Spotlight: Frederick H. Crook Visits to Talk About Dystopian Sci-fi Book, OF KNIGHT & DEVIL!

Today, we're doing something a little different. Fellow author Frederick H. Crook is stopping by to talk about his new book! 


Hello, Frederick! It's great that you're visiting MLB. Lovely to see you again! :) 

 

 

 

 

Hi! Thank you for having me here.






 

 

My pleasure, of course! So, let me ask a few questions since you're here...



 


All right.


 


Can you tell us a little about your book? When did it come out and where can we get it?

 

http://bookgoodies.com/a/B0158XZXC8

The latest novel came out early September of 2015. It’s entitled Of Knight & Devil, and it features two ex-military men, Major Reginald Mattersly of the British Army’s SRR and David Bartel, aka Elias Mulhaney, formerly of the 82nd Airborne. These two characters join forces to rescue the niece of Mayor Jazz Hernandez of Lovelock, NV from the rather insane, self-proclaimed King of Reno, a man known only as Gillespie.

Of Knight & Devil is a fast-paced dystopian sci-fi action adventure available for Kindle or in paperback.

Great!

 

So, what inspired you to write your book. How did you get into writing dystopian science fiction?

 

Of Knight & Devil brings together two characters from previous works. Reginald Mattersly is a character from my second novel, The Pirates of Exodus, and Elias Mulhaney is the main character from my first short story, Runt Pulse. The idea of two warring neighbors and the two characters joining in was too much of a temptation not to write. I just had to reuse them in some type of scenario, and I just love the end result.
            I write dystopian stories because they hold a certain mystique for readers. My story line is based on a really positive thing, however, not something like a post-Armageddon scenario or some weird post-apocalyptic world. In my dystopian sci-fi universe, the majority of mankind has relocated to the colony planet, Alethea, which is a promised land of sorts, being that it is a giant version of our planet. But with everything positive, there is a negative consequence. The remainder of Earth’s population begins to suffer from a slowly failing infrastructure and the re-introduction of illnesses. All of my works center around this “Great Exodus” as I have called it, and whether or not they happen early on in the timeline, as is the case of the “Campanelli” stories, which happen in 2109-2110, or the furthest out, which is my first novel, The Dregs of Exodus, occurring in 2139-2140, these stories focus on the human condition, rather than technology. 

All right.

 

What, do you feel, sets your book apart from other books in the genre?

 

Of Knight & Devil, while reusing two characters, reads as an entirely independent work. There may be a lot of dystopian novels out there, but my universe is based on an intact, healthy Earth, recovering from the abuses of mankind. As the human race is reduced to living in a world of failing technology, they are rediscovering Earth as something that they no longer rule over, but have to survive in. I think any adventure in that setting is just plain exciting.
 

Fascinating!


 


So, give us a teaser or two of the book if you can.

 

“I have to reload here,” Mulhaney said. “Both belts are about out.”
            “Do it. Quickly,” Reginald replied.
            Just as he finished speaking, an explosion rocked the parking garage.
            “What the hell was that?” Elias wondered aloud and froze. “Artillery?”
            “Just reload, now!” Reginald ordered. Seeing no one beyond his driver’s window, the major dared open his driver’s hatch to listen.
            Another explosion rocked the building, this time more violently. Angel opened the infantry hatch and took a look behind them. Bits of concrete and dust filled the air around the two machines. Just as she was ducking back inside, a third explosion struck the building, directly above them. The outer hull was struck with falling concrete from the ceiling.
            “Mortars!” Reginald shouted into the microphone for the benefit of their new ally, Sergeant Schamski. He slammed the driver’s hatch, locked it, and extracted himself from the seat, leaving the helmet behind. “Angel, get into the driver’s position and move if I tell you. We are being shelled!” With that order given, the major snatched up his Dragunov and lowered the rear ramp.
            “Major, I don’t know how to drive this thing!” she protested.
            “Just do it! Shut the door when I get clear!” he shouted as the next mortar round struck against the side of the parking structure, this time on their floor. Mattersly was shielded by flying bits of concrete by Necromancer, which was immediately covered in dust.
            Reginald used the dust as cover for his run to the southwest corner of the building. He had judged from the trajectory of the first three rounds that whoever was launching the mortars would be found in that direction. He crouched low as he met with the wall, pulled his beret from his tunic’s breast pocket and placed it on his head. The action was more out of necessity than pride, for the gray surface of the cap would not reflect the sunlight.
            Another mortar round struck nearly the same place as before, only one floor below. Wasting no time, he took a peek over the top of the waist-high wall, where his eyes found another large hotel across the street. Having adjusted his eyes for distance, he immediately located the mortar crew, which had taken a room on a floor slightly below the level of the garage on which Necromancer and Wolfhunter were trapped.
            He quickly reset his eyesight to normal and brought up his Dragunov, being careful to remain in the shadows. Reginald watched as the crew fired a sixth round. In seconds, it was clear that this one was going to be rather close. He lay flat and covered his head as the round struck just left of his position, taking out the short wall and the leading edge of the pavement. Mattersly felt several bits of concrete strike him and was covered by dust.
            His ears rang despite the audio devices’ cancellation attempts and his eyes burned from the dust. Reginald noted that Necromancer had again opened fire on targets trying to come up to their level. Without further thought, the major rose upon one knee, lifted his rifle to his shoulder and located a target. It was the mercenary attending or perhaps firing the mortar.
            Reginald squeezed the trigger and dropped him. Training told him to move to another location, but he had found Renoite militia to be undertrained and inexperienced. He found a second target. This one was another militiaman which came to the aid of the man Reginald had just brought down. With another squeeze of the trigger, the second man was felled.
            This time, Mattersly did drop to the floor to crawl to another location. It was none too soon, as the place where he had just fired from was struck with a smattering of assault weapon rounds, returned from the militiamen supporting the mortar. As the two Strykers fired at targets that he could not see, the major lifted his body onto his knee and prepared to take another look. Just then, the seventh round struck the parking garage, close enough to knock him flat.
 

