Ryan Steck
Lethal Range
Out for Blood (out 6/4/2024)
DOSSIER: As The Real Book Spy, how many books do you have and what are your two favorites not written by Ryan Steck?
STECK: I get, on average, 3-4 books per day, and that’s just the physical copies––whether it be galley copies or finished hardcovers––so, yeah. I have a lot of books. I actually took out a storage unit a couple of years ago because I’ve been getting that many books a day since 2014. Then I had to get a second storage unit. We moved in 2020, and the new house has a big basement, so I have a whole room dedicated to housing all of my books, most of which are kept in tubs. I’m not sure how many there are total, because I also buy books and had a collection well before launching The Real Book Spy and having so many sent to me, but it’s definitely in the thousands.
Two favorites? Two? That is so hard. I think either Transfer of Power or American Assassin by Vince Flynn, maybe Storm Watch by C.J. Box.
DOSSIER: What’s the best thing about your book series?
STECK: I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask this question to LOL. I mean, to me, the best part is that I’m paid to do what I love, which is write and create stories––a job I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. Content-wise, I really do think my series is unlike anything else out there right now. There’s certainly a C.J. Box-like vibe to it in some ways, but whereas his hero is a game warden, mine is a former Marine Raider who stands 6’3″ and 265 pounds of muscle. There are plenty of other modern Westerns on the market, but none have a hero quite like mine.
DOSSIER: Your character, Matthew Redd, walks into a bar with Mitch Rapp, Pike Logan, and Jack Reacher. They start arguing over who the best thriller writer is. Based on the meat-to-shirt-size ratio, who walks out?
STECK: I think they eventually all walk out the best of friends after a few pints. They might be all battered and bruised but after they destroyed the inside of the bar by throwing each other through walls and tables, they’d eventually become friends . . . and then the bad guys would really be in trouble.
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Music/silence/closet?)
STECK: When writing my first two books, Fields of Fire and Lethal Range, I primarily wrote at night after my kids were in bed. That had more to do with the fact that I was still working full-time as a freelance editor and a Book Spy. However, these days, I’m doing a lot less editing, and that means I have time to write during the day. I’m learning how to do that. I loved writing at night because I had all day to work out the scene in my head, and then once I could see it––almost like a movie playing in my head––I was able to write it.
Now, I usually get up by 5 am and shower, then head to Starbucks. I drive a big, tricked-out Tahoe (it was my one guilty-pleasure purchase when I signed my first book deal) fitted with a $6,000 sound system. It bumps! I like to create a playlist specific to each book I start writing. So, every single morning, usually seven days a week, I put on the playlist for the book I’m hammering away on, which right now is Redd #4, and let my speakers bleed as I drive. That helps me get into the right mindset to write. Plus, the music helps me imagine scenes. By the time I get home, coffee in hand and neighbors thoroughly annoyed by my music––Hardy, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Dierks Bentley are a few faves right now––I’m ready and excited to start writing.
DOSSIER: We all love the big names, Carr, Greaney, Thor, etc. Who are some of the other writers out there that people need to start reading today?
STECK: Claire Isenthal is a new author I am super excited about. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met, and I loved her debut, which comes out in October. Jack Stewart is another one. He and I have become fast friends, and I’m a fan of his stuff for sure. I don’t love flying, so I’m trying to get Mr. fighter pilot to take me down to Houston for a top-secret event we may be doing with another later this year!
Website: The Real Book Spy | Amazon page
Jeff Circle 