Paul A. Barra, a former naval officer who was decorated for his work on the rivers of the Mekong Delta, including Republic of Vietnam medals, the Bronze Star with Combat “V” and the Combat Action Ribbon, worked as a reporter and chemistry teacher after the war. He was the senior staff writer for the Diocese of Charleston, the director of religious education at a Charleston parish and an award-winning freelance magazine writer who graduated with a BS from Niagara University and an MS from Loyola University of New Orleans. Barra was Teacher-of-the-Year at Greenwood District 52 and at St. Joseph’s Catholic School before becoming a full-time novelist.

His previous publications include four science readers with Houghton-Mifflin (2006); the true story of a Catholic high school that succeeded despite diocesan opposition, St. Joe’s Remarkable Journey (Tumblar House, 2010); a juvenile adventure called The Secret of Maggie’s Swamp (Brownridge Publishing, 2012); and the mysteries A Death in the Hills (Argus Books, 2014), Astoria Nights (Black Opal Books, 2017), and Death of a Sacristan; a Rebel Bishop Mystery (Black Opal Books, 2018). The Permanent Press will release his hardcover thriller Westfarrow Island in early 2019.