Reply To: Your Ninja Concierge

[Leena PekkalainenParticipant]

Hi!

I’ve taken two of Tammi’s courses. Started writing the cookie for my readers, but life got in the way. (I will finish it!)

I’m from Turku, Finland. One of the “things that got in the way” of the cookie-writing was my sudden graduation. It was supposed to be arranged in December, but I cancelled going as there was the danger of quarantine in a foreign country over Christmas and my 82-year-old mother had no one but me and my husband to help her. Well, then the whole thing was canceled and suddenly very shortly before the actual event at the end of March the University of Manchester send information that the graduation was to be arranged after all. Which meant arranging free time from my 9-5 job, someone to take care of our 17-year-old cat, booking flights and hotels, buying the robes (which meant a lot of hassle in paying the thing – their chosen payment method just didn’t work and I absolutely wanted to buy them in case the graduation would be canceled again – at least I could then go to a photographer here at home), making sure my mother would be ok while we were away…

And then my mother’s Parkinson’s decided to take a turn to the worse and that means me and my husband often need to go and help her, which effectively eats up our free time. And energy. Worrying sure eats up energies.

I’ll do my best to keep up with the course, though.

Oh, and the degree is MA in Egyptology. Which explains why my fantasy / time-travel novels tend to have an ancient Egyptian theme. I write with the pen name Leena Maria.

I have also traditionally published three children’s books for the AUC Press with my real name Leena Pekkalainen. Theme is Egyptian, and I both wrote and illustrated the books (80 pics per book, approximately). Mr. Mummific tells how he was mummified and traveled in the afterlife. And Tutankhamun tells of his life and afterlife in a book that actually was chosen to travel  (= being sold) with the Treasures of the Golden King exhibition around the world (and then covid hit).

Leena 🙂