Wow. There is lots of stuff going on right now.

Book Stuff!

In Defense of the Second Amendment

This will be out in January. This project is one that I’m really excited about, as it is my first work of non-fiction. If you’re not aware, I’m a bit of a gun guy. 🙂

I’m also happy to announce that there will be an audiobook version from Blackstone Audio. (which means it will be available pretty much everywhere you get your audiobooks). I’ll put up preorder information for that as soon as I have it.

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Then coming out in April-

Tower of Silence

Tower of Silence is the 4th book in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior. I love this book. I’m doing the final edits on it right now. There will be 5 books in this series, and I am extremely proud of it.

Seriously, this book is bad ass. I love writing Ashok. 🙂

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This next book is not by me, but I’m going to promote the hell out of it because it is from my friend, CorreiaTech Marketing Daimyo, and guy who keeps this website and the WriterDojo podcast working, Jack Wylder-

An Illustrated Guide to AI Mastery

Jack goes through the various AI art programs and demonstrates what kind of prompts generate what kind of output, which artists can then manipulate and use the bits and pieces for all sorts of creative things.

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Coming soon, but I don’t know the actual release date, there is a 2nd episode of Lost Planet Homicide coming to Audible, called LPH: Ghosts of Zenith. I love this series. It is my gritty cop show in space.

After I get done with the edits on Tower of Silence I will be working on Monster Hunter Memoirs: Fever with Jason Cordova. (I should have already started but I’m running late on ToS because I stopped in the middle to write a gun rights book). This one is going to be a lot of fun.

There is a bunch more MHI coming. Both main series line, more memoirs (including something really neat with Les Johnson), and another MH Files anthology.

People keep asking me about more Grimnoir. Yes. There will be. The plan is to finish the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior’s fifth and final book, then start the new trilogy. So that way I wrap up a series before starting a new one.

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Other Projects

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WriterDojo^® has turned out to be really popular, and useful for a lot of aspiring writers. Which is awesome, so we’re going to keep making them. We’re doing some testing later this week for guests calling in to see how that works out.

The Monster Hunter International tabletop miniatures game from Everything Epic is still moving right along. They’ve been sending me more artwork and miniature renders that are super bad ass. I believe they did an update last week.

The limited edition leatherbound Grimnoir trilogy which got kicked in the head by Covid after book 1, Hard Magic, shipped, is back on track, with book 2, Spellbound now at the printers. I hope to have some more news about that soon.

Gritty Cop Show I’m going to wait until after the miniatures game is fulfilled before proceeding on that. It is a fun side project, and Jack has come up with some really cool stuff for the game book, but I don’t want more than one Kickstarter hanging out there at a time if I can help it.

At FenCon 2022 we had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with some amazing guests. This week, hosts/authors Steve Diamond and Larry Correia were honored to sit down with one of the most respected editors in publishing, Special Guest Toni Weisskopf, to talk about the dynamics of writers and editors and how to prosper in the writing business.

If you would like to join our supporters, you can support this podcast with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes at: https://anchor.fm/writerdojo “Word Mercenaries” (the WriterDojo theme) is by Craig Nybo https://craignybo.com

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This week’s episode is sponsored by Jack Wylder’s *An Illustrated Guide to AI Prompt Mastery*
The history of art is the history of civilization itself. With the rise of computers, it wasn’t long before humans began to explore using them to generate artwork. Using artificial intelligence to generate random artwork within set parameters began back in at least 1973 and has slowly been growing in complexity and ability. Recent breakthroughs have resulted in millions of eager users now racing to create their own art with this new technology. The ability to make anything can be daunting for new users, though. Where do you even start? How do you make stunning images like you see online? What inspirations do you draw from and how do you put them together? This book is intended to serve as a handy reference guide for users, both new and more experienced. An Illustrated Guide to AI Prompt Mastery is a valuable reference to this fascinating new field that is emerging.

Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EXqrSd (affiliate link)

Jack Wylder wrote a book!

An Illustrated Guide to AI Prompt Mastery

Available on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3s478Pu
Baen.com: https://www.baen.com/an-illustrated-guide-to-ai-prompt-mastery.html

Behind the scenes, Jack isn’t just my friend, the CorreiaTech Marketing Daimyo, and the guy who keeps this blog running, he’s also got a real job as a professional marketing dude and has been an artist for decades.

