Ryan, Gordon W. 1943-

PERSONAL: Born October 5, 1943, in New York, NY; son of Thomas F. and Eleanor (Hansen) Ryan; married Colleen Sterling, February 12, 1988; children: Kathleen Heather Ryan Armitage, Thomas Spearin, Daniel Howard. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: McKendree College, B.A. (with honors), 1974; also attended graduate school. Politics: Republican. Religion: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

ADDRESSES: Agent—Mapletree Publishing Co., 6233 Harvard Lane, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130-3773.

CAREER: Christchurch City Council, Christchurch, New Zealand, special projects manager, 2002-. Worked at U.S. embassy in Dublin, Ireland, 1970s; municipal administration, including time as city manager, in Washington and Alaska; management positions for local government agencies and electric utility companies. Military service: Served in U.S. Marine Corps, beginning c. 1962. U.S. Air Force, served in Thailand.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Dangerous Legacy, Deseret Book (Salt Lake City, UT), 1994.

Threads of Honor, Deseret Book (Salt Lake City, UT), 1996.

State of Rebellion, Mapletree Publishing (Highlands Ranch, CO), 2004.

A Question of Consequence, Mapletree Publishing (Highlands Ranch, CO), 2004.

"SPIRIT OF UNION" TRILOGY

Destiny Deseret Book (Salt Lake City, UT), 1996.

Conflict, Deseret Book (Salt Lake City, UT), 1998.

Heritage, Deseret Book (Salt Lake City, UT), 1999.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Research on U.S. marines in the Pacific (New Zealand and Guadalcanal) during World War II.

SIDELIGHTS: Gordon W. Ryan told CA: "I was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the second generation of Irish and Norwegian grandparents. I spent my early years in Staten Island, New York, the middle childhood years in Tampa, Florida, and my teenage years in San Antonio, Texas. I have a bachelor of arts degree in political science and completed graduate work in public administration. As a young man of nineteen, I served with the First Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Several years later, after a mission to Norway with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I served with the United States Air Force during the Vietnam conflict, assigned to a medical facility in Bangkok, Thailand.

"I have lived overseas for many years, in Norway, England, Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Ireland. I have also lived in about a half-dozen states on both the east and west coasts of America, including the far reaches of Alaska. After twenty-five years of municipal administration, I presently work in the office of the chief executive of a local government authority in New Zealand.

"I wrote my first novel in 1993, while living in New Zealand, to do something new and different before I turned fifty. Despite the early-morning reluctance to get out of bed, a hectic schedule that I (and thousands of other writers) find necessary to assure a daily quiet time to write, once the writing bug took hold, I wondered why I hadn't discovered the joys of creating fiction many years earlier.

"Following the publication of Dangerous Legacy, I hit my stride and jumped to the best-seller list with Threads of Honor, based on a true story of an incredible American flag and the American space program. That was followed by a robust family saga in three volumes, Spirit of Union, the historical chronicle of a feisty Irish immigrant to New York and a Norwegian girl whose family had joined the Latter-day Saints church, destined for Utah.

"The first words that eventually became Dangerous Legacy have now expanded to several novels and several more stories in my head than I will ever have time to write. I continue to write almost daily. It is one of the more fulfilling experiences of my life.

"I currently live in Christchurch, New Zealand, with my wife. Between us, we have six children and eleven grandchildren scattered throughout America and New Zealand. I enjoy communicating with readers, including those who like the story and those who have a bone to pick with me."