Interview with R.L. Merrill, Author of Hush Gets Loud
07 Jan 2026
What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Hush Gets Loud?
Back in 2018, the organizers of the Vans Warped Tour announced it would be the last cross-country tour. I’d attended for a few years with my eldest daughter and had a blast. It was a place where our musical interests came together. I decided that setting a series on that last tour would make for a compelling read, and the band Hush was born. Summer of Hush featured lead singer Silas and his meet-cute with Krish, whose secret identity is The Guru, an anonymous music blogger. Brains and Brawn picks up the action and features Brains, the drummer, and the Navy corpsman who comes to his rescue during a catastrophe. But I wasn’t done with the band then…
When I joined the Carnival of Mysteries shared world, I went back to that summer and featured a character from another band, Ryan Wells. Ryan is taken in by the guys in Hush, so the action in You Can Do Magic continues the progress of the tour. It’s now been seven years, and I had written a few short stories featuring other members of Hush, so I decided to bundle them all together, write two more full-length novellas to wrap up their storyline, and give HEAs to the remainder of their found family. It was the warm, fuzzy project I needed the last two months of 2025.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Hush Gets Loud, what would they be?
Normally, I create playlists for each writing project when I start, and that music gives me the vibe I need. This time, I had made playlists for the first two stories, but the rest I’d just written with various background tunes on (I was listening to a lot of Slipknot and Sleep Token). I went through the stories and created this playlist once I was through with the project. There are songs that match up with the characters in each story, like the song “Los Angeles” by Sugarcult, which came from Los’s Long Day in LA; “’Til We Die,” which came from Jordan Barrett and the Witch’s Refrain; “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” by the Allman Brothers, which came from The Barrett Dickens UnThanksgiving; and “Changes,” as performed by Yungblud and company at the Black Sabbath/Ozzy tribute show, which came from Merry Hushmas Eve.
Check out this playlist!
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I spent a lot of last year reading romantic suspense and paranormal romance. I wrote a lot of contemporary romance last year, so… maybe that’s the trick—read what I’m not writing? The last books I read were from a certain gay hockey series we all fell in love with at the end of the year. Thanks be to Rachel Reid and Canada’s Crave for Heated Rivalry.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
I’ve joined a new shared world for 2026, so I’m catching up on the first two seasons of Foggy Basin, a small-town gay romance series.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
I really loved writing Burke and Jake’s story. In the earlier books, you learn a lot about their past, but this story allowed me to really explore their dynamic. Burke has an awfully sad backstory, and I was so damned happy to give him the HEA he deserves.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I’ve become a bit of a Snow White creature lately. In August of 2025, we lost my MIL, and her Chinese Crested and black cat came to join my Great Dane and twin black cats. My writing now must be done in between petting all of the creatures, making sure they have plenty of food and cuddles if I want to get anything done. Scruffy, the new cat, walks back and forth over my hands as I type, so that takes evasive maneuvers and plenty of proofreading to clean up his stray characters.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Leave this world a better place than you found it. Be kind and lift others up. Whatever energy you put out will come back around to you.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
I want folks to come away feeling all the queer joy. I want them to take that feeling and spread it around, to remember how important found family is, and to love and support their extended family through these tough times.
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