Frogs in a Midnight Marsh

by Caesar Campana

Frogs in a Midnight Marsh tells the story of 16-year-old Angelo Perduto’s journey following the loss of his parents, little sister, and astronaut teacher. Guided by an imagined elf, Angelo embarks on a quest to find his loved ones and comprehend his destiny. This gripping and dark narrative is akin to a Gen-X adaptation of Huckleberry Finn traversing Dante’s underworld. Angelo navigates New York City's underbelly alongside a Hunter Thompson-like figure, before traveling with a middle-aged Holden Caulfield to Cape Canaveral in search of survivors from the Challenger explosion. Angelo's bildungsroman culminates with an ironic revelation that the orchestrator of his final destiny is a troubled boy who becomes a school shooter.

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2025

About the author

At the age of 18, Caesar Campana escaped the cold weather of New Jersey to study Shakespeare and play football at North Carolina State University. When he graduated from NCSU, he married his high school sweetheart, Monica, and they moved to Wilmington, NC where they both started long careers in education. For over forty years, Caesar worked in both public and private high schools in NC and Florida where he taught English, but also worked as a Dean of Discipline, PE Instructor, and Graduation Counselor. One year he taught at a drop-out prevention program on an island along the coast of Florida. Caesar coached Football, Track and Wrestling for most of his career. Now, besides fixing his chainsaw, he spends his retirement in Palm Coast, Florida and Murphy NC writing short stories, poetry and novels. Currently, he has published eight books, including five novels: Coach Sal Grasso and Cape Fear U, A Beautiful Castle of Mud, The Blood We Truly Bleed, Bright Shiny Objects, and (Caesar's most recent novel) Frogs in a Midnight Marsh.