Saturday, April 22, 2017

Lightning Shifts (Chain Lightning) - available today!


April 22, 2017

** Chain Lightning has been re-issued with the title Lightning Shifts**

There is something a little peculiar about Eli Tate. Oh, he appears normal enough on the surface, but he’s spent years trying to remember what happened to him - and why he doesn’t age. Then there’s the way he can shift shape. He doesn’t know what kind of being he really is or if there are any others like him. What he does know he’s been in the same town for thirty years and he needs to move on.

Returning to the Big Apple, Eli takes up residence in his old apartment. An evening walk turns deadly when he’s attacked by pure evil. He barely escapes with his life - thanks to a stranger named Rio who is a shapeshifter like him.

Rio says he knows Eli and that he’s been searching for him for many years. Rio confesses they were once lovers. Eli has no memory of such a time, and now he’s out of options. To remember his past, and destroy the creature pursuing them, Eli has no choice but to trust Rio - and maybe fall in love with him again.


INTRO

It was a good thing Eli wasn’t vain. He had the height people noticed. His dark hair showed no sign of graying, and his whiskey-brown eyes reflected his intelligence. He’d looked like this as far back as his memory stretched. It could be a lot worse.
Being clean would be a lot better. He stepped into the master bath and opened the taps to fill the tub. A good hot soak was in order, and after that, some food.
The agency had stocked the fridge and pantry when they opened and readied the apartment. Going back out tonight posed too great a risk and Eli wasn’t fool enough to take it.
He sank down in the tub to submerge his aching shoulders. Flying was strenuous work. With Vihal hunting him he needed to condition his muscles. Sooner or later Vihal would come back to New York.
The hot water surrounded his body with soothing heat. A wave of exhaustion rolled through him. He closed his eyes.
Eli jerked awake. The water was cold and he wasn’t alone. He rolled to his feet in a shower of droplets, intent on getting to the Sig Saur he’d placed in the nightstand drawer. He skidded to a stop in the doorway, heart pounding at the sight of the man in his bedroom.
Rio calmly sat in the wing chair beside the window. He smiled. “Eli. Coming here was a bit predictable, wasn’t it?”
He had to keep his wits about him. Rio had helped him, but for what reason? “Apparently. Do you mind if I get dressed while we chat?”
Rio’s interested gaze swept him from head to toe and settled on his groin, where it stopped. “Maybe I do.”

EXCERPT

This was getting him nowhere. He wanted to get dressed and make a run for his Wyoming hideout - without Rio being able to follow him. Playing the game might be the only way to accomplish that.
“Okay, Rio. You’re sex on two feet. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
The man rubbed his forehead. “You don’t have a clue. This is a problem for me. I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t want you to go into some sort of shock and vanish again. It’s taken me too long to find you.”
“Why were you even looking for me? C’mon. Help me out here. Level with me.”
“You’re a valuable prize, Elimian. Vihal would see you dead. I would see you live.”
Another fucking riddle, but this one contained a clue.
“You’re talking about two factions? Why would the other side want to kill me? Money? Glory? The thrill of the kill?”
“Maybe all of the above. Get dressed. We should leave.”
Eli raised an eyebrow. “We? There is no ‘we’. You’re going to get out of my apartment and I’m going to ponder my next move.”
He shook his head. “No. Your safe houses have surely been discovered.”
He’d sensed a presence just before he left Elizabethtowne. Had that been Rio and not Vihal? No. It had been Vihal. He was sure of it now. That worried Eli more than he dared to let show. It might have been pure luck on Vihal’s part he got that close to him in Elizabethtowne.
“I disagree. This Vihal found me because I returned to the city. He’s had years to locate me, and he couldn’t.”
“True. But since he did find you, he’ll be able to continue to track you. We need a plan. I can get you to a safe place and we can figure out what to do next.”
“I don’t trust you.”
Rio nodded. “Fair enough. But I’m begging you to come with me. Give me twenty-four hours to change your mind about me.”
“And if at the end of the day I say adios, you’ll be good with that?” The look of anguish that flashed across Rio’s face made him blink. Had he really seen it?
Rio’s voice gave nothing away. “If that’s your decision, I will abide by it.”
“Very well. Now go in the kitchen and make it look like I was cooking. I’ll get dressed.”
“Don’t bother with good clothes. We need to take on wolf skin and run.”
“Right. We’ll step out onto the street, shift, and just trot down Broadway.”
“I’ve always loved your sarcastic wit.”
He froze, his gaze locked on Rio’s. His heart pounded in his chest as the black void in his memory rippled and his skin washed cold. “What the hell did you say? How do… Do you…Did you and I know each other in the past?”
He watched Rio’s chest rise and fall. The muscles in the man’s throat moved convulsively. His voice was so low as to be tortured whispered.
“You really don’t remember me?” He took a quick step forward. “Elimian? Eli? Please remember me.” He laid his palm on Eli’s chest.
Eli shook his head, confused. What had he missed? What had he been forced to forget to survive? The memory of the taste of the man’s blood filled his senses. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember you. How do I know you?”
Rio cupped the back of his neck and pulled him closer. “We knew each other like this.”
Eli realized his intent a moment before their lips touched. He wanted to pull away but couldn’t. Rio held the key to his past...

__*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

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KC Kendricks

Monday, April 17, 2017

Cover reveal: Lightning Shifts (Chain Lightning)


April 17, 2017


**Chain Lightning has been re-issued with the new title Lightning Shifts.**

It's time for another cover reveal! Chain Lightning is finally finished! I'm putting the finishing touches on the story, tidying up the formatting, and setting up the page on my website

It seems like this story took forever to write. That may be because I've had the title in my head for such a long time, and needed a proper story to go with it. Then I found the perfect Rio and did the cover before I had the first chapter completed. Not to mention Christmas, New Years', and a major crisis at the day job involving the arrest of a prominent "player" in the organization. (Even those of us who simply stand and watch got sucked into that mess. Yep. The fun never ends.)

