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Morgan's Mercenaries #17
Heart Of Stone
Morgan's Heart of Stone by Lindsay McKenna released on Mar 14, 2006 is available now for purchase.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
8 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay McKenna
360 books2,504 followersI'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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 1, 2020
As I always say her books are perfectly made, this is a love story that originally Dane was hard on women especially those who wanted to fly helicopters, but later on he found a woman who could out flly even him. There are some strange things going on but it has a happy ending.
November 7, 2024
I remember reading this book as part of an anthology years ago and liking it so I picked it up again to see if I still did and would want to explore more of McKenna's works.
That was a mistake.
Turns out I remembered the intriguing premise and the interesting supernatural elements but not the didactic writing style or the adjective salad.
Everything, apparently, needs at least one, usually two or three, adjectives. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that the author uses the sames ones to describe the same things, over and over again. Yes, we know the flight suits are black, and so are the helicopters. Yes, we know the mugs are white and ceramic. Yes we know her eyes (and her gaze) are green, or emerald, or emerald green. Move on already. (Seriously in the space of 3 or 4 pages, the heroine's eyes (or gaze) were described that way 4 times). You don't need to mention someone's heart was pounding in their chest. You can just say their heart was pounding, it's location is only relevant if it's not in their chest.
The author's bio states that they are a veteran but it certainly doesn't show in their writing. Every military term or piece of equipment is explained, multiple times, awkwardly. I kept feeling like I was being mansplained to by someone who'd had this stuff mansplained to them. It's possible that I know more about American military, and aviation in general than your average romance reader so maybe that is just me.
Despite the flood of descriptors, the writing is neither evocative nor vivid and I kept being pulled out of the story to check if there was problem with my copy of the book because the paragraph I'm reading is so similar to another earlier in the same chapter or even the same scene.
Suffice it to say that this book is not for me anymore. Which is a pity because there is a slim thread of a story in there that I remember enjoying once but I can't stand the writing long enough to get to it anymore.
That was a mistake.
Turns out I remembered the intriguing premise and the interesting supernatural elements but not the didactic writing style or the adjective salad.
Everything, apparently, needs at least one, usually two or three, adjectives. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that the author uses the sames ones to describe the same things, over and over again. Yes, we know the flight suits are black, and so are the helicopters. Yes, we know the mugs are white and ceramic. Yes we know her eyes (and her gaze) are green, or emerald, or emerald green. Move on already. (Seriously in the space of 3 or 4 pages, the heroine's eyes (or gaze) were described that way 4 times). You don't need to mention someone's heart was pounding in their chest. You can just say their heart was pounding, it's location is only relevant if it's not in their chest.
The author's bio states that they are a veteran but it certainly doesn't show in their writing. Every military term or piece of equipment is explained, multiple times, awkwardly. I kept feeling like I was being mansplained to by someone who'd had this stuff mansplained to them. It's possible that I know more about American military, and aviation in general than your average romance reader so maybe that is just me.
Despite the flood of descriptors, the writing is neither evocative nor vivid and I kept being pulled out of the story to check if there was problem with my copy of the book because the paragraph I'm reading is so similar to another earlier in the same chapter or even the same scene.
Suffice it to say that this book is not for me anymore. Which is a pity because there is a slim thread of a story in there that I remember enjoying once but I can't stand the writing long enough to get to it anymore.
June 23, 2024
I used to enjoy this author’s books years ago but haven’t read any in more than a few years. I was glad I read a book of her’s but it wasn’t a top read for me. Maybe parts of it being on the paranormal side which is not usual type of book. Maybe my tastes in the series has changed. Would probably give it between a 2 and 3 rating.
August 4, 2012
This story got off to an exciting start with female military fighting drug lords in Peru but midway action slowed and events in the second half were not so believable. Chauvinist helicopter instructor Dane is forced to train female pilots commanded by Maya or he will be discharged from the army.
August 3, 2016
Morgan's Mercenaires: Heart of Stone
Maya Stephens and Dane York at first butt heads then slowly find love and let the last go as Maya has to go into her death spiral with a drug Lord that killed her and Inca's parents and then tried to kill Inca.
Maya Stephens and Dane York at first butt heads then slowly find love and let the last go as Maya has to go into her death spiral with a drug Lord that killed her and Inca's parents and then tried to kill Inca.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews