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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Good Luck Charms

When I was a child I remember stepping over sidewalk cracks or there would be bad luck. But I don't remember having good luck charms. As an adult I have a few. There's the jade bamboo that jingles with the Burmese bells on my phone. There of course - for luck. The pendant that dangles over my office doorway, bought on New Years in Beijing with symbols reflecting - good luck of course. I have a small but growing collection that seem to be one part good luck charm and one part momentos of past trips.

There's the laughing Buddha - no not the funky Buddha, and while not exactly lucky he just brings back happy memories of a moment in Bangkok. Of course, I'm not 100% sure that he's not lucky...

Do you have lucky charms or do you prefer to make your own luck?

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

Coming to bookstores soon - Ring of Desire, 2009

A medieval fantasy steeped in history. A heroine faced with the
ultimate choice, immortality or mortal love.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Delete - If You Dare!

You’ve spent hours writing, revising and revising again. You’ve looked at your story until the words blurred into oblivion. As an author a book is rather like a child you have prepared to send out into the world alone.

Rather like a child - but not. Words that didn’t exist before are unique, special even - but it’s not your baby. Be prepared to kill words and even scenes, for it doesn't end with your revisions. When the book hits the publisher’s hands there will be interpretations of scenes you didn’t anticipate and suggestions that are amazingly sound. Listen. They know what they’re talking about. And sometimes you have to stand up for your story – and always on both ends there’s give and take.

So on the eve of another dance on that dance card, my finger hovers over that button – delete.



Press it if you dare. You’ll be surprised what happens next…

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com








Coming to bookstores soon - Ring of Desire, 2009

A medieval fantasy steeped in history. A heroine faced with the
ultimate choice, immortality or mortal love.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Dreams Are Made of Edits

It's been quiet out here on the prairie - even the gophers are no longer chirping their alerts. The only thing not hunkered down for the approach of cold weather are the darn house flies - yuck - yuck and double yuck. And my fly swatter works overtime.

So - I've just emerged from Medieval England in a place called Hafne. I'm doing revisions on "Ring of Desire" a paranormal rooted in history. Giles and Vala are one of my favourite couples. Their love is magical in more ways than one. I have to say that when all is done, I'll miss their supporting cast too. Magna, of course, is my favourite and I hate to mention her name for even hearing that Ancient name makes my heroine want to cry. Shhh! I've said too much.

Where was I going with this post you ask? Don't worry, I too was asking. Revisions. "Ring of Desire" is moving closer to a publication date and that process means revisions. It's almost inevitable.

Once the idea has evolved into a story it must be fine tuned, spun and trimmed, punched and kneaded until it is sent off to the publishing world - the people who will make the dream of this story happen.

But dreams are made of edits and the publishing word wants some kneading of their own. This time the publisher's request for edits came as my head was well into another story following a twisted path of love and intrigue in Beijing. So for a minute everything stopped as I scrambled to get on the first plane out of Beijing and morph back into the Middles Ages. For a brief second it all appeared insurmountable. But a walk cured that and soon I'd left Beijing and flown back to Medieval England to reacquaint myself with Giles and Vala who I find are just as delightful as ever. And good thing because the holder of the dance card for this round of edits wanted more than one dance.

Every time I dive into a story it's a magical adventure. Of course, "Ring of Desire" is a little more than magical. The people who inhabit the story and the fictional village of Hafne consider seeing auras and beings that appear out of no where to be every day events. That's all but my poor hero. Giles had a tough time right from the beginning and there was so much riding on his ability to settle in. But all that's behind him now.

Despite blurry eyed hours at a computer screen at odd hours of the day and night, it's worth it to see that first pre-publication draft and the potential for the book this story will soon become. That's where "Ring of Desire" is right now.


Yes, it's called edits - and sometimes it's stressful and sometimes - well, it's just a blast from the past - literally!




So that's how I spent my weekend - how was yours?

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com
Ryshia at Twitter
Ryshia's MySpace

Coming to bookstores soon - Ring of Desire, 2009
A medieval fantasy steeped in history. A heroine faced with the ultimate choice, immortality or mortal love.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Mae Sai by Dirt Bike

It was the last bike on the lot. A dirt bike that was questionable from the start especially with plans to hit a Thai freeway from Chiang Rai, Thailand to the northern border town of Mae Sai, Thailand. Apparently there was a reason that it was the only bike left on the lot:

...It spit oil - everywhere!
...The speedometer didn't work!
...Its burning hot exhaust pipe stretched out where
the passenger's legs went!
...The bike wasn't the only thing that had only one left - a helmet
in my size was the second!
...And the seat wasn't meant to double - apparently
neither was the fender!

So, in one of the most uncomfortable rides of my life we headed doubling down the Thai highway. A relatively busy foreign freeway is not one where you want a breakdown. So we valiantly kept up with the flow of traffic as oil peppered the driver's legs. But the faster our speed went the more the wind resistance seemed to send me sliding down that shaky seat - the fender. And when I wasn't repositioning, I was using my free hand to push the helmet up that had fallen over my eyes.

Next time you hear that there's only one rental left - walk fast - very fast - in the other direction. And don't go driving down Thai freeways on a worn out dirt bike. I know for sure you won't see me out there - at least not on a dirt bike!







Til next time.