Ooh! I definitely want to know what happens next.

 

Let's try a different question, okay?


I'm sure readers are curious about your next writing project. Can you tell us what you've got cooking up now or is that a secret?

 

The next novel in the Campanelli crime thriller line is about to be submitted to Solstice Publishing. It’s entitled, Campanelli: Siege of the Nighthunter. It’s something altogether different from my previous works as there is a horror aspect to it. This makes it a dystopian sci-fi horror crime thriller…if you can dig that. The cannibalistic serial killer has even given me a couple of nightmares. Our beloved blind detective, Frank Campanelli, with the help of his partner, Marcus Williams, tries to track down the most dangerous killer to ever terrorize the city of Chicago. I’m quite proud of it.

As you should be.  :)

 

How exciting! We certainly look forward to your other books! 

 



Thanks so much for stopping by to tell us about Of Knight & Devil, Frederick! 



Of course! Thanks for having me here.


It's my pleasure!

 

Readers, you'll just have to pick up a copy of this great dystopian sci-fi! ;)

 

http://bookgoodies.com/a/B0158XZXC8

 

Here is the blurb.

 

It is July, 2130, less than a year after the destruction of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, the last of its kind in America. Major Reginald Mattersly of the British Army’s SRR has been slowly making his way to the west coast, where he wishes to find a home on the beach and live out the remainder of his life.
            These plans are cut short when he is ambushed in Nevada by a mysterious trio of armed men. To his rescue comes a man of the 82nd Airborne who calls himself Elias Mulhaney. The two of them continue on to a town called Lovelock, currently embattled with their neighbors in Reno.
            The mayor of Lovelock, Jazz Hernandez, is the prime target of her former lover, Gillespie, the mayor of Reno. His mentality: If he can’t have her, no one can.
            Mattersly and Mulhaney band together to infiltrate the city of Reno to rescue her kidnapped niece, Nora, and destroy the factory that provides Gillespie’s military power.
            In a post-Great Exodus Earth where there is no law and no national government, can there still be justice?

 

Purchase Links:

 

Amazon Universal:  http://bookgoodies.com/a/B0158XZXC8

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/of-knight-devil-frederick-h-crook/1122656194 

CreateSpace:  https://www.createspace.com/5734642

 

What people are saying about Of Knight & Devil:


"Frederick H. Crook is a masterful storyteller. He pits good against evil with a way different from most writers in the genre. The dialog is crisp and believable." ~ Frank Scozzari

"The entire book takes place over the course of a few days and honestly, I was bummed when it ended. You will never get bored reading this book." ~ Melissa Massey-Maroni

"I loved each page of this tale of hope. Anyone who still believes in the magic of heroism, should definitely have Of Knight & Devil in their bookcase." ~ Susan Lynn Solomon




This sounds like an interesting read! 


 


About the Author:

 

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. Minuteman Merlin was released for Kindle by Solstice Publishing in March of 2015 and followed up by his fourth novel, Of Knight & Devil, in September.

He is currently an editor for Solstice Publishing and working on novel number five, another Frank Campanelli dystopian crime thriller.
 

Author Links: 

 

Publisher:  http://solsticepublishing.com/frederick-h-crook/ 

Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIiKxKPL6iaEmKqOLfoYbqQ

 

 

Frederick's Books:  

 

http://bookgoodies.com/a/B0158XZXC8

 


http://www.amazon.com/Minuteman-Merlin-Frederick-H-Crook-ebook/dp/B00TXHJL2Y/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-7

 

 
http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00PMET6JA

http://www.amazon.com/Campanelli-Affair-Frederick-H-Crook-ebook/dp/B00DQBICQE/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-6

 
http://www.amazon.com/Lunar-Troll-Frederick-H-Crook-ebook/dp/B00CAB33II/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/Fortress-Albion-Frederick-H-Crook-ebook/dp/B00BDTY32I/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-4
 
http://www.amazon.com/Runt-Pulse-Frederick-Crook-ebook/dp/B00AOCHRGY/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-8
 
http://www.amazon.com/Pirates-Exodus-author-Dregs-ebook/dp/B007G39WEE/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Dregs-Exodus-Frederick-H-Crook-ebook/dp/B004IZLI6I/ref=la_B00P83FW02_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434751193&sr=1-1

    

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