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“Everything is presented with clarity and precision, so you don’t have to be an expert to understand it, although you might feel like one after you read it.” ~ Bill Crider, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

I’m excited to be working with Writer’s Digest to publish the best writerly weapons reference available anywhere, The Writer’s Guide to Weapons: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction.

“An extremely fascinating, accurate, and practical resource.” ~ Midwest Book Review

You can expect:

• Busted gun and knife myths common to fiction
• Easy explanations of firearms and knives for writers with little experience
• Plenty of interesting trivia and details for writers already familiar with guns and knives
• How to match firearms and knives to characters
• How to kill characters with firearms and knives like a pro
• Must-know laws and legal concepts
• Crime writers sharing their personal stories – from getting shot to being in a knife fight
• A specialized list of the go-to firearms and knives in fiction – and how to write them
• Example scenes with accurate and inaccurate depictions of firearms and knives, painfully demonstrated by Maynard Soloman, gal-damn detective 
• A forward by author David Morrell, living legend and creator of Rambo
• Switchblades, silencers, throwing knives, ballistics, zip guns, shanks and more, oh my.
• BONUS: Includes 146-page PDF download featuring an exhaustive listing of firearms from the late 19th Century to today, organized by the details most important to writers. Also included are ballistic tables for rifles and handguns. Keen!

“No writer without a solid weapons background should write weapons without having this book handy.” ~ Dana King, crime fiction writer, One Bite at a Time

About Me

Who am I to write this guide? I work for F+W, one of the largest publishers of firearm and knife content in the world. As an online editor and online product manager, I work with the foremost publications on the planet, including Gun Digest and BLADE. From books to magazines, apps to TV shows, I’ve worked on it all.

I’m also a big fan of crime fiction and thrillers. I write it, I read it and I review it.

Shifting between my non-fiction career and my fiction hobby brought something to light. Some firearm and knife depictions weren’t even close to being accurate. As a reader, they stopped my eye and took me out of the story. As a writer, I decided to do something about it.

Writer’s Digest took me up on the idea of making a guide to help crime and thriller writers – and the larger author community – better understand these critical components of their stories. I’m not here to point fingers and look like a smarty pants. I truly want to help my fellow writer.

Pick up a copy of The Writer’s Guide to Weapons and feel free to get in touch with me. Enjoy!

~Ben