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Christine Goff | Shoot Like a Girl: Strong Women in Male-Dominated Roles


Dark Waters
Chris Goff

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Raisa Jordan #1

September 2015
On Sale: September 15, 2015
Featuring: Raisa "Rae" Jordan; Ben Taylor
352 pages
ISBN: 1629531928
EAN: 9781629531922
Kindle: B011IZPUTQ
Hardcover / e-Book
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Also by Chris Goff:
Red Sky, June 2017
Dark Waters, September 2015

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When I set out to write my international thriller, DARK WATERS, I didn't start by considering gender. I had an idea to write a story set in Israel involving a U.S. Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent and a Shin Bet— Israel's equivalent of the FBI—sniper. Welcome DSS Special Agent Raisa "Rae" Jordan and Shin Bet Agent Batya Ganani, two women who are out to save the world.

It was only after I was two-thirds into the book that I realized I was bucking a trend.

Most international thrillers are written by men, read by men and populated by men. Think Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne, Mitch Rapp, Jonathan Grave and Jack Reacher. Even most of the women writing international thrillers write about men.

Why? The logical answer is: the majority of law enforcement agents are men. According to studies, only about 10 percent of the 2,000 active DSS special agents are women.

There are lots of cool things about DSS special agents—none of which are gender specific. DSS special agents are sworn law enforcement officers responsible for the security of Foreign Service personnel, property and sensitive information throughout the world. They live overseas for most of their career, must be in great physical shape and are required to have a BA or BS degree. Their primary responsibilities include protection, security, and criminal, counterintelligence and counter-terrorism investigations.

So why write about Rae and not Ray?

I had only ever met one DSS agent—a man. I tried contacting him. He was out of the country. So I contacted the State Department in Washington and was connected to a woman who was about to be sent overseas to her first Regional Security Officer posting. She was young, smart, and beautiful—and the perfect role model. After talking with the agent, Rae just came alive on the page.

Rae is this smart, motivated individual who processes the world in a unique way. She's brave, courageous, and honest to a fault. Given a choice, she prefers to play by the book, believes in justice, and prefers order to chaos. She is one of the 10 percent who does her job well and makes no excuses for her gender. In truth, it's her youth and inexperience that becomes more of a hindrance.

So why not make the Shin Bet Agent a man? Because the character is a sniper, and everyone knows women are the better shots. Don't believe me? Ask the Russians.

In actuality, the data doesn't exist. But that's not to say there aren't indications. During WWII, the Russians trained over 2,000 female snipers. One, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, is credited with 309 kills. In the U.S., women have consistently proved themselves throughout history. They have bested their competitors on the shooting ranges, at the Olympics and in military training; while around the globe, over 50 countries hostile to the U.S. use women as snipers. Some give credit to the fact that woman have better overall balance, a better shooting stance and more patience than men; but at least one Army Guard Sergeant and former Marine sniper believes that "women are better suited mentally for the job," especially when facing other female snipers.

More importantly, Batya Ganani is the perfect match for Rae. She is willing to cross lines to achieve her goals, yet unbending in her convictions. She's a loner who never questions orders. She views Rae's attachments to others as a liability.

Placing two strong women in gender-bending roles allowed me to explore conflicts women face every day in their careers, in their lives and in their relationships to each other. Setting the book in the Middle East allowed me to explore conflicts women face every day in male-dominated worlds. But mostly—putting gender aside—DARK WATERS is an international thriller about two kick-ass agents with a job to do.

And, yes, both of them shoot like a girl!

About Chris Goff

Chris Goff is an award-winning author of international thrillers and the Birdwatcher's Mystery series. DARK WATERS, the first title in her new international thriller series, is scheduled for release by Crooked Lane Books on September 15, 2015. Set in Israel amid the Israel-Palestine conflict, this series debut mirrors global headlines and will have readers frantically turning pages.

As Christine Goff she has written five novels in the bestselling Birdwatcher's Mystery series and was nominated for two WILLA Literary Awards, a Colorado Author's League Award, and published in the UK and Japan. Astor + Blue Editions has reissued her backlist and the 6th book in the series, A Parliament of Owls, is scheduled for release in March 15, 2016.

A former journalist, Goff began her career writing non-fiction for several local newspapers in Summit County, Colorado, as well as articles for regional and national publication. She later edited rock and ice-climbing guides for Chockstone Press, worked in graphic production for “Living the Good News,” a division of The Morehouse Publishing Group, and taught writing workshops for the Colorado Free University, the University of Colorado (multiple campuses), and at writer's conferences internationally. A long-standing member of multiple writing organizations, she has served on several local, regional and national boards, including Mystery Writers of America.

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DARK WATERS

About DARK WATERS

Raisa “Rae” Jordan, an agent for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, isn't in Israel for more than a day before her predecessor is gunned down in a Tel Aviv square by a sniper. Assigned to investigate the assassination of one of her own, she must also protect Judge Ben Taylor and his teenage daughter. They may be the sniper's next target and are most certainly being threatened by a desperate cadre of terrorists with their sights set on the Secretary of State's upcoming visit. But is an attack on the Secretary of State all that they have planned or is that just the beginning?

There are no protocols for this kind of a situation, and following the rules is exactly the kind of thing that could get the Taylors killed. To subvert an attack that could crush the fledgling peace in the Middle East, Jordan must trust her instincts and bring together a contentious team of agents from Israel, the U.S., and the Palestinian territories to uncover a conspiracy years in the making.

millions of lives hanging in the balance, DARK WATERS, Chris Goff's explosive thriller, is a series debut that mirrors global headlines and will have readers frantically turning pages.

 

 

Comments

1 comment posted.

Re: Christine Goff | Shoot Like a Girl: Strong Women in Male-Dominated Roles

As far as women agents go, I say - why not?? I think that we
could do the job as good, if not better than a man could.
Women tend to dot all the i's, and cross all the t's when they
do a job anyway, so they tend to be more precise in day-to-day
things. I feel they could be awesome agents, and their
counterpoints would be less suspect of them. They would be
looking for a man, as opposed to a woman. I'm sure a man is
good at his job as well, but being a woman, I know how precise
they can be when setting out to do their job. Your book sounds
like a terrific read, and I'm really looking forward to reading
it this Fall. I have it on my TBR list. The kudos are already
coming in on it, so I KNOW it's going to be an edge-of-your-
seat read!! Your fans will be sure to put Rae out there with
Jack Reacher as an everyday name that people will know
automatically. You couldn't have chosen a more appropriate
setting as well. With all the turmoil in today's world, Israel
is going through their share of strife. Congratulations on
your book, and I know it's going to do well!!
(Peggy Roberson 8:29am September 22, 2015)

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