International Authors' Day Bloghop

July 18 is the first official International Author's Day.  It was a day began by blogger, reviewer and fellow book addict, Debdatta at Bookish Indulgences.   International Author's Day will start out with a blog hop that runs through the week - July 14 through 18.  Check out the links at the bottom of this post and stop by the blogs participating, there'll be plenty of prizes as well as a crew of good books just waiting to be discovered as readers and writers prepare to enjoy the week.


International Authors' Day - it's that word author that makes me pause.  It has a strange ring to it.  As a kid all I wanted to be was a writer.  The word author never entered my mind.  I didn't realize that yes, I had authored those competed works, raw as they were.  And yes, I was a writer as I wrote scribbles here and there, poems, short stories, startlingly bad fiction about lost hamsters and stilted poetry about trees outside my window.  I devoured books and I wrote.  One day in the waning hours of grade school, a teacher saw promise.  And she encouraged me, marvelling (or so I thought at the time) at my opening line where the barber neatly slits his customer's throat.

Yes, even then I leaned to the dark side but then there was no romance to lighten the mood.

So as is a common story among so many writers, the writing got put aside for a time.  It wasn't a valid way to make a living.  Or so the voices of those I considered wiser, echoed around me and maybe there was some truth there.  Until you figure out what it is you want to write, articles, short stories, novels - in what genre, you can be writing pretty much over the map.  And even if you figure it out, on average it takes an inordinate amount of work to make a living at it.  I don't think then, that I was prepared for the hard-scrabble of the long haul.

So back to genre -  I cut my teeth on horror as a teenager but it wasn't what I wanted to write.  I was slow to discover romance but I should have found it earlier.   As a kid I sucked up Jane of Lantern Hill and the romance of that estranged couples reconnecting, cried over the maudlin East Lynne and while they weren't classic romance, love was there.  Once I'd found my genre, there was no turning back.  And so here I am four published books and a box set later, with a fifth book poised to publish and I wander am I no longer a writer?  Is it an author I've become?

But the face in the mirror tells me otherwise.  I'm a writer and every once in a while, the great moments - a book is published, a good review emerges, a reader leaves a comment - in those moments I feel every bit the author.  And those moments feel great!


So to celebrate International Authors Day and all those authors out there whose books have entertained me throughout my life and continue to do so - I'm giving away a copy of my latest romantic suspense.

Intent to Kill is set in Cambodia and was inspired by
a trip to Cambodia's killing fields.  Yes, you heard right, the killing fields inspired the story.  Standing in the midst of the grave pocked field, it was hard to fathom but the signs were everywhere death and more death and yet the long-ago horror was juxtaposed against real life as I watched a group of children with a raw-hipped cow standing in a river, washing the cow and singing and chattering as children do, as if the mass graves and the free-for-all murders had never occurred.  That incident sparked the idea for what became Intent to Kill.

Don't forget to leave a comment and you'll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Intent to Kill.  Then follow the links and check out the other bloggers.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com
Ryshia On Facebook
Ryshia At Goodreads

Fatal Obsession - One Novel, Two Novels, Three Novels - More

Fatal Obsession

Five novels - one boxed set!

Fatal Obsession is a boxed set of five romantic suspense novels just released this week.  These stories are dangerous and they're hot.   And that's not all that's good about them, they're on sale, the whole set for 99 cents at all online bookstores.  How hot is that?

So, yeah I have an inside scoop on it all, a reason to be excited.  My novel, Fatal Intent is included as part of the set.

So here's what's inside Fatal Obsession:

Deadly Shadows by USA Today Bestseller Jaycee Clark
The first book in the gripping and sexy world of the Kincaid Brothers.

Haunted by the past, writer Jesslyn Black never again wants to experience the soul-shredding pain of losing someone she loves--but a murder in the small Colorado town she's been hiding in forces her to come out of her shell and face her greatest fear.  Running from his own loss, Aidan Kinncaid has travelled to the town strictly on business but soon finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a killer--before he can track down the one woman who might be able to mend his heart.  Together Aidan and Jesslyn must fight for second chances at love before a killer destroys both their lives.

Trace Elements by Kate Donovan
Special Agent Annika Trace is the hottest thing in law enforcement - at least on TV.  But things change for Annika-a.k.a. actress Nikki Gower--when she is called on by the real FBI to help gain the trust of one of her fans: a four-year-old kidnapping victim.  Special agent  Josh Saxon, however, isn't happy:  he doesn't need some Hollywood star interfering in his case.  Yet as Josh and Nikki spar over the best way to get the job done, Josh discovers firsthand just how Nikki makes the airwaves sizzle.

Lethal Obsession by Kate Douglas
As an undercover agent, Kat Malone has always had enemies.  Now one of them is back and viciously stalking her, and Kat--alone, and pregnant, and in over her head--is in desperate need of help.  After a lifetime of cleaning up his brother Riley's messes, Seamus O'Rourke is left with one last mess:  protecting Kat, his brother's former lover.  Tensions mount and passions flare as Kat struggles to save her child, and Seamus must find the strength and determination to protect the woman he's grown to love.

Point of No Return by Rita Henuber
While investigating a string of recent kidnappings, no-nonsense Marine Major Honey Thornton's first suspect is none other than her sometime lover, former CIA agent Jack O'Brien.  But Jack has his own problems:  after his brother and sister-in-law are mysteriously killed and their daughter becomes a kidnapping target, he finds himself unwilling to trust anyone--even Honey.   With suspicions flaring on all sides, political turmoil stirring, and desire burning between them, Jack and Honey must decide whether they can truly trust each other as they fight to bring down the madmen responsible.

Fatal Intent by Ryshia Kennie
An expedition into the Borneo rain forest is a dream trek for entomologist Garrett Cole, until a brutal murder turns the trip into a nightmare.  Lost and panicked, Garrett has no choice but to put her trust and the fate of her team in the hands of the mysterious and rugged Aidan to guide them to safety.  With a killer still on the loose and undeniable passion flaring, can she trust the one man who claims to be their rescuer?  Or are Aidan's good intentions just another of the jungle's illusions?

Check it out at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other online stores.  You can't be entertained much more economically than that!

And coming up - International Author Day!  Yes, you heard right.  It's official, there'll be giveaways - and it's coming up in the next week, check back for links to the blog hop to celebrate it all.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com