New York - Landed and then some!

It took three days but I’m finally in New York!

Day 1
The hotel is so huge as to be overwhelming - at least on day one.  Registered in two places - hotel and

conference. Then, with signed author copies of my upcoming book in hand, I headed to the goodie room to display my books. The goodie room is where promo items are free and there’s everything from books to bottle openers. Two were gone before I left the room, the remaining twenty by the time I returned for a quick check less than two hours later. Meantime, the hotel is packed with authors and buzzing with book related talk.  I heard the making of a three author proposal on one elevator ride.  I had to quell the urge not to jump in and help out.

Day 2
More sessions to attend and even being here, there’s some I must miss and will purchase the recordings for later. One of the high points was finally meeting my editor. Met with her and another  harlequin intrigue author at a little Italian restaurant where we had good food and conversation. And a few hours later I meet the senior editor who has final say on all our books.  In a business that’s mostly run long distance , it’s great to finally meet up. conference time, a chance to connect.

Speaking of meeting, tonight is the Harlequin Milestone Party. Harlequin too has hit a birthday milestone and we’re asked to dress vintage.  So in vintage hat and gloves, I meet up with some other harlequin intrigue writers, as well as a medical author I met while heading for the lobby. We all walk over to the ballroom across the street to where we are met with champagne and dance socks. The socks turn out to be necessary as the dancing doesn’t stop.

Day 3
The high point today was meeting up with a group of authors, one from the same province as me, and two with the same agent. Got to talk books and just enjoy a bit of downtime.

Day 4
As I cruise the goody room one last time, I know I’ll be back.  All the stressing over what to bring proved unnecessary. As unnecessary as the jacket for cool hotel rooms.  I get cold easy but with all the running around, wasn’t cold at all.  That said, I’ll follow the Girl Guide motto - be prepared. And bring a jacket, just in case.

Ryshia

www.ryshiakennie.com

                                                        ...a world you never imagined!

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Sheik Defense - Some Like It Hot!

It's been a great week so far.  Beautiful balmy temperatures on the prairie.  Okay, hot the way I like it.  And a contest win!  

First off - Tried out some electric bikes the other day and rode around the old warehouse district.  The bikes were great fun.  You could really fly with little effort and I could see they'd be a great way to get around town.  On our test run, it was a reminder of how things used to be, as we rode by the faded brick buildings that had survived the Great Depression and a record-breaking tornado.  Fast forward a "few" years - and there we are cruising past, fantasizing about owning one of these fantastic bikes.  In the end, we decided that maybe they'd be a bit impractical as the majority of our year is not conducive to bike riding - that is if you're a wimp like me and like everything hot, including weather - these bikes are a pipe dream, at least for now.

So, while everyone whines about the heat, yesterday I spent all day on the deck where it was wild life central.  The bird bath was full of water and the birds were battling over whose turn it was.  A couple of times I had to clap my hands and let a slow-poke know that it was time to pick up his towel and go, and let another bird have a bath.  Meantime other birds were scrapping over who got to feed at the feeder and the woodpecker decided that our house was fair game.  While all this was going on, a squirrel decided that an empty plant pot should be moved from under the deck so that he might roll around in it like it had been marked - this plant pot is for squirrel entertainment purposes only.

Hot weather, bikes and wild life aside, there's other things going on this week
- good things.  Sheik Defense won best cover art in the Affair de Coeur's annual cover art contest in the Hot Guyz Patrol category! 

The voting was going on all last week.  And now the results are in!  Because, just as the heroes in my book should be hot - steaming even.  So is the cover of Sheik's Defense.

It was a nail-biting wait as the votes came in over the space of a week.  Especially since there were so many other hot guys gracing the covers of the books in the running.  Never mind the other categories - I had my faves in each one and cheered them on as the week progressed.

I'd love to say that I designed and orchestrated the making of this cover but that's not the case.  I have the good people at Harlequin to thank about that.  I didn't have much to do with this gorgeous cover other than suggesting my thoughts on how my hero should look.  After that it was completely up to them to come up with a model who fit and a background I can't help but love.  And they obviously did a fantastic job!  Way to go Harlequin!

Thanks to all of you who voted!  Your votes made this happen!!

Congrats to all the other fab covers who semi-finaled in Hot Guyz Patrol and the other categories!
Hot Guyz Patrol     Almost Kiss     Gorgeous Gals        Uniquely Yours  

So I'm off to enjoy another hot summer day!  Have a fantastic weekend!

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com
...a world you never imagined

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Desert Justice Delivers Sheik Defense

It's hard to believe that the fourth and last book in the Desert Justice series is on store shelves today, although the e-book isn't available, yet.  It's kind of a two step launch for while the paperback copy is available now, the e-copy has a week or so to wait.  You'll find the paperback at Walmart, Target, Superstore and other stores and, of course, Amazon.


That's my promotional schtick.  Let's get down to basics.   Desert Justice was the first series I ever wrote.  Really, stand alone was my thing until I discovered the beautiful world of series where those characters I grew to love can show up again in other books in the series.  Why didn't I visit the land of series before?  You tell me why not, for I don't know.  What I do know is how it feels to send the last in the series out into the world.   It's "an I can't believe that time is here already" kind of feeling.  Time sped up as each book in the series launched.  It was like each set of characters was in a rush to get their story out there.



Faisal, the last Al-Nassar brother to star in the series, didn't keep quiet even after I wrote the last word of his story.  He was in a rush to be reunited with the love of his life, Ava and he wanted the whole world to know about it - okay, he just wanted his book launched.  And that wasn't going to happen as long as his brothers had the stage in the three books that preceded his.  And while he wasn't willing to give up his snowboard and his single status he was definitely interested in a romantic reconnect.

Ava on the other hand, had more important things to think of - survival for one, especially in the beginning.  Although she did dream of Faisal, how it was, how it might have been...

Okay let's dispense with my fantasy and move on to theirs and how it really happened.

He's the one she can't remember, she's the one he can't forget… 

Tossed overboard, Ava Adams had been left for dead, drifting at sea. But security specialist Faisal Al-Nassar was determined to find her. He owed her father a great debt and had never forgotten the connection he and Ava had once shared. Yet after rescuing Ava he discovered she barely remembered him. 

Amnesia had left Ava uncertain of who had tried to kill her. She did know, however, that Faisal was a man she could trust. The sheik's embrace was familiar and enticing…and possibly even more dangerous. How could she succumb to feelings for her protector when what she didn't know could get them both killed?

Excerpt from Sheik Defense:

“It was less than an hour since Faisal had received that fateful call that Ava was missing. Now he looked long and hard at the face of the young woman who lay dead on the cold steel of the examining table. Her hair was long, almost to the middle of her back. She was brunette and a few years older than Ava. After that, the similarities stopped.

He’d insisted on viewing the body in the hope that the similarities would somehow give him a much-needed clue. Now he didn’t know why he’d bothered. It was depressing and frightening all at the same time. Looking at her frightened him for Ava and saddened him for the deceased woman’s family.
“She may have been asphyxiated,” the coroner said.


He listened as the coroner went into some detail on why he believed that could be a possibility.
“Her eyes are bloodshot. Classic sign of asphyxiation.”

A chill ran through him like none he’d felt before. He’d stood in this position many times but never had he felt the haunting fear that the person before him could have been someone he knew and loved. He almost took a step back. That thought combined with the cold steel and sharp smell of disinfectant that depersonalized death was almost too much. This wasn’t Ava but someone had loved her.

Regret and anger snaked through him as he thought of how this young woman had died unnecessarily, how it could just as easily have been Ava on that slab. The reality was as disturbing as it was unthinkable. Whether they could prove it or not, he was sure that this woman had died of unnatural causes. It wasn’t right or fair. And he knew it happened much too often. He’d thought of adding a branch of investigations geared solely to violence against women. He’d seen too much of it in his work. But now wasn’t the time for such considerations.

Five minutes later, Faisal was heading across the hospital parking lot to a charcoal 1967 Mustang he kept in Miami for his rare visits to the city. He slipped behind the wheel and leaned back against the plush leather, the keys in his lap, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.
A woman who supposedly should have been Ava was dead. The fact that the decedent had been in Ava’s room and Ava was still the registered patient indicated that Ava was the target. Now there were questions that needed to be answered, and quickly.

Where had Ava gone? He tamped down the panic he’d felt at losing her when he’d only just found her.”

Pick up a copy at Walmart, Target and other stores, as well as 

online bookstores including Amazon.

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Ryshia

www.ryshiakennie.com

...a world you never imagined!

Sheik's Rule - Release Day!

Today the first book in the Desert Justice series is being released.  Sheik's Rule is on store shelves, online and brick and mortar, wherever Harlequin Intrigue are sold.

He's an investigator on a mission, but it's impossible to ignore the brilliant woman helping him complete it… 

His sister's life is at stake, and despite his wealth and power, Sheik Emir Al-Nassar feels helpless. At least heading his family's security agency provides him with resources to track down her kidnappers. But when the ace profiler he's sent turns out to be K. J.—Kate—Gelinsky, Emir is furious. Finding the kidnappers' desert hideout is dangerous enough without the distraction of a beautiful woman. 

But K.J. is unlike any woman he's ever known. Her fearlessness and incisive mind inspires Emir's admiration. And her compassion breaches his guarded heart. Still, rescuing his sister is a perilous mission. And allowing desire to cloud his focus could endanger them all. 

I'm excited to have Emir tell his story.  He's the oldest of the Al-Nassar siblings and for years he and his twin have shouldered the responsibility of keeping his family together since his parents tragic passing when he was in his early twenties.  In fact, being too serious is what gets him into trouble with his heroine, Kate.  When his sister is kidnapped he recruits help and when he discovers she's female he reacts in a way that puts him immediately at odds with her.  But the two of them together prove to be a powerful combination as they race the clock to find Emir's sister before it's too late.

Setting plays a large role in any story and can be a character in its own rite.  It can act as an antagonist or protagonist as it helps or hinders the hero.  Morocco I found was a powerful setting that really affected the direction of the story.

I loved the setting of Morocco, roaming the streets of Marrakech - exploring the Medina and heading into the Sahara.  It's an amazing place that I visited once a long time ago but would love to explore again.   Memory only takes you so far because after all, the characters needed today's Morocco not yesteryears.  But research found some interesting sites and great information, and found me a new site to follow on Twitter - Magical Morocco.

So, the paperback version is out (e-book comes out April 1).  Copies are available at most bookstores and, of course online at:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ITunes and Kobo.

And, there's more...

Mark your calendars and follow the by clicking here.  That will take you to the Goddess Fish site, scroll down for a list of the participating blogs.  Drop by, enter a comment, ask a question or just say hi.  I'll be hopping from blog to blog all day.  And there's a prize to one reader at the end of the day,  a $20 Amazon gift certificate.

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There's always lots going on and while I don't cover all of it here on the blog, most of it is in the newsletter that gets mailed out whenever there's news.  Plus, there's usually an exclusive contest and really, I do try to be a bit entertaining.  So, if you haven't signed up for my newsletter, The Walkabout - now is the time to stop missing out, sign up here:  Signup to The Walkabout 


Ryshia

www.ryshiakennie.com

Coming soon; Book 2, 3 and 4 of the Desert Justice Series.

It's Out There

I'd heard rumour that the book was out, that Suspect Witness, my first Harlequin Intrigue, had not only been released, it had hit the shelves.  I'm not sure why this came as a surprise to me but it did.   Maybe it was because I'm in the midst of another book and with a dozen things on my mind including Suspect Witness, I was gearing up for February 1.  But, here's the rub, there is a release date for the paperback and one for the e-book.  The e-book is not until February 1 not so the paperback.  Now to add to those dates, there's the time that a Harlequin Intrigue remains physically on the bookshelves - one month.  So, by all logical accounts, okay by my slightly skewed calculations, that would be the month of February.


But there were already reports of scattered sightings.   The author of That Night, Lisa McManus Lange had even rushed to her book store only to get the last copy of Suspect Witness.

Oblivious to all this, I spent the day of January 19 picking my mother-in-law up, a sweet lady despite her relationship status, for an appointment that was booked months ago and then off to lunch.  It wasn't until I got home that I saw a tweet, thank you Janie Crouch, that my book was out.

I was excited but it took me until January 20 to get to my local Chapters to discover if this might be true.  Was Suspect Witness on the shelves and not just lurking on my office floor in the guise of author copies?  I dragged DH along with me who wanted to know as soon as we'd rushed those golden book gates why my book wasn't featured front and centre with the books of interest.  I ignored that comment and charged to the back of the store where the "real" fiction is kept.  After skirting two teenage girls huddled over a table that was mere feet from where I needed to be I crouched down and looked.  

I should have known - not there, but I didn't expect it would be - not really.  But wait, one title looked familiar as did the author and the one beside that.  I looked a little closer, and discovered there it was, Suspect Witness, parked in the middle.  I wanted to yell, hey over here - look.

But the thought of all that was overpowered by the voices of the young ladies only a few feet behind me who were discussing the relative merits of acids and bases.  One really wasn't getting it and the other was trying her best to clarify the concept.  I wanted to interrupt that conversation to ask them if they really believed that my romantic suspense could possibly be of less interest than their scientific analysis?  I'm sure from their perspective they were wondering what my fascination was with the book rack and might possibly even be rolling their eyes at the woman who kept backing so close to their table to take pictures of books that held no scientific relevance.

Leaving acids and bases for another day, it was off to Walmart.  There, the book shelving situation was a different story.  The clerk who oversees the books with a diligence that an army corporal might admire, told me that January books had not yet been cleared off and it would be another week or two before February replaced them.  The way she said it made it clear that she thought this was obvious and that I should look at a calendar and not bother her with February books that were currently not her concern.

But all that was fine for I'd seen the proof that Suspect Witness exists beyond an online entity.  It's out there.



Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

I Almost Went On a Hike

The other day we headed out of the city and toward Arizona's Superstition Mountains and possibly a trail or two.  No, we weren't going hiking although I've made noises about doing that one day but dressed in a sundress and sandals isn't exactly in the smart hikers guide.  I suspect that guide might also state that you people who live in cities far away from desert terrain should stay well on the path.  But fortunately, there's a lot of well-marked path, enough to walk a quite a way up the trail - some of it is even concrete and blends into the reddish hue of the desert like it was as natural as the rock and sand around it.  I can't help but think as I'm surrounded by the harsh beauty of the Superstition mountains, how easy it is for hikers to lose their way and even their lives in this range.

It's a wildly beautiful place.  It's here where the legend of the lost Dutchman gold mine comes from and where people still come to search for the wealth it promises.  It's awesome hiking terrain but no place for the amateur or the unprepared.  So I'm sticking to the path but next time, I think I might come a little more prepared and try hiking some of those easier trails.

There's a little place here called the Superstition Mountain Museum and I've probably blogged about it on previous posts last year or maybe the year before.  But it's well worth at least one stop, to get a feel for the area and it's history and explore the gift shop with a plethora of local authors writing on the stories that emerge from the stark beauty of the mountains that surround them.  When nature tires you, although I'm not sure how it could, there's all sorts of jewellery and local handicrafts.

And, with my first Harlequin Intrigue's release only months away, if you're interested in up-to-the-minute news, happenings, contests and more - not offered elsewhere, signup for my newsletter.  Just send an e-mail to me at ryshia@ryshiakennie.com and put newsletter in the subject line.

Ryshia
ryshia@ryshiakennie.com

Harlequin Intrigue and The Call!

It's been a rather wild March not a surprising fact, for winter doesn't follow a calendar and these last few weeks it's still chucking a curveball or two.  But this March it's been more than that.  Some great things have been happening and I've been quiet here on the blog as truly, it didn't seem real until now.  So today I have news and I want to tell everyone.  And that's when I discovered that my website has a major issue so before I could do a blog post I had to spend the morning on a frantic run to get the website fixed.

Why frantic you ask?  Or maybe you didn't.  Yes, I know - get to to the news, and what this post is really about.  Today is my debut of sorts.  My romantic suspense sold to Harlequin Intrigue and today the story of my "call" is appearing on Harlequin's blog.  I discovered that this morning and I headed right over to my website to announce the event.  That's when I discovered the big blooper.  It's fixed now but its been a long morning that began, as usual, shortly after 5:00 a.m.  

So with everything again up and running -  check out the story of my call at the Harlequin Blog.  Hurry up, head on over because you know, I'm still so excited!

Click the link here to get to:

The story of my romantic suspense set in Malaysia and the CALL!


Ryshia
ryshiakennie.com