your writing?
I honestly have to clue how I’m able to write, have a full-time job, and be in a loving
relationship. I’m blessed it takes me maybe an hour to write a chapter, so I’m lucky about all of that.
6.
What
elements do you think make a great story line?
Have characters that you can really connect with. If people don’t find
something in the characters to bond with then they don’t want to root for them
to succeed.
7.
What was
the hardest thing about writing a book?
Descriptions Descriptions Descriptions. I hate writing them so much, and
I always get clocked for lack of them.
8.
How many
books have you written so far? Do you have a favorite?
I’ve written around fifty books. I would say I have a top three.
Letters, The Revenged Queen, and Homosexual Thirst Trap. Letters because it was
my experience coming out. The Revenged Queen because it’s such a bitch book,
and I’m obsessed. Homosexual Thirst Trap because it’s about my crazy group of
gay friends, and it’s funny but meaningful. It balances the humor and meaningness
that I’ve been searching for in my novels.
9.
Do you have
a favorite character?
Caleb from Lost Friend Found. I found so much of myself in that
character. It killed me that he died, and I wished so much he got a happy
ending. The book opens to Caleb’s funeral.
10.
Where do
you write?
I
have an office where I have a corkboard that has all my ideas for this book,
and where I want to plan everything.
11.When deciding on how to publish, what directed you to the route you
took?
I self-published, and I got critiqued about my editing. I got lucky
because I hired someone to edit a novel of my mine, and she had a publishing
company, Kingston Publishing. I got lucky because they’ve been so wonderful.
12. Have you
gotten feedback from family about your book(s)? What do they think?
My parents are proud of me, but they never read any of my work. They’re
not huge readers.
13. What kinds
of things do you like to do outside of writing?
Volleyball and being social with my friends. I will also lay on my couch
binge watching tv with my fiancé.
14. What kinds
of advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing?
Have fun and be obsessed with what you’re writing. You need to just be
obsessed with what you’re doing because if you don’t then your readers won’t
either.
15. What is
your favorite book? favorite author? Do you have an author that
inspired/inspires you to write?
Favorite book is Fan Girl by Rainbow Rodwell, but I love Giovanni’s Room
by James Baldwin, and Great Gatsby. I don’t think I have a writer that ever
inspired me to write. Music by Lana Del Rey has inspired me the most to write.
16. Do you have
any go to people when writing a book that help you with your story lines as
well as editing, beta reading and such?
My best friend Erika helps me with all of my books, and my novels have
gotten so much better because of her.
17. Are you
working on anything now?
I’m currently working on the spin off series for The High School Queens
trilogy. I’m on the second book of the series.
18. Tell us 5
things that make you smile
My Fiance’s laugh. It’s so dumb, but when he laughs, I die. Hanging out
with friends makes my soul calm. Jameson. Just all the Jameson. Working on a
novel. Hanging with my dad.
20. If you could travel anywhere in the world to visit a place so you
could use it as a background for a book, where would it be?
Author Bio:
Zachary Ryan grew up in a black-and-white box in Maryland, before moving to Chicago to start a new life. There, he found that he was accepted for his misfit status--and learned that it's perfectly normal to spend your twenties feeling lost and confused.
After a disastrous sexual encounter, Ryan stumbled on a group of true friends, or "soul cluster," that he connected with. Through his writing, he hopes to help other broken souls out there find comfort amid the chaos.
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me about this book.
ReplyDeleteI love everything Zachary Ryan writes. I read them all.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to read this book!
ReplyDeleteGreat cover.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading The High School Queens Trilogy! Thank you
ReplyDeleteI love the cover and it sounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDelete