Friday, March 31, 2017

The 2017 April A to Z Blogging Challenge

March 31, 2017

For the past six years, I've taken part in the annual A to Z Blogging Challenge. I decided to opt out this year - and it feels a bit strange. It feels like giving up. 

Probably because it is. 

I had a good run with the challenge. I completed each year. That's one hundred and eighty blog entries posted on time and on topic. Plus the odd into and promo. It was a lot of blogging, and even though I like to blog, it was, well, a lot. 

Life brings changes and not all of them are positive. With my mother in a care facility for Alzheimer's patients, my time is spent between work, my home, the facility, and my step-father's home. Keeping up the writing schedule of year's past is no longer possible and that tears at me. I don't have time to do the one thing I enjoy at my very core. But I'm not whining. This is the normal for now. It won't be the normal forever. 

I hope the A to Z Challenge continues because one day I'll be back to it. And when I do get back to it, I'll add another badge. Until then, I might go back and re-post a few of my favorite letters as we walk through April. It depends on the constraints on my time. 

Now I must get back to work. The afternoon is winding down toward the weekend, and no one wants to miss the sound of the starting gun on that! 

KC
www.kckendricks.com

PS. I'd give you the link to the list of A to Z participants, but they're no longer doing a list. I'm not sure how you can find participants this year. 

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Shine A Light for MSS#182

March 25, 2017
**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been discontinued.**

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday #182. Wow! That's a lot of Saturdays. Just a bit of trivia for this Saturday - Sir Elton John turns seventy today. If you follow along here at Between the Keys, you've read that Elton has laid down the soundtrack to my life. But I digress...

This week, we're going to shine a light on a fallen star and the small local theatre where he gets a second chance to shine. 

Be sure to check out all the My Sexy Saturday blogs using the list below. 

Enjoy! 
_*_*_*_


“Scared, too. You’re Donovan MacKenzie. I don’t want to disappoint you.” Shane’s fingers brushed the bulge that snaked down my left thigh, still trapped by denim.

Touched by that confession, I gave him by own. “I don’t want you to be disappointed in me, either. This is me right now, not some Hollywood image that’s impossible to live up to.”

“I know.”

We moved at the same time, and whether I kissed him, or he kissed me, I didn’t know or care. His warm, coffee-flavored lips parted under mine. My senses reeled, hit by jolt after jolt of arousal as his soft, breathy sigh drew me in. He was like some live flame in my arms, with his heat and energy ready to be unleashed at my command. The memories of other lovers flickered and dimmed. His tentative eagerness reminded me he was only in his mid-twenties, maybe too young for my cynical attitude, even as it banished any thought of staying away from him because of his age.

Shane inhaled sharply and his tongue met mine in a lively dance of joyful discovery. I felt the laughter building in him, and we both grinned, which ended our kiss. He licked his smiling lips.

“Wow.”

I was barely able force air into my lungs. “Wow? I was hoping for five stars.”

_*_*_*_

ABOUT SHINE A LIGHT:


After being viciously outed by his spiteful ex-lover, Van MacKenzie, fallen Hollywood and Broadway star, lands on stage in a small town community theatre - and in the arms of set designer Shane Hollister. Van knows his attraction to the talented young man could seal the fate of his career, but he can’t resist having a ‘summer thing’ while performing at The Globe. When an act of violence catches them unaware, Van recognizes the message was really meant for him. Walking away from Shane might be the smart thing to do to keep him safe.

Shane Hollister had established himself as a Broadway set designer before his father’s accident forced him to move home to St. Charles. Needing work, Shane accepts a job at The Globe. To his surprise, the small operation equals any big city production. When Donovan “Van” MacKenzie signs on for the new show, Shane grabs the chance to have a summer fling with his big screen idol, refusing to allow Van’s past to intrude. 

Shane knows he has only one chance to catch a fallen star, and keep him for his own. 


SHINE A LIGHT is available at Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 


KC Kendricks



Friday, March 17, 2017

St. Paddy's Day Irish

March 17, 2017

A few years ago I started researching my genealogy. I'd planned to save this endeavor until after I retired, but the universe put a distant cousin in my path. She shared what she had on my maternal grandmother's ancestry. To my complete surprise, I actually have a smidge of Irish blood to go along with the German. 

This distant cousin's grandfather was a brother to my great-grandmother. She traced that branch of the family back into the 1600s in Ireland. It's fascinating. 

My German ancestry is rather well-documented. A member of the family made the ancestry of our shared last name her life's work. I have three thick professionally printed volumes that trace us back to Germany in the 1500s. It's fascinating. My seven-times great grandfather arrived in Philadelphia in October of 1751 and, like so many others from Germany, settled in the area where I live. 

So having a bit of Irish blood is something new to me. I'm not sure how, have come lately to this, how I should celebrate. Certainly, I should wear something the proper color of green, but green isn't a color my winter coloring wears well. I do have a black scarf with shiny green leaves on it - it must suffice. 

I don't often consume large amounts of alcoholic beverages, but maybe I'll have a fancy root beer at the bowling alley tonight. Rainbows are a part of my world, but never once have I found a pot of gold at the end. Four-leaf clovers? Nope. Not in my yard. 

But when I look back at those who came before me, I read wonderful story after wonderful story given to me by the distant cousin. Through her I know the names of my great-great grandparents. Not even my mother knew their names. I have copies of newsletter clippings and death certificates. I have pictures of my Grandma Mary when she was a child. I even have photos of her mother. Part of me rails that this information came to me from a stranger and not my mother and grandmother, but most of me is beyond grateful. 

So how best to celebrate my Irish heritage? First off, I'm not going to embarrass my living relatives. After that, all bets are off. 

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to enjoy my bowling night and then go home and go bed. My dog doesn't care I'm twenty-five percent Irish and seventy-five percent German. To him, I'm one-hundred percent wonderful as long as his food dish is filled twice a day. And I think that's as much as I really need to be. 

_*_*_

Do you enjoy a good pub crawl on St. Paddy's Day? Check out Give Me One Night to find out what happens for Brody and Evan.

Give Me One Night is now available at 
AmazoniTunes/AppleBarnes and NobleKobo, and other online booksellers. 

Give Me One Night webpage: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/give-me-one-night-by-kc-kendricks.html

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
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My country life at Holly Tree Manor

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Sundown Saga mega-book


June 1, 2017 - UPDATE
****This title is currently unavailable. The individual books remain on sale. ****

March 7, 2017

Available for a limited time - The Sundown Saga mega-book.

All five Sundown stories in one volume. 


  • The Back Stairs
  • Beneath Dark Stars
  • River Walk
  • Moon Dances
  • Fly By Night


The Sundown Saga is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

To learn more about The Sundown Saga, please visit the website at:
http://kckendricks.com/SundownSaga.html

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

Sunday, March 5, 2017

And for only $19.97....

March 5, 2017

A few years back, our family and friends banded together and gave us a shitload bunch of gift cards to Bed, Bath and Beyond. In response to the age-old question, "what do you want or Christmas?", my honey had passed the word around I wanted a good Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer. The next year we were given gift cards and instructed to go get attachments, which we did. 

The same thing happened this past Christmas, but we had planned to hoard those cards in case we got more for birthdays, etc. The family knows they've hit on something within their budget, useful, and appreciated. 

During November 2016, I put a set of Michelin's on the Charger and received a $70 rebate card. Last week, a twenty percent coupon came in the mail. The spousal unit and I pulled out our BB&B cards, did the math, and it being a beautiful Saturday afternoon, headed east across a few mountains to Frederick, Maryland. 

We purchased the three-piece pasta-making set, a $199 item, for the grand total of $19.97 out of pocket. That's a pretty good deal. 

We took the long way home, enjoying a pleasant drive through the countryside and speaking fondly of family members. As soon as we perfect our pasta making skills, we'll issue dinner invites. Our education begins today with lasagne. It should be fun.

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
kckendricks.blogspot.com
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