Ryan Garcia has never been bored. Always a traveler, Ryan has been at home nearly all over the United States—Alaska, California, Oregon, Arizona, etc. He’s led a life of many hats from working at a well-known chain store, being a regular on a weekly radio program, managing a coastal resort, owning his own business, studying film design and video game design, and teaching himself graphic design, coding, and web design on the side.
A year and a half ago, Ryan settled into his next adventure, trading his day job for a fulfilling night shift as an Emergency Communication Specialist for Maine Department of Public Safety (Maine, USA), the busiest PSAP in the state managing police, fire, and medical calls for 12 different agencies, including the coastline.
Already credited with a CPR save, Ryan no longer feels like the new guy, though he’s always learning. With no previous experience in public safety (aside from a short stint working in corrections in Florida (USA)), Ryan has leaned upon his exceptional, dynamic co-workers—including EMTs and those within the fire service—to build knowledge of various CADs, terminology, and the state’s geography. When in doubt, he applies their motto: “Answer the call, send help, and keep everyone safe.”
In the quiet hours of the night, Ryan’s mind escapes to a world of his own creation, which helps him avoid overthinking each call and focusing on difficult outcomes. “Writing takes my mind off potential external stressors,” Ryan said.
Writing has always been a passion for Ryan, though his creative aspirations suffered a sudden halt 20 years ago when his life’s writings were stolen along with his car and all his possessions over a Thanksgiving holiday in Tennessee (USA). With everything lost, beginning his writing journey again felt insurmountable, until now.
“Time and adversity can be great teachers—success from failure,” Ryan said. Utilizing newfound quiet time at the console, Ryan typed the nights away and was shocked to realize he already had 10,000 words written with ideas still swirling. He plotted out a five-book series loosely based on a character and storyline he created within his group of college classmates’ game of Dungeons and Dragons. His writing continues the imaginative adventure.
“‘The Grimm Forge’ series (written under the pen name R.J. Stenson) starts off as a hero’s journey,” Ryan said. “It begins with a fish-out-of-water scene where the main character is coping with a reality that shouldn’t exist, introducing twists that lead to a broader world beyond.”
With inspiration from authors such as James S.A. Corey, Terry Goodkind, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the memoir of Stephen King (another Maine resident), Ryan’s realm explores his passions for both science fiction and fantasy, with a nod toward the art of suspense.
Having written over 125,000 words in his manuscript over six months’ time, Ryan plans to revise his debut novel and pursue traditional publication routes, having designed his own website to promote its eventual release.
As an alternate possibility, Ryan has already explored the realm of self-publishing with a simpler project for children. Earlier this year, he wrote and designed a 911 coloring book as an exercise to combine his role in public safety with his side hobbies, choosing to self-publish the book to gain exposure to that process on a smaller scale.
When he’s not taking calls or writing battle scenes, Ryan has discovered a niche for applying his graphic design skills within the emergency services. He recently redesigned the website for the Atlantic APCO Conference and designed their 2024 conference logo. Ryan also created and designed a logo and challenge coin for a new Gold Line Hero award his comm. center is creating to recognize lives saved by means outside of CPR.
For Ryan, being an Emergency Dispatcher is primarily about the good he can do in the world, but he thrives on his new community of like-minded people and the opportunity to explore personal growth.
