by 
Author Frank Settineri
Bio
Friends and family told me that I had a prowess for writing, yet I never wrote anything more than technical reports. Until I became bored attempting to build a LInkedin network while staying at hotels. So I started writing short stories, read and listened to successful authors and wrote my first novel, In the Shadows of the Oaks. This was based upon the time I taught in an inner city school and I wanted to show why the schools are failing, essentially due to corruption and misguided politicians. Not wanting to do a sequel, I searched for other topics in which I was familiar and found one that was based upon science – black paint. I read an article about a paint so black that it absorbed almost all the light that struck it and thought, what would happen if it absorbed so much light that it became a black hole? It was a great idea, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it realistic. Until I heard an interview with Janna Levin who authored a book entitled, Black Hole Blues and other Songs from Outer Space. The book described how LIGO – the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory – detected black holes; this was the missing piece I needed to link the paint with black holes and ultimately to my novel.
My current work is temporarily titled Fearless, in which a Vietnam vet, Joey, and his friends embark from New Jersey to California in the 1970s to meet the widow of Joey’s best friend who was killed in action. On their journey across the country they encounter a multitude of individuals who turn out to be Vets. They learn about their shared experiences, the hatred they faced upon their return from ‘Nam, the nightmares, fears, apprehensions and difficulties re-integrating into society. Although this story has been told many times, this rendition is told from the perspective of innocence, romance, the majestic beauty of America and the altruism that lives in each of us. It is sad, funny, suspenseful and honest and captures the sentiments that dominated the times in which it was written. The characters reflect many people I met in my life, making them truly realistic. I’m not sure the title will remain the same because the novel is more of a tribute to veterans of all wars and to the undying American spirit than to being fearless. I was thinking of changing it to Meandering or Wandering and am open to suggestions. The book is almost done and then the real hard part begins – editing, followed by the most difficult part – marketing. Please visit my website and I’ll keep you informed: www.franksett.com
Interview
Please click here to visit the Interview Page.
Books
In the Shadows of the Oaks
The Phantom
