Guest Article by Frederick Crook--Campanelli: The Progression of Exodus

Hello my dearest followers!

Today we bring to you a special Guest Article by Mr. Frederick Crook.

Mr. Crook, take it away...

Y. Correa has been kind enough to ask me: How did I come up with the premise for Campanelli: Sentinel? Frank Campanelli, the main character of this novel and the previously self-published e-book, Campanelli: The Ping Tom Affair is the product of a future Earth that has gone through what I have called, “The Great Exodus”. That is the idea I have created that approaches dystopia in what I hope was from a unique direction. For the vast majority of humans, they have simply relocated to a “Super Earth” named Alethea, a wonderful, but sadly, fictional planet lying on the other side of a star approximately thirty light years away. Over the period of fifty or so years, billions of people relocate to this planet, at first simply to be pioneers, but after a time, as the best and brightest leave, it becomes a near necessity. Technology here on Earth snaps back like a rubber band and the quality of life for everyone declines.

In Frank Campanelli’s time, that is 2110 for the sake of “Sentinel”, this problem becomes so severe that the world governments pass an anti-migration law. The problem is that the starships sent out sixty years earlier are still returning. Frank and is partner are transferred into the “Sentinel” squad of the Chicago Police Department which is in charge of quelling human trafficking networks. 

The truly interesting thing about Frank Campanelli is that he is blind.

While living in New York, the career police detective experiences a fire in his apartment building which kills his wife and daughter and takes his eyesight from him. The details of the tragedy may well come out in future books. His eyes are replaced by medical grade bio-electronic implants. While many of the characters of my other works feature bio-electronics, Frank’s are more fully functional in order to provide him with full 3-dimensional vision. 

The following is an excerpt from Campanelli: Sentinel:

Frank took manual control of the car and set its alert status to ‘Condition Two’. The car’s computer sent out its signal to traffic lights and other computerized vehicles, clearing the way for them. The blue lights flashed and the siren whooped and warbled to warn pedestrians and non-computerized vehicles of their presence.

Campanelli adjusted his lenses to zoom in just enough that he saw the leading edge of his vehicle’s hood and beyond. This gave him advanced warning of upcoming pavement hazards. He kept his thought commands on visual adjustments, putting them back to default when the car was in traffic and zooming forward again once the road was clear ahead. Frank’s full-service lenses had an advantage over the standard bio-electronic breed. His fully encompassed the surface of the eyes to give him the benefit of peripheral vision. When he magnified his view, it was not merely like looking through binoculars, it was akin to being physically thrust forward a few feet, albeit with some distortion at the edges of his field of view. With this advantage, Frank Campanelli had the reputation of being a rather insane driver, but from his point of view, he simply saw more detail than others and drove to match. 

As it was Saturday morning, the traffic was light. As a result, Frank could get the car up to eighty miles an hour at times, broken up by sudden slowing and lane changing to avoid a vehicle or road hazard. This unsettled Marcus Williams to no end, forcing the veteran to increase his serotonin levels as he held on to the door handle and center console while plastering his feet into the floorboards. 

The engine whined and whistled with acceleration, alternating with the crying of rubber whenever the brakes were hit hard or the steering yoke was twitched to go around something. 

Marcus was just glad they were not in pursuit, otherwise Frank would be in a real hurry. 

Campanelli slowed at the corner of State and Madison and hung a tight left. The powerful car accelerated like a shot, but the siren went quiet. Marcus dared to open his eyes and saw that the road ahead was deserted of pedestrians, cars and potholes. 

The siren sounded again as they approached the intersection at Dearborn. Dodging around a CTA bus, Frank made the turn and accelerated again, though only briefly as they were close to their destination. Suddenly, the siren quieted and the motor wound down to its near-silent normalcy. Marcus opened his eyes in time to see the blue lights cycle one last time before going out. The light at West Washington Street still turned green for them, indicating that Frank had set the car to ‘Condition Four’: ‘No lights, no sirens, just an officer in kind of a hurry’, as it had been explained to him once by someone he could not remember.

I’m sure many of you caught the references to thought commands and serotonin levels. The bio-electronics devices that I feature in any of my books and short stories are in our future. Today, technologies exist that have the ability to tie into a person’s brain to link their thoughts to a computer. At this point, the technology is focused on those that truly need it; the physically infirm or disabled. But experiments in other areas are being conducted now. Have a gander at this article: Tech Embeddable Implants

Imagine bio-electronic implants that can be controlled by a thought via a miniature pc. Chances are you’re already carrying one on you. The computing power in your smartphone will be advanced and further miniaturized, making such features as I describe in Campanelli: Sentinel and my earlier novels and short stories, commercially available. 

But, “Sentinel” is not all about implants and futuristic devices. None of my stories are. Like my very first novel, The Dregs of Exodus, it is the people that I focus on. My characters are in a unique position of having to live in a world that is in a steady decline, not an Armageddon-like scenario or an Apocalyptic, tragic end. I sure hope readers will appreciate that change. Like “Star Trek”, the vast majority of humankind is prosperous, in my post-“Great Exodus” creations they’re just being so elsewhere.

Well, that's all for now on the All Authors Blog, we hope you enjoyed it! To connect with Mr. Crook visit:

Frederick H. Crook Official Website

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You can also PRE-ORDER

Campanelli: Sentinel on Amazon.com.

