Leah Ruth Robinson, the author of the novels First Cutand Blood Run, is a New York State certified emergency medical technician. She has served in the Emergency Department of St. Luke's Hospital (St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center) in New York City and taught Basic Life Support for several years at Lenox Hill Hospital, also in New York City. She currently serves on the national board of directors of Mystery Writers of America and is a member of the steering committee of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Married to writer John Rousmaniere, she divides her time between Manhattan and Stamford, Connecticut.