Ryshia Kennie's Blog, page 15

Picture Me Please - Volume One, Two and Three

I don't like pictures, I don't mean of you or of anyone else, but pictures of me.  Whenever I'm asked to pose, well it never turns out well.   What was that - I'm squinting, no I don't like that look, do you have any idea what I was thinking at the time?  And the hair, what was I thinking... and on it goes.

Now you understand the agony of my getting that elusive picture.  Not that I haven't had pictures taken, I have and the evidence is on my website among other places.  There are a few that work and I can tolerate but with my first book about to be published with Harlequin, another is needed - something a little better than what I have, possibly something a little newer or not quite so distant.  Don't they know distant is good - a flattering look?  I guess not as their site suggests a professional picture and hints at a closeup.  But I know, and others have agreed, that the iPhone does a pretty good job.

So with phone in hand, picture one was taken by DH in my office - which, by the way, is
downstairs with only artificial light.  I-we thought it was a pretty good idea to get a picture where I
worked.  Unfortunately two things were working against us, there was a game on and DH decided to play with the settings.  He patiently took a dozen or so pictures and then ran upstairs to catch an inning, a quarter - I'm not sure what was playing.  After going through the pictures I realized that none were going to work so I "hollered", I mean called for him to come back.  So a couple of dozen pictures later, there's one I'm happy with.  It's cropped and off it goes to Harlequin who promptly rejected it with lightening speed - not enough pixels.

Picture two was taken right after I'd been to the hairdresser.  What better timing, I wouldn't be able to complain about my hair.  Unfortunately, I had run the straight across bang experiment but a girl needs something to "whine" about.  So off to the largest manmade park in Canada - Wascana, where there's Canada Geese, swans and ducks and all sorts of other birds to join in the fun.  Plus, it's a gorgeous fall day.  Surely, this will garner a great picture.  Unfortunately, gorgeous fall day equates to bright sunshine and me squinting.  This time DH was more patient and was able to get a few good pictures where I wasn't squinting and where an inquisitive goose didn't have my back.  I was thrilled and sent it off that night to Harlequin.  I'm pretty sure they work through the night there for that picture was rejected faster than the first.  This time - not in focus.  Not in focus?  I'm looking right at the camera, I didn't squint and my hair is tolerable, what more could they want?

Sher Your Memories Photography This time I figure I am completely out of my league.  Obviously the iPhone should be left behind and picture taking should left to the professionals.  It's time to hunt one of those down.  Unique is always good and as we spent some time in Arizona this fall maybe I could get a cool desert shot there.

So I found a photographer whose pictures I liked and who also had an awesome deal - win/win situation.  The photographer set up in an outdoor spot and had a lineup of appointments, me being one.  Cactus, wild desert scape, a mountain or two is what I'm thinking.  Ironically, the picture was taken in a park, popular with locals because it looks nothing like the usual Arizona terrain.  In fact, it looks like Saskatchewan in the fall!  On the upside, the photographer was great, personable, and best of all, took a picture that Harlequin said yes to.

And that is the story of the author picture and why, among other reasons, a career in modelling will never be mine.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com


http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Aliens, Margaritas, and a One Horse Town

It's hard to believe that the ruins at Casa Grande, Arizona are now over a week ago.  Blogging became a little difficult as we packed and headed back on the road and toward home.  But here's what I missed mentioning.  Big miss - it is one of the largest prehistoric structures built in North America.  What it was used for is still not known, the people who know the secret to this imposing stone structure that stands in the middle of the Arizona desert and that is surrounded by a complex irrigation system, are long gone.

The road we took this year wound through beautiful and slightly terrifying mountain cliffs and valleys in Arizona before hitting New Mexico.

Along the road there were many oddities from the "One Horse Town" that consisted of one house and a fake horse attached to a hitching post, to the sign saying public library with no houses in sight except one house with a library sign tucked into a opening in the hills near the town of Notes, New Mexico.  I wanted to stop in the worst way but we needed to hit Albuquerque before dark.  And it was a good thing was didn't for then we had the "Contact" experience.

Gleaming on the plains of New Mexico some miles out of Socorro there is a Very Large Array or VLA for short.  The VLA consists of 27 dish antennas that have been monitoring the universe and discovering some pretty amazing things.  In fact some of the movie, Contact, was filmed there.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time for the tour, only time to drive up and find out what the heck was going on.  I'll read up on all of it later, when life settles down.

We hit Albuquerque in time for supper at El Pinto.  It's a cavernous yet oddly cosy Mexican restaurant on a dark street that on a first visit, makes one think to keep the doors locked.  It might be a very nice neighbourhood, I don't know, I've only seen it at night, and unlike home - there's not a lot of street lights.  Either way, El Pinto is worth visiting.  Great Mexican food although this time around I was craving vegetables and had a Taco salad.  Of course, there were the margaritas with fresh lime juice that vie with the food for which is best.  When morning arrived, Albuquerque delivered another surprise - hot air balloons, a lot of them.  In fact by the time we left there were over sixty launched and more coming.  While Albuquerque is known for it's fall balloon festival, December is not the month for it.  But apparently the cold weather has hot air balloon enthusiasts gathering.

From there it was on to Wyoming where the land rolls in mountains, hills and plains that for miles seem as untouched as they might have hundreds of years ago.  Wyoming is where we see the most wildlife.  Birds of prey, herds upon herds of antelope, and land that sprawls out in dips and valleys and mountains, in this part at least, seem little bothered by the intrusion of man.

It's strange how a State line seems to change the terrain as if somehow the line was drawn where the topography changed but that's impossible, or is it?  But that what seems to happen as we cross into Montana, I can't tell you what it is exactly but there's a distinct difference between the two States, both beautiful in their own way.

There's nothing like a road trip to give me lots of ideas and locales for stories.  Meantime Christmas is almost here and today, well it's Festivus for the Rest of Us.  How can you forget that hilarious episode of Seinfeld.  I loved George's parents.  They played off each other so well.

Happy Festivus.  Merry Christmas.

Ryshia


http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Bring Cash and Keep Low

It turns out getting published by Harlequin was only the first of my challenges.  After the excitement died down, there were expectations and I met each one except for one - the author picture.  Turns out that uploading an acceptable author picture to the Harlequin site is not as easy as I thought.

It all began with the camera of choice and the fact that the IPhone camera is not particularly fool proof.  It does not take the perfect picture every time, at least it doesn't for me or more specifically, DH.   Picture one I thought was a keeper - not so fast, the size of it was off, mostly I suspect because of DH's penchant for playing with settings.  Another picture was in order but with everything good and bad that has happened late summer through early fall,
This wasn't the pic sent in.combined with packing for an extended trip, the picture kept falling into the wreckage of preparation.   Finally, picture two was taken, I admit in a bit of a rush, but still I waited to get the thumbs up.

Instead, another rejection.  This time the picture was out of focus.  It's not obviously out of focus or I'd never have sent it - in fact to the amateur eye it looked fine.

So now release date is coming closer and I desperately needed an acceptable photo.  Fearing another rejection, I decided that it was time to take the advise that had been in front of me all along and hire a photographer.  I found one in the San Tan Valley area that was offering a great deal for a half hour shoot.  We connected by e-mail and she told me to meet her at a park, she'd be wearing red, follow the trail and bring cash.

Bring cash?  Follow the trail?  Was I meeting for some sort of shady deal that I hadn't been forewarned about or was this, as advertised, a photo shoot.  Do I come prepared or do I dare show up at all?

Fast forward two days and one cancellation later that made me glad that I was arriving with DH in tow.   On the upside, it turned out the deal wasn't shady, in fact, the photographer was a personable woman who made me laugh the entire half hour.  Ironically though, I thought Arizona would be a unique setting for someone from the prairies, rock - desert etc.  Instead, the pictures were taken in a park with trees in autumn shades behind me, just like September at home!

So now the photos have been taken and I'm waiting to receive them.  It will just be a matter of time to see how well this all turns out.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Tripping Along The Road

Recently we took a road trip to the Karchner Caverns not far from Tucson.  It's an interesting drive where the signs warning of dust appear only minutes before the dust.  It rises up in a curtain along the edge of the stark desert mountains and blankets the fields in a fog of dust.  We get past the dust and the scenery seems to flip every ten miles or so from rolling hills to rough foothills and desert cactus to fields of cotton and back again.

Finally we arrive at Karchner Caves.  The caves were discovered not that long ago in what looks to me to be more a large hill than a mountain.  As the tour began outside the caves, I didn't expect much as the tour guide kept encouraging audience participation like you do in grade school but as the tour progressed her off key humour became just part of the entertainment of the tour, and was eclipsed by the cave.  We only had time to see one but it was gorgeous.  The park was adamant at protecting them and we could take nothing in, unfortunately not even a phone or camera, nothing.  So there are no pictures, except this at the entrance, which we took as we were leaving and as you can see, that didn't turn out.  The caves though were well worth the visit.  Unlike the Mulu Caves in Malaysia where my latest book Suspect Witness is set, these caves had a tour guide, a concrete path and lights that worked!  So there was a lot more to see.  The stalagmites and stalactites were gorgeous, and with the inclusion of a guide, we learned a lot.  But with no pictures you'll have to take my word for it.

Then it was off to Tombstone.  We debated going there, we'd rather have gone to Bisbee but it was
already early afternoon.  So knowing that Tombstone would be a tourist attraction that we'd only spend a few hours at, we headed there.  Bisbee is a longer trip, probably a full day and one we'll have to make for another day, or year.  Our vacation time is rapidly running out!

But on to fun stuff.  In Tombstone I got a chance to try to
fire a pistol and plug holes into my target.  It was a messy "kill" as the poor man took six shots to the chest area but none hit the heart.  "Is he dead?" I ask the shop owner who had given me instructions on how to cock and fire.  "Yep," he replies and I smile and hand him his pistol as I glance one more time at my one-dimensional foe.

From there we headed over to Tombstone Cemetery.  The graves are neatly piled with rocks, some
are unknown and others have names and stories behind them.  It's definitely a cemetery built for tourists but they claim it's real, and maybe it is.  It's definitely worth a stroll through.

On the way back we were stopped by a Border Patrol checkpoint.  The author in me was intrigued and was anticipating what they might ask or do - would they search our truck, demand our passports - all of this would be great info for further blogs, stories, who knows.  So we stopped, DH rolled down the window and the questions started:

"Are you American?"  Border Patrol asks."No.  Canadian."  DH replies."Go ahead."  Border Patrol responds and steps back waving us forward.
"That's it?" I ask as we leave the check point behind.  I suspect only an author would want just a bit more drama in her day.

Meantime it's time to head for home for a well earned Margarita and maybe a hot tub - life isn't so bad here on the road.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

In the Closet

It's been a strange "winter getaway" this year.  I've kind of been numb over all the events that happened in the weeks before we left.  Thank goodness for the wedding, it was the only event that gave us any warning ahead of time and the only one that goes without saying, was happy.  I was best person and witnessed a good friend marry the woman of her dreams.  It was the perfect remedy for the two funerals that bracketed the "wedding of the year," as was the vacation that followed.  It's the vacation that I've already blogged about in earlier posts.  But here's the inside scoop on our Arizona vacation.

Arizona was a trip we made the last few years to escape at least some of the early months of wind,
cold and snow, that chilly fall "slide into" winter.  It's a time when it seems that even the furnace can't keep the damp away.   Although we would have loved to explore further afield, our trusty Irish Terrier was beginning to show signs of age and really wouldn't have done well in a kennel.  So instead he rode in luxury with the backseat raised and thick padding on the floor where he could snooze between rest stops.  With his travel bag beside him and content from the inevitable treat he received from the customs officer as we crossed the border, he was settled in for the trip.  It worked out well, we got our vacation and he got to come along.  In fact, we'd expected that he would travel with us again this year but we found out a few weeks before departure that that wasn't to be.  So we're missing our little Irish this year.
Meantime, we're halfway through our time in Arizona and the house we're staying in is feeling a bit like home - a home away from home.  But it only has two bedrooms and no den so when a friend came to visit, the spare bedroom I was using for office space was no more and I moved - literally, into the closet.  Fortunately it's a walk in closet off the master bedroom.  Unfortunately, its proximity is right next door to the bathroom and adjacent to the shower.  Not exactly plush surroundings as my laptop must be slid just so under the lower bar normally meant to hang clothes and I have to push the chair back carefully to miss my half open suitcase.  Yes, I've been here a month and still I haven't completely unpacked.  But in another month we'll be heading home, so now I call my state of unpacking, a time saving measure.  
Now the spare bedroom is again free but I'm beginning to like my time in the closet.  Maybe I'll stay for another week or two, or three.

Where do you do your best work?
Ryshiawww.ryshiakennie.com

http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Through the Looking Glass

