Exclusive author interview with Ryan W Keyser on Surfwater and Lanessa

That movie Bella Mafia and TV series Walker, Texas Ranger gave me ideas on how write Lanessa. In real life some of The Beach Boys went to Hawthorne High School. I decided write about some of the members of Surfwater being graduates from Nederland High School and South Park High School. During 9^th grade I attended South Park. I have been living in Nederland, Texas for 25 years. This town is 89 miles east from Houston. In the past some famous people were once residents in Nederland. Which lead to my idea to say the fictionalized band Surfwater began in this area?

If you are not a musician, how can you relate to this book?

While I was an elementary school student I was in a stage band during 4^th and 5^th grades. Had I never been a musician to begin with, the history of contemporary jazz, instrumental rock and surf rock still would have influenced some of my ideas in Surfwater. The kinds of music I like would be how I would relate to a novel about the music business. In real life Brian Wilson and Sir Paul McCartney are highly recognized for some of the great songs that they have composed. They are some of the reasons why the Amy Garrison is the essential character in Surfwater.

Reviews have said that Surfwater seems more like fact than fiction, so how have your achieved this authenticity to your writing?

I used some of my knowledge about real bands to write about a fictionalized band. A number of novels have a tendency to seem realistic. That novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an example. I think highly of her although I don’t try imitating her style of writing.    

How important is music in your life?

On a scale of 1 to 10 I say that importance of music is a 7.                                                                                                                       

How difficult is to convey sounds in writing?

I have never had any difficulty constructing a story one paragraph at a time. Naming the characters has always been the difficult part of writing.

Why did you decide to set Lanessa in Texas?

I have lived in Texas all of my life. 

How did you avoid the sophomore bounce with your second novel?

Actually I didn’t realize how much ability I have to write novels until Publish America accepted my second manuscript. In 2005 I looked back at what I learned in English classes during my school days. I decided to write some novels although I never had any book writing or journalism classes in college. I am obviously a natural writer.