As many of you already know, I’ll be leaving FBMG sometime soon.  

I love what I do, I love the company that I helped build. Unfortunatly when you run your own business, it pretty much consumes your entire life.  At the same time I’ve been trying to make it as a writer, which also takes a lot of time. I’m going to be leaving the gun business in order to have more time to write. If I don’t do this, and push when I’ve got the chance, then I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. 

I’ve been with FBMG for almost 4 years now. We started out as a tiny little 2 man shop. We’ve moved into a giant building and are in the process of building an indoor range. We went from a little hole in the wall shop to the coolest gun store in the state. 

I’m going to miss the guys that I work with. My crew is absolutely amazing. The Minions rock. My partners are like my brothers. I’m leaving FBMG in good hands. 

I’m still going to work there, just not nearly as much. I’m basically selling out as an owner and becoming a Minion myself. I’ll still be coming in to help with paperwork and to teach CCW and pistol. I love teaching, I just won’t be doing it quite so often. There have been months in the past where I taught six different nights and two weekends, in addition to the regular job.  That kicks your butt.

I will be getting another job, but just a normal, human, 40 hour a week type job. I thought I had something lined up, but that is looking doubtful now since that company took a massive hit in the recent financial turmoil.  With my usual cunning, I arranged to get out of the gun business back during the summer when the gun business was really hurting and the regular economy was doing okay, and now I’m getting out when the gun business is booming and the regular economy is imploding. Basically if you want to invest, just check with me, and do the opposite of whatever it is I’m doing.

I’m not that worried about it yet. Financially, the Correias are debt free except for our mortgage, and I’ll have enough in the bank from selling out to live for several months as an unemployed writer/bum.  In a few months though, if anybody needs a window squegee guy or hired muscle, give me a call.

I’ll still be around the shop for a bit. I would have been gone awhile ago, but it has been crazy busy around the store, so I’ve stuck around. I’ll probably be out sometime in the beginning of the new year.

I posted last night that Monster Hunter International is now available for preorder on Amazon.

Right now I’m #12,373 on the bestseller list. Not bad for one day! I’m already ranked higher than a bunch of other preorder books from much more famous authors. I want to get this Baen version ranked higher than the POD version was before it is even released.

Thanks for spreading the word guys. It is much appreciated.

EDIT: #9,331 on 12/1/08 in the morning.  Getting closer.

EDIT AGAIN: #6,498 on 12/1/08 after lunch.

EDIT HOLY CRAP! 12/3/08 12:00

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,642 in Books

That is now higher than the POD version achieved.

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Hunter-International-Larry-Correia/dp/1439132852/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228018880&sr=8-3

The Baen version of MHI is now available for preorder on Amazon. The book will not be available until Summer of 2009, but now is your chance to get in line.

I’m really hoping to get the stats up for MHI:1. The better MHI:1 sells, the more likely I am to get a contract for MHI:2. The more copies I can presell, the better my stats will look.  So if you’re an Monster Hunter fan, and you’ve been planning on getting another copy, why wait until July? You might as well order it now, that way publishers will be all like “Wow, that Larry Correia gets on best seller lists before the book is even released! I need to buy all his books! He’s the bestest author ever!” Or something like that.

So start ordering!

Tell your friends. Spread the word. Tired of people bugging you for your $200 original copy of MHI? Tell them to get their own! If you’ve got a blog, please let people know. Owen Zastava Pitt needs your help. All of those monsters aren’t going to kill themselves. Every day that you don’t order a copy of the Baen version of MHI, transdimensional sky-squids will eat a sack of puppies… and that just ain’t cool.

http://www.wethearmed.com/

We should be hitting 1,000 members in the next couple of days. That’s pretty awesome.

The board is growing and I like the vibe. It is pretty laid back and comfy. So far, so good.

On Saturday night after the Gunshow From Hell 2008 my wife and I went to the Coldplay concert in Salt Lake. I had gotten some free tickets, shout out to 101.9 The End.  I was not a Coldplay fan, but Mrs. Correia loves them.

I wasn’t expecting much, as I’d heard their music, and it seemed kind of sedate. Live however, they were absolutely awesome. It was one of the better shows that I had seen.  They were energetic and fun. At one point the band went out and played a couple of songs in the audience. We were about five feet away for that bit. Mrs. Correia noted that the bouncers kept an eye on me because apparently I was the scariest looking person in touching distance.

I was so not a Coldplay fan that I actually didn’t even know they were from until they spoke. ( “Hey, I didn’t know they were English” and all the fans around me look at me like I’m stupid) I’d have to say that I’m a fan now though. The last time I had an experience like this was with Radiohead, not that they were English, I knew that, I just wasn’t expecting much, and instead got an absolutely awesome show.

And that was despite the lousy acoustics of the Energy Solutions Arena. That building has the worst sound of anyplace I’ve ever heard a concert. A wall of thunder descends from the ceiling and bludgeons your ears the entire time. You get a sound like a lumbering brontosaurus bouncing off the walls and they still managed to sound good.

The first opening act was a band from Texas called Sleeper Car. They were pretty good. Then the second opening act sucked beyond all comprehension. I don’t know what the guy’s name was, and that’s probably a good thing, because I’d be cursing it right now.

Basically it was some sort of 30 minute techno song/performance video.  The cartoon reminded me of Adult Swim’s Super Jail, only Super Jail is more interesting, and it is over in less time. It had this repetitive beat that would die down, and we would all cheer, thinking that it was actually over, then Fooooooom  Foooooom it would start again. Then weird cartoons would play flashing colors and words like FANTASY and crap like that. Since I hadn’t eaten any psychedelic mushrooms and still have all of my frontal lobe intact, I didn’t really get anything out of it.  I got bored and went and got a $4.00 coke so I missed the big finale. Thank goodness.

So the opening act was good, the next act was painful, and the main show was excellent. Overall, it was a great night.  Coldplay surprised the hell out of me.