Wild Woman

Sisters of the Ark #3

by Lindsay McKenna

Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0373513518 here.

She was the cream of the Black Jaguar Squadron. Under her call sign "Wild Woman," Jessica Merrill had proven her air combat prowess with zero failed missions. But it was her heritage, rather than her military record, that landed her the mission to infiltrate a compound of pure evil to reclaim a powerful totem.

She wasn't alone.

CIA operative Mace Phillips had been recruited to play her husband. A stretch for a woman whose lifestyle...until now...had meant a lonely bed. New to the spy game, Jessie agreed to the dangerous charade with only one goal in mind: mission accomplished. Because Wild Woman never left anything--or anyone--behind...

SISTERS OF THE ARK: Driven by a dream of legendary power, these Native American women have sworn to protect all that their people hold dear.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

I've lived six lives in one and it all shows up in the books I write, one way or another.

I was always a risk taker and broke mustangs at thirteen years old in Oregon. I learn to break them with love, not threat or pain.

At 17 years old, I picked night-crawlers (worms) out in our Oregon orchards from 9pm to midnight, every night. I earned enough money to buy my school clothes and book. I also plunked down $600 to a flight company at the Medford, Oregon airport and asked them to teach me...a girl...to fly. I soloed in 12 hours, which is average. From that time until I left for the US Navy at 18, I had accrued 39 hours of flight time in my Cessna 150 single engine airplane.

I was in the US military and was an AG3 (weather forecaster). There was no airplane club, so I couldn't fly when I was in the Navy. But I could look at the clouds in the sky ;-).

Later, I flew in a B-52 bomber for a day and night mission (18 hours total), a T-38 Talon jet, USAF, where I was riding in a "chase plane" on a test flight in a Dragonfly jet.

I was one of the first AFLA (American Fencing League of America) women fencers to fence with epee and sabre. These weapons were closed to women because they were too 'heavy' for a female to handle. I said baloney and fought the males and won half my bouts. I was part of a surge of women fencers on the East Coast in the 1970's to push for equality in the sport. Together, we changed the sport and changed the mind of the men. Today? In the Olympics? Women now fence in foil, epee and sabre, thanks to what we did as a vanguard showing the world it could be done.

I then became a volunteer firefighter when I was a civilian once more, the first woman in an all - male fire department in West Point, Ohio for three years. I became a local expert not only in firefighting, driving the engine and tanker trunks, but also had training in hazardous material (Reynoldsburg Fire Academy, Columbus, OH).

My books always reflect what I experienced. If you like edgy, gritty, deeply and emotionally intense love stories with sympathetic heroes and heroines, check out my newest series that will be available mid-Oct. 2015, and it incorporates much of what I have lived.

Reviews

[Robyn Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle

[Devu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth reading, I guess

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sister of Fortune

Setting: Perseus headquarters, Phillipsburg, Montana; Blue section of complex for temp housing; Lihua Estate and its private museum rooms – for some, for a select few, and for almost no one, China; Shangri-La Hotel; Airports & airplanes; war room Perseus complex in Montana;

One Sentence Summary: Confident, live now woman combat helicopter pilot joins with CIA agent still mourning the loss of his wife, to retrieve the last crystal power Indian artifact, and to put away the bad guy.

Characters:
CIA Agent Mace Phillips: Chinese language expert; loved his teenage sweetheart, having courted her gently and slowly, and happily married to her until she died of cancer… 2 years of grief and withdrawal… but after 6 months on Chinese translation desk of CIA ready for field job, so agrees to go after the crystal;

Jessica Merrill, Chief Warrant Officer US Army/Apache helicopter gunship pilot aka Wild Woman: live in the moment; positive; confident; can read people’s auras, and senses Mace’s deep grief and isolation; eager to go after 3rd crystal, as forseen by Kai;

Ji Yaozong: millionaire corporate software owner, whom Perseus saved his kidnapped son 3 years ago, gains them invite to Martson’s party, and offers support while in China;

Robert Martson: crazy 80-year old man, who bribed, stole, cajoled information and artifacts to gain the power to stave off his Parkinson;

Chuck and Andrea Jiang: undercover agents in China, who help them by disabling the generators and acting as backup

Ivy Shining Star Sanderson, her grandmother, elder Medicine woman: helps to set up martson by false crystals in the ark and pretending to be willing to sell him the crystals;

Summary:
Spy drama… they infiltrate Martson’s home, and offer him the secret of eternal life… and he bites… even agreeing to return to the US to obtain the crystals (where he could be arrested)… Jessica charms him with her knowledge of Indian ways… and gets into his inner sactum… they replicate the crystal star he has, and she returns with Mace to trade it (having watched and learned the systems and codes… ) have a face-off with the guards, get away just in time… and get away… as Martson is in the US and arrested…

And Mace reacts to the warmth of Jessica – and finds a new passion for her and for life… and Jessica responds to his strength, his gentleness, his passion… another match!!

Memorable scenes:
“As he drizzled honey across his croissant, he thought about how she jmight react to him pouring the amber sweetness down the center of her body and then slowly licking it off her soft, firm flesh. Mace was shocked by his own thoughts…. His feelings were a helluv lot more alive than he’d ever realized… perhaps the right woman had only come along now to let him know that the winter of his grief was over and it was time to begin to live – and love – again.”