Thursday, July 26, 2018

Mercury in retrograde - the author is back at it

July 26, 2018


Did you know Mercury goes retrograde today until August 19? Hmmm. Several "dark" spots in my world have suddenly brightened or disappeared. Is there a connection? Not supposed to be. Mercury in retrograde is not good for a Gemini. Gemini rules communication and a retrograde brings miscommunication. But I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'm going with the flow and the flow is good.

I'm grateful to be back to my private writing world regardless of what Mercury is doing to everyone else. Time away is sometimes necessary. You know the story. Spouse, family, job, blah, blah. It's a shared experience. As women, we can have it all just maybe not all at once. In my "all," the thing that gets dropped first is writing. Dropping people has too many consequences for them and in the long term for me.

Currently, I have three works-in-progress. First up will be Please Use the Door. It's a ghostly love story inspired by a television show I watched called Ghosts of Shepherdstown. I live about half an hour from Shepherdstown so yeah, I tuned in to see what was going on. I wondered if maybe I'd see something to make me say I'm never going there again but that didn't happen. What did happen was I was struck by a very important question: Why do ghosts in these shows always come through a door? I'd think a ghost could pop out of a wall. Hence the story title and the idea of our hero ordering the ghost to "please use the door!" As if a ghost would obey.

Steel Wheels is another Ian Coulter mystery/suspense. I love writing Ian, Rick, and their supporting cast. After that, I'm finally going back to Centerville to revisit Logan and Mick. I've had it in mind since I wrote Bored, Stroked and Blueprinted. It's not a sequel in the strict sense of the word. Logan and Mick opening their home to a friend of Logan's will launch the story and give our new hero a roof over his head when he first gets to town.

There are several covers to create on my To Do List as well. My friend and sometimes collaborator Christianne France has been most patient as I've dealt spouse, family, work. Maybe I should just start calling it SFW.

So it was a longer post than anticipated. Bottom line, it looks like I'm going to have a stretch where I can do some writing and a little TCB. I sure hope I didn't just jinx myself...

KC
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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Where There's Smoke - MidWeek Tease

July 11, 2018
**Updated 4/2/21 - the MidWeek blog hop has been discontinued.**


Am I in the doghouse? Yes! My last MidWeek Tease was about a cat. Deuce did not like this! So this week I'm giving the dog equal time with a tease from Where There's Smoke. And the lovely black cover model? Yes, that's Greenbrier Smokey Deuce. I'm paying his royalty fees with very expensive Griller treats. 

So welcome to the MidWeek Tease blog hop! I'm so glad you stopped by and I remind you to check out all the participant blogs by using the linky list at the end of this post. Enjoy!

_*_*_*_*_



“No. My dog attacked you, Leon. I wanted to do a good thing by giving him a home. Now I don’t know if I can keep him, even if they don’t put him down.”

I wished I could reassure him, but the dog’s future wasn’t totally in my hands.

The folks at urgent care were great. They cleaned the wound again and gave me a tetanus booster. When the intern said I needed stitches, I held my hand out to Jere. “Hold my hand. I hate needles.”

“So do I. How about I run for the hills?” He pressed his cold palm to mine. I wrapped my warmer fingers around his.

“This is when the questions come, you know.”

He looked stricken but didn’t say a word. There wasn’t time. A petite Asian woman carrying a tray entered the room and introduced herself as Dr. May. She examined my wound and then picked up a mother-fucking huge needle.

“Procaine,” she explained. She looked at our joined hands. “Are you guys a couple.”

“No.”

“Working on it.”

She grinned at me. “He says ‘no’ and you say ‘working on it’. Looks like you may be winning.”
I clamped my jaw tight as the tip of the needle penetrated my skin. It burned for a second, then flushed hot, and finally cold and numb. “I’m a patient man.”

“That’s good because he’s cute.”

I glanced at Jere. He was blushing. I winked at the doctor. “I think so, too.”

She withdrew the needle and rubbed the spot. “Let’s talk while that works. Would you like to tell me what happened? Whose dog is it?”

I met her gaze. “He belongs to Jere. How well versed are you in same-sex relations?”

“Ah.” She looked at Jere. “So the dog didn’t understand what was going on between the two of you and went into protection mode?”

Jere gazed into his lap. “Yes, ma’am. That pretty much sums it up.” He looked at me, his gorgeous hazel eyes bright and full of an inner imp I hoped to meet again. “Leon gets loud if you know what I mean.”

Heat crept up my neck and into my cheeks. The little shit had bested me at my own game.

Dr. May laughed as she picked up the first threaded needle. “Some folks do. Okay, if that’s your story, that’s what I’ll put in my report. It still has to go to animal control, though.”

I didn’t actually feel anything as she set the first stitch, but I still winced. I turned my head to look at Jere. “I can’t watch, but you can if you want.”

“No thanks.” He jumped and released my hand to pull his cell phone out of his pocket. “It’s Dr. Widmyer.” He answered, and the doctor and I listened as they finalized the arrangements for Gale to stop by his house and get Mo.

