OUR NEIGHBORS: Former Colony cross country standout publishes novel

PALMER — To Ryan Quinn, writing a novel is much like training for a future in cross country skiing. It’s a long and demanding, yet rewarding, process.

Quinn knows this because he has done both.

The former cross country ski standout who starred at Colony High and the University of Utah is now a published author. His first novel, “The Fall,” was released this month and is available for sale through a variety of outlets.

“It’s surprising how similar it feels,” Quinn said recently by phone from his home in Los Angeles, comparing his efforts on the ski trails to those that led to the completion of his first work of fiction. “Writing a novel requires the same discipline as training in an endurance sport, in the sense you’ve got to get out there every day and put in some time. You correct the mistakes you make over time and eventually get to your goal.”

“The Fall” follows the journey of three college students — Ian, Casey and Haile — whose paths intersect during their senior year at a New England university. While the 1999 graduate of Colony High was interested in writing in high school, his own personal journey didn’t begin with his sights immediately set on a future as a published novelist. His English teachers at Colony High sparked his interest, Quinn said, and he worked in publishing for several years after graduating from Utah.

“I guess it probably started in high school, there was a great English program at Colony High. I started realizing the power of words,” Quinn said. “By the end of college, I was sort of thinking, maybe I could write a novel?”

Quinn was a business administration major in school before becoming interested in publishing.

“It was not always just the writing side, it was the industry as a whole,” Quinn said.

After college, Quinn moved to New York and stated working in publishing. It was there where he began his work on “The Fall.”

Quinn admitted the idea for his work came before an overwhelming desire to become a novelist.

“I had the idea that needed to be written,” Quinn said. “It was more of the idea that sort of gave me the motivation to actually write it.”

“The Fall” is a coming-of-age story with the focus set on his three main characters — Ian, Casey and Haile. Quinn chose a unique way to present his work, with his three characters, at separate times, the subject of the first-person narrative.

“I wanted it not to be one main character. There are three characters who are all at the same stage in life, a pretty interesting stage of life,” Quinn said. “They’re coming from different places, have different ideas of where they want to be going.”

“The Fall” tackles complicated issues such as sexuality, and Quinn use contemporary references — Facebook posts and other pop culture references — to give the work a modern feel.

Quinn said the Facebook references were also used to clearly define the transition from one voice to another.

“It became a challenge having the story be told by each of the characters in the first person,” Quinn said. “It was a challenge writing it, and a challenge for the reader to tell them apart.”

“The Fall” is a contemporary college story, but Quinn sees his work appealing to a much more broad audience.

“It has a pretty universal sentiment,” Quinn said.

“The Fall” is not exactly autobiographical, but Quinn said his own path and experiences helped inspire the work.

“There’s pieces of me in each of them, I guess,” Quinn said of the main characters.

It took about five years for Quinn to complete the project. The first draft, Quinn said, he cranked out in about a year.

“(The first draft) was a good 100 pages longer than this,” Quinn said. “Over time, you start to look at the things that didn’t advance the course of the story. The first finish, you love it all. It sounds like music to you, but you take six months and come back. It gets easier to edit yourself over time.”

Quinn said, in the beginning, he didn’t realize the work it would take to complete the novel.

“If I knew ahead of time how much work it would be, I probably wouldn’t have started it,” Quinn said. “But you get into it, get passionate about the idea and the story, you don’t think too much about how hard it will be along the way. You’re doing it because you love it.”

But now that his novel is complete, published and for sale, Quinn is excited about his work. The former skier, who was part of a state championship team at Colony and an NCAA Division I championship squad at Utah, has settled into life as a novelist and has already started his second work. Quinn said he hopes to reach a broader audience with his next novel. He said he has a version that he hesitates to call a first draft. He’s also taking some time away from writing as “The Fall” reaches Internet sites and bookshelves.

“The Fall” is available for purchase at ryanquinnbooks.com or retailers such as amazon.com. The book can also be ordered by local retailers. For more, see facebook.com/ryanquinnbooks.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.