But, no matter. Chain Lightning is almost ready to go! Look for it next weekend, April 22, 2017.

*_*_*_*

Here's the cover blurb as it stands today. It might change a bit for the actual release. - KC


There is something a little peculiar about Eli Tate. Oh, he appears normal enough on the surface, but he’s spent years trying to remember what happened to him - and why he doesn’t age. Then there’s the way he can shift shape. He doesn’t know what kind of being he really is or if there are any others like him. What he does know he’s been in the same town for thirty years and he needs to move on.

Returning to the Big Apple, Eli takes up residence in his old apartment. An evening walk turns deadly when he’s attacked by pure evil. He barely escapes with his life - thanks to a stranger named Rio who is a shape shifter like him.

Rio says he knows Eli and that he’s been searching for him for many years. Rio confesses they were once lovers. Eli has no memory of such a time, and now he’s out of options. To remember his past, and destroy the creature pursuing them, Eli has no choice but to trust Rio - and maybe fall in love with him again. 

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
LIGHTNING SHIFTS
Paranormal gay romance (shapeshifter)
Available at:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ

 Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/3y7xZV

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_
KC Kendricks




Wednesday, April 12, 2017

An eclectic collection

April 12, 2017

I love, love, love having a home office. It has all the amenities. A nice desk, a reading nook, a flat screen tv on the wall, my beloved Deuce at my feet. What's not to love?

Maybe the answer to that is what lies on the corner of my desk. 

A couple of years ago, I decided I'd worked with old, and I do mean OLD, office furniture for long enough. My office was a collection of cobbled together and cast off pieces. I'd just paid off the mortgage so I treated myself to a matching mission-style desk and credenza, and upgraded my space. 

I swore to myself I'd avoid clutter. I would avoid clutter at all costs! I would put everything in its proper place. Yes indeedy dog, I would! 

And how well is that working out for me? I think the picture is proof. My cellphone would be in the photo except I needed it to take the photo. 

Having taken the photo, it suddenly occurred to me why the pieces were on my desk and not in their proper "homes." My earrings, everyday bracelet, fitbit, reading glasses, what passes for a car "key" these days, everyday rings I wear to the day job (not my good set), and the jump drive with my entire life on it. It's an eclectic collection but these are a few of my favorite things. 

Well, it's not too much clutter. And I guess keeping those items handy is a time savings. 

Of course, it could be the truth is I had a lazy moment and just dropped it all right there. Not that I will admit to that.

KC
www.kckendricks.com

Sunday, April 9, 2017

A bit of prophecy?

April 9, 2017

Today is Palm Sunday. For Christians, this marks the day we believe Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, across a street covered with palm fronds waved and thrown down by the joyful masses to fulfill another part of the prophecy about the Messiah. 

Prophecy is a strange thing. Perhaps we believe. Perhaps we do not. Sometimes we utter what is intended to be a humor statement, and we get are stuck with an overwhelming unusual sensation we can't describe. It may be years until we recall the moment, but when we do, we realize it was what can only be called prophecy. 

It's a spooky feeling, to be sure. A couple of years after my father's death, I jokingly said to my mother she needed to find a man with enough money to take care of us and that spooky feeling hit me. Fast forward five years and damned if she didn't go out and do just that. Take another twenty-five-year leap forward through time, and the man she married is standing by her as she fades away from us with Alzheimer's Disease. 

Yes, prophecy is a strange thing. I wish I had a prophecy to share about where the ebook industry is headed in 2017. I ponder if I even have a place in it. To say things are in disarray is an understatement. Amazon really has become the biggest game in town. And yet to do well at Amazon, we're told we must give our work away. Having a well-developed sense of self-worth, I know this would devalue me and my talent. 

It's discouraging to believe the best option available right now is to keep writing and hope another viable bookseller will rise to challenge Amazon. The romance genre is special. It places what happens between people above who-dun-it. (We all know the butler did it!) Romance is about the journey of self to a new understanding of self. What was so good about ARE was it offered romance without having to wade through the self-promotion of new tech and automatic shimpment services to find it. 

All is not lost. I do think something will emerge to fill the void. Those of us who have worked with traditional publishers for many years have learned to simply ride it out. Many of us have been forced into self-publishing but we bring a collective experience with us. In other words, we learned plenty and we'll carry that knowledge forward. 

And some of us might be bold enough to retire and open our own digital bookstore specializing in romance. We can only hope that will turn out to be prophecy. 

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


Sunday, April 2, 2017

Stat check (because I can't help it!)

April 2, 2017

You know how it is. You read an off-the-wall headline and it sucks you in and you click to see what it's really about. Yeah, I fell for one this morning.

Being my own webmaster webmistress, I try to keep up. So when an article tells me that more and more people are ditching desktops and laptops in favor of using only their smart phone, I need to do my own version of fact checking. I come here to Between the Keys and look at the nice charts and graphs Blogger gives me. 

So what did Blogger tell me this morning? I don't think I need to revamp my world around iPhone and Android just yet. I am a bit worried about the Russians, though. (And I swear they did NOT influence my vote one iota!!)

In all seriousness, it is interesting to see what browsers other folks use, what OS they use, and where people landing on the blog are on the planet. I prefer to think those 103 Russian hits are ordinary people looking for free smut romance, but it is enough to make me pause. I mean, seriously - why hack this little blog?  

It's true we need love and a little help from our friends to get along. It seems I'm doing my part right here at Between the Keys. Who knew? 



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