While facing off a monitor lizard before breakfast or running through the Kasbah chased by an enraged Water Carrier aren’t normal travel experiences and might never find a place in one of her stories, they do make great travel stories. Sometimes it’s just the memories of other worlds close or far away: the words of a stranger, the furtive look one man gives another, that often become the catalyst for a suspenseful story with a deadly villain and an intrepid hero and heroine who must battle for their right to love or even their right to live, in a place that neither - or both, may call home.
When not
dreaming of other stories, Ryshia can be found baking a new batch of dog
cookies, reading pretty much anything - although romance is a favourite, and,
depending on the season; biking, scouting garage sales, golfing and the
occasional beach run before the algae rolls in, and winter is for long walks,
and taking those long-thought-about trips.
For more, visit her website at www.ryshiakennie.com.
Andra
Vandersan is an expert code breaker, as fiercely independent and beautiful as
she is brilliant. Working at the highest levels of deciphering, she’s always
remained at a safe distance from the seamy underworld of Hong Kong’s criminal
elite—but that’s about to change. When her next-door neighbor is brutally
murdered in a way that suggests the work of the Chinese triads, two things
become clear: Andra was the intended target of the hit, and the assassin is
going to return.
Max
True is a world-class linguist, a colleague of Andra’s who once helped her
break a code that would destroy a terrorist cell. When he shows up at Andra’s
door with a mysterious message, they realize they may have stumbled on a
long-lost women’s language that holds the secret to incredible power—and one
that the most vicious men in Hong Kong will stop at nothing to get their hands
on.
As
Andra and Max work to solve the puzzle of the language, they find themselves in
a desperate race against time to escape the mysterious forces who all want the
secret of the message—even as they surrender to the forces of an undeniable
passion that brings them inexorably and irrevocably together.
Where to Buy:
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Excerpt:
“I heard the rumor of a village of women in my early college
days. That was a good fifteen years ago.” Jeff strode away from the window. His
dark hair gleamed as the early afternoon sun spun bright shards through the
copper-gilded blinds. “Until I began my research I thought it was only rumor.
Turns out it exists in a remote area in south central China, impossible to get
to by commercial means. It isn’t an old village. Throwbacks, I like to call
them, the occupants, that is. It consists of women who have no family or who
escaped abuse of all sorts. More like a women- run shelter turned village.” His
smile was lopsided. “I visited once. I wanted it to be the subject of my
thesis.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, it was not to be.”
“Why not?” Max leaned forward.
“In a way they are almost like a triad. Self-contained, in
charge of their own future, and willing to go after anyone who stands in their
way. The only difference is that unlike a triad they have a leader, Fu.”
“Fu?” Max and Andra exchanged a look.
“No last name. Just that. Rather like Bono or Madonna, and I
suppose that maybe she’s a rock star in her own right. But yes, it would have
been an incredible thesis, but she was adamant that it not be written.” He
turned to the window. He stood silently for a minute with his legs spread and
his hands behind his back before turning to face them. “She told me that if I
persisted, things would happen in my life that would make me regret ever
putting the words to paper.”
Ryhia will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via
rafflecopter during the tour.
