Benjamin Sobieck's Blog, page 19

Pumps vs. Charging Handles

Not every shotgun or rifle uses a pump, right? Right. So what's that thingy (for lack of a better term for now) worked back and forth that's sort of like a pump when characters use fully automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns?

 

That thingy is called a charging handle or cocking handle. They're worked manually to load the first round into the chamber when ammunition is initially inserted into the firearm. After the first shot, the firearm automatically reloads a fresh round. They're present on the following firearms (yes, some of these terms mean the same thing).

 

 

Fully automatic riflesSubmachine gunsMachine gunsAssault riflesSemi-automatic riflesFully automatic shotgunsSemi-automatic shotguns

 

 

There's no need to work the charging handle again if the character pauses during a shootout before the ammunition runs out.

 

Make sense? This is only a quick overview without getting into the nitty gritty. Leave any questions in the comments.

 

If you enjoyed this article, sign up for my free e-newsletter. Be sure to check out my book, Weapons for Writers , when it's published by Writer's Digest Books in summer 2015.

Pick Up the Latest Issue of Crimespree Magazine

Hey hey! You'll want to pick up the latest and greatest issue of Crimespree magazine. In addition to the usual reviews, interviews (including one with Benjamin Whitmer) and short fiction, you'll find my article, Enough Dicking Around: How a Private Detective Solved the Mystery of 21st Century Publishing. It centers on Vincent Zandri's approach to his Dick Moonlight series.

Click here to get the issue for the Kindle.

Review - Cry Father by Benjamin Whitmer

Is this a biased review? Oh, my friend, your naivete is cute. Of course it's a biased review. Because not only is Cry Father one of the best crime novels of 2014, but I sent my hardcover copy off to the author, Benjamin Whitmer, for a signature. He even sent it back, imagine that. This is after I won the copy from Goodreads. Life is peachy sometimes. Check it:

 

On the surface, Cry Father is about Patterson Wells, who works in disaster response following the death of his son, visiting an old friend for a fishing trip. Only the friend is snorting a heap of crystal meth the size of "a shrunken head" when Patterson shows up. Patterson goes to take a leak in the friend's bathroom and finds a woman tied up inside. Things get worse from there.

 

Underneath the crushing weight of all that violence and drugs is a story about the legacy fathers leave their sons. Many of the novel's tamer moments, if you could call them that, focus on Patterson dealing with his grief. A few lines at the very end sum up this motif (non-spoiler alert):

 

"She wants to think of grieving as a journey, your mother. A mapable line that begins with loss and ends with resolution. Or, as she put it, a hole that we're trying to fill with our conspiracy theories up here on the mesa."

 

That's answered a few paragraphs later with:

 

"Nothing ends, nothing heals."

 

That pair is one of the few of the many, many quotable lines in Cry Father that doesn't involve the word "fuck." Still, its significance is apparent throughout this meth lab explosion of a novel.

 

Call it literary fiction minus the sanity, noir for the "Breaking Bad' generation or crime fiction stripped of its genre veneers, Cry Father is as haunting to its readers as it is to its characters.

Coming Soon - Gun Safe Lights

Product reveal time: My pet project at work this year has been developing a line of universal gun safe lights. After many months, the lights are finally coming to our online store, GunDigestStore.com. These will mount inside any safe in about two minutes, run on AAA batteries, use LED lights and - best of all - turn on/off with a built-in motion detector for hands-free operation.

It costs less than $20 for two. I'm unreasonably excited about this product. Will post a link when I have one.

Video - Emily Stone, Serial Killer Hunter

Holy cats, now this is how you do a book trailer.

Today’s guest blog post comes courtesy of writer bud Jennifer Chase. Her Emily Stone crime novel series recently made the transition to screen with this vignette. Check it out, kids, this really well done. And pick up a book while you’re at it.

 

~Ben

***

 

Crime has a new nemesis and her name is Emily Stone. She will continue to hunt serial killers and child abductors as long as they are out there.

 

This is her life. Tag along with vigilante detective Emily Stone in a first time ever “live action” novel short film. Be sure to watch it full screen, turn up the volume, and enjoy.

 

Check out the Award-winning EMILY STONE THRILLER SERIES available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords, and most online and book retailers.

You can find Jennifer Chase and all of her books at:

 

AuthorJenniferChase.comFacebookTwitter

 

Three Reasons I Do Not Cut Down Other Writers

In my book, Weapons for Writers, and on this blog, I draw inspiration from the mistakes I encounter in what I read. However, I don’t call out the writers making them. There are three good reasons why.

 

1 - It’s a Dick Move

 

I think the gun/knife information I put out there is strong enough to stand on its own. I don’t need to cut down someone else in the process to get my point across. In other words, I would make for a crappy politician.

 

2 - I’ve Made Mistakes, Too

 

I didn’t start out knowing this stuff. For a long time, I was throwing around “clip” instead of “magazine,” too. It took time to learn the ropes, despite growing up around these items. That other writers aren't as far along as I am isn't reason enough to cut them down.

 

3 - People are More Receptive When You’re Not Yelling at Them

 

This goes against a core principle of Internet dickery, but I think I reach more people when I’m not on the offense. My keyboard isn't greased with the foam dripping from my outraged mouth. To me, that’s a sign of not having much to offer in the first place.

Of course, the exception is when someone specifically requests I review their gun/knife depiction. With their permission, I'd post the analysis here. In that case, the information is still being constructive, which is the entire point. However, every third post I am required to reference Nazis per Godwin's Law. (kidding, I hope)

 

If this approach sounds good to you, please sign up for my free e-newsletter and check out my book, Weapons for Writers: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction when it hits next summer.

Soberly,

Ben

 

(Image via sxc.hu)

Gun Book Download Sale - Ends Today

Heads up: We're having a sale of gun book downloads at my work (Gun Digest) that ends today. If you're at all interested in firearms and want to get into the nitty gritty on a topic, such as concealed carry or how snipers shoot, this is the one for you.

No coupon codes needed. Click here to go to GunDigestStore.com and check it out.

What is an AR-15?

Image via Colt

I was enjoying a novel the other day until a character switched an AR-15 (pictured above) into fully automatic mode and started blasting away at bad guys. Thing is, AR-15s don’t have a full-auto mode. It’s time to clear the waters, because this is only one of the misconceptions.

 

AR-15s Are…

 

Semi-automatic rifles - Pull the trigger once and the rifle will shoot one time. There are no fire modes to switch in and out of, that’s all it does. Fully automatic is different from semi-automatic in that one pull of the trigger can equal multiple shots fired consecutively.Both a model and a type - This seems tricky, but it’s not too confusing. Colt is the only company that can say it makes a genuine AR-15 (the model). However, other companies make AR-15 clones and put their own spin on them. In both cases, you could write AR-15 (or just AR) and still be accurate.Customizable - AR-15s come ready to attach any number of accessories, which is part of the reason they’re popular.Old - For as recent as AR-15s seem, Eugene Stoner actually designed the first one in the 1950s. The .223 caliber ammunition most often used in AR-15s (there are others) is also nothing new.

 

AR-15s Are Not…

 

Assault rifles - The “AR” stands for Armalite Rifle, not assault rifle. An assault rifle is capable of switching between different modes of fire, such as semi-automatic and fully automatic. The AR-15 can't do that, it's stuck in semi-auto mode.Capable of using clips - The difference between clips and magazines is covered in a post here. AR-15s use magazines, not clips.

 

 

Why the Confusion? Blame the M16

 

The AR-15 shares a common lineage with the M16, the iconic U.S. military rifle in use since the 1960s. They both look similar, but appearances are often deceiving when it comes to firearms. The M16 can switch between modes of fire, from semi-auto to full-auto and back again. This is an M16 (image via Shutterstock).

 In the case of the book I was reading, this is where the author tripped up. The character’s firearm was called an AR-15, but functioned like an M16. The author in this case should’ve picked one and stuck with it, although the AR-15 is the more likely choice given the civilian character’s circumstance. M16s are hard to come by outside of the military.

 

If you enjoyed this article, please sign up for my free e-newsletter. Also check out my book, Weapons for Writers: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction , when it hits next summer.

My Kindle Scout Campaign - First Impressions

After one day of my mystery novel, The Invisible Hand, going live with a Kindle Scout campaign, a few things have become clear about Amazon’s latest publishing program.

 

The Good

 

* Titles are tagged with “New” or “Hot” inside Kindle Scout, helping readers decide what to look at for nominations. There’s a trending category, too.

 

* New additions and hot titles receive priority on the Kindle Scout homepage, helping with discoverability.

 

* Amazon doesn’t appear to be tinkering with the submissions all that much. I suppose this could be good or bad. A few typos slipped through on other submissions (bad), but my materials came out as clean as I submitted them (good). Authors are allowed to preview their campaign pages in advance to address any errors.

 

* Readers can nominate books using their normal Amazon account, which is convenient.

 

The Bad

 

* There’s no indication from Amazon on whether it will limit submissions. As of this writing, there are 28 titles in the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense genre, and around 61 total. Add in a few hundred more, and that’s a lot for readers (aka Scouts) to shift through.

 

* This feels like a soft launch. If Amazon is looking to make a splash and lure in readers, it's not trying too hard. The Facebook page for Kindle Scout has a whopping 34 Likes. The Kindle Scout Twitter handle sent out a total of one tweet as of this writing.

 

The Unknown

 

* Amazon doesn’t provide metrics to writers or readers on which titles are in first place, second place, etc. But it does seem to shelf titles according to some sort of logic. My novel, The Invisible Hand, made it into the “Hot” trending category after a pile of nominations from social media rolled in. Its position in that category changed throughout the day, so there must be an algorithm at work.

 

* Will this “American Idol” of e-books program pan out? Will we get a Carrie Underwood or a Lee DeWyze in the end? Who knows. But you can help me find out my nominating my novel.

P.S. Check out this rundown of Kindle Scout from a reader's perspective over at The Digital Reader.

P.P.S. My little Kindle Scout experiment was recently picked up by an Italian publishing website. I'm not sure what they're saying, but I'm sure it's [insert the Italian work for terrific here].

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who nominated my crime novel, The Invisible Hand, on the first day of its Kindle Scout campaign. It jumped onto the Hot list right away and stayed there. We'll see what happens at the end of the 30-day campaign period, but the support offered today meant a lot to me. Thank you.

~Ben