The Author
Richard Conrath, 2019 Royal Palm Literary Silver Medal Award Winner
(The Florida Writer's Association awarded Richard Conrath the Royal Palm Literary Award's Silver Medal for Mystery. Now one of five awards for his second book, Blood Moon Rising. See the grand finale and mystery ending... with a twist... in his newly released book, A Cold Copper Moon.
Conrath started his religious studies at age 13 when he entered a Catholic seminary in southern Ohio. In his mid-twenties, he was ordained. During that time he was a grave digger, farm hand, and cooper (barrel maker).
In 1976, Richard earned a PhD at Kent State University, his doctoral dissertation inspired by the student riots that occurred there in May of 1970: the incident still haunts his dreams. (Remember the Crosby, Stills, Nash song about Kent State University shootings, "Four Dead in O-H-I-O. I remember it well. I was there when the shooting began.)
After earning his degree, Conrath held a position as a philosophy professor for sixteen years and also worked as a freelance journalist, writing articles for such papers as The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Sunday Magazine, as well as for a variety of other newspapers, magazines and journals.
The author left teaching to work in administration, taking jobs as the president of several community colleges throughout the US and then--adventurer, that he is--as the head of an overseas school in southern Turkey where he and his family lived on the local economy for three years. It is here, in the darkness of the Turkish moon, with the deep chill in the air and into the early mornings, with the sound of the imam calling for prayer as the birds awoke, that Richard Conrath wove his tales of mystery and intrigue to finally complete this first novel.
There is always something of an author in his/her writings. You will see similarities between the Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dichotomy in the main character's personality. Philosophy Professor & Private Detective Cooper can be a ruthless killer and a gentle husband, wife, friend and father. Meet him and see the dynamic personality he portrays.
Cooper’s Moon follows the path of Professor Cooper, who leaves his job in Ohio to spend his time looking for missing people and continuing to search for his son, Maxie, gone for seven years. He and his wife, Jillie, must slug through the constant pain and fear of learning the truth....or maybe worse, never finding out what happened.
After writing and re-writing and editing and editing yet again, the trilogy is finally complete and the author is releasing each one periodically. The second novel is called Blood Moon Rising. The last in the series completes the story. A Cold Copper Moon, the final book in the trilogy will be released on February 14th, just in time for Valentine's Day. (It's a great gift for your bestie.) It has a twist that will keep you wondering until the very end. Read it and see what others says is the best of the three books. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and Richard's Newsletter.
In the second book, Blood Moon Rising, Cooper continues to search for his son as he tries to unravel a grisly murder of a friend and the disappearance of two young college students in south Florida. Blood Moon Rising takes on an international flavor as Cooper runs into a Russian mobster and deadly dealers of human trafficking.
Over the course of the three novels, Cooper falls deeper and deeper into the darker side of himself, revealed through bad ass characters, friends--good friends--who would do anything for Cooper. Anything.
There's Richie Marino, a mob enforcer from Cleveland whose baseball bat is only one of his many deadly weapons of choice; Huxter Crow, a Seminole Indian who grew up hunting alligators in the Everglades' swamp; Tony DeFelice, a Miami homicide cop and Cooper's partner throughout the series; as well as his love interest, Louise Delgado, a Miami homicide cop in "Gangland," Miami's most dangerous "beat." Finally, in book three, Cooper finds the truth about his son's disappearance: A Cold Copper Moon will be released Feb 14, 2021 (Pre-release available for purchase now on Amazon.)
