Seth Ring

I write pulpy adventure stories and aspirational heroes. My goal as an author is to leave my readers happier and more optimistic with every book of mine they read. I mostly write LitRPG, though I've written everything from Sci-Fi to post-apocalyptic slice of life fantasy to dark fantasy. My work is influenced by westerns and regency romances and classic fantasy, and more recently by a lot of progression and cultivation novels. All my stories are written for adults but are accessible to kids as young as 12 (or even younger if they're strong readers).

I spent my early years in Ghana, in West Africa and in California and Texas in the USA. Talk about two ends of the spectrum. I remember both places fondly, though for very different reasons, and I can trace the influence of each place I've lived in how I now write.

An aggressive one. I read everything that I could get my hands on. I came to reading later than most kids (I didn't learn to read till I was 9 years old) but once I discovered the magic of it I was reading adult books within six months. I still remember stumbling through the first adult book I read, Kiowa Trail by Louis L'Amour, and being absolutely fascinated by it. My mother, concerned that I was filling my mind with pulp, then set me on a steady diet of the classics, and in the three decades since, I've read widely and unceasingly.

Terry Pratchett. The blend of humor and grace and wit in Pratchett's work is masterful and few writers have had a greater grasp of comedic pacing. I'd love to be able to weave more humor into my stories while still maintaining the moments of seriousness that all good stories should carry.

The Bible (I know, its a book and not an author) holds the top spot. Regardless of your feelings on its validity, there isn't another book in human history that has had more literary (and philosophical) influence than the Bible, and I'm firmly convinced that any serious writer would do well to study it's pages.

Terry Pratchett, Louis L'Amour, Georgette Hayer, and Edgar Rice Burroughs are the authors I most often find myself going back to time and again. Without a doubt, their styles have played a large role in my development as a writer.

I don't often gift non-fiction books and I think Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the book I've gifted the most. Flow is a fabulous book on the psychology of optimal experience and how to increase the instances of optimal experience in your life. Oh, and Atomic Habits by James Clear. I've given out a lot of copies of that book too.

Ooh, this is a hard question. In truth, all my stories revolve around alienation and the discovery of community which mirrors my experience as a child and young adult.

Oh, come on. You can't make me choose. Generally, my favorite book is the one I've just finished writing or the one I just started. At this point, I think the series I'm most excited about continuing is my newest (surprise surprise), The Exlian Syndrome.

I prefer to write in as empty and calm a space as I possibly can. I jokingly refer to my writing station as my cubical, but its not actually a joke. I built a permanent cubical into my office so that when I am at my computer I'm surrounded by three blank walls. I try to keep my desk as free of clutter as possible and eliminate all distractions. My office is tucked in a back corner of the basement so once I shut the door there isn't much that can pull my attention away. Most importantly, I leave my phone upstairs.

I love reading on my porch, or on my couch in front of the fire if it is cold. But if you asked my wife, she'd tell you that my favorite place to read is while I walk around my house. I can often be found walking around, completing tasks with one hand while my other holds open my book so I can keep reading.