@GoddessFish Promotions: Chatting with Author, @Ryshia Kennie - Fatal Intent

Today we welcome Ryshia Kennie, on tour now with her book Fatal Intent, over at Goddess Fish Promotions. 

The grand prize for the tour will be an autographed copy of From the Dust, a book unique bookmark, and a Region 1 DVD of East of Borneo, a 1931 B&W movie -- this giveaway is open internationally. 

BK: Please tell us a little about yourself...

I’m from Saskatchewan and grew up in the same prairie city where I live now.

I’ve been writing all my life but was first published near the end of 2007 with my historic romance From the Dust, a novel set in the Qu’Appelle Valley, a short distance from where I live. Since then I’ve written a medieval paranormal and then discovered that what I really loved was romantic suspense. I suppose growing up as a cop’s daughter, that shouldn’t have been a surprise. What was a surprise was that it took me two books to get there.

What else about me? Favourite desert - I’d say ice cream but just the other day I was reminded about something I haven’t had since childhood, Red Velvet cake, and I sampled a piece and then, how could I not, I bought a cake. Heaven, is all I can say. But I digress, what I meant to say is that I’ll hold out on the main meal to leave room for dessert every time.

I love reading and I suppose that was what began my writing career. I read multiple genres and both fiction and non-fiction and often more than one book at a time. Besides reading, I love nothing better than hauling my bike out on a warm summer day and going for a ride. But the reality of life on the prairie is that warm days are fewer than cold days. So walking is more common than bike riding. I’m not one of those intrepid souls who ride my bike in snow or wind or even rain. So I walk every day because, well – I have a dog. While on my walks, I’ve had a few adventures including, being attacked by a dog, assisting a recluse/hoarder locked out of her house, and rescuing two lost children.

When I’m not walking the neighbourhood exercising my little Irish Terrier, I’m writing or harassing my husband to plan another trip. He’s the trip planner in the family and many of my stories, at least the romantic suspense, are set in the places I’ve visited. I love to travel and sometimes I think I could have happily been a nomad, especially now in the digital age when it’s so easy to carry your work along with you and staying in touch with family and friends is a breeze.

Speaking of trips – I’m beginning to finger my passport.

BK: Please tell us a little about your book....

Fatal Intent is a murder-mystery tangled in a romance. When Garrett Cole sets off in a career changing moment to lead a team of entomologists into the Borneo jungle, she doesn’t expect to be abandoned and lost mere days later. But that’s what happens when her guide is discovered headless and she must get her team to safety without even a compass to guide her.

It is then that Aidan makes an appearance. Adopted into the jungle at an early age, he is a man with a foot in two worlds. Garrett is forced to trust Aidan for he is the only person who might be able to get them out of the jungle alive.

Aidan is immediately drawn to the feisty, small blonde woman who is obviously in charge of the rag-tag group of men. He’s also suspicious, the guide’s death screams foul play and he can’t rule out Garrett or her team as primary suspects. But his method of investigation draws them further into the jungle and as hours lead to days, passion and betrayal become uneasy bed partners.

In a game of wills with two opposing agendas, Garrett and Aidan might find love but can either of them be trusted?

BK: What inspired you to pen this particular novel?

The idea for Fatal Intent came out of a trip to Borneo where I visited an Iban longhouse. I remember walking up those worn, steep wooden steps from the river and seeing the verandah stretched out with mats and rice drying, the weather beaten old women looking at us almost with distrust or possibly disdain, and the human skull hanging from the rafter. Now the skull might have been there for the benefit of tourists but I like the explanation our guide offered, that it was the last head hunted over a hundred years ago. That skull and the longhouse were the seed of the story.

BK: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I don’t remember ever not wanting to write. But I think the true beginnings were in the later years of grade school when I was inspired by my English teacher who loved my first line, a historic barber shop where the barber slits the man’s throat – I believe that was the premise of that first line. After that I was hooked and wrote in the margins of my notebooks all the way through school.

BK: How do you keep your story flowing?

I end each chapter with something unanswered, a question. The trick is to know your characters before you begin and have a good idea where the story is going. I do have a synopsis but mostly keep it flowing by editing as I go. In a way I’m telling myself the story and asking the questions a reader might as I go along.

BK: Do you ever run into writer's block, and if so, what do you do to get past it?

I use to when I thought I had to be inspired to write. Now when the inspiration isn’t there I know it’s time to get out the synopsis and start plotting. Sometimes I’ll find too that just typing what comes to your head, kind of like throwing paint at a wall, actually brings inspiration and before I know it the story is flowing again.

BK: What is your writing process like? Do you have any quirks, or must-haves to write?

I’m a sucker for slap me upside the head beginnings – usually something dire. Whatever inspired me, if possible, I want to include in that first paragraph. Like a human skull in Borneo, or death by arsenic in From the Dust or water torture in Ring of Desire. While they all weren’t even major elements of the plot, they all in some way influenced the beginning of a story.

