The Gray Man Greaney previously worked as a waiter and bartender for ten years, and was primarily about the aftermath of the
Bosnian civil war, he gave the first 20 pages of his work to his favorite author
Ralph Peters's agent, Scott Miller, in a book conference in September 2006. Miller liked the book but later did not go forward with it, saying that "it was unmarketable," according to Greaney. But he urged Greaney to write another one based from a character in
Goon Squad named Court Gentry, The national success of
The Gray Man made Greaney quit his job in the medical devices company and make the transition to becoming a full-time writer. He was later given a three-book deal by his publisher in 2009. After its success on the streaming platform, a sequel and a spin-off have been announced with the Russo brothers and Gosling reprising their respective roles, with the spin-off to be written by
Paul Wernick and
Rhett Reese.
Working with Tom Clancy Greaney has been a fan of
Tom Clancy for years and has read all of his books, beginning with
Patriot Games. So when Clancy was looking for a new co-author, Greaney found out that his editor at
Berkley Books, Tom Colgan, was also Clancy's editor at
G. P. Putnam's Sons. His editor later referred to his agent, who asked Greaney to be Clancy's co-author. Commenting on the experience, Greaney recalled: "I wish I could say I was excited, but the truth is, I was terrified. After I caught my breath, I offered to 'try out' because there were some other authors also in the running." After Clancy's death and with the backing of his family and estate, Greaney continued the
Jack Ryan character and the
Ryanverse, writing four more novels. Regarding the publisher's decision to feature Clancy's name at the top in massive letters and having his name in smaller letters for the covers of the post-Clancy novels, Greaney commented: "It really feels like a humongous honor to do it. I get pretty good billing. The Tom Clancy name is one thing you can put on your book that will make it stand out from across the room." In 2017, Greaney announced that he will exit the franchise. He was succeeded by author
Marc Cameron. Greaney later said of his departure from the Jack Ryan universe:
Other works In 2019, Greaney released a
war novel titled
Red Metal, co-written with Lieutenant Colonel
H. Ripley Rawlings IV, which has drawn comparisons to Clancy's novel
Red Storm Rising (1986). In 2021, Greaney released the action thriller
Armored as an
Audible Original audio drama; it was released in book form the following year. It was optioned by
Sony Pictures for a future film adaptation to be directed by
Michael Bay and produced by
Erwin Stoff as of 2022. Featuring a new character, high-risk military contractor Josh Duffy, it was followed by
Sentinel, released in 2024. ==Personal life==