You would think I'd be writing

April 7, 2025

It's not been a typical Monday, at least so far. Being an only child, I have a raft of cousins I'm close to, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them. One of the "outlayers" is a woman who was married to my first cousin, Phil, who died in 1995. She's still family. Her second husband passed a few days ago and his funeral was this morning. 

I think it's sad - and somewhat my fault - that I don't see her very often. We went in separate directions after my cousin died, and geography played a part in that. I was happy when she moved back, but we didn't connect very often. And as it turned out, she was caring for her late husband much the same as I had to care for mine. It didn't leave a lot of free time. 

Being that the service was slated for ten o'clock, I didn't get anything started this morning. I did a bit of promo on Open Roads and then left the house. 

The weather today is abysmal. It's barely forty-five Fahrenheit, and there is a steady drizzle. Nonetheless, I left the service and went to Sam's Club where I promptly blew the grocery budget for this cycle. Oh, well. Shit these things happen. 

By the time I got home, took Deuce outside, put the loot away, and finally sat down at the computer, it was pretty obvious that writing wasn't going to happen. 

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the lack of stimulation in my life. I don't know what it is, but I lack the impetus to work on any of the stories I have started. It's not that I'm displeased with those stories because it's so far so good with them. No, I think it's this strange phase of my life. 

I really need to get past it so I can be happy with myself again. Whatever the hell the problem is, I don't believe it should be an excuse, or a crutch, or a reason to not pursue something I'm good at. Lingering grief? Get over it. Lack of sunshine? Get over it. Too many things that need done? Get organized! 

One of these days the from me to me pep talk will kick in. 

     _*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

My home on the web- Between the Keys: 

http://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Visit my bookshelf at: 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/bookshelf.html

Social media links:

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

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

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KCKendricks

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

KC Kendricks, Between the Keys, writer's block, contemporary gay romance, Kindle romance novels, LGBT gay romance, m/m romance, grief, a writer's life, bad author, country lifestyle, death in the family

New cover and title reveal: Once in October

September 20, 2024

The death of a loved one is never easy. It drags at the soul. I thought I'd find solace in writing, but I rushed to it which had the opposite effect. I needed time that I didn't give myself. 

I'm writing again, slowly, and it feels a lot better. The words don't come easy in every session, but they do come. I'm relieved. 

It started with December Promise, which was followed by Hot August Comes, September Morning, and July Heat. It occurred to me I'm off to a good start in creating a collection of by the month stories. Currently, I'm working on an October piece that I hope I can finish and publish before the end of October. It's difficult to refrain from stressing about it, but it will be as it will be. This is the year I need to give myself a pass on many things.

With that said, I did get a cover made! 

This story is set in Centerville as is Bored, Stroked, and Blueprinted, Memphis, and July Heat. Central to the Centerville stories is a muscle car garage and much like the Marionville collection features the characters in previous stories. Yes, I like to build my own little communities and play in them. 

Being a classic/muscle car enthusiast, the Centerville collection gives me a chance to show a piece of American automotive history, too. 

I have working titles for February, March, and April, and I need to flip a coin and decide which May and June titles work best. That likely won't happen until I've started writing those stories and the characters speak to me about it. I've wracked my brain for a November title and I'm betting that will be the last of the collection to come to life. Not all of these planned stories will be set in Centerville. At least, I don't think they will. It's a writer's prerogative to change her/his mind. 

And the car in this story? It's a 1970 Ford Torino, my first husband's car. I remember that car with more fondness than I do the man. Go figure. 

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KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: 
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Visit my bookshelf at: 
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/bookshelf.html

Social media links:

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KCKendricks

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

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

KC Kendricks, Between the Keys, contemporary gay romance, m/m romance, GLBT romance, Kindle romance novels, series romance, Ford Torino, October, writers on writing, a writer's life

Independence Day 2024

 July 4, 2024

To my late husband and me, Independence Day was a day of family and reflection. Ron enlisted in the Navy as the Vietnam conflict was ramping up. In his day, his father landed on a Normandy beach. His uncles, brothers, and many cousins also served. We didn't go overboard with flying flags and plastering the homestead with red, white, and blue decorations, but instead, we quietly observed the day. It feels different this year with him gone. 

What isn't different is me sharing my favorite patriotic Internet guy. What isn't different is me bemoaning the fact that no matter what angle I look at the photo from, I can't see the goods. 

Okay. I get it that this isn't exactly in the spirit of the day, but if that photo doesn't make you want to celebrate, you need to lighten up! 

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: 
http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Visit my bookshelf at: 
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/bookshelf.html

Social media links:

twitter.com/kckendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KCKendricks

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

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

KC Kendricks, Between the Keys, Independence Day, LGBT gay romance, m/m romance, Kindle romance novels, guy with flag, celebrate, my opinion

What do readers really want?

 

May 13, 2023

What do readers really want in a story? It's one of those "magic bullet" questions to which, if we knew the answer, we could deliver the perfect story. I've been writing for over twenty years and I still don't have a proper response. 

It's raining today. I spent half a cup of coffee gazing out the window into the woods watching a single deer move silently through the trees, carefully choosing each delicate hoof fall on its journey to a place it knows may be dryer. The woods are so very green this season, and the fawn-brown deer stood out against the foliage. The rain is more of a mist, and it blurs the vision, softening the appearance of everything in sight. Do readers want to know this? 

The heat pump sits just outside one of the sunroom windows. The fan came on and the water droplets on the top grillwork came to life, dancing and swirling before flying away to seek the wet ground. Do readers want to know this? 

It's begun to rain harder now, bringing myriad sounds to intrude into the clicking of my keyboard. There is the steady beat on the roof and an equally steady drip as water runs into the gutter and downspout. Do readers want to know this? 

Or as one of my colleagues has suggested, do readers only want to visualize naked bodies straining toward a joint peak and use the writer's imagination as to the sounds of their lovemaking? 

Writing to please only other readers, and I say 'other readers' because I am the first reader of my story, or writing to a particular market as it can be called, can be a recipe for disaster. The writer attempts to become a psychic, a mind reader, to please what they hope will be a huge readership and reap those rewards. 

I've never been very successful at mind-reading. It's not part of my skill set. I plod along in the dark, never knowing if a story will turn out the way someone else will like. Did Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell expect their stories would become literary classics? 

Probably not when they first sat down to write those stories. Whether they started with a mere kernel of an idea or the entire story came to them as dawn broke, there was no way for them to anticipate the impact of their words. They simply told their story the way it should be told. 

It has occurred to me that's the way it's supposed to be and I would do better to emulate them. 

    _*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com

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_3.html

Social media links:

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

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

Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: KC Kendricks Between the Keys

twitter.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

facebook.com/kckendricks

KC Kendricks, Between the Keys, writers on writing, gay romance novels, LGBTQ romance, m/m romance, a writer's life, rainy days, bestselling authors, Kindle romance novels