As far as quirky must-haves. I keep a good luck charm or two on my desk. I have a little bronze Buddha that reminds me to take a breath, remain calm and hang in – everything will work out. And in case the little Buddha isn’t enough I have a rock from Mount Vesuvius that a friend brought back from a trip to Italy. The rock isn’t a big piece of that powerful volcano but it reminds me that while it might be small, the volcanic blast of its origins was mighty – keep writing.

BK: Where do you hope your books/writing will be in the future?

I’d like to see my stories in the hands of more readers. I’d like a big backlist, a bestseller…I could blue sky forever. But what I really want is for readers to love my stories and look forward to the publication of each one.

BK: What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

I don’t know if I want readers to take away much more than that pleasant feeling you have when you’ve read a good story and you’re kind of sad to put it away and leave the characters and that world behind. If my books do that, then I’ve done my job.

BK: What is one piece of advice you received that you carry with you in your writing?

Write every day.

BK: What is one piece of advice you would give to new and aspiring writers?

Stop writing in the margins and make a writing schedule, one you follow every day no matter what. The muse may come to you occasionally but that won’t make a career.

BK: Are you currently working on any new projects? What can we expect from you in the future?

My next book will be published this summer and I’m currently working on final edits. It’s a romantic suspense set in Cambodia. I particularly love this story. Some of the secondary characters can be brutal but unique enough that it was fun getting into their slightly twisted heads. And of course, Simon and Claire, I loved writing their love story while reliving the mysterious beauty of Cambodia….

In the shadow of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, evil lurks. Innocent women have already died and journalist, Claire Linton is now targeted. The story of her career is about to turn deadly. She hopes for answers when she meets Interpol agent, Simon Trent. Instead, he’s frustrating and secretive and turns up so often, it’s clear he’s following her. And as kisses ignite beneath the golden streaks of a Cambodian sunset and passion begins to ramp up, a decades old plot for revenge unfolds. But with trust at a premium and lives at stake – has love been outplayed?

BK: Thank you so much for chatting today Ryshia. It's been so much fun, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

About The Author:

Ryshia Kennie is the author of two published romances. From the Dust, is a romance set during the Great Depression. Her second book, Ring of Desire, was set against a backdrop of magic and mystery, in medieval England. An award winning author, her recent novels now focus on suspense and women’s fiction – always with a hint or even a dollop, of romance. The Canadian prairies are home where she lives with her husband and one opinionated Irish Terrier.

Visit her website at http://www.ryshiakennie.com.

Author blog: ryshia.blogspot.com

Author on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ryshia.kennie

Author on Twitter: twitter.com/ryshia

Author at Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1400598.Ryshia_Kennie

Fatal Intent

by Ryshia Kennie

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Beyond The Page Publishing

Release Date: January 13, 2013

Amazon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

In the heart of the jungle lies more than just the hint of death.

Leading a scientific excursion into the Borneo rain forest is a life long dream for entomologist, Garrett Cole. But when her guide turns up dead and headless, her abilities are tested. As the dense foliage pushes her team further from the river, they are lost. Every shimmer of sound is a threat, and when a blonde haired, half-naked giant emerges from nowhere, she wants to run. But there are no options – she needs help.

Raised in the lush cradle of the Borneo jungle, Aidan is as unconventional as the fact that he has no last name. While the city is home, he returns to the jungle for peace and solitude. As a PI, how can he ignore the mystery this group and their dead guide poses? Leading them in a convoluted trek in a bid for answers he soon finds himself in a clash of wills with their alluring leader and answers that slide dangerously close to the tribe he loves.

In the jungle’s torrid heat they find unexpected solace in each others arms. But faced with death and betrayal, in a battle of wits that puts lives on the edge, can anyone be trusted?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Aidan moved vines back, exposing his face. They only had to look in his direction.

He was so close he could have reached out and touched her. She was delicate, out of place here in the midst of this wilderness. Her skin, even beneath the sweat and exertion-stained flush, was fair. She wasn’t built to be here, she was too slight to survive, too weak, too . . .

She glanced up. A frown immediately seared her face.

“Who the hell are you?” she snarled.

He bit back a smile. She should have screamed. She hadn’t. All tiny limbs and fragile beauty, and yet she attacked first.

He let his gaze rove over the group, refusing to be corralled by her attack.

One of the men looked panicked, the others seriously stressed. He shifted his spear to his other hand and waited, taking the warrior advantage of time and observation. The silent often learned much about their enemy.

“Put that down.” She gestured to his spear.

His fingers loosened for a millisecond before gripping the spear tighter. Was she out of her mind? Green, innocent, and totally forest-illiterate, but she was feisty.

Feisty? She was seething, hot, absolutely pissed—about what, he wasn’t sure. Her anger didn’t make much sense. Nothing about this afternoon made much sense.