ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ARTHUR COLA
arthurcola@yahoo.com www.arthurcolalegendarytales.com Blog site:
www.theirishbookclub.com Arthur Cola was born in Chicago in the “little Italy” neighborhood of the near west side of the city. His family moved to Oak Park, IL where he attended Oak Park-River Forest High School. While attending Loyola University, Chicago, he met his future wife, Donna Shields. Together they have five now grown children and four grandchildren. He, his wife and family now live in Wisconsin.
He has been an educator for 35 years. During that time he was a Teacher of History and a School Principal. Upon receiving his Master’s Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, he also served as a Lecturer for Barry University in Florida. His post graduate work concentrated on Educational administration and theology. He studied in Rome at the Loyola University Campus while conducting research for his current work, “The Stone Cutter Genius” and conducted tours and traveled extensively in Ireland and Britain researching cultural sites and folklore for his other novels.
While performing his duties as a School Principal, he also began writing a “Movie Review” column with his daughter for a Wisconsin Newspaper. Also during those years he began adapting novels and plays for Jr. High School students to perform. One of those productions won the “Bicentennial Award” and was performed at McCormick Place in Chicago. Part of that award winning work was his original poetic reflection titled, “What is America?”
His literary works also include the children’s Christmas themed book, “Papa and the Gingerbread Man, An Adventure in America’s Oldest City©.” In this tale the famous cookie man is sought out by “Papa” through the streets of St. Augustine, Florida. He wishes to invite him to his grandchildren’s school Christmas party. As the chase takes place the children will be introduced to some of the most famous landmarks of early America such as Castillo San Marcos and St. Augustine Cathedral. (
www.amazon.com)
The prequel of “The Shamrock Crown” for older folks is titled “Papa and the Leprechaun King, The Secret Legend of the Shamrock©” In this tale the hero is called upon to come to the aide of the Leprechaun King with his Irish-American wife. Together they, along with some friends embark upon a quest to save the Realm of the Wee Folk. And in the process the reader is introduced to the wonders and folklore of Ireland and the secret of the Shamrock which is sure to not only delight but also uplift the reader. His screenplay version is titled: The Leprechaun King.
His new novel is a historical fantasy for the whole family. “The Shamrock Crown and the Legend of Excalibur”© is being published by The American Book Co. (
www.american-book.com). This tale takes a large mid-western family on a journey from Wisconsin to Ireland and Britain as they attempt to save two of the most famous relics from ancient Camelot. The reader will encounter the Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in a way slightly different from that of Mark Twain in his tale of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” Arthur Cola has the family encounter the legendary characters of Camelot in the 21st Century. Together they join forces to preserve the symbol of the most important “Message” of our time and all time. His screenplay version is titled: The Shamrock Crown.
His current work is an epic legendary tale titled, “The Stone Cutter Genius”©. This historical fiction with elements of the supernatural takes the main characters from “The Shamrock Crown and the Legend of Excalibur”© on a new quest to recover a missing artifact of the most famous family of Renaissance Italy while uncovering the mystery of the Legend of the Magi Ring. Along the way the heroes of the tale discover how the early life of the master artist, Michelangelo, was entwined with the Medici family of Florence, Italy in the 15th-16th Centuries and now themselves…the Colonna family of the 21st Century.
As with all of his works, they may be found at
www.amazon.com
