No More Factbook Volumes and a Rant

This has not been a good time for me.

I had a major personal loss in March, one that still makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry until I run out of tears. I won't say anything more, as it's not something I want to burden you with.

But what I want to write about is about something I swore to myself when I started this blog that I would never do -- politics.

Politics is personal, and I'm not comfortable waving mine around in public. But what has happened to the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook has made me break that vow. and it's time to vent.

I mentioned before that the book was supposed to be the first of a continuing series, written to detail the evolving war in near-time. Each volume was to cover a phase of the war, and the fist volume cover the initial invasion up to when the Russians retreated from Kyiv. Well, it has been decided that due to abysmal sales, there will be no more volumes.

I don't blame Military Miniatures Press. There were problems, yes, with the book not being Kindle-friendly, which killed presales, but that can be chalked up to a learning experience. The entire process was a learning experience, for all parties involved. This was my first non-fiction book I'd ever written and Military Miniatures Press was new at the publishing business. I had nothing but good vibes from the people there, especially Jamie and Samantha Rife, who came to me with the offer to write it, and who did their best to make the book visually appealing.

But what has really gotten under my skin about the entire experience, they one thing that ensured the book never got off the ground, is the killing of ad campaigns on Social Media. Killed by some idiots in an office somewhere who decided that the book was "propaganda" without reading it. And that makes me angry. 

We tried to counter the blockade by doing podcasts, talking to anyone who would have us. But even the best podcasts don't have the reach of the planned ad campaigns, and the money isn't there to go around the social media companies to other ad choices. In short, the social media companies sank this book quicker than the Ukrainians sank the Moskva.

It's bad enough when people are censored when they say something other disagree with, but to throttle a book's advertising, a book they couldn't have read before making the decision, on the theory it was propaganda is infuriating. To decide such a thing is arrogance in it's purest form; it's them saying, "We think you're too stupid to make your own decision about the value of this book." Yet these same social media companies will allow posters to say the most outrageous things without blinking an eye. And it's not right.

My theory of censorship is simple; is the reading material age-appropriate for the reader? Most normal people won't give an eight-year-old a copy of Penthouse. Why? because it's not something an eight-year-old should ever be aware of, let alone be reading. But if that eight-year-old is now eighteen, it's his decision whether or not he wants to read it. Same with any book. Mein Kampf is arguably one of the vilest books ever written, yet you can walk into most bookstores in the US and by a copy. (And no, I would not let that eight-year-old read it.) Censorship is for the individual adult to decide, and for parents who care about their children's well-being. When someone else decides for you, you cede power to them, power you will have to fight tooth and nail to get back, if you can at all.

And that's what these faceless idiots at these social media companies did -- instead of letting you decide whether or not you wanted to read the book, they decided for you by killing the ad campaigns. They took the decision out of your hands, deciding that you wouldn't know the difference between propaganda and factual writing. That says to me they think you are too stupid to know the difference, that you are eight-year-old, and can't make up their own mind. And that is dangerous.

Now, I'm not claiming the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook is perfect. It was written shortly after the events in the book, using only open source material. I'm sure there are things in it that are inaccurate. But it was never mean to be a deep dive into the war, just a simple look at the war, with enough crunch stuff for wargamers (Military Miniatures Press, after all), but also for the person on the street who wanted to know more without having to slog through a three-hundred page book of dense writing. Its a first look at the war, nothing more than that. The deep analysis of this war comes later, by authors with better and deeper access to materials than  we do.

But you, the reader, never got the chance to decide for yourself if the book was worth reading. Instead, face idiots did it for you, and that should make you angry. What else have they decided you shouldn't see or know about? If they can do this to a small book by blocking the ad campaign (and taking money out of their pocket by doing so -- not a huge sum, but money all the same), what will they do about other, more important subjects?

That's all for now. Any more and I'll be going around in circles.

Later

Craig

**********

Update: If you want a copy, go to https://militaryminiaturepress.com/, as things are still being hashed out with Castemate Publishing, and Amazon is being a dick about things, in the words of the boss, "their fees were ridiculous and they kept on putting holds on payments for their "reserve" so the above link is your best bet.....

If you want to take a closer look at the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

All of it created without AI!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

 

AI and Storytelling

 

Yesterday, Clarksworld Magazine, a respected Sci-fi magazine, announced that it was suspending submissions because too many of them were written, not by a human, but by an AI program, most likely suspect being ChatGPT.

For those of you who have not been keeping up with what's going on, there have been several  AI programs that have come onto the market in recent months, the two most troubling are the ART AIs and the writing AIs. These programs, once they have received a set of instructions, create the images.

As an experiment and to show what I am talking about, I went to a free AI art website (Hotpot) and imputed the following:

"Sword and Sorcery -- A muscular man is fighting a large six-limb alien that has insect  featured. In the background a woman in robes is lying on the rocky ground."

This is what the program came up with

As you can see, the images are similar and are not quite what I wanted. Granted, it was a free program, and the ones you have to pay for would produce better results. But there is a problem using such images.

These Art AI do not operate in a vacuum. A human artist draws their art from within themselves, to express how they see the world. They do the work, from start to finish, (Unless they are copying some other artist, which is another discussion.)

On the other hand, AI programs have a database of images to draw from. They take the input given them, sorts  though it's image database, and chose bits and pieces from those images, based on the description given. It then blends the bits and pieces together to create the images you see here.

And that's the problem: the image database. Images that belong to the artists that created them. it is using established images, snipping off small pieces of them, blending them with snippets from other images and coming up with a "new" image made up from fragments of old images.

This has caused an uproar in the artist community, as artists see their art being cut up and blended with other artists works to produce a new image. A number of tabletop gaming companies have already pledge not to 

use AI generated work for their products. 

The problem is that the longer these AI programs are around, the more sophisticated they will become. An AI program that has a ten thousand image database today will have a hundred thousand image data base this time next year, and a million image database the year after, making it harder to see where the snippets of the images are from. The AI programs are quicker and overall less expensive than hiring an artist.

But it isn't just the images that are being chopped up and reused in "new" forms. Writing AIs have suddenly become hot, promising to make your writing tasks quick and easy. Need a blog post? Just feed in a few key words, push a button and wait for a minute or two and there you go -- blog post ready to go. 

While it might be useful in some cases, it's too easy a crutch. Need a story? Just drop in the elements you want in the story and five minutes 

later, there is the story.

Only, it isn't that easy. Like art AIs, writing AI have a database they use to create the article or story. And like the Art AI, it takes bits and pieces of articles and stories, blends them together and creates a "New" article. It's plagiarism by a thousand cuts, across a wide number of similar articles or stories. 

But there is also something else: List most things done by AIs, there are a few things off. As you can see by the images above, it doesn't match what I asked for it to create. No alien insect-like creature, the woman in a couple of the images looks like she's sliding into second base. The woman in the second image has three legs. So, none of the images would match what I wanted. 

The same sort of problem extends to writing AIs. The longer the article/story is, the more likely problems will be worked into. They are not perfect; like any first draft, they need to be carefully edited to eliminate the problems. And that assumes they are salvageable to begin with.

For example, I ask another AI, (Copy.ai) this one a writer AI and give it the following "Warhammer -- A BattleMech, 70 tons, best known for its twin particle projection cannons." It gave me back the following bits:

"The Warhammer is a BattleMech, 70 tons of solid steel and energy weapons that can make short work of your enemies."

"The Warhammer is the ideal balance between firepower and mobility. Carrying a pair of large, twin particle projectors, it is arguably the most powerful BattleMech ever developed."

"Warhammer is a BattleMech designed to fight in the 3050s. It is built around the massive twin particle cannon that can fire a five megaton blast, the cannon being mounted on each arm. The heavy armor makes it well-suited for long-term missions but leaves its pilots exposed when armed with short-range power rifles."

"Warhammer is a powerful BattleMech. It is powered by two powerful particle projectors, one located at the rear of each arm, and capable of tearing through even the toughest armor. The 'Mech also carries two Class-50 medium lasers in its right arm to keep enemy infantry at bay and protect against jump infantry attacks."

"Warhammer is a BattleMech, 70 tons in mass, best known for its twin particle projection cannons. It has been noted for its devastating firepower and accurate shooting. Although Warhammer was designed primarily as a ranged weapon platform, it has proven itself to be an effective close-in fighter, with a variety of specializations making it especially suitable for that role."

"Warhammer is a BattleMech, 70 tons, best known for its twin particle projection cannons. The turian design team commissioned this model specifically for the Matriarch of Shear."

"Warhammer is the largest BattleMech, weighing in at 70 tons and boasting a pair of powerful particle beam cannons. With its signature "claw" arms and high speed, Warhammer can move quickly to engage any opponent. The Warhammer's armament is designed to make short work of infantry, light vehicles and even large machines such as air-tanks."

"The Rifleman is an Irian BattleMech of the late 30th century. Like other Irian BattleMechs in this era, it has a case of shell shock and is only suitable for defending other units from enemy attack, as well as destroying enemy units with particle projection cannons.[1] It has a top speed of 134 km/h for being a 55-ton 'Mech. A Rifleman carries a pair of CASE5 accelerators to boost its firepower when in close combat."

If you know anything about Battletech, you would see the last couple of the examples are wildly inaccurate. (A Rifleman weighs 60-tons, and the only way it could reach 134 km/h would be if it was shoved out of an airplane at one hundred thousand feet. Also, CASE is not a weapon, but a system designed to save a 'Mech from a death by ammo explosion.) 

Art of any sort shouldn't be easy to do. There needs to be effort, of heart, mind, and talent. I can't draw worth a damn, but not everyone can be be an artist. AI is cheating of a sort; it lets the computer do what the human can't. And that isn't good. There are legal questions that will go deep into the heart of the use of those databases, but it isn't right. Letting AI create art is not what AI is for.

AI are not the panacea some think they are, and they are dangerous in that they makes it too easy to create content. No matter how good they get, stories should be a human endeavor, as well as Art. If we concede either one to AI, we are that much less human and that much less creative.

Oh, so you know, it took me three hours to research and write this blog. With the exception of the image and the Warhammer quotes above, I wrote all of this myself with no AI help.

Later!!

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

All of it created without AI!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

 

Will There be More Volumes After This One?

 

One of the questions I've been asked is, "Will there be more volumes after this one?"

It's a natural question, as this book only covers the first month of the war, and there is still much to write about. I could easily see several more volumes, and I'm willing to write them. Military Miniatures Press, the company that published this book, wants me to write more. There is not reluctance on this end -- except for one small problem....

The book isn't selling.

(The Ranking of the book, as a few hours ago)

There were a few problems when it came time to publish the book. First, the Kindle version was unable to handle the number of photos, resulting in no kindle version, which destroyed the pre-sales. That was a learning experience, one that will be taken into account the next time. Second, the ad campaign that was supposed to run on both Twitter and Facebook were shut down before they could start. The book was caught up in something I wanted to avoid talking about on this blog -- Politics.

Social Media has been a powerful voice over the last fifteen years, but it has also suffered from an attitude that they know what is best for their subscribers. It was quick to throttle anything that thought smelled of pro-Russian viewpoint, or what they saw as monetizing by Russians. Also, Meta, Facebook's parent company, briefly allowed Ukrainians to call for Putin's death before pulling back after criticism for taking sides and shut down anything that seemed to be taking a strong position for or against the either side.

A quartet of articles looking at this activity are here: Ukraine war: Meta restricts Russia from running Facebook ads amid row over media censorship, Meta Meets the Reality of War, Facebook takes down Ukraine disinformation network and bans Russian-backed media, and Facebook Is Now Allowing Itself to Be Weaponized.

In the words of my book's editor and the man behind this idea: "The big thing is that we never got any momentum from pre-sales or social media advertising because of the censorship, which was consciously done by Twitter and Facebook to avoid entangling themselves with the war and Russian retaliation. It strangled the baby before it was born." 

What is really annoying is that the Social Media's decision to throttle the book's PR was short-sighted and done without actually looking at the book itself. I and the people at Military Miniatures Press are not pro-Russian mouthpieces -- if anything, our sympathies are with the Ukrainians. 

Another problem has been the political divide that has blinded some people to reality. A few have decided this isn't a fight we should get involved with, seeing Ukraine as nothing more than Russian Light, and this war is a quasi-civil war. They point out the oligarchs and corruption as reasons why we shouldn't be sending them military equipment or supplies. Also, twenty years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq has left the US population with war fatigue. Understandable, and less open to criticism than the blind political blindness a few talk-show hosts and politicians have been touting.

My own opinion is this: would you rather support and supply a country who is not only shown a willing to fight Russia, but has been wreaking havoc on what was the number two military in the world, or do you want to wait five or ten years down the road, and have NATO fight the same Russian military, now with combat veteran soldiers and a restocked force in Poland or the Baltic States? So far, Ukraine had devastated the Russian Army, savaged the Russian Navy, and has made the Russian Air Force of not consequence. The right support, with the right safeguards, will help the Ukrainians secure the victory they need and deserve. That's enough of my personal feelings....

In any case, the Social Media's knee-jerk reaction destroyed any momentum the book had, and there is nothing we can do about it. I am frustrated and I've tried to do my best to get the word out, but with Social Media censoring topics they don't agree with, and this has hurt sales. It has only two ratings, and while both are 5-star, it needs more ratings to make it more visible.

I want to get this book out, to have people read it. I think it's the perfect type of book for someone who wants to know what happened, without getting bogged down in details and politics. But with the easiest route blocked, I don't know what we can do to promote the book. 

I have been on a couple of video podcasts. The first was Blaine Pardoe's show, which can be found here: The Blaine Pardoe Show / 9-15-2022. We just discuss the book and nothing about the recent unpleasantness. Also, I know I spelled my name wrong -- it was a bit of a leaning curve and we were in a time crunch. This podcast, with SOFREP and that is here: Episode 613: James Rife and Craig Reed, Military Historians and Authors. And Michigan Toy Solider Co. posted a video that flips though the book so you can see what it looks inside. That video is here: A MichToy FLIP-THRU: THE RUSSIAN UKRAINE WAR FACTBOOK. Take a look and listen, then please consider buying the book.

That's it for now, more later

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

 

What's in the Book?

So, what's in the book? This post covers that question.

The introduction covers the basics, and Chapter One is about the history between the Ukraine and Russia. That chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of the book.

Chapter Two, the background on the political leaders was also necessary, to understand their motivations. And these are clearly, men with different points of view. Putin is both an Intelligence officer and a political animal who dreams of a Greater Russia in the style of the old Soviet Union. Zelensky is an Actor/Producer playing the role of a lifetime by being the leader Ukraine needs.

Chapters Three and Four are backgrounds on the armed forces involved. Most people don't know anything about the military, so these chapter are in part designed to give the reader an understanding of the forces and what a brigade is, as well as the Russian Battalion Tactical Group. It's also useful for wargamers to determine forces for their own games.

Chapter Five is about the weapons of the war. Again, it written so most people, who know nothing about military equipment, can get an idea of what is on the battlefield. It was easier to write than it would have been otherwise, as both sides are using mostly the same equipment at the start of the war.

Chapter Six is about the War in Donbas that started in 2014, the precursor to the current war. It can be argued that the current war is a continuation this war on a wider front and there is some truth to that. The fighting in the Donbas is where the groundwork for the success Ukraine has had over the last year in the wider war.

The events leading up to the Russian invasion in February of 2022 are in Chapter Seven. The politics, the meetings and the decision to go ahead as well as the Russian battle plan are covered in this chapter.

I broke each of the four Russian attack axis into their own chapter, to make it easier to write and read. Chapter Eight covers the thrust for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and the fight there. Chapter Nine is about the Kharkiv Axis, the fight for Kharkiv, Sumy, and Izium. Chapter Ten looks at the battle of the Donbas Axis, starting in 2014 and how its gone since February 2022. Chapter Eleven is about  the Crimea Axis and how early Russian success turned int a stalemate and failure.

Chapter Twelve went from being a sidebar to its own chapter, and is about the Public Relation war and how both sides have tried to spin what is going on to their benefit. This war is more that what is is happening on the battlefield; there is a war of words that both sides are using in an attempt to convince the world that are in the right. So far, this is one war the Ukrainians are winning, for a number of reasons.

A look at why things went wrong for Russian is covered in Chapter Thirteen. It lists several reasons and briefly explains each one.

There are a number of sidebars, taking a closer look at facets of this war. Subjects covered are Ukrainians in WWII, Old weapons making a comeback, fWar crimes, the Forty-mile long convoy, Logistical nightmares, Senior Russian officers reportedly killed in combat, and Trying to determine each sides casualties.

The books ends with a chronology of events covering the Feb 24 to April 7, maps of Ukraine showing the Russian advances and retreat during that time. There are appendices and sources used, as well as photo credits.

There are plenty of photos in this book, most from official sources. Photos capture that image of the war that words can't. While these photos are in the Wikipedia Commons or are public domain, there are a stark look at the damage being down to both countries, in terms of men and destruction of cities and equipment.

As I have said before this book is written to give someone who hasn't been focused on the war to understand why the two countries are at war, and how the first month of the war went. We wanted the reader to finish the book and understand what is going on without going deep into the details.

That's it for now, more later

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the Russian-Ukraine War Factbook, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

 

Writing the Russian Ukraine War Factbook (Part 3: Writing the book)

 

So, the research is done and now it's time for the writing...

This book was supposed to be 20,000 words, but during the research, I realized that I needed more words, because I needed to expand on the background between these two countries and explain this is not a new conflict, but one that had roots running back centuries. Most of the background in Chapter One was not in the original outline, but I had to include it. 

As I have said before, this isn't a deep dive into the conflict. Too much is still unknown, and I do not have access to anything outside of public sources. There are other books yet to be written that will have the luxury of both time to reflect on events and access to sources I do not have. Everything in this book is from public sources, with no one source dominating my notes. It's also tricky to separate the facts from the propaganda both sides are putting out in wave after wave. This is a war being fought on many fronts and the fog of war covers more than the battlefield itself.

I also write sidebars, a tactic I took from the Battletech sourcebooks. Sidebars allowed me to go deeper into a few subjects without sidetracking the main document. It's a way to put more info into the book while keeping it organized.

The pictures are all from open sources, which in itself was a chore running down which picture could be used under which circumstances. Jamie Rife was the man behind that task, and the pictures are as much a part of this book are are my words.

I'm still watching the war unfold, making notes on future volumes, but that discussion is for another time. If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

That's all for this post. I'm still proud of the work I've done on this book and I ask you to please buy it.

Later!

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Writing the Russian Ukraine War Factbook (Part 2B: Discovery from the Research)

 

You can only plan so much before you have to start the research, and sometimes research turns up things that change your writing. The research here forced me to write more than I intended, but O felt it was necessary to give a complete picture of the war.

For half of my life, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, Russian in all but name. I knew before I started that they had suffered under Stalin, and was a prime bone of contention between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for a large chunk of WWII. They gained independence in the early 90's, struggled for the next twenty years, and has been accused of being corrupt. their president, Zelensky, had been a TV personality and producer before winning the Presidency of Ukraine.

But I started researching, and discover that the Ukrainians have been fighting to establish themselves as having their own identity, separated from the Russians and Belorussians, for centuries. Kyiv was an established center of Slavic culture while Moscow was still a fortified village in Russia. They reached their heights around the 111th-12th centuries, before becoming vassal states to different masters before coming under the Tsars of Russia. Not being treated any better than other parts of Russia when WWI rolled around, they tried to fight their way to independence, only to be caught between the White Russians, the Red Russians, the Allies, and the German-Austro-Hungry forces. Unable to break free, the Ukrainians fell under the new Russian government of Vladimir Lenin.

The worst was to come, as Stalin used the Ukrainian farmland to feed his new program of industrialization and modernization. this resulted in the Holodomor -- 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 Ukrainian men, women and children dying of starvation in 1931-32. Something like that has a long-term affect on a society, and the Ukrainians have long memories.

After doing this research and discovering the deep history between these two countries, I have to include it. This war is not something that has come about in recent years; it is the latest chapter in a simmering conflict that had been under the surface for centuries.

Another thing that was unexpected was the difference between the doctrine of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and the Russian Armed Forces (RAF). Up to 2014, the UAF was a mirror of the RAF, as the new country had inherited their military from the former Soviet Union. Even with the war, the Ukrainians are still using mostly Soviet/Russian equipment, which is an advantage when it comes to using captured Russian vehicles.

But after the Russian seizure of the Crimea and the Donbas uprising, the Ukrainians realized their army, a victim of the country's economical problems, turned to the west for help. What they got was mostly training for their soldiers, resulting in a shift away from Soviet-era doctrine to a NATO-based doctrine. This has allowed the Ukrainians to be more nimble, flexible, and quicker to respond to any situation. That along with the supplied weapons from the west, has been a major reason for Ukraine's ability to blunt the Russian Juggernaut.

I found out other things that surprised me, but I think I will let the book do the talking. If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

That's all for this post. I am proud of the work I've done on this book and I ask you to please buy it.

Later!

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!

Writing the Russian Ukraine War Factbook (Part 2A: Research)

 Like all nonfiction projects, I started with research.

This was trickier than if I was writing about a World War II operation because the "Special Military Operation" is still going on. I had to rely on news outfits for most of my research, and I had to take anything directly from both the Ukrainians and the Russians with a grain of salt. Both sides are fighting not only on the battlefield, but in the world opinion. Ukraine has a sizable advantage here, as they are the ones defending their homeland. Zelensky has used his media savvy to keep the world on Ukraine's side, despite the heavy public pressure from the Russians.

I didn't use just American sources -- I used German, French, English some Polish, and other sources. Most of these are from their English-speaking news channels on YouTube. I also use Websites such as  https://www.oryxspioenkop.com, which tracks confirmed Russian vehicle losses. The Institute for the Study of War (https://www.understandingwar.org/) is another valuable resource with daily briefing of the latest data from the war. Jomini of the West (@JominiW) has posted maps that show the flow of the earlier battles (Up to the beginning of September). Henry Schlottman (@HN_Schlottman) has also had some valuable points in his tweets.

For some things, I went to books. Serhii Plokhy's The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine and Orest Subtelny's Ukraine: A History. 4th Edition were a prime source for the background of the Russian-Ukraine relationship. I also used a number of books to detail the weapons used -- Small Arms, 1945-Present by Martin J. Dougherty,  Modern Tanks and AFVs: 1991-Present by Russell Hart and Steven Hart, and several others were important to the different weapons.

So, what did I learn about this war during my writing of this book? This war wasn't one that blew up this century, but one that has roots deep in history. And this war is not going to be over quickly or amicably. I will be going over what I learned ion more detail in another blog post.

Later!

Craig

**********

If you want to take a closer look at the book, or to buy it, you can go here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-War-Factbook-Craig-Reed/dp/B0BL5CRLLK/ref=sr_1_18?qid=1672081631&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=books&sr=1-18&text=Craig+A.+Reed

or here:

https://www.casematepublishers.com/distributed-publishers/military-miniature-press/the-russia-ukraine-war-factbook.html#.Y6oA4H3MJ0w

For my other non-Battletech writing, all four of the Outcast Ops novels I co-authored with Rick Chesler are on Amazon and are part of the Kindle Direct program. In the US: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon!

In addition, there is a physical version of Watchlist here: Outcast Ops: Watchlist Paperback

For those in the United Kingdom,

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist on Amazon UK

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov on Amazon UK

For anyone else, please check your country's Amazon Website (if there is one).

Also, check out the other Outcast ops novels:

Outcast Ops: Game of Drones by Rick Jones and Rick Chesler

Outcast Ops: The Poseidon Initiative by Rick Chesler.

In addition, Outcast Ops novels are on audiobooks! If you're member of Audible, you can listen to them free! The audio versions can be found here: 

Outcast Ops: African Firestorm (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Red Ice (Audible) 

Outcast Ops: Watchlist (Audible)

Outcast Ops: Shadow Gov (Audible)

The audios for Game of Drones Games of Drones (Audible) and The Poseidon Initiative The Poseidon Initiative are also up on Audible, or though Amazon!

Please read or listen and leave a review!