- First published in 1989, Morgan's Mercenaries has continued through 29 original stories and has over three million copies in print. - The Morgan's Mercenaries title Destiny's Woman (3/02) had a 63% NSR and hit the USA Today bestseller list! - Lindsay is a top-ten-ranked author for the Silhouette Special Edition line who is credited with creating the subgenre of military romance.
That Gemini energy got the best of me in this life time! The best place to introduce the multi-facets of my varied life is through my blog: www.talesfromechocanyon.blogspot.com. There, you will me me, the author as I pen writing journal info for aspiring writers, the gardener who loves roses, Iris, Day lilies and anything else that blooms, the medical astrologer, the person who came from Eastern Cherokee metis background via my father, the horse lover, the Earth lover and the mystic.
I was raised in a metaphysical household. The strange was normal. My father, being the metaphysician he was, would often talk of ghosts coming through the house, who they were, what they said, and so on. I know this probably sounds pretty out of this world--but that was my world growing up. My father's Cherokee blood runs strong in me in many ways. He used to tell us stories all the time and I'm sure this rubbed off on me and fueled my desire to write, which started at age 13. My mother used to read us stories when he didn't tell us a story. I believe that reading being prominent in our household all conspired to help me be a storyteller when I grew up!
I went into the US Navy when I was eighteen years old. I became a meteorologist because I loved Father Sky and the cloud beings. Before I went into the military, I got my student pilot's license. I soloed at age sixteen in twelve hours time. I earned my money picking night crawlers every night in our orchard and selling them by the hundreds of dozens to local sporting goods stores in the area. By the time I went into the Navy at eighteen, I had forty hours of flight time logged. And because of my military background, I created the sub-genre of Military Romance in the romance publishing Industry in 1983 with Captive of Fate (Silhouette Special Edition). I write what I know and I honor and respect all men and women who either served or are serving our country. They are all heroes and heroines in my eyes.
I was a fencer (I met my husband, David, in fencing--we crossed swords and it was love at first parry...) for many years. Being part of the East Coast fencing salles, I was one of the few women to take on epee and saber--and fight the guys on the copper strip--and win. The women who refused to just use a foil to fence with, opened up a whole new era for women after us to fence all three weapons. Men said the epee and saber were 'too heavy' for us girls--but we showed them differently! Now, in the Olympics, women are allowed to fence in more than just foil. That makes me proud of our burgeoning efforts so long ago. Women can do anything!
I was one of the first women firefighters in Ohio back in 1983. I routinely rolled on 400 of the 600 fire calls a year we had, and knew how to drive the pumper, the tanker and do any job a volunteer firefighter has to do. I also took training in hazardous materials down at the Reynoldsburg Fire Academy in Columbus, Ohio.
My life has been one of breaking through stereotypes, breaking down doors closed to women and showing that women are smart, strong, and capable. As a Native American raised woman, I came from a matriarchal background--not a patriarchal one as most women come from. And because of that, my books show strong, smart women who are equal to any man. I like showing the world that women are equals. We don't need to say one gender is better than the other. Rather, we need to realize, honor and use everyone's best skills and talents to make this world a better place to live. I feel like I've lived about five lives packed into one and all of this adventure and experience is reflected in the books I write.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 starsFirst Born is a disappointment, June 7, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: First Born (Morgan's Mercenaries) (Mass Market Paperback)
I had eagerly awaited the arrival of First Born. It started out very well. It answered some of the questions I had about the treatment of Jason when he was kidnapped by the drug lords. After that the book goes down hill. He turns into Mr. Nice guy by just being around the heroine Annie. Then he gets wounded. He loses his memory. It seems to be a rewrite of Morgan's story of amnesia. Ms. McKenna makes a gigantic error in time and personel when puts Jason's great grandparents in World War II. In Dawn of Valor, Chase and Rachel Trayhern are in Korea as a pilot and a MASH nurse. Since they are Jason's grandparents, there is no way that this is possible. That is an error that ruined my appreciation of the book. I am a faithful reader. I hope that her next book is better, or that she gets an editor that is more familiar with previous works.
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This review is from: First Born (Morgan's Mercenaries) (Mass Market Paperback)
As a loyal fan of MS Mckenna's early works I was very disappointed with this book. Ms Mckenna has many military books to her credit so... why in book #23 would she get something as simple as military ranks wrong. She has her hero going the wrong directions from a CWO3 to a CWO2 as a promotion. OPPS! This has been a growing problem with her more current books as well; a case in point she refers to women in the Navy as Waves. There haven't been WAVES in the Navy since the 70's. So a book in 1990's present shouldn't use that word, it isn't accurate and takes the knowledgable reader out of the story. If she can't get it right then get a copy editor who can. Military romance readers expect books to get military issues right, or why bother using the military theme.
Add to this the plethra of backstory filler about Morgan's story, which her loyal readers know, slowed the pace down considerably and didn't add to the story at all. Even if the reader didn't know Morgan's story so much backstory took away from the H/H own story and it ended abruptly. Had that filler not been there would have been more pages for a more intense story line for this H/H who deserved better care from such a seasoned author. The Native American mysticism was over done and a bit too preachy which short changed this reader's appreciation of the heroine.
She never created a believable enough dark moment from which the h/h can come to terms with their future. The hero has a big change in attitude but the transistion was not believable as it was not done through growth but NA mysticism. There was a lot unsaid here between Morgan and Jason and this reader felt cheated. We see no change in the heroine at all, she comes off as too perfect and not real. The story ended all too quickly leaving a bland taste in my mouth. It would be nice if Ms Mckenna can find her voice again like her books RED TAIL and BEGINNINGS.
If you have to read it find in a used bookstore.
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This review is from: First Born (Morgan's Mercenaries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Truthfully, I couldn't get past the first third of the book. The mistakes McKenna makes with regards to the military are horrible. One reviewer already mentioned that she got the ranks wrong, but it goes way beyond there. There's a ton of mistakes with regards to uniforms, and decorum, even things as basic as the main character not having her hair up off her collar. I kept trying to get past it, and just when I thought I could get back into the swing of the story, up would pop another mistake. Maybe some someone who only read military themed books because they're exciting could get past it. But I'm ex-Army myself and every five pages I wanted to knock my head against the wall. I would have actually given it One Star, but I gave Ms. McKenna the benefit of the doubt and decided on two, since I couldn't get past the glaring errors into the actual plot of the book. For all I know, that might be okay. I just didn't make it there.
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