Amber Allure Top Ten Best Sellers - April 2010

**Update** This title is now in its second edition!

**While Amber Quill Press has closed, it doesn't change the fact A Hard Habit to Break was on the AQP Best Seller list.** 

May 3, 2010

I got some good news this morning - A Hard Habit to Break was the #4 best seller at Amber Allure in April! I'm always thrilled when the bestseller stats are posted, and not just for me. The other writers published at the same houses as you have a direct impact on your career. Being surrounded by good writers keeps you on your toes and always giving your best effort.

You can participate in seminars, webinars, take classes, and read a library full of how-to books, but you can't buy what you get when you have great people around you.

Without more rambling, here's the list for April.

AMBER ALLURE / April 2010  (Amber Quill closed in March 2016)

1. Duncan's World - T. A. Chase (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Pinky Swear - Lynn Lorenz (Gay / Contemporary)
3. Only For Him - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
4. A Hard Habit To Break - KC Kendricks (Gay / Contemporary)
5. Still The One - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
6. The Delaneys And Me - Anne Brooke (Gay / Contemporary)
7. When The Jazzman Sings - Karma Eastwick (Gay / Contemporary)
8. (Boys Of The