Rez's Arsenal: Remington 870

The 870s near completion

Yesterday I was busy working at this pair of Remington 870s seen in the book Resolution and soon to be seen in Residue. I've got them done but there is just a little more tweaking left to do, as I want to make at least one of them look worn and well used. At this point they look shiny and new, and they are just to give my readers a visual, either for those less versed in the way of the gun, or for those who are; something fun to look at. I use very simple Photoshop techniques to accomplish these drawings and don't intend for them to be masterpieces, but they take only a few hours to complete at the most and are fun little projects. A little copy/paste for the tan version on top, a little Photoshop magic with filters for the texture and done. I'll update this post with the final product later.

The final product with a little wear on the shorty.

Rez's Arsenal Preview Remington 870

Rez's Remington 870s

Well it's officially 2013 by a couple days and guess what, Residue is not ready and won't be for awhile. No big deal I guess, but I hope to finish it soon. In the mean time I just did some line art for Rez's Remington 870 12 gauge which he carries often in Resolution, but never actually fires. In fact, the only person who uses it in Resolution is Nobel. However, it is Rez's constant companion in all of his vehicles and appears on several occasions in the book. In Residue he uses an even shorter version which can be hidden inside an extra large pizza box. They are the same firearm, and both of them are considered short barrel weapons by the BATF, however the little one is extra short and probably not especially comfortable to shoot, but effective in its intended role. The longer version is pretty similar to a factory version that Remington offers with a 14 inch barrel and a 5+1 capacity, while the shorty is only going to offer 4+1. Both are equipped with a muzzle device used for breaching purposes. The gnarly looking unit on the end of the barrel can be jammed into the soft wood of a door or door frame to keep in place while the user pushes the go button. The vents allow gases to escape so that the gun doesn't beat the shooter to death in the process. The longer gun has nice ghost ring sights and a rail section to give it a more multipurpose flavor while the shorty has none of that. It's strictly for busting doors and close encounters of the drug dealing kind. This pretty well rounds out the boom sticks seen in book one. I will probably work on an "official" Rez 1911, but as my readers and gun aficionados can probably guess, Rez has a number of them, each with unique features.

Flats for the 870s

 I thought it might be fun to show how these drawings progress. After the line art is finished, in Adobe Illustrator, I take them into Photoshop and lay in the flat colors. This is just to create something to work on top of and if I plan to do multiple colors, or I have wood somewhere on the gun, then I get a quick idea of how the colors will work together. I like to have a neutral background color because it's easier on the eyes when you spend as much time in front of a computer as I do, and it gives a more accurate representation of the lighting as I work, rather than working with a white background the entire time and finding out when I'm done that my lighting doesn't work with the background I choose.

Simple Photoshop brushes and the 870 starts to take shape!

Resolution is FREE again!

Two minutes before writing this post I changed the price of Resolution on Smashwords to FREE. I think that Amazon will price match, so if you use a Kindle or Kindle app, just keep an eye on it for a few days. Resolution is available from iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Smashwords of course, and others. It might take a couple days but get yourself a copy while this free promo period is going on and tell your friends.

Update on Residue! Still writing furiously to get it out in 2012 and some interesting developments have surfaced as the story matures. We're getting to see just the beginning of Rez's secret life unraveling as the situation from Resolution gets deeper and the problems more complex. New characters are showing up with connections to Falck, the cop Rez killed in Resolution, and the web expands just a little further.

Artwork for you guys. I have been drawing like mad for another project recently, but there is some overlap with this writing project, so you should be able to expect another one of Rez's guns pretty soon. I know which one I'd like to work on for sure.

Get Yourself a Free Download of Resolution

Here's how that sweet action is gonna work. You like my Facebook page, or watch this blog, or offer to write a review and you gonna get yourself a free download boys and girls. What you needs to do is leave a post right here telling me that so-and-so just liked you on the Facebook and how I can contact you (which will probably be obvious since we're talking about Facebook and Google ... but whatever) and I'll get you a promo code to use at Smashwords. Here is where you go to get my Smashwords edition of Resolution. One last important note. The code is only good until July 16, 2012. Hustle up!

Wanted to also throw in a little something about Ask David.com. You will find their logo down below on the right and there is a reason I've put it on my page. David sent me an invite to his site and I learned that he is in the business of helping authors get some exposure. Seemed cool to me so I stopped by his site and sent in my information. Now, people can go to AskDavid.com and leave reviews and he likes to have unique content for the stuff he includes there. I gather that he, or someone on his crew, actually goes through the books that get listed, so he puts a lot of time and effort into his creation. If you want to write a review just let me know and I'll get you a Smashwords code.

Smashwords publishing COMPLETE!

Now you can score Resolution on Smashwords! My "Premium Status" is still pending but I got all the formatting done and I think at this point it's only a matter of time. What that means is, my books will soon be available all over the place. With Smashwords, no matter what device you use to read your ebooks, you're covered. It converts the book to every known frickin' format in the ebook world. If you've got a Sony reader or you've got yourself a Nook, or whatever the case may be, you're set!