WWW - A Hard Habit to Break

January 28, 2017

I'm participating today for the first time in the Weekend Writing Warriors blog hop! I came across it through the My Sexy Saturday blog hop and thought I'd give it a try. WWW is a weekly blog hop where authors post eight sentences from a published work or a work in progress. Blog posts are to go live between noon Saturday and 9:00 AM Sunday. It's a great way to meet new authors and expand networks. Be sure to check out all the Weekend Writing Warriors blogs here.  

Here are eight sentences from A Hard Habit to Break, book one in the Men of Marionville series. 

Enjoy!
_*_*_*_*_*_

“Tell me, Heath.  Say the words.”

I wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his ear, amazed I could force the words out. “I need you, Travis. I always will.”

We stood in the middle of his brightly painted kitchen, clinging to each other like two drowning men who’d suddenly found a rock to hold.

My thoughts raced, yet everything was clear, all doubts stripped away. I would stay in his arms until we fell from exhaustion if he’d let me.

*_*_*_*_*

“A Hard Habit to Break is full of passion, love, and longing”.- Joyfully Reviewed

About the book:

As the reigning stud of the local gay club scene, every guy in the county knows Travis Templeton and vies for his attention. Travis wears his crown lightly, careful not to break any hearts. He knows what it’s like to really love someone who doesn’t love you back- at least, not in the way you want.

Heath Kelley made the biggest mistake of his life the night before his best friend Travis left for college. One small action snowballed into years of silent misunderstanding and empty distance. When Heath accepts a transfer that sends him to his hometown, he doesn’t know Travis has moved back home, too. It doesn’t take long for the men to reconnect.

Admitting they never stopped thinking of each other as “best friends” is easy. Forgiveness of past sins is easy, but confessing their secrets comes harder. When Heath discovers the truth about Travis’ private life, the newly repaired bonds of friendship are stretched taut.

It’s time for Travis to choose – the love of his best friend, or a life of settling for second best. 

A HARD HABIT TO BREAK

Book I of the Men of Marionville collection

Available now at Amazon, iTunes, B&N/NOOK, and KOBO

 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:

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

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

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

The Best and Worst Advice

January 26, 2017

I recently read a piece where authors discussed the best and worst advice they’d ever received. I’m blogging so that’s a major clue that the discussion got me to thinking. Just what was the best advice I ever got about writing? Or publishing? What was the worst?

Good advice is very subjective to an individual’s particular circumstance. Bad advice is universal. Good advice takes many forms, some of which are clearly evident. Frequently though, good advice sneaks in on silent cat paws. We don’t realize what it is until it’s sitting on our chest tickling our face with long white whiskers.

“Keep going” is the best advice I received about writing. It wasn’t said with the intent to whip me into producing more books or to punish me for slowing down due to exhaustion. It was given to me by a man whose doctors had just told him his last option was a Hail Mary surgery. “If you love it, if it’s important to you, then keep going.”

It was so simple and at the same time profound. It gave me cause to examine myself and my feelings about writing. It made me consciously aware of just how important writing is to me. My world is ranked by family/home/hearth, writing, friends, job. Writing may appear on the surface to be a hobby, but it is words that define the inner me. The so-called Fortunes of writing are like the tides, they ebb and flow but never touch who I am or influence the words on the page.

The worst advice I ever got about writing was to join a critique group. It’s supposed to be a huge help and I’m sure it is to some. The group I had the misfortune to fall into had one girl who wanted the group to proofread items for her day job, and another whose head exploded when I asked a question about a paragraph that didn’t make sense to me. I can’t remember her name. She didn’t last long. I learned a great deal from that experience.

So all this may not mean a thing to you. Writing is a solitary art form. If you’re as happy and content in your career as I am in mine, I’m truly delighted for you. Those of us who have many years of wear and tear on our keyboards value knowing the shared experiences more than actual advice, and I guess that’s the whole point of today’s blog. Advice should be about the sharing, not the demanding of actions that change our course - unless we want it to.

Oh, and for the record, the Hail Mary worked.

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

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Cover reveal - Bourbon & Blues

January 21, 2017

Coming soon - Bourbon & Blues.

Part of the Men of Marionville collection. 

I expect it to go live on or near February 12, 2017.

About Bourbon & Blues:

Griffith Ernde missed his father’s funeral because he was drunk. When he made it to the cemetery, the gates closed with him on the inside. Griff ends up in a cell at the local precinct house charged with trespassing, and with no way to salvage the day. No doubt about, it’s a personal low in his life. Then his luck changed when Kory Watts joined him in the cell.

Kory Watts has a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Stood up on a blind date at a local club, Kory gets swept up in a drug raid and lands in a cell with an inebriated stranger. When his drug test comes back clean, the duty sergeant offers Kory a deal: if he takes Griff home, they both can go with no charges. It’s not a deal Kory will refuse.

