Author Archives: Richard Cass

About Richard Cass

Dick is the author of the Elder Darrow Jazz Mystery series, the story of an alcoholic who walks into a dive bar in Boston . . . and buys it. Solo Act was a Finalist for the Maine Literary Award in Crime Fiction in 2017 and In Solo Time won the award in 2018. The third book in the series, Burton's Solo, came out in 2018 and Last Call at the Esposito in 2019. Sweetie Bogan's Sorrow was published in 2020, to thunderous pandemic acclaim. The sixth book in the series, Mickey's Mayhem, will come out in 2021. Dick lives and writes in Cape Elizabeth.

Dive! Dive!

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Richard Cass

From the Department of Redundant Self-Promotion Department: Reading and talk at South Portland Library Saturday 5/13 at 2 PM Panel with Kate Flora and Lea Wait Thursday 5/18 at Gray Public Library Signed contracts this week for In Solo Time, the … Continue reading →

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Fiddling in the Spring

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Richard Cass

Had a wonderful time at the well-known local showcase for writers in Westbrook known as Books in the Brook last Saturday. Always a pleasure to talk to an audience that comprises more than my wife and the cat. Thanks to … Continue reading →

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Lies, Damn Lies, and Alternative Facts

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Richard Cass

“Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.” –Neil … Continue reading →

Posted in Dick's Posts | Tagged alternative facts, lies | 17 Comments

Thanks to Mon Oncle

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Richard Cass

First: In the Shameless Commerce division, please put January 28 on your calendar for Local Writers at the Local Buzz café and wine bar in Cape Elizabeth, 4:00 to 5:00 PM. I will be reading from Solo Act and new … Continue reading →

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Against the Dumbing Down

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Richard Cass

The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude. (Why I Write—George Orwell) Knowing that we’re in for seeing plenty of old white guys in the news over the next four years, I’m … Continue reading →

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The Perfect Game

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Richard Cass

Seriously, Cass? More baseball stuff? Well, feel free to move along if you don’t have a yen for The Perfect Game but if you stick around, I’ll try to connect it to something closer to our hearts. The great Rogers … Continue reading →

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Tattoos While You Wait

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Richard Cass

OK, once again, I get the ideas question, on a plane flying back from Bouchercon 2016 (a fine time, by the way). You know what I’m talking about: “Where, dear writer, do you get your ideas?” I did my best … Continue reading →

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The Fish and the Bicycle

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Richard Cass

It’s been a wonderfully sociable summer here at Chez 28 and in the wake of a splendid visit from old good friends from the other Portland (and my Medicare birthday), I’ve been considering the nature of friendship. And then because … Continue reading →

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Cape Elizabeth for the 99 Percenter . .

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Richard Cass

Whenever I travel around the state and tell people I live in Cape Elizabeth, the first thing they do is look at my shoes to see if I’m wearing Johnston and Murphy or my shirts to see if they’re from … Continue reading →

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The Devil May or May Not be in the Details

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Richard Cass

Back in the days when I was the World’s Oldest Living Graduate Student, I submitted a story to a fiction workshop that featured an old woman fly-fishing in an Alaskan river and the things that happened to her. What surprised … Continue reading →