Firearm Firsts, with KaLyn Cooper
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I’ve invited fellow author KaLyn Cooper over today to share our Firearm Firsts. Though she’s written extensively in other genres, she just lost her Romance author virginity with Explosive Combination, a spicy romantic suspense from Liquid Silver Books.
Since we’ve both written about gun-toting men and women, I wanted to see how our weaponry experiences compare. This might also have something to do with my slight obsession with alliteration and the desire to use Firearm Firsts as a title.
While I’m sure you’ll find the chart below riveting, don’t forget to scroll all the way down to read a really sweet story about KaLyn's Macho Marine husband, as well as the blurb and excerpt from her new book.
Firearm First
First firearm seen on a TV show or movie (that we can remember)
First firearm seen in person
First firearm held
First firearm fired
First firearm described in a published book
KaLyn
Six gun, Colt I think
Roy Rogers as he rode that beautiful palomino and Dale Evans (Yes, I’m that old.)
Shotgun
It was my Dad’s and I can never remember NOT seeing it – I grew up on a farm and we always had guns around.
Daisy BB gun
In our family, at eight you were given a BB gun and expected to learn to shoot. I killed a lot of tin cans back then.
The BB gun – then a .22 rifle
At 12 you were given a .22 and required to shoot the groundhogs in the pasture. We raised Quarter horses and their holes could break a leg. At 16 we got a shotgun for deer hunting. Now I shoot skeet so I have four shotguns. I have a carry permit and own a Kimber 9mm and a S&W Shield .40 cal. Our gun safe doesn’t stop there though. ☺ Since I’m married to Macho Marine, I’ve shot machine guns, sub machine guns, military rifles M1A1, AKs, ARs and more.
A non-specified pistol
It was held to Harper Tambini’s head when kidnapped in my debut release Explosive Combination. That book has so many other guns in the hands of sexy SEALs and heart-pounding shoot outs.
Tara
Blaster Pistol
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (I didn’t watch the movies in order.)
A black pistol of some sort
7th Grade Career Day, courtesy of a DEA Agent who volunteered as a presenter.
Caracal CP660
Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition. It wasn’t loaded, and I was there for the falcons.
AK-47
I fired exactly 10 rounds as part of a mandatory “Crash-Bang” course prior to my husband’s tour in Pakistan. I went for the AK first because the ammo was really heavy and I didn’t want to carry it to the other stations.
M24 Sniper Rifle
Tower in the Woods (Yes, my Rapunzel has a weapon)
Firearms Story from KaLyn
Macho Marine knew I could shoot rifles and shot guns since one of first dates was small game hunting on the farm and while at TBS I’d actively participated in Jane Wayne Day where we got to play Marine for a day with all their favorite toys. But he wasn’t sure if I could shoot a pistol. While he was the I&I in Lynchburg, VA he had a private range in the basement of the reserve center. He took me down there, loaded his personal Berretta 9mm and pointed down range at a silhouette target. “Let’s just see if you can hit the target,” he said with a condescending smile. I took my stance and went through the BRASS (Breathe, Release, Aim, Sight, Squeeze). Fifteen fast bullets later, when the magazine was empty, I looked over my shoulder at him. His lips were a thin line. I wasn’t sure if he was fighting a smile or a cringe. He gingerly stepped beside me and with two fingers took the gun from my hand. He pulled me in for a light kiss. “Have I told you I love you, lately?” Me: “Not as often as I like to hear it.” MM: “Noted. I’ll say it more often. Good shooting.” I’d completely shot the crotch out of the target. …True story.
Explosive Combination
Separately, Harper Tambini and Rafe Silva are lethal…together, they’re explosive.
ATF Special Agent Harper Tambini is kidnapped by a Colombian drug lord and forced to use her explosives knowledge to kill his competition before she can escape with the help of undercover CIA agent Rafe Silva. As they make their way through the rivers, mountains and jungles, their desire for each other detonates. But Harper reminds Rafe of his murdered fiancée, and the shadow world he wants to leave.
Harper learned the hard way that men never stay, so now she doesn’t keep them around long enough to see if the sparks can light a fire that will last forever. In their short time together, can they crystalize a relationship, or will it all blow up?
Buy Links
Print: Createspace (10% Discount Code: PYQ4X6YR) | Amazon
eBook: LSBooks | Amazon | AllRomance
Excerpt
Harper heard the click of her door unlocking. Knowing her role as his pretend lover, she ran to the door. “Who’s there?’
“It’s me.” Rafe strolled in as if he had the right to her room, and her.
In nothing but dark silk boxers riding low on narrow hips, he was outlined in yellow by the dim hall lights. His broad shoulders filled the doorway. As he moved toward her, light caught raised pectoral muscles and flashes of well-defined six-pack abs. His swagger defined testosterone in motion. He was a specimen of pure male confidence and dominance.
He addressed the guards at the door. “Take a break. I’ll let you know when you need to come back. I’m going to enjoy my woman for a while.” He left the door open enough for his guards to watch as he claimed Harper, yanking her into his arms and covering her mouth with his.
His kiss was heaven and sin wrapped in one hard body. And he was hard everywhere.
Rafe slipped his hands around her, and she felt their heat through the thin silk of her nightgown. Intensity built quickly within her, and she grabbed his head, shoving her fingers through his silky dark curls. He pulled her forcefully against his body, but she didn’t resist. No man had ever made her feel this way so fast.
At the click of the door, Harper tried to shove Rafe back, but his solid body didn’t move. She had to get away from him before she lost her senses, so she stepped out of his embrace.
“That should get them talking.” Her voice was roughened, but she kept it low. “The whole compound will know you were in my room by breakfast.” She walked over to the nightstand and pulled a bottle of chilled water from an ice bucket. She needed to cool down, from the inside out. She cracked the seal, chugged down half of it, and then set it on the nightstand. “I’m going to bed…and to sleep.”
About KaLyn Cooper
KaLyn Cooper’s romances blend fact and fiction with blazing heat and heart-pounding suspense. Twenty-two years as a military wife has shown KaLyn the world, and thirty years in PR taught her that fact can be stranger than fiction. She leaves it up to the reader to separate truth from imagination. She, her husband, and bird dog live in Tennessee on a micro-plantation filled with gardens, cattle, and quail. When she’s not writing, she’s at the shooting range or on the river.