When Kory and Griff meet again, they agree to have a drink - of ice water. Neither man judges the other and it’s quickly apparent they share an attraction. As their budding relationship heats up, Kory wonders if he’s ready to get serious with a guy he just met no matter how well suited to each other they are. When Griff is suddenly charged with the murder of his father, Kory is ready to move heaven and earth to help prove him innocent, but it might not be enough to save what’s between them.
_*_*_

An excerpt is up at http://www.kckendricks.com/BourbonandBlues.html

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
www.facebook.com/kckendricks
mailing list email: betweenthekeys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 

System FAIL!

January 20, 2017

Establish the facts.

1. I'm a lifelong bowler and I'm not too bad at it. 
2. I only bowl one house and I know about 75% of the house bowlers by name.
3. I hate to discuss politics. 
4. If you try to drag me into a political discussion, I will rip you and not feel guilty.
5. Friday night is my bowling night.
6. January 20 was Inauguration Day.

[sigh]

This evening I arrived at the bowling alley a little early. I got all my equipment out of my locker and dropped it behind the lanes I was scheduled to roll on. I then went to the snack bar and commandeered a bar stool to wait my turn to order a Pepsi. Yes, I drink a soda a week and that's at the bowling alley. 

A young woman landed on the stool beside mine. I estimate she's about twenty. I didn't know her. If she's bowling in the league, she's a newbie. I haven't bowled against her. 

She said hello and then asked if I'd watched the Inauguration Day happenings. I answered truthfully. I did watch the swearing in but nothing else. Today was a work day and I did have duties to perform, but I wanted to see the president sworn in. Seeing is believing, so they say. 

Anyway, this young snot I didn't know began to pontificate on her opinions of the new president (as though I care about her opinions). And that's when It happened. 

She started to rant about the plans to reform immigration. In HER opinion, the new president should start with his WIFE. 

[Everyone should pause to think here.]

Do we not teach the basic laws of the United States in our schools? At what point did marriage to someone of another nationality become null and void? 

I don't care where the new first lady was born. She legally married an American citizen, a man born on our soil. They've been married more than three years. There is nothing illegal about her presence in the United States. Do we really not teach this stuff in school any longer? Is it now completely unnecessary to learn the basics about United States citizenship? 

That girl is walking proof of the failure of our very expensive school system to impart even basic knowledge to young people. 

I was less than kind to her in pointing out the error of her thinking and did later search for her to tender an apology. I explained it wasn't her opinion I found at fault because everyone is free to allow stupid to fall out of their mouth from time-to-time. I apologized for not educating her about that particular situation. That was my fail.

My problem with what she said lies in the fact that had her education provided her with basic citizenship knowledge, she would not have been going around the bowling alley blathering about deporting the new first lady as an illegal immigrant. 

System fail. 

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_

 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:

Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com

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

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: KC Kendricks Between the Keys

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

You'll only see this when she's sitting still

January 19, 2017

I found this on my camera. I'd forgotten I'd taken it. You'll only see icicles on this car when it's sitting still. 

Seriously. 

Last Saturday was typical January weather. We had a wintry mix and this is what happened. I thought the row of icicles looked sorta cool, so I shot the pix. They were still there the next day because this car doesn't handle well on icy roads. I stayed home - in the warm and dry. 

Don't misunderstand - the Charger corners on a rail on dry pavement, but the ass end will slide right out from under it on a slick road. 

And that's not the kind of thrill I'm looking for.

KC

Undeniable by KC Kendricks (new!)

January 14, 2017

**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been discontinued.**

Happy Birthday to my darling Deuce! He's one year old today. If you're wondering what my pup has to do with my writing, or the My Sexy Saturday blog hop, the answer is EVERYTHING! Deuce is my constant companion, a cheerful presence who reminds me taking breaks and moving to stay healthy makes my writing better. 

He also sleeps beside my desk and keeps me in my chair and writing instead of finding "excuse" chores. 

So you see, he's an integral part of the KC Kendricks machine. 

Now on to the very first My Sexy Saturday of 2017! This week, Deuce and I have seven sexy paragraphs from Undeniable. Enjoy!

*_*_*_*_*

What? Was that an invitation? If it was, Ford was going to be disappointed. Asa had no intention of

hopping back into bed with Ford. He had to stay cool. So far the conversation was going better than he could have dreamed, and Asa wanted to keep it that way. He had a far better chance of getting the answers he needed if he kept his head. Asa got to his feet. “Why don’t you go ahead and get a booth while I close up the office? I’ll be there in about ten minutes?”

Ford stood. “I’ll see you in a bit. Thanks, Asa.”

Asa watched Ford walk away, admiring the easy way the man moved. Landscaping was hard, physical labor and, while Asa was sure Ford had employees, it would be in Ford’s nature to jump in and work beside them when he had no other duties to perform. Back in the day, Ford frequented a gym, so Asa knew the man liked to flex his muscles. It did show.

He snorted to himself as he shut down his computer. He’d worked out with Ford a few times and it wasn’t in his blood. A couple of rounds of golf a week kept him in shape and fit.

Had Ford tossed an invitation to spend the evening with him? Maybe he’d read too much into those words. It could be all Ford meant was he didn’t need to rush off to an appointment. Asa stepped into the quiet hallway and locked the door to the office suite. His evening was unencumbered and, with any luck, it could take some interesting turns.

