Saturday, March 30, 2019

A Hard Habit to Break - a new look

March 30, 2019

True spring has arrived! I arrived home from bowling last night to a chirpy serenade. It was lovely - truly music to my ears. The little peeper frogs, our heralds of spring, are awake and that means cold weather is past. 

I had a bit of a break at the day job this past week, so I opted to play with Photoshop once again. Updating covers is a fun endeavor. I like to use the original background, if possible, in a new way. It's also good to keep the original guy, again if possible. So the cover is new but it's not. 

It's a bit of a search to find stock photos that really appeal to me. It would be easier to snatch something free, but the resolution wouldn't be as good.

Back posts here at Between the Keys have been updated. Now I need to do that to the website and at the third-party vendors. 

A Hard Habit to Break. Friends who grew up together, lost each other, and finally found their way back to each other and happiness. 
_ _ _ _ _ 


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 is available at:

Available now at Amazon

iTunes

NOOK

KOBO

 KC Kendricks

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

Friday, March 22, 2019

Spring Equinox 2019

March 21, 2019, at noon
March 22, 2019

Spring has sprung, so they say. As welcome as it is I will still complain and say it was a long time getting here. I've been waiting for months! 

My mother and I both grew up country girls through and through. Her father was born in 1910 and his mother in 1886. They were even more country, working the land to feed family and have income. My grandfather religiously purchased an Almanac every year and planted by the signs. Mom and I had outside employment and so we planted when we had time, but that's another tale. 

Mom and I didn't bother with astronomical signs but we did pay attention to the weather. Here in western Maryland, the vernal equinox brings rain. We watched and observed, and discussed the occurrence. Spring can be as early as March 19 or as late as March 21, but on one of those days, there will be precipitation. This year, the weatherman said the rain would begin around five p.m. on March 20. Coincidentally, the official start time for Spring was 5:58 DST, so maybe the weather folks were hedging their bets. The rain actually began at six a.m. on March 21 and lasted for about twenty-four hours. 

Being curious about many trivial matters, I went to wikipedia to find out why it is it always rains at the vernal equinox. 

I still don't know. Subsolar points? Time slippage? Sidereal time? Right ascension? Refraction of light rays? Equal amounts of day versus night? Whatever. 

All I know is the old adage passed down from a woman born in 1886 has once again proven true. It rained like hell at the vernal equinox. 


KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
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Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Right Brew - updated new cover

March 19, 2019


Cross another item off the "someday list!" I made a new cover for The Right Brew (Book 9 in the Men of Marionville collection). I'm much happier with this one than the original. The original was made at a time when I was just learning how to create covers in Photoshop. I have a much better feel for it now. 

Will this be the last cover for The Right Brew? I don't know. Experience says it might not be. Let me get too bored at the day job and I start misbehaving (a.k.a. doing my own thing). But this one will certainly do for the next while.

Here's a bit about The Right Brew. Enjoy!
_*_*_

Hollis Milnor didn’t think twice about moving to Marionville. His ailing cousin needed his help running his nightclub, Frolic, and Hollis needed to put some space between himself and an ex-boyfriend determined to make his life miserable. Management skills he has. Experience running a nightclub, not so much, but he’s a quick learner.  

Caleb Brewer is a steady, hard-working man establishing a microbrewery. He’s got a great product and demand for it is growing. When a new manager takes over the hottest nightclub in Marionville, Caleb is determined to maintain his prior arrangements. 

What starts out as business quickly heats up the summer nights. Hollis hesitates, reluctant to step over the legal line. Caleb isn’t just a vendor. He works part-time at the nightclub. Becoming involved puts them both in murky waters, waters that become crystal clear when the past catches up with Hollis and puts everyone he loves in danger.    


EXCERPT

“Caleb. Come in and sit down.” I motioned at a chair. “Something wrong?”

He eased down in the wing chair and stretched out his long denim-encased legs. “Did we sorta get off on the wrong foot here? I can’t afford to have that happen.”

I gave him points for directness. He didn’t aim to come off as being abrupt. He simply kept everything right out front. I liked that. 

“I know. It’s my fault, Caleb, and I’m sorry. I’m here to manage the nightclub, not get personally involved with any of the men working within the business end of things.”

He studied me for a moment, and then nodded. “Fair enough. I thought that might be it, but I wanted to be sure that’s all it was. Now I need to ask you this.” He took a deep breath. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I’d like to talk about some business.”

He would, would he? I admit getting involved with the hired help wasn’t a good idea and he comes back with an invitation to dinner?

