YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian
Date Published: 01-01-2024
Plug your ears. And whatever you do, don't look. The war for humanity has begun.
Cameron “Jet” Shipley was there when they arrived in 2026. He, and everyone else, lived through the next decade and a half, learning to hide. Learning to never make a sound. Learning the most important rule of all:
You just..don’t…look.
The year is now 2042, and humanity is eking out an existence in the shadows.
Cameron and his team are sent out on a recon mission in Clarksville Tennessee, with events and developments that may alter the trajectory of Earth’s fate… and his own.
Joined by newcomers Bassett and Trudy, Cameron and his brother Rut will have to contend with a powerful force that has laid waste to the planet and annihilated over eighty-five percent of Earth’s civilization.
Will Jet’s expeditions lead him on a slippery slope of discovery that demands accountability and answers?
Or will it plunge the earth, and everything in it, into further dissonance?
“Aliens” meets “A Quiet Place” in this dystopian sci-fi thriller series.
Interview with Aaron Ryan
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
Well, specifically I’ve read The Lord of the Rings nigh on 150x. I absolutely love the story and it’s really sculpted how I look at fiction/fantasy. It was the first creative work that I really exposed myself to and became inspired by, way back in my youth. But more recently, reading Marie Lu’s “Legend” series was truly eye-opening with the dual-first-person approach, and I love her storytelling style.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Most often by using mashups of names of the people in my life: either at my church, in my neighborhood, or in my family/friends circles. I’ll take the first name of that person and the last name of that other person, and then put them together.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
In my Dissonance trilogy, each chapter begins and ends with virtually the same sentence. It’s ushering in closure to that particular segment, while setting up the next. It’s more like an easter egg until you really discover what’s happening with each chapter later, and you go back and compare the beginnings and endings.
What was your hardest scene to write?
I died when I had to kill off my first character. It disassembled me. I was bawling in the writing, bawling in the editing, and bawling in the voiceover narration. I hate playing God, but it was necessary to advance the character arc of the protagonist and be a catalyst for him to move forward on his journey.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I do want them to stand on their own, and I think they do, due to the breadth and depth of the story present in each volume, but there really is a sense of continuity at the end of each novel that leaves you craving the next installment. And that’s the way it should be with any good trilogy: it should leave you wanting more. I do appreciate closure, but I also like leaving the door open just a sliver to allow…hmmm….possibilities. 😊
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
With Volume I, I really wanted to setup a trilogy that would grow in tension and conflict until ultimate resolution in Volume III. I think I’ve achieved that, or rather, am achieving that as we speak. As of this writing, I’m 159 pages into Volume III, and it’s really accomplishing that end. Ultimately, however, I just really wanted to A) tell a good story, and B) achieve verisimilitude. I wanted people to believe this could actually happen.
What inspired you to writeDissonance Volume I: Reality?
“Dissonance Volume I: Reality” my first foray into fiction in years. I had written and published several voiceover business books, but ultimately, with the continuing erosion of the industry payscale in voiceovers, AI nipping at the margins, client lowballing and colleague underbidding, it was time to branch out. I thought, I’ve written and published several books, and I had previously ventured into fiction in the early 90’s, and heck, many of my 300 voiceover blogs employed a certain dose of fiction: I was no stranger to it…so why not write a fiction trilogy!
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Dissonance or what you have planned for the future?
Dissonance Volume 2: Reckoning picks up 10 days right where Dissonance Volume I: Reality left off. It will see major developments in the protagonist’s story, huge developments and narratives that help you understand the sinister nature of the chief enemy, and Dissonance Volume 3: Renegade is all about the conflict and the resulting resistance that springs up to prevent another massive cataclysm.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Dissonance Volume I: Reality?
Certainly! Sergeant Cameron “Jet” Shipley is the protagonist, along with his younger brother, Wyatt Rutledge “Rutty” Shipley, who are US Armed Forces personnel sent out on daily recons for supplies and survivors. Lieutenant Allison Trudy becomes the love interest of Cameron Shipley. Staff Sergeant Bassett is the wiser, sager mentor who at first appears nefarious but turns out to be a really good guy and friend. The main characters in Volume I are what you typically don’t see: the gorgons. They are alien invaders who have the power to telepathically immobilize you once you lock eyes with them. Then they eat you to their leisure. They are out there, and you cannot look at them.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
What I most enjoyed was the fact that every great story should have two stories. The main plot that you think you see, and the subplot that you don’t see. What our protagonist slowly discovers is that he’s ending up fighting two enemies, and that slow awakening is producing great angst and mistrust in him to the point of vengeance, which he must reckon with.
About the Author
Aaron Ryan lives in Washington with his wife and two sons, along with Macy the dog, Winston the cat, and Merry & Pippin, the finches.
He is the author of the “Dissonance” series, several business books on multimedia production penned under a pseudonym, as well as a previous fictional novel, “The Omega Room.”
When he was in second grade, he was tasked with writing a creative assignment: a fictional book. And thus, “The Electric Boy” was born: a simple novella full of intrigue, fantasy, and 7-year-old wits that electrified Aaron’s desire to write. From that point forward, Aaron evolved into a creative soul that desired to create.
He enjoys the arts, media, music, performing, poetry, and being a daddy. In his lifetime he has been an author, voiceover artist, wedding videographer, stage performer, musician, producer, rock/pop artist, executive assistant, service manager, paperboy, CSR, poet, tech support, worship leader, and more. The diversity of his life experiences gives him a unique approach to business, life, ministry, faith, and entertainment.
Aaron’s favorite author by far is J.R.R. Tolkien, but he also enjoys Suzanne Collins, James S.A. Corey, Marie Lu, Madeleine L’Engle, C.S. Lewis, and Stephen King.
Aaron has always had a passion for storytelling.
Aaron is the admin of the Authors & Writers Only group on Facebook.
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