I can tell you that Ranch got me out of a writer’s slump last year when I saw one of his writing prompts on X–and keeps inspiring me to write. That is why I wanted to feature him on my blog because he is a writer for the writers–as you will see.
The first story of yours I ever read was part of your Acquiescent Yarn–talk about that series.
Acquiescent Writer started as a first-person nameless character who, as time progressed, needed his own story. His name, Ryder, is a kind of tongue-in-cheek homophone, and his occupation was journalism. As a child in the late ’70s and ’80s, I wanted him to be well-rooted as a city boy with a secret past and for that past to be a reversal from the norm—a riches-to-rags type. As the character grew, so did the world. I added characters so I moved into third person story telling. And now that the first novella is out, A Warm Place, I find that I like mixing the two styles to tell a broader narrative.
You created the Agency Magazine, describe its mission and aspirations.
I created an Agency Magazine to build a community. Sunny Morgan and I have been friends for a long time, and when she started Crush, I got the publication bee in my bonnet. I rounded up a posse (because that’s what you want to do when you want real Wyatt Earp Cowboy Shit), and I pressed the Start Publication button. The team acts as a group, from guidelines to writing prompts. The group chat consists of fights, big cries, annoyance, helping hands, and critical advice. It’s good therapy.
Our mission statement has changed a lot. Initially, we were looking for dark storytelling, but we’ve opened up and changed to all types to reach a wider audience. At our core, most of us like the darker stuff, so we lean that way heavily. In the end, we all love a good romance, so we publish long-form slow burners as well. In our last guide, we even opened it up for non-fiction blogs. Subsister, our therapy wing, has its own publication now. Nightlights is where we post poetry, Agency Magazine is our main hub for series and Randos, which has been very successful.
This past week The Agency created a new publication MicroXpressions, what inspired you to create that?
Our newest baby, MicroXpressions, daily prompt is on fire. We just want to stay active while also delivering great content.
MicroXpressions was just another prompt for me. I started Hundo a while back and wanted to sling words around again. I love Crush Publications, and I’m glad they have it going. I still write those when I can, and I always will, but the internet is a large place, and Medium has many writers, so why not?
How would you describe yourself as a writer?
Can I describe myself as a writer? I don’t know. I try new things every day, but I’m lazy most of the time. I’m nostalgic. I have written most of my stories in the past because I feel comfortable with less technology in the background. I try to rely on conversations filled with action, which, to some, can be boring. Even in my “erotica,” I leave some social commentary or tragedy because, as a whole, the best kinds of stories, for me, are the ones with a low chance of a happy ending. I think there are always consequences to sex. A Warm Place ends in pregnancy and a break up. Some Station stories deal with a child’s death because two people were struggling with their marriage. Reality can be shit. Sometimes, I have a hard time writing the fantasy that is an escape.
What is on the horizon for Ranch?
With the horizon comes my first two novels. Depending on which one is finished first because I can’t just work on one thing at a time, it could be Feral Funerals, a sequel of sorts to Station to Station or Degradation Street, An Acquiescent Writer Yarn. That story takes place right after 9/11, similar to the stories I’m writing in my MicroXpressions. Why do I romanticize about that background some would ask? Because I can think of no better time in recent American history when people would be more desperate to find love and happiness, when the world is burning around them.
Get A Warm Place by Ranch Hand