Ryshia






Friday, September 11, 2009

Winner of Marcia Colette's - Stripped

When Marcia Colette graciously agreed to appear on my blog this Monday, she also offered a free copy of her new release to one of my blog's lucky readers.

Insert a drum roll now...

The winner of a copy of Marcia Colette's new novel "Stripped" is....
Harry Markov

Congrats Harry!! - If you haven't already, you'll be contacted shortly about collecting your prize. Happy reading!




Monday, September 7, 2009

Win a Copy of - Stripped - Comments - Comments

Check out the interview below and enter a comment for Marcia Colette author of the newly released "Stripped" and you will be entered to win a copy of "Stripped" the urban fantasy debut of the year!

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

Sunday, September 6, 2009

An Interview with Author Marcia Colette

From author Marcia Colette, her exciting new release "Stripped".

Someone wants their perfect weapon back, only she’s not coming quietly.

Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real bombshell: a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.

Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.

She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.

With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.



Marcia Colette has stopped by to tell us about herself and about her new release, "Stripped, an urban fantasy unlike any you may have read before. So, of course, first off I had a few questions for Marcia:

1. Do you find it difficult to combine a love of horror with the happy ending required of romance?
Not really. As long as the hero and the heroine end up together, I think anything is possible regardless of how brutal or gory. I guess that's why I take no prisoners when it comes to my paranormal romances.

2. You refer to your work as the creepier side of writing – why?
No matter how hard I've tried, my writing has always been on the dark side of things. I wanted make sure there was no mistake about where I was coming from and where my writing was going. If readers can hang for the ride, then they're more than welcomed to join me. But if they don't like me torturing my characters, then my stories won't work for them. It's better people know that off the bat, rather than to be shocked about me tearing off a limb.

3. What inspired Stripped?
I had fallen in love my characters from Half Breed. I wanted to know how Alexa and Matt met. What would put them through the ultimate test? Well, I couldn't kill either one off because that would mean no Half Breed. But I could snatch one from the other and make them work double time to get back together. Next thing I knew, Stripped was born.

4. When can we expect your next book and will it be tied to Stripped or Half Breed?
My next book will be tied to Stripped. In fact, it'll take place a few months after Matt and Alexa have been married and I'll still be turning my happy couple's lives upside down. My goal is to have it finished before the end of the year, but depending upon how the whole pregnancy thing goes, it might throw my plans into a curve. Fingers crossed, it won't. If all goes well, there will be a fourth book, which will take place after Half Breed.

5. Do you write full time?
No such luck. The day job supports my my reading habit, so I can't give it up just yet. But if I were ever in the position to change that, I'd happy jump at the chance.

6. If you had six months left to live – would you finish the book?
Heck yeah! Which one, I have no idea. Probably the sequel to Stripped, along with the paranormal YA that I'm currently working on.

And Marcia Colette - Just the Facts:

Paranormal author Marcia Colette was born and raised in a single-parent household in upstate New York. She graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a bachelors degree in biomedical engineering and a masters degree in information technology from American Intercontinental University. After a couple of moves from north to south to north, she is now living in the south again in the lovely state of North Carolina.

Unlike many authors, Marcia hadn’t discovered her love for reading until her late twenties. As it turned out, her tastes were very selective and different than most of the stuff her English teachers tried to shove down her throat. She has been a lover of the paranormal from her first horror movie and has never looked back.

Marcia is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Paranormal Mystery Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

The best place to find her is on her blog where she loves connecting with readers and other writers. Conferences/conventions where sci-fi, fantasy, and horror reign supreme are a good bet, too, along with the occasional romance conference.

For more information check out Marcia's website at www.marciacolette.com or her blog at http://marciacolette.wordpress.com.


If you have a comment or question for Marcia drop them in the comments. She's always glad to meet her readers.


I don't know about you but Marcia's story has me intrigued. Thanks for being here Marcia.

Ryshia

www.ryshiakennie.com


Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bangkok - Fined


Just prior to a visit to the Royal Palace in Bangkok a local warned us about littering. I suppose he'd seen foreigners littering and knew of the repercussions. However, having grown up in Canada and lived through anti-littering campaigns it was the last thing on my mind. However, cigarette butts weren't. Not that I'm a smoker but at the time one person in our group was and what better place to dispose of a butt but a sidewalk grate?

Not!

Ten minutes later what looked like a bus shelter that contained a desk on the edge of a busy pedestrian sidewalk took on a whole new meaning as we stood dutifully before the Thai policeman. When asked our country of origin I noted that his smile slipped when we said Canada and his finger trailed down the list. It appeared, and this is only a guess, that the fines were country of origin specific. We walked away $60 lighter and a new addition to our list of rules on what littering really means.

Oh, did I mention that on that day too, the King's limo stopped suddenly barely missing running over someone in our small group. It was a day made for entries in the book "What Not to do When Overseas."

Live and learn.

Ryshia (and the ticket - that has become a travel souvenir or should we say badge of honor?)
www.ryshiakennie.com
Ryshia's MySpace
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Monday, September 7 - Marcia Colette will be featured on my blog in an interview about her life as an author and about her new release - an urban fantasy "Stripped." Come on by and leave a comment or question for Marcia.
Someone wants their perfect weapon back, only she’s not coming quietly.