Showing posts with label shapeshifter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shapeshifter. Show all posts

Friday, November 3, 2023

Sometimes we really can't go back

November 3, 2023

Yesterday was it. Done. Finished. Completed. At least I hope so. 

Yesterday, I finished a six-week stint filling in for the young woman who was hired to do the job I retired from. She was out on maternity leave, so when they asked me to cover for her, I said yes. The word I was really looking for was NO. 

Doing the actual work was a piece of cake. I did it for twenty-two years, occasionally in my sleep. I stipulated I would work from home and only go to the office to pick up paperwork and run copies, etc. They set me up with remote access and away we went. 

Personally, I think remote access sucks. The first day, I went to the office and slipped a 256GB USB into the computer, and copied the files I needed. Yesterday, I transferred those folders back with my additions and updates. The idea that someone could watch me work, and with their new software it was possible, was unnerving and I was not going to allow it. 

As you may suspect, I gave an inch and they took a mile. I agreed to specific things and they pushed for me to do a lot more. One day, while I was in the office exchanging paperwork, I looked the CEO in the eye and said, "And that is one of the reasons I retired when I did. No. Not doing it." Talk about a shocked look - it was great! It felt good to get that out. 

I like being retired. I worked for fifty years, starting with a part-time job while I was in high school. I've paid every cent of the taxes the law said I was required to pay. I've always included every penny earned from royalties, too. Now I'm getting some of that back, as promised, from our government. I don't try to scam my way into more, either. 

I'm on the fence as to whether or not I should advise them that the next time our young lady needs to be off on leave, they'll need to look elsewhere. I will not be available. They did not change, but I did. 

My priorities truly are hearth and home. I set them aside and I regret that I did. Oh, they paid me well enough, but money doesn't rule my life. I have enough to see me through, at least until our current government regime of stupidity plunges us into even more civil unrest. 

Life should be about taking care of those things that matter to us. I worked long years to make money so I could have my home, debt-free. Today, I begin to enjoy it again. I've done my part. 

_*_*_*_*_*_*_

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_3.html

Social media links:
Snips and clips on my YouTube channel: KC Kendricks Between the Keys
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, LGBT romance, kindle books, best selling author, retirement, a writer's life, duty, shapeshifter, paranormal, ebooks

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Re-issue: Lightning Shifts

 October 3, 2020


I've re-released Chain Lightning under the title, Lightning Shifts. There are several reasons why an author or publisher re-issues a book. The main one is that the cover just doesn't resonate with readers. My feedback from other authors indicated this was the case in this instance. They loved the one guy on the cover, but not the other. It happens. 

Deciding to re-issue the book gave me the opportunity to go through it and add a few things I wished I'd thought of the first time. Stories are like that. Some of them never stop growing and maturing. I don't think I have a book on my list I couldn't find something to add. When writing the story, sometimes the author has to say "finished" and stick to it else the book would never get published. I'm having that problem with The Quest. Too many ideas crowding into my thinking. 

I liked the story Chain Lightning, now Lightning Shifts. It's about a shapeshifter - a true shapeshifter, one that can take on any form. That means he's not a werewolf or a werecat. He's not a "were" anything. He's something different but at the beginning of his story, he's lost his memory and he doesn't know what he is. All he knows is he's different and he needs to hide. 

Here's a little bit about Lightning Shifts.

Enjoy!

_*_*_*_*_

LIGHTNING SHIFTS

There is something a little peculiar about Eli Tate. He appears normal on the surface, but he’s spent years trying to remember what happened to him - and why he doesn’t age. Then there’s the way he can shift shape and take on any form he desires. He doesn’t know what kind of being he really is or if there are any others like him. What he does know he’s been in the same town for thirty years and he must move on before his secret is discovered. 

Returning to the Big Apple, Eli takes up residence in his old apartment. An evening walk turns deadly when he's attacked by a being reeking of pure evil. He barely escapes with his life - thanks to a stranger named Rio who is just like him – able to shift shape. 

Rio says he knows Eli, that he’s been searching for him for many years, that they were once lovers, and the creature stalking them once held them both captives to experiment on them. Eli has no memory of such a time, but he’s out of options. To remember his past, and destroy the creature pursuing them, Eli has no choice but to trust Rio, even if that trust fails him. 


_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
LIGHTNING SHIFTS
Paranormal gay romance (shapeshifter)
Available at:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ

 Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/3y7xZV

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_
KC Kendricks

Monday, April 17, 2017

Cover reveal: Lightning Shifts (Chain Lightning)


April 17, 2017


**Chain Lightning has been re-issued with the new title Lightning Shifts.**

It's time for another cover reveal! Chain Lightning is finally finished! I'm putting the finishing touches on the story, tidying up the formatting, and setting up the page on my website

It seems like this story took forever to write. That may be because I've had the title in my head for such a long time, and needed a proper story to go with it. Then I found the perfect Rio and did the cover before I had the first chapter completed. Not to mention Christmas, New Years', and a major crisis at the day job involving the arrest of a prominent "player" in the organization. (Even those of us who simply stand and watch got sucked into that mess. Yep. The fun never ends.)

But, no matter. Chain Lightning is almost ready to go! Look for it next weekend, April 22, 2017.

*_*_*_*

Here's the cover blurb as it stands today. It might change a bit for the actual release. - KC


There is something a little peculiar about Eli Tate. Oh, he appears normal enough on the surface, but he’s spent years trying to remember what happened to him - and why he doesn’t age. Then there’s the way he can shift shape. He doesn’t know what kind of being he really is or if there are any others like him. What he does know he’s been in the same town for thirty years and he needs to move on.

Returning to the Big Apple, Eli takes up residence in his old apartment. An evening walk turns deadly when he’s attacked by pure evil. He barely escapes with his life - thanks to a stranger named Rio who is a shape shifter like him.

Rio says he knows Eli and that he’s been searching for him for many years. Rio confesses they were once lovers. Eli has no memory of such a time, and now he’s out of options. To remember his past, and destroy the creature pursuing them, Eli has no choice but to trust Rio - and maybe fall in love with him again. 

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
LIGHTNING SHIFTS
Paranormal gay romance (shapeshifter)
Available at:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08KQ7M9RJ

 Universal link to additional booksellers: https://books2read.com/u/3y7xZV

 _*_*_*_*_*_*_
KC Kendricks




Saturday, January 23, 2016

Fly By Night by KC Kendricks (MSS 125)

January 23, 2016
**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has closed.**

Happy snowy Saturday! If you live on the east coast, from the Carolinas to Boston, I feel your pain! But we can still celebrate the snow with My Sexy Saturday. This week, I'm doing something I rarely do by posting seven sexy paragraphs from an upcoming release, Fly By Night.


Fly By Night is the fifth book in the Sundown saga, Sundown being my sexy smart, albeit bratty, shapeshifter. In this excerpt, Fallon is teasing Sundown with a new word. Sundown then applies it to Fallon's office assistant.


Enjoy!


_*_*_*_*_



“I don’t want that to happen, either. I rather like having you all to myself. It makes me feel a little hinky when I think of another Chal's essence being inside your head when we made love.” I opened the passenger door for him as he glared at me.
“Hinky. Hinky. Why do you do this to me? Tell me what is this hinky? Tell me now!”
I slid behind the steering wheel and stuck the key in the ignition switch. “It means something is not quite right, bordering on the unreliable. Or maybe a person is acting a little suspicious. Cops use the word instead of saying we’ve got a sixth sense about something. We say it’s got a hinky feel. Do you understand?”
I started the car and put it in gear as he mulled it over. He didn’t speak until we reached the precinct house.
“Yes. Mon-tee. I have a hinky feeling about Mon-tee.”
“I’ve got that same feeling about shapeshifters, babe.” I grinned at him. “I’ve never encountered anything hinkier.”
He flung his hands up. “Oh, we are finished with this word, Fallon Roxbury. I don’t believe it is a real word and I will confirm this suspicion with Sergeant Mack. He will not misinform me if I have an honest question. Why are you laughing?” 

_*_*_*_*_


More about FLY BY NIGHT:



Lieutenant Fallon Roxbury has a few secrets. His lover Sundown is a shapeshifter, and his entire Clan is under Fallon’s protection. He can usually handle the job but the universe has conspired to align a few unusual events. A body was found at the old rail yard where the shapeshifters once had a village, the clan’s nestlings are about to mature, and his lover and his police partner are suddenly behaving like best friends.

When the clan elders confirm the identity of the murderer, Fallon has more trouble. The suspect is one of the city commissioners and the evidence points to him killing more than once. It’s up to Fallon to find legally admissible evidence to connect his cold case to the more recent murder. He’ll need some specialized help for that, the kind only Sundown can provide.

Bit by bit Fallon gathers evidence, not only about the murders, but about the secrets Sundown has kept. It’s a sobering reminder that looks can be deceiving, and the shapeshifter he shares his life with isn’t human. 

The Sundown saga in order is:

The Back Stairs

Beneath Dark Stars
River Walk
Moon Dances
Fly By Night

Please visit www.kckendricks.com for more info and excerpts from the Sundown saga.


You can check out all the My Sexy Saturday blogs using the list below.


KC Kendricks

http://www.kckendricks.com
www.twtiter.com/kckendricks
www.pinterest.com/kckendricks





Friday, November 13, 2015

Friday the 13th, or it's time to finish the paranormal story

November 13, 2015

It's Friday the 13th. Not a big deal in my world. But you know, I did get an email from a guy claiming to be a prophet that said bad things were coming. Hmmm. I didn't open it. He put too much info in his subject line which told me all I needed to know and that was to hit the delete button. 

I don't think any of my family and friends are particularly superstitious about the day, either. I suspect there will be a few jokes at the bowling alley whenever someone misses a spare. They'll start saying the ball went in the gutter because of it being Friday the 13th, not that they threw it there. That's about all the mention it'll get. I mention it only because I needed a blog title and an opening before I segue into something more relevant in my writing world.  

Work has progressed on the fifth installment of the Sundown saga. This story has a working title and I think it will stick - Fly By Night. The story has a lot of police work in it and we see Sundown really contributing to solving Fallon and Juny's case. There's also a sense of Fallon grappling with just how different his shapeshifter lover really is. Not that Fallon's love for Sundown is threatened - never that. It's more like Fallon is finally internalizing and processing what the difference really means. 

More secrets about the Chal are revealed and a few are unsettling. This intensifies what Fallon is feeling. It's a bit unnerving for him. Also, curiously, Sundown and Juny seem more relaxed with each other. Sundown actually engages Juny in conversation! Never thought I'd see that happen and I'm writing the story. Sometimes the characters do have a will of their own, or so it seems. 

With any luck I'll finish the story within the next week, get it to my proofreader, and get it turned in before Thanksgiving. "Luck" is a fickle thing, though, so don't hold me to it.

Enjoy the day! 

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

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

My Sexy Saturday: Beneath Dark Stars by KC Kendricks

November 9, 2013
**Updated 4/2/21 - the My Sexy Saturday blog hop has been discontinued.**


Welcome once again to My Sexy Saturday! I hope you like shapeshifters. I know, I know - everyone likes shapeshifters! This week I have seven sexy paragraphs from Beneath Dark Stars, the sequel to The Back Stairs and the second book in the Sundown series. 

Czun Dun Nhunfi  - Sundown to you and me since it's easier for us humans to pronounce - isn't your average shapeshifter. His people were brought to earth a thousand years ago as slaves but they freed themselves and prospered. Fast forward to Sundown and Lt. Fallon Roxbury meeting and falling in love and you have a cop trying to do his job and his shapeshifter helping in ways only he can. 

I hope you'll enjoy this selection from Beneath Dark Stars. 

=====
Sundown 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 big cat causally watching its prey. “I did not 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 with the little problem I have right there?"
=======

Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys today!

BENEATH DARK STARS 
Gay romance with a paranormal shift
available now at AmazoniTunes/AppleBarnes and NobleKobo, and other online booksellers. 

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

 KC Kendricks

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

Monday, April 22, 2013

S is for Sundown

2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge

It's All About the Books

Day 19
April 22, 2013

Happy Earth Day!

Welcome to my little corner of the blogoshere and the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge. Have you been visiting the different bloggers? I know there are too many to get to every one, but it’s great fun to pick a couple every day and go meet the blogger.

We’re rapidly approaching the home stretch and I’m pretty pleased I’ve kept up for a third year in a row. It would be easy to do a little backsliding, but I signed up for it and by golly I’m gonna do it!

Today S is for Sundown, my mischievous shapeshifter. He got a bit miffed when I interviewed Fallon and I had to promise him equal time. So last night, much to my surprise, he knocked on the door. Yes, it was the knocking that surprised me. He usually comes right into my study and makes himself at home.

Here’s an excerpt of our conversation that I hope you’ll enjoy. I’ve used the initials from his real name, Czun Dun Nhunfi and not the name he gave for Fallon to call him.

_*_*_*_*_*_

KC: So you’re out running about the woods this evening? Please tell me you’re not leaving Bigfoot tracks around here. (He looked a little bashful at this point.)

CDN: Have you not seen the show on television where they seek the Sasquatch?

KC: Okay, you did, but please stop it. And if you can’t help yourself, you need to leave bear tracks, or maybe cougar tracks.

CDN: Very well.

KC: I’d want to change the subject, too, if I were you. Fallon told me you’ve learned to drive.

CDN: It was fun, although I must confess Lt. Roxbury was not very enthusiastic about the process.

KC: I think because you scared him, Sundown.

CDN: I have been a passenger in his car many times. This would be what you refer to as “turn about is fair play” would it not?

KC: In all probability. I heard you enjoyed running through the woods on four paws on your vacation.

CDN: I was informed vacations are where one has as much fun as one can handle. Is this not true? Fallon and I had a great deal of fun. By the way, you should make sure your cat is inside at night. I have seen several coyotes very near here, although they would not approach me.

KC: Because they know you’re different. Be careful, Sundown. We have a lot of hunters here on the mountain. Do any Chal still live up here?

CDN: Only three, but they are not members of Clan Nhunfi and I do not know them well. They are old ones and seek solitude so we do not intrude on them.

KC: You’re a mystery to a lot of the Chal, aren’t you?

CDN: I am a direct descendant of one who died long ago. My existence was kept secret for many years.

KC: What made you… hmm. I’m not sure how to ask this since the Chal don’t actually give birth. What made you join your fellow nestling when you did?

CDN: I am a catalyst, a mirror image, of most Chal. Even while I remained within a host Chal, I learned many things. The Chal verge on a new era and I came to help guide them into it.

KC: What new era? I’ve not heard of this before.

CDN: The Chal are many. Our presence on your world is becoming known. Already many live as I do with a human companion. Technology exists that makes it possible to identify our DNA. We must adapt, and we must find new ways to protect ourselves until we are accepted.

KC: And I’m part of educating the humans that we’re not alone and the Chal are not a threat.

CDN: Yes. We appreciate your help. But not all feel as you do. To some we are evil and must be destroyed. These are the ones we must reach and the hearts we must change. Once they are sure in their hearts we mean harm to no one, that we can in fact protect this world from the Others, more will accept us.

KC: I know, but it’s not easy. The best thing you can do is life your life honestly. It’s the best proof you can offer that the Chal deserve to live here. And I'd be careful telling too many people about the Others. It will frightend them. 

CDN: As long as the Chal are here, we will protect this beautiful planet. Even though the Others brought us here as slaves so long ago, we embraced this world. We share in it's bounty. Should we not all share in protecting and maintaining it so our nestlings can prosper?  

KC: You sound like an environmental activist, Czun Dun Nhunfi.
(He blinked his emerald green eyes at me here and I thought for a moment he thought I'd insulted him, but I didn't mean it like that.)

CDN: Fallon said once we should leave the polictal nonsense for others and simply do what we can do when we can do it and not expect a pat on the back for doing what is right.

KC: Well, Fallon's a smart guy.

CDN: I am fortunate he choose me.

KC: I had a little to do with that, you know.

CDN: And we both thank you.

*_*_*_*_*

We chatted a little more, but he was eager to get home. It seems he didn’t tell Fallon how far afield he planned to come this night. He told me a few more things which will be in an upcoming book after I’ve had time to sort it out and write the story. Stay tuned!

 KC Kendricks

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





Saturday, April 6, 2013

F is for Fallon Roxbury (of the Sundown series)

April 6, 2013
Day 6
The A to Z Blogging Challenge

It's All About the Books


I recently had the opportunity to sit down for a discussion with one of my characters, Fallon Roxbury. Fallon recently returned from taking Sundown on his first-ever vacation since even shapeshifters need a break. We're collaborating on the events that occurred during that vacation for the next Fallon and Sundown story.  This “interview” took place on a Saturday afternoon.

_*_*_*_


KC Kendricks: Today I’m pleased to have Lieutenant Fallon Roxbury in my study. Thanks for stopping by, Fallon.

Lt. Fallon Roxbury: I know where to come to find good bourbon. (laughs)

KC: Stop it before my readers begin to think I’m an alcoholic or something. Are you really alone today?

FR: Do you see anyone with me?

KC: Well, no, but we both know he could be lurking anywhere.

FR: (rolls eyes) He’d tell you he doesn’t lurk, but I’ll tell you he’s a sneaky sort. But no, Sundown didn’t come with me today. An Elder from a neighboring clan is visiting, so his presence is required in chambers.

KC: I guess being a prince has its drawbacks. Fallon, why don’t you recount for my readers how you met Sundown?


FR: I was called to a crime scene. There was this girl there who told me, very cryptically I might add, that I’d find what I needed at the Montgomery Boarding House. I went there looking for a witness, but she didn’t mean that at all.

KC: So instead of a witness to the crime, you found Sundown wearing a different skin. You said he was sneaky.

FR. He divined I was gay and being female wouldn’t draw my attention, so the next time he appeared to me it was as a slightly younger version of the man you’d see today if he were here. I didn’t understand, at first, what was going on. It was a bit of a scramble to catch up with him.

KC: And then you thought you’d lost your mind.

FR: Wouldn’t you if your new lover told you he was a shapeshifter? You can laugh. It didn’t happen to you.

KC: Okay, okay. But I know you look back on those days and laugh, too. So tell my readers



how you met Juny? I don’t think you ever really told that part of your story.

FR: (laughs) I was a beat cop - a really green beat cop, and Juny was my lieutenant. I’m not sure why, but he took me under his wing. I think we recognized we’d have a friendship to last a lifetime. When he was busted back to sergeant, it was my turn to look out for him.

KC: What did he do to lose rank, anyway?

FR: Repeated insubordination. He called the captain out for being an idiot. I mean, he was right about the man, but you don’t stand up on your desk in the squad room and shout it out in front of God and all witnesses without repercussions, if you know what I mean.

KC: I do. He’s a smart guy, though. Surely he knew what would happen.

FR: He did. But the truth is more important to Juny than rank. So let me ask you a question. How are you doing on Moon Dances? Did I give you enough information about our vacation?

KC: (grins) I’m pretty sure you did. I’ve got it partially written, but I’ve got a June 1 deadline on a story, so I’m working on that one, too. But don’t worry - I wouldn’t miss telling everyone about Sundown learning to drive.



FR: You’d better tell them to get down on their knees and thank the good Lord they weren’t in the car with him. Jesus, what a menace behind the wheel!

KC: (laughing) It can’t be as bad as you said!

FR: No, it was freakin’ worse!

KC: You want a refill on that glass?

FR: Thanks, no. I’ve got to get going. He’s expecting me to bring dinner to the rooftop tonight. I just wanted to stop by and say hello since I was passing by this way.


KC: I’m glad you did! Stop in anytime. There’s always a bottle of Beam kept chilled in the fridge. Bring Sundown with you next time.

FR: I’ll do that. Hey, keep up the good work with the books, okay?

KC: You bet! And you keep catching the bad guys and solving cold cases.

FR: Thanks. We will. (kisses KC’s cheek) Later, doll.

KC: Bye, Lieutenant!


_*_*_*_*_

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