Capping off Christmas

 

December 26, 2020

We're going to hear it said a lot - this Christmas was different. Can I get an "amen!"? I'll settle for you muttering under your breath, "you got that shit right." In the year 2020, it's about the same thing. 

No, I'm not making fun of Christians. It's the faith to which I espouse. Lighten up, folks. 

I'm part of the generation which, so it seems, was the first to be vocal about the commercialization of Christmas. Christmas is big money. I'm curious as to what the retail numbers will be this year. Our own personal experience with Christmas buying is not a good marker. We tend to discuss our needs and wants and settle on that one big thing we agree on instead of a bunch of little things. This year we decided to wait until spring to make that purchase since it's for outside. 

But what we received this Christmas isn't something we could purchase. I spoke with my two closest male cousins which did my heart good. I left a message for another cousin and I hope she'll be able to call me back today. My partner's siblings all joined together in a facebook chat (or zoom or whatever) with various spouses and offspring wandering in and out in the background. It was a welcomed connection to family.

Back in the day, I wasn't much of a fan of the digital lifestyle. I foresaw us being exactly where we are, although I never saw a pandemic coming. I saw the reliance on digital or virtual as the end of the personal gatherings. One of my friends used to shake her head at me, telling me that going digital was a great way to keep tabs on a friend without putting up with all their shit. She was right. I do that with her. 

Our Christmas was a solitary one. It's really good that after twenty-six years we still tolerate each other pretty well. The one cousin popped in with his new puppy but outside those ten minutes, we had our solitude. Last Christmas, I penned a light-hearted little poem entitled The Elder and The Crone. It was meant in fun but has deeper significance this year. 

 

So as the hours of Christmas 2020 ticked away, the Elder and the Crone enjoyed a slice of bourbon-laced sweet potato pie and some heavily spiked eggnog. After that, the two old farts fell asleep in their respective recliners while the dog put himself to bed. It was a great way to cap off this particular Christmas. 

KC Kendricks

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Christmas 2020

 December 24, 2020

May we all have a safe, healthy, and happy Christmas season, and a prosperous New Year. 

KC Kendricks

Are breaks really a good thing?

 December 19, 2020

Are purposeful breaks a good thing? My answer is it depends. The old adage to "write something every day" has never worked well for me. It works well three days a week since I don't work at the day job Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but the other four days of the week? Not so much.

 
Knowing that for four days a week I'll be too emotionally tired to write has always been an annoyance and frustration for me. The year 2020, well, who can adequately describe 2020? What usually happens to me is that I'll come home from the day job and want to write until I sit in the chair and stare at the monitors. Then I sort of crash. It's very unproductive. 

We've arrived at what is my annual Christmas break, that time from the weekend before Christmas to January 2. It feels like a cheat to take the time off. I've almost finished a Rayne Forrest story and it would be great to kick-off 2021 with a new release. 

Sometimes it really works to tell myself I can't do something. I believe writers should be well-rounded in knowledge. That doesn't mean an expert. It means to take an interest in many topics - except politics. That shit will rot your brain. My planned breaks are so I can indulge myself by working with genealogy, ancient cities and peoples, crafts, cooking and baking, and planning a spring garden. This year I've added spying to my repertoire of interests. We bought a trail camera to keep an eye on the deer in the west woods. Something is having way too much fun out there at night and we think it's a coyote. 

Just typing the words "I'm on a break" has me itching to open the folder and work on the story. Any story. It's not only the Rayne Forrest story I have on the plot board. 

Maybe a huge part of staying motivated is getting myself to relax. The thing I've wanted in my life, above all else, is at hand. If not for the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to maintain really good health insurance, I would have retired back in June 2020. I came so close....

It snowed a few days ago providing me with a winter wonderland vista outside the windows of my sunroom office. Maybe if I write a few hundred words, I can take a break and go wander about the manor. Then tomorrow I can watch the footprints melt. I've got to fit that imagery in a story now. 

First day of being "on break" and already I have a new idea to jot down. Breaks can be good. 

KC Kendricks

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Passion's Victory promotional card

 December 6, 2020

Passion's Victory is the second story I wrote as KC Kendricks. It garnered a CAPA nomination, which both surprised and pleased me. It shouldn't have. Passion's Victory is a solid story if I do say so myself. 

One of the tasks I've set for myself is making a promo card for every book. This morning, it was Passion's Victory's turn. This card is about my third effort and I think I'll stop while 

I'm behind! 

Here's a bit about Passion's Victory, available at the usual on-line booksellers. You can also check out the book page here at Between the Keys. 

Enjoy! 

*_*_*_*_*

PASSION'S VICTORY

 Micah Souther is young, talented, and gay. As the junior owner of the family business, he knows better than to look for love “on the clock.”

 Jonas Chadwick is the new guy at the firm. Older, wiser, and a survivor of the school of hard knocks, he’s not in the market for an office romance, even if he learns for certain his young boss is gay.

 One kiss is all it takes to send Micah and Jonas on a collision course, and when bodies collide, the friction gets hot...

EXCERPT

... My pulse pounded loudly in my ears and my cock rose, anticipating something I knew wasn’t a certainty. He’d come back, but for what? His warm lips found mine, seeking permission. I opened to him, inviting him to plunder at will. He did, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I met him eagerly, hungrily. I wanted this, and more.

Jonas’ strong fingers encircled my wrist as he lifted my arm above my head to body pin me, full length, against my front door. He pressed the hard ridge of his erection firmly to mine. I reached for him with my free hand, wanting to feel his length and girth, but he grabbed that wrist, too, and lifted it beside the other. I bucked against him, totally turned on by the aggression I sensed in him.

“Be still,” he growled in my ear. He trailed kisses down my neck, even as his grip tightened. I struggled to break free of the vise grip he had on my wrists.

His pelvis ground against mine. I tilted my head and delved into the heat of his mouth. I moaned. He moaned. I wanted my hands free in the worst way. I needed to touch him, caress the sensitive, silky skin I knew sheathed his penis. I ached to feel his lips on my cock.

I threw my weight forward, desperate to force him to take a step back. It worked and I quickly spun him around and pinned him with my body. He grunted as he came in contact with the door and his lips bowed beneath mine. His strong fingers released my hands, and I reached for him, gathering him to me. His muscled thigh slipped between mine and applied upward pressure on my balls. Instead of worrying about injury I pressed down, reveling in the tingling sensation.

“Jonas,” I murmured against his smiling lips. “Talk to…” His tongue flicked to mine, cutting off my request for a moment of conversation.

Any of my neighbors watching were getting quite a sideshow. I shoved my hand in my pocket, fumbling for my keys. They fell from my shaking fingers to the porch decking. Jonas pushed me back, breaking physical contact. I longed to see his eyes, to get some idea of what he thought, what he felt.

“Bend over and pick them up,” he said cheerfully as he rubbed my nipple.

I stared at him and tried to catch my breath. “Not in front of you, Chadwick. I know all about men like you.”

“Do you?” Something rough and dark in his voice gave me pause. What demon did he battle?

“I know enough.” I pushed him back against the side of the house, not with some little force. “Why did you come back?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to satisfy my curiosity.”

“Bullshit.” I fisted my hands in his shirt and gave him a shake. “We take this inside, make it private, or we’re done here.”

Jonas stared at me for the longest twenty seconds of my life, then he nodded. I released him and he bent over, snagged my keys, and dropped them into my outstretched palm. I unlocked the door and invited the devil into my home for the second time in one day.

“I need a drink. Do you want one, Jonas?” I needed to haul him into my bedroom and have my way with him, that’s what I needed. My insides quivered. I shivered despite the warm evening.
But I knew, to my sorrow, that quickie sex now would be a mistake, and I bet he knew it, too.

“I’ll take a brandy, if you have it.”

“I hope you’ll settle for bourbon.”

I poured us each a generous shot and handed him one. He nodded and tossed it back like a pro. I followed suit, and we set our empties down on the counter in unison. Jonas reached for me again. I lifted my chin and stared him down. His hand dropped to his side.

I wanted him. God, how I wanted him. I ached with it. His gaze met mine before flicking down to the bulge in my pants and back up.

“Looks nice.”

“It’s a sock,” I told him cheerily, in the same tone that he’d used to tell me to bend over.

“Hmm. Well, that’s the risk we run, isn’t it?”

I snorted. “Ya think?” I went to check his package, and he moved away.

“Shy?” I hardly thought shyness to be a problem for him given his examination of my tonsils with his tongue.

“Let’s just say I’m cautious.”

 PASSION'S VICTORY
Available at
 Apple/iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1236569692
Barnes and Noble: barnesandnoble.com/w/passions-victory-kc-kendricks/1017484051

Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/passion-s-victory
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Passions-Victory-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B071Z5YRB4

Passion’s Victory webpage: https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/passions-victory-by-kc-kendricks.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:

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

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

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

A short promotional video

 December 1, 2020

Sometimes a person just gets a notion to do something, like, make a little video. 

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-61KjtBoaoU