Bill Riley
Bill Riley is a writer and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and served as an intelligence analyst during the Cold War. Later, he specialized in strategy and communications and has worked with intelligence and special operations professionals from every service, virtually every intelligence agency, and several friendly foreign governments. Bill's deployments took him through combat zones across the Middle East where he played significant roles in Kuwait and Iraq, supported joint coalition operations, and helped nations rebuild after wars. He was the first US electronic warfare officer in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he led the Air Force's largest network operations and security center, and he was the first cyberspace operations officer to receive the Air Force Combat Action Medal. He holds degrees in Literature, Public Administration, and Strategic Leadership, and he is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College and the Air Force Space Command VIGILANT LOOK program. Bill lives in Idaho, just outside Boise, with his wife and two sons.
Books by Bill Riley
2022 Eric Hoffer Book Award, Finalist
An Ancient Magic Technology Reaches across the Ages to Wreak Havoc
Toby Cypher has it pretty good. He's on the cusp of success with his mimics (programmable morphing robots indistinguishable from humans), he has a side gig volunteering at the Air Force Museum, and he's tutoring the prettiest, coolest girl in school. Toby's world falls apart when he learns that his father-Dr. Erasmus Cypher, a scientist who does classified work for the government-has gone down in a plane crash over Iraq. But Toby's sister Katie soon uncovers a secret message on their dad's smart phone-a message sent after the plane crashed. Toby and Katie are drawn into the dizzying world of their father's secret work, a world of untold danger and profound histories, where the two siblings will need all their wits just to survive. Science meets magic in award-winning author Bill Riley's debut fiction novel, Ashur's Tears, the fast-paced, intricately plotted first installment in the Cypher series.
Military Writers Society of America Multiple Award-Winner:
Founder's Award for Standout Book of 2019
Gold Medal Award for Memoir category
For readers of Educated and The Glass Castle, comes a moving new memoir about survival, family, and a humanizing insight into the individuals who fight the nation's wars.
As a child, he was raised in an unstable and violent home by a mother struggling with mental illness. An absent father with a firm belief in tough love left him with only his sister to understand or comfort him as they faced a home full of harshness, resentment, and physical abuse.
As a man, he braved the war-torn landscapes of Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Having learned early from his father that only the strong survive, he enlisted in the Air Force after high school and began an impressive military career in intelligence analysis, communications, and supporting special operations, meeting incredible individuals along the way.
Baghdaddy is Bill Riley's memoir: an honest and colorful depiction of his journey through a turbulent youth and into a challenging adulthood. This very human account of living in some of the least humane environments delivers the message that no matter how different we seem, we are all trying to make the best of life and learn how to be the best versions of ourselves.