John Ringo

John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several New York Times best sellers.[1][2][3] His books range from straightforward science fiction to a mix of military and political thrillers. He has over seven million copies of his books in print, and his works have been translated into seven different languages.[4]

For other people named Johnny Ringo, see Johnny Ringo (disambiguation).

John Ringo
Born (1963-03-22) March 22, 1963
Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
OccupationAuthor
GenreScience fiction, military science fiction, military fiction, political thrillers

Life and career

Ringo's childhood was spent largely in transit; by the time (1981) he graduated from Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida, he and his family had spent time in 23 foreign countries, with Ringo attending classes at fourteen different schools. Among the countries he spent the most time in were Greece, Iran and Switzerland before settling with his parents and six siblings in Alabama. This amount of travel led to what he refers to as a "wonderful appreciation of the oneness of humanity and a permanent aversion to foreign food."[5]

After graduation, Ringo joined the United States Army and rose to the rank of Specialist as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. During his four years of active duty, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, reflagged into 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment when the 82nd reorganized its 3rd Brigade, plus two years of reserve duty with the Florida National Guard. Among his awards are the Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Grenada), and the National Defense Service Medal.

After discharge, he enrolled in college and earned an associate degree in marine biology. However, he quickly discovered that marine biology would only "pay for beans"[5] and became a database manager to support his wife and two daughters. His life had settled into a fairly sedate pattern when, in 1999, he had the idea for a science fiction story that involved an alien invasion and a military response that became the novel A Hymn Before Battle, the title being a homage to the poem "Hymn Before Action" by Rudyard Kipling.

He submitted the novel to publisher Jim Baen of Baen Books. The book was initially rejected, but Jim Baen, through his discussion with John Ringo on the publisher's website forum personally took a look at the novel and quickly bought it. The success of the book, and the books that followed, allowed Ringo to quit his database management job and become a full-time writer. As of 2015, John Ringo had written 46 novels, some with co-authors David Weber, Michael Z. Williamson, Julie Cochrane, Linda Evans, Travis S. Taylor, and Tom Kratman.[6] One of the appeals of his works is his inclusion of fans' names into novels as "red shirts" who die gloriously. He also has often integrated elements of the 82nd Airborne into his works, 2nd Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry in A Hymn Before Battle, his old 1/508th Parachute Infantry in Yellow Eyes, and the 555th "Triple Nickels/Black Panthers" in Gust Front and its sequels.

He has also written a number of op-ed pieces for the New York Post,[7][8][9][10] been a guest commentator for Fox News and National Geographic.[11]

In 2012, he was presented with the Phoenix Award at DeepSouthCon 50 in Huntsville, Alabama, in recognition of his contributions to science fiction literature.[12]

Works
Main article: John Ringo bibliography

See also
  • Sluggy Freelance, a webcomic featured in the Posleen Series books; a SheVa tank is named after the character Bun-bun. A character styled after Bun-bun is featured in the Council Wars series.[13]
  • Schlock Mercenary, a webcomic set far into the future. The Troy Rising series is inspired by the universe of Schlock Mercenary at the point of first contact.
  • The Crüxshadows, mentioned in the Paladin of Shadows series; the protagonist makes numerous mentions of the song "Winterborn" in particular.[14] The main characters in Claws That Catch also play "Return" in order to defeat the aliens.[15] The book Eye of the Storm quotes the song of the same name a few times. In the novel Von Neumann's War, the song "Citadel" is the anthem of the soldiers and it is played during the final showdown. The Black Tide Rising series also quotes the Crüxshadows extensively.

References
  1. New York Times Best Seller List, April 2005
  2. New York Times Best Seller List, January 2011
  3. New York Times Best Seller List, May 2011
  4. The Last Centurion, www.thelastcenturion.com.
  5. About John Ringo Archived February 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, www.johnringo.org.
  6. "Baen Authors: John Ringo" Archived September 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "M Is For Mine" Archived January 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, New York Post, reprinted on www.johnringo.com.
  8. "First... We Remove All The Lawyers" Archived September 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, New York Post, reprinted on www.johnringo.com.
  9. "Home Of The Brave" Archived September 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, New York Post, reprinted on www.johnringo.com.
  10. "INS Insanity" Archived September 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, New York Post, reprinted on www.johnringo.com.
  11. "When Aliens Attack Archived May 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  12. "DeepSouthCon: Past, Present & Future"
  13. "Hell's Faire by John Ringo".
  14. "Ghost by John Ringo, Chapter Nine".
  15. Ringo, John; Taylor, Travis (2008). Claws That Catch. New York: Baen Books. pp. 299–300. ISBN 978-1-4165-5587-2.
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