A look back a summer

September 27, 2015

I love everything about autumn. Cooler temps, cleaner air, beautiful colors. I get energized by autumn. It's usually the time of year we do a lot of home and garden projects. Note the word "usually." This year was very different, and I say that with gratitude. As of yesterday, we crossed off another major item on our To Do List and now we will enjoy the fall with little to do except sit on the patio or a porch and sip a beverage. 

The projects began back in May with another visit by the tree trimmers and then swapping out a tub for a walk-in shower. It was a necessity for the man of the house and I confess I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I knew I'd adjust but after four months I admit I rather like it. I'd thought I'd have to get a smaller dog, one I could wash in the kitchen sink, but with the walk in shower another Lab is possible. Yes, if any dog wants to sleep on the bed, they must be bathed on a regular basis. 

The shower was quickly followed by new shingles on the shed roof, removal of the roof ridge vent on the house and repairing the roof (no more leaks! and no more fucking ridge vents EVER!), new gutters and downspouts, a new sliding glass door for the sunroom, composite deck boards on both front decks, burying a discharge pipe to carry rainwater father away from the house and down the hill, painting the trim on the shed, and lastly, painting the house shutters. 

Oh, and don't forget setting up the pool and then taking the pool down. And buying another Charger. And the man's cataract surgeries. 

No wonder I'm tired! 

Surprise! 

My slush fund is down thousands and I don't mind a bit. The money was well spent. Yesterday morning we enjoyed our coffee on the sunroom porch and agreed that, come next summer, we won't have a lot to do. Of course, we know that living in the woods is full of surprises. Mother Nature can drop a surprise big limb in your front yard while you're in the middle of composing a blog. 

Next summer will surely bring something. Thankfully, the slush fund should have time to recover by then. And with any luck, we'll be recovered, too.  

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Ride Your Luck for this My Sexy Saturday

September 19, 2015

**updated 4/9/21 - The My Sexy Saturday blog hop has closed.**

Ride Your Luck is now available!

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from Ride Your Luck for this My Sexy Saturday. Be sure to check out the linky list at the bottom of this post for more great excerpts.

*+*+*+*+*+*

I grinned at him. “Won’t it look suspicious us riding out again?”

“I don’t care.” He flashed me a sly-looking smile. “Saddle up, bronco.”

My cock turned to steel, eager to lead the way. “I’ll meet you in the barn.”

I stacked my plate on his so he could put them in the dishwasher. Then I headed back to my bedroom to get my hat.

And a condom. And some lube packs.

I crammed them in a pocket and opened the door. Wythe stood there, blue eyes blazing. Before I could say a word he propelled me backwards to the bed. We collided with the edge of the mattress and tumbled down together.

His fevered lips kissed my neck as his hands yanked my shirt out of my pants. I undid his belt and pulled down the tab of his zipper. We grunted and groused at each other until we were both naked and panting. He fisted my shaft and stroked me. My eyes crossed and my toes curled.

_*_*_*_*_

More about Ride Your Luck:

Regan Oakley’s luck ran out. After a stint in rehab, he’s putting his life back together without the booze. What he thinks is an old friend’s charity is really a plea for help. There’s trouble at the Bar RC Ranch and the friend’s son is in the middle of it. Regan takes one look at Wythe Carver and knows that young man isn’t the only one with his world turned upside down.

Wythe Carver’s life took a strange turn. Suspected of murdering the ranch foreman, he’s hanging on, one day at a time. The person who could alibi him has disappeared and Wythe can’t find him. To make matters worse, his prize stallion is loose on the range. Complicating his life even more, his father called an old friend to come help out at the ranch. One look at Regan Oakley is all Wythe needs to know it’s going to get hot at night. 

Regan sets out to find the truth of what happened that night at the Bar RC. He’s sure Wythe is innocent, and he’s just as sure he has no business getting involved with the boss’s son. With no solid proof to clear Wythe, Regan needs to ride his luck to get to the truth and keep Wythe by his side. 

RIDE YOUR LUCK

Contemporary gay cowboy

Amazon US: www.amazon.com/Ride-Your-Luck-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Apple/iTunes:  itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1098678927

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ride-your-luck-kc-kendricks/1122717097?ean=2940153211367

Rakuten/Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ride-your-luck-1

Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/4XGyvm

Ride Your Luck webpage with more information and excerpt: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/ride-your-luck-by-kc-kendricks.html

_*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

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

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

Cover reveal - Ride Your Luck

September 17, 2105

**updated 4/9/21**


Modern-day cowboys - ya gotta love 'em. I said many, many bad words when A & E canceled Longmire. Now I'm paying the Netflix fee just for Longmire. Cowboys. Just say yes.

Coming this weekend - Ride Your Luck! 

He's not quite my vision of Wythe Carver but I know how hard it is for the cover artist to find just the right guy for ten bucks. I'll give him the pass because he tries to get it right. 

Here's a bit about Ride Your Luck.
 _*_*_*_

Inspiration for the character
of Wythe Carver

Regan Oakley’s luck ran out. After a stint in rehab, he’s putting his life back together without the booze. What he thinks is an old friend’s charity is really a plea for help. There’s trouble at the Bar RC Ranch and the friend’s son is in the middle of it. Regan takes one look at Wythe Carver and knows that young man isn’t the only one with his world turned upside down.

Wythe Carver’s life took a strange turn. Suspected of murdering the ranch foreman, he’s hanging on, one day at a time. The person who could alibi him has disappeared and Wythe can’t find him. To make matters worse, his prize stallion is loose on the range. Complicating his life even more, his father called an old friend to come help out at the ranch. One look at Regan Oakley is all Wythe needs to know it’s going to get hot at night. 

Regan sets out to find the truth of what happened that night at the Bar RC. He’s sure Wythe is innocent, and he’s just as sure he has no business getting involved with the boss’s son. With no solid proof to clear Wythe, Regan needs to ride his luck to get to the truth and keep Wythe by his side.

RIDE YOUR LUCK

Contemporary gay cowboy

Amazon US: www.amazon.com/Ride-Your-Luck-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01E9TQ4YS

Apple/iTunes:  itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1098678927

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ride-your-luck-kc-kendricks/1122717097?ean=2940153211367

Rakuten/Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ride-your-luck-1

Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/4XGyvm

Ride Your Luck webpage with more information and excerpt: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/ride-your-luck-by-kc-kendricks.html

_*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/the-bookshelf-of-kc-kendricks-and-rayne.html

Social media links:

My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

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

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

Windows 10? Not impressed.

September 13, 2015

So I downloaded the Windows 10 upgrade. Like a lot of folks, it's not that I really wanted to, but being that sooner or later we'll be forced into either taking Win 10 or going Mac, I bit the bullet. For the record, I'm not impressed. 

Writing is the center of my internal world. I use my computer for writing and therein lies the problem. I don't game unless you count Freecell. I don't draw or design. I play music, sometimes even create playlists for a particular book, but I don't use Finale or any of those other music writing programs. I balance my checkbook. I write sticky notes to myself. Today's operating systems, with all the whistles and bells, aren't designed for those of us who view our computer first and foremost as a mega word processor. 

Personally, XP did everything I needed. I think Microsoft forgot their mission when they designed XP. You know, the planned obsolescence model of doing business. It's not that I can't maneuver around the Windows 10 file manager (thanks, at least, for bringing that term back), it's just XP was more straightforward and didn't have that silly "ribbon." For some of us, XP and/or Windows 7 would have been enough for the rest of our days. 

I'm sure lots of people are loving Windows 10. I don't hate it, you understand. I just don't love it.

Perhaps I'm just a little pissed off that the last Win10 update fucked up changed all my settings. Settings that I spent a lot of time, well, setting. It's like the designers are telling me not to bother, that I have no say in the matter. Like I'm not intelligent enough to decide for myself the way I like my computer to look and feel while I work. 

And there's the crux of the problem. I have no say in the matter. 

Like any good reader and writer of science fiction, I can see where this is headed.

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks

ACBW - Brain Games

September 11, 2015

Have you tried doing mturk.com. It's owned by Amazon. My son does it for fun. The pay starts out small (pennies) but as you built up the amount of jobs you take, the pay increases. He did a 2 minute job for .86 cents. You'd have to read the instructions to understand the system, but there's money to be had there for an ambitious person. - Brenda Williamson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I never heard of it before so I went and looked. It sounds more like a fun personal challenge than serious money but I can see where signing up and filling in the odd moments while at the day job would be beneficial to my state of mind. It would be better than playing Freecell or Mahjong. I should set up the account and tell Himself to have at it. :)  - KC Kendricks

A Conversation Between Writers - What did I forget?

September 4, 2015

I used to laugh at my mother and grandmother for forgetting things but it's not amusing. Nor is it amusing my calendar didn't send me the alert on it. 

Today I decided I needed a break from caffeine and I can barely keep my eyes open. Someone is going to stroll in here and find me snoring.  - KC Kendricks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Everyday I too seem to forget to do something. Nothing important, but it gets so annoying. And it's not like I totally forget, it's more like the thought gets pushed to the back of my brain and jumps forward every so often so I remember it at an inopportune time. - Brenda Williamson

September Day Trip to the New River Gorge Bridge, WV

September 2, 2015

It may sound strange to those not living near, but West Virginia is a frequent destination for me when I leave home. The state slogan is "Wild and Wonderful" and the moment you begin the ascent into the time-worn Appalachian Mountains it's clear why. West Virginia is a stunningly beautiful chunk of planet Earth.

Eastern Continental Divde

Our day began with our filled travel mugs safely tucked into the holders and 721 songs on a jump drive plugged into the Charger's USB port. Our route was west Interstate 68, to south Interstate 79, to south US Route 19. First item of note was crossing the Eastern Continental Divide at Savage Mountain, elevation 2620 feet. We've done it many times before but this time Mr. Swifty managed to snag a picture of the sign, albeit not a good one even though I slowed down to a virtual crawl... continue reading here. 



KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks

ISWG: The Most Important Thing I've Learned on Pinterest

September 2, 2015

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

I’m a Pinterest addict. There. I’ve admitted it. And I can do that because we all know I write fiction. But truly. I love Pinterest. All the pretty pictures and colors. The neat craft ideas. The cats! The puppies! The writing funnies…

So I found this bit of advice: Keep Calm - it's only a first draft. Oh, my goodness, are these words to take to heart.

So you’ve written the story and the hero’s name changed halfway through. Keep calm. It’s only the first draft. You can fix it.

So you’ve written the story and the hero started out with brown eyes and ended up with blue eyes. Keep calm. It’s only the first draft. You can fix it.

So you published the story and six months later it suddenly occurs to you how you could write it better. Keep calm. It’s only the first edition. You can fix it.

 

I could go on and on, drawing from the vast pool of my past mistakes, but I’ll get to the point and move on for the day.

No mistake you make is an original mistake. It's been made before so don’t beat yourself up over it. Honestly. Someone, probably many someones, have accomplished the same feat. 

When I started out a good piece of prevailing wisdom was to polish, polish, polish that manuscript before you submit it. 

Okay, that’s good advice. You should have your manuscript as spic and span as humanly possible, but don’t get sidetracked when your beta reader/crit partner points out your hero started out with blond hair and now he has black hair. Don’t get insulted. Don’t argue. Don’t throw a temper tantrum.

Keep calm and fix it. It’s only the first draft. 

KC Kendricks

http://www.kckendricks.com

http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks