My guest today is Frederick H. Crook. Hello! Welcome back to Writing in the Modern Age! It’s such a pleasure
to have you here.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
Interesting!
I’m not sure, but I might have had some bad toppings
on a pizza one night. The character of the serial killer just sort of happened
and I thought it would be interesting to throw him in Frank Campanelli’s
futuristic, post-Great Exodus Chicago. I have to say, I’m happy with the
outcome, though it cost me some nightmares and lack of sleep.
Oh, I hear you! The first time I got into a villain's head, it was pretty disturbing.
I’ve wanted to write since I was a kid. I started
early with some short stories. Now, at 46, there’s no end to the ideas, so it
seems.
That's great! And I love to
hear about an author's journey!
Do you write in a specific
place? Time of day?
Do you have any favorite
authors yourself, Frederick?
Stephen King, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and
Dean Koontz, among some others.
All right.
I like to start as soon as I can, but I think I’m
most productive in the afternoon. That seems to be the trend.
Are there any words you'd like
to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
Write what you’re passionate about. MAKE the time,
and MAKE the space. That is, make sure you are comfortable while you’re
writing, whether that’s in a chair, couch, standing up, whatever. You are most
productive when you are not fidgeting. :)
Very true! That's
great advice! Thank you for offering those words of wisdom.
And thank you so much for stopping
by to visit us here today at Writing in the Modern Age. It was so nice
having you! :)
June,
2110. A serial killer strikes the populace of the City of Chicago. The first
victim is a wanted man by Detective Frank Campanelli’s Sentinel Division. His
body had been mutilated and, from the evidence uncovered by forensic genius, H.
Lincoln Rothgery, it has been partially consumed. The unknown invader leaves a
trail of corpses behind in short order, including that of a homicide detective.
To add to the mystery, the DNA
evidence retrieved from a stolen vehicle indicates that the killer is former
military, but special encoding prevents the murderer from being identified. Frank’s
partner, Marcus Williams, seems to know more about what’s going on than he lets
on, until the former Navy SEAL calls in a friend from the FBI to help.
“The Nighthunter”, as the media has
labeled him, instills terror and virtually shuts down Chicago. Together,
Campanelli, Williams, and the agent must work to capture the enigmatic and frighteningly
efficient cannibal.
Here is an excerpt.
Lincoln caught Frank’s gaze. “We found two different
types of blood, two sets of DNA in the car.”
“Go
on,” McLain prompted.
“Herman
Werner’s and the killer’s. No ID’s been matched to his,” Rothgery stated and
stood from his chair. He stepped between the two detectives and stepped
casually toward the sedan. “The killer’s DNA has been engineered, as has the
blood, but there’s no identification to be found in the cells. He is a he and
appears to be of military origin, but it goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”
“So,
you’re telling me that the killer is a soldier. American?” Frank asked as he
stopped next to Lincoln and stared at the driver’s seat of the ruined car.
“I
can’t even determine that without a serial number, Frank.”
“Soldier
or not, Mister Rothgery…how the hell did he get outta that?” McLain asked from
Lincoln’s other side. The big man waved his hand over the wreckage as he spoke.
“That should’ve been fatal…engineered genes or not.”
“I
agree.” Rothgery slid his glasses from his Roman nose and rubbed his eyes with
his free hand. “Gherling is still researching the DNA and the blood while Teri
is carrying out more tests.”
“You
said Werner’s blood was in the car,” Frank stated.
“Yeah,”
Lincoln said then nodded. “Not much of it, though. A lot of the DNA we found in
it was from hairs in the carpets and seats. My opinion is that he used the car
for some time. Months, perhaps close to a year.”
“So,
Werner was cut out of the seatbelt…then thrown through the air.” Kirby stepped
up to the side of the car and studied the sliced seatbelt. In the bright light,
the precision cut was much more impressive.
“Definitely,”
H. Lincoln affirmed as he replaced his eyeglasses. “And…before I forget…there
are teeth marks on the body.”
“We
saw those,” Frank said. He leaned back on the workbench behind him and crossed
his arms. “The bites on the shoulder.”
“I’m
not talking about those, Frank.”
This
took Kirby’s attention from the wreck to the forensic genius. “What are you
trying to say, Mister Rothgery?”
“I’m
saying he had a little nibble on some muscle tissue while he cut out the heart
and liver. It’s also confirmed that the heart and liver were eaten.” Lincoln
met the eyes of McLain then looked to Campanelli.
“God,”
Kirby uttered and stepped away from the sedan as if it exuded heat.
“How
do you come to that, Lincoln?” Frank asked.
“Pieces
of both organs were left behind in the car. Nothing more than shreds, really.
Seems he had to pick them out of his teeth as he drove.”
Frank
lifted his right hand to his chin and rested it, keeping the left arm tucked.
“You’re telling me that we have a soldier of unknown origin turned cannibal,
running around the streets of Chicago.”
“From
everything we’ve gathered so far, Frank, that’s about the size of it.”
Purchase Links:
Amazon Universal: myBook.to/CampanelliSiegeoftheNighthunter
CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/6171609
Author Bio
Frederick was born in Chicago in 1970 and now lives
in Villa Park with his wife, Rae and their three dachshunds. He began by
writing fictional works all through high school, but didn’t take himself
seriously until 2009, when Frederick began writing his first novel, The Dregs of Exodus, which was
self-published in late 2010. This was followed up with another novel, The Pirates of Exodus in 2012.
Throughout
that year and 2013, he continued writing and published four short stories in
eBook form for Kindle. Runt Pulse, The Fortress of Albion, Lunar Troll, and Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair.
His
third novel, Campanelli: Sentinel, was
picked up by Solstice Publishing in late 2014. The novella, Minuteman Merlin, was released for the
Kindle by Solstice Publishing in March of 2015 and followed up by his fourth
novel, Of Knight & Devil, in
September. His fifth novel, Campanelli:
Siege of the Nighthunter, was released by Solstice in March, 2016.
He
is currently an editor for Solstice Publishing and working on novel number six,
a paranormal historical fiction.
Author Links:
Website/Blog: http://frederickcrook.wix.com/crooksbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrederickHCrook/
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Frederick-H.-Crook/e/B00P83FW02/
Youtube:
Frederick's
Books:
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