Ryan's first historical fiction novel, Royal Beauty Bright, won a gold medal in the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards and was a finalist for a Foreword Reviews 2019 INDIE Book of the Year Award. His short stories have been published in magazines and journals such as Pembroke Magazine, Italian America, and Sketch. Ryan's favorite books include Our Souls at Night, Swamplandia!, Interpreter of Maladies, The Grapes of Wrath, and The God of Small Things. When Ryan is not writing fiction, he volunteers with local nonprofits and hikes.