January After Dark by KC Kendricks

 December 10, 2025

New today! January After Dark is live on Amazon! Yes, that happened a lot faster than anticipated. The book is also loaded at iTunes and other online vendors, but it has to finish the process. I don't think it will take too long.

Thanks for reading January After Dark.

KC

_*_*_

A wrong number on New Year’s Eve turns into a romance.

“Wow. We haven’t had dinner yet and that sounds like you’re already laying the foundation for an out.”

 Derek Bradley leads a secret double life. During the day, he works a regular nine-to-five, but when the sun goes down, his alter ego comes to life. Five nights a week, Rick January takes to the airwaves for your drive home with January After Dark.

It’s New Year’s Eve and Andre Maxwell reaches out to his estranged twin brother only to find that phone number now belongs to someone named Derek. It seems like Derek is a caring guy, and they stay on the phone to watch the ball drop together.

In one of life’s twists, they meet as strangers at a local pub and discover they’ve been talking on the phone. Derek doesn’t think he’s ready to love again, and Andre’s never had a decent relationship. But lonely hearts want what they want, after dark. 

EXCERPT:

Out with the old and in with the new.

The new mattress arrived first thing on Friday morning. I made the bed with the new sheets and hustled off to my day job. I was deep into the personnel review of the new company, and I wanted to schedule a few interviews for next week.

If I made it through the day without losing my mind, Eddie and I were going to work at the radio station tonight to get two more Friday night shows recorded. My lawyer hadn’t gotten back to me about the syndication contract, but Eddie and I needed to do some preliminary work and get our ducks in a row. We were going to act on faith.  

I had all this to do, and my focus was on my date tomorrow evening. Andre hadn’t called me, and I was squirrely over it. I had purposefully not stopped at the Night Owl for a drink, and now I feared he thought I was avoiding him. Which I was, in a way.

Andre was cute in ways Daryl had not been. It seemed shallow to compare them, but I couldn’t help myself. I had yet to discern the color of his eyes. The Night Owl’s dim lighting prevented me from getting a good look, but I suspected they were light blue or gray. I had gotten a look at his ruby signet ring though, and the shank was engraved with a stylized “C” which I thought must be for his twin brother.

And then there was The Itch. Ah, that low-level simmering heat in my balls every time I thought about what may or may not happen after our dinner. I’d never been one to think with my cock, but my cock was ready to seize the lead. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I barely knew Andre, certainly not well enough to consider letting him fondle the goods.

Eddie and I worked like demented fiends until midnight, and I hit the wall. I was beat until my ass hit the car seat, and I suddenly had a second wind. Instead of heading home, I cruised into the Night Owl’s parking lot.

This was not a good move, but Andre had said he’d call me sometime today and he had not. I wondered why. I climbed out of my car just as he sprinted out the door and straight for me.

“I thought you were going to call me,” I said as he pinned me to my car and kissed my cheek. I slid sideways out of his grasp.

“I did say that, but the day got away from me, Derek. I’ve been here, hoping you’d stop, and I’d just given up when I saw you drive in.” He studied me for a moment. “Are you going to tell me you ‘worked’ late again?”

I pushed the button on the remote to unlock my car doors. “Get in, and I’ll talk.”

His eyes glittered in the streetlights, but he finally nodded and walked around to the passenger door.

If I didn’t tell him what was going on, he’d think I was seeing another man, and I couldn’t blame him if he did. Keeping secrets never worked well for me. I dropped back onto the driver’s seat and locked the doors. I shifted to face him.

“What I’m about to tell you is top secret. It can’t get out just yet because I still need my day job.” I held my right pinkie finger out to him. “Do you swear to stay silent?”

Andre hooked his pinkie around mine. “I swear, but you’d better tell me now or I might die from curiosity.”

“Here it is. I’m Rick January.”

He tilted his head. “Who?”

I stared at him. He didn’t know? “You don’t listen to local radio?”

A wide grin transformed his face. “Gotcha! Oh, my God. I can tell now. The voice. You really are Rick January? No shit?”

“No shit. My ‘working late’ is being on the air from six until ten, weeknights. I don’t tell people this, Andre, but I’m telling you so you know I’m not lying to you about working.”

He leaned back and then held his pinkie out to me again. “I won’t tell a soul, not even my friend Joyce.”

“Thank you. But there’s more. The show is going to be syndicated nationwide, so I have a lot of work ahead of me.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Wow. We haven’t had dinner yet and that sounds like you’re already laying the foundation for an out.”

_*_*_*_

January After Dark is available at:

 Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G66DB4QX
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G66DB4QX
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0G66DB4QX
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0G66DB4QX

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/january-after-dark/id6756432681

Rakuten kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/january-after-dark

Universal by link for other online vendors: https://books2read.com/u/3LAqkM

Visit the book page for more info at 

https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/january-after-dark-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/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, January After Dark, LGBT gay m/m romance, new love, love after loss, contemporary gay fiction, LGBTQ fiction, Kindle romance, romance writer, new book

The end of summer 2020 and becoming a prepper

September 24, 2020

This has not been a good year for the writer. There used to be an old saying, "they lost their mojo." Not exactly. The events of this year stripped mine away. The first time I went into the grocery store and couldn't by something as basic as flour reprioritized my entire life. I've become a prepper. 

As summer winds down, many of my plans for a more secure future are coming to fruition. We're fortunate to live in the country, that is to say in a very rural setting. With the "peaceful" riots in the cities, we're insulated by location but we remain watchful. All the hate bubbling out of everyone has me too unsettled to write. What goes on the page today may be deemed offensive in a year. Then what? 

Becoming a prepper is not about hoarding toilet paper. It's about making a plan and methodically implementing it. It's about conscious decisions to gather in those items necessary to sustain my household for several months, perhaps even a year. It's carefully packaging pantry staples and slowing stocking the freezer, and then making sure there is fuel for the generator to keep the freezer running in the event of a power grid collapse. It's about conducting your day-to-day living with a new and growing awareness of what you need to do to weather another, longer stay-at-home order. 

But this does not mean it's all doom and gloom and the world is ending. Quite the contrary. I've found that working my prepper plan has brought me back to who I was as a younger woman. I learned so many things at my grandmother's side - soap making, canning food, tending a garden, etc. I'm putting those lessons to use and I'm enjoying doing so. 

We've purchased a small greenhouse to start seeds next spring. We've rearranged our spare bedroom to create our prepper pantry on the main level of the house where the spouse can access it. (He can't go up and down stairs any longer.) We're carefully planning meals together so that nothing goes to waste. Instead of dabbling with the dehydrator, I'm actually preserving fruits we'll use. I'm small batch canning and the spouse is interested and enthusiastic about helping. 

It's a different world now. As a couple, we're closer than ever as we work together to make sure we're as secure as possible in the face of an uncertain future. I can't help but feel that's what a pair bond is supposed to be like, a couple who are united in all. Even in these trying times, it's a wonderful feeling. 

It gives me ideas for stories that may someday be written. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

www.twitter.com/kckendricks

www.facebook.com/kckendricks

To date or not to date... my blog

October 26, 2019

The Twitterverse is an amazing place. Well, I think it was better before Twitter decided pictures of men in varying states of undress was inappropriate. I miss the eye candy. If that makes me a dirty old lady, so be it. But I digress...

Even though it's not what it used to be, I like to check in on Twitter and see who's having fun doing what. I still occasionally drop a promo or five while I'm at it, and I check out articles other authors have found and shared. I was scrolling down and found something from Justpublishing in the feed. "Should you show dates on blogs?" To date or not to date is a valid question and the article made a good case for dating. 

Truthfully, I never really considered the question. I date 99% of my blogs. Those you find without dates are simply an oversight on my part. I forgot to put it in. Maybe all my posts are not "evergreen," but it doesn't matter to me. 

Between the Keys is more than a promotional tool for KC Kendricks. It's the record of my journey as an author and as a person. The two are entwined, inseparable. It may be the only record of my life that remains, someday. 

Beyond that, not having dates, even on "evergreen" material, seems like a cheat. I'm not ashamed that my first book, Surrendered Victory, was first released in June 2008. Why should I be? The book is still in print and just as good now as then. Heck, I won a contest with it. Why hide the facts? 

To the aspiring writer and/or blogger, don't try to hide your journey. If you go back and update a blog entry, it's easy to add something like **updated 10/26/19**  under the original date.  Content might be king, but honesty is queen. And a queen takes a king every time. 

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

You'll only see this when she's sitting still

January 19, 2017

I found this on my camera. I'd forgotten I'd taken it. You'll only see icicles on this car when it's sitting still. 

Seriously. 

Last Saturday was typical January weather. We had a wintry mix and this is what happened. I thought the row of icicles looked sorta cool, so I shot the pix. They were still there the next day because this car doesn't handle well on icy roads. I stayed home - in the warm and dry. 

Don't misunderstand - the Charger corners on a rail on dry pavement, but the ass end will slide right out from under it on a slick road. 

And that's not the kind of thrill I'm looking for.

KC

Thanksgiving changes

November 24, 2016

The "holidays" bring a set of expectations to the door. We all get the yearly visit. While the particulars vary, the overall similarities are part of the American culture. We celebrate and give thanks with family, friends, and food.

The gatherings of my youth are but fond memories. The older generations, those people who passed the family name down, are gone. What remains of my parent's generation is fractured by death and ill health. My generation is equally scattered on holidays, busy with the younger generations of children and grandchildren. I have no biological children. My father has been gone for many years. My mother has Alzheimer's. The sister of my heart moved away. I am, for all intents and purposes, alone on this day, without blood relatives who share my memories. 

That's not to say I don't have people around me. My online posse is far-flung but wishes for a happy day arrived. My partner is the oldest of his siblings and we have an unconditional welcome at his youngest sister's house all days. 

Life goes on in different directions. We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at the care facility with my mother. Afterward, we had traditional Thanksgiving dessert at his sister's house. 

So while the day didn't unfold as in year's past, it was nonetheless a good day. I could be morose that the beautiful memories of yesteryear will not be re-lived, but I'm not. This is what I have now, today, and I count my many blessings. 

Now that my partner and I are finally home again and into our comfortable old clothes, it's time to call a few of my cousins. It's time to embrace a new normal and make it my own as I go forward in life. I'm sure it will provide a new set of Thanksgiving memories, and Thanksgiving opportunities to enjoy and to be thankful for. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

Hump day day off

November 16, 2016

I have a cold. I think. I might be having a reaction to leaf mold. There are plenty of leaves on the ground and I did use a blower to clear the rain gutters Monday evening. I think it's a cold because my throat was sore last Saturday. Cleaning the gutters just didn't help. I not really whining because I don't feel all that sick. My voice is a nasty croak so I took a sick day. 

Deuce is excited about having his Mommy home. I can't say the same for his daddy. The man of the house is fixing food for us - eggs and toast - and he's the one whose routine is blown for the day. 

A day off in the middle of the week, for whatever reason, is a rare occurrence. I've been gainfully employed all of my adult life. Retirement approaches and I'll have many more Wednesdays at my disposal. The closer I get to the earliest possible day to retire, the more options become available. I ponder that sort of thing when I have a day off. I also think about the things I didn't accomplish in the summer recently passed - like having porch railings installed. Next summer. 

Typical of every day, this one includes writing and/or the business of writing. So far today I've recorded a sales report, worked on the promo blurb for an upcoming book, zipped over to LRC and dropped a couple of excerpts for the group members, and I'm blogging. 

This afternoon I'll settle down and work on a story. There's time. After all, this day off is all about staying warm and cozy, resting, and doing what will speed my recovery, and writing always makes me feel better. 

KC Kendricks

www.kckendricks.com

Where There's Smoke for #MSS165

October 29, 2016

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday #165! 165? To use a word that's way over used, that's awesome! My Sexy Saturday is a weekly blog hop that allows you to sample some of the best romance available today. Use the list at the bottom of this post to navigate to the participating blogs. But most of all - enjoy! 

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from my latest release, Where There's Smoke. (Where There's Smoke is already a best seller at All Romance eBooks. Just saying.)

KC

_*_*_*_*_

“Fuck if I know.” I let go of his hand and took a couple of big swallows of ginger ale. I stood and offered him my hand again. “Let’s go dance before the thumpa-thumpa starts again.”

He held my hand as we walked down to the dance hall. We joined the slow-dancers, cautiously moving into the classic positioning for the fox trot. I noted he moved stiffly, as though he didn’t dance often or, heaven forbid, he felt trapped by my arms around him.

Or worse yet, he was aware of my growing erection and believed I’d lied about coming here for sex.

He looked at the sparkling mirror ball over our heads. “I love this song.”

“I love everything by DeRocher, but this might have just become my favorite.” I applied a little pressure to his back to coax him closer.

He resisted at first, and then suddenly closed the distance between us. Chest-to-chest we moved to the slow beat. He shifted his posture and I came dick-to-dick with another truth. He wanted me. It would be gauche to mention it, but privately I danced with glee. I brushed a kiss to his temple.

Jere leaned away, which had the effect of pressing our lower bodies even closer.  He looked worried, unsure. The dance floor lights sparkled in his dark eyes. “Leon, do you want to go to the back room?” 

*_*_*_*

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

Book #10 of the Men of Marionville series

Contemporary gay romance 

Available at Amazon.
www.amazon.com/Where-Theres-Smoke-Marionville-Book-ebook/dp/B01N7H231Z/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482971650&sr=8-2&keywords=kc+kendricks

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.

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

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Where There's Smoke - cover reveal

September 18, 2016

One of really great things about self-publishing is the control one has over book covers. I truly enjoy playing around with Photoshop and creating my own covers. Some really work - others not so much. Either way, it's fun to do. Plus, if a few months down the road I think a cover isn't working for the long run, I can update it without begging or paying for the update. It's a handy skill to have. 

I've been working on a story set in Marionville about a guy and his dog meeting another guy and his dog. So of course I had to put Deuce on the book cover. 

Do you know how difficult it is to get Deuce to sit still and pose for a picture? He's only nine months old and in constant motion. I had to bribe him with food. Yes, it's true. I stoop to bribery with my dog.

Where There's Smoke will be out before the end of 2016. Having the cover ready is encouragement to write faster. 

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com