ABOUT RICK ZAPPA

CRIME | THRILLER | MYSTERY WRITER
★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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By email: rzappa20@comcast.net

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Richard Zappa

I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, the product of an Italian father and Sicilian mother, which meant that I grew up on pasta, had a temper and held a grudge. No silver spoon for me growing up, but my family got along just fine. My dad drove a laundry truck, and then worked for a department store selling carpets for thirty years. My mom stayed home to raise three bratty kids, and I, the youngest and most bratty of them.

Humble beginnings? You bet. Inner city parochial school in my early years. My sister, brother and I walked a mile through the city streets to and from school everyday. Well, I mostly ran to keep up with my older, longer-legged sibs. The family moved to the burbs when I was twelve. We had arrived, but our standard of living had trouble catching up with the bigger house.

Got myself working papers at fourteen. Like many others, I worked my way through college (University of Delaware, B.A.) and law school (American University, J.D.). Got hitched to a girl from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Had kids—four of them—all adopted, all grown up and independent. Lucky, I know. A trial lawyer by trade. Lots of courtroom drama over the years. Became a black belt martial artist and a self-taught pianist along the way.

Satisfied all of my professional and personal goals but one—to be a writer of novels, particularly crime drama mysteries and thrillers. After decades of reading Poe, Conan Doyle, Grisham, Turow, Patterson, Cornwall and Connelly, Lee Child, and everything Flynn, I was hooked. I started writing—poetry, ballads, essays and short stories. It took two and a half years to write my first novel, Identical Misfortune, the most challenging and rewarding experience of my professional life. It transformed me. Before I knew it, my second novel, The Easter Murders, was in print and released in May, 2021. Novel writing is now coursing through my veins and occupying my everyday thoughts. I am happily addicted to it. Expect to see many more novels from me, including my third novel, Double Indemnity, to be released July, 2022.

Sign on and we can share the experience together.

Be well my friends,
Rick Zappa

Four years ago, I woke up one morning and decided to write for the pure pleasure of it. At first, simple poems, simply written; then, some ballads, essays and short stories, all of which, after years as a trial lawyer, made me reflect on my life going forward. I saw the path clearly—one that led me to the Elysian Fields of writing, and to this first novel.

I owe special thanks to my editors and publisher; in particular Tahlia Newland—author, editor, mentor—and exceptional at each. She and others at AIA Publishing helped me make a wordy, often rambling, manuscript of my story into a readable, entertaining novel. The rewrites, as Stephen King darkly warned, were “a little like murdering children, but it must be done.” Those tasks, I’ve come to learn, are ones all writers should embrace—like the sculptor who relentlessly chisels away at a large block of granite until what appears is the true, finely crafted reflection of what he or she intended to create. Every word written must be scrutinized with an eagle eye. Mark Twain was right to say, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightening bug and the lightening.”

Added thanks to my transcriptionist and daughter, Katie Zappa, for deciphering my babble and transforming it into the English language, and to my proofreader, Amy Spahn, not only for spotting and correcting technical errors, but also for making editorial suggestions that bring some sparkle to the printed words.

Finally, I want to thank those who read my novels and are entertained by them. P.T. Barnum said it best, “The noblest art is the art of making people happy.”

Special Thanks From The Author
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