Rhonda – Antique store owner and Sybil’s former business partner. Surrogate big sister to Cassie.
Sage Stone – Mythical Minoan relic which is reputed to possess great power. Nephilim prophecy reveals that this relic must be acquired by Abraham if his secret plan to orchestrate a global apocalypse is to succeed.
Scion – Nephilim title given to the diviner’s successor and heir-apparent. Daniel currently holds the position.
Scouts – Operatives of the Arkana deployed around the world to ferret out undiscovered matristic civilizations and potential new trove sites. In order of appearance: Bobbye Johnson (Botswana-DD), Oluoma Okoli (Nigeria-DD).
Security Coordinator – Title originally held by Erik. He reports to the operations director.
Sentinel – Watchers posted by the ancient Minoans to guard the location of each artifact until the arrival of the Arkana team. In order of appearance: Iker Mendiluze (Spain-DW), Elle (China-SH).
Sybil Forsythe – Cassie’s sister. Late pythia of the Arkana.
Trove – Arkana collection point for artifacts related to a specific geographic region or culture.
Trove Keeper – Person appointed to manage the collection of artifacts at a particular location or trove. In order of appearance: Xenia Katsouros (Minoan-GK), Aydin Ozgur (Anatolian-MM), Stefan Kasprzyk (Kurgan-MM), Thea Xara (Maltese-DW), Ortzi Exteberri (Basque-DW), Ochanda Exteberri (Basque-DW), Grace Littlefield (Haudenosaunee-DW), Michel Khatabi (Berber-DD), Sophie Khatabi (assistant, Berber-DD), Dee Pandala (Malabar-JL), Zhang Jun (Hongshan-SH).
Tyro – Title which refers to an apprentice agent of the Arkana. In order of appearance: John (Sudan-DD), Zachary (Vault-JL), Zhang Rou (China-SH).
Vault – Another name for the Central Catalog.
Vlad – Broker for shady arms deals. Aboud’s ally in finding a buyer for weaponized pneumonic plague.
Zachary – Faye’s teenage descendent—often referred to as her “great-great-something-or-other grandson.” He has joined the Arkana as a tyro.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The treasure hunt and cast of characters in this series are purely fictional, but the underlying historical assumptions are based on new theories about our distant past. I am indebted to the authors mentioned in the following pages for having the courage to challenge cultural beliefs that we’ve accepted without question for far too many generations. I would encourage readers who want to delve more deeply into these topics to have a look at the works cited in the bibliography.
Barnes, Craig S. In Search of the Lost Feminine: Decoding the Myths That Radically Reshaped Civilization. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2006.
Biaggi, Cristina, ed. The Rule of Mars: Readings on the Origins, History and Impact of Patriarchy. Manchester, CT: Knowledge, Ideas & Trends, 2006.
Davis-Kimball, Jeannine. Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2003.
DeMeo, James. Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence, In the Deserts of the Old World. 2nd Edition. Ashland, OR: Natural Energy Works, 2006.
Eisler, Riane. The Chalice And The Blade. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
Fagan, Brian. The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization. New York: Basic Books, 2003.
Gadon, Elinor W. The Once & Future Goddess. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1989.
Gimbutas, Marija. The Civilization of the Goddess: The World of Old Europe. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991.
__________ The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe, 7000-3500 B.C. Myths, Legends, Cult Images. London: Thames and Hudson, 1974.
__________ The Language of the Goddess. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
__________ The Living Goddesses. edited and supplemented by Miriam Robbins Dexter. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
Lerner, Gerda. The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
__________ The Creation of Patriarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Miles, Rosalind. Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World. New York: Three Rivers Press; 2001.
Morgan, Elaine. The Descent of Woman: The Classic Study of Evolution. London, UK: Souvenir Press, 2001.
Naranjo, Claudio. Healing Civilization. Nevada City, CA: Gateways Books & Tapes, 2010.
Ryan, William and Walter Pitman. Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2000.
Sanday, Peggy Reeves. Female Power and Male Dominance: On the Origins of Sexual Inequality. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981.
__________ Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy. New York: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Sjoo, Monica. The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering The Religion of the Earth. New York: HarperOne, 1987.
Stone, Merlin. When God Was A Woman. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978
__________ Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984.
AUTHOR BIO
"There's a 52% chance that the next Dan Brown will be a woman ... or should we just make that 100% now?" --Kindle Nation Daily
Nancy Wikarski is a fugitive from academia. After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, she became a computer consultant and then turned to historical mystery and adventure fiction writing.
She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Society of Midland Authors, and has served as vice president of Sisters in Crime - Twin Cities and on the programming board of the Chicago chapter. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Magazine and DIME Anthology, while her book reviews have been featured in Murder: Past Tense and Deadly Pleasures.
Her novels include the Victorian Chicago Mysteries set in 1890s Chicago. The series has received People's Choice Award nominations for best first novel and best historical. The seven-volume Arkana Archaeology Adventure Series is an Amazon bestseller.
BOOKS BY N. S. WIKARSKI
All the links below are for the Amazon US store.
The Fall of White City (Victorian Chicago Mysteries #1)
A socialite stalks a murderer against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Shrouded in Thought (Victorian Chicago Mysteries #2)
A drowned factory girl provokes a labor riot during the Pullman Strike of 1894.
The Granite Key (Arkana Archaeology Adventures #1)
The murder of a shopkeeper over a stone artifact known as the granite key sparks a 3,000-year-old treasure hunt.
