Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving changes

November 24, 2016


The "holidays" bring a set of expectations to the door. We all get the yearly visit. While the particulars vary, the overall similarities are part of the American culture. We celebrate and give thanks with family, friends, and food.

The gatherings of my youth are but fond memories. The older generations, those people who passed the family name down, are gone. What remains of my parent's generation is fractured by death and ill health. My generation is equally scattered on holidays, busy with the younger generations of children and grandchildren. I have no biological children. My father has been gone for many years. My mother has Alzheimer's. The sister of my heart moved away. I am, for all intents and purposes, alone on this day, without blood relatives who share my memories. 

That's not to say I don't have people around me. My online posse is far-flung but wishes for a happy day arrived. My partner is the oldest of his siblings and we have an unconditional welcome at his youngest sister's house all days. 

Life goes on in different directions. We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the care facility with my mother. Afterward, we had traditional Thanksgiving dessert at his sister's house. 

So while the day didn't unfold as in year's past, it was nonetheless a good day. I could be morose that the beautiful memories of yesteryear will not be re-lived, but I'm not. This is what I have now, today, and I count my many blessings. 

Now that my partner and I are finally home again and into our comfortable old clothes, it's time to call a few of my cousins. It's time to embrace a new normal and make it my own as I go forward in life. I'm sure it will provide a new set of Thanksgiving memories, and Thanksgiving opportunities to enjoy and to be thankful for. 

KC Kendricks







Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Hump day day off

November 16, 2016

I have a cold. I think. I might be having a reaction to leaf mold. There are plenty of leaves on the ground and I did use a blower to clear the rain gutters Monday evening. I think it's a cold because my throat was sore last Saturday. Cleaning the gutters just didn't help. I not really whining because I don't feel all that sick. My voice is a nasty croak so I took a sick day. 

Deuce is excited about having his Mommy home. I can't say the same for his daddy. The man of the house is fixing food for us - eggs and toast - and he's the one whose routine is blown for the day. 

A day off in the middle of the week, for whatever reason, is a rare occurrence. I've been gainfully employed all of my adult life. Retirement approaches and I'll have many more Wednesdays at my disposal. The closer I get to the earliest possible day to retire, the more options become available. I ponder that sort of thing when I have a day off. I also think about the things I didn't accomplish in the summer recently passed - like having porch railings installed. Next summer. 

Typical of every day, this one includes writing and/or the business of writing. So far today I've recorded a sales report, worked on the promo blurb for an upcoming book, zipped over to LRC and dropped a couple of excerpts for the group members, and I'm blogging. 

This afternoon I'll settle down and work on a story. There's time. After all, this day off is all about staying warm and cozy, resting, and doing what will speed my recovery, and writing always makes me feel better. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com



Saturday, November 12, 2016

Ace, Deuce, Trey - who has the bigger....

November 12, 2016

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday, the weekly blog hop that brings you excerpts from the varied worlds of the romance genre. Check out the list at the bottom of this post to visit participating blogs. 

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from Ace, Deuce, Trey. Enjoy! 

*_*_*_*




“What the fuck are you doing, Rick?”

He swaggered into my office. His hot green gaze slammed into mine. “Making sure the blinds are closed.”

I leaned back and put my feet up on my desk. “I have a gun, bucko. What are your intentions?”

“Mine’s bigger than yours.” Rick reached behind his back, pulled out his Glock .9mm and laid it beside my pistol. He leaned over and kissed me before he grasped my ankles and lifted them off my desk. I set my feet on the floor and he went to his knees in front of me. I spread my knees and he slid his big, warm hands up the inside of my thighs to my balls. 

He yanked my pants down and all but dragged me out of the chair to the floor. “I’m going to do you in your office, Ian darling. It’ll be a fantasy come true.”

“I’ll scream.” I wiggled my ass to aid him in getting my jeans down and out of the way. 

“Yes, you will before I’m done with you.”

_*_*_*_

ACE, DEUCE, TREY
the sequel to Deuce of Diamonds

Available now at

Ian Coulter has his hands full with a sexy office assistant, a favorite movie star client and a drag queen determined to save the world one lost runaway at a time. He can juggle all of it because he and his lover, FBI agent Rick Mohr, are finally together.

Rick’s transfer to Amethyst Cove puts him in charge of multiple operations. When one of Ian’s clients is targeted, it doesn’t take long for Ian to suspect the con artist is on an FBI watch list. With their cases overlapping, Ian and Rick are short on time. Together they set a trap and spring it before their suspect escapes.

Doing the job is easy but figuring out the relationship is tougher. Fitting their lives together isn’t without obstacles, but one thing is certain. On or off the case, Ian and Rick always get their man.

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




ACE, DEUCE, TREY is available now at AmazoniTunesBarnes and NobleKobo







Sunday, November 6, 2016

Either/Or Choices

November 6, 2016

Opinions on what a writer *should* do are as many, and as varied, as there are writers. Even editors and publishers have opinions about what writers should do. It's annoying as hell. "Follow your heart," they say. Then in the next breath, they tell you what your heart should be telling you to do. Did I mention it's annoying as hell? 

I'm in the last year of my membership with the Romance Writers of America (RWA). I joined way back in 2003 when the prevailing opinion was that if you wanted to be taken seriously as a writer, you joined. There was a time I read the monthly magazine, Romance Writers Report (RWR), from cover-to-cover. Times change. Career directions and aspirations change. Life happens. Organizations want too much money for too small a return. They send nasty-toned letters saying you owe them postage for the letter they just sent you because you haven't renewed your membership. (I guess I'll get another in 2017 when I really don't renew.)

I've alluded to them but I don't know if I've ever directly addressed an RWR article before, but I want to do so now. In the November 2016 issue, there's a good article by Adrienne deWolfe, "Beware the Manuscript Under the Bed." In it, she cautions writers to think carefully before they spend a lot of time reworking old manuscripts. Her advice, her good advice, is to write forward. That is to say, forget your old work and concentrate on the new. I agree, with one caveat. 

As writers, we all have that one special story that is never left in the past. Those characters are with us, lurking, waiting to come out and play during our quiet times. They live in that one story we wrote and loved, and have since envisioned in countless new ways. For some of us, that story is no longer in print. Mine hasn't been in print for a decade. 

Having years of experience, I look back at that special story and recognize how much I've improved in the craft of writing. I agree with Ms. deWolfe that pulling that particular manuscript out and dusting it off would be ill-advised - if I'm rewriting entirely for the market, i.e., the money. 

Advice frequently given to both new and experienced authors is to write what you know, write what you love. Sometimes you get lucky and it plays well to current markets. Other times, not so much. You are your very first reader so read with watchful, informed eyes. 

Publishing today is vastly changed from the historical view. There's a glut of books available. Getting read often means giving away for free the work one spent months creating. Is that writing to the market? 

The characters in that old story of mine are ones I know well. They've lived with me for twenty years. I don't want to leave them tucked away in the recesses of my mind. Nor do I want to spend months reworking an old manuscript. I like that old manuscript just the way it is. It's the first story I contracted for publication. It's a keepsake. 

The solution, for me, and one Ms. deWolfe doesn't mention is to awaken those characters that I know so well into a new adventure. Dream a new beginning for them and write it forward. Isn't that the best of both worlds? I think it is, for me. 



Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Are you a Luddite?

November 2, 2016

Disclaimer: Welcome to the holiday season! This is a recycle of an article I wrote, but never posted at Between the Keys.  

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Luddite:
On who fears technology (or new technology, as they seem pleased with how things currently are (why can't everything just be the same?)

Social Media Maven:
An individual who identifies interesting or trending content and shares it with a large online network. The term social media maven is sometimes applied to people who are adept at using social media for commercial purposes, such as spreading a particular message about a product or service. As with mavens in other areas, social media mavens are seen as being more advanced in their understanding of social media than the average population.

*+*+*+*+*

I'm not the least bit sure where I fall in between the Luddite and the Social Media Maven but I know I'm between the two. Some new tech I love and some I hate. Some social media, especially blogging, I like. Others, such as facebook, not so much.

For many years I've belonged to the Romance Writers of America. Its monthly magazine is full of social media "must do" items. I read them. They usually don't impress me much, but some things have sort of stuck with me - right along with the guilt.

Yep. Guilt. Guilt that I'm not doing enough on social media. Guilt that if I were serious about writing I'd do more. I'd stay up-to-date and never have time to do any writing. Or sleeping.

Guilt over social media is counterproductive. Social media is a tool to be used, not a lifestyle. Okay, so I'm a lazy blogger and tweeter. I do know why, and it's where the Luddite comes into play.

When I started out, the Yahoo and MSN groups were the thing. I learned them and they're basically deadwood now. Same thing for MySpace. I spent a lot of time learning how to maneuver those systems, and for what? The next best thing came along and I had to decide if I drove myself crazy learning it, or not. More importantly, do I have TIME to learn every blasted thing?

Once upon a year, I picked up a copy of "Marketing for Dummies" at the used bookstore. It didn't take me long to figure out why it was at the UBS. Paper, two-inches thick, and only one basic point: pick something and just do it. You can't control the outcome.

It's often been said the best advertising you can have for your book is the next book. I do believe that. (Another reason to keep my butt in gear.) It's also true that if no one hears about your book, they can't read it.

Bottom line: I think it's okay to carefully pick and choose where you spend your time, energy and money on social media. I also think the choice should be guilt-free. Be a Luddite with some things. Pick one social media such as twitter and become a twitter maven. Whatever you choose for yourself, because it's your choice, will be the right thing to do.

KC Kendricks