Ringo's childhood was spent largely in transit; by the time he graduated from high school, he and his family had spent time in 23 foreign countries, with Ringo alone attending classes at fourteen different schools. Among the countries he spent the most amount of time in were Greece, Iran and Switzerland before settling with his parents and six siblings in Alabama. This amount of travel led to what he refers to as a "wonderful appreciation of the oneness of humanity and a permanent aversion to foreign food."

After graduation, Ringo joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of Specialist Four as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. During his four years of active duty, he was assigned to both the 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment which was reflagged into 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment when the 82nd regimentally organized its 3rd Brigade on 3 October 1986, plus two years of reserve duty with the Florida National Guard. Among his awards are the Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal , and the National Defense Service Medal.

After discharge, he enrolled in college and studied marine biology, picking up an associate's degree. However, he quickly discovered that marine biology would only "pay for beans" and became a database manager to support his wife and two daughters. His life had settled into a fairly sedate pattern when, in 1999, he had the idea for a science fiction story that involved an alien invasion and a military response that became the novel A Hymn Before Battle, the title a homage to the poem "Hymn Before Action" by Rudyard Kipling.

He submitted the novel to publisher Jim Baen of Baen Books. The book was initially rejected, but Jim Baen, through his discussion with John Ringo on the publisher's website forum personally took a look at the novel and quickly bought it. The success of the book, and the books that followed, allowed Ringo to quit his database management job and devote his life full-time to writing. Since 2000, John Ringo has been very prolific and has written or co-written with David Weber, Michael Z. Williamson, Julie Cochrane, Linda Evans, Travis Taylor, and Tom Kratman 33 novels in the past ten years. One of the appeals of his works is his inclusion of fans' names into novels as "red shirts" who die gloriously. He also has often integrated elements of the 82nd Airborne into his works, 2nd Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry in A Hymn Before Battle, his old 1/508th Parachute Infantry in Yellow Eyes, and the 555th "Triple Nickels/Black Panthers" in Gust Front and its sequels.

He also has penned a number of op-ed pieces for the New York Post, been a guest commentator for Fox News and is currently working with a screenwriting partner in adapting three of his novels, A Hymn Before Battle, Ghost, and Princess of Wands to the screen.

Series

Troy Rising series

• Live Free or Die (2010) (ISBN 1-4391-3332-8) sample chapters
• Citadel (January 2011) (ISBN 1-4391-3400-6) sample chapters
• The Hot Gate (May 2011) (ISBN 1-4391-3432-4) Baen Release Schedule

Legacy of the Aldenata series

Posleen War - Central Storyline

• A Hymn Before Battle (2000) (ISBN 0-671-31941-8) free online edition
• Gust Front (2001) (ISBN 0-671-31976-0) free online edition
• When the Devil Dances (2002) (ISBN 0-7434-3540-0) free online edition
• Hell's Faire (2003) (ISBN 0-7434-3604-0) free online edition

Hedren War

• Eye of the Storm (2009); (ISBN 1-4391-32739) free online edition

Posleen War Sidestories

• Watch on the Rhine (2005) (with Tom Kratman; ISBN 0-7434-9918-2) free online edition
• Yellow Eyes (2007) (with Tom Kratman; ISBN 1-4165-2103-8) free online edition
• The Tuloriad (2009) (with Tom Kratman; ISBN 978-1-4391-3304-0) sample chapters

Cally's War Spinoff Series

• Cally's War (2004) (ISBN 0-7434-8845-8) free online edition
• Sister Time (2007) (with Julie Cochrane) (ISBN 1-4165-4232-9) free online edition
• Honor of the Clan (2009) (with Julie Cochrane) (ISBN 1-4165-5591-9) free online edition

Spinoff Books

• The Hero (2004) (with Michael Z. Williamson; ISBN 0-7434-8827-X) free online edition

Empire of Man Series

1. March Upcountry (ISBN 0-671-31985-X) free online edition
2. March to the Sea (ISBN 0-671-31826-8) free online edition
3. March to the Stars (ISBN 0-7434-3562-1) free online edition
4. We Few (ISBN 0-7434-9881-X) (2005) free online edition

The Council Wars Series

• There will be Dragons (ISBN 0-7434-7164-4) free e-text online edition, free online mp3 audiobook edition (downloadable by chapters)
• Emerald Sea (ISBN 0-7434-8833-4) free online edition
• Against the Tide (ISBN 0-7434-9884-4) free online edition
• East of the Sun, West of the Moon (ISBN 1-4165-2059-7) free online edition

Paladin of Shadows Series

1. Ghost (ISBN 1-4165-0905-4) free online edition
2. Kildar (ISBN 1-4165-2064-3) free online edition
3. Choosers of the Slain (ISBN 1-4165-2070-8) free online edition
4. Unto the Breach (ISBN 1-4165-0940-2) free online edition
5. A Deeper Blue (ISBN 1-4165-2128-3) free online edition

Looking Glass series

Also called the Voyage of the Space Bubble series

All books titles in the series are phrases taken from the poem "Jabberwocky", which is mentioned repeatedly in the later novels.

1. Into the Looking Glass 2005 (ISBN 0-7434-9880-1) free online edition
2. Vorpal Blade 2007 (with Travis S. Taylor; ISBN 1-4165-2129-1) free online edition
3. Manxome Foe 2008 (with Travis S. Taylor; ISBN 1-4165-5521-8) free online edition
4. Claws that Catch 2008 (with Travis S. Taylor; ISBN 1-4165-5587-0) free online edition

Non-series novels

• The Road to Damascus (a Bolo book with Linda Evans; ISBN 0-7434-7187-3) free online edition
• Von Neumann's War (with Travis S. Taylor; ISBN 1-4165-2075-9) free online edition
• Princess of Wands (ISBN 1-4165-0923-2) free online edition
• The Last Centurion (ISBN 1-4165-5553-6) sample chapters

Short stories

• "Let's Go to Prague" (2003)
• included in The Service of the Sword (ISBN 0-7434-3599-0) edited by David Weber, and are set in Weber's Honorverse.
• "A Ship Named Francis" (2003)
• included in The Service of the Sword (ISBN 0-7434-3599-0) edited by David Weber, and are set in Weber's Honorverse.
• Other contributions to Jim Baen's Universe...launched in 2005, a members-only science fiction and fantasy e-zine edited by Eric Flint.