AUTHOR

Ryan Smithson

Teen & Young Adult
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Ryan Smithson served with the Army Corps of Engineers from 2004–2005 in Iraq where he conducted road repair, base fortifications, and various earth-moving operations. When he came home, he went to college on the GI Bill and began writing about his war experiences. With the encouragement of a professor, he kept writing and eventually published his memoir, "Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI" (HarperCollins, 2009). Please contact him @AuthorSmithson on social media or at Patreon.com/AuthorSmithson if you would like a signed copy of either "Ghosts of War" or "10 Klicks South of Whiskey." He has had several short stories and poems published in various journals and anthologies, and enjoys visiting schools to talk with young people about writing, war, and life. He wrote a play, "10 Klicks South of Whiskey" for his Master's thesis, and he was lucky enough to see it produced at Averill Park High School in 2015. Proceeds benefited a local not-for-profit veterans' organization called Soldier's Heart. The novel version of "10 Klicks" was published in 2018. Ryan lives in NY with his wife and two crazy kids. Besides writing, he likes to hike, fish, hunt, ski, volunteer, play guitar, and build the occasional moss terrarium for no good reason at all. His advice for young people is, "You're put here to climb your mountain, so don't give up. Others are climbing their own, so encourage them -- there is nothing gained by judging them against your incline." Ryan's six-word memoir: Can't find time to finish a
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