A few moments later, I had six neat stitches, a five-day zee-pack of an unpronounceable antibiotic, a bandage over the tetanus injection site, and a sheet of instructions I knew I’d not follow since I needed to get back to looking all macho in front of Jere.

I asked him to drive my vehicle back to his place. He agreed and when he came around to open the door for me, I backed him against the Blazer.

He licked his lips. “Please say this means you’re going to kiss me.”

“Why waste time talking?”

I touched my lips to his in the barest whisper of a kiss. He grasped my waist and pulled me closer. I kept the kiss brief, seeking to give him assurance I wasn’t angry with him or Mo, not arouse him, or myself. He rested his forehead on my shoulder.

“Oh, God, Leon. I was so stupid. A card game. A fucking card game and I used it as an excuse.”

I cradled the back of his head in my hand. “I know you’ve been hurt worse than I can begin to imagine, but I’m not that guy. I’m not any of those guys.”

He raised his head and looked at me, searching “What do you want with me?”

How did I answer that without sounding like an idiot? “At first I thought I’d try to be a friend. Then I wondered about more because I really like you. And then, well, you’re pretty hot, you know. You make me horny.”

“Oh, great. All you want is sex.”

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE


Leon McNamee successfully worked his life plan to a good job, his own home, and the one thing he always wanted as a boy - a dog. He hasn’t had much luck in the relationship department, but in Smoke, he has all the company he usually needs.

Jeremy Cooke’s new plan is to stay clear of entanglements and not get hurt again. He moves to Marionville to start over and decides to rescue a damaged dog. After all, he’s well acquainted with abuse.

Leon and Jere get acquainted over their shared love of dogs, but Jeremy holds close his secrets. When an argument escalates, disaster strikes. Leon has to fight to save Jere’s dog - and the man’s trust. At the end of the day, his best ally is a black Labrador Retriever named Smoke.

AVAILABLE NOW AT:
Amazon

iTunes/Apple     

Barnes & Noble/NOOK

Kobo
www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/where-there-s-smoke-49


KC Kendricks




Thursday, July 5, 2018

Another rainy holiday

July 5, 2018


Sometimes I think the gods of weather have too much fun at my expense. Yesterday was a holiday here in the United States - our Independence Day observance. I had such high hopes of a perfectly grilled center cut pork chop, a hope that quickly died when the dark clouds rolled in. 

The day started with promise. I actually slept until almost seven a.m. That's quite a rarity for me. I'm usually up by six. Deuce was ready to go do all his outside activities, so I slipped into a t-shirt and went with him. Doggie-mommies need to monitor some of these things, you know. 

While Deuce was busy sniffing the perimeter of his yard, I went into the shed and shot the last coat of gloss paint on the second platform rocker - mark one more item off my to-do list. The rocker was quickly followed by tidying my financial empire and cleaning Loki's litter box. The spousal unit was up by then and we decided to check out purchasing a new recliner for him. 

We're now the proud owners of a power lift recliner. It's going to be a big help to him. Not only will it not move when he attempts to stand, it will lift and help him get his feet under him. With any luck, Bob's Discount Furniture will deliver it next Tuesday as promised. As we were leaving the store, the heavens opened. We managed to drive out from under the rain and beat it home. There was just enough time to let Deuce out for a quick pee-pee before the rain caught up to us. It rained for the remainder of the day and there went my grilled pork chop for dinner. 

It must have put a damper on local firework celebrations, too. I didn't hear many "booms" echoing off the mountain after dark. 

For some time now I've wanted to swap my dining room table with a smaller breakfast table I've used in my sewing room. I won't go into the particulars of it. Suffice it to say it was just a notion I had and today was the day I acted. I texted Cousin Dave to help me move the bigger table. As it turned out, he said his oldest daughter was looking for a larger table. He texted her and my problem of what to do with a formal dining room table with two leaves and four big chairs is solved. I'm delighted I can help her out and she didn't have to spend any more than what it will cost her to get a bottle of furniture polish and put a shine on the table and chairs. 

And so goes another holiday. It wasn't the quiet day I'd planned. It was a lot better. 

KC Kendricks
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Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Independence is precious

July 4, 2018

I can't imagine living in a world without freedom. Nor can I imagine living in a place where there is no law and order.  I feel blessed to live in the United States.

National pride is a polarizing issue these days. People say we're a democracy when in fact we are a constitutional republic. Our founding fathers created a remarkable document. If only I could write like that! If only I had the words to create something that would last hundreds of years! Our constitution is an impressive body of work. 

Today is the day to take a look around and be intentionally grateful for the gift and blessing that is this thing called "freedom." Today is not the day to fight. In fact, let's all set aside our baser selves and stop fighting like rats in a bucket. 

Instead, let us take stock of how far we've come from the early days of the republic. Let us look back with reflection, and introspection, and be intentionally aware of all the good things we are as a people. But then let us not rest on our laurels. There is work to do to keep us a proud nation - social, moral, and constitutional work. Let us do this work peacefully so that it may actually be accomplished. That is my hope for this Independence Day. 

_*_*_

And because it IS a day to celebrate, and because I am a writer of romantic stories about men, I give you my favorite patriot

Yes, let us be thankful for our freedom of expression on today of all days.

KC
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