Catching Up With Bravo Two Zero

War veteran and critically acclaimed, best selling author, Andy McNab, heads to Tyneside early November for a sold out evening on his promotional tour for his latest offering, ‘LINE OF FIRE.

McNab, born Steven Billy Mitchell, served in the British Army for some twenty years, the bulk of which under the Special Armed Services (SAS) before leaving in the early nineties and putting pen to paper with ‘Bravo Two Zero,’ his partially fictional account about the SAS patrol in Iraq during the Gulf War two years prior.

“Bravo Two Zero is still the biggest selling war book of all-time and is still used by police and military academies,” McNab said of his opening salvo blockbuster. “It’s scary the time that has elapsed since then and nobody really thought of the longevity of it all, just that it would bring some success and that it would get me into writing.” Since that 1993 bestseller, McNab has created the fictional character, Nick Stone, a series of books which have lasted nearly two decades, with ‘The Nick Stone Missions’ officially arriving with the ‘Remote Control’ released in early 1998. They were a gamble that has paid off impressively over the years with McNab adding: “Starting Nick Stone was really a punt as it’s a lot easier to write in the first person. “It has got to the point though where some of the fan sites even know more about Nick and the books than I do but I would say that the good parts of Nick are based on me. “The new book, ‘Line of Fire,’ is a continuation from my last release, ‘Cold Blood,’ and can be seen as a reveal of what’s happening to the three survivors from that. “There’s a few characters (throughout the whole series of books) who’ve stayed the course but decisions often need making in relation to continuity and people do have to be killed off eventually. “With ‘Line of Fire’ it shows that it’s all about mates, survival, relationships with each other, and what they’ll do for each other.”

Now, with regular promotional tours, and around six months writing and research per book – McNab usually sets aside December to May in order to put things together – it’s of little wonder they have become so successful with a vast number of bestsellers to go alongside his military honours. “I’ve another two books in the pipeline as well as a television series,” he added. “That’s great for me and means that there’s lots more to come, it affords plenty of choice and opportunity.”