Ryan Cipriani

There are a lot of writers out there- but storytellers are a rarer breed. Everyone loves a good story: a fairytale, a thriller, a romantic yarn, or a glimpse at worlds and times far, far away. Ryan Cipriani has written a few books, but what he is most proud of is telling a story. Growing up somewhere between the cornfields of rural Ohio and a small steel town on the banks of Lake Erie made escaping into stories a natural destination. Ryan was an early reader (despite not being able to skip or juggle), and his love of books quickly turned to writing his own. He wrote and illustrated his own ghost stories and superhero epics with just a few sheets of paper, some colored pencils, and a couple of staples. Rainy afternoons were for writing, even in childhood. It’s been a long journey since those early days. The call of the stage was an irresistible siren song, and Ryan spent his late teenage years and early twenties performing. He was never far from the spotlight, whether in costume by day or in a heavy metal band by night. Eventually, the glitz wore off, and he hung up the guitar to return to his true creative passion: writing. In the years that followed, Ryan would go on to write what he considers his seminal work, the sagas of Krög, the Battle Prince. A satirical epic that is equally a send-up of high fantasy and homage to the greats of the past, Krög’s tales span eight novels, written between 2013 and 2015. Allegorically inspired by some of Ryan’s experiences, they combine his love of humor and adventure with a tragic love story set against the backdrop of apocalyptic events. Drawing on retro video game culture, classic 80s heavy metal, and B-Horror movies to shape a unique and compelling world, the annuls of Krög serve as a playground for pop culture references and rollicking snarky adventure. Although Krög and Company form the backbone of Ryan’s work, he often writes in the science fiction, horror, and supernatural thriller genres. Some of his other works include the claustrophobic cosmic horror “A Fathom Infinite,” and he was a contributing writer to the ill-fated online pulp fiction publication ‘The Lemonade Stand Massacre.’ He also enjoys writing speculative fiction set in the present and future times and is currently working on a compilation of short stories entitled ‘The Wrong Universe.’ Still a lover of goofy, over-the-top heavy metal and cult classic movies with ridiculous plots, Ryan spends his free time sifting through the schlockier pop culture of yesteryear. A quote from Ryan. “I think a lot of fantasy authors want to be J.R.R. Tolkien- arguably the Led Zeppelin of the fantasy genre. The greatest. In a league of his own. If I could leave any lasting influence on the genre, it would be as the Motley Crüe of fantasy. Dirty, tongue-in-cheek, and rebellious. The kind of stories that may not change the world- but you’ll want to hear them again and again.