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

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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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.