Dan Eldredge's Blog, page 8

Behind the Scenes of a Free Book Promotion, Part 2

In my first post in this series I talked about my previous experience with Free promotions. Lackluster at best, with no return of investment (ROI) with my first attempt at an ad. Here I'll talk about my next attempt at an advertised free promotion.
Fast forward to October 2014...

The primary things that changed between the first promotion and the new one were that The Pirates of Alnari got a sequel, The Grand Masquerade:




And The Pirates of Alnari also got a new cover: Old CoverNew Cover It was time for a new promotion for The Pirates of Alnari. More than anything else, I needed readers. With the release of The Grand Masquerade, I now had a title that could benefit from any spill over from the promotion.

I had taken much of David Gaughran’s advice to heart. When someone finishes The Pirates of Alnari, the first thing they’ll see is a link to join my New Releases Mailing List, a polite request to leave a review if they enjoyed it, and a link to The Grand Masquerade should they wish to continue on to the sequel.

I contemplated if I should do a $0.99 Kindle Countdown promo or a free promo this time. Free used to be the unequivocal (well, only) way to go, but these days $0.99 seems to be more popular. The advent of Kindle Unlimited has dimmed the luster of free, since with it a reader can get thousands of titles for free whenever they want, if only to borrow. The Kindle Countdown promo has the benefit that a price at $0.99 will still earn the author the 70% royalty rate. Ultimately I decided to go with a free promo. More than anything else, I need readers, and lots of them. If some of them are kind enough to leave reviews, that will boost The Pirates of Alnari’s attractiveness in future promotions. Depending on the results of this promo, I will contemplate a $0.99 Kindle Countdown promotion at a later date.

Some advice from David Gaughran’s post Starting from Zero:

Apply to BookBub once you have 20 reviews. They don’t have a minimum, but a new author probably needs that many before they’ll look at it seriously. If they reject, don’t worry. Happens often (to all of us). Reapply further down the line when you have even more reviews, and have padded out your blurb with some juicy pull quotes. Instead, book an ad at ENT, BookSends, or Kindle Books & Tips. Also submit to Pixel of Ink and The Midlist, both of which are free.

I only had fourteen reviews, but it couldn’t hurt to apply to BookBub--the worst that could happen was that they reject me. I did, and they did. Had I been accepted, the cost for an ad for a Free promo there was $140.

The next option was Book Gorilla. But rather than put a single egg in a single basket, I decided that if I was willing to spend $140 on an ad on Bookbub, I could spend at least that much in submitting to multiple outlets simultaneously. David Gaughran suggests you submit an ad to ENT, BookSends, or Kindle Books & Tips. Why not submit to all three?

I looked at various outlets and here's what I came up with:

Advertiser Cost for a Free Promo Cost for a $0.99 Promo Result Potential Audience BookBub$140 $280 Rejected 790,000+ BookGorilla$50 $50 Accepted ?
eBookSoda$10 $10 Accepted ? The Fussy Librarian$7 $7 Accepted 10,475 BookSends$50 $20 Did not submit 19,000
Freebooksy$100 n/a Did not submit 50,000(?)
Bargainbooksyn/a $40 Did not submit ?
Free Kindle Books & Tips$25 $25 Accepted 675,000
EReader News Today (ENT)$15 $15 Accepted ?
Booktweeters$43.50 $43.50 Accepted 375,000+
The MidlistFree Free Rejected ?
Pixel of InkFree Free Unknown ?

In the end I spent $150.50, which is not much more than a single BookBub ad.

BookSends actually charges more for a free promo than a $0.99 promo, as does Freebooksy/Bargainbooksy. Since in addition to ad fees they make a profit off of the Amazon Affiliate program, this suggests they don’t think they can make enough of a profit via the Affiliate program for Free Promos, so they pass the cost to the author. If I do a $0.99 promo in the future I may try them.

Booktweeters was an experiment in itself--for myself I was skeptical as to the ability of Twitter to sell books, but I thought I’d give them a try this time around, so I purchased two days worth of tweets over their five Twitter accounts ($36), plus a spot on their website, eBooksHabit.com, for $7.50.

In addition to the ads I took out, I also posted about the promo on my blog (a whopping 127 followers), did a Facebook post (102 folllowers) and tweeted about it (19 followers). Not that it would help, but it was the thing to do.

With the ads taken out, there was nothing left but the waiting. I was confident hopeful I would exceed my previous promo of 855 downloads and 2 post-promotion sales.

In Part 3 I will describe the events of Promotion Day.

Behind the Scenes of a Free Book Promotion, Part 1

Discoverability is the primary obstacle for new writers.  Lost in the ocean of literature, it is difficult to attract readers.  There are various strategies a writer can attempt to remedy this, including using social media, taking out advertisements, and write more books!

Word of mouth is one of the most effective means of getting new readers, but you already have to have readers to spread the word in the first place. It takes readers to get readers.

Indie publishing champion David Gaughran states the issues far more eloquently than I can in his post Starting from Zero.

I have two novels out now, The Pirates of Alnari , and The Grand Masquerade . Sales are almost non-existent. What reviews I do have are good, so I know that my writing isn't utter dreck. The problem is not that my writing stinks; rather it's that no one knows about my writing at all. I don’t have readers, so I can’t get readers. What to do?

Spamming social media is not an option. The goal here is to attract readers, not annoy them, and I don't have a huge following either, so there's no point.

What follows is my experience so far regarding promoting my work.

Jack Badelaire, a friend and fellow writer, started publishing novels on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) the same year that I did. He is more prolific a writer than I am, and back in early 2013 he had two novel-length titles ( Killer Instincts and COMMANDO: Operation Arrowhead ) available compared to a single one of my own ( The Pirates of Alnari ).

We had both been experimenting with KDP’s free promotions, with limited success.  At this point we were still both so unknown that during a promotion we would give away a few hundred free copies, and see essentially no post-promotion sales bounce afterwards.

In the midst of this, in early April 2013 Jack did a regular KDP free promo, no different from all his previous ones...but something happened this time.  Instead of the normal few hundred downloads, he got 12,000. Both of us were completely baffled (we routinely share sales data to compare notes, etc.).

And then, just as the promo came to a close, the book got a review from someone who said they found it via BookGorilla, which sent out daily newsletters to its subscribers, providing tips on books that were currently available for free. At that time BookGorilla was just getting started, trying to build a subscribership. When it could not fill all of its advertising spots, apparently ad spots were populated with free books by authors who had not taken out ads.  Jack was a beneficiary of this policy.

The result was immediate. After the promo he got a boost in Amazon’s rankings and a massive sales spike. The serendipity was compounded by the fact that Jack had just just released his third novel ( COMMANDO: Operation Bedlam ) in the days before the promo, so his new title benefited from the subsequent boost as well.

Eager to duplicate Jack’s success, I immediately took out an ad on BookGorilla, dropping the $50 ad fee without hesitation.  I was confident I would make the money back in the post sales bounce (Jack got a huge one)--if I sold a mere twenty copies in the following days and weeks, the ad would have paid for itself.

I eagerly awaited my ad date, preparing to track the downloads as they happened. When the day came, I watched my free downloads that morning, a slow trickle like usual, and then when I got the BookGorilla announcing the promotion, the downloads began to spike.  As expected, they began an exponential decay, the download rate falling off with time.  It was soon clear that I would achieve--by far the best promo I had ever run, but nowhere near the success that Jack had achieved. I ended the first day with 625 downloads, and the second day added 260 more, for a total of 885.  A far cry from Jack’s 12,000.

The graph below shows my total number of downloads throughout the two day promotion, starting at 7am on Day One, and ending at the end of the promotion.  The BookGorilla email went out about 10am, and the red dot on the graph shows when I received it. Clearly it did have a significant impact.
Once the promotion ended, I watched my sales closely, hoping but not expecting that I would see some kind of spike.  All I needed was twenty sales. In the month following the promotion, I got two sales. Just how bad is that? In the month prior to the promotion, I got four sales.

Needless to say, this was disheartening. So what went wrong?

I still don’t know, but here are my theories:
My cover wasn’t the best. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t spectacular either. Jack’s cover, on the other hand, was simple and effective--and clearly enough to get the job done. I had fewer reviews (9) than he did (10), but I don’t see that being enough to make a difference. Both of our ratings averages were around 4.5. Wrong genre? My story was Epic Fantasy, while his was Men’s Adventure. Perhaps the audience for Men’s Adventure was larger among BookGorilla subscribers. Jack had more titles available (3 novels) to my one.  But on the other hand, his 12,000 downloads were for a standalone novel, and I find it hard to believe that our respective backlists would have such a substantial effect on the number of downloads. Did yet another outlet pick him up at the same time, and we only knew about Book Gorilla?  We confirmed that BookBub did not run his book that day, but other than that we just don’t know. Bad Luck

I hoped it was just the latter. Either way, I knew that I would have to up my game before I could invest in another advertisement. In Part 2 I will talk about the planning for my next big promotion.

