Thanks for making the Book Bomb Day for my novel Expatriates a great success. The book peaked at #22 overall on Amazon, yesterday morning. There has been a delay in the release of the Kindle version of the novel in the UK, But it is available in the US, Canada, Ireland, and continental Europe. And while the downloadable version of the audiobook is not yet available, the MP3 CD-ROM can now be ordered. (The audio book was wonderfully narrated by Eric G. Dove.) Thanks for your patience, folks.
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I was saddened to hear of the death of Tom Clancy, on Tuesday. He was an inspiration to me and to many other writers. It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre. Coincidentally, Tom Clancy’s first literary agent was my agent, Robert Gottlieb.
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October, 3, 2013 is the sad 20th anniversary of the deaths of Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) and Sergeant First Class Randall David Shughart (August 13, 1958–October 3, 1993) in Mogadishu, Somalia. This pair of Delta Force snipers were both posthumous recipients of the Medal of Honor. They heroically asked to be inserted to rescue Warrant Officer Michael Durant, knowing well that their chances of survival were incredibly slim. Together, they accounted for at least 25 Somali KIAs before they died. The events of October 3, 1993 were memorialized in the movie Black Hawk Down.
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Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.
Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value, and G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and G.) A Nesco / American Harvest Gardenmaster Dehydrator with an extra set of trays, and the book The Dehydrator Bible, from Mayflower Trading. (A $210 value.)
Round 49 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.