FOREWORD
These books were written a long time ago.
I had literally just sold "Freehold" to Baen in September of 2002, and was working on "The Hero" with John Ringo, when Bill Fawcett caught up with me at a convention (in 2003) and asked about military stuff. Specifically, what did I know about sniping?
I knew that sniping involved a lot more than just shooting. It's also reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, force multiplication, and sometimes terminal guidance for supporting fires--aircraft or artillery. I also knew that on the raw shooting end, I'd matched or beat a few in competition. Which does not make me a sniper, only a good shooter who understands some of the skillset. Who is also a writer with decent credentials.
He had outlines for three novels, some character backgrounds, and an interested publisher. He wanted to package the concept, handle the editing, administration, etc, and they'd do the publishing, and I'd write for hire.
I said yes, of course, which is what a professional writer does when offered money. I would got more books out with my name on them, in front of more readers, just as I was getting on the shelves in the first place. I contracted five books in just over a year. Three were in this contract.
These were written early in the Global War on Terror. They were written fast on tight deadlines, and out in stores, because this is, after all, a business.
A lot has changed since then, as everyone involved knows. Some aspects changed in weeks.
However, I did visit the US Army Sniper School with my friend Oleg Volk. We talked to the commanding officer, some of the instructors, a couple of the students. We got photos, talked about the gear and tactics, and I incorporated some of that.
Experienced shooters will notice some of the tech has been simplified--they're not keeping a shooting log on hand, the spotting action is very basic, and some of the weapon choices are more impressive than practical. That's a combination of dramatic license to make it accessible and exciting for common readers, the need to produce quickly, and both me not being a professional sniper, and the military environment changing rapidly--faster than I could write, really.
At the end of the day, these are fiction, not technical treatises, but I did receive favorable feedback from several veterans in the field (unit commanders with snipers under their control, pilots, intel officers, and recon infantry), and I was brand new to the field, so I think they turned out well for their intent.