Guest Post: Robin Perini

Today we have a guest post from author, Robin Perini, who is promoting her book, In Her Sights. Welcome Robin!

Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date of Publication: November 2011

Jasmine “Jazz” Parker, Jefferson County SWAT's only female sniper, can thread the eye of a needle with a bullet. But she carries a secret from her past that she thought she buried for good at the age of fifteen. Two years ago she even drove away the one man she believed she could love—ex-Army Ranger turned reporter Luke Montgomery—to keep her past hidden. Now, in a fleeting second, the time it takes for one clean shot, one perfect hit, to save the life of the governor's daughter, Jazz's world begins to crumble around her.  Luke splashes her face and name across the front page of the newspaper, reawakening her past with a vengeance. A vicious enemy is now bent on destroying her life, forcing Jazz to turn to the one man she can never have in order to stop a killer before she and everyone she cares about pays the ultimate price. Full of explosive action and almost unbearable suspense, In Her Sights is a relentless, steamy thriller surprisingly infused with soul and poignancy. 

Robin writes:

Thanks so much for allow me to join you today. It's quite an honor. As this is my debut novel, I wondered what to talk about, so today it thought I might discuss my strange and unusual interests and how they resulted in my novel, In Her Sights.

I love romantic suspense. I love to read it. I love to write it. I love it in all its forms: contemporary, historical, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult. If you have urgent danger that brings two people together, who help each other catch the bad guys, I'm there!

As I began writing romantic suspense, I realized I needed to educate myself. So, if there was an opportunity to learn about ways to cause murder and mayhem, I was there. In fact, my best friend and I met over a series of workshops at a writing conference. Even though there were a dozen workshops going on, we kept bumping into each other at classes including coroner reports and autopsy photos, serial killers, weapons, cops, crime scene investigators…you get my drift. After the third class or so, we realized we had to meet. We began sitting together, and the rest, as they say, is history. Not many people can say they met their best friend over a serial killer.

So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the idea for In Her Sights grew from another one of my interesting field trips. One of the fantastic opportunities I try to take advantage of each year is a day-long research event hosted by the Kiss of Death chapter of Romance Writers of America®. One year, the group visited the Arvada Police Department in Denver, Colorado. We visited with the 911 operators, the K-9 unit, narc investigators. And the SWAT Team was there.

SWAT cops are a different breed. There's an edge to them that intrigued me from the moment I walked up to the display of gadgets and weapons. The techy in me eagerly soaked in the equipment, but I found something much more interesting as I watched these amazing men describe their responsibilities and jobs. I studied the interplay between the elite members of this team. With each gesture and statement, from the way the sniper held his weapon, to his description of hand-sewing his ghillie suit (sort of a camouflage cloak that looks like the terrain) by hand, and the precision with which he completed the construction, I was hooked. 

My mind started whirling. What kind of man would be a sniper? What would his relationship be with the other members of his team as he stands above and apart from the entry team that rushes into the building? Then I learned that a woman could be a SWAT team member as long as she met the physical requirements. I didn't really put it all together until I was speaking to another writer friend. I told her that women could be members of SWAT. She asked, "What if your sniper IS your heroine?" 

Lightening struck!

Jazz was born. In Her Sights was born. All the questions I'd been asking—including what does it take to be a sniper—crystallized, and the story was inevitable from that moment on. I hope you enjoy learning about Jazz and what it takes to be a female sniper. In my eyes, she's a hero and she gets to catch the bad guys!

I love to hear from readers. Please connect with me. You can get in touch via my website, www.robinperini.com where you can view the In Her Sights book trailer, read excerpts, read reviews, sign up for my mailing list and even request trading cards or a Kindlegraph. I'm also on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. I'd love to hear from you.

  
About the author:

Award-winning author Robin Perini’s love of heart-stopping suspense and poignant romance, coupled with her adoration of high tech weaponry and covert ops, encouraged her secret inner commando to take on the challenge of writing romantic suspense novels.  Her mission's motto: "when danger and romance collide, no heart is safe."

As a writer, Robin is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high stakes adventures with a love story sure to melt their hearts. Robin’s strong characters and tightly woven plots have garnered her seven prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finals, and Golden Heart Winner in 2011. Stolen Lullaby, will be published by Harlequin Intrigue® in May, 2012 as Finding Her Son. Her other 2011 Golden Heart® Finalist, In Her Sights, will be published by Amazon's Montlake Romance November 29, 2011.

By day, she works for an advanced technology corporation, and in her spare time, you might find her giving one of her many nationally acclaimed writing workshops or find her training in competitive small-bore rifle silhouette shooting.  She's a voracious reader and a die-hard fan of the T.V. series, BONES.

Robin loves to interact with readers.  You can catch her by sending a comment on this website, writing her at P.O. Box 50472, Albuquerque, NM 87181-0472, or interacting with her via Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+ or Twitter.