UK NEWS

A TOUCH OF ROMANCE FROM SAS HERO RYAN

Chris Ryan: Used the pseudonym Molly Jackson

Tuesday October 28,2008

By Stephen Wilkie

HIS real life adventures and tales of derring-do behind enemy lines have firmly established his reputation for readers with a with a taste for action.

But now decorated SAS hero Chris Ryan has swapped his highly successful bombs and bullets formula for a Barbara Cartland-style romance.

Set in a fictional Scottish fishing community, Kinlochvegan, The Fisherman’s Daughter is a sea change for Ryan. And to complete his transformation, he has penned his latest book using the pseudonym Molly Jackson.

He said: “It took me two years to get it right. I won’t be doing it again. If it taught me something, it was don’t go out of your comfort zone, so I think I’ll stick to writing about what I know.”

Principal character Robbie Fraser races to Kinlochvegan after receiving an anonymous note only to be greeted by suspicious locals.

It took me two years to get it right

Chris Ryan

A village girl who helps him dig into the mystery and uncover buried secrets about his family and the true story about his birth eventually befriends him.

Ryan, 47, was the only member of the SAS Bravo Two Zero patrol to evade death or capture during the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq.

His epic seven-day desert trek to safety made military history as he survived on five water biscuits in temperatures below freezing.

The sniper team commander later received the Military Medal for his actions and since retiring from the crack unit in 1994, the 47-year-old has enjoyed a lucrative writing career.