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The Class:

High Caliber Writing: Writing firearms and people doing violence to create fascinating characters and visceral action that drives your plot, enriches your setting, and keeps tension wire-tight from page one to The End.

Gripping action is the beating heart of some genres, and can be an invaluable addition to others, but writing it can be difficult because the typical writer has not spent a great deal of time fighting for their life.

Fortunately, the way humans react to stress and danger is largely constant across time and culture. Once a writer understands the basics, writing immersive action becomes a matter of applying consistent reactions to their specific work.

In High Caliber Writing these reactions are shown through the lens of the most common modern tool of violence, firearms. Significantly for authors, the methods used to acquire firearms, the type of firearm, their use, and the emotional and psychological reactions can further develop your character as well as drive your plot forward.

Starting with biology and working outward to entire armies and cultures, using examples taken from the work of bestselling author Lewis Perdue, students will learn how to write top quality murder, havoc, slaughter, and destruction, all while ensuring the participants are suitably terrified (or thrilled).

The People

Karl Henwood was briefly a cop in Oakland, CA, is an Iraq veteran, and has been an Armor officer on the M1 Abrams line of main battle tanks for 18 years. He’s finished two Science Fiction manuscripts and is currently working on a third, He does professional editing on the side. He is currently about to plunge back into the query trenches. He lives with his wife, two children, and a rather strange dog in Boise, Idaho.

Lewis Perdue is a bestselling author of 22 published books including 15 thrillers and 7 non-fiction. He’s an environmental chemical researcher affiliated with the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and develops AI apps. He has decades of firearms experience and training, and as served in an intelligence capacity with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He’s also served on the faculties at UCLA and Cornell University, served as a top aide to a U.S. Senator and a state governor, run Congressional races, worked as an investigative reporter (Jack Anderson, Watergate etc.), and as a columnist for The Wall Street Journal Online and TheStreet.Com. He recently sold his freemium wine industry business publication, Wine Industry Insight. More at: Lewisperdue.com. Until her retirement he was represented by the Natasha Kern Literary Agency.

Selections by Claude Opus 3 from Anthropic Sniper Fiction

There have been several successful fiction books featuring snipers as central characters or focusing on sniping as a key element of the story. Here are some notable examples:

“Point of Impact” by Stephen Hunter (1993) – The first book in the Bob Lee Swagger series, featuring a Vietnam War sniper veteran. The book was adapted into the 2007 film “Shooter” starring Mark Wahlberg.“The Day of the Jackal” by Frederick Forsyth (1971) – A thriller about an assassin hired to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. The assassin uses a sniper rifle in his attempt. The book has been adapted into films in 1973 and 1997.“The Sniper and the Wolf” by Scott McEwen (2015) – Part of the Sniper Elite series, featuring Navy SEAL sniper Gil Shannon as he takes on a mission involving a deadly Russian sniper.“Time to Kill” by Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin and Donald A. Davis (2007) – Part of the Kyle Swanson Sniper Novels series, following a Marine Corps sniper as he uncovers a conspiracy while serving in Iraq.“Dead Shot” by Jack Coughlin and Donald A. Davis (2009) – Another book in the Kyle Swanson series, where the protagonist investigates an attack on a U.S. Marine base.“The American Sniper” by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice (2013) – A memoir by Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, which inspired the 2014 film “American Sniper” directed by Clint Eastwood.“The Redeemer” by Jo Nesbø (2009) – Part of the Harry Hole series, this crime novel features a sniper targeting individuals in Oslo during Christmas time.

These books have gained popularity among readers interested in military fiction, thrillers, and crime novels, often featuring complex characters and intense, suspenseful storylines centered around snipers and their skills.

Sniper Non-Fiction

There have been several successful non-fiction books about snipers, often focusing on their experiences, training, and the history of sniping. Here are some notable examples:

“American Sniper” by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice (2012) – The autobiography of Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, detailing his experiences in Iraq and his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).“Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills” by Charles Henderson (1986) – The story of Carlos Hathcock, a legendary U.S. Marine Corps sniper during the Vietnam War, known for his skill and dedication.“One Shot, One Kill” by Charles W. Sasser and Craig Roberts (1990) – A collection of stories about U.S. Marine Corps snipers, focusing on their training, missions, and experiences.“Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege” by Dan Mills (2007) – A firsthand account of a British sniper’s experiences during the Iraq War, particularly during the siege of Al Amarah in 2004.“The White Sniper: Simo Häyhä” by Tapio Saarelainen (2016) – A biography of Simo Häyhä, a Finnish sniper during the Winter War (1939-1940) against the Soviet Union, credited with over 500 confirmed kills.“Dear Mom: A Sniper’s Vietnam” by Joseph T. Ward (1991) – A collection of letters written by the author to his mother during his time as a sniper in the Vietnam War, offering insights into the daily life and experiences of a combat sniper.“The Longest Kill: The Story of Maverick 41, One of the World’s Greatest Snipers” by Craig Harrison (2015) – The memoir of a British sniper who held the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill at 2,475 meters (1.54 miles) in Afghanistan.

These non-fiction books provide readers with a glimpse into the real-life experiences, challenges, and achievements of snipers throughout history, often focusing on their training, tactics, and the psychological aspects of their unique role in military operations.

Sniper Movies

Here are some of the most successful motion pictures featuring a sniper as a prominent character, along with their box office revenues and top actors:

American Sniper (2014)Box office: $547.4 millionTop actors: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle GallnerSaving Private Ryan (1998)Box office: $481.8 millionTop actors: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom SizemoreNote: While not the main focus, the character of Private Daniel Jackson (played by Barry Pepper) is a skilled sniper in the film.The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)Box office: $442.8 millionTop actors: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David StrathairnNote: The character of Paz (played by Edgar Ramírez) is an assassin and sniper working for the CIA.Jack Reacher (2012)Box office: $218.3 millionTop actors: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard JenkinsJarhead (2005)Box office: $97.1 millionTop actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas BlackShooter (2007)Box office: $95.7 millionTop actors: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Danny GloverEnemy at the Gates (2001)Box office: $96.9 millionTop actors: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel WeiszThe Wall (2017)Box office: $4.5 millionTop actors: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena

These films have been commercially successful and feature prominent sniper characters played by well-known actors. The box office figures are worldwide gross revenues and are not adjusted for inflation.

 

 

This is from my Vanity Fair photo shoot defending my book “Daughter of God” against Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Clone – https://archive.vanityfair.com/articl...

Free at Kindle Select and also available in paperback.

As the clock clicks swiftly down, biotech entrepreneur Lara Blackwood races to stop ultra-right-wing extremists from using her stolen gene technology to start an ethnic purge that would kill billions worldwide — all for them to keep their bloodline “unpolluted.”

Slatewiper is science-based thriller I originally wrote in the mid-1990s. It went unpublished because publishers thought the premise was too far-fetched.

Then world events caught up with publisher doubts at the turn of the century when  international medical groups and even the CIA began to issue warning about gene weapons.

Because of this and the relentless effort by my literary agent Natasha Kern, Slatewiper was finally published in hardcover by Macmillan/Forge in 2003.

And now,  twenty years later, the Chinese intelligence agency —  at the end of October, 2023 –issued a warning whose details underpin Slatewiper.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

Humanity’s very existence is at stake in this latest hair-raiser by Perdue (Daughter of God, Forge 2000), a no-holds-barred biogenetic thriller. Lara Blackwood, founder of GenIntron, a company devoted to gene manipulation as a method of fighting genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs and sickle-cell anemia, is a tough hybrid of brilliant scientist, beauty and fighter.

As the novel begins, GenIntron has been forced into economic difficulty and bought by the internationally powerful Japanese Daiwa Ichiban Corporation and its racist head, Tokutaro Kurata. In his first move, Kurata perverts Blackwood’s work by creating a new genetic weapon, graphically named Slatewiper, with which he intends to rid Tokyo of its hated Korean immigrants.

Thousands of dead Koreans fill the streets, and puzzled doctors postulate a new and unknown disease. Kurata dreams of reviving Japanese militarism, refusing to acknowledge defeat in WWII and denying the horrifying Japanese atrocities of that war and earlier Asian wars. He plans to sell the deadly gene to nations wishing to eliminate their own minorities, or for use against enemies, while plotting to promote Japanese superiority and racial purity.

Aiding Kurata is Blackwood’s nemesis, Sheila Gaillard, as beautiful and brilliant as Blackwood and altogether deadly, and Kurata’s nephew and heir, American-taught Akira Sugawara, loyal but finally driven to rebellion by the horrors he witnesses. In the light of current medical epidemics, this is a timely offering. (July) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

More Reviews Here

The reviews at this link come from a very archaic web site that I hand-coded two decades ago. You will find some broken links which are being fixed along with a total conversion to a decent, well-designed WordPress site (in progress).

NOTE: Please address questions of comments to: lperdue@ideaworx.com

This briefing is for writer attendees of today’s Henwood Ranch Range Day. I had been scheduled to serve as a range safety officer and demonstrate the use of a scoped 30.06 rifle as a example of a sniper weapon. An athletic injury prevented me from attending. In the following article, I’ll try to cover some anticipated questions based on those which I got at the previous Range Day

Why This Post?

This briefing is based on my experience with a type of weapon that has been used by snipers, and on research I have conducted with military snipers and document research. It also reflects my own author efforts to create credible sniper characters for several of my published books, including a more recent unfinished work one with a white-hat, female “guardian” sniper.

The ideas and links below reflect some of my experience and research. This also assumes that you (as an attendee) may be considering a book about a civilian murder using a sniper weapon. In this context, I’m ruling out mass shootings carried out by psychologically damaged individuals whose goal is mass casualties of people, and who do not plan to escape or remain anonymous and which which do not target specific individuals.

That given, if you choose sniping as your antagonist character’s preferred murder method there are fundamental considerations to consider.

First of all, homicide by sniping is not a crime of passion. It is a cold, calculated act:  shot through with malice and aforethought. There are no extenuating circumstances. If caught, and convicted, the killer will receive no mercy from the court.

Your character should be aware of, and concerned by the consequences of his/her actions. That recognition needs to be addressed at some point, either at the beginning, or at some OMG point in the process. Arrogance, desperation, or some sense of internally justifiable obligation needs to overcome the OMG consequences.

To be a credible and potentially successful character, your sniper needs to be lot more than a good shot with a rifle.

That means that, to be true to character and interesting to your reader, the sniper must be astonishingly patient, painstaking methodical, creatively inventive, obsessed with details and capable of putting emotions aside. The assassin in Day Of The Jackal is a good study.

If your sniper character is a good guy/gal in a military, law enforcement, or other protective context, must have the same characteristics only guided by a moral compass.

Extensive PlanningSurveillance

To make a good shot and escape capture requires extensive knowledge of the target’s life to plan where in their routine would make the best kill zone. Home, work, recreation, favorite restaurants, and physical fitness centers. and running routes are among potential sites.

Your sniper needs to observe the target’s patterns of activities especially routines: what time, what day, where and for how long. Once a pattern is observed, the sniper need to locate a shooting site that allows for a good shot.

Requirements include a good site line — usually somewhat above the target which minimizes interference from obstacles. It also minimizes the chances of being seen since people usually look mostly straight ahead (or down) when walking or driving.

The site line from the shot site should preferably be one one in which the target is stationary or moving minimally and slowly. This could be as they enter an exit or door in a building or vehicle. Window shots, while spectacular in the movies, are possible but often inaccurate due to interference of the glass.

When a stationary shot is not possible, the best alternative is when the target is moving (walking/running/driving) straight at — or away from – the sniper.

The shot site needs to provide the ability of the sniper to access it and shoot without being seen or causing suspicion. Preferably, it should be in an area where the gunshot will either not be noticed, or in an area where the sniper can escape without being seen.

This is why tops of buildings, abandoned buildings, buildings being renovated are popular in cities. Wooded or brushy hills also offer potential kill sites, but offer fewer opportunities for a clean shot. These may be necessary if the shot to be taken is of the target at his/her home.

Your sniper needs to have a laser rangefinder such as those sold for golfers, and use it to estimate the distance of the shot from shoot site to kill zone. For the average person familiar with shooting a rifle, the maximum distance from shoot site to kill zone should be no more than 100 yards.

To be realistic, you should — in your real author life — scope out a hypothetical kill zone  location where the target could be shot in your book. In other words, you need to become the sniper and the victim and walk in their fictional shoes. Get a good feel for the area so you can describe it vividly. Then look around to determine if you can spot a possible shot site that’s no more than 100 yards away.

For maximum verisimilitude, once you have selected a shoot site, carry a shoulder bag and a hockey stick as a stand-in for gear and a rifle and see whether or not you can get the everything to your shoot site without being seen. The location and time of day should coincide with times that surveillance indicates the target will be present.

Be aware of security cameras including home surveillance devices like the Ring system. A smart sniper will take measures to blend in by dressing like people in the shot site and kill zone surroundings. And perhaps apply cosmetics to further obscure his/her appearance.

If you are the author of previous published books, it could be useful to carry one of those with you on your search for a shoot site and/or kill zone. This can be especially handy if you will scoping out be in an area with government buildings, gated communities, corporate and financial companies and other sensitive areas.

I learned this directly when I was scoping out a shoot site and kill zone in London for my mid-80s bestseller, Queensgate Reckoning. The target in that book was a diplomat working at the Iraqi Military Consulate. To write the scene, I spent some time scoping out shoot sites, and settled on a nearby building under renovation that was covered in scaffolding and mesh screening.

It did not take long before I was accosted by four very large, well-armed security guards, two from the London PD’s diplomatic security service and two in military garb. My suspicious behavior — like I was looking for a shoot site — had brought me to their attention. They were aggressively skeptical when I said I was looking for site to put in a book I was writing. About that time, a sedan arrived which was supposed to take me in for questioning.

Things changed when I offered them a paperback edition of my previous thriller, The Delphi Betrayal. Radio calls were made. Finally, I was allowed to leave (without my book) and told not to be seen in the area again or suffer unstated consequences.

The mobile or shoot & scoot site

In rural areas, an auto, or 4×4 vehicle may be the only alternative for a shoot site. A thinly populated area is good for not being spotted. However, the same holds true for the visibility of a vehicle traveling a remote area. License plates and the sheer size of the vehicle can be memorable to locals. Better to park in an area where other vehicles are parked, then trek in to the shoot site.

A dirt bike with a good muffler could be less noticeable, but would not only leave tracks, but also would expose a rider with a weapon slung over the shoulder. It would all depend on the terrain, the area and the traffic. Being spotted and exposed by a hiker or birdwatcher could unravel the sniper’s identity.

Obtaining the weapon

Using a weapon already in the possession of the potential sniper is risky. Friends and associates may remember it.

Buying a new weapon in the United States is out of the question because of registration requirements. Even an illegal purchase at a dicey gun show means face-to-face exposure to the seller and potential fingerprints left behind at the purchase site.

Theft/burglary is most likely the best acquisition method. This is made relatively easy by the fact that too many gun owners do not lock or otherwise secure their weapons — a prime reason for accidental deaths and injuries to children and others

What to steal?

One common, lethal weapon to steal would be the relatively common .30-caliber hunting rifle such as the .30-06 commonly used by deer hunters. (Please see this link for various dissertations on .30-caliber ammunition.)

On the other hand, stealing an AR-15-style rifle may be easier because they have become common, and their owners are less likely to secure their weapons than hunters. This is because many AR-15s are trendy and currently bought by relative newcomers to firearms.

Known as “Legos for adults,” or “Mr. Potato Head of the gun world,”  AR-15-style rifles come in a wide variety of interchangeable modules that are attractive to firearm newbies.

This design also makes it easier to dispose of a barrel (to avoid tracing) and related parts rather than an entire conventional rifle. Barrels for these come in 16, 18 and 20 inches. The longer the barrel, the greater the accurate range. While most are chambered for 5.56mm (roughly .22-caliber) some are configured for a 7.62 NATO round (roughly .30-caliber). A hit with the 7.62mm will inflict more damage than the 5.56mm because it has triple the bullet weight with only a slightly slower muzzle velocity. The 7.62mm’s killing power is comparable to a .30-06. The 7.62mm will be heavier.

While the workmanship offered by the wide variety of manufacturers varies greatly, the range and accuracy approach that of more conventional rifles. Finding one with a quality scope could be difficult, although retail purchases with cash do not require identification.

The “AR” stands for Armalite Rifle, named after the company that originated the design. The letters “AR” do not stand for “assault rifle” or “automatic rifle.”

Overview of weapons in use by professionals

While variations of .30-caliber rifles are still in use by military snipers, the current standard is .50 caliber. See: Top 10 Sniper Rifles for a 2023 list of rifles favored  by the military.

It’s significant that .50-caliber rifles are far fewer in number, and highly secured by professionals. Stealing one of these is likely to have a fatal outcome for the thief.

Getting into a discussion of the vast array of .30-caliber rifles is way more lengthy than this brief document can even begin to begin. It is worth noting that .50-caliber dominates in the pantheon of longest sniper kills, even though .30-caliber and the .30-06 do make the list as also-rans.

It’s a sobering reality that one of the most tragic sniper kills, that of the Assassination of American Civil Rights Icon Martin Luther King Jr. was made with a .30-06, deer-hunting class rifle. This report from the U.S. National Archives, offers a sobering description of events leading up to the event, including the acquisition of the rifle.

How to practice

Visiting a firing range is a bad idea. The sniper can be connected to the weapon by the many other people attending.

The best alternative is to use public land. Many areas of the U.S. Forestry Service and Bureau of Land Management allow shooting. The shooting elevation should be as similar as possible to the proposed site, and the targets set up using the distance from shoot site to kill zone previously measured with the golfers laser range finder.

Random factsMurder by Sniper In The U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice does not seem to keep statistics on individual sniping incidents or victims. However, a sniping murder would probably be covered in the relatively small number of number of homicides by rifle:

This link offers somewhat more information, but is limited to one class of rifle: Criminal Use of the 50 Caliber Sniper Rifle.

As we will see, the number of murders by sniper rifle are very small. This tends to draw more attention to the crime which can be a disadvantage to a civilian killing. As we will see below, it also narrows down the field of potential suspects.

On the other hand, because the number of snipings is comparably small, the reservoir of experts qualified to properly investigate them is also very limited and beyond the expertise of most small police departments.

The Military Sniper, Background

It’s worth noting that, military setting, a sniper is not a lone, deranged psychopath who loves to kill. That sniper is one of the most effective combat weapons, and offers near surgical results with zero, or minimal, collateral damage. S/he is there to protect the troops, and contribute to carrying out the unit’s mission.

Given the sudden and unexpected results of a successful shot, the sniper also terrorizes the enemy because the source of the shot is sudden and enemy personnel cannot immediately be determined. The sniper becomes an invisible hand of death.

A military sniper attack also carries with it the same fundamental moral considerations as a military operation sanctioned by a nation state or law-enforcement agency.

The military sniper will have had

extensive training,an extreme familiarity with a:high-quality weapon specially configured for the task andprovided by his/her authorized agencyextensive range practice timea spotter to assist in target acquisition, assessment of environmental conditions (heat, wind etc.), and a set of eyes to watch the shooter’s back and monitor other conditions at the shooting site.

All of this tends to minimize stress and distractions, allows for maximum concentration and increase the odds of a clean shot at a target with whom the sniper has no personal experience — thus eliminating issues of anger and other emotional complications.

Most of this could also apply to a professional sniper for hire.

Unless you are writing a humorous tragicomedy with a bumbling, semi-competent, part-time trigger man who keeps missing the target, but somehow escapes arrest because of law enforcement mistakes and stumbles by the target and/or his/her client.

Civilian sniper on the other hand …

The civilian murderer, intent on killing with a rifle, has few, or none, of the professional’s advantages listed above and a truckload of disadvantages which makes a successful shooting at a distance a chancy affair.

Fitting the right character for the sniper killer

You need to fit the skill and psychological skill set to your villain. It’s easy to go for a trite-and-true psycho-former military sniper who snaps. To be really interesting to readers, get past that over-done stock villain and assemble someone original. Someone with some small redeeming character/life experience that the reader can connect with. The villain of pure evil is way overdone.

Read one of these:

Super helpful.

Special Forces Sniper Training and Employment, Field Manual Headquarters, No. 3-05.222 Department of the Army – Free PDF onlineUPDATED: TC 18-32 Special Forces Sniper Training and EmploymentNovember 2013 – Premium from various sources. Crafting your sniperSome experience with firearms is a must if you want to have a believable character.But remember, as their level of expertise increases, so too, the chances that their background may be better known, and that experience could make them a suspect.Background: Public Sniper MurdersMost articles on sniping in civilian settings (other than the JFK assassination) focus on mass shootings. Racism: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Interesting Note on King Assassin and the rifle: National Archives: Findings on MLK AssassinationTerror: Washinton DC Beltway SnipersDomestic violence? Ex-Wife Of D.C. Sniper: ‘I Was The Enemy’ Washington DC Sniper DoJ Analysis: Managing a Multijurisdictional Case: Identifying the Lessons Learned from the Sniper InvestigationPolitical/Racism – Five Dallas Officers Were Killed as Payback, Police Chief Says — DALLAS, July 8, 2016Insanity/racism: Mark Essex, the 1973 Howard Johnson Sniper Related to Essex: The decorated Marine pilot whose heroics helped stop the 1973 New Orleans sniper attackInsanity: Akron native terrorized Los Angeles as ‘Phantom Sniper’ Insanity: University of Texas tower shootingMore ReferencesCriminal Snipers: What Every Chief Should Know This ragged list of mostly outside publications is one starting point for more research. U.S. DoJ Snipers.Questions? Email me: lperdue@ideaworx.com.

I’m writing this because I suffered a painful torn back muscle in a rugby game earlier this week and cannot serve, as planned, as a range safety officer or demonstrate my scoped 30.06 rifle which was to serve as a example of a sniper weapon. I’ll try to briefly cover some of the anticipated questions based on those I got at the previous Range Day or handling firearms.

This is a series of thoughts and not as organized as I would prefer given that I am writing under the same influence of the muscle relaxants that prevent me from driving to Range Day.

Why This Post?

This briefing is based on my experience with a type of weapon that has been used by snipers. Also based on research I have conducted with military snipers and on document research. It also reflects my own struggles to create credible snipers for several of my 20 published books, and a more recent unfinished work one with a white-hat, female “guardian” sniper.

The ideas and links below reflect some of my research, and assume you may be writing a book about a civilian murder using a sniper weapon. In this context, I’m ruling out mass shootings carried out by psychologically damaged individuals whose goal is mass casualties of people, and who do not plan to escape or remain anonymous.which do not target specific individuals.

That given, if you choose sniping as your antagonist character’s preferred murder method there are fundamental considerations to consider.

First of all, homicide by sniping is not a crime of passion. It is a cold, calculated act — shot through with malice and aforethought. There are no extenuating circumstances. If caught, and convicted, the killer will receive no mercy from the court.

Your character should be aware of, and concerned by the consequences of his/her actions. That recognition needs to be addressed at some point, either at the beginning, or at some OMG point in the process. Arrogance, desperation, or some sense of internally justifiable obligation needs to overcome the OMG consequences.

To be a credible and potentially successful character, your sniper needs to be lot more than a good shot with a rifle.

That means that, to be true to character and interesting to your reader, the sniper must be astonishingly patient, painstaking methodical, creatively inventive, obsessed with details and capable of putting emotions aside. The assassin in Day Of The Jackal is a good study.

If your sniper character is a good guy/gal in a military, law enforcement, or other protective context, must have the same characteristics only guided by a moral compass.

Extensive PlanningSurveillance

To make a good shot and escape capture requires extensive knowledge of the target’s life to plan where in their routine would make the best kill zone. Home, work, recreation, favorite restaurants, and physical fitness centers. and running routes are among the potential sites.

Your sniper needs to observe the target’s patterns of activities especially routines: what time, what day, where and for how long. Once a pattern is observed, the sniper need to locate a shooting site that allows for a good shot.

Requirements include a good site line — usually somewhat above the target which minimizes interference from obstacles. It also minimizes the chances of being seen since people usually look straight ahead (or down) when walking or driving.

The site line from the shot site should preferably be one one in which the target is stationary or moving minimally and slowly. This could be as they enter an exit or door in a building or vehicle. Window shots, while spectacular in the movies, are possible but often inaccurate due to interference of the glass.

When a stationary shot is not possible, the best alternative is when the target is walking/running straight at — or away from – the sniper.

The shot site needs to provide the ability of the sniper to access it and shoot without being seen or causing suspicion. Preferably, it should be in an area where the gunshot will either not be noticed, or in an area where the sniper can escape without being seen.

This is why tops of buildings, abandoned buildings, buildings being renovated are popular in cities. Wooded or brushy hills also offer potential kill sites, but offer fewer opportunities for a clean shot. This may be suitable if the shot to be taken is of the target at his/her home.

Your sniper needs to have obtained a laser rangefinder such as those sold for golfers, and use it to estimate the distance of the shot from shoot site to kill zone.

To be realistic, you should — in real author life — pick out a hypothetical shot site and location where a victim would be shot in your book. In other words, you need to become the sniper and the victim and walk in their fictional shoes. Get a good feel for the area so you can describe it vividly.

For maximum verisimilitude, once you have selected a shoot site, carry a shoulder bag and a hockey stick as a stand-in for gear and a rifle and see whether or not you can get the everything to your shoot site without being seen. The location and time of day must coincide with times that surveillance indicates the target will be present.

Be aware of security cameras including home surveillance devices like the Ring system. A smart sniper will take measures to blend in by dressing like people in the shot site and kill zone surroundings. And perhaps apply cosmetics to further obscure his/her appearance. Never standout.

If you are the author of previous published books, it could be useful to carry one of those with you on your search for a shoot site and/or kill zone. This can be especially handy if you will scoping out be in an area with government buildings, gated communities, corporate and financial companies and other sensitive areas.

I learned this directly when I was scoping out a shoot site and kill zone in London for my mid-80s bestseller, Queensgate Reckoning. The target in that book was a diplomat working at the Iraqi Military Consulate. To write the scene, I spent some time scoping out shoot sites, and settled on a nearby building under renovation that was covered in scaffolding and mesh screening.

It did not take long before I was accosted by four very large, well-armed security guards, two from the London PD’s diplomatic security service and two in military garb. My suspicious behavior — like I was looking for a shoot site — had brought me to their attention. They were aggressively skeptical when I said I was looking for site to put in a book I was writing. About that time, a sedan arrived which was supposed to take me in for questioning.

Things changed when I offered them a paperback edition of my previous thriller, The Delphi Betrayal. Radio calls were made. Finally, I was allowed to leave (without my book) and told not to be seen in the area again or suffer unstated consequences.

The mobile or shoot & scoot site

In rural areas, an auto, or 4×4 vehicle may be the only alternative for a shoot site. A thinly populated area is good for not being spotted. However, the same holds true for the visibility of a vehicle traveling a remote area. License plates and the sheer size of the vehicle can be memorable to locals.

A dirt bike with a good muffler could be less noticeable, but would not only leave tracks, but would expose a rider with a weapon slung over the shoulder. It would all depend on the terrain, the area and the traffic. Being spotted and exposed by a hiker or birdwatcher could unravel the sniper’s identity.

Obtaining the weapon

Using a weapon already in the possession of the potential sniper is risky. Friends and associates may remember it.

Buying a new weapon in the United States is out of the question because of registration requirements. Even an illegal purchase at a dicey gun show means face-to-face exposure to the seller and potential fingerprints left behind at the purchase site.

Theft/burglary is most likely the best acquisition method. This, unfortunately, is made relatively easy by the fact that too many gun owners do not lock or otherwise secure their weapons — a prime reason for accidental deaths and injuries to children and others

What to steal?

One common, lethal weapon to steal would be the relatively common .30-caliber hunting rifle such as the .30-o6 commonly used by deer hunters. (Please see this link for various dissertations on .30-caliber ammunition.)

On the other hand, stealing an AR-15-stype rifle may be easier because owners are less likely to secure their weapons than. This is because many AR-15s are trendy and currently bought by relative newcomers to firearms.

Known as “Legos for adults,” these come in a wide variety of interchangeable modules that are attractive to firearm newbies. This also makes it easier to dispose of a barrel and related parts rather than an entire conventional rifle. Barrels for these come in 16, 18 and 20 inches. The longer the barrel, the greater the accurate range. While most are chambered for 5.56mm (roughly .22-caliber) some are configured for a 7.62 NATO round (roughly .30-caliber).

While the workmanship offered by the wide variety of manufacturers varies greatly, the range and accuracy approach that of more conventional rifles. Finding one with a quality scope could be difficult, although retail purchases with cash do not require identification.

Overview of weapons in use by professionals

While variations of .30-caliber rifles are still in use by military snipers, the current standard is .50 caliber. This list of sniper rifles offers a more detailed look.

It’s valuable to note that .50-caliber are far fewer in number and jealously secured and protected by professionals. Stealing one of these is likely to have a fatal outcome for the thief.

Getting into a discussion of the vast array of .30-caliber rifles is way more lengthy than this brief document can even begin to begin. It is worth noting that .50-caliber dominates in the pantheon of longest sniper kills, even though .30-caliber and the .30-06 do make the list as also-rans.

It’s a sobering reality that one of the most tragic sniper kills, that of the Assassination of American Civil Rights Icon Martin Luther King Jr. was made with a .30-06, deer-hunting class rifle. This report from the U.S. National Archives, offers a sobering description of events leading up to the event, including the acquisition of the rifle.

How to practice

Visiting a firing range is a bad idea. The sniper can be connected to the weapon by the many other people attending.

The best alternative is to use public land. Many areas of the U.S. Forestry Service and Bureau of Land Management allow shooting. The shooting elevation should be as similar as possible to the proposed site, and the targets set up using the distance from shoot site to kill zone previously measured with the golfers laser range finder.

Random factsMurder by Sniper In The U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice does not seem to keep statistics on individual sniping incidents or victims. However, a sniping murder would probably be covered in the relatively small number of number of homicides by rifle:

This link offers somewhat more information, but is limited to one class of rifle: Criminal Use of the 50 Caliber Sniper Rifle.

As we will see, the number of murders by sniper rifle are very small. This tends to draw more attention to the crime which can be a disadvantage to a civilian killing. As we will see below, it also narrows down the field of potential suspects.

On the other hand, because the number of snipings is comparably small, the reservoir of experts qualified to properly investigate them is also very limited and beyond the expertise of most small police departments.

The Military Sniper, Background

It’s worth noting that, military setting, a sniper is not a lone, deranged psychopath who loves to kill. That sniper is one of the most effective combat weapons, and offers near surgical results with zero, or minimal, collateral damage. S/he is there to protect the troops, and contribute to carrying out the unit’s mission.

Given the sudden and unexpected results of a successful shot, the sniper also terrorizes the enemy because the source of the shot is sudden and enemy personnel cannot immediately be determined. The sniper becomes an invisible hand of death.

A military sniper attack also carries with it the same fundamental moral considerations as a military operation sanctioned by a nation state or law-enforcement agency.

The military sniper will have had

extensive training,an extreme familiarity with a:high-quality weapon specially configured for the task andprovided by his/her authorized agencyextensive range practice timea spotter to assist in target acquisition, assessment of environmental conditions (heat, wind etc.), and a set of eyes to watch the shooter’s back and monitor other conditions at the shooting site.

All of this tends to minimize stress and distractions, allows for maximum concentration and increase the odds of a clean shot at a target with whom the sniper has no personal experience — thus eliminating issues of anger and other emotional complications.

Most of this could also apply to a professional sniper for hire.

Unless you are writing a humorous tragicomedy with a bumbling, semi-competent, part-time trigger man who keeps missing the target, but somehow escapes arrest because of law enforcement mistakes and stumbles by the target and/or his/her client.

Civilian sniper on the other hand …

The civilian murderer, intent on killing with a rifle, has few, or none, of the professional’s advantages listed above and a truckload of disadvantages which makes a successful shooting at a distance a chancy affair.

Fitting the right character for the sniper killer

You need to fit the skill and psychological skill set to your villain. It’s easy to go for a trite-and-true psycho-former military sniper who snaps. To be really interesting to readers, get past that over-done stock villain and assemble someone original. Someone with some small redeeming character/life experience that the reader can connect with. The villain of pure evil is way overdone.

Read one of these:

Super helpful.

Special Forces Sniper Training and Employment, Field Manual Headquarters, No. 3-05.222 Department of the Army – Free PDF onlineUPDATED: TC 18-32 Special Forces Sniper Training and EmploymentNovember 2013 – Premium from various sources. Crafting your sniperSome experience with firearms is a must if you want to have a believable character.But remember, as their level of expertise increases, so too, the chances that their background may be better known, and that experience could make them a suspect.Background: Public Sniper MurdersMost articles on sniping in civilian settings (other than the JFK assassination) focus on mass shootings. Racism: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Interesting Note on King Assassin and the rifle: National Archives: Findings on MLK AssassinationTerror: Washinton DC Beltway SnipersDomestic violence? Ex-Wife Of D.C. Sniper: ‘I Was The Enemy’ Washington DC Sniper DoJ Analysis: Managing a Multijurisdictional Case: Identifying the Lessons Learned from the Sniper InvestigationPolitical/Racism – Five Dallas Officers Were Killed as Payback, Police Chief Says — DALLAS, July 8, 2016Insanity/racism: Mark Essex, the 1973 Howard Johnson Sniper Related to Essex: The decorated Marine pilot whose heroics helped stop the 1973 New Orleans sniper attackInsanity: Akron native terrorized Los Angeles as ‘Phantom Sniper’ Insanity: University of Texas tower shootingMore ReferencesCriminal Snipers: What Every Chief Should Know This ragged list of mostly outside publications is one starting point for more research. U.S. DoJ Snipers.Questions? Email me: lperdue@ideaworx.com.

This is a very personal book for me.

When I set out to write a thriller about what makes good people do bad things, realized that I had to look no farther for examples than my own family.

While the immune system of my Faulknerian ancestry had rejected me over my support for civil rights, all of those once powerful and prominent ancestors  — plantation owners, a U.S. Senator, a university chancellor and others — offered immense lessons in evil done in the guise of good.

That’s why I dedicated Hellhound to my African-American cousins & to Mississippi social justice advocates.

In addition to the thriller plot and action, my Author’s Note went into detail on the ancestral history underpinning the subject matter, plotting and writing.

The details of this can be found in the following links:

Hellhound: A multi-generational saga of racial injustice & redemption wrapped around a thriller.Why Did I Write Hellhound? (End Paper #1)Write what you know (End Paper #2)The accidental 3-book novel (End Paper #3)Hellhound on Amazon

Kindle Unlimited – Free for Kindle users … with hardware device or free app.

Softcover – 455 pages

Brash books has bought most of my thriller backlist!

This box from Brash Books was the first tranche: my Tesla Bequest, and The Delphi Betrayal — an awesome Sunday delivery, October 30, 2033!

Yeah, I am way behind on posting this. That’s because, just about the time Brash’s finished books were ready, I got an offer from a Seattle tech mogul to buy my wine business publication, Wine Industry Insight. So I got buried in that process. The sale closed in late January, and my transition period ended this month.

That was an awesome Sunday delivery and now, they have also re-issued The Da Vinci Legacy, and Queens Gate Reckoning!!!

Thank you Brash do-founder Lee Goldberg!

Brash has more to come.

Significantly, having these all back in print has inspired me to start working on a truly new thriller. So here I am now, focusing on my first love: writing.

After 14 years of founding Wine Industry Insight (wineindustryinsight.com) and running its News Fetch newsletter, I recently sold them to another passionate wine industry professional, Kevin Merritt.

Not only is Kevin a wine lover and an experienced operator of tech companies, but he’s also a winemaker.

Editor Becca Yeamans continues to curate the Daily News Fetch.

As for my “retirement,” I’ll remain busy At

~ Chairman:  Center for Research on Environmental Chemicals in Humans

~ Biomedical Research: Stealth Syndromes Human Study

~ Consumer Health Outreach,  Stealth Syndromes Project

~ Founder: Revolution Algorithms

For some time now, I have been haunted by a book I have never finished: The Nassau Directives

I started it in the mid-1980s, but then got pulled in to helping launch two tech startups in Silicon Valley.

When I moved to Sonoma in 1989, I picked up the book again.

Then I got sidetracked when I started WineBusiness.Com. When that sold (1997), I started writing for The Street.Com and Wall Street Journal and picked up writing Nassau again.

Then, I founded (2001) a payments company PocketPass that went public in a small way.

So I picked up Nassau again.

Finally, as Nassau got into the final chapters, in 2009, I realized that I really wanted to write an entirely different book, Die By Wire instead.

Then I started WineIndustryInsight.com in 2012,and stayed distracted.

But Nassau still haunted me, so I started publishing on  it  on The Nassau Directives  chapter by chapter … Then, yes … got distracted again…

Along the way, I started a contest for readers to finish the book: Chapter By Chapter? … And now a Contest? (Or Maybe Both. To help with that, I published the entire manuscript as a 99-cent Kindle so potential coauthors could get an idea of what they would be working with.

I’d really like to know how Nassau ends, so several weeks ago, I tried to get GPT-3 to finish it. But the AI choked and went nowhere when I uploaded the text for the manuscript.

I’ve been a premium GPT-3 subscriber for some time and have been really impressed with the AI, so today, I tried to see if Chat-GPT4 (the newest version) could finish Nassau  for me…

Alas, it has the sensibilities of a Victorian schoolmarm and can’t handle the violence of a global thriller.

So, I’m stuck again.Anyone out there want to try their hand? I REALLY want to know how the book ends. Email lperdue@ideaworx.com if you’re interested. If you finish it and we get it published, you get co-author cover credit and 49% of whatever money it makes.