I've never had to seek out dental care out of country before but this time a broken tooth left me no choice.  I discovered that in Arizona dental prices vary wildly, in fact one quote was twice the price of where I finally got the work done.  So, after saving all that money I decided to cash in on their teeth whitening deal.  Yes, there are the week's deals painted on the window - something you'd never see at home because there are no deals.  Now, my smile is whiter, I've seen three episodes of Storage Wars, whether I wanted to or not, and I've survived another trip to the dentist.  
Later in the week, while at a shop trying to mail the last contest prize to the winner in England I ran into a few small problems.  I should have known right off that there would be trouble from the fact that the clerk greeted me with a pained expression and clearly had better things on her mind than anything I might propose.  So it began, first it was the gel pen that smeared on the envelope's plastic surface.  I asked for a label to cover the smeared address and the clerk stuck her finger on the address and smeared some more, I assume to ensure my claim that it needed a new label at all was valid.  Sigh.  It took a few more minutes, despite looking at the label a few times and my asking for overseas prices to get this to London, for her to realize that the package was going to England.  That caused a lengthy discussion with her co-worker, a massive amount of typing and various pained expressions before she determined that sending a small envelope holding one paperback book to England would cost a little less than one hundred dollars.  At that point there was the distinct feeling that Alice and the looking glass might be standing beside me.  So, twenty minutes later with mailing my package a failed mission, and biting my tongue down to a fine art - I left with plans to visit the United States post office on Monday.  From what I found online, their rates are more in the realm of reason.
So enough of dentists and over-priced postal options, it was off to golf at a local course in Gilbert .  It's an easy course but an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.  The only ones rushed are the ducks and other birds, and even they don't put too much effort into getting off the green and back to the water as we approach.  
After golf we stopped for something to eat at Uncle Bear's.  Uncle Bear was, so the story goes, a dog.  And the walls in this casual chain restaurant are papered with dog pictures.  Which is fine, I love dogs.  However, having just lost my beautiful Rourke what I wasn't prepared for was not the wall of pictures of dogs but what was in the middle, a picture of a pet cemetery.  Then I noticed that some of the dog pictures had RIP's and dates.  I was looking at a dog graveyard!  Needless to say, I ate with eyes fixed on anything but that wall.  What are the odds - and, really... who came up with that idea for a restaurant?
But what's really defined this week are the scorpions.  Two of them so far - one at the beginning of the week that wasn't much bigger than a centipede, a Canadian centipede anyway - and the second just yesterday.  Both met a squashy end but I'm beginning to shake shoes out and put them on every time I head outside.  No more, barefoot into the garage and, call me paranoid, but they're nasty and I'm not taking the trash to the bin at night either.  
Travel is always an adventure, nothing is what you expect and that's the fun of it all.  Better yet, it looks like it's going to be a nice day here in the San Tan Valley. 

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.
Ryshiawww.ryshiakennie.com
  




http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

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




http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Just a "little" off the Beaten Path

A drive in the San Tan Valley the other day took us from the city to the countryside and it was only a matter of turning right instead of left.  Turn left and you head into the city, right and you're immediately in farm land, and on open road with quaint and unique at every turn.  
First up there's Cherie's Salsa.  Selling on the side of the road isn't uncommon here.  In fact we just passed a sign advertising Fresh Tamales hot out of the back of a truck.  But it is another cardboard sign that we're watching for.  Cherie's Salsa proudly advertises on a roadside sign just ahead of her SUV that has  the hatch thrown open and a gaggle of friends gathered around keeping her  company.  It's definitely worth pulling over and getting some of the best Salsa we've found so far in the valley.   Cherie admits to being up at two a.m. stirring up some of this fabulous salsa.  She's upgraded from a year or so ago when we first found her and she told me this was a temporary thing.  Now she has a business card and a presence on Facebook. 
From there we headed further into the countryside and find, what a surprise in the land of snowbirds, more snowbirds.  These snowbirds appear to be hardier than most for they're settled in on a barren tract of desert in RV's of all sizes right down to an Airstream no bigger than what most would camp in.  With few amenities, it's unique but I can't imagine what one would do on a blistering Arizona afternoon with only cactus and a view of the mountains to keep you company.
A little further down the road a small but quaint, bright red building stands out on the edges of a bone dry parking lot.  The Mexican Meat Market isn't a place I'd consider shopping at but DH discovered it a few days ago.  I'm glad he brought me along this time for the store itself is like I've travelled just a little further afield than Arizona and stepped foot into the heart of Mexico.  The store is alive with conversation spoken in rapid fire Spanish and foreign smells that are pleasant yet unfamiliar, permeate the place.  There's only two short aisles and they're crowded with familiar and not so familiar products.  I'm drawn to the cooler where Arizona Iced Tea occupies most of the shelves.  And I'm amazed at all the flavours.  Who knew that Arizona Iced Tea comes from Brooklyn, not Arizona, or that there are many more than the two types shipped north!  I happily went home with the regular and a Mango flavoured as well as a strawberry.  I hesitate at the pecan and bubble gum popsicles but manage to resist.  And the Carne Asada we came for  - delicious.  
Next door to that in this lonely dusty parking lot fronted by rural landscape and rough trailer homes - was a pizza place.  Dust coloured it seemed to sink into the desert lot that surrounded it.  Unfortunately, there's no picture for as we left, what I assume might have been the owner was out with his barbecue in the middle of the dusty parking lot, keeping an eye on us and what he was cooking.  I suspect pulling out my camera might not only have been an invasion of privacy but confirmation of the fact that we were just as shady as he seemed to suspect.  Really, we weren't.  But that aside, you know where we're going to check out pizza and beer on our next journey... turning right - not left.


