Calculated Risk

by Stephanie Doyle

ANYTHING THEY CAN DO, SHE CAN DO…BETTERAt the ripe old age of twenty, girl geniusSabrina Masters was booted from the CIA for“willful insubordination.” Now, ten years later,they want her back for a mission only she hasthe brains to complete—breaking a twistedcode to flush out a terrorist. Too bad themission comes with her former trainer andex-lover—Quinlan—attached.With national security at risk, Sabrina doesn'thave time for rules or distractions. Especiallyfrom Quinlan. A decade out of the spy gamemeans the odds are against her—but theydon't call her a genius for nothing.…

Genres: Romantic Suspense

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

It all started with Shanna and Star Wars. An odd combination, I know, but what people don't appreciate about Star Wars is the deep romantic element between two of the lead characters. I wasn't seven years-old when I was able to clearly spot that Han and Leia were supposed to be a couple.

Sure most of my friends, who at the time weren't nearly as mature as I was – after all some of them were still six, thought that Leia loved Luke. But anyone really looking could see that Han and Leia were the couple to beat.

That's when I discovered romance.

Then at about fifteen or so I was babysitting one night, bored out of my mind – the children were fast asleep at this point – so I picked a book from the shelf. I wasn't much of a reader at the time, but I liked the orange cover. It was Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

That's when I discovered romance novels.

Making up stories – that's just something I've always done. It's like breathing for me. But it wasn't until I began to read actively that I thought maybe I could actually write a book. The benefit of writing over reading is that I get to have everything just the way I like it. I should mention at this point that I'm a little bit of a control freak.

But I didn't go to school for writing. In fact I went to school to be the President of the United States - make that a power hungry control freak.

I attended Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. And no, that is not a school to learn how to become a nun. Although, since I'm not married yet, my mother believes that subliminal messages were piped into the dorm rooms through hidden speakers.

I strayed from the presidential track. Figured instead of running the country I would do something really meaningful. I became a school teacher and spent two amazing years in Seattle.

Eventually I came back home to South Jersey. I got a temp job to hold me over until I could find another teaching position and have been at my current company for eight years. I keep telling my boss that I'm only staying for a little while longer. But he has since stopped listening to me.

So what else is there to know about me? I write. I work. I exercise. I try not to eat. I fail. I beat myself up for not succeeding to not eat. Then I drink. It's a simple life I lead.

I date. But that's a whole other story….

Reviews

[Amelia in PDX · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when a super genius teenager, with no parental supervision, meets a CIA operative with a new program for teen-agers? Meet Sabrina Masters and find out... And then she's washed out of the CIA at 20, mostly because she's bored. She's now 30 and wants back in the game, and they send her old handler to help in catching a terrorist cell. The bad thing is the head terrorist also wants Sabrina & the CIA wants Sabrina, she's the only one that can decode a computerized code by one of her quirky "friends" when he passes on and leaves it for only her to solve. Will she be able to do it in time? Or is America's security compromised.

[Molly O'Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite heroines ever! EVER!

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was nothing special about this book, was just a typical cheesy romance.
I just wanted a quick read which this provided.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I can say is that it was painful.