Press Release

Bio

Seth Crossman is a minister, speaker and writer who lives in Upstate New York. His own adventures have taken him across the globe, to more than thirty countries including four years in Japan, and stirred his desire to write fast paced, provocative thrillers that keep readers turning the page. He and his wife have three boys that they want to inspire with a sense of adventure and courage to overcome whatever obstacles get in their way.

Contact Information

Name: Seth Crossman

Email: seth@sethcrossman.com

Find Me Here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sethcrossman

Twitter: twitter.com/sethcrossman

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sethcrossman/

 

Sample Q&A

Q: Why did you choose to self-publish?

A: That wasn’t an easy decision to make. I think most authors want a publisher to pick up their book because a publisher has the full force of the company behind them to get the book into as many markets and hands as possible. However, I really felt like I needed to go through the publishing and marketing process myself so that I could help others that come after me. I needed to know what it was like to try and market a book, what it was like to have a blog tour, what it was like to find a cover artist and the number of communications back and forth to get it right. That experience will help me help others. That is ultimately why I chose to self publish.

Q: Who are your favorite writers?

A: I love so many writers and in lots of genres. I love Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Stephen R Lawhead, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Terry Brooks, Brent Weeks, Terry Goodkind, James Rollins, Dan Brown, Robert Bryndza. The list could really go on, because there are so many good authors out there whose books I have thoroughly enjoyed. I suppose it also depends on what kind of book I want to pick up at any given time. Sometimes I am in the mood for a thriller. Sometimes, I want to let my imagination run with a really good fantasy. You get the point!

Q: I see you write in many different genres. What is that all about?

A: I don’t read just one genre, so why would I want to write just one genre? I grew up loving fantasy and that holds a special place in my heart. I want to write an epic fantasy series in an unforgettable world that people just want to get lost in. I want to do for others what some authors before me did for the young me, transport me to a world that was at once fabulous and dangerous. But I also want to take people on short, thrilling adventures here in this world. Our world has so many mysteries yet to be explored and discovered and I totally just want to dabble with that concept. And finally, half my life has been devoted to studying the Bible and developing my relationship with God. It is life-changing and I want other people to know the truth. I feel I have a lot to teach and reveal when it comes to this subject and this one is more direct at making an impact in people’s lives, even if they don’t believe in God. They can pick up one of my inspirational titles and really just did into the principles in the book and have it change their lives for the better. 

Q: Where do you get your ideas?

A: History is full of surprises. I like to look for old facts, historical finds and stories. They hold the potential of secret and surprise, danger and adventure. From there I try to craft characters with something to lose and insert them into a twisting plot that forces them to face that fear.

 

Press Release

The Hunt Is On!  

SHORT SYNOPSIS. A former MP, Will Stattin, is called to Europe to investigate the theft of several paintings. He learns that the paintings are part of a series of nine pieces of art, all with a clue that ultimately leads to a train that disappeared from Konigsberg, Germany in late 1944 full of gold, art and priceless artifacts. He quickly finds out that he is not the only one after the paintings. Now it is a race across Europe to find the paintings and the lost train with the help of the beautiful and savvy museum agent, Giovanna Rossi, before the hunt turns even more deadly than it already has.

CONTACT DETAILS.To find out more or request a review copy, email seth@sethcrossman.com

FEATURES ANGLE. This book is based on the incredible true story of Hermann Goering’s missing collection of confiscated art. He had the second largest collection behind Hitler. In order to protect it from the Russians, he loaded it up. Some say it was on a train. Others say it was on a submarine. However the story really unfolded, that collection is still missing. 

BOOK DETAILS. 

Publication Date: February 20th, 2020. 

Publisher: Golden Acorn Press

Price: $14.99 Print, eBook $2.99, Audiobook $9.99.

Can be found at most online markets including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Audible, etc. 

Photographs

Book Excerpt

Chapter 1

Snap!

The silenced rubber bullet knocked over the second security guard. He slithered down the wall. 

Rudoff smiled with pleasure, but not as much pleasure as he wished. 

“Sentries taken out,” he whispered into his comm. “It seems the bullets are good enough to get the job done. Breach the door!”

Rudoff’s elite team infiltrated Piero Ricolini’s sprawling estate at its weakest point. 

Rudoff stalked past the two prone guards. His team was using high-end rubber bullets, even more advanced than prison and riot police used. These had slightly hardened tips that were designed to completely incapacitate the target. Rubber bullets were effective, but they weren’t Rudoff’s first choice. An unconscious enemy was a loose end. And he hated loose ends. Loose ends always came back to bite you in the ass. Besides, rubber bullets made it feel like a game. He liked pitting himself against another human with life on the line. Kill or be killed. But rubber bullets weren’t life and death. 

