What was I thinking?

I discovered the picture as I culled that ever-growing black hole of pictures that are just eating up space on my computer. It's thee picture, you know the one...that OMG moment it gives you as you stare in horror.

What was I thinking? 

I had the option of quietly walking away from the reminder. Sometimes what we do in the name of promotion should be forgotten and sometimes it needs to be remembered so that we never - ever do it again.


The timeframe: shortly after my second book was published.

The plan: To sell books at a rummage sale dressed as the  characters in From the Dust.

Some background - From the Dust is a prairie romance set in the depression era. So, sticking to the era - we attempted to recreate the characters.

Really?

Bad idea.

How bad? 

Well, first off, if my hero had really looked like my sister-in-law dressed to look like her idea of him, he might have been cast in a comedy and not in a romance. And Eva - well, I think she might not have been taken quite as seriously had she really worn that hat - and that dress and....  There's more I can point out but let's just say that live and learn takes on a whole new angle when one sees this picture.

For me, this Sunday -  it was good for a laugh.  And for all you fledgling authors out there, take note. There's promotion and then there's...moments when you can't take any of it too seriously. And as the saying goes - what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger.

Coming this fall from Harlequin Intrigue:  American Armour Miniseries

Wanted by the Marshal

Marshal on a Mission

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

...a world she never imagined!

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Goat Yoga With a Twist

Feeding Furbabes  was the event going on in a local hotel. And while I still have my dog food cookbook on the back burner of things I mean to do, what had my interest was a demo of Goat Yoga. Who could dodge an invite like that? Apparently a few people I discover after sending out some texts. No one but me seemed interested in checking this event out.

So, who cares about the naysayers, there are eleven strangers who were on the same wavelength - goats rock.

This is a pet event so you can bring your pet! Great. I don't have a pet right now but I love animals so I was looking forward to some pet interaction. When the first one I see is a crazy happy puppy jumping up as far as his leash lets him, I reach down to pet him at which point he decided to wrestle my hand with his needle sharp puppy teeth. One bleeding thumb wrapped in a tissue- later, I'm signing in.

"I'm sorry there are no goats today."

Now that news just bites - harder than the puppy. And, as if anticipating this, there is a trio lined up to deliver the news. One of the goats is sick and from what I understand it is only precautionary, nothing life threatening. So, that's a relief. And the yoga is going on as planned...

But no goats. I mean, goat yoga isn't exactly anything but yoga without a goat. Not exactly true.

"It's still on but now it's puppy yoga," says the tall man at the end with a hopeful tone as if puppies fix everything.

Puppy yoga, hmmm.

"We can refund your money."

Nope. I'm in.

So puppy yoga it is. And with eight adorable puppies, a group of puppy wranglers and twelve yoga participants, it was an interesting event. Try to do downward dog with a real dog licking your toes. So after an hour of puppy cuddles and kisses, and some attempts at yoga - puppy yoga ends. Apparently animals in yoga is a bit of a thing. The instructor has a studio where she has cat yoga.

It's been fun and entertaining and I actually got some exercise. Plus, I reconnected with someone who I'd gone to obedience training with my puppy ages ago and yet it seems like yesterday. Now both dogs are gone. Time moves on and sometimes we say goodbye what seems like too many times. But now isn't time for sad thoughts. Instead we laugh at the memories of those puppies of long ago, as a real-time puppy has crashed in my lap.

So, yes - no goats but puppy yoga was a hit.

Goat yoga - next year, count me in! And I might be hoping that it again morphs to puppy yoga. Either way, it should be fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

Coming this fall from Harlequin Intrigue:  American Armour Miniseries

Wanted by the Marshal

Marshal on a Mission

Keep up with it all:

News, giveaways and a bit of fun! Sign up for my newsletter The Walkabout! 

Writing Between the Lines!

So this week there's been a few breaks in my writing. I've been working on a new proposal, a series and I've just received edits back on the first book in a Harlequin Intrigue mini-series that will be out this fall. I'm pretty excited about it and there'll be more in future blogs. But, right now, all of it, including American Armor, took a bit of a back seat to my MIL or Ma D (If you're new to my blog - Ma D is my mother-in-law or MIL, sometimes affectionately known as Ma D.)

Ma D has had a big week. There's been appointments, a birthday (which involved piano playing, of course! And,  at which she's a whiz) - all sorts of events packed into one week. The piano playing was fun but before we got to that, we had the appointment. Appointments are always a bit of a challenge. Especially because Ma D is used to being in charge. It frustrates her not to remember when and why she is going somewhere and that makes most appointments, especially medical, a bit of a challenge. To keep the frustration level down on both sides, after this recurring appointment is over, it's tradition to get her settled in the truck before returning to make the next appointment and settle the account. When I get back, she's not paying much attention to me but fixated on the street ahead of us. I shut the door and she looks over with a serious expression:

"Seventy-Five vehicles drove down this road and they're predominantly white." 

Nowadays, Ma D focuses on the little details; the child tagging behind his mother, the pink leash on the dog and vehicles - one of her faves. She's big on the colour of vehicles. I think she's always on the lookout for her fave type and colour - a yellow jeep. She doesn't mention it very much anymore but I can still hear her voice from years ago, excitedly pointing one out. Now, I can picture her in it with the wind lifting the sprouts of short white-tinged, grey hair in the wind. I can see the smile on her face. I imagine she might even speed, just a bit. Unfortunately, the driving days are long behind her.

But this isn't time for regrets - we're heading for coffee. It's an event that Ma D loves. So we head out, I don't check the seatbelt situation as, even now, Ma D is always good about buckling in but apparently the counting of cars took precedence. For the seatbelt reminder is dinging like crazy.

I look over and say, "Mum, you don't have your seatbelt on."

She gives me a puzzled look as she grabs the strap over her shoulder. 

"Yes, I do," she replies.

"I don't know. The seatbelt dinger is still going off." I can't really give my best attention to the situation without pulling over, something I'm now considering. I can see out of the corner of my eye that she's fumbling around trying to figure the seatbelt situation out. 

More fumbling.

"Oh my. I guess I don't have it on. I put the purse around my neck instead."

Every hour we spend together, every outing, Ma D teaches me that there's more than one way to live a life. And dementia sucks but it's not big enough to suck the fun out of a day. She plows through with her usual steely determination. With that in mind, there's no way I can ever complain about having a bad day. For she reminded me once again that dementia doesn't rule. While, she might be relegated to the passenger seat, she's not taking a backseat - not yet.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

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