RIO INSIDIOUS CONNECTIONS: AS REAL AS IT GETS (The Insidious Trilogy Book 1)

Richard Grace

USA2 Books

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Thriller Action & Adventure

BIOGRAPHY
BEYOND THE PAGE

THE LIFE BEHIND THE FICTION.

THE GRIT BEHIND THE VOICE.

Richard is a writer, martial artist, and global traveler whose stories are forged from years navigating the inspirational landscapes and the raw underground currents of Latin America. His debut novel, Rio Insidious Connections—As Real As It Gets, marks the start of The Insidious Trilogy, a high-stakes, character-driven journey across Brazil, Colombia, and Panama.

Richard is a native of Massachusetts and a Colby College graduate.

His obsession with adventure began early. As a high school freshman, he became captivated by the televised explorations of Jacques Cousteau. That fascination turned to action—Richard wrote directly to Cousteau in hopes of interning aboard his iconic research vessel, Calypso. In return, he received a signed letter from the legendary oceanographer encouraging him to stay focused on his passions and to reconnect after high school.

That same fire led him to reach out to treasure hunter Mel Fisher—then in the midst of his epic, years-long search for the sunken Spanish galleon Atocha—angling for a spot on his next dive.

Not long after, he discovered The Treasure Hunter by Robin Moore, a real-life account of adventurer Howard Jennings. Hooked by the dream of chasing Inca gold and pirate booty across South America and the Caribbean, Richard tracked down the book's publisher in an effort to join Jennings on his next expedition. But he was too late—Jennings had died in a plane crash in 1990 while in route to a dig in what was then Yugoslavia.

Undeterred, Richard tracked down Robin Moore, the renowned author of The French Connection and The Green Berets. As fate would have it, Moore lived in Concord, Massachusetts, just one town over from Richard's home in Acton. The two met face-to-face at the historic Colonial Inn, where Moore shared the truth about Jennings's fate while speaking candidly about a life built on risk, storytelling, and perseverance. The meeting helped shape Richard's own compass, and it's never stopped pointing toward the unknown. One of his most prized possessions remains the signed copy of Moore's then-new release, The White Tribe, handed to him that day.

After high school, Richard set his sights on trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro with a childhood friend. Later, during a semester at UC San Diego, he roomed with a student from Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The two made plans for an off-the-grid treasure hunt across jungle and coast—but those plans got shelved when college dues came knocking.

To repay his student loans and finance the trip, Richard took on work as a lumberjack, a physically demanding job that mirrored his determination. Though the Yucatán expedition never materialized, the fire behind it remained.

That drive eventually led him to Brazil, where he trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio, helped run the café he owned in Porto Seguro, and immersed himself in the country's culture over the course of many return trips. Back in the States, he earned a Black Belt in American Kenpo, a discipline that further sharpened his resilience and risk-taking attitude.

He draws from those intense personal experiences to craft fiction that hits close to the bone—unfiltered and visceral. He doesn't just write about danger—he's brushed up against it. He doesn't just describe obsession—he's lived with it. Whether on the mat, in the streets, or behind a desk, the world he writes is the one he knows.

In addition to Rio Insidious Connections, Richard is completing Book Two: The Colombian Confluence—Twisted Paths and working on Book Three: Panama—The Final Chapter.

He's also writing C I T Y K I D—From Nothin' to Somethin'—Truth be Told, a standalone, in-your-face account that portrays the complexities of growing up in a troubled family and rising above all odds.