Ryshiawww.ryshiakennie.comRyshia at TwitterRyshia on Facebook
http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Diners Drive-in's and Breakfast

While we've made our destination, Arizona, here's the last of our on-the-road stories.

As our trip headed to Vegas a slight hiccup with the GPS had us parked on the freeway leading into Las Vegas as traffic inched forward and what appeared to be a traffic accident miles ahead kept us blocked.  It was thirty minutes before we were able to escape onto a potential off- ramp and then found a parking lot to reconfigure the GPS.  Of course, with the hazards of travel, it was a parking lot in what I suspect was one of the more eclectic places in town.  The buildings were grey and rather dilapidated, the people rather worn and each of them appearing like they might have a very unique story, and us, the tourists that didn't fit.  It was fifteen minutes before we ended up at our hotel, another thirty minutes before we escaped the long registration lineup and continual offers that seem to be pressed on newbies, and made the long ride to the 21st floor.  And twenty minutes before we were heading back down lo the lobby area, looking for lunch.

Vegas changes every time I see it.  But it's always entertaining.  While none of the shows we might want to watch were featuring in our brief stay, we enjoyed people watching on a sidewalk cafe, playing a game or two or blackjack, a fantastic meal or two or three, and left Vegas ready to head onto a new adventure.

The next day it was one of those mornings where another hotel breakfast left us cold so we hit the road minus coffee - not a comforting experience in the hope of finding something on the road - Starbucks maybe.

This time it's through to Arizona and the San Tan Valley but first a stop for breakfast in Boulder, Nevada.  The part of Boulder, Nevada that we drove through was unique, from the wooden sidewalks to the antique metal car sitting on top of an antique table bracketing the sidewalk and facing off another pile of antiques.  I couldn't imagine what might be inside the shops as these precious memories of the past were doomed to sit outside.  But it was early, the shops closed, and the main thing on our mind was breakfast and the Coffee Cup Diner that was featured featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.


There was no indication that the infamous television show had even graced the place.  But there were tons of pictures of vintage water skiing and an army of real water skis of all vintages hanging overhead and on the walls.  And in the midst of all that overwhelming nostalgia there was a diner filled with locals and two tourists that just happened to straggle in off the interstate.

Seated at table with the old diner style counter running behind us, service was prompt.  And when it arrived, even the toast was something to rave about - rye bread didn't mean white bread with a bit of flavour but instead bread with thick dark wedges of taste woven through it.  The potatoes, wait for it, were peeled and cooked, not out of a bag and the bacon was thick and tasty.  The omelette, well I'm a small and slow eater, let's just say I was still eating long after hubbie was done.   It was the best breakfast I've had on the road in a long time.

There's always something unique on the road.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com






http://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

Suspect Witness - A Preview

Suspect Witness is my first romantic suspense to be published by Harlequin Intrigue.  It's scheduled for release in February 2016 and I have to say that I'm getting "a little excited" as the date approaches.

I just got a peek at the cover today.  At first I paused.  Its odd to see your hero's face for the first time  as up to now he's only resided in my mind.  When I first saw the cover, those first few minutes held both elation and I have to admit, criticism.  I thought that my Josh is more poised, less hard planed than the face I'm confronted with but within a few minutes as I thought about the hero, the Josh Sedovich that I knew, I realized that he had an edge that is so clearly portrayed in the cover.  He's a man of passion and of action, but he's also a man charged with the impossible as he fights his way with the heroine through the depths of the Malaysian rain forest.  Josh Sedovich is the man in the cover, a man of grit, passion and heart.

The leader of a deadly biker gang is murdered and the witness, who can now reveal the secret of their lucrative offshore funding, is on the run.  To protect her secrets, Erin Kelley Argon has changed her identity and fled halfway around the world.  

CIA agent, Josh Sedovich tracks Erin to Malaysia but he's not the only one who has found her.   A car bomb is the first sign that her cover is blown.  In a desperate flight through Malaysia, as he gains her trust and passion threatens to rage out of control, will he be able to get her safely home to the States before the assassins on their trail take them both out?

This is my blurb and not the professional polished version that will actually grace the book cover.  But it serves the purpose, gives you an idea - a teaser, if you will, of what the story is about.  And it's available in just a few short months - February 2016, mark your calendars.



Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.comhttp://ryshiakennie.com
https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie