I get a little thrill every time I read a review of F9 in which the reviewer comments on the accuracy of the historical events depicted in the story. (This is part of the fun of writing these things, the payoff of the maddening hours spent striving for realism.) You already know the technology in F9 is 100% legit, but how many of the spree killings are based on actual events (names changed, what not) and how many are creations of the author’s imagination? I’ll list them below:
F0-Â Niall Lester Davenport…Opened fire in a packed ski lodge in 1968
F1- William Thomas Phillips…Killed his wife, sister-in-law, and three nephews in 1977
F2- Jerome Carl Roberts…Killed 6 at a wedding in 1986
F3- Andrew Rodney Stanton…Shot up the University of Colorado Library in 1994
F4- Timothy Kevin Brown…Killed 3 in a department store in 1997
F5- Ryan Samuel Davis and Jesse Terrance Dillon, collectively…School shooting in 1999
F6- Jose Armand Rodriguez…Killed 10 inside a busy emergency room in 2004
F7- Reginald Patrick Walsh…Killed his entire extended family around the table on Thanksgiving in 2008
F8- Michael Gavin Watson…Shot up a movie theater in 2012
F9- You-know-who…Spree killing inside a hospital in 2013
So there you have it, the 10 Fs responsible for as many historical spree killings. Which ones are based upon actual historical spree killers and which ones are made up? Send a list of the Fs you think are totally real to michael@michaelmcbride.net. The first person to answer correctly will receive a signed and inscribed hardcover of The Coyote. Three others will receive eBook versions of The Coyote. (One entry per person, so make it count!) One additional winner will be selected at random from the pile a non-winning entries next Saturday, July 6th for a signed and inscribed paperback of either Bloodletting or Innocents Lost.
Bring it on! Let’s see what you’ve got!