We could talk ideas and possibilities for our respective ventures right now. We didn’t need food, wine and the privacy of a crowded restaurant, but what better way to learn more about him? A wave of goosebumps fluttered over my back. 

“I guess I do need to eat sometime.”

His blue gaze locked on mine. “I think I like that you had to consider it. Too much impulse can lead a man astray.”

Oh, hell, yeah. “Is that where you’d like to go? Astray?”

A smile teased the corner of his mouth. His eyes sparkled with humor. “I’ve been there before so I know which road not to take.”

“Same here. Tell me something. How long have you been connected with Frolic?”

“Not long. Maybe a year. Why?”

I grinned at him. “You might have information useful to me.”

He rolled his eyes and lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “And that, Caleb Brewer, is why the man agreed to have dinner with you.”

 I chuckled. “Talk to yourself often, do you? I like to keep things above board, too. So, yeah, I’m going to ask you a bunch of questions, but I think I’ll really enjoy having dinner with you.”

“I get it, and it’s okay. So how about I meet you about seven o’clock? At The Wharf? It’s the best place in town.”

“I’ve heard about the place. Give me your phone number in case something happens and I can’t get away on time. I can at least let you know I’m running late and why.”

We exchanged cell numbers and he held his hand out as he stood to leave. I reached out and his fingers closed around mine. The shock of his warm palm against mine turned my arm to lead. He let go of me. 

“It’s not a date, Hollis. Not if you don’t want it to be.” 

He walked out of the office while I stood watching his retreating backside. It wasn’t until he’d disappeared I realized I rather wished it were.   

THE RIGHT BREW
Available at iTunes/Apple

Available at Amazon

Available at Barnes and Noble/NOOK

Available at KOBO
                                                                                                


KC Kendricks






Sunday, March 17, 2019

A point to ponder from Pinterest

March 17, 2019

Like what is apparently billions of other folks, I enjoy surfing Pinterest. There are so many pearls of wisdom to be found - it's truly incredible. I found this one the other day and I confess my sense of humor loved it, so much so I decided to share it here. 

Think about it...

And if you're in the mood, check out my Pinterest board called, "Every Picture Tells a Story."

KC


Thursday, March 7, 2019

A new cover for Kentucky 98 Proof

March 7, 2019

It's a human commonality. We all say it and there is no point in denying it. "I'll get around to it one day." 

Today I "got around" to something I've wanted to do for a long day. Blame it on a slow day at the day job. It's difficult to get a lot done when you're 1)waiting on other people, and 2)a guy is operating a ram-hoe and breaking up the sidewalk outside your office window. The noise and vibrations were too intense to work with numbers, so I amused myself and made a new cover for Kentucky 98 Proof. It turned out great if I do say so myself. 

Having made the cover, I went on to make a Twitter promo card. I even updated the cover on old blog entries here at Between the Keys. 

After that, I uploaded the new cover to 
Amazon and other vendors. Talk about being on a roll! Once I made it home, I updated my website and now I'm spreading the word in a new blog post. 

Yep. I nailed it today! 

KC
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/kentucky-98-proof-by-kc-kendricks.html

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Intrinsic value

March 3, 2019

Say that something has "intrinsic value" and you may get two different reactions. Some people will smile and nod, and some will give you a blank stare. Intrinsic is quite subjective. Something I think has intrinsic value will have no value of any sort to someone else. Of course, the Internet tells me this little Scottie dog is worth at least $24 on Etsy. 

I very much doubt my great-grandparents paid even a penny for this. Carnival glass, or "Iridill," was created by the Fenton company sometime around 1910. Tiffany had a similar process and so the Fenton glass didn't sell for top dollar. That being the case, Fenton discontinued Iridill. The older women in my family possessed a great liking for Fenton and many, many pieces have come to me. 

These days Fenton glass, while collectible, isn't a consistent high-dollar value. The odd piece may fetch hundreds, but the research into the pieces I own shows an average value of $20. 

So I'm down to the intrinsic value of each. How do you put a monetary value on something that your great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother all touched? I can't. I don't even want to try. 

The little Scottie dog is a link to my childhood and to a small, stoop-shoulder woman with long white hair that she tucked up into a traditional Brethren prayer covering (a little white bonnet). She died when I was eleven but I do have strong memories of her. 

Today the Scottie sits on the same desk it rested upon in her home. Desk and dog are in my writing office, along with other family items. To the south, through the trees, I can still see the old homeplace, so the Scottie hasn't traveled too far. To me, the connections are comforting. 

Intrinsic value. 


KC Kendricks
www.kckendrics.com