Robert Conroy was a bestselling author, well-known for his alternate history novels. After retiring early from a career in automotive management, Conroy decided to combine his loves of history and writing. He had a particular interest in alternate history, finding the genre to be full of endless possibilities. This interest led him to write his first alternate history novel, "1901," in which he explored a Japanese conquest of Hawaii. One of his most successful works, "1942," won the prestigious Sidewise Award for alternate histories.
Conroy's love of history was not just limited to his writing; he also wrote for Military History Magazine. He held an MBA, was a US Army Veteran, and worked as a retired instructor at Macomb Community College. In his personal life, he was a family man, with a married daughter and two grandsons. Conroy lived in southeastern Michigan with his wife of over forty years. He passed away in December 2014 due to cancer.
In addition to his published works, Conroy was also working on a new novel titled "1882-Custer in Chains," which was published in May 2015. In this novel, Conroy explores an alternate history in which Custer survives the Battle of Little Bighorn and becomes President of the United States. The novel is set only seventeen years after the end of the Civil War, and Conroy takes care to ensure that his alternate histories are plausible, with no time travel or magic. Conroy's novels have been a thrill for him, and he often wondered what the nuns at his old high school would have thought of his success as a published author.