My Book Reviewed in "GUNS" Magazine

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That's you? Wow.

I got my copy of Guns magazine last week (shrink-wrapped with my copy of American Handgunner). I actually read the review over the weekend.

First, let me say congratulations. If you're going to get reviewed in just one gun rag, you certainly got reviewed in a great one.

Second, while I don't have it with me (I'm at work right now ... shhhhhhhhhh), my recollection is that the review was quite positive. While I don't remember thinking, "Wow! I need to run out and buy that book right now!", I do remember thinking that it sounded like a worthwhile read.
 
Bughunt: I'm definitely going to fit a mass-evacuation fiasco and social breakdown scenario into the plot. I'm leaning towards acts of terrorism which cut LA off from its distant sources of water. Additionally, I think any long term power outage in LA would lead to a New Orleans type social collapse. I'm not sure how much of these events and at what level I'm going to weave them into the plot though, because they could tend to overshadow the primary themes. I do have some "background news" mentioned on TV and radio throughout the book, as examples of why the federal govt. is simply too strapped with more important emergencies elsewhere, to deal with New Mexico's virtual secession.
 
A hit on LA would have reprecussions all over Southern California. Freeways would be jammed and then people would abandon their cars, the lucky 'few' who made it to San Bernardino or into the Victorville area before the freeways turned into a gigantic parking lot would find not much welcome and those who went on to Las Vegas would be lucky to make it past Baker or Primm where gas would be $10 a gallon (Baker price gouging is amazing...)

Sounds great!
 
I think any long term power outage in LA would lead to a New Orleans type social collapse.
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Um, I think you're going to have to find another example. It's becoming clear that no such "social collapse" ever happened:

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporle...ola_tporleans/archives/2005_09_26.html#082732

I still wouldn't have wanted to be in New Orleans during the week after Katrina, but it apparently wasn't anywhere near as bad as the media led us to believe. All the stories of rapes, murders, people shooting at rescue helicopters, etc., were just panicked rumors -- the inevitable result of the infamous "fog of war."

The only recent example I can think of involving a real "social collapse" in the U.S. was the rioting following the Rodney King verdict in L.A. Of course, the difference there is that you had a population that was very angry about a perceived injustice. Similar things happened in the 1960s in Watts, Detroit and a few other places. They could happen again, but I think it's going to take a lot more than a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
 
"Bughunt: I'm definitely going to fit a mass-evacuation fiasco and social breakdown scenario into the plot. I'm leaning towards acts of terrorism which cut LA off from its distant sources of water. Additionally, I think any long term power outage in LA would lead to a New Orleans type social collapse. I'm not sure how much of these events and at what level I'm going to weave them into the plot though, because they could tend to overshadow the primary themes. I do have some "background news" mentioned on TV and radio throughout the book, as examples of why the federal govt. is simply too strapped with more important emergencies elsewhere, to deal with New Mexico's virtual secession."


Excellent Matt. Your work has a compelling sense of realism. From your first book, I used to cross the Roosevelt bridge into DC every morning when I worked downtown. I often wondered what I would do if the creaky thing ever fell down. One night, we lost a truck in one of the infamous potholes on that bridge. It was literally swallowed.


"Um, I think you're going to have to find another example. It's becoming clear that no such "social collapse" ever happened:

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporle..._26.html#082732

I still wouldn't have wanted to be in New Orleans during the week after Katrina, but it apparently wasn't anywhere near as bad as the media led us to believe. All the stories of rapes, murders, people shooting at rescue helicopters, etc., were just panicked rumors -- the inevitable result of the infamous "fog of war.""

As far as the latest media whitewash from NO goes, I don't think anything "clear" is coming from any Louisiana government official or talking head. Good or bad. I don't know what occurred in NO, but I was downtown in LA when the 92 riots broke out. Immediately, the media talking heads started calling the riot a 'revolt' and looters 'protesters'.
 
Meeester McGee...

Be careful what you promise! I've been trying to finish a sequel to my ALL NIGHT RADIO for, like, two forevers, and I'm still only a third of a way through it.

Loved the first one, and thanks for the copy.

Anything I can do to help, ask.

Michael B
 
MBane,
Thanks! #2 is for sure tough. I am more comfortable with the technical writing aspects, but squeezing out inspiration is tough to do on a schedule! I do a lot of tweeking and rewriting of the half I have in the can, and move forward whenever I have the inspirational juice. I sure envy the professional writers who can just crank out a page or two of fresh beautiful prose every day.

As far as the GUNS review by David Codrea, I'm hoping now to use it to leverage a look from the other glossy gun mags. It's tough for an unknown first time novelist to even show up on their radar. I hope this review gives me some additional traction.

Matt
 
Congratulations, Matt. The review is well deserved. I hope you get the reviews you want in the other gun rags, too.

I can't wait for the next book. Ranya is a great character. Is she based on someone you know, or completely fictitious?

David
 
Congrats...Travis

Got my copies of both Guns & American Handgunner in the mail last week...and I did read the review...which was favorable. I look forward to reading it soon... :evil:
 
Halffast: Ranya is a pure creation. I chose a gun dealer's daughter for obvious plot reasons in EFAD. The reason she's Lebanese Christian is because she understands what it means to be driven out of one's homeland, and the importance of being armed and ready. Being ethnic Arab means she can pass for Anglo, Hispanic or Arab, which offers lots of nice plot possibilities. And of course, she's hot, because I'm a male chauvanist pig!
 
For my next book, I'll use a custom 1911 with a hundred bells and whistles and tactical accessories, and they put the cover on every magazine at least twice!!
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*Big Grin*

Well I am sure that should you get serious about slick pics of tricked out 1911's for your cover art - there are possibilities already at your fingertips :)



 TwoTonek.jpg
 
I started my 2nd reading of EFAD over the weekend and am nearly half-way through it. When I read it the first time around I thought that some of the events were a little far-fetched and had to really work on my "suspension of disbelief". (I still loved the book!)

That was around Christmas time last year. Now, after the events in NOLA many of those things seem much more plausible and realistic. I guess I was a little naive as to what our own .gov is capable of (even after knowing about Waco and Ruby Ridge).

So, as I said earlier, I can hardly wait until the sequel comes out! I hope you'll be doing autographed copies again. I'd like to have a matched set! :cool:
 
Um, I think you're going to have to find another example. It's becoming clear that no such "social collapse" ever happened:
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Hehehe, not from what I've heard.

One of my good customers is a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer that plucked over 150 people off of rooftops, etc. To hear him describe it, it's worse.

Matt,
I'm looking forward to your next installment of your excellent story. I was hooked by the first one, which I purchased about six months ago from Fred's. The writing in it was much, much better than many of the other gun related books on the market, especially with the majority that relates to gun rights. Your book is one of the few that I've read that I feel could actually get mainstream acceptance, if only on a smaller level, without being looked at as propaganda or the psychotic ramblings of a "crazy, right-wing militia nut" looking to overthrow the government.

Keep up the good work. You have inspired me to continue towards finishing my first novel, even if it never gets published.

First step towards finishing it - starting it, lol.
 
EVIL: THanks for the nice comments about the writing quality. It's my firm conviction that there is a large market out there for high quality, well written liberty-oriented fiction. Sooner or later, I'm confident I'm going to really break out in a large way. Maybe it will be after my sequel, Domestic Enemies, if TS doesn't HTF first! Then, all bets, plans and projections are off!

Matt
 
Clearly, Ranya is not Tamara, but I saw parallels. If anything, she's a little delicate to be Tamara, but they seem to have similar taste in guns and motorcycles, and similar effects on men. I confess I wondered if you hadn't made a little nod to Tamara there.

Ranya is indeed a great character, and I like the fact that Brad is not the classical hero who arrived to save the day. All the poor guy wanted to do was go sailing!
 
Don, I created Ranya before I really knew anything about Tamara. That's the truth. I was thrilled to find out how close I came to an actual living human! (Even if she did think a 600CC bike was on the wimpy side.)
 
I really want to get this book. But I've gotten to the point that even reading fictional discussions of gun control makes me literally sick.

I'll probably go for it, anyway. Even if I don't read it, I've got friends who will and don't know about it.
 
I'm definitely going to fit a mass-evacuation fiasco and social breakdown scenario into the plot.
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If you need any first-hand accounts of social chaos resulting from a mass evacuation, let me know. I spent 24 hours driving from SE Texas to San Antonio last week to escape Rita (normally a 4-hour drive). Both breaking and blindly obeying the rules can have costs and benefits in a situation like that.

BTW, I will offer another endorsement of Matt's book. I find that gunowners will too often embrace anything gun-related even if it objectively has little real value. EFAD can hold its own against most fiction on the commercial market.
 
Matt: Is there any chance that EFAD will be offered in hard back? My (autographed) paper back has pages falling out of it. The binding didn't quite hold. :(

I am so looking forward to the sequel! :D
 
Art: Thanks for picking up on "plausible culpability."

Rock Jock: I'm thinking of ways to work a mass evac into the plot, but it might just come down to a light plane flying over the aftermath, where thousands of cars are stranded in the desert, out of gas, out of water, out of life.

Nekron: check your private mail. It's sort of glitchy lately, let me know if the PM didn't come through.

Matt/Travis
 
Matt, glad to hear you're making headway on the sequel. Congrats on the review, too. I've let a few people read EFAD and it had about 40 pages fall out. Hopefully, I can get that type of use out of the next one! I'm also re-reading it, eagerly awaiting DE.

Hopefully the movie deal works in your favor, the book would make a great movie!
 
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Congrats' Matt

I loved your book and look forward to the next, so what are you doing on the net get to work.:neener: I had a few people read it solely because the hot young Lebanesse Christian was such a suprising protaginist. Keep up the good work and stay safe.

James
 
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