𝗜𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻 is a native Texan who served in the United States Army for 31 years. During his time in the army, he lived in Germany for nine years. Living in Germany gave him a unique perspective of Germany and its culture. The army would take 𝗜𝗮𝗻 to unique places that would span across the globe. He has incorporated his experiences and observations into spinning a yarn that encompasses 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗷𝗮.
𝗜𝗮𝗻 has captivated readers with his 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗷𝗮 series, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙧, and 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮. 𝗜𝗮𝗻 lives by the mantra, “I am just an old soldier who relishes writing about the complexities of life.”
𝗜𝗮𝗻 accolades are quite extensive. He has won numerous awards for writing. These awards range from four collegiate awards in journalism from 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗧𝗜𝗣𝗔) to countless literary awards from various organizations. 𝗜𝗮𝗻’s 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙧 has won nine literary awards and 𝗜𝗮𝗻’s 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 has won three. He has received awards from 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗨𝗽 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, and 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀.