John Ruane is an author, journalist and playwright. He has written for the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, and Atlanta-Journal Constitution. He is a critically-acclaimed author of six books, including "The Earl Campbell Story" (ECW Press, 1999) and "Parish the Thought" (Simon & Schuster, 2008). "A Dangerous Freedom" was his first thriller novel, published by Permuted Press, and the beginning of the Dylan Reilly series. "Russian Assault" is the sequel, published by Roswell Press. Since leaving the Sun-Times, John has made his living in the public relations industry, creating and implementing several award-winning programs. He is a graduate of Chicago State University where he was an English major, wrote a column for the school newspaper, played center on two college hockey championship teams and pitched for the Cougars baseball team. Later, he volunteered his time to coaching fifty-two youth sports teams over a 17-year period. John and his wife, Charlotte, are proud parents of four adult children and three grandchildren.