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Ryan Stalder grew up in Mt. Shasta, California, and lives in Ashland, Oregon, where he works as the manager of the Barnes & Noble Campus Bookstore. He has a BA in English from Southern Oregon University with a minor in Creative Writing.
Stalder is the author several books, including Deja Vu, a mind bending dystopian novel, and A Dead Man’s Legacy: A Geocaching Thriller. He has a few novels in the works, including The Walk (releasing April 1st, 2026, and Intertwined.
Ed Battistella: Tell us about your most recent book, A Dead Man’s Legacy?
Ryan Stalder: A Dead Man’s Legacy is a novel that I have wanted to write for a long time, and I was actually able to complete it as part of my capstone project at SOU. I have been Geocaching since 2009, but got more into the activity over the past couple of years. I knew that I wanted to combine my love of writing and Geocaching into something unique. I had never read a novel about Geocaching, so I decided to write one. The main question was “what genre would it be?” I settled on mystery/thriller, which was the perfect fit for the story I wanted to tell.
A Dead Man’s Legacy follows a teenager as he rediscovers his love for Geocaching. A new Geocache is published in his town, but this is no ordinary Geocache. He soon discovers the danger of the “Geocache.” It is up to him to find the cache and discover who is behind the mystery, before others get hurt, or worse.
A Dead Man’s Legacy is book one in my Geocaching series. I already have plans for books two and three.
EB: Who is the audience for your books?
RS: I would say that A Dead Man’s Legacy is more geared towards middle school and high school readers. I do believe, however, that anyone will be able to enjoy my books. For instance, my upcoming release The Walk is a young adult dystopian novel, but it would definitely be enjoyable to adults as well.
EB: You’ve been writing and publishing for more than ten years now. How did you get started. And how has your style changed?
RS: I got started in the world of writing and publishing because my grandma wrote and self-published a book. That was the first exposure that I had to the self-publishing world. I have always had an active imagination, and all I needed was an outlet. Writing my own stories allowed me to express myself and get my words out to the public.
I would say that my style has changed by expanding the books/authors that I am reading. The best way to get better at writing is to read more. Stephen King is my favorite author, so I would say that I base some of my writing off of his style.
EB: You have done some self-publishing. What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing for a novelist?
RS: Advantages: You don’t have to answer to anyone. It is up to you to get your work out to the world. You also are the one who decides on the release dates of your novels. With self-publishing you don’t have as much rejection as you get with traditional publishing.
Disadvantages: There may not be as much rejection, but rejection comes in other forms. For a self-published author it is in the form of low book sales.
All the marketing is on your shoulders. If you have a day where you don’t feel like marketing your book, it doesn’t get done. There are also a lot of authors self-publishing these days, so it has become really competitive.
EB: Who are some of your influences?
RS: As far as authors go, Stephen King and Anthony Horowitz are my biggest influences. They are my two favorite authors right now.
My other influences are my family. My mom, dad and brother have always supported me in my writing career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They are always eager to read my new books and support me in any way they can.
EB: What are you working on currently, novel-wise?
RS: I have a couple of novels that are in various stages. “The Walk” is my next book to be released. It is a dystopian cult novel. It follows Henry Nelson, a teenager who is supposed to spend the summer working in his dad’s retail shop. While there, he notices some odd occurrences. There is a group of “walkers” who make the same walking path several times a day. Henry decides to follow one of them, and what he discovers alters his understanding of the town that he grew up in. “The Walk” is set to release on April 1st, 2026.
I am also in the process of writing a family drama called “Intertwined.” I can’t share much about that book, but I hope that it will be released at the end of the year or early next year. I’m really excited about this one and can’t wait for others to read it.
EB: Thanks for talking with us.
RS: Thank you for having me. I’m looking forward to the future with my writing.