It was their current employer who had insisted on the bullets. Rudoff thought it was a strange request. Their employer didn’t mind stealing, but apparently having a little blood on their hands was too much. That was one of the biggest differences since he had left the military for mercenary work. He no longer got to kill on every mission. He might have to think twice before he took any more contracts that had such disappointing parameters.

Still, this job was lucrative. Very lucrative. Their employer had serious money and didn’t mind spending it to get the results they wanted. The contract payout was more than enough to persuade him to do the job the way their employer asked. Steal a few paintings, don’t kill anyone, drop the paintings off at an empty warehouse. Easy. His team could do it in their sleep.

He had thought it was a lot to pay for stealing a few paintings though. Until he got here to the location and saw the security. It was a private estate that was fortified like an army base. He had done a lot of prep work, but nothing he had found on Piero Ricolini, the owner of the estate, had suggested he needed defenses like this. An art collector with an army? His team could still handle it, but a few warning bells had chimed somewhere in the back of his brain. These were no ordinary paintings if they were so well protected. And who was Ricolini that he needed so much security?

Rudoff scanned the area. Then he was the last of his team to slip into the estate. His men were waiting inside, their guns aimed at every doorway and possible entry into the room. One gloved hand motioned his team forward. They swept through the mansion with calculated precision, the laser sights on their guns falling on furniture, walls and doors. They had done this a hundred times. It was clockwork; pick a few locks, disarm the security systems, take out the security guards, steal the objective. 

This time the objective was a few apparently priceless paintings. Rudoff didn’t know a lot about who painted what or how much this or that painting was worth. Hans was the guy on his team who was good with those details. When the contract had come in, Hans had just raised his eyebrows when the paintings had come up on the computer. Rudoff had liked that look. It meant the job was worth it. He had never had a contract for more than one painting, but it was no problem. One, two or three. They could handle it.

Pffft!

He stepped over another unconscious security guard and sauntered further into the house.

His earpiece crackled. “Boss, you’re gonna want to see this!”

That couldn’t be good. He stepped into a hallway and walked toward a dimly lit gallery with high end Italian furniture and a beautiful oriental rug the size of a dance floor that must have cost a fortune. When he entered the gallery, he bit back a curse. The picture frames were exactly where they were supposed to be according to the blueprints, with the exception of one slightly misaligned frame, like someone had bumped it while cleaning. But there was nothing inside the frames. The paintings were gone.

Someone had beaten them here.

In a split second, Rudoff calculated the situation. The danger was high. Had they been set up? Maybe they were the fall guys for the real theft? He held his breath and listened for alarms, sirens, running feet, anything that would clue him in. Nothing. 

No, the theft had to have just happened. The empty frames wouldn’t have just been left on the wall by the owner. The insurance adjusters would have been called. The police. No, the theft was fresh and that meant the thief might still be around. The misaligned frame suggested the thief had been interrupted just as he was finishing up. He hadn’t had time to straighten it up.

Rudoff’s muscles tightened in anticipation of a fight and he discreetly scanned the area. The objective had shifted slightly. He hefted his assault rifle, ready for action. Be careful and cautious. Rudoff motioned for his team to spread out and search. If they were lucky…

He crept around a corner into an adjacent hall covered in shadows. That was when something heavy and painful fell sharply on his back. His night goggles went flying and he fell to one knee. Then a foot caught him in the chin, just right, and he felt his head snap back with a painful crack. He fell with a giant crash onto an antique lamp resting on a side table. Something sharp poked through the Tyvec on his body armor and pierced his lower back. His back arched in a painful reflex. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black clad figure disappearing down the hall, three long painter’s tubes slung across his back.

The thief! With the paintings.

Rudoff lay there in the broken remains of the lamp and table, trying to catch his breath as his team came sprinting up. It was too late to chase after the thief. The estate’s security team had to have been alerted to the sound. Maybe they had already called the police. His team didn’t have time to try and chase down the thief if they wanted to get out undetected. 

One of his men offered a hand to help him to his feet. He ignored the hand and the pain in his back and rose on his own. 

“Clean that up fast,” he said, pointing at a few drops of his blood on the floor. He yanked a piece of glass out of his back.   

Rudoff didn’t like failure. He didn’t like not completing a contract. In fact, he had never failed to complete a contract as a mercenary. His team was the best. They always finished the job.  He ground his teeth together. Now was not the time to foolhardily chase after the thief. No, now was the time to regroup and alter the plan. Even though he had failed at the first objective, the job wasn’t done. There were more paintings to steal. 

And now there was another thief to catch.

The glass shard in Rudoff’s hand crunched into pieces as his fist closed tightly around it. He had too much pride to let this little event go. He would find the thief and finish this job.

 
 

Copyright © 2019 by Seth Crossman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: editor@sethcrossman.com

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