Please introduce yourself and your book(s)
My name is AJ Ryder, and I am a romance author. My specialties are fantasy romance as well as paranormal romance. I love world-building and getting creative with lore and characters, which is undoubtedly a direct result of my playing D&D.
Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories
The female leads in my books embody varying degrees of strength. Some are more quiet and reserved while others are more in your face about it. Regardless of how they display it, they all walk the line between damsel and badass. Basically, none of them hesitate in jumping into the fray to help their beloveds when situations go wrong. Likewise, they won’t turn away help from their men when it is offered.
The male leads in my books are all strong and protective. At first glance, they seem like the stereotypical alpha males, but they are actually very loving and supportive of their ladies. That is not, however, to say that they are perfect, because they are not. They each have their own set of flaws.
Both the leading men and women in my books have their flaws, but they work through them together. At the end of the day, they are a team. They are partners in love and in life, and they are that much stronger for it.
What lessons could readers learn about real-world relationships from your novel(s)?
Even when life gets hard, so long as you have a loving and understanding partner, you can handle anything that comes your way. That has been my own personal experience, and I try to incorporate that into my books.
What real-life relationship experiences, observations or insights have influenced your writing?
My husband and I have been through thick and thin together. Even when things were at their bleakest, we had each other, and we had love. That’s not to say that we never argue or bicker, because we do. It’s part of being human to have disagreements and misunderstandings; but, our love and our partnership are built on a very strong foundation. So long as we have that, then we can face anything life throws at us (and we have), and that’s the sort of relationship I try to incorporate into my romance novels.
Are there any relationship themes or topics you want to cover in future releases?
I might delve more deeply into the theme of finding love after suffering a heartbreak. I touched on it once in one of my books (Sharing the Witch), but I might go deeper into it in future books.
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