Big News: Writer's Digest to Publish My Weapons E-Book

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Big news!

 

A while back, I started an off-the-cuff project called the Crime Writer's Guide to Firearms & Knives. It started as a way to debunk some of the myths about weapons in crime fiction. It soon morphed into a beast of its own, including a glossary and a bit of weapons history.

 

The point behind this guide was to help crime writers portray firearms and knives accurately in their works. Weapons play a pivotal role in crime fiction. I'm not suggesting an author go in-depth a la Tom Clancy. But getting them right is important. Nothing stops a story (for me, anyway) like a character shooting clay pigeons with shotgun slugs.

 

The folks at Writer's Digest recently gave this idea the green light. It will be released as an e-book, probably under a slightly tweaked title.

 

This is a dream come true. I can remember seeing a copy of Writer's Digest as a young pup. I flipped through the pages and was fascinated by it. It helped put the idea of becoming a writer in my head at an influential time in my life.

 

Stay tuned!

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Thank you! The Gun Digest books are another great source of information. They're pretty in-depth and make for interesting reading if you're into firearms. This new work is geared more to be a practical reference for people who don't have first-hand experience with weapons.

[Jed Power]

Congratulations, Benjamin.

I purchased "Armed & Dangerous" by Writer's Digest when it first came out back in 90 or 91.  It was just ok and is somewhat out of date now.

I have copies of both "The World Encyclopedia of Rifles and Machine Guns" & "The World Encyclopedia of Pistols and Submachine Guns."  They are both great.

I'll buy an e-version of your book but maybe they'll do it in paper to.  I'd love one for my reference library.

Again, congratulations!

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Thanks, Eric!

Silencers get a section in this thing. They basically cut out a certain range of sound, but not the entire thing. The shot is still plenty loud.

Clip/magazine is another common misstep. I even made it in my novel, which is part of what launched the idea to write this.

[Eric Christopherson]

Congratulations! Sounds like something I might read.

A police academy instructor I knew once laughed uproariously when he thought of all the silencers he'd seen depicted in movies because he was well aware of the real world silencers that, he said, were hardly more silent than a car backfiring.