Robotech RPG Tactics Unboxing

I am a huge fan of Robotech. Along with Star Blazers, it had a huge impact on me growing up. I eagerly snapped up Palladium's Robotech RPG, read the novels, bought the comic books, read Protoculture Addicts, bought some of the Revell models, and then the DVDs when they were released. Like I said, I was a huge fan. But there was something missing from the fandom. Palladium's Kickstarter for Robotech RPG Tactics filled that gap.

I'd finally get to play Robotech as a tabletop game with miniatures!  To say that I was excited was an understatement.  I opted for the Battle Cry pledge level, which included the basic game set, a host of additional UEDF and Zentraedi game pieces (miniatures).  I also ordered a Battle Foam Bag.  As I've gotten older, I've been more conscious about protecting my copious miniatures collection, so the Battle Foam Bag was a no-brainer for me.

The Kickstarter took place in the summer of 2013, and was announced to ship in December 2013.  Of course this proved optimistic, and as I'm posting this in late October 2014, you can see how long it took.  Of course this was frustrating for all involved, but I didnt' let it bother me too much.  I trusted that Palladium would ship a quality product when it was ready, and when it did arrive, it would be a nice surprise.  Palladium was good with keeping the backers informed with regular emails explaining the production process, why it was taking so long, so I was never concerned that they would fail to live up to their promise.  By the time the box arrived on my doorstep on October 30, 2014, however, I will admit that some of my initial excitement had worn off.  Only a little, though. 

So now to open up the box and see what kind of goodies I would get!  First off I should state that the Battle Cry Pledge level is being shipped in two waves, as specified by the Kickstarter email:

Wave One contains the following items: 
1x Robotech RPG Tactics Main Boxed Game
(contains 5 Valkyrie Fighters, 5 Valkyrie
Guardians, 6 Valkyrie Battloids, 2 Tomahawk
Destroids, 2 Defender Destroids, 12 Regult
Battlepods, 1 Glaug Officer’s Battlepod,
1 Quel-Regult Recon Pod, and 1 Quel-Gulnau
 Recovery Pod)
1x Battle Cry Art Print
4x Valkyrie Fighters
4x Valkyrie Guardians
4x Valkyrie Battloids
2x Spartan Destroids
2x Phalanx Destroids
12x Regult Battlepods
4x Artillery Regult Battlepods
1x Quel-Regult Recon Pod
1x Glaug Officer’s Battlepod
1x Quel-Gulnau Recovery PodWave Two will contain the following items:
1x Valkyrie Fighter Rick Hunter
1x Valkyrie Guardian Rick Hunter
1x Valkyrie Battloid Rick Hunter
1x Valkyrie Fighter Roy Fokker
1x Valkyrie Guardian Roy Fokker
1x Valkyrie Battloid Roy Fokker
2x Super Valkyrie Fighters
2x Super Valkyrie Guardians
2x Super Valkyrie Battloids
 2x SF-3A Lancer II Space Fighters
2x QF-3000 Ghosts
1x Khyron Glaug Officer’s Battlepod
1x Miriya Queadluun-Rau
3x Gnerl Fighters
3x Nousjadeul-Ger Power Armor
3x Queadluun-Rau Power Armor


Since this is the first shipment, it's only Wave One, so here goes:
[image error] My first impression was that that box was somewhat small, but then I keep having to remind myself that the miniatures are in fact miniatures.  All miniatures seem smaller than I imagined when I see them in person.  Taking the goodies out of the box we see that there is the boxed game itself, a bag of extra sprues, and the Battle Foam Bag.
[image error] The Battle Foam Bag is sturdy--sturdier than I expected, which pleased me because this thing cost me $99! On the front is the Robotech RPG Tactics logo, and there are three pockets--one on the front to carry the rulebook, and one on each side to carry the cards, templates, and dice. 
[image error] The bag measures 16" x 14" by 9", and constructed of nylon.  The walls have rigid plastic embedded in them, making this thing good and sturdy.  Protected by the rigid walls and the foam trays inside, you could drop this thing without fear of breaking all your miniatures. 
[image error] Inside there are five foam trays with multiple sizes of slots to put in your miniatures.  Also inside the bag was the Battle Cry Art Print. (suitable for framing!)
[image error]
[image error] Inside one of the side pickets I found the shoulder carrying strap.
[image error] Moving onto the game box itself, when I lifted it out of the packing box I could hear the sprues rattling around inside--it clearly was not a tight fit. 
[image error]
[image error] Taking off the shrink wrap and cover, you can see that there's plenty of room to spare inside the box, which had me a little worried.  With all the handling involved in shipping, would there be any damage?
[image error] Carefully laying out all the pieces, you can see the UEDF sprues (tan) and the Zentraedi sprues (gray), along with bases, artillery template, and dice.  The UEDF die are white with red markings, while the Zentraedi dice are dark red with white markings.  The dice are standard sized rather than the very small dice you see in lots of games.
[image error] Here's one of the UEDF sprues.   (Sorry the picture quality isn't all that great)  The detail is very good, and there was no flashing on the sprues that I could see.  But it was at this point I noticed something wrong.
[image error] A close-up of the same sprue is below.  The damage I was worried about did in fact occur.  The VF-1S head piece in top center suffered one lost antenna/laser, and the other was bent.  These pieces are very small and fragile, so it seems inevitable that they might suffer some damage on shipment.  I examined the remainder of the sprues, and it looks like the VF-1S head piece is the most vulnerable, which is a shame since it's one of the coolest head styles.  I saw that several other antennae were bent (with the tell-tale whitish stress marks on the plastic at the bend) but no other ones appeared broken off. 
[image error] I know that Palladium has their hands full getting their shipments out to impatient Kickstarter backers, so there's no point going to make a big deal of this right now other than to point it out, and warn backers to treat the sprues with extra care.  If an entire sprue had been smashed or every sprue had lots of damage I think I'd complain, but fortunately that was not the case.

Moving onto rulebook and cards, etc--these were all placed at the bottom of the box underneath the sprues--the box was placed standing up in the shipping box, so again there was opportunity for the book to rattle around with the sprues and potentially cause damage during shipment.  With the set you get the rulebook, an informational sheet showing the Wave One and Wave Two Expansion packs, some assembly instructions, the data cards, an ad brochure from Ninja Division, and the decal sheets.  The decals are waterslide transfers, not stickers, and some of them are extremely small--but the detail does not suffer for it.
[image error] The rulebook is a 112 page softcover with glossy pages.  It has good production value and nearly every page has full-color art.  Towards the back are painting guides for both the UEDF and Zentraedi mecha.
[image error]
[image error] Next to the second bag of sprues.  Things were definitely more tightly packed in here than they were in the game box itself, so less rattling around was possible for this part.  Still, I was careful in removing the pieces to make sure they were OK.  From that I could tell, these sprues survived shipment without noticeable damage.
[image error] Laying out all of the pieces, you can see plenty of sprues, decals, bases, data cards, and more (double-sided) assembly instructions. 
[image error] All in all, I'm very pleased with the contents of the box.  The sprues contained plenty of detail, the cards look to be good quality, and the rulebook was very good quality as well.  The only downside was the (small) amount of damage that was caused during shipping.  For that I have to blame the fact that the Robotech RPG Tactics box itself is too big for what it contains, allowing for far too much movement of the pieces inside.  I'm sure that other people are going to see damaged sprues, especially from some of the smaller and more fragile pieces, and if this ever gets shipped to retail stores (or direct from Palladium's website, for example), this may end up being a common occurrence.

I'll be sure to do an unboxing when Wave Two arrives.  For now, I have plenty to keep me busy with Wave One!

The Pirates of Alnari Free Today on Amazon!

The Pirates of Alnari is free today on Amazon! Check it out!

Martyn and Arycke are two young nobles forced into hiding after experiencing an act of unspeakable violence. They buy passage on the Isalian frigate Selene, but after a bloody battle against two pirate vessels, Martyn and Arycke find themselves shipwrecked castaways along with a beautiful young woman, her ever-watchful grandfather, and the rest of the Selene's crew.

Unfortunately for the survivors, they are stranded within reach of the pirate city of Alnari. In short order, Martyn and Arycke must fight for their lives, not only against marauding bands of savage pirates, but mutinous elements within the Selene's own crew.