An Unbiased, Objective Look at Authorship

Hello and Good Day RWPP's,

Today All Authors P&P is taking an unbiased objective look at authorship. Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly.

There are so many aspects of being a published author--so many sides to the coin--those of which many of us prior to being published never even think about.

In today's world there are so many platforms that Indie authors can use to become a published author. Yet with traditional publishing it still remains the same--submit, submit, submit. What traditional publishers aren't telling you is that they are using the very same platforms indies are! The only difference is that traditional publishing firms have a whole slew of professionals on their side, so this makes it a little different.

In THIS DAY AND TIME, ANYONE--literally anyone--can call themselves a published author.

While the freedom is great, the facts can be depressing! Let's give it a look-see, shall we?

So what's the difference between Traditional vs. Indie/Self-Published?

Traditional Publishing:

This means that you have gone the old-school route of submitting your manuscript to publishers and if accepted have signed a contract to have them represent your book. This also means that you are only eligible for a portion of your royalties. If you are one of the very few to be accepted by The Big 5 then you'll have a whole teams of people marketing your book. BUT if you are accepted by one of the smaller companies, than chances are that you will be required to do a great amount of the marketing yourself. The benefit to this is having the validity of being "under the umbrella" if you will, of good quality reads and a lineage of professionals. 

Indie/Self-Published:

This means that you have opted to do everything yourself. That is, from writing, to editing, to making the book cover, to marketing and everything in between. You do not have an advocate or a group of professionals teaming up to help you. The benefit to this is that you get to keep all of the royalties and recognition of the work to yourself. No one can tamper with your work and/or change it.

Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get to the "real talk" aspect of today's topic.

Personally, I can care less about what publishing platform you've used (Indie/SP or Traditional). All I care about is the downward spiral that is now happening in the market in general.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Y. Correa President/Creator/Founder of All Authors P&P. I am also a published author, a literary advocate and a professional reviewer--doing reviews with The Review Board. Needless to say, I read A LOT! My life practically revolves around books. I do not discriminate genre or publishing platform--I'll read them all (well, maybe excluding the anti-bible).

In so doing I've seen a continuous drop in quality. This worries me greatly.

Let's talk about the Cons of Traditional Publishing:

• They can take your book idea and change it completely.
• There has been an increase in contracts that state that authors can be taken off of their own works.
• You don't always get what you think your getting.
• If you don't look out for yourself, you will get ripped off. 
• You're just a number--literally.
• There is no real interaction with your publishers.
• They get to tell you what they want to keep and what they want to take out of your book.
• Sometimes, if you're not careful, your book can get altered/abridged.
• Most importantly, they aim to "mainstream" you at any cost.

Let's talk about the Cons of Indie Publishing:

• Anyone can publish. While this is a benefit, it's also a downfall. Let me explain why; because people have been publishing low quality reads. So while, if you get props for having published a good book, you will also get fowl reviews if you happened to publish a bad one--and no authors wants to get bad reviews or become part of the "don't read his/her crap" list.
• You have to do EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, by yourself.
• Marketing isn't easy and indies always seem to get the cold shoulder.
• The vast majority frown upon Indie publishing.
• They don't have a very good reputation, especially because of those whom have published lackluster works.
• Not everyone is crafty enough to make cover art and/or format their books interiors.

So, no matter how you spin it, there are good and bad things with both markets. I should know. I am and have been both Indie & Traditional.

So, let's get to the nitty gritty, shall we?

My concern is in the downslide of the literary market.

I have been coming across books, Indie & Traditional alike whose quality have gotten worse and worse. From dreary plots, to excessive wordiness, to terrible syntax, to unoriginal story lines and so much more.

Why is this, you ask?

I think the answer is simple. Competition.

First you have the Indies' trying to prove themselves, then you have the Traditionals' trying to compete with the increase in Indie published authors. The problem is that everyone is focused on quantity, not quality.

And what happens? The grand divide, as I call it.

As integrated as our world has become in racial aspects, it has become more and more segregated in literary aspects. Everyone thinks they are right, and therefore cannot come to an agreement. Sam, wants to prove to Tony that he has what it takes to be an "author". Yet, Tony wants to prove to Sam that tradition is of grater value than independence.

Herein lies the tug of war...

HERE IS THE PROBLEM!

While one party competes with the other, the ones that pay the penalty are the readers!! WE, get stuck with low quality books that are impossible to enjoy!

LADIES, LADIES! YOU'RE ALL PRETTY!!

I believe that it's incredibly important to focus more on quality than quantity.

Here is how we can do that:

Analyze yourself.

• Are you really, truly able to write a book?
• Are you prepared?
• Do you have the skills and know how?
• Are you patient enough to ensure that your work is up to par, well done and exceptional?
• Do you think your book has the makings of an original and outstanding story/work?

Be precautions.

• Don't fall for everything your told.
• Read, and double read your contracts (for traditional authors), and contractors guidelines (for indie authors hiring people to do work for you). If you can't double check it, have someone that you trust do it for you.

But most of all, think of your audience!!!!! Put yourself in their shoes! Would YOU read your book if you were them?

AFTER ALL, A HAPPY READER EQUALS A SUCCESSFUL AUTHOR!

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Time for y'all to talk to me! Tell me your thoughts, share your input! Interact!

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This is All Authors P&P

The good, the bad and the ugly in the world of books, article 1.