ROBERT RYAN is an author, journalist and screenwriter. He was born in Liverpool and moved to London to study natural sciences at university.
He began his writing career in the late 1980s for The Face, Arena and the US edition of GQ, before moving to a staff job in the Sunday Times.
In 1999, after the publication of his first novel, Underdogs, he left to go freelance, although he is still a frequent contributor to the newspaper. He has published a total of twelve novels under his own name, the latest being Death on the Ice, and two (Steel Rain and Copper Kiss) as Tom Neale. The latter have been optioned by Fremantle TV with a view to creating a TV series.
Ryan has also collaborated with top jazz trumpeter Guy Barker, on an extended version of a piece called Underdogs, based on the novel, and dZf, a 'jazz noir' version of The Magic Flute, narrated by Michael Brandon, which can be found on Barker's double-CD The Amadeus Project. Ryan is currently working on a novel for publication in 2011 and a variety of television projects.