Double Deuce gets its first review

October 15, 2011

I don't think I've ever gotten a review on a book this quickly. When I saw the email in the que I thought it had to be on Highway Nights, or maybe Beneath Dark Stars, but it was indeed for Double Deuce. A five day turn? Unheard of from where I sit. But hey...We go with the flow.


Thanks to Pixie at MM Good Book Reviews for giving Double Deuce 4 Hearts. Here's a snippet from the review. Click the link to read it in its entirety.

[Double Deuce]is a well written story that has a strong plot and although this is from Ian’s POV you don’t feel like it’s just all about him...The sex scenes are hot and there is a spark between them that you know could turn into an inferno if they fed it. I recommend this to those that love hot men, hot sex, mystery, a good storyline [that] leaves you with a warm feeling. - MM Good Book Reviews

Look for Ian to work another case in 2012. 


DOUBLE DEUCE
Contemporary gay romance mystery
available now Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

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

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

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

Just released! Beneath Dark Stars by KC Kendricks

Sometimes an idea comes along that defies categorization. Like a different kind of shapeshifter. A bit paranormal, a bit sci-fi, and ALL uniquely Sundown. I hope you'll enjoy Beneath Dark Stars. Oh - and cool cover, too, isn't it? - KC


BENEATH DARK STARS 
Gay romance with a paranormal shift
available now at Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 

The sequel to the bestselling The Back Stairs...

Fallon Roxbury, seasoned detective and special police consultant, knows that appearances can be deceiving. Trained to gather the clues and arrive at logical conclusions, he fits the puzzle pieces of a situation together to find the truth. But there’s nothing reasonable in Fallon’s attraction to the sexy, secretive shapeshifter called Sundown.

Sundown has studied people all his life. Having his very own human male is all he ever wanted. In Fallon, he’s found a man he can trust with his secrets and reveal his true nature. Keeping Fallon happy is a joyful exercise into which Sundown puts his heart and soul—when he’s not teasing Fallon’s police partner by leaving strange footprints at crime scenes, that is.

Fallon’s new case ties into an old one. At a dead end, he knows it’s time to ask Sundown for a little help. With his special abilities, Sundown can get into places Fallon can’t. All Fallon has to do is figure out a way to prove what he already knows. But what’s a cop to do when the truth takes a shift that’s stranger than fiction?

INTRO

Sundown slipped into my arms, his supple body pressed to mine. We held each other for a moment, then he pulled away, presumably to accomplish his task. I let him go and concentrated on mine. He was fluffing the pillows as I joined him in the bedroom. I slid between sheets still rich with fragrant sandalwood and knew I’d miss his scent while he was gone. We settled in skin-to-skin with each other. I draped my arm around him.

“So you plan to sneak outta here under cover of darkness?”

He nodded. “I already feel the need to go, Fallon, but the Elders permitted me to spend most of this night with you.”

“Sounds like a conundrum for you.”

He handed me a small tumbler of juice and tapped his water glass to mine. I sipped my drink, sputtering at the lack of alcoholic bite. “This is plain cranberry juice!”

He blinked, a slow, lazy lowering and raising of his eyelids that put me in mind of a big cat causally watching its prey. “I didn’t want you to fall asleep too soon.”

The skin on my thighs and belly prickled. My cock pulsed and lengthened. “You’re just full of wants, aren’t you?”

“I have many, yes, and all will be accomplished in the proper time.”

“Boy, that sounds ominous for me, doesn’t it?” Actually, I liked the implications of him thinking about different things to do to me, and so did my dick. My erection completed.

Sundown lifted his glass, drained it, and set it aside. I took a healthy swig of mine and put it on the nightstand to finish later. I lifted the sheet and pointed at my hard-on.

“Is it the proper time to do something about the little problem I have right there?”


EXCERPT

I missed you, Fallon. I want to stay here all night.”

I hugged him. I certainly wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere. “Then we will, at least until one of us gets cold. Oh, wait. You even have blankets.”

He reached for a pillow. I thought it was a splendid idea and grabbed one, too. We maneuvered around a bit, snagging a few more and getting comfortable. I wanted more of him, but I’d have to wait a while. Unlike him, I couldn’t whip up another woody with a single thought. It would be several minutes before I could get it up again. Sundown settled against me with his head on my shoulder. I rubbed his arm.

“So just where are all your pleasure receptors aligned at now?”

He chuckled softly. “If you keep petting my arm, they’ll be there.”

“Uh-huh. Will you answer a few questions, if you can?”

Sundown was silent for several moments. Were he human, he’d probably think having him fuck me was my way of softening him up so I could get information out of him, and maybe some small—very small—part of it was. Now I wondered if he paused to read my mind, and therefore the intent of my questions, which were purely personal. There were many things about him I refused to allow the cop part of me to consider. He kissed my neck.

“First you must tell me if you truly find this altered appearance unacceptable.”

“I told you—I like it. Why do you worry?” I did like it, even though it meant I’d have to compose a new chapter in the Sundown companion’s manual I’d been mentally creating.

“Because of what caused it.”

Did he mean he hadn’t deliberately changed his outward appearance to reflect a more mature being? I would ask after I reassured him I was fine with the way he looked.

“Sundown, if you were human, I’d tell you that your looks need to please you first, and everyone else can go fuck themselves if they don’t like it.”

I could almost see his brain scrambling to consider my words. I smiled up at the stars at the mental image of neurons doing a rapid-fire dance inside his head, and suddenly, without being told, I knew what had wrought the change in his appearance.

“I think I’m envious of the Chal.” I held my hand up, and he laced his fingers through mine. Once joined, I guided our hands to my rest on my chest. “We are all enriched by knowing others, but it’s more for you, isn’t it?”

Sundown was quiet for so long I began to think he wasn’t going to talk about it. Finally, he spoke. “Yes. When I give of myself, what is returned to me contains the knowledge possessed by the other.”

That was one heck of an exchange. The creation of a new Chal with the knowledge of the old one. “And then all this shared knowledge gets passed on to the next generation. Am I right?”

“Yes. In this way, all Chal are…enriched.”

I lay still, trying to process the myriad implications of what he’d just confessed. Sundown was beyond value to his species, and yet they allowed him free reign of the city. He didn’t merely appear older; the new maturity went soul deep. He’d gained layer after layer of Chal history and individual experiences, all nuanced by the giver. In him it all came together, the bits and pieces reordered to form a cohesive whole. Then, to keep it safe in the event something happened to the catalyst, every Chal passed it all on to their offspring as a form of species memory. But what if some harm came to him before the next catalyst was born, would the chain break? It boggled my mind and made me uncomfortably aware of how fragile Chal existence might actually be.

“So, tell me. Will there be another catalyst?”

Sundown levered up on his elbow to look at me. The city lights cast his face in stark relief, rendering a severity to the angles of cheekbone and jaw. I stroked his cheek, and he smiled, the lines softening into the gentle countenance of the being I knew.

“We are fortunate. There may be four. We will not be sure for some time, but it is likely.”

“Well, congratulations. Should I buy cigars?”

“I don’t understand. Do you speak of a human custom?”

My sudden understanding found a new depth. “Let me guess. In all this exchange of molecules and knowledge, you didn’t learn much about humans, did you? But you taught the others plenty, correct?”

“Is this a problem?”

“That I’m your science project? I don’t know, Czun Dun Nhunfi. I really don’t know...”

BENEATH DARK STARS 
Gay romance with a paranormal shift
available now at Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 

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

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

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

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

Amber Allure Top Ten Best Seller List, December 2010

*Update - Amber Quill closed its doors on 3/30/2016.

January 5, 2011

Congratulations to the authors on the December 2010 Top Ten Best Seller list at Amber Allure! What a great way to cap off 2010. It's a good thing the year-end sale at Amber Allure is still on for a few more days. My TBR list just got longer.

1. Shades Of Dreams - T. A. Chase (Gay / Contemporary)
2. I'll Run Away For The Holidays - Stephani Hecht (Gay / Contemporary)
3. Shift Happens - Storm Grant (Gay / Shapeshifter)
4. The Werewolf In Red - Mimi Riser (Gay / Werewolf)
5. A Different Breed - Angel Martinez (Gay / Vampire)
6. Fielder's Choice - Gabrina Garza (Gay / Contemporary)
7. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Capricorn: Forgotten Faces - Vivien Dean (Gay / Paranormal)
8. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Sagittarius: Mr. November - Pepper Espinoza (Gay / Shapeshifter)
9. Egypt's Captive - C. D. Leavitt (Gay / Historical)
10. Fawnskin 2: Frenzied - A. J. Llewellyn & D. J. Manly (Gay / Paranormal)

I'd like to add personal congrats to Brit Blaise** and Victor J. Banis on their December releases, too.

**Note - sadly, Brit Blaise has passed away.

Amber Allure November 2010 Top Ten List

4/24/16 - This entry contains updated information but it doesn't change the fact What You Don't Confess hit the best seller list.
* * *

I suppose it's okay to brag just a tad over this - What You Don't Confess was the NUMBER 2 BEST SELLER during November 2010 for the publisher.

In case you missed it, What You Don't Confess was the NUMBER 2 BEST SELLER during November 2010 for the publisher.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's so unbecoming to go around shouting and bragging and carrying on like it's a REAL BIG DEAL or something, but sometimes a writer just has to seize the moment and get it out of their system so they can get back to work. So let's call this one of those moments, and move on to something more important, which is just about anything else I could name - ending world hunger, world peace, cure for cancer. That sort of thing.

More important than my own spot at number two - a big CONGRATULATIONS to everyone else on the list. We're a hard working bunch. Well, except when we're bragging and resting on our laurels, which I'm going to stop doing right now because I really do have a pile of work to clean off my desk before the weekend.

November 2010 Top Ten

1. Tensaw Blues - T. D. McKinney & Terry Wylis (Gay / Contemporary)
2. What You Don't Confess - KC Kendricks (Gay / Contemporary)
3. Once Upon A Secret - Christiane France (Gay / Contemporary)
4. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Scorpio: The Heart To Help - Jamie Craig (Gay / Contemporary)
5. Runes Of Revelation - Deirdre O'Dare (Gay / Dark Fantasy)
6. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Sagittarius: Mr. November - Pepper Espinoza (Gay / Contemporary)
7. Out On The Net - Rick R. Reed (Gay / Contemporary)
8. Manfred's Curse - Shawn Lane (Gay / Shapeshifter)
9. Island Heat - A. J. Llewellyn & D. J. Manly (Gay / Contemporary)
10. Tough Guy - Bryl R. Tyne (Gay / Western)

What You Don't Confess is available now at 
Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other online book sellers.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com

Amber Allure October 2010 Top Ten Best Sellers

I didn't have a book release in October, but kudos to those who did. Congratulations to all for a book well written!

1. The Beach House - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Troy's Surrender - K. M. Mahoney (Gay / Western)
3. Inhabiting The Night - Carolina Valdez (Gay / Shapeshifter)
4. The Club At Cool Harbor - Christiane France (Gay / Contemporary)
5. Wolf's Survival - T. A. Chase (Gay / Werewolf)
6. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Scorpio: The Heart To Help - Jamie Craig (Gay / Contemporary)
7. Trust Your Tutor - Lilith Grey (Gay / Contemporary)
8. Between A Rock And A Hard Place - Clare London (Gay / Contemporary)
9. Tough Guy - Bryl R. Tyne (Gay / Western)
10. The Wild Bunch: Stace - Deirdre O'Dare (Gay / Western)

The dreaded writer's bl....bottleneck

August 15, 2010

I parked my butt in my office this weekend, intent on writing. I did write - all the way to about 3,000 words. If only those words had all been on the same story!

The Muse can be a fickle little thing. Even after spending so much time with her, she's often a mystery, but I think I may have figured out something.

I read a lot of blogs, and writers everywhere address writer's block. No one wants to come down with it since it's often resistant to standard cures. A writer can re-read their favorite books, take a little vacation, sit and stare at a blank screen until the ice breaks- whatever it takes. For me, the solutions are as myriad as the causes.

Experiencing either a total lack concentration or complete tunnel vision locked on one unsuspecting target, I have to figure out which pole I've gone over to before I know what to do to break a block. Complete focus is the easier of the two to manage. I simply take a walk, ride my bike - anything but write. It clears my head and allows my thoughts to reorder themselves back into some semblance of coherency. Lack of concentration is a harder row to hoe.

I never know for sure what triggers these little episodes of scatterbrainitis. Stress is such a catchall, but I'm sure it has a lot to do with it. And we all know modern stress is killing us, breath by breath. I'm sure if I could afford to retire, I'd be soooooooooo much calmer. (So buy more KC Kendricks books, please!)

This weekend, I realized part of my lack of productivity stemmed from not knowing what project I wanted to work on next. I'm signed up for two PAXes with deadlines of December 1, 2010, and March 1, 2011. I have another adventure for Fallon and Sundown started, and I'm developing a new series that ties the threads together through one or two central characters, much the way Theron and Austin did in the Southern Cross series. So with all this floating around in my head, it was no wonder I couldn't focus.

I decided to use that energy in as positive a way as possible. I opened each folder, one at a time, and went through all my notes, adding whatever flowed quickly out. As soon as the train of thought broke, I closed the folder and moved on - to the sum of 3K words! Writer's block busted wide open!

Do I want to work this way all the time? NO. I don't think it's good for me personally to reinforce this little problem I have with my attention span. But now I understand that sometimes the block isn't a block - it's a bottleneck. Now I have an easy, productive way to forge ahead.

Sometimes it takes a long time to figure out a simple problem.

KC Kendricks
Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Join my mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys
Read my personal blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com

Old dog, new tricks, same questions

August 10, 2010

The release of a new book is a satisfying experience for me. While it's certainly the culmination of a lot of hard work, in many ways, it's just the beginning - of more hard work. For the epublished, once the book goes 'live', there is a lot of promotion to do. Or not do if you're not into promoting your work.

For those of us who do promote, we get to know other authors, at least by name, quite quickly. I recently read a blog comment that one particular author "tripped" over the same other author everywhere they went. I giggled like an idiot.

Yeah, babe. We'll ALL out there with you. It's what we do! I'm still laughing.

So my sense of humor needs a little work. It'll be okay, honest. (Note to self - BEHAVE!)

In my defense, let me say it's been a long, hard day. I spent hours trying to figure out Facebook today. Jeez, could they make it more frustrating? And what's with the nasty, dull white background? I much prefer the brilliant colors of MySpace. No matter. I'm getting the hang of it.

Learning my way around Facebook comes at the expense of writing time. With my frustration level at Code Red, I knew better than to attempt to work on either of the two stories I have started. Now it's past ten, time to head for bed, and I regret not having written anything.

Tomorrow is another day, and I know from experience that when I settle down in front of my computer, the words will come faster, and better, for giving my subconscious time to simmer the story a little longer.

But I wonder as I get ready to close up shop for the night if all the time spent learning new tricks (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) is worth the time away from the work. I haven't come up with that answer. Maybe I never will. Even as I finally learn Facebook, I know the next big "in" thing lurks around some corner, waiting to suck the hours out of my day, just like it's predecessor. Efficiently and without remorse.

The old dog is going to bed, but first a word.

Open Roads is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other online book sellers.

BLURB:

Tyler Phillips enjoys his small town life. He’ll never get rich working the family business, but he knows there’s more to a man than the size of his bank account. Easing into mid-life, Tyler’s restless for something he can’t find in the little borough of Easton – male companionship.

Noel Springs got caught up in the economic downturn. His job gone, and retirement a lot of years in the future, Noel decides to take a long drive and see some of the country before dedicating himself to finding new employment. The open road is just what he needs right now.

When his car overheats outside the little town of Easton, Noel discovers the local mechanic is hotter than his radiator, and just as eager to blow off some steam.

KC Kendricks
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/open-roads-by-kc-kendricks.html
kckendricks.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks

Night Train to Naples by Carolina Valdez

July 14, 2010

When the PAX group at Amber Allure firmed up the "That's Amore" offering, I knew I'd have to get it, and I knew Carolina's story, "Night Train to Naples" would be the first one I read. Show me a title that says a night train to anywhere, and I'm there. Maybe it was all those black and white movies I saw as a girl, although I don't think I ever glimpsed anyone that looked like Alex.

Just remember that between now and July 17, 2010, you can get this PAX at the unheard of price of $14 and change. Seriously! The new release discount will be in effect until Saturday.

Here's what Carolina said when I asked her what were the first words Alex said to her. I love it when a character speaks so clearly to the author.


My title--NIGHT TRAIN TO NAPLES--came to me first. But who would be traveling at night, and why? Alexandros Nicolaides appeared to me, saying, "I am Greek and a diamond courier. I'm big, blond and powerful, and my beauty is the transcendental beauty of an immortal. Yes, I am Vampire. And I am gay."

About Night Train to Naples:
After seven-hundred years, Alexandros Nicolaides has adjusted to life as an immortal. Employed by a New Orleans diamond courier, the gemologist travels to Italy in the hope of gaining a new customer for that business. On the night train to Naples, he confirms what he’s suspected—someone is following him.

Human Dante Rocco has his reasons for tailing the tall blond. Unaware he follows an immortal, he’s in for a bad shock. When Alex rescues him from thugs and evil, a hot, urgent sexual bond flares between these two rivals for the courier account. As they struggle with the reality of their relationship, they discover they’re now the ones being pursued—by an unstable, vengeful vampire.

Buy link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/NightTrainToNaples.html
PAX buy link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AP_ThatsAmore.html

KC

Who gets paid for doing the work?

July 3, 2010

**Amber Quill Press is now closed**

I subscribe to a few Google alerts and am constantly amazed at the garbage...er...interesting facts that come my way. The name of this blog, Between the Keys, has made me a pseudo-expert on Alicia Keys, whoever she is. It's actually fun to see where some of the links take me. Usually.

This morning, a new alert for Seducing Light popped up in my mailbox, so of course, I clicked. It turns out, it's just a Joyfully Reviewed copy of an old review, posted on blogger to generate a click through to the Seducing Light buy page at Amazon.

Say..what? A review site generating money for itself off my book? Maybe. Anyone could have copied that review and posted it on blogger to get the click-through kick-back. I do wonder.

I do wonder what my publisher is going to say.

I do know what I am going to say to my publisher.

Attempting to keep my perspective, it IS a good review of Seducing Light, which is a good book, if I do say so myself. It's my second favorite right after Tango in the Night. Joyfully Reviewed gave it high praise, and this reposted review goes so far as to give it a 5 out of 5 ranking.

So here's the thing. If you'd like to own a copy of Seducing Light, why not purchase it from the person who worked to get the book ready for sale? 

It's time to pay the people who work, not work the system.

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

facebook.com/kckendricks

pinterest.com/kckendricks/boards

instagram.com/kc_kendricks

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

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