It's challenging writing about fights between the heroine, #OlgaSejeHansen and the bad guys, like, really bad guys. Before joining the Helsinki Police "Bears" unit – Finnish SWAT team – her title was "Unarmed Combat Instructor" at the Utti Jaeger Regiment. She trained Special Forces operatives to fight hand-to-hand asychronously. What does that mean?

When baddies face a Tier 1 fighter like Olga, they have little to no idea where the first or next strike is coming from.

She doesn't fight to a pattern, but to opportunities. A body feint left, fists up, halfway through the feint she may let go a kick to the groin, or maybe a hook kick to the jaw, or maybe a spear punch to the throat. Even if the opponent doesn't go down, it will hurt or deaden a limb. Either way the strike will momentarily disorient even trained fighters. That moment of confusion is the opportunity for another kind of strike if required. Asynchronous.

So unlike most Hollywood fights, there is no pattern, no kata-styled one-two-threes. And definitely no fluff. The aim is to take out an opponent in a few seconds.

Does the heroine always get her own way? No. But she is not there to entertain with extended, glamorous fight sequences, or give anyone a chance. So, it is quite hard to write such a degree of unpredictability into action scenes.

Rather like describing how we walk, it can also be frustrating to break down the subtleties and even harder to communicate them without a reader glazing over in too much detail. Nothing like a challenge.

This is about 6 seconds of action...

Seje moved out of range of Bozo’s reflexive flailing hammer fists, angling for a disabling strike to the groin.

Fists ready, upper body feinting left then right. On the first feint left her right heel stomped inside by her left foot. A heartbeat later, like a dancer, she flowed her body upright and glided her right leg back into its original rear position. Seventy percent weight on the back leg, still primed to strike with either knee.

Bozo was focused on her left leg.

One instant muscle memory strike was on its way to find out.
Pushing off her right foot, she shifted her weight forward, leg, hips, knee and foot unleashed in one whipping move, full power. No evasive action from Bozo. The dance worked.

But as the ball of her foot landed, she realised, "Fuck, he's wearing body armour over his balls." The full force of the strike between Bozo's legs glanced to the side, his thigh absorbing the bulk of the blow. He winced but stood his ground.

Re-focusing, she took advantage of a lull in his aggression...
"No armour where this is landing."

There is a free download on my bio of the first 3 chapters. Seje is not just a fighter, she's a master strategist and to put it mildly, she will do anything to achieve the outcome she needs – even dropping her colleagues in horrendous circumstances. Grim, shocking, funny, nothing is ever gratuitous but advances the plot and the characters. That's #noir!