Ryan Donald

Ryan Donald is the author behind the Letters to Dogs series and the Spanish for Gringos books, where humor, culture, and real life collide... often awkwardly, and always honestly.

Writing under the alter ego Mateo Gringo, Ryan creates books for people who learn best by laughing at their own mistakes. His work blends sarcasm, storytelling, and painfully accurate observations about dogs, language learning, and what happens when gringos confidently say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

His Spanish for Gringos books focus on real-world language and cultural survival, especially in Colombia, skipping textbooks and grammar drills in favor of slang, expressions, and the kinds of moments that make locals shake their heads and say, “ay Dios mío.” His book Colombian Spanish for Gringos con Sabor has been an Amazon #1 Best Seller in Colombian Travel Guides.

The Letters to Dogs series takes a different... but equally honest... approach, capturing the unspoken thoughts, judgments, and chaos dogs bring into everyday life. These books are written for dog lovers who adore their pets… even though they’re absolute jerks.

Ryan currently lives in the multicultural city of Greenville, South Carolina, where he continues to write, travel, learn Spanish the hard way, and be judged daily by his dogs.