Former police detectives and authors of THE NIGHT POLICE, Chris Berg and Paul James Smith shut out by mainstream media/publishing and marginalized by WOKE culture, launch GOFUNDME Campaign in conjunction with National Poice Week. The co-authors hope investors will help them publish and market fictionalized true crime experiences that share a politically charged viewpoint, that in the end, cops are the good guys.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Former police detectives and authors Chris Berg and Paul James Smith, co-authors of THE NIGHT POLICE Series of novels, seek help to publish and market the inconvenient truth about law enforcement.
The Night Police GO FUND ME campaign kicking off during National Police Week 2022 will help fund and market a book series about the authentic experiences of the men and women of law enforcement. The former officers' book series seeks to share the inconvenient truths about policing with fresh stories mainstream publishers are shying away from.
Berg and Smith state they believe "the public needs to have some idea of the emotional price paid by those who spend their working life seeing and dealing with the unthinkable to help keep all of us safe." The authors contend there is a "more human side to policing, one not often shared with the public."
While policing can be easily criticized (and rightly so in many instances), there is a need for it to preserve an orderly society if for nothing else. They posit that while challenging injustices and racism in our communities is essential, so is sharing perspectives not embraced (and often canceled) by much of the media and the publishing industry. They want to share that other side of the American policing story.
The two retired detectives, Berg and Smith, relate true crimes in the authentic voice of the police from the 1970s -1990s. They fictionalize their stories to protect folks who are still alive, as well as the memories of those departed, all the while detailing what the lives of lawmen and women were like. "On and off the job". They suggest their books illustrate the police reflect the greater community as a whole. Good, bad, and everything in between. They provide readers with entertaining stories but add "we will not back off of the notion that, in the end, the cops are the good guys".
Therein lies the rub and the need for funding.
For many years, mainstream publishers were keen on getting fresh material about cops and crime, but in the last couple of years, 'woke' culture has changed that. There were smaller dedicated imprints for conservative writers, but the war between Amazon and the big publishing houses has put the squeeze on them. Even the distribution part of the business is trying to draw lines in the sand over the authors and content they will take on. It makes it hard to gain traction when the product is considered undesirable or trouble straight out of the gate.
Smith and Berg have been told over and over different versions of "sorry, not interested in that perspective any longer." According to Smith, "Unfortunately, we're not the only ones experiencing this. In our discussions with other authors in our space, we've heard similar stories of publishers unwilling to take a risk on the subject or even dropping writers in the middle of a series. It's a thing."
"It's damn hard to get published if you're new authors and even harder if you want to write about police work. And God forbid, you might lean pro-police." Berg adds, "Well, folks, that's who we are, and those are the stories we write."
About 3,000 readers purchased the author's first novel, THE NIGHT POLICE - Beyond the Line of Duty, with a 4+ star rating on Amazon. It also garnered favorable reviews in Publisher's Weekly, Midwest Book Review, and others. Industry insiders considered the release a very positive debut for a self-published effort.
However, the political climate and policing challenges in communities across the US have made publishing a pro-police perspective difficult for major publishers. Berg and Smith's GoFundMe campaign aims to overcome the challenge of telling the truth about police in an anti-police climate.
During National Police Week 2022, the two former law enforcement officers seek funding for their second novel, THE BLEEDING, and THE NIGHT POLICE Series as a whole. Their perspective on the true crime depicted in the text is often at odds with content that many mainstream book publishers will promote.
The authors of THE NIGHT POLICE Series have set a goal to raise $17,400 to publish THE BLEEDING and take it and the NIGHT POLICE Series to the next level. They've completed the first draft of their 305-page, 86,000-word book. Advanced readers have poured through it and taken it apart, offering critical insights and suggestions. They've completed initial editing and are ready to take the next steps with reader support. They seek funding to pay for editing, publishing, marketing, and distribution to tell the stories that represent their perspective on policing.
Beyond the funds they are seeking, they too are financially invested. Berg and Smith have already made a significant investment to get THE NIGHT POLICE Series off the ground. They've hired professional editors and paid for the right artwork and book design. They built a highly regarded website and directed significant money and effort toward production, publicists, and daily/weekly/monthly social media management. Four years into this project, they have a good idea of what it takes in terms of time, money, and effort to make a series successful.
Berg states, "All donations will make a difference. We support the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum and will give 15% of all proceeds to NLEOMF. In the end, every dollar will go towards an effort we hope will allow many others to see the other side of the policing story. To know the inconvenient truth."
According to Smith, "Cops are not supermen endowed with more courage or emotional armor than their neighbor, they're just men and women with specialized training. To understand policing, society needs the perspective of writers like us. Writers who have been there and can accurately convey being scared witless, outraged, or saddened to the point of self-medication. This is our passion and mission—Sharing real events from the past to both entertain and illustrate the human side of policing."
The retired detectives hope to build an ongoing relationship with their investors who will receive special recognition in their upcoming novel, "Because they were the first to believe in the mission to bring authentic police stories to the reading public."
"With investor support, we'll share the stories of THE NIGHT POLICE, and readers will get a better understanding of the complex world of policing and the stories of the men and women who sacrifice each day so the rest of us can sleep well at night.
To support the effort, visit Berg and Smith's GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-share-an-inconvenient-truth
About The Night Police:
FAST-PACED TRUE-CRIME FICTION FROM FORMER REAL-LIFE NIGHT POLICEMEN
If you can't get enough of true crime podcasts, documentaries, and police procedurals, former law enforcement officers Chris Berg and Paul James Smith have written a book that you'll be unable to put down. The Night Police's first Novel, Beyond The Line of Duty (March 24, 2020) is a no-holds-barred, un-flinching, fictionalized version of actual events that Berg and Smith experienced firsthand during their time in law enforcement in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It is a look behind the curtain of the gritty policing world; this book has readers turning pages and leaving them wanting more.
Visit http://www.nightpolice.com to read book excerpts and to order your copy.
About Co-Author Paul J. Smith:
Paul served the community and country in a variety of pursuits from age 19 to age 59. After completely flunking out at San Diego State, a Marine Corps recruiter handily outsmarted him, and he fell for the old "aviation guarantee". This launched a long and checkered career of service as an enlisted marine, a local lawman, a Federal Agent, and a reserve Coast Guard officer where his assignments included command of two expeditionary units, Commander, Maritime Security Force, Guantanamo Bay, and four wartime deployments to the Persian Gulf. Paul's 31 years of cop experience ran the gamut-Patrolman, Field Training Officer, SWAT, Detective, Federal Agent, Sniper and Sniper Instructor, and National Tactical Team Leader. The cases were varied too; seizing meth labs, busting outlaw motorcycle gangsters, and special operations at Ruby Ridge and Waco. Read more here:
https://www.nightpolice.com/bios
About Co-Author Chris Berg:
In 1977 Chris became the third generation of his family to sign on as a lawman. Serving as a patrol officer, evidence technician (long before CSI was a thing), and vice/intelligence detective it was his posting as an undercover narcotics agent that fit him best. He relished the life of hand-to-hand undercover drug "buys", clandestine lab investigations, and the requisite counterfeit persona. Chris still revels in the adventures and friendships that come with being part of the police fraternity.
After retiring due to injury, Chris had a successful second career in corporate America, and... it bored him to death. The high point of that life was traveling the world; Malaysia, Dubai, Beijing, Moscow, Rio, Hong Kong, and much more. Still, that world was never a fit, not for an ex-Night Policeman. Read more here: https://www.nightpolice.com/bios
Media Contact
Chris Berg and Paul Smith, The Night Police, 1 408-564-9994, [email protected]
SOURCE The Night Police
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