22,000 words and counting.

I've always dabbled in writing. Recently, I got an idea that I couldn't shake. It's turned into an itch that won't go away.  There will be graphic sex, violence, and just all around fun. Some parts are going to piss people off. That almost caused me to put the breaks on. Then I thought about all the authors I enjoy reading and thought, "Fuck it."

It's first person PI/Men'sAdventure/Thriller/etc. influenced by Mickey Spillane, Mark Greaney, John Ringo, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly...you get the idea.

I don't know when the rough will be finished, but I am having a lot of fun writing it. Here is a sample (tentatively rough Chapter 2) of Tragic City:

I took the ramp that skirts the Expessway and then exited onto I-20E/I-59N.  On either side of the interstate is the urban sprawl of industrial sites mixed with rundown residential neighborhoods and the ever present green of Birmingham’s trees. Birmingham calls itself Tree City USA as well as the Magic City. A satellite view of the city will show you why the former came about, as Birmingham seems to always be on the verge of being swallowed up by looming foliage outside of downtown.
I continued up the combined interstates until they split just past the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, continuing north on I-59 towards Trussville and Clay as I-20 curved away towards the east and Atlanta.  Another few miles and I exited the interstate and turned right onto North Chalkville Road headed toward downtown Trussville. I took the very next right and pulled into the parking lot Waffle House on the corner.
I eat at this particular Waffle House so often that the waitresses and short order cooks know me by name. I locked up the Mustang and walked inside. I pushed my sunglasses up on my head as I walked through the door and headed for my usual seat at the far end of the counter where I could keep an eye on the entrance and most of the diner.
“Hi, Darlin’,” greets Allie, a wrinkle faced grandmotherly woman with Coke bottle bottom glasses. “The usual?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” I said. I looked around the diner as Allie called my order out to the cook. There was another man at the opposite end of the counter nursing a cup of coffee while perusing a newspaper and chewing on the end of a straw like he missed the days when one could smoke inside. A family of four, Mom, Dad and two little girls, where devouring waffles in a booth off to my left. It was a Tuesday and the place was kind of dead just before ten in the morning.
“Here you are, Hon,” Allie said as she sat a glass of Coke down in front of me. “Food will up in a minute.”
“Thanks, Allie,” I said and took a sip. My phone vibrated in my pocket and pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. It was a guy I knew, not exactly a friend, but more than an acquaintance.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hey, Man, it’s Steve,” the caller said. Steve had lived in the South forever, but he’s still got a trace of New York in the accent.
“What’s up, Steve?”
“Not much,” he said, making small talk. Steve was never quick to get the point. “What’s up with you?”
“About to eat some breakfast,” I said as Allie sat two plates in front of me, one holding a larger order of hashbrowns and two eggs over medium with toast. A smaller plate held two sausage patties. I moved the toast over to the sausage plate and liberally coat the hashbrowns and eggs with salt, pepper, and ketchup.
“Well, I won’t keep you from your breakfast,” Steve drawled. “I just wanted to see if you’d be in the shop today?”
The “shop” as everyone calls it is the Blueline Cigar Company. The owner was a medically retired Birmingham cop and the place had become a sort of clubhouse for local cigar smokers. At least the ones with any taste. The shop was in an old house converted to retail space with one room converted into a walk in humidor, two large rooms with wall mounted tvs and an assortment of leather chairs, a full kitchen, and a dining room converted into a card room. On any given day there was a group of salty old men at the card table playing ten cent a chip Limit Hold’em. Bigger games could be had, and these were the men to help you find them, but this was a fun and profitable little game for the skilled player looking for a low stress game.
“Yeah, I’ll be in a little later,” I told Steve.
“Cool,” Steve said. “I got a little work you might be interested in. We’ll talk about it when you get here.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
“Later, Man.”
I ended the call and returned the phone to my pocket, then I dug into my food as I wondered what Steve might need. My stock in trade was usually damsels in distress and elderly folks wanting the meth labs and crack dealers out of their decaying neighborhoods.
Before that dip shit in Atlanta T-boned me I had been making a good living as a cable guy. Yeah, sounds like a weak sauce job which is why it is so high paying if you’re willing to travel a bit and put in some real effort. In truth it was hard work and I fucking hated it but the money was so damn good that you couldn’t just walk away.
After the accident and the city’s settlement I could support my lifestyle without that fucking job so I told the boss I was hanging it up. I was all set to settle down to a life of good cigars and good bourbon while pissing away the hours at the poker table when my Doc reminded me that I should probably stay active if I wanted to stay out of a wheel chair. I decided to fulfill a life long dream and spent two years on the road going to all the big gun and self defense schools around the country and training with all the big name trainers. Gunsite, Thunder Rance, Massad Ayoob Group, SouthNarc, Larry Vickers, Ken Hackathorn, Michael Janich.  If they had a name in the gun or self defense world, I was there. Between training courses I started shooting a lot of pistol competition, mostly IDPA, and a little two and three gun.
When I came home I found that there wasn’t much to do but go to the range or sit at the shop. I shot a couple of matches every month but mostly sat on my but for the first couple of months. After a while word got around among friends and acquaintances that I knew some stuff and I started getting asked for favors. I rode shotgun for a few friends repossessing cars and did some escort work for some business owners who carried a lot of cash but didn’t feel up to defending themselves.
This morphed into a kind of Have Gun, Will Travel kind of career. I registered an LLC and got some insurance and put myself out there as a consultant and trouble shooter for average people. Unlike Paladin, my prices are a lot more reasonable, but I am just as selective about my clientele. I don’t work for criminals or non-criminal scumbags. A lot of what I do is just riding along when someone is going to buy or sell something for a lot of cash. People get set up all the time for robberies through online classifieds, so a concerned person can spend a few bucks and have someone with them to look out for a potential set up.
My favorite jobs are those where I make abusive ex’s realize the error of their ways. I’m only for hire in that situation when a court issued restraining order is in place, but when it is I love to come in and show a lady how to look out for herself and give her a little defensive training. I’ll also sleep on the couch for a while if there is a strong chance of the ex showing up early on. The look of absolute fear on the faces of some of these cowards when I open the girlfriend or ex-wife’s door and remind them that they are in violation of a restraining order while holding a shotgun under their noses almost makes me want to do the work gratis. Almost.
That said, I don’t consider myself a gunfighter or anything like that. After all, I’ve never been in a gunfight. I pepper sprayed a young lady’s ex once outside her work when he thought he’d show her that I was no protection from some MMA wanna-be. She did more damage when she kicked him in the balls while he rolled on the ground trying to rub the burning from his eyes, and he was crying like a little bitch when the cops picked him up.
I finished my breakfast and paid with a twenty, telling Allie to keep the change. She beamed and told me to come back soon. I smiled and waved as I made my way out the door, and a couple of minutes later I was rumbling down North Chalkville Road toward Highway 11.

On The Range #81: Way of the Gun Intro to Performance Carbine

This past Sunday I attended my first rifle/carbine training course in Anniston, AL.  The course, titled Intro to Performance Carbine, was put on by Frank Proctor of Way of the Gun.

  My favorite kind of classroom.

As a result of the latest run on ammunition there were only five students in attendance.  This gave each of us a lot more one on one time with Frank as he led us through the day's training.

The course was in many respects a facsimile of the Intro to Performance Pistol course I took a few months back, though very much more tailored to the carbine.  All of the fundamentals of shooting were the same, as one might expect.  

Frank's philosophy is that whether shooting for competition or shooting to defend yourself the person who scores the most points fastest wins, therefore the focus of the course was on fast and accurate shooting.  Frank pushed us to operate our carbines as fast as we were able to make accurate hits.  

We worked a number of drills that were new to me.  I plan to incorporate a couple into my practice at home (including the reload drill I learned in the pistol course).  

One of the drills was the VTAC 1-5 Drill:

As I said before the small class size gave each of us a lot of one on one time with Frank.  I found this very helpful as he gave me some tips to improve my shooting with the carbine and pointed out some bad habits I'd picked up.

About to make some steel sing!

Probably the best shooter in the class is in the photo above.  His speed and accuracy were really amazing, especially since the rifle he was using was brand new and only zeroed that day.  He's a competitive pistol shooter and you could really see that skill cross over onto the carbine.  

At $180 I feel like I got my money's worth out of this course.  The instruction and atmosphere was great.  Frank is a really excellent shooter who wants to pass on what he's learned to others.  He has a very positive, approachable attitude and has no problem leaving his ego out of it.  As much as he's there to teach he's also willing to learn from others as well.  

We finished up the day doing some shooting at steel targets set up at 60, 100, and 140 yards (roughly).  I was able to hit the reduced size IPSC tagets at all distances, but struggled with smaller stuff past 100 yards.  Still, it was nice hitting anything even at that range.  

I took the opportunity to test a few pieces of gear I've picked up.  I have a Condor MA1 Tactical MOLLE Drop Leg Platform - OD Green

 set up to hold rifle mags that I used for a while.  I've used it before and while I like the idea I'm just not a fan of having things on my legs.  It's not comfortable and just feels like it's weighing me down.  I also used a BladeTech belt mount single mag holder.  I found this a MUCH better method for quickly retrieving a mag and much more comfortable.

My Lucid HD7 red dot held up fairly well.  Under 50 yards it's great, and it works at distance well.  The battery held up all day with no need to replace it.  I'm pretty impressed with the batter life.  The sight has an auto off after being on for two hours which works like a charm.  The only issue I had with it was one of my own making.  After almost six hundred rounds it had come loose from the rail.  I figure this was result of me not having it tight enough.  That's something I'll be sure to keep a check on.

My AR held up very well.  I had zero malfunctions related to the gun, and one related to a magazine.  The magazine issue was a result of overloading my PMag.  PMags will hold 31 rounds but they will usually not lock into the mag well with the bolt forward.  Other than this, no issues.

I'd recently started using Slipstream Weapon Lubricant

 on my AR.  My gun stayed slick all day even though I was shooting dirty Monarch brand steel case ammo.  I did a thorough cleaning, including bolt dis-assembly  and relubed with the Slipstream.  This stuff will be going on my Glock and 1911 for further testing.

I hope to get some more training from Frank Proctor in the future, and I recommend him to anyone who is looking to get some formal instruction without breaking the bank.  I feel like I learned quite a bit that will help my on the past to becoming a better shooter.