Saturday, June 28, 2014

A matter re-thought

June 28, 2014

Content removed by the author.

Sometimes you need to adjust your thinking, especially when a product is outdated.

Please scroll to another entry. 

*_*_*_*


KC Kendricks

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Saturday, June 21, 2014

One angry flyboy

June 21, 2014

If you’ve been following along here at Between the Keys you know I enjoy living in the country. I know for some there is nothing like the big city, and I confess I love to visit New York and soak up the electric vibe. You see, the real upside of country living is we can go to the city and find hotels. City dwellers can’t come to the country and find our vibe in resorts, bed & breakfasts or campgrounds.

Of course, city dwellers are probably a lot safer from summer’s one great menacing presence. It’s not what you might think. It’s not snakes, spiders, bears, bats, bees or ticks. It’s the Ruby-throated hummingbird.

I kid you not.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the smallest breeding species of bird found in the eastern USA and Canada. They’re small, tiny even, but they’re one full ounce of pure wily aggression. (If they even weigh that much.) And this morning one nasty little flyboy put me in my place.

I kid you not.

It was my own fault. I knew last evening his favorite feeder (I put out two feeders) was empty and instead of refilling it then, I waited until this morning. Mistake one. I was sitting at my desk, playing around on Twitter, when a flash of movement caught my eye. I paused and looked out the window to find the hummingbird hovering, staring right at me through the glass with his beady little eyes. I ignored him. Mistake two.

When my coffee cup ran dry, I decided I’d refill his feeder (having made nectar last night in preparation) while the k-cup machine brewed my coffee. I stepped outside on the patio to get the feeder and there he was, lurking in the maple tree. I took the feeder off the hook and the little ingrate dive-bombed me!

I filled the feeder as quickly as humanly possible and carried it back to the hook. I barely got it up when he came at me again. This time he hovered in front of my face and chittered in his high-pitched voice. I’m sure I was not painted in a favorable light even though I’d just provided fresh go-go juice.

I hear and obey, oh Master. I’ll never allow the feeder to run dry again.

KC

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Lazy, hazy days

June 19, 2014

It's hot.

Summer in the Mid-Atlantic region weeds the weak from the strong. If the heat doesn't do you in, the mosquitoes will. It's hot.  I won’t even mention it’s tick season except to say be aware of the little bloodsuckers. 

My own personal opinion is there's only one activity worth sweating at. Er… make that two.  There's some hot reading available right now so that is an option. I do know this much, though. If you live in Maryland during the dog days summer, both are done best in an air-conditioned room with the ceiling fan switched on.

Okay. So I'm a wimp - and proud of it.

My summer so far has been a busy one. I wish I'd been busier writing, but I needed to check in with my real life. I needed to reconnect to some of the people around me, refocus my energy on a more balanced wavelength. I love the voices in my head that tell me the stories, but they can be demanding. The really good thing is the raft of characters I have on the planning board have politely drawn straws to see who gets put on the page first.

We'll see how long their gentility lasts in this heat.

KC Kendricks
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Saturday, June 14, 2014

An unfortunate adjustment

June 14, 2014

Original content removed by the author.

With apologies to the regular readers here at Between the Keys. The original post contained promo for an outdated product. 

Some days you win, and some days you have to step back and regroup. Today is the regrouping kind of day. 


KC Kendricks

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Doing what's necessary

June 8, 2014

Original content removed by the author.


My apologies to my regular readers. This post contained a promo for a product that has become outdated. 

KC Kendricks
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Saturday, June 7, 2014

Netting Neptune for My Sexy Saturday #MSS45

June 7, 2014
**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been closed.**

Welcome to another My Sexy Saturday! I've been on vacation (read that I've been a slackard) but I'm getting back into the swing of things. This week I'm highlighting Netting Neptune, book one of the Southern Cross series. 

Here's seven sexy paragraphs from Netting Neptune: 


The wine arrived, saving him from having to answer. Tomas poured for us, flashing me a curious look. I nodded slightly. Word would spread through the staff I might not be alone tonight. Unless some major emergency occurred, Tomas was on duty and he’d save all questions until tomorrow. Theron gave no indication he’d noticed the exchange, but he probably had.
Before I had the chance to tell him I hoped he’d consider sharing my bed tonight, a couple of friends breezed in to wish me a happy birthday. They’d barely gone before the dam broke and the patio flooded with people. Theron ate, listening while I chatted, snatching bites of filet between greeting people. Much too soon he left the table and settled into his bartender duties as I lived it up as the hosting guest of honor.
I managed to find my way to him in time to see the sunset reflected in his eyes. Theron smiled and handed me a seltzer with a lime twist. I whined.
“I ordered a vodka and tonic with a lime twist.”
He shook his head. “No more alcohol for you tonight, birthday boy.”
 My heart performed a funny little dance in my chest. I lowered my voice. “Does that mean what I hope it means?”

“Save the last dance for me.”

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About Netting Neptune:


Theron Bowman is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. At forty, he needs to make some serious decisions about his future. He splurges on a two-week vacation in the Caribbean, and like everything else in his life, things go horribly awry and he ends up working to pay for his room.

Forced by his father to break ties with his family, Colby Denton came to rest on St. Lucia, and opened an exclusive resort. To celebrate his tenth year on the island, and his birthday, Colby arranges for a series of festive beachside parties. When a sexy sea god swims out of the ocean in front of him, Colby has a brand new plan – netting his very own Neptune.

Netting Neptune is available at Amazon and other online booksellers. 
www.amazon.com/Netting-Neptune-Southern-Cross-Book-ebook/dp/B01FEST0I0



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 KC Kendricks

Life through the eyes of Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Knockout Roses

June 5, 2014

I've been seeing row upon row of roses lately. I mean huge rows, too. Waves of colors on banks and along fences. I finally stopped at a local nursery to ask what kind of rose everyone is planting to get such a beautiful display.  The answer - Knockout Roses.

And they are a knockout. We cleaned up a few years of semi-neglect along the front porch and planted three Cherry Red Double Knockout Roses. I can't wait until mine grow to resemble the photo. 

Too bad they didn't have them twenty years ago. It would have saved me an awful lot of time weeding.



KC Kendricks

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Reflections of a vacation well spent

June 1, 2014

It's been a lovely vacation. Eleven days to putz around the house, write, sit on the patio, write, spend a lazy afternoon or two with the spouse, write, blog and write. I haven't written so much in so short a time since Netting Neptune, Taming Triton and Poseidon's Pleasure. Those stores came together fast. 

This is the first vacation spent in my newly refurbished home office. Having finally gotten a good desk and credenza has made the room very comfortable. My reading corner must be comfortable, too, but I can't get the cat out of the chair long enough to sit there and find out for myself. I'll have to abide by the cat's opinion. The room is "me" in a way the rest of my house is not as one has to make concessions to one's spouse. It reflects the steps I've taken as a writer and as a person and I enjoyed every moment I spent in it these last eleven days. 

With the writing going so well it was inevitable I'd ponder the possibility of becoming a full-time writer. I'd have time to construct a different shapeshifter. Not that I don't love Sundown because I do, but because there are other avenues to explore. Same for science fiction. I think a little world building would be good for me. And then there's the big "who-dun-it" story I want to attempt that will require a lot of time to complete. Time is a truly unrecoverable resource. 

I know I'm very fortunate to have the day job with all the benefits as so many positions like mine are disappearing. In truth, I think when I retire the company I work for will not hire another full-time person to do what I do. Over the course of the next few years, I may even suggest they scale my position back to "three-quarter time." It might be a bit self-serving but then again it might just be the reality of the situation. 

It would give me time to write. To see if what I accomplished this week (as an author I measure productivity by word count) can be sustained. There's no way to know until it happens and it can't happen if I'm working elsewhere. But writing more has the potential to replace lost income. It is a very circular discussion. To have what I want, I must give up what I need. 

Tomorrow will find me miles from home and the craft I love, but it will come with some different goals in mind. For my own health, mental and physical, I plan to take steps to carry the peaceful attitudes of this vacation with me. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life and tomorrow will find me even more determined than today. 

This vacation has given me a new dedication to old goals. It's the season to achieve them, one day at a time.

KC

Poseidon's Pleasure is available at Amazon and other online booksellers.