All 4 of my published novels are now availble as e-book downloads on Barnes and Noble! Unfortunately, they are not yet carrying the paperback version. But it’s a start!
I have also posted the trailer on my site, on the review page for Beyond Salvation:
www.QuietFuryBooks.com/beysaltrailer.html
Americans believe that The Constitution gives us the “right” to bear firearms. (This interpretation is debatable.) Many people feel they are safer with a gun in their home.
Our crime rate is no higher than other industrialized countries – until it comes to homicide, specifically gun-related murders. The U.S. homicide rate is 5 to 7 times higher than that of any other industrialized country. According to 2002 statistics, 76% of homicide offenders knew their victims and guns were used in 63% of these murders.
An interesting note: Between 1993 and 1998, the production of semiautomatic weapons in the U.S. dropped 50% and the production of cheap “junk guns” fell by more than 75%. During that same general time, between 1993 and 2000, homicides using guns and committed by juveniles dropped by 70% – gun-related homicides committed by young adults fell by 40%.
Limiting availability of guns seems to work wonders for reducing violent crime.
* Statistics obtained from Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons by Alan Elsner
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I have posted the opening scene from Miami Snow on my website. The book is on target to be out in January!
www.QuietFuryBooks.com/miamisnow.html
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I’m offering the e-book format of my novel No Justice on www.Smashwords.com for 99 cents from now through January 1! The code you will need is WF62U. Be sure to put the code in when you check out.
Direct Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3956
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Ever wonder why our prisons are so horribly overcrowded? Most people assume this is because our legal system is doing its job, putting those hardcore criminals away. Do we have more criminals than other countries? Do we simply catch more of them?
The fact is that a major reason why our prisons are overcrowded is because our government decided to “get tough” on drugs. I’m reading a book entitled, written by Alan Elsner. This book puts issues such as our “War On Drugs” into perspective.
For instance:
From 1980 to 2001, the annual number of drug-related arrests tripled. In one year, there were 1,586,900 drug-related arrests. This amounts to 4,348 each day – one every 20 seconds. Approximately 20% of these were for selling or manufacturing drugs. The rest – an overwhelming 80% – were for possession alone.
Are we doing this “war” justice by arresting more than 4,000 people each day for a crime that has no victim? We put these “criminals” into a prison system with gangbangers and hardcore, lifelong criminals. What good do we expect to come of that?
A May 2005 report by The Sentencing Project found that the number of arrests for marijuana offenses had risen from 327,000 in 1990 to 697,000 in 2002. Of those arrests, 88% were for possession alone.
More people are not getting high. We are simply arresting more of them. Is it helping? Are we winning this war?
Mandatory sentencing is another problem contributing to our prison overcrowding. And this comes right back to our war on drugs. The average sentence for drug offenses rose from 54.5 months in 1980 to 75.5 months in 2000. The average sentence for assault in 2000 was 33 months.
Getting busted with a half-ounce of weed spend about 6 1/2 years in prison. Bust someone’s face against a cement wall and you could be out in just over 2 1/2 years. More than twice the prison time for marijuana possession as for a violent crime. How is this making our country a better place?
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I have posted a new 48-Hour Book Giveaway contest on my contest page! Enter between 10 AM EST today (Saturday, December 12) and 10 AM EST Monday, December 14 to win a copy of my novel Enemies and Playmates!
www.QuietFuryBooks.com/contests.html
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Here is the cover design for my upcoming novel Miami Snow! (Providing the feedback is positive and the proof looks good.)
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I just finished the final edit of my upcoming novel Miami Snow! WooHoo! Time to celebrate! You’re probably thinking champagne, a night out on the town. Nah. I’m leaning toward a big bowl of ice cream and book shopping!
Later I will put the finishing touches on the cover design. Then I’ll move on to the dreaded formatting. Providing I can motivate myself and get the formatting done, Miami Snow should be available in late January.
This is a “rubber room” in a California prison and is typical of this type of room throughout the prison system. As you can see, the walls are padded. There is no furniture, the toilet is a drain in the floor, and a video camera constantly monitors the prisoner. This is where the difficult to manage or suicidal mentally ill inmates are placed for “their protection”. They are stripped naked and left in this room (or a room like it) for 23 out of 24 hours each day.
Can you imagine being in a room like that, with no books, no TV, no music – absolutely nothing to entertain yourself. You’re naked and being watched all the time. I don’t know about you, but even one day in a room like that would make me a little nuts. What would it be like for a week? A month? How about a year?
For more on this topic, check out the December issue of my newsletter – Guilty As Charged.
www.QuietFuryBooks.com/newsletters.html
