Dev Blog 1: The Tie That Binds Modern American Snipers & Engines of Extinction
We just launched the Engines of Extinction facebook page so I wanted to get it caught up to date with some of the early coverage EoE has received in the press along with a bit of background information.
As some of you may know, my book, Modern American Snipers (St. Martin's Press, 2014), was recently released. It's my first with a major publisher as well as my first real go at a 300+ page tome after nearly two decades focused on shorter form journalistic works.
I've been fortunate that Modern American Snipers has been so warmly received and treated as a pretty legit high-profile release (major promotion from the likes of Barnes & Noble and Apple iTunes, a cover story on the Sunday edition of the New York Post, etc.), which is all pretty cool.
What you're less likely to know -- unless you've read all my press (and I doubt anyone short of my girlfriend and mom has actually done that… Check that. I doubt anyone short of myself has actually done that…) is that Modern American Snipers actually developed out of a relatively modest percentage of the overall research that had already been invested in bringing Engines of Extinction to life. (In particular, the research concerning JSOC's recce operators, arguably the world's most highly-trained, experienced, and versatile warfighters.)
The cool thing about EoE is the same level of research that was transformed into a major nonfiction book has also been carried out in a number of other areas -- geopolitical, technological, historical, and so on. And similarly, a number of leading minds in those respective areas have been kind enough to answer my questions and play an unofficial consulting role the same way the real-deal Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, and Ranger snipers did in theirs for EoE and MAS.
The idea behind Engines of Extinction has existed in its earliest form since… hang on a second, let me look this up… October 18, 2004. I know this because I covered an AMA Supermoto race in San Diego the day before and was driving back home to Chicago on Monday the 18th. Early on in the trip, an idea took hold in my head that was so exciting I literally drove all the way non-stop, fueled only by my imagination, copious amounts of caffeine, and, well, actual fuel, which did require a couple quick pauses along the way, I'll admit.
As soon as I got home, I jotted down a ton of notes. I can't remember exactly how many words that may have been, but I'm guessing it was 40 or 50 pages worth, even though I had no real plans for them, or plans to even move away from motorsports and into the realm of fiction.
Over the years, the idea became more of a thought experiment and evolved considerably -- to the point where the original idea barely even exists at the core of what EoE has now become. But as it evolved, it became stronger and more focused, and eventually I accepted it was something I was going to have to actually turn into a reality, even though I really wasn't yet quite sure how.
It's probably been about five years now that it's been actively pursued, at least on some level. A little more than two years ago, I cracked the nut regarding the story's format (more on that in a future installment), which really kicked things into a higher gear.
And almost two years ago to the day, I reached out to Ben about the possibility of working together (yet another story for another time). And since then EoE has really been my primary focus, allowing for time here and there required to take care of a few other things (motorcycle racing coverage, buying a house, writing another book… yeah, little things like that).
My experience working with St. Martin's on Modern American Snipers has been extremely positive and it's a relationship I'd like to expand upon in the future. That said, it's always been our intention to self-publish Engines of Extinction. This is a very personal project, it's a bit atypical in some (cool) ways, and we want to retain 100% control and 100% of the rights. I feel very confident that there would be significant interest from publishers, but we have not shopped it around. That's a bit of a gamble, but one we plan to make pay off for ourselves and for our readers.
Of course, that means we have to be a bit more grassroots in getting the word out and we appreciate all the help any of you out there are willing to do to spread the word.
Anyway, the above is my typically long-winded way of explaining that Modern American Snipers owes a significant debt to Engines of Extinction regarding its genesis. And for that reason, EoE has come up a handful of times during interviews and other press regarding MAS.
Here are some of those stories:
http://thegazette.com/subject/life/bo...
http://www.thehistoryreader.com/conte...
http://sofrep.com/38945/chris-martin-...
http://sofrep.com/39015/wrote-modern-...
As some of you may know, my book, Modern American Snipers (St. Martin's Press, 2014), was recently released. It's my first with a major publisher as well as my first real go at a 300+ page tome after nearly two decades focused on shorter form journalistic works.
I've been fortunate that Modern American Snipers has been so warmly received and treated as a pretty legit high-profile release (major promotion from the likes of Barnes & Noble and Apple iTunes, a cover story on the Sunday edition of the New York Post, etc.), which is all pretty cool.
What you're less likely to know -- unless you've read all my press (and I doubt anyone short of my girlfriend and mom has actually done that… Check that. I doubt anyone short of myself has actually done that…) is that Modern American Snipers actually developed out of a relatively modest percentage of the overall research that had already been invested in bringing Engines of Extinction to life. (In particular, the research concerning JSOC's recce operators, arguably the world's most highly-trained, experienced, and versatile warfighters.)
The cool thing about EoE is the same level of research that was transformed into a major nonfiction book has also been carried out in a number of other areas -- geopolitical, technological, historical, and so on. And similarly, a number of leading minds in those respective areas have been kind enough to answer my questions and play an unofficial consulting role the same way the real-deal Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, and Ranger snipers did in theirs for EoE and MAS.
The idea behind Engines of Extinction has existed in its earliest form since… hang on a second, let me look this up… October 18, 2004. I know this because I covered an AMA Supermoto race in San Diego the day before and was driving back home to Chicago on Monday the 18th. Early on in the trip, an idea took hold in my head that was so exciting I literally drove all the way non-stop, fueled only by my imagination, copious amounts of caffeine, and, well, actual fuel, which did require a couple quick pauses along the way, I'll admit.
As soon as I got home, I jotted down a ton of notes. I can't remember exactly how many words that may have been, but I'm guessing it was 40 or 50 pages worth, even though I had no real plans for them, or plans to even move away from motorsports and into the realm of fiction.
Over the years, the idea became more of a thought experiment and evolved considerably -- to the point where the original idea barely even exists at the core of what EoE has now become. But as it evolved, it became stronger and more focused, and eventually I accepted it was something I was going to have to actually turn into a reality, even though I really wasn't yet quite sure how.
It's probably been about five years now that it's been actively pursued, at least on some level. A little more than two years ago, I cracked the nut regarding the story's format (more on that in a future installment), which really kicked things into a higher gear.
And almost two years ago to the day, I reached out to Ben about the possibility of working together (yet another story for another time). And since then EoE has really been my primary focus, allowing for time here and there required to take care of a few other things (motorcycle racing coverage, buying a house, writing another book… yeah, little things like that).
My experience working with St. Martin's on Modern American Snipers has been extremely positive and it's a relationship I'd like to expand upon in the future. That said, it's always been our intention to self-publish Engines of Extinction. This is a very personal project, it's a bit atypical in some (cool) ways, and we want to retain 100% control and 100% of the rights. I feel very confident that there would be significant interest from publishers, but we have not shopped it around. That's a bit of a gamble, but one we plan to make pay off for ourselves and for our readers.
Of course, that means we have to be a bit more grassroots in getting the word out and we appreciate all the help any of you out there are willing to do to spread the word.
Anyway, the above is my typically long-winded way of explaining that Modern American Snipers owes a significant debt to Engines of Extinction regarding its genesis. And for that reason, EoE has come up a handful of times during interviews and other press regarding MAS.
Here are some of those stories:
http://thegazette.com/subject/life/bo...
http://www.thehistoryreader.com/conte...
http://sofrep.com/38945/chris-martin-...
http://sofrep.com/39015/wrote-modern-...
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