The shipwrecked survivors are dragged into a maelstrom of vengeance and intrigue, as rival pirate lords maneuver against each other for dominance over Alnari. Martyn, Arycke, and the rest of the Selene's crew will need every ounce of courage, cunning, and strength they possess if they hope to escape alive...

The Pirates of Alnari is also being featured today on multiple websites & mailing lists, including:

Kindle Books & Tips
The Fussy Librarian
eBookHabit
eBookSoda
EReader News Today
BookGorilla

Command AAR: Deter, Detect, Defend Part 2

This continues the AAR of the Command: Modern Air / Naval Operations scenario, Deter, Detect, and Defend. Part One is here.

Tuesday, 21 August 1962, 224215Z
The situation is grim. Four AS-3 Kangaroos nuclear cruise missiles are inbound to the Seattle area. If the Nike Hercules SAMs that ring the area can't stop them, Seattle's fate could be like that of Vancouver, British Columbia... a radioactive firestorm with hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Not only that, but there are nineteen bogeys--most of which are likely Soviet bombers armed with nuclear weapons--on the way to destroy the cities of the Pacific Northwest. Only a handful of interceptors are available to go against them.

224617Z Just before the first AS-3 Kangaroo nuclear cruise missile goes feet dry near Neah Bay, Washington, the first two MIM-14B Nike Hercules nuclear SAMs launch to intercept. Within seconds they climb at 2075kts to 100,000ft.

225005Z Dragon 1 engages a trio of Tu-22B Blinders. More SAMs are launched at the inbounds.
Dragon 1 engages the Blinders to the west while SAMs go after the inbound cruise missilesA pair of MIM-14Bs engage the inbound AS-3 to the Southeast. One misses, the other hits. One cruise missile down, three to go. Unfortunately, one of them appears to be threatening the Canadian city of Victoria. MIM-14 Nike Hercules SAMDragon 1 destroys one of the three Blinders with an AIR-2A Genie nuclear rocket, but only one.
Dragon 1 launches an AIR-2 Genie nuclear rocket To the north, Nighthawk 2 engages another trio of Blinders. It has more success than Dragon 1, managing to down all three Blinders by itself. More SAMs launch to defend Victoria and other cities from the incoming nukes.The SAMs targeting the cruise missile heading for Victoria miss. More SAMs are launched, but they will be too late.

General McAllister is still unsteady on his feet after witnessing the destruction of Vancouver. Losing another Canadian city might push him over the edge. But there is nothing that can be done. We watch the plot fatalistically as the cruise missile closes in.
Victoria is done forColonel Leary notices first. "It's not diving."

"What?"

"The Kangaroo, it's still 59,000 feet. If it was going for Victoria, it would have begun its terminal dive by now."

I heard McAllister's breath catch in his throat. "Malfunction?"

No one answers. All eyes are fixed on the plot.

225258Z We watch as the AS-3 passes harmlessly over the city, continuing southeast of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. McAllister breathes a sigh of relief, but I cannot relax yet.

"What are the other targets along that vector?" I ask. The AS-3 Kangaroo passes harmlessly over Victoria"Present course takes it between Everett and Seattle, south of Paine AFB," replies a tech. Possible targets include Lynnwood or Redmond." Still too close for comfort.

One of the other AS-3s was shot down while everyone’s attention was focused on Victoria, but there are two within SAM range, and at least three more have recently been launched. In total there are five nuclear cruise missiles inbound for the Seattle area.

225335Z One of the AS-3s is shot down by a SAM, but the other continues inbound, its target still unknown.
225432Z King 7 and 8 shoot down three 3M Bison Bs between them. Good work. With rounds for their guns, they are both vectored north to intercept another trio of targets.

225513Z Over Puget Sound, another pair of SAMs miss the lone AS-3 that had passed over Victoria, which has begun its descent. Seattle is close, but 10 degrees off its vector. In fact, the closest target appears to be a SAM site itself. Nike Hercules SAM launch225550Z Another pair of SAMs miss. The AS-3 descends through 20,000 ft.

225603Z Finally, at 17,000ft over Puget Sound, the AS-3 is destroyed by a MIM-14B Nike Hercules. The final target appears to be near Lynnwood, Washington, which is still within the Seattle metropolitan area. Casualties could have been extreme.

The release of tension in the room is palpable, and the various techs catch their breath. My mind having been focused almost exclusively on the inbound Kangaroo, I make myself look at the big picture.

230027Z SITREP: Three AS-3s are inbound to the Seattle area. A two-ship of Tu-22B Blinders As are inbound Seattle, nearing feet dry, with Dragon 2 on an intercept course. Nine more bogeys, unidentified but suspected to be all 3M Bison Bs are inbound. King 7 and 8 are intercepting one three-ship, while Nighthawk 2 is intercepting another three-ship. Two F-106A Delta Darts are in reserve at McChord, ready to scramble and intercept anyone who gets through, as are two F-102A Delta Daggers at Portland AFB, and two F-101B Voodoos at Kingsley. The situation is dangerous, but may be manageable. Two hours until more fighters will become available. Hopefully there will be no more waves than this.

I order the two F-101Bs at Kingsley to launch immediately, as they have the farthest to travel to engage.

230217Z Just off Neah Bay, Dragon 2 fires a pair of AIM-4F Falcons and a AIR-2 Genie at the pair of Blinders. Dragon 2 shoots its missiles at the Tu-22 BlindersDragon 2 downs one of the Blinders, but not the other. I silently curse the fact that "Sixes" don't have a gun, so the pilot cannot follow up and go after the last bomber. The remaining Blinder goes feet dry, heading for Seattle. Dragon 2 has no gun, and having expended its missiles, it must break off its engagement. 230316Z But even guns are not flawless. King 7 and 8 engage a trio of 3M Bison Bs with their cannons. They empty their magazines and come up completely empty... and to add insult to injury, King 7 is shot down by one of the Bisons.

230613Z The last Blinder enters the Seattle SAM envelope, while the three AS-3 Kangaroos go feet dry to the southwest. Multiple MIM-14B Nike Hercules SAMs are launched against them. SAMs are launched against the inbound threats.The Blinder has no chance against the SAMs and is promptly destroyed. Two of the Kangaroos are destroyed by the first wave of SAMs, and the third one is destroyed by the second wave. I allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief.

231115Z Nighthawk 2 prepares to engage a trio of bombers off Vancouver Island, which it identifies as Tu-16 Badger As. On its first pass it downs one Badger, but fails to kill any more. Winchester, Nighthawk 2 is forced to RTB. Given my limited assets, the failure of the interceptors to successfully intercept targets is worrisome, but I still have a few in reserve.
At this point there are eight inbound bombers. Two F-101B Voodoos, King 9 and 10 are moving to intercept the southernmost trio. There are only four fighters ready, a pair of Deuces (F-102A Delta Daggers) at Portland AFB, and a pair of Sixes (F-106A Delta Darts) at McChord. It is likely that the SAMs defending the Seattle area can take out the five inbound bombers, but to the south, Portland, Oregon is vulnerable, and must be protected by fighters.

233500Z I wrestle with my decision for a moment, then decide to keep the Sixes at McChord in reserve, and let the SAMs engage the bombers. The three Bisons heading towards Portland are the more dangerous threat at this point. Portland has no SAM defenses, so I need all the fighters I can get to defend it.

233526Z King 9 and 10 engage the Bisons inbound to Portland.
King Flight engage the Bisons. I furrow my brow as I hear the two Voodoo pilots call out all four of their AIR-2A Genie shots at the lead bomber in rapid succession. Against four nukes, it vanishes from the scope with a certain finality. Unfortunately their most effective weapon is expended, and King 9 and 10 fail to shoot down any more Bisons with their missiles.

It’s up to their guns. A gun shot takes out a second Bison. King 9 and 10 close in, and then King 10 is destroyed, shot down by a tailgun.

"Launch the Deuces at Portland," I order, and within seconds the two F-102As are rolling at Portland AFB.

They have only minutes to intercept.

233726Z Over the Olympic Peninsula to the north, SAMs rise to meet the five incoming bombers.
SAMs engage Soviet Tu-16 Badgers.The first wave of SAMs takes out one Badger. The second wave misses. Two more waves, and two more bombers destroyed.

Two bombers left. Two bombers left.More SAMs. One bomber left. One bomber left.The last bomber survives another wave, and by now has avoided some ten SAMs. I begin to second guess my decision to keep the fighters in reserve. I hesitate to launch the Sixes at McChord, and by now it might be too late. Colonel Leary gives me a questioning look, as if he is anticipating the order. The Badger begins its attack run, descending through 30,000ft on its way to its target, which appears to be Bremerton, Washington, 26nm away.

234424Z To the south, the Deuces from Portland, Tiger 13 and 14, destroy the last inbound Bison, 32nm away from Vancouver, Washington.

That's good news, but I am still loathe to release the Sixes. They are my last asset, and if any more bombers show up, I'll have nothing to stop them.

The last Badger to the north dodges another two SAMs. It has more lives than a cat. Distance from Bremerton is 22nm.

Twenty miles. My decision may have condemned the citizens of Bremerton to a fiery death.

234509Z Another MIM-14B Nike Hercules launches, as the Tu-16 Badger's distance from its target ticks implacably down. Nineteen nautical miles. Eighteen. Seventeen. Then, sixteen nautical miles away from Bremerton, the Badger’s luck runs out, and it disappears.

The scope is clear. I scan it several times to convince myself that it truly clear, and then rub my eyes. As I do the secure teletype machine chatters again.

234516Z Another SITREP from NORAD:

TOP SECRET 1. NCA CONFIRMED SAFE AND AIRBORNE IN LOOKING GLASS.
2. UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF NUCLEAR DETONATIONS IN US SOUTHEAST. COMMS WITH MIAMI, JACKSONVILLE AND NEW ORLEANS OUT. REPORTED MISSILE LAUNCHES FROM CUBA. MASSIVE CASUALTIES ASSUMED WITH CIVIL DEFENSE RESPONSES COMMENCING IMMEDIATELY.
3. VICE-PRESIDENT WAS IN MIAMI AND PRESUMED DEAD. SECSTATE CO-LOCATED WITH POTUS AND SWORN IN AS NEW VP.
4. NO HF COMMUNICATIONS WITH EUROPE. CABLE TO UK STILL OPERATING WITH REPORTS OF NUCLEAR DETONATIONS IN SOUTHERN BRITISH ISLES.
5. SAC REPORTS TITAN AND ATLAS LAUNCHES COMPLETED FROM BASES IN LA, AR, GA AND FL PRIOR TO ATTACKS.
TOP SECRET 000000Z 22 August 1962 SITREP: The scope remains clear. Most of the fighters are now ready, and I designate four patrol zones in case any follow-up strikes are detected. From north to south, I call them Patrol Zone British Columbia (BC), Vancouver Island (VI), Washington (WA), and Oregon (OR). I send the fighters aloft to begin their patrols.

The scope is clear. 012640Z Contact. Bogeys are detected over Graham Island. Formation is a four-ship, inbound 395kts. It is possible they could be Tu-95KD Bears... and therefore they are likely to be carrying more cruise missiles. Great. I immediately order the VI Patrol to intercept. I want those bombers taken out well out of range of their missiles. There will not be another debacle like Vancouver. I order two more CF-101Bs at RCAF Comox prepared for takeoff. New inbound bombers are detected. I watch the plot as Nighthawk 5 and 7 race to meet the Soviet bombers head on. They should be able to intercept them well outside of range of any cities.

But not out of range of RCAF Comox itself.

013435Z "Vampire! Vampire!" calls a tech. "Multiple inbound missiles, count four, Bullseye 319 for 369 miles." The missiles are on a direct course for RCAF Comox, now just within max range for an AS-3 Kangaroo.

"Ignore the bombers," I order. "Send Nighthawk 5 and 7 after the vampires. Nighthawk 3 and 8 will back them up." If these fighters can't take out the missiles, I'll order every single aircraft at RCAF Comox airborne in order to save them.

013741Z "New Contact. Bogeys detected, five-ship, Bullseye 318 for 420 miles." The new contacts are on the same attack vector as the previous one.

"Speed?"

"Three-niner-five knots."

More Bears. Crap.

0140000Z Nighthawk 5 and 7 close on the vampires. At their altitude of 40,000 feet, the vampires are 19,000 feet higher, and at 920kts, they are 20kts faster than the CF-101B Voodoos on full afterburner. They will only get one shot.
The Nighthawks prepare to engage the vampires The Voodoos make a high speed pass of the vampires and execute a sharp turn to get into missile firing position. After the pass they are near maximum range for the AIM-4G Falcons, and with the Voodoos flying slower than their quarry, there is no time to waste. They fire all their missiles in rapid succession, and the Falcons soar higher into the stratosphere. Two vampires disappear from the scope, but two remain.

"Vector them after the new set of bogeys," I order. "They still have guns, so they can engage them. Nighthawk 3 and 8 will engage the two vampires. Divert Nighthawk 11 and 12 from Patrol Zone BC to back them up. And get another Nighthawk up."

"Nighthawk 5 and 7, Bigfoot," calls the controller. "Disengage vampires and commit to target five-ship, Bullseye 319 for 398 miles. Vector is 307 for commit."

"Nighthawk 5, committing to new target."

"7, roger."

The controller relays the orders to the other two Nighthawk flights for their tasking. Nighthawk 10 starts rolling on the tarmac at RCAF Comox.

014638Z Nighthawk 3 and 8 make their runs against the two Kangaroos, but make a mistake and overshoot. By the time they have turned around in pursuit of the cruise missiles, they are already out of missile range, and are too slow to catch up. Nighthawk 5 and 7 turn to find that they are already out of range of the AS-3 Kangaroos"Send Nighthawk 3 and 8 to backup 5 and 7 against the five-ship," I grate through clenched teeth. "Perhaps they can do some good there." It’s up to Nighthawk 11 and 12 now.
014936Z Nighthawk 5 identifies the inbound Bogeys as Tu-95KD Bear Bs... as suspected. Nighthawk 5 and 7 gun down two of them before they go Winchester and are forced to break off.

Against the Nighthawk 11 and 12 unleash their AIM-4Gs...and splash one AS-3 Kangaroo. Splash one Kangaroo Nighthawk 11 and 12 are slowly outrun by the last Kangaroo, but then Nighthawk 10 moves in, and fortunately takes it out with an AIM-4G shot. RCAF Comox is safe...for now. But there are still three bombers inbound. Nighthawk 10 shots at the last vampire. 015924Z Nighthawk 3 and 8 engage the three Bears, and manage to redeem themselves by taking out all three with their AIM-4Gs. Once again, the scope is clear.
Soon after, the secure teletype machine chatters one more time.

TOP SECRET 1. NORTH EASTERN UNITED STATES HAS SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WITH NUCLEAR DETONATIONS REPORTED IN THE NEW YORK AREA, CLEVELAND, DETROIT AND MINNEAPOLIS. MASSIVE CASUALTIES ARE LIKELY.
2. TARGETS IN THE SOVIET UNION HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ATTACKED BY SAC AND USN ASSETS.
3. WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTION IN EUROPE DUE TO EXTENSIVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS USE BY NATO AND WARSAW PACT.
4. EXPECT THAT SOVIET AIR ATTACKS WILL TAPER OFF AS MOST STRATEGIC BOMBER ASSETS HAVE BEEN LOST. MAINTAIN ALERT STATUS AND WEAPONS FREE ENGAGEMENT RULES.
5. NCA IN PLACE AT NORAD HQ, CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN PENDING DETERMINATION OF CONDITIONS IN WASHINGTON DC. CANADIAN NATIONAL COMMAND LOCATED AT RCAF STATION CARP AND IS IN LAND-LINE COMMUNICATIONS WITH NORAD IN CO AND NORTH BAY ON.
6. SAC ESTIMATES FOLLOW ON AIR STRIKES TO COMMENCE WITHIN 12-HOURS WITH BASE CAPABILITY AT 70%. BOMBER FORCES HAVE SUFFERED 45-55% LOSSES SO FAR.
TOP SECRET
I read the message numbly, my brain not yet registering the enormity of what has occurred over the past several house. We remain on alert, but the rest of the day is quiet. All that is left is to count the cost, and try to figure out how to pick up the pieces.

Score, Losses, and Expenditures

Disaster: Your final score is -100
SIDE: NORAD
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
2x CF-101B Voodoo
2x F-101B Voodoo
EXPENDITURES:
------------------
164x 20mm M39 x 2 Burst [80 rnds]
34x AIM-4G Falcon [IR]
33x AIM-4F Falcon [SARH]
3x AIM-4D Falcon
10x AIR-2A Genie [Nuclear]
54x MIM-14B Nike Hercules
4x AIM-4C Falcon
SIDE: Soviet Union
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
12x 3M Bison B
15x Tu-22B Blinder A
7x Tu-95KD Bear B
6x Tu-16 Badger A

EXPENDITURES:
------------------
24x Generic Flare Salvo [4x Cartridges, Single Spectral]
19x 23mm AM-23 x 2 Burst [50 rnds]
14x AS-3 Kangaroo [Kh-20M, ASM, 800kT Nuclear]
12x Generic Chaff Salvo [4x Cartridges]
54x 23mm AM-23 x 2 Burst [50 rnds]
SIDE: Civilian
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
1x Marker (City)
2x Marker (Town)
1x Marker (Target)
EXPENDITURES:
------------------
SIDE: Pinetree Line
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
EXPENDITURES:
------------------
SIDE: US Navy
==========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
EXPENDITURES:
------------------
SIDE: Commercial
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
1x Single-Unit Airfield (1x 2001-2600m Runway)
1x DC-6
EXPENDITURES:
------------------

Final Thoughts
Losing Vancouver was a hard pill to swallow. It was my own fault in that I simply thought 1962 was too early for the Soviets to have nuclear cruise missiles in service, and I found out the hard way that they did. Had I known that they did, I would have targetted the Tu-95s more aggressively, and further out from my bases. Then again, if I had done so, I probably would have run out of available fighter assets earlier and been unable to defend another city, for example, Portland. Of course, this kind of thing is a learning experience, which is what Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations is all about.

The first wave was very tense, and I was lucky to come out of it with just a bloody nose. (Although calling the loss of Vancouver a 'bloody nose' will not endear me to my neighbors to the north).

Some other notes:
The F-106As (and the F-102As, for that matter) need guns! The F-106s were the newest interceptors in my arsenal, and it was frustrating for them to run out of missiles so quickly and then have to disengage. The F-101Bs at least had guns to fall back on should the missiles fail--and they frequently managed to take out a bomber on the head-on pass too! I'll advise the Kennedy administration to get on this immediately.Command Specific notes: During some quiet times in the scenario, I switched from my usual playing speed of 1-sec (no pulse) to 5-sec (no pulse), and I was unprepared for how fast that would be! Speed is not a problem in Command, at least on my machine (which is only about a year old).One wish I have for the game is to make the "explosion" icon when a contact is destroyed last a little bit longer than it does. It flashes in and out of existence awfully quickly, making capturing a screenshot difficult. If it faded out over a few more frames it would make screenshot captures a lot easier!I did notice a bug: after some of my aircraft missions became obsolete (either due to the fighters going Winchester or RTB), I would try to delete some of them to clean up the Edit Mission dialog box, and I found that if I tried to delete missions other than the top mission on the list, it would cause a CTD. I'll see if I can send the devs a bug report on that if I can reliably reproduce it.UPDATE: Turns out I didn't even have to mention the bug to the developers. The problem has been fixed in the latest Build--I ran the scenario in Build 562, and the fix was put in Build 568. I tested it to make sure, and I can confirm they fixed it. This is another great thing about Command, the developers show time and again that they are responsive and are dedicated to making a great simulation the best it can be.

In conclusion, the scenario was fantastic, and I found myself having to make many difficult decisions. Kudos to the scenario author Chris Comars aka Randomizer and to the Command development team for making this possible! It was all a blast! (no pun intended)

Command AAR: Deter, Detect, Defend Part 1

Deter, Detect, and Defend is a scenario for the fantastic wargame/simulation Command: Modern Air / Naval Operations , depicting a nuclear war scenario taking place in 1962, during the height of the cold war.

Thanks to Christopher Comars aka Randomizer for creating this scenario for Command--it was a blast to play.
Please forgive any mistakes I made in the AAR narrative that follows, as I am sure I have made gross errors about how things operate in the military, both organizationally and operationally.

Please note: In the AAR there are spoilers as to what occurs in the actual scenario, so proceed reading at your own risk. It's World War III, after all...

Tuesday, 21 August 1962, 210000Z
My desk is littered with reports, a copy of yesterday’s Seattle Times and this morning’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Since Sunday the media reports have become increasingly alarmist, but even so they are behind the curve. It's as if no one in the press expected tensions to rise this quickly, and skeptical that it could actually lead to anything serious. The day before, the Times’s story actually downplayed Khrushchev’s rhetoric, calling it nothing more than bluster. The press speculated it was all nothing more than saber-rattling, to remind the US that the Russians had not forgotten the Bay of Pigs.

I know better. I am the commander of the 25th Air Division (SAGE), headquartered at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. My job is to defend the Pacific Northwest in case of World War III.

I light another cigarette and exited my office, gratefully accepting a fresh cup of coffee from my steward. The Operations Center is already foggy from the smoke of dozens of chain-smoking technicians. Colonel Leary, my executive officer, stands talking with Captain Robinson, the Communications Officer. I catch his eye and give him a cursory nod, then sit in my command chair to watch the day unfold on the large screen at the front of the room. I hope it will be quiet.

My Area of Responsibility (AOR) is the Pacific Northwest of the United States, to include the major populated areas of British Columbia. My counterpart in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Major General McAllister, is speaking quietly to a pair of his subordinates a few feet away, and his calm demeanor belies the state of controlled nervousness that pervades the Operations Center.

Most of my command is still at a peacetime state of readiness, and that is worrisome. Better to get things rolling early to be safe. The radars are clear, and there has been no direction yet from NORAD, but things could escalate quickly. It would only be prudent to begin preparations now, and it is easier tell my command to stand down rather than speed things up if things go south fast.

I call over Colonel Leary and give the order. He relays them to the various interceptors at the airbases under my command. Major General McAllister overhears and concurs, issuing his own orders to get the CF-101B Voodoo squadron at RCAF Comox on alert, arming and readying all aircraft. On the US side, interceptors at Paine AFB, McChord AFB, Portland AFB, and Kingsley AFB all go on alert, but it will be a worrying four hours before most are ready.
25th Air Division's Area of ResponsibilityWhile most of the aircraft are being readied, those already on alert are launched on patrols. A pair of RCAF CF-101B Voodoos out of RCAF Comox on Vancouver Island are assigned to the north. Two F-106A Delta Darts, “Sixes,” from McChord AFB are launched to cover the westerly approach, while two F-102A Delta Daggers, “Deuces”, guard the middle. As an afterthought, I order Kingsley AFB to ferry some Voodoos to a more northerly airbase, figuring that Kingsley might be a bit too far removed from the action. The more fighters I have up north, the better.
CF-101B from 409 All-Weather Interceptor Squadron, "The Nighthawks"As the fighters taxi to the runways to begin their patrols, there is little else to do except watch and wait, and hope that the political situation will cool down.

It doesn't.

The secure teletype machine begins chattering away, and Captain Robinson scans the message as it is printed. He and Leary authenticate it, and then Leary brings it over to me. The look on the colonel's face says it all.

TOP SECRETNORADOPO 08-241 210052Z AUG 62
FROM: CINC NORAD
TO: CO NORAD 25 REGION HQ MCCHORD AFB//F-90DC AADCP FT LAWTON WA//HQ 13 NAVAL DISTRICT SEATTLE//HQ I CORPS FT LEWIS WA//RCAF STN COMOX
CC: 318 FIS MCCHORD AFB//64 FIS PAINE AFB//460 FIS, 123 FIS/PORTLAND AFB//322 FIS KINGSLEY AFB//AWIS 409 RCAF COMOX//WHIDBEY ISLAND NAS//PLOT COORD RCAF KAMLOOPS
BT
1. DEFCON 1 IN EFFECT FROM RECEIPT OF THIS MESSAGE. THREAT OF NUCLEAR ATTACK BY SOVIET FORCES CONSIDERED REAL AND IMMEDIATE. THE ASSESSMENT IS THAT NUCLEAR ARMED BOMBING FORCES ARE INBOUND FOR TARGETS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST OF THE UNITED STATES AND PROBABLY CITIES IN CANADA. THE THREAT FROM BALLISTIC MISSILES IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.
2. MISSION CONFIRMED. DEFEND MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS IN YOUR AO FROM SOVIET BOMBERS AND MISSILES.
3. RELEASE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS REPEAT IS AUTHORIZED. EMCON STATUS AT YOUR DISCRETION. AIR DEFENSE WEAPONS FREE.
4. INITIAL SOVIET STRIKES AGAINST ALASKA AIR DEFENSE ZONE APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND IT IS ASSESSED THAT MINIMAL ATTRITION OF INCOMING BOMBER FORCES MAY BE EXPECTED. MOST DEW LINE STATIONS ARE NO LONGER REPORTING FOR REASONS UNKNOWN.
5. ARMY AIR DEFENSE MISSILE BATTERIES IN THE SEATTLE/PUGET SOUND AREA SUBORDINATED TO NORAD REGIONAL COMMAND UNDER PROVISIONS OF SAGE. HQ I CORPS IN FORT LEWIS HAS ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE URBAN CENTERS OF WA AND OR.
6. HQ 13TH NAVAL DISTRICT WILL PROVIDE UPDATES AS NAVAL ASSETS PERMIT.
7. GOOD LUCK. CINC NORAD SENDS.
ET TOP SECRET

Before I can fully digest this information, another one comes in, this time from the FAA.

Commanding Officer NORAD Region 25
FAA advises that it is believed that a number of commercial aircraft will attempt to return to Canada/USA airspace under conditions of electronic silence during this crisis period.
The national director of flight safety wishes to advise NORAD commands to use suitable caution when engaging unidentified aircraft.
Ira Valient
Assistant Flight Safety Manager, FAA Washington Bureau

Radar Stations along the Pinetree Line will provide early warning of any inbound bombers, while a Navy EC-121K Warning Star patrols 400nm off the Washington coast on alert for any approaching bombers from the sea. The USS Kenneth D Bailey, a Gearing-class destroyer, maneuvers 200nm offshore to provide warning as well.

210944Z Contact. The Pinetree Line Radar Station RCAF Holberg detects three inbound bogeys, 230 nautical miles to its northwest. This is real, and it's beginning to hit me. I nod to Colonel Leary, and his Petty Officer relays the order to the interceptors.

"Nighthawk Flight, Bigfoot, Warning Yellow. ID bogeys inbound, three-ship, Bullseye three-zero-niner for four-one-five miles. Vector two-niner-eight to intercept."

"Bigfoot, Nighthawk Flight, wilco," came the the terse reply. High over Vancouver Island, the pair of brand new CF-101B Voodoos go to afterburner. Nighthawk Flight is tasked to intercept the inbound bogeys. 211511Z Another contact from RCAF Holberg. Three more bogeys, west of the original three. Red Flight, a pair of F-102A Delta Daggers from the 64th FIS, is tasked to intercept. Red Flight is vectored to intercept the new bogeys.211916Z A new secure teletype from NORAD arrives.
TOP SECRET 1. SOVIET STRIKE CONFIRMED INBOUND FOR WEST COAST.
2. WEAPONS FREE.
3. CONFIRMATION OF NUCLEAR DETONATIONS DETECTED IN EUROPE HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.
4. NCA CONFIRMS SAC EXECUTING SIOP.
TOP SECRET
I am informed that B-52s are taking off from Fairchild AFB in eastern Washington, and Atlas missiles launches are reported near Spokane. I nod in acknowledgement, but don't think about it too much. Offensive operations are not my concern. Inbound bombers are. I pray there are no Soviet ICBMs on the way.

The mood in the Operations Center is tense. I watch the display and light another cigarette. Nighthawk flight closes to within 100nm, at 1000kts closure. It won't be long now.

212618Z Three more bogeys detected, this time by Navy 5, the EC-121 Warning Star far out to sea. Dragon Flight, a pair of F-106A Delta Darts out of McChord, is tasked to intercept. All of the airborne patrol flights now have targets. Defenses are saturated now, and still 33 minutes until the next flight of fighters will be ready for takeoff.
Nighthawk Flight closes in.212804Z Nighthawk Flight closes to within weapons range, and I strain to hear the radio calls over the static.

“Nighthawk 13, tally ho! Bogey IDed as a Three-Mike Bison-Bravo. Weapons Free. Engaging.”

Nighthawk 13 identifies the incoming bogey as a Soviet bomber. Soviet Myasishchev M-4, aka 3M Bison-B bomber.“Guns! Guns! Guns! Splash one Bison!” And then a moment later, “Splash two!”

On the scope I watched the CF-101B turn hard and maneuver behind the last Bison. “Fox Two! Miss, Fox Two! Fox Two again! Good kill, Splash Three!" Nighthawk 13 fires a AIM-4G Falcon at the Soviet Bison Bomber.Nobody in Operations smiles. This is just the beginning, so there is little reason to celebrate. However, Nighthawk 13 is clearly enthused.

"Grandslam, Bigfoot! Nighthawk 13 is Tiger for Commit."

"Nighthawk Flight, Bigfoot. Bogey is a three-ship, Bullseye three-zero-four for three-zero-three. Commit to vector two-four-zero for intercept. Positively ID before engaging," the communications officer replies, reminding the pilot not to get too eager and shoot before confirming that the bogey is hostile.

"They're coming in dumb, sir," Colonel Leary observes as Nighthawk Flight moves to intercept the second group of three bogeys. "Flights of three-ships is practically telling us that they are bombers rather than civilians." It was true--Intelligence theorized that Soviet bombers would make use of commercial airline routes to disguise their approach, and spreading out the bombers widely would make it more difficult for a limited number of defending fighters to intercept them all. The dispersal tactic was what the US planned for its own bombers, and it was expected that the Soviets would do the same.

I shrugged. "All the more reason to look extra closely at any single-ships we see, to make sure they aren't trying to pull a fast one."

213123Z "Tally ho! Bogeys IDed as Blinder-As. Engaging." Tu-22B Blinder-As were supersonic bombers. There were not expected to be many of them in the Soviet Air Force, but any amount was bad. Nighthawk Flight identifies Blinder-As. Soviet Tu-22 Blinder"Fox two!" Nighthawk 14 calls as it launches an AIM-4G Falcon. I listen intently as Nighthawk 14 calls off its missiles one at a time, hoping for a hit. Then, "13 is hit, 13 is hit!" Trailing the Blinders, the two Voodoos are vulnerable to the bombers' tail guns. A burst of static and just like that, both Nighthawks are off the air. My stomach flips as I imagine the crewmen, two to each Voodoo, plummeting 40,000 feet to the water below, if they are even still alive. General McAllister is stone-faced. Nighthawk 13 is shot down.213229Z It’s up to Red Flight to intercept the Blinders, now 90nm away and closing at 1380kts.

213351Z Another flight of inbounds is detected, this time from the north. They are moving at 480kts, which suggests that they are more Tu-22s. At 382nm from Vancouver, they could strike the city in 48 minutes.

Red Flight and Dragon Flight have their hands full. The next fighters won’t be ready for 26 minutes, which should be enough time given the distance of the inbounds, but it is still a bit too close for comfort. But, there are a pair of F-101B Voodoos, King 17 and 18 out of Kingsley on a ferry mission to McChord, and fortunately they are fully armed. They should have enough fuel to make the intercept. I give the order. King Flight is ordered to intercept the Bogeys to the north.213441Z Yet another bogey, designated Bogey 33, is detected. It is apparently a singleton, and is traveling at only 300kts. I suspect it is a commercial airliner. Either way, it will have to wait, as all the fighters are occupied. A possible civilian aircraft is detected to the northwest.213555Z Red Flight begins its attack run on the Blinders. Red Flight closes in on the Blinders213606Z "Fox One!" Red 11 fires a AIM-4F Falcon at the lead Blinder. "Fox One again! Fox One again!" The third missile hits. Splash Four.

As I watch on the scope, Red 11 whips around and fires a trio of AIM-4Ds, while Red 12 fires a trio of AIM-4Fs. Red 11 scores another hit. Splash Five. Red 12 scores a hit. Splash Six. The second flight of bombers is destroyed.

Red 11 is Winchester, and so goes RTB, while Red 12 is tasked to ID Bogey 33 and confirm that it is indeed a civilian airliner.

213958Z Bogey 38 is detected far to the west, and is moving at a disconcerting 510 kts. No fighter is available to intercept, so this contact will have to wait. Twenty minutes until the next fighters are ready.

214130Z Dragon Flight has reached Bingo fuel and is RTB, 115nm short of intercepting its target, and then Red 12 also is RTB due to Bingo fuel. I curse the oversight that let that happen. With such limited assets available every contact unidentified and every bomber undestroyed is a serious problem.

Nineteen minutes until the next fighters are ready, so hopefully that will be enough.

214642Z Three more bogeys detected, moving at 395kts. Probably more bombers.

214742Z And then three more. The skies are getting crowded. Thirteen minutes until more fighters can launch.

The skies fill with unidentifed contacts. 215218Z More contacts. A three-ship to the northwest--probably more Blinders. And a singleton to the west, moving at 520 kts. This is likely a civilian airliner, perhaps a Boeing 707, as it is unlikely that a Soviet Bomber would be on a vector that far south.

More Bogeys inbound.There are now 18 Bogeys inbound, and only two fighters are currently available for an intercept. My officers exchange a few nervous looks, but I mask my fear. There is nothing that can be done until the next fighters are ready. Eight minutes until they can depart.

215545Z Three more Bogeys inbound. I am seriously concerned that my defenses will be overwhelmed. And even more...215545Z Navy 5 IDs one of the inbounds as a civilian Douglas DC-8, and I mentally tick that one off the list. One fewer possible threat to identify.

215727Z Three more Bogeys inbound. Now there are 23 possible threats.

220000Z "Sir," says Colonel Leary. We have fourteen fighters now on the ramp, ready for takeoff, "Shall I order them to scramble?"

"Negative. Launch only six, against these targets," I say, indicating the closest six inbound formations. "We'll hold the rest in reserve while the others get in closer. The last thing I want is for them to run out of fuel before an intercept." Every aircraft that returns with ordnance unexpended is a waste we can't afford. There are three hours before any more fighters will become available. These are all I have, and in three hours this could be all over.

220600Z Navy 5 identifies a group of bogeys as bombers, led by a Tu-95KD Bear B. I make a note and prepare to assign them to one of the new groups of fighters launching.
Tu-95 BearTo the north, we watch the next intercept: King Flight against a three-ship over the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. King Flight prepares to intercept its target.220915Z King Flight IDs the inbound bogeys as bombers, and 15 seconds later, as Tu-22B Blinder As.

However, the F-101Bs of King Flight are not armed with AIM-4 Falcons, but rather AIR-2A Genies. Unguided rockets with a 1.5 kiloton nuclear warhead. Not very accurate, but they don't need to be.

"Genie away!" comes the launch call as King 17 launches its first nuclear rocket. King 18 launches its own, and both rockets streak towards their target: the lead Blinder.
King 17 launches an AIR-2A Genie Two Genies away!Both nukes destroy the lead Blinder. King 17 and 18 close on the two remaining to engage with guns. They pass the bombers at high speed, then turn and fire a pair of AIM-4G Falcons, downing another remaining two Blinders.

King Flight, Nighthawk 1, and Red 3 and 4 are all retasked to go after the closest threats. The fighters are tasked to go after the most pressing threats.221736Z Bogey count is up to thirty-three.

221853Z Thirty-six. I just have to take them as they come, and keep my rising panic under control. Things can't get much worse, can they?

221939Z "Bigfoot, Navy 5. Vampire! Vampire! Three Vampires Bullseye 309 for 273 miles. Course 105 at 920 knots!"

"What?" I blurt. Cruise missiles? Colonel Leary looks at me, similarly confused. "Find out what those are!" I nearly shout, rattled. Leary scurries away to where petty officers already have their reference binders out, flipping wildly through the pages. Vampire! Vampire!222010Z Ashamed at my outburst, I try to compose myself, and hear Red Flight make their radio calls as they open fire on their target, a trio Tu-22B Blinder As. Red 3 and 4 fire missiles at the approaching Blinders.The attack is not as successful as hoped. Both Red 3 and 4 go Winchester, only having managed to destroy two of the three Blinders. "Scramble a Six from McChord," I order, and an F-106A Delta Dart, callsign Dragon 1, is in the air two minutes later.

The Vampires appear to be on a course for Vancouver...what could they be?

222244Z Nighthawk 1 calls in, reporting the Vampires to definitely be guided weapons. I rack my brain, searching for an answer, but other events begin to distract me.

222337Z King Flight IDs an inbound as a civilian DC-6. They alter course to go after another one.

222559Z A Tu-22B Blinder A goes feet dry over Ozette Lake in Washington. Red 3 and 4, both Winchester, follow it in, while Dragon 1 moves to intercept. The Tu-22B looks to be on a course for Bremerton.
The Soviet nuclear bomber goes feet dry over American soil. 222657Z As the Blinder approaches within the The Nike Hercules SAM site S-92 launches a pair of MIM-14B Nike Hercules nuclear SAMs against the Blinder Tu-22B #37 at max range.

222828Z I order Dragon 1 cut its afterburner and loiter to see if the SAMs will take out the Tu-22B. If they fail, Dragon 1 will move into to finish the job. Dragon 1 loiters while the SAMs close in.222855Z Splash Twelve. I breathe a sigh of relief as the SAMs take out the Blinder. The bomber had approached within 66nm, or 8 minutes of Bremerton, Washington. I order Dragon 1 to intercept more bombers further out.

The Blinder is destroyed by a nuclear SAM.222902Z Two and a half hours until the bulk of the fighters will be ready for action, and there are thirty-three threatening-looking bogies inbound.

223014Z Nighthawk 1 engages three Tu-95KD Bear Bs. Nighthawk 1 engages a trio of Soviet Bombers.Nighthawk 1 manages to kill one of the Bears, but the other two are unscathed. Winchester, Nighthawk 1 must RTB.

223116Z King 17 and 18 close with their targets off of Calvert Island, BC. The targets are identified as Tu-95KD Bear Bs. The two fighters begin their gun runs on the bombers, and succeed in only destroying one of three. With so many inbounds, this kill rate is unacceptable. King Flight engages the Bears.223436Z I watch on the screen as the three guided weapons--still unidentified--streak past RCAF Comox at 920kts at 59,000ft. I cringe as two more are launched by the Tu-95KD Bear Bs that Nighthawk 1 failed to stop. The three passing RCAF Comox appear to be heading towards Vancouver, and there’s nothing available to stop them. Three Vampires streak past RCAF Comox on the way to Vancouver.Colonel Leary rushes over, his face white as a sheet. "Sir, we've identified them. They're AS-3 Kangaroos. Nuclear cruise missiles. Maximum range 310 nautical miles, and a speed of 920kts. The vampires fit the profile."

General McAllister's hands begin to shake. "Yield?" he asks.

Leary hesitantly answers, "800 kilotons. Each."

I stare at the plot, a cold fist clamping my throat. Vancouver is out of SAM range. There are no fighters even remotely close enough to intercept in time. At 59,000ft and 920kts, an intercept would be extremely difficult anyway.

"Intelligence says that the Kangaroo is very inaccurate," Leary offers.

"At 800 kilotons apiece, how accurate do you have to be?" McAllister snarls bitterly, his hands balled into fists. "I need to make some calls," he says, rushing off.

"How long?" I say.

Leary glances at the plot. "Less than five minutes." Three nuclear cruise missiles close in on a defenseless city.My eyes flicker away from the three missiles to the other inbound vampires. They appear to be moving towards the Seattle area. Seattle is protected by a tight network of Nike Hercules SAMs. A pair of SAMs took out a Tu-22 Blinder moving at 480kts easily enough, but can they handle cruise missiles moving at 920kts? I whisper a silent prayer.

223625Z Navy 5 reports more missile launches, this time from just off Calvert Island. From their course, the likely target is Seattle.

223842Z All eyes are on the plot, watching with growing horror as the AS-3 Kangaroos streak in towards the beautiful Canadian city.

"Looks like one for Vancouver, one for Richmond, and one for Vancouver International," Leary says in a dead monotone. "Looks like one for Vancouver, one for Richmond, and one for Vancouver International."223915Z Off the coast of Oregon, King 7 and 8 engage a three-ship of 3M Bison Bs, destroying all three, but no one is paying attention. They’re all watching Vancouver.

223939Z Vancouver goes off the air. The control room is dead silent.

“What is the population of Vancouver?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Six hundred and twenty-thousand.” An 800kt nuclear missile detonates over Vancouver, BC."My God..."
223958Z As the 800kt nuclear fireball expands, the second AS-3 strikes home in the nearby city of Richmond. It misses the airport by perhaps 2 miles...but that doesn't matter.

224009Z Within thirty seconds of detonation, the fireball has expanded to a diameter of 11nm.
224039Z Detonation plus 60 seconds. The other two fireballs continue to expand. There are probably more than a million casualties. The second and third nuclear missiles explode.I cannot begin to comprehend the enormity of what just happened, and that is a good thing. I must focus on the task at hand. There are four AS-3 Kangaroo nuclear missiles closing in fast on Seattle.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

Here there be Pirates: Q&A with Nick Smith, author of Gentleman of Fortune

Nick Smith is one of the seven piratical authors to participate in the Here there be Pirates Book Giveaway in celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19.

Nick was generous enough to answer some questions about his books and fascination with pirates, as well as his new novel Gentleman of Fortune , the sequel to Rogues' Nest .  You can win a copy of Gentleman of Fortune or one of the other six pirate novels at the end of the interview.  Be sure to visit Nick Smith at his website and follow him on Twitter!

On to the interview!  Arrr!

What made you want to write about pirates in the first place? What is it about them that intrigued you as a writer?

My granddad bought me my first set of Lego when I was four. It was a small shipwrecked raft of pirates. I think that is my earliest memory of being exposed to pirate culture, and it stuck! Poor Granddad, if only he’d known what he’d released upon the world...

For any D&D veterans out there, I used to play a lot of online role-playing games (basically, you play the game in character). On one persistent world I was fed up of every character being either sickeningly good, or a laughable evil maniac, so I designed a greedy Chaotic Neutral swashbuckling pirate rogue. He mixed it all up a bit; he was cantankerous, unreliable, flirtatious, unpredictable – and dare I say it – a very popular character. He was a lot of fun to play, and left a marked impression on the game. So much so, that when I revisited five years later – people still remembered him!
Whilst I have been making stories up since a small child, this online experience was writing fast-paced action and exciting dialogue with many collaborators – all in real time! I think it was extraordinary practice for a teenager trying to learn his craft.

So what intrigues me about pirates? What DOESN’T intrigue me about them? They rock the party. You have real pirates who came from very different walks of life – a full ensemble of complicated characters. We have those who became so out of desperation and necessity, such as runaway slaves, or beaten indentured servants in the Caribbean, to rich playboys who thought it sounded like a fun idea at the time. We have psychopaths like L’Olonnais, who would hack people apart for fun, and eat his victims’ hearts, and crazies like Blackbeard who committed barbaric atrocities just to be remembered; we have girls like Mary Read (supposedly) kidnapped and forced into a life a violence where they thrived and became inspirational leaders; or buccaneers such as the mysterious Exquemelin, carefully documenting the folklore of the Indian tribes of the Caribbean, as well as the various flora and fauna of the different islands.

Tell us a little about your book, GENTLEMAN OF FORTUNE, that you’re giving away for this event. 

Gentleman of Fortune is the latest novel in my BUCCANNEERS series. All my works are set around the War of the Spanish Succession, which was arguably the First World War - it saw grand alliances, massive pitched land battles (the Battle of Blenheim), and vast naval actions (the Battle of Vigo Bay), conflicts in Europe, North America, the West Indies. It was also smack bang in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. The politics of the era naturally filter through the books.

The novel follows Jacob Hollum, a sailor and sometimes smuggler, from Whitby in North Yorkshire. He ends up implicated for the murder of a rival and so flees the country – and his sweetheart Cait – to an estranged family in North Holland. They turn out to be pirates. They take him under their wing so to speak. The novel follows his descent into their dangerous world, of how his actions take him further away from fading dreams of home and his dear Cait.

On taking the most wonderful prize of a Spanish Galleon he discovers not only a hold packed with indigo and silver, but the most beautiful of souls - Maria Fanez, Spanish maiden (and the heroine of my first novel ROGUES’ NEST). His thoughts of home dissipate further. When a bloody disagreement between his fellow cutthroats strips everything away, Jacob is caught between pursuing his new sweetheart, or the lure of riches. He ends up in a perilous situation, where even his skill with the cutlass may not be enough to see him safe...

He's pretty fickle, and an anti-hero to boot. Even though he does some pretty bad things, and makes some poor choices, I hope the reader will still cheer for him.

In reality, pirates were awful people that most of us wouldn’t want to run across if we were sailing a ship, but in our culture they’ve been romanticized so often that it’s almost expected by some folk. Do you have trouble balancing reality with the romanticized aura of the pirate, or do you not worry too much about that when crafting your tales? 

Not at all. I thrive on the realism! My aim all along was to write authentic swashbucklers, to have the reader thrown amongst the limb-tearing realism of round shot shattering an oaken hull, to experience the fickleness of a pirate crew arguing over leadership, to have loyalties thrown into question, to witness the black deeds of my characters.

As I said before, there were so many pirates, from all walks of life – especially at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession – when the large British navy was deemed surplus to requirement. Many of these hardened warrior sailors just carried on in the same role. They flocked to the Caribbean to plague the shipping routes of old enemies. Whilst the barbarities committed by buccaneers and pirates are well documented, for many of them it was just a business, and often vessels were taken without much bloodshed at all. There’s little incentive for a merchantman to lower his sails and heave to if he thinks he’s likely to be murdered outright.

There’s still plenty of romance, love, and lust in my books without the clichés Hollywood would have us believe are true of pirates. Just don’t expect too many of my characters to be duelling fifty redcoats at once, dancing cheekily between the spars, foiling the evil governor, or wrestling with their consciences about a princess.

How often do you turn to real-life pirates for inspiration in creating your characters or plot?

All my major characters come from my head, but I am so well read in pirate lore and history, that some of it is bound to leak out... I have included various real people in my books, such as eccentric inventor and lighthouse engineer Henry Winstanley, or President of the Board of Trade Lord Thomas Grey, or the famous William Kidd.

As for plot? Like the father of Historical Action Fiction Bernard Cornwell, I set my books in the realms of reality, with a generous smattering of very real historic events and characters. That of course makes it harder to write, but also more fun entwining my characters into political turmoil, rebellions, naval actions etc, and seeing how they could have influenced the outcome.

What makes your series (or book) different from other piratical adventures out there? What’s your main goal with your pirate stories?

I write authentic gritty swashbucklers. I have spent a long time studying the period, as well as the realism of the Age of Sail – the harsh life, the subtle technicalities of weather and handling a vessel. I have been told by reviewers and history enthusiasts that this comes across very well in my writing.

As a long time martial-artist I knew I had to get the hand-to-hand combat correct. Sloppy unrealistic fighting turns me off a book faster than shoddy grammar ever will! Expect visceral adrenaline-pumping melees, sprays of sticky gore, and the stench of black powder in your nostrils.

My main goal is of course to entertain, and if you find the wrong actions of anti-hero rogues with an innate habit for trouble your sort of protagonist, then I hope you’ll enjoy my work...

Bonus Question: If you had to design a pirate flag for yourself, what would it look like?

Damn it… now I’m actually going to have to go waste precious writing time in designing an actual flag aren’t I? This is a highly irresponsible question. I’m currently homeless and trying to reorganise my life. Curses...






 Win a copy of Gentleman of Fortune or one of six other novels...

 …including Jake Hawking & the Bounty Hunters by J.M. Aucoin, Heart Like an Ocean by Christine Steendam, The Witch from the Sea by Lisa Jensen,  The Alliance  by SK Keogh, Sea Witch by Helen Hollick, The Pirates of Alnari by Dan Eldredge, and  Gentleman of Fortune by Nick Smith.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest begins on Monday, September 8th and runs through September 19th (Talk Like a Pirate Day).

To enter, just sign in above. You can earn additional entries by liking the authors’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. The more of our social media accounts you follow, the more entries you get. The more entries you get, the better your chances are of winning. Simple as that.
 


Nick Smith is a Twenty-Nine Year old Northumbrian. He grew up in a rural pocket of the bleak and industrial North East of England.A well-travelled individual with a truly mongrel mix of Yorkshire, Lithuanian, Irish, Moroccan, and Spanish blood, Nick considers himself a citizen of the world. In 2012 he carried on the family tradition by marrying a Turkish Armenian Kurd aboard the antique sail ship the HMS Trincomalee.After a stint of teaching Science in the Channel Islands, he has left his fisherman’s cottage behind, and returned to his home county of Durham in search of pastures new….

Here There Be Pirates Book Giveaway!

Talk Like a Pirate Day is just around the corner and that’s just cause to celebrate! Swashbuckling! Plundering! Rum! The sea!

And how about a little literary treasure on top of all that, eh? To celebrate, myself and six other historical fiction authors are giving away seven pirate novels...




The Pirates of Alnari
by Dan Eldredge


Jake Hawking and
 the Bounty Hunters
by J.M. Aucoin


Heart Like an Ocean
 by Christine Steendam


The Witch from the Sea
 by Lisa Jensen


The Alliance
 by S.K. Keogh


Sea Witch
 by Helen Hollick


Gentleman of Fortune
 by Nick Smith
 The contest begins on Monday, September 8th and runs through September 19th (Talk Like a Pirate Day).

 To enter, just sign in below.* You can earn additional entries by liking the authors’ Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. The more of our social media accounts you follow, the more entries you get. The more entries you get, the better your chances are of winning. Simple as that.

*Any information you provide will be strictly confidential, and will only be used for the raffle.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Each of the seven authors involved will also take turns posting Q&As on each other’s blogs, so you can learn more about the books you’re trying to win, and the authors that wielded its pen.J.M. Aucoin (Monday, September 8)
Christine Steendam (Tuesday, September 9)
Helen Hollick (Thursday, September 11)
Lisa Jensen (Wednesday, September 10)
SK Keogh (Monday, September 8)
Dan Eldredge (Tuesday, September 9)
Nick Smith (Thursday, September 11)