F is for Frost, Robert

April 7, 201

Day 6

The 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge

Many Sundry Things

F is for Frost, Robert

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“Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost

I’m not sure the appreciation of poetry extends to the masses. A person either “gets” what the author is trying to say, or they don’t. And that’s not to imply those who don’t care for poetry are lacking in anything. We’re all wonderfully gifted with different interests.

Like many, my first encounter with Robert Frost was The Road Not Taken. I can go as far to say that bit of writing has had an influence on my life. Let the herd go where they may and I’ll take road less traveled to see what I may find. For the most part I’m quite happy with that decision.

But there’s another poem by Robert Frost I like entitled, The Freedom of the Moon. I’m certain those more scholarly than myself can attribute all sorts of metaphors to the prose, but I’m a country girl. I’ve walked home from a neighbor’s house by moonlight many times in my life and I take Frost’s words at face value – a man enjoying moonlight.

The Freedom of the Moon

I've tried the new moon tilted in the air

Above a hazy tree-and-farmhouse cluster

As you might try a jewel in your hair.

I've tried it fine with little breadth of luster,

Alone, or in one ornament combining

With one first-water start almost shining.

I put it shining anywhere I please.

By walking slowly on some evening later,

I've pulled it from a crate of crooked trees,

And brought it over glossy water, greater,

And dropped it in, and seen the image wallow,

The color run, all sorts of wonder follow.

-Robert Frost

America's Poet Laureate 

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Once again this year I have to do a little book promo along the way. You won’t know about my books if I don’t tell you about them, right?

F is also for Fallon Roxbury of the Sundown saga. Book I is The Back Stairs, in which Fallon meets the shapeshifter.

The Back Stairs

Fallon Roxbury has a nose for trouble, and the uncanny ability for landing in the middle of it the moment he finds it. While investigating the gruesome murder of a young male prostitute in the red-light district, Fallon gets a whiff of something very strange. Forensics has unidentified hairs. Very unidentified hairs, like nothing in any of the textbooks. Following a tip from a person of interest, Fallon meets Sundown, an apparent hustler who knows a lot more than he will admit.

Getting personally involved with Sundown breaks every rule in the police manual, and in Fallon’s own personal code. Sundown is like a drug, and Fallon can’t stop at just one hit. When Sundown is forced to reveal the truth, Fallon’s world is turned upside down, and he’s left with only two options: check himself in for psychiatric evaluation, or accept a new reality with a strange shift.

Shapeshifters, that is.

For more about The Back Stairs please visit
http://www.kckendricks.com/TheBackStairs.html

KC Kendricks

http://www.kckendricks.com 

Reflections of a vacation well spent

June 1, 2014

It's been a lovely vacation. Eleven days to putz around the house, write, sit on the patio, write, spend a lazy afternoon or two with the spouse, write, blog and write. I haven't written so much in so short a time since Netting Neptune, Taming Triton and Poseidon's Pleasure. Those stores came together fast. 

This is the first vacation spent in my newly refurbished home office. Having finally gotten a good desk and credenza has made the room very comfortable. My reading corner must be comfortable, too, but I can't get the cat out of the chair long enough to sit there and find out for myself. I'll have to abide by the cat's opinion. The room is "me" in a way the rest of my house is not as one has to make concessions to one's spouse. It reflects the steps I've taken as a writer and as a person and I enjoyed every moment I spent in it these last eleven days. 

With the writing going so well it was inevitable I'd ponder the possibility of becoming a full-time writer. I'd have time to construct a different shapeshifter. Not that I don't love Sundown because I do, but because there are other avenues to explore. Same for science fiction. I think a little world building would be good for me. And then there's the big "who-dun-it" story I want to attempt that will require a lot of time to complete. Time is a truly unrecoverable resource. 

I know I'm very fortunate to have the day job with all the benefits as so many positions like mine are disappearing. In truth, I think when I retire the company I work for will not hire another full-time person to do what I do. Over the course of the next few years, I may even suggest they scale my position back to "three-quarter time." It might be a bit self-serving but then again it might just be the reality of the situation. 

It would give me time to write. To see if what I accomplished this week (as an author I measure productivity by word count) can be sustained. There's no way to know until it happens and it can't happen if I'm working elsewhere. But writing more has the potential to replace lost income. It is a very circular discussion. To have what I want, I must give up what I need. 

Tomorrow will find me miles from home and the craft I love, but it will come with some different goals in mind. For my own health, mental and physical, I plan to take steps to carry the peaceful attitudes of this vacation with me. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life and tomorrow will find me even more determined than today. 

This vacation has given me a new dedication to old goals. It's the season to achieve them, one day at a time.

KC

Poseidon's Pleasure is available at Amazon and other online booksellers.

www.amazon.com/Poseidons-Pleasure-Southern-Cross-Book-ebook/dp/B01FL599U0?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

X is for Xs and Os

 April 28, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 24

X is for XXX and OOO

Only two days to go until the closing notes sound on the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! It’s been a lot of work but I’m very pleased to complete the challenge for a fourth time. And I will complete it. Why would I quit now?

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Ah, the letter X. It’s a challenging entry for the A to Z blogger. I fear originality may suffer when almost two thousand bloggers take on the daunting X. I’m going with Xs and Os.

If your best friend sends you a birthday card signed with “XXX” and “OOO” you probably know it means she/he is sending you “hugs” and “kisses.” My BFF uses it and it always makes me smile. We’ve pals for a long time - since we were in elementary school! When she calls me, my cell phone plays “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen. Using X and O is a common custom today, but did you know its roots are in the Middle Ages?

In those days, Christians would draw a cross on a document to show their sincerity and honesty. They would then kiss the cross to show the document carried their sworn oath. This was quite common as a lot of people didn’t know how to write their name.

Since the O goes with the X we should note the O was used by Jewish immigrants who arrived in the New Country and only spoke Yiddish. Being Jewish, the cross didn’t have the meaning to them, but the sentiment of the O being their sworn promise was the same.

So there you have it. Xs and Os as sincere and honest hugs and kisses. Remember that the next time your best friend sends you a card. It’s a sign of sincerity, faith and honesty, and yes, abiding affection. 

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

Newest release - MOON DANCES, book IV in the Sundown saga. Available now at 
www.allromanceebooks.com/product-riverwalk-2004040-145.html 

KC Kendricks
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F is for Foxgloves

April 7, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge

A Rural Life

Day 6

F is for Foxgloves

We’ve reached the second week of the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! As they say - time flies. I hope you're enjoying the variety the challenge offers as much as I am. Bloggers are writers and writing is all about telling people your story. So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

  

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If you’re a frequent visitor here at Between the Keys, you may have read my foxglove story before. I write often of my grandparents and the influence they had on my life. It’s less difficult than writing about my parents since my mom is still alive and I respect her privacy. My grandparents are ever constant in my mind, centered, together, always tolerant and loving in ways one’s parents cannot be. It’s the way of things, you know. 

I decided to reprint a blog from 2010, which just happens to be the most read entry I’ve ever posted. I think it has withstood the passing of time and is all the more appropriate given that those seeds from so long ago continue to sprout and grow with robust health.

July 11, 2010

I have faded memories of the old log cabin on the other side of the creek, the one my grandparents ‘went to house keeping’ in back in 1930. Abandoned by my grandparents when they built a brick home in 1940, the dark logs with their white chinking had almost disappeared when I was a girl, hidden by the poplar grove that sprang up in the old front yard. When I was about eight, my granddad hooked a chain on the old Allis Chalmers tractor, and pulled the cabin down lest one of his grandchildren come to harm playing in its shadow. From 1965 to 2007, the forest laid claim to the property, shrouding it in grapevines, behind a carpet of ferns.

Being an only child (and the only girl), in a generation of mostly only children, makes for some very close ties. My cousins and I act more like brothers and sister than some blood siblings do. When the subject was broached that one among the next generation was interested in the old lot, there was no need for discussion. All us grandkids are established with our own homes, on property given us by our grandparents (yes, we’re all neighbors and have been for almost thirty years). We welcomed the chance to honor the spirit of our grandparents, and pass the old property to one of the great-grandkids who would care for it. Clearing began in 2007, and the new, modern house was completed in 2008, built on the exact spot where the cabin stood so many years ago. 

Little did I know the treasure that would surface this year when I paid a visit to my young cousin. I strolled down my lane, hopped the creek, and walked across a carpet of grass where a few short years ago, wild ferns grew. Being family, I went around the corner of the house with the intent of using the kitchen door. What I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.

The entire length of the backyard, where lawn met the woods, was awash with pink, purple, and white foxgloves, yellow coreopsis, white daisies, and red sweet Williams. What sprawled before me were the flowers of my grandmother’s first garden. I plopped down on the porch step, and cried.

All those seeds, dormant in the good earth for decades, had fulfilled the promise of sun and rain, sprouted and grown, and now bloomed. I marveled at the miracle.

I’ve since transplanted roots and harvested seeds. Come fall, I’ll move more roots to my own garden, increasing my chances of good growth in the spring. I will cast the seeds back onto the earth, and watch for seedlings in the coming years, a precious legacy unknowingly left by a woman who loved her only granddaughter well.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without a brief book promo, did you?

F is also for Fallon Roxbury of THE BACK STAIRS, BENEATH DARK STARS, RIVER WALK and now MOON DANCES. For more information please visit my website at http://www.kckendricks.com/SundownSaga.html 

KC Kendricks

Website: http://www.kckendricks.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Blog: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kckendricks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kckendricks

Dancing with my shapeshifter again

November 18, 2013

The last week morphed into a stretch of busy-ness that caught me off-guard. I don't mind being busy provided I'm accomplishing something. And I did! 

Last Monday started out with the tree trimmers in the morning and Ender's Game in the late afternoon. Having read the book twenty odd years ago, I had to see this movie and I'm glad we went. Did the film makers stay true to the book? Pretty much, but I'm sure having read first enhanced the movie. 

Tuesday it was back to work. I'm glad I had a blog pre-scheduled because it was full steam ahead on the WIP Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening. Friday - bowling. Saturday - cousin's dinner. And yes, I got the manuscript submitted. Whoo-hoo! I was happy. Sunday - take a deep breath. 

So now I'm back on track at a more normal pace. I guess the good news is I didn't pull out too many hairs as the end of the Tales from the Garage story developed. No word yet when the Tales from the Garage PAX will be scheduled for release or even if the publisher will leave it as Tales from the Garage. I hope they do since that's what we all signed up for.  

The next book in the shapeshifter series is underway. Both Fallon and Sundown, the main characters, say this part of their story needs to be a bit more light-hearted. They've weathered a few storms, this shapeshifter and his human lover, so I'll bow to their wishes. They're going on a vacation. Of course, Sundown, being Sundown, he's bound to find some mischief. He always does - and that's why everyone likes him. 

KC Kendricks
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Between the Keys

R is for River Walk

It's All About the Books

2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge

Day 18

April 20, 2013

For this A to Z Blogging Challenge, I’ve been concentrating primarily on the books which leads us straight to R is for River Walk.

River Walk is the third installment in the Sundown series, and it cuts a wide path to delve into the Chal and their shrouded past. What are the Chal? The short answer is they are shapeshifters who have lived on Earth for at least a millennium. Where’d they come from? What are they doing here? Are they a threat to humans? River Walk touches on some of that as Fallon is forced to ask his Chal lover Sundown some hard questions.

Sundown gives up a few of his secrets in River Walk. Some he’s happy to finally be able to share with Fallon - others not so much. River Walk takes a serious turn but in the end shows the strength of Fallon’s relationship with the two most important beings in his life - his lover Sundown and his cop partner, Sgt. Juny Mack.

River Walk also shows the depth of Fallon’s commitment to protect Sundown and his people. Fallon is first and foremost a cop. “Protect and serve” are more than words to him, and he makes some hard choices to protect and serve both the humans and the Chal.

The saga of Fallon and Sundown has endless possibilities for the singular theme that love overcome all odds. I hope you’ll enjoy the series, beginning with The Back Stairs, then Beneath Dark Stars, and then River Walk. With any luck book four, Moon Dances, will be available late 2013 or early 2014.

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RIVER WALK

Gay romance with paranormal shift

Book three of the Sundown series

Detective Fallon Roxbury has a big problem. A twenty-year old cold case turned hot threatens to expose his secret - shapeshifters exist and they’re living in Montgomery Circle under his protection. Between a new witness and a group of fanatical alien watchers, Fallon’s scrambling to uphold the law and keep his promises intact. He already knows no power on earth can keep his shapeshifter lover from stepping into the mix.

Sundown has come into his own with his human lover by his side. Fallon is his compass, and shield, as he seeks to keep his Clan united and teach them most humans can be trusted. A catalyst, Sundown is rare among his kind, a descendant of heroes. The status of his Clan rests on him and he’s determined to see his people prosper on this world owned by humans - without the humans knowing shapeshifters walk among them.

Secrets have a way of being exposed. Fallon’s not the only one who knows about Sundown’s kind. A cop used to right and wrong being black and white, Fallon struggles to learn shades of gray. Their relationship is tested as Fallon and Sundown race against the clock to find a kidnapped shapeshifter before the Clan takes matters into their own hands. Because if they fail, Fallon knows his lover will be forced to stand with his people and act against him.

INTRO


“So when do you teach me how to change shape?”

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Fallon, wearing a different skin is not possible for you.” Sundown blinked rapidly, looking more and more shocked. “You would wish it?”

I shook my head. “No, I do not wish it for myself. It’s not normal for a human, Sundown. Come sit on the couch with me.”

I picked up my coffee cup and eased down on the brightly colored scarves covering his sofa. I loved his room with its red and gold brocades, bead curtains, and bright cloths. It made me nostalgic for the days of Woodstock even though I’d not been born until nine months after the Summer of Love changed the world. I lifted my arm and Sundown nestled in against my side.

“Are you angry with me, Fallon?”

Was I? Some inner knowledge assured me he’d not harmed me in any way.

“I’m concerned. That’s different. What happens if I get hurt and some doctor discovers weird little cells dancing around inside me?”

Sundown sipped his coffee. He licked his full lips and took another drink. He was trying to stall me in the hopes I’d ask something else and give him the opportunity to bypass giving me an answer. I wasn’t going to allow him to get away with such a ploy, not this time. I waited. Sundown finally sighed.

“It hasn’t happened yet, Fallon.”

His answer didn’t surprise me. The Chal used every means at their disposal to protect themselves and the clan, whether or not we humans would approve their actions.

“Here’s a news flash for you, lover. Forensic medicine has come a long way in a short time, and it’s possible today’s technology can detect those cells now.”

Sundown sat up straight and twisted to stare at me. I saw Czun Dun Nhunfi, the pride of his clan, before me. His quick intelligence absorbed the information, considered the ramifications, and developed options. I stroked his smooth cheek with my knuckles, and gave his words back to him, gently.

“It hasn’t happened yet, darling. How many humans have you done this to?”

His chin lifted. “You once accused me of using you as my science project. In this, you’re correct. The knowledge handed down to me said it was indeed possible to blend with a human in this way and thus know their thoughts. I needed to know if this were true.”

“You’re avoiding giving me a number, Czun Dun Nhunfi.”

“What was handed down said it was possible for those like me. My ancestors who were catalysts did this to gain knowledge of their captors. It is said without doing this, the Chal could not have escaped slavery on this world thousands of years ago.”

If the folks at SETI only knew how right they were – and how late they were to the game.

RIVER WALK

Gay romance with paranormal shift

Book three of the Sundown series


KC Kendricks
website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys