RYAN HARVEY 101: An Introduction to Me


But one thing is certain. Man himself, at the very least, is music, a brave theme that makes music also of its vast accomplishments, its matrix of storms and stars. Man himself in his degree is eternally a beauty in the eternal form of things. It is very good to have been a man. And so we may go forward together with laughter in our hearts, and peace, thankful for the past, and for our own courage. For we shall make after all a fair conclusion to this brief music that is man.

—Olaf Stapledon, from Last and First Men

I was born Ryan Dean Harvey in Washington, D.C. in the early 1970s (vague enough for you?), and as a young child lived briefly in Augusta, GA. But I’ve called Los Angeles and the Great Republic of California my home since the age of four. The only extended period of time I have spent away from L.A. since my family first moved here occurred during college. I attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where I majored in History and minored in Media Studies. (I know it sounds strange for a “raised in the sunny climes of So. Ca” boy to choose to freeze himself for four years in Minnesota, but that’s how it happened—and it all came out for the best in the end.)

After graduation and my return to Los Angeles, I worked a number of different jobs, similar to almost any writer finding his way: film editor (I worked on a little-known family science-fiction film called Star Kid, and my name is on the credits), copyeditor for a defunct website, speed reading teacher, film development executive, office administration, and television show writer (I worked on the MTV show Undressed during its first season, but received no credit).

I started writing screenplays during college, and continued with screen work until 2000, when I turned to novels and started what would eventually become Z-Dancer. I haven’t looked back—I’ve worked on one novel after the other, and always have three projects in various stages of development.

I currently reside in Century City, nestled between Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, and spend my days working in account administration at the largest commodities brokerage firm on the west coast. (I am not now nor ever will be an actual trader, although I do have a Series 3 license. The world of big business just isn’t my temperament beyond the means to fund my writing activities.) Unlike most writers whom I read about in the short biographies on the inside flaps of their books, I don’t live with three cats and a parakeet. Actually, I’m allergic to most pets. I spend my weekends swing dancing, seeing movies, reading voraciously, and hanging out with my friends and family.

MY INTERESTS
  • Swing dancing (eleven years and still going!)
  • Fantasy and Science Fiction
  • Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and The Punisher
  • Cornell Woolrich collecting
  • J.R.R. Tolkien studies
  • Robert E. Howard studies
  • Pulp literature and history
  • Book collecting
  • Middle Eastern history
  • Film scores
  • Jazz
  • Giant monster movies, especially Godzilla
  • James Bond (the Ian Fleming novels in particular)
  • Westerns
  • Film Noir
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000
MY FAVORITE NOVELS
  • The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich
  • The Long Goodbye by Ryamond Chandler
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
  • The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
  • The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
  • Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock
  • The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
  • The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
  • Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
  • The Hour of the Dragon by Robert E. Howard
  • The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
MY FAVORITE MOVIES
  • Chinatown
  • King Kong (1933)
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales
  • Pan’s Labyrinth
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Once Upon a Time in the West
  • The Searchers
  • Godzilla (1954)
  • Godzilla vs. Mothra
  • Unforgiven
  • Don’t Look Now
  • Airplane!
  • Duck Soup
  • Tron

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