Hi friends,
Quick question for any US military or ex-military: If our bad guys steal a military truck, do they have license plates (regular or special military ones) or painted identifying markings on the truck? How could the bad guys change those to make it through a checkpoint that had been warned to watch for the stolen vehicle? . . . Google wasn’t much help this time around, so thanks!
I love your emails and thanks to everyone who answered my question about whether you like seeing books come out close together or are willing to wait.
The consensus? Regular and fast publication! Though one reader enjoys the anticipation of not knowing when the next book will come out, like an unexpected gift. 🙂
Improvised Weapons for Self-Defense: Part 2 Reader Edition!
So, I gathered up the suggestions from all your awesome emails. Thanks for sending them in! I love them!
Reader ideas for common items you can use to defend yourself in an emergency:
From Sarah – One tip that probably not a lot of people would think of is a plain old ink pen. Probably more people than not carry a pen in their pocket, their purse or have one right handy. An ink pen jammed into someone’s eyeball will do it every time.
From Viet – A spray bottle filled with ammonia will deter almost any animal. Never tried it on a bear. When I was young we used it to stop dogs chasing our bikes and car wheels. Will not harm the animal.
From Anna – I have always had a large wooden rolling pin on my desk as a pretend weapon in case of home invasions, which are now common.
From Lynne – My late husband told me about a woman who ended a serial rapist/killer’s streak when he broke into her apartment when she was styling her hair – she turned her can of hairspray into an instant flamethrower with her lighter (she was a smoker) and torched the attacker’s face, rendering him too injured to escape before the police arrived. Admittedly, doing something like that has the potential for the aerosol can to literally backfire and explode in the user’s hand so it’s not a tip to be considered unless in a dire emergency.
(Note from Misty: A handful of other readers mentioned the flaming hairspray too. And while I found this fascinating, I consider it very dangerous and would probably never attempt it!)
From Wendy – In “Death Wish” (1974), the title character uses $20 of quarters in an old sock to drive off a bad guy.
From Karl (who sent in a whole bunch) – Frying pan. Especially cast iron. Car keys in a fight. My belt with a heavy buckle. A sock with a rock or keys inside
A computer power cord. About 6′ long and heavy on both ends. Metal coat hanger opened up is like 4′. We have this wooden tray with handles to serve mom breakfast in bed. Great shield. My shop has tons of stuff.
From Robin (a sample of her suggestions) – I took martial arts with my kids for several years. One of the things I learned was how to turn almost anything into a weapon. Broken things work even better than intact things. The arms of your sunglasses can be used for stabbing or slashing. Bic Stick pens or sharp pencils are great stabbing tools. Wire coat hangers make handy catching tools to divert hands or trip up attackers, sewing tools (rotary cutters, seam rippers and scissors as well as pins and needles) are as efficient at ripping skin as they are at cutting thread and fabric. There are a multitude of household chemicals which are also extremely effective. If you want to blind someone, vinegar is very useful…but it can be permanent, so make damn sure that’s what you want to do! . . . And an excellent bludgeon is a frozen stick of hamburger.
Amazing ideas all around! Thanks for sending them in and I apologize if I missed anyone.
And on that hilarious last image of an angry homeowner beating an attacker over the head with a stick of frozen hamburger, I’ll leave you with a bit of homework. 🙂
Homework
- Look around you right now and identify three things you could use to defend yourself if you were attacked.
- Try to do the same this week when you’re in other locations: the car, home, work, the garage, the backyard, a friend’s house, etc.
And I’d love to read any stories you have if you ever used an improvised weapon to defend yourself.
Stay safe out there!
______________________
Misty’s Writing Update:
We did it! Typed the last words in the second book of our storm series, though there is a touch of editing still to finish.
So, we use the internet and especially Google maps streetview ability to research the details for our story. Did you know you can go all over the world on Google maps and drop down to street level to look around, just like you’re standing there.
So cool, isn’t it? It doesn’t make up for being quarantined, but is a pretty cool way to do a little virtual traveling . . . and location research for post-apoc novels! 🙂
Next week we’ll move on to outlining Book 3 and hope to get it finished by Christmas.
We can’t wait until the new year when we can start sharing these books with you, one every month!
Happy reading this week,
— Misty 🙂
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