Date: December 11, 2022

Day: Sunday 

Time: 2:00-4:00PM

Bill Rapp, David Grogan and Michael A. Black will speak about their mysteries of International Intrigue, even some Espionage and Crime. Each in their careers have had experience in these areas of Global Intelligence and Domestic Delinquency.

About the Authors:

Bill Rapp recently retired from the Central Intelligence Agency after thirty-five years as an analyst, diplomat, and senior manager. After receiving his BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University, Bill taught European History at Iowa State University for a year before heading off to Washington, D.C. The Hapsburg Variation is the second book in the Cold War Spy series featuring Karl Baier. Bill also has a three-book series of detective fiction set outside Chicago with P.I. Bill Haberman, and a thriller set during the fall of the Berlin Wall. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife, two daughters, two miniature schnauzers, and a cat. Bill Rapp recently retired from the Central Intelligence Agency after thirty-five years as an analyst, diplomat, and senior manager. After receiving his BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University, Bill taught European History at Iowa State University for a year before heading off to Washington, D.C. The Hapsburg Variation is the second book in the Cold War Spy series featuring Karl Baier. Bill also has a three-book series of detective fiction set outside Chicago with P.I. Bill Haberman, and a thriller set during the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

David E. Grogan served on active duty in the United States Navy for over 26 years as a Navy Judge Advocate. During the course of his Navy career, he prosecuted and defended court-martial cases; negotiated agreements in capitals around the world; lived abroad in Japan, Cuba and Bahrain; deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf onboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise; and actively contributed to the fight against piracy and international terrorism. His experiences abroad and during the course of his career influence every aspect of his writing. His third novel, The Hidden Key, was released by Camel Press in April, 2020. His first two novels were Sapphire Pavilion and The Siegel Dispositions.

Michael A. Black graduated from Columbia College, Chicago in 2000 with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fiction Writing. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northern Illinois University. Despite his literary leanings, he has often said that police work has been his life. A former Army Military Policeman, he entered civilian law enforcement after his discharge, and for the past twenty-seven years has been a police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago.

The author of over forty articles on subjects ranging from police work to popular fiction, he has also had over thirty short stories published in various anthologies and magazines, including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His first novel, A Killing Frost, featuring private investigator Ron Shade, was published by Five Star in September 2002, with endorsements from such respected authors as Sara Paretsky and Andrew Vachss. The novel received universally excellent reviews, and was subsequently released in trade paperback.