He slumped against the side of the elevator car for the short ride to the ground floor. What the hell was he thinking? If he was that horny—and he didn’t think he was—he’d do better to go find one of his fuck buddies. He stepped outside into the glare of the afternoon sun and spotted Ford sitting inside the café across the street.

Ford raised his hand and waved once at him. Nope. It wasn’t good when a man lied to himself.

_*_*_*_*_*_

About UNDENIABLE:

With a summer storm threatening to ruin his Friday afternoon, Asa Burton packs his briefcase and bolts for home before the driving gets dangerous. On the interstate, stuck behind an accident, he regrets his decision until he sees Ford Weston standing along the side of the road talking to a police officer.

Ford Weston can’t believe his luck, bad and good. First, his car gets clipped on the tail end of an accident, and then none other than Asa Burton pulls over and offers him a ride home. Coming face-to-face with the biggest regret of his life leaves Ford off-balance. He screwed up with Asa all those years ago. It was his fault the relationship ended.

Asa can’t believe he’s found Ford again, so why is he angry with himself? Could it be because Ford walked out on him without a word seventeen years ago and he did nothing to stop him? Asa’s sure of only one thing – Fate just handed him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win back Ford.  

*_*_*_*_*_

UNDENIABLE
Available at:

Amazon US: www.amazon.com/Undeniable-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01N32NQK3
 iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/book/undeniable/id1191121896?mt=11
 Barnes & Noble/NOOK: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undeniable-kc-kendricks/1122195739?ean=2940154197066

 Rakuten/Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/undeniable-45

 Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/mBenoR
 Undeniable webpage with excerpt: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/undeniable-contemporary-gay-romance.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:
Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com
My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

twitter.com/kckendricks
pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards
instagram.com/kc_kendricks

IWSG - Back to basics in 2017

January 4, 2017

It is my intention to pause my participation in the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. I'm not very insecure, ergo, I don't have issues which I feel the need to pull my hair and wail about. The possibility exists that one day my opus will be The Diary of an Angry White Woman, but that day is not yet upon us. Be grateful, she says, tongue-in-cheek.

On the afternoon of December 28, 2016, Lori James of All Romance eBooks announced the closing of her company on December 31, 2016. How's that for short notice?

Since then all manner of things have come to light, not the least of which is the distinct possibility of payments due being mishandled for the last several years. I do know, based on my sales numbers, a lot - and I mean A LOT - of money went through that company. (I'm only one of thousands.) And it's the authors who are getting screwed. Again. (Refer to my comment about writing my opus.)

While this situation is of great concern to me, it is beyond the scope of what I can control. My life goes on. What this means to the independent author, no one yet knows. Will Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, NOOK and other places pick up the slack? One hopes, but one is far from assured. 

Before you think being with a formal publisher is the answer, remember they too sold through ARe. ARe was a major third-party vendor for publishers. They will also feel the pinch and they may pass the loss right along to the author to avoid damage to their bottom line. 

In this new year, my focus needs to be squarely on writing. This is why I'm going on IWSG hiatus. Even as I prepare this entry I feel the need to get on with the next item on my to-do list, which is proofread an upcoming story and get it formatted for release.  

As always, thank you for stopping by Between the Keys. I hope you'll check back regularly. After all, I may one day organize my notes and begin work on my opus. You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?

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

Cover reveal - Undeniable

January 2, 2017

**updated 4/14/21**

What better way to kick off the new year than to prepare to release a book? 

Coming on January 12 - Undeniable. 

ABOUT the book:

With a summer storm threatening to ruin his Friday afternoon, Asa Burton packs his briefcase and bolts for home before the driving gets dangerous. On the interstate, stuck behind an accident, he regrets his decision until he sees Ford Weston standing along the side of the road talking to a police officer.

Ford Weston can’t believe his luck, bad and good. First his car gets clipped on the tail end of an accident, and then none other than Asa Burton pulls over and offers him a ride home. Coming face-to-face with the biggest regret of his life leaves Ford off-balance. He screwed up with Asa all those years ago. It was his fault the relationship ended.

Asa can’t believe he’s found Ford again, so why is he angry with himself? Could it be because Ford walked out on him without a word seventeen years ago and he did nothing to stop him? Asa’s sure of only one thing – Fate just handed him the opportunity to win Ford back – and get some answers. 

*_*_*_*_*_

UNDENIABLE
Available at:
Amazon US: www.amazon.com/Undeniable-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01N32NQK3
 iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/book/undeniable/id1191121896?mt=11
 Barnes & Noble/NOOK: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undeniable-kc-kendricks/1122195739?ean=2940154197066

 Rakuten/Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/undeniable-45

 Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/mBenoR
 Undeniable webpage with excerpt: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/undeniable-contemporary-gay-romance.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:
Life through the eyes of my black Lab, Greenbrier Smokey Deuce: deucesday.blogspot.com
My country life at Holly Tree Manor: hollytreemanor.blogspot.com

twitter.com/kckendricks
pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards
instagram.com/kc_kendricks