Chris Allen (author)

Chris Allen is an Australian thriller writer, based in Sydney, Australia. A former paratrooper,[1][2] Allen has also served as Security Manager for the international aid agency CARE in Timor Leste;[2][3] with the Australian Protective Service;[2] and for the Government of New South Wales as Head of Security for the Sydney Opera House[2][4] and as Sheriff of NSW.[2][5] He self-published his first novel, Defender of the Faith, in 2011.[6] In 2012 Allen was offered a contract for two books with Pan Macmillan's digital imprint Momentum,[7] followed in 2014 by a contract for a further two books.[8]

Chris Allen
Allen, Sheriff of New South Wales (2008)
Born (1964-12-07) 7 December 1964
Perth, Western Australia
OccupationThriller writer
Period1999–present
Notable worksDefender: Intrepid 1, Hunter: Intrepid 2
SpouseSarah Allen

Career

Allen served with the Australian Army, including an exchange posting with the British Army's 5 Airborne Brigade,[9] before leaving the military due to injuries. Following retirement from the army Allen led security operations for an international aid agency in East Timor in 1999. Post 9/11, he served within Australia's government protective security and law enforcement environment. He was recruited to take over the protection of Sydney's Opera House after the 'No War' incident[10] of 2003. In 2008 he was appointed Sheriff of New South Wales,[11] a post he held until 2011.[12]

In 2015 Allen was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Venues NSW,[13] the state government agency responsible for managing sporting and entertainment venues in Western Sydney, the Hunter Region and the Illawarra.

Causes

Allen is an ambassador for Veterans Off The Streets Australia (VOTSA), a charity established to assist homeless former Australian Defence Force members to find crisis, temporary and permanent accommodation.

Bibliography

The Alex Morgan Interpol spy thriller series includes the following titles:[11]

  • Defender (November 2012)
  • Hunter (December 2012)
  • Avenger (January 2015)
  • Helldiver (November 2015)
  • Ranger (April 2016)

Reception

Reviews of Allen's work generally agree that the author leverages his life and work experience to good effect. The main character of the Intrepid series, Alex Morgan, is a former army Major, as was Allen; plot twists in the series often mirror Allen's career.[14] The Australian Army Newspaper wrote concerning Hunter that "Allen knows his weapons and aircraft particularly well, and his immense attention to detail shows he has obviously walked the streets of the cities where his character's actions take place."[15]

Personal life

Allen lives with his family including wife Sarah, sons Morgan and Rhett in Sydney, Australia.

gollark: Why are you still on computers with finite RAM?
gollark: SMH my head, just store an infinite sequence of the digits.
gollark: Based on my expert knowledge derived from *at least* three Wikipedia pages, it seems that you can approximate the roots pretty well.
gollark: Exæct solutions in terms of whæt?
gollark: <:bees:724389994663247974> you.

References
  1. Hardy, Karen (13 September 2014). "Take Three: Action thrillers from Australian authors". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. Lacey, Stephen (13 August 2011). "2 of us" (PDF). Good Weekend Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  3. "Case study - Security for our critical infrastructure" (PDF). Standards Australia. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  4. "NSW Government Courts & Tribunal Services". NSW Government. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  5. "Defender of the Faith". Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  6. "Chris Allen". Mind Food. 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. "Momentum". Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  8. Stone, Kate (11 January 2016). "Incredible life of soldier, author Chris Allen". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  9. Michelmore, Karen (2 February 2012). "A subversive spotlight". 702 ABC Sydney. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. "Chris Allen". Momentum. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  11. "History of the Office of the Sheriff". NSW Department of Justice. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  12. "Venues NSW 2014-15 Annual Report" (PDF). NSW Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  13. "Parachuting to publication". ISSUU. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. Morley, Dave (30 March 2013). "Action-packed pages". Australian Army Newspaper. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
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