Ryan Roberts was in the seventh grade in 1994, the year that punk broke (again), and like so many others of his generation his life was completely changed upon hearing Dookie for the first time. Fitting then that his debut novel, Nimrod, finds Green Day at the center of its story. 

 

From the world of punk that Green Day introduced him to, Ryan then found himself immersed in the underground hardcore scene of the mid-nineties where he continued to come of age. Hardcore in the nineties was extremely ethics driven which is where Ryan picked up his passions for the DIY spirit, animal rights, maintaining a positive mental attitude, and respecting the environment. 

 

Inspired to become an active part of the scene, Ryan published his first fanzine, Counteract, back in 1996 at the ripe old age of 15 which lasted for a whopping single issue. A second edition was completed but never made it to the printers due to a lack of funds and an offer to play bass in a band. From then on he spent the next ten years playing in various bands, none of which you’ve ever heard of, before setting aside his bass guitar and opening up his laptop to create his second zine, Pins and Needles, which ran for three issues before transitioning into an online blog, which ran until he forgot the login information and let it die a digital death. 

 

The only thing that comes close to his love of music is Ryan’s penchant for reading. With the encouragement and support of his wife, Gia, he set out to write a novel. The laptop was opened again and the result: Nimrod, a coming-of-age story about a sheltered teenager wanting nothing more than to escape the confines of his home and to see for himself what the world has to offer.

 

Ryan is now hard at work on his second novel, entitled Thing of the Past, which finds a woman on the verge of turning forty and in the midst of a midlife crisis. His writing meets at the intersection of literature and music so with his second novel Ryan has incorporated Death Cab for Cutie into his story’s arc. 

 

Likely due to Seinfeld’s humor and storytelling playing such a formative role in his youth (and beyond), Ryan has an affinity for slice of life stories about regular people facing the complexities of the simple life. You will find no smoking guns in his novels, no dead bodies. Instead, you’ll encounter relatable stories about human beings, attempting to navigate their emotions in a confusing world and sharing some laughs about the absurdity of life along the way.