Ryan Gielen was born in Columbia, Maryland and was deeply concerned that he peaked at 18, achieving success as the quarterback of the Centennial Eagles high school football team. He later attended Washington & Lee University, where he was shocked to see Confederate flags publicly adorning everything from car bumpers to dorm room windows. He felt they sullied the image of the prestigious institution, and often retreated into the ethereal hills of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains to wander around and take photographs.Following his studies, he began producing documentaries, and soon after, feature length films. His first feature-length narrative, The Graduates, won awards at film festivals across the country and went on to play in a ten-city theatrical release. Produced with his brother, Matthew Gielen, The Graduates won acclaim for both the film, and for the revolutionary marketing efforts of the producers. It is still one of the top independent digital releases of the last ten years. It is available on Amazon.com, Hulu, Netflix and all other major online outlets. Love Bomb and the Pink Platoon is Ryan's first novel. It has been called a "minor masterpiece" in early reviews, and is steadily climbing the both Amazon's Kindle and Paperback charts. For more info, or to connect directly with Ryan, please copy and paste one of these links into your browser. Don't be shy:Official Website: www.lovebombbook.comPaperback: http://amzn.to/yrRwtqNook: http://bit.ly/zak355Kindle: http://amzn.to/xC6mLTiPhone/iPad: http://bit.ly/z84wJdSony Reader http://bit.ly/yis0otTrailer: http://tinyurl.com/7rb9svbTwitter: http://twitter.com/pinkplatoonBlog: http://ryangielen.com/PDF: http://tinyurl.com/6vxlh45Or, email Ryan directly at:ryan@lovebombbook.com