When the AI art first started taking off Jack got really into it, and also observed a lot of indy authors trying to input prompts in the hopes the computer would spit out a useable book cover. Once in a while it might, but the rest of the time it was sort of good except things like the people had weird hands and extra elbows growing out of their necks. So Jack started using prompts to build bits which he could then photoshop into cohesive covers.

So Jack started putting together a guide book of the hundreds of prompts and styles artists could farm. When Toni at Baen heard what he was doing she offered to publish it through Baen’s webscriptions, because she recognized that this new tech would be a really valuable tool for artists.

I’m really excited for Jack. Check it out, and please tell your friends!

At FenCon 2022 we had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with some amazing guests. This week, hosts/authors Steve Diamond and Larry Correia talked with Special Guest, Dr Charles E Gannon (Chuck) about Shared Worldbuilding and what it takes to make it in the writing business.

If you would like to join our supporters, you can support this podcast with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes at: https://anchor.fm/writerdojo “Word Mercenaries” (the WriterDojo theme) is by Craig Nybo https://craignybo.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/writerdojo/id1581703261
Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80ZTMyNmU1Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==
Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/fxhj56si
Radio Public: https://radiopublic.com/writerdojo-6vP0qX
RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/4e326e5c/podcast/rss
Rumble: WriterDojo (rumble.com)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2X7bG3PMqln9ZKinIDjs27 )
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WriterDojo

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This week’s episode is sponsored by M.C.A.Hogarth’s *Earthrise*

Reese Eddings has enough to do keeping her rattletrap merchant vessel, the TMS Earthrise, profitable enough to feed herself and her crew. So when a mysterious benefactor from her past shows up demanding she rescue a man from slavers, her first reaction is to run for the hills. Unfortunately, she did promise to repay the loan. But she didn’t think it would involve tangling with pirates over a space elf prince…

Book 1 of the Her Instruments trilogy is a rollicking adventure set in the expansive Pelted universe, and kicks off an epic space opera series where the fate of worlds hangs in the balance. Fans who enjoyed Firefly or Andromeda will like this series.

Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VhmKwn (affiliate link)

Another one I grabbed from the Book of Faces so it wouldn’t vanish into their memory holes…. -Jack

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Because Facebook keeps showing me advertisements for shitty holster companies, here is some advice for your concealed carry rig (I’m talking worn at the waist, strongside or appendix, not whatever goofy esoteric method* you are married to for whatever bizarro hipster reason)-

1. If your holster doesn’t protect the trigger and prevent the trigger from being actuated while holstered, your holster is trash. If it is fabric and you can activate the trigger through the holster, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

2. If the holster is floppy and closes on itself, so you need to use your other hand to get the gun back in, your holster sucks, and one of these days you will shoot yourself in the hand.

3. If your holster flops around while you do anything even sorta strenuous, your holster is garbage. It needs to stay fixed to your body in about the same position it started the day in, or it’s junk.

4. If you holster doesn’t retain your pistol if you are forced to move fast, and the gun flops out, you are a danger to yourself and others, and one of these days you are going to shoot yourself or some other poor dumb bastard while you reflexively try to catch it.

5. One Size Fits All means it doesn’t fit anything good. Get a holster designed for your specific weapon. The only addendum to this is holsters that are designed to fit around a specific frame mounted flashlight, because those are designed for a specific fit, only in this case it’s the light that its working off of.

6. Avoid cheap garbage holsters with garbage attachments because they’re going to break.

7. Good concealment holsters don’t need thumb breaks. They fit with friction sufficient to hold the gun in if you do a handstand or dunk a basketball, neither of which I can do, but that’s theoretically possible for some of you. 😀

8. Holsters require maintenance too. They get worn out. Screws get loose. Check your stuff periodically.

9. The gun must be secure, but it also must be accessible. If the design is such that you can’t get a good grip on it for the draw, it’s stupid, and it’s going to slow you down unnecessarily. If you have to do stupid contortions to get your hand around it, that’s dumb and pointless.

10. It needs to be comfy enough to wear it so you don’t cry and whine and then leave it home. Quit being a dork and glue some foam on those edges that bug you. My AIWB rigs look like pillows that hold a gun inside because I’m a fat guy who hates stuff rubbing on me.

11. It doesn’t matter if it is leather or kydex, all the same rules apply.

12. Serpas have been banned from a whole bunch of places and courses for a reason. I don’t need to rehash this, and if you disagree I don’t care and don’t feel like arguing with you. The only reason they still get used is Blackhawk is super good at having a variety in stock to ship to gun stores and they’ve got a great mark up. They suck as actual holsters.

13. If you can’t draw while sitting down, your holster is lame. Like that goofy ass lift the giant flap and the pops up above your belt rig FB keeps showing me. That’s just dumb. They had to put a magnet in the new version to keep the guns from falling out, which makes it slightly less unsafe yet still stupid. Just get a normal rig.

14. If you pay attention to this stuff you’ll notice that most of the people who take it real serious and actually practice and train tend to pick from a handful of companies that follow all these. Ironically, those companies aren’t usually advertising their magical super gimmicks to gullible dupes on Facebook.

15. No matter how good your holster is, it’s going to suck if you hang it off a cheap, floppy belt. You want a quality, rigid, non-stretchy belt. Belts that offer clicks or tension adjust are more forgiving than traditional belt holes, as you can adjust better to keep that gun in the comfiest spot.

16. I didn’t name any shitty brands because inevitably when I do, somebody is going to get butt hurt and cry But It Works For Me! and It’s Just As Good! And frankly I don’t have time for your hurt feelings today. If your holster doesn’t fit these basic criteria, you should get something better.  

17. Test your gear. Dry fire with it a whole bunch. Wear it around. Be honest with yourself, and all the shortcomings will become abundantly clear. Don’t tie your self-esteem to your purchases. All gun people have bought stupid shit at one time or another. We all pay the derp tax. Just recognize it, move on, and get something better. Then test that too.

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*on your goofy esoteric methods-
Small of the back: is dumb. It is stupidly slow. And it doesn’t actually conceal any better. You just think it does because it is behind you so you can’t see it. Pointless. Zero advantages.

Pocket: Designed for tiny guns, all the holster rules still apply, except it’s main job is to cover the trigger and serve as an anchor so your pocket rocket stays in the same place.  

Ankle: A weird and incredibly slow method that is rarely used now, which I’ve got almost no firsthand knowledge of because I’ve not used it much other than basic demonstrations in CCW classes a long time ago.

Belly Band: Peak 1990s deep concealment technology. Which depending on how crappy the brand is may or may not actually retain the gun, probably collapses, and more than likely needs two hands to holster. An Enigma does the same thing better in every possible way.

Off The Body: Crap like purses, briefcases. Lame. If you ever set it down, congratulations, you just left a loaded gun uncontrolled in public. Also super slow and hard to access.

Gunderpants: Which is my wife’s joke name for any of those athletic shorts that come with a holster. Same rules apply, and they’ll probably fail on the retention, safety, and floppy bits.

Shoulder Holsters: look great in gritty cop shows. Comfy. Suck to actually use. Slow. Requires a bigger covering garment. And nobody ever trains with them because you can’t use them without flagging half the range.

Cross draw: most of the disadvantages of shoulder holsters, only you don’t get to look like a grizzled homicide detective.  

If you’ve got some other weird ass method that I’m not thinking of, ask yourself why you’re the only person who uses this brilliant system, and then just try not to shoot yourself or somebody else. The only times I’ve seen most of these make sense is somebody has an extremely specific role because of their lifestyle, or dudes who carry multiple handguns in different positions because they do weird dangerous shit for a living. Those are bell curve outliers. They probably aren’t you. Quit being weird and get a normal holster.

Also, an addendum. Magnet car holsters are stupid. Your car isn’t a holster. If you carry in a holster that isn’t an uncomfortable piece of shit then you’re not out there manipulating your loaded gun in public to stick it onto your goofy car magnet holster, which would need to weigh about 80 pounds to actually retain that gun in order to not lose it during a crash. Every time I see these ads pop up on here it makes my eye twitch.