Richard Cass is the author of Solo Act, the first novel in the Elder Darrow jazz mystery series, which he originally pitched as "an alcoholic walks into a dive bar and decides to buy it." Solo Act was released by Five Star Publishing in January 2016 and was a Finalist for a Maine Literary Award in Crime Fiction for 2017. In Solo Time, the prequel to Solo Act, was published in September 2017. He's also published a book of short stories called Gleam of Bone.

Dick holds a graduate degree in writing from the University of New Hampshire, where he studied with Thomas Williams, Jr. and Joseph Monninger. He's also studied writing with Ernest Hebert, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Molly Gloss.  For many years, he ran a software technical writing and consulting business. He’s also taught writing at the undergraduate and graduate level.

He is active in the Maine Crime Writers and contributes monthly to their blog.  Dick is also an active member of the Mystery Writers of America and serves as the Member Outreach representative on the board of MWA—New England. He has contributed to projects with the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the Independent Publishers of New England.

He lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Anne and a Maine Coon cat named Tinker, where he writes full-time. Contact him at dick.cass@gmail.com, on Twitter as @DickCass or on Facebook as Richard Cass—Writer.