Ryan Sean O'Reilly

I took to books at an early age and can still remember my father reading J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to me at bedtime. When I could read on my own, my mother brought home books from the library for my siblings and me. She tells me, that I would look at the covers and say "not interested", but if she left them on my night stand I couldn't help, but devour them—the genres and titles didn't seem to matter. Growing up the oldest of five children outside the city of Chicago, our house was always teeming with activity—so it may be no wonder that I enjoyed staying up late to read when things were quiet. There was always something transcendent about disappearing into another world while the rest of the house slept. Books taught me so much about myself and the world around. I've crossed through a few different genres trying to find my voice but mostly dwell in fantasy, science fiction, and literary fiction. A few authors who have inspired me are: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Frank Herbert, Richard Adams, J.K. Rowling, Douglass Adams and William Shakespeare. Official website: www.ryanseanoreilly.com When I'm not writing, I cohost the podcast: "No Deodorant In Outer Space" (www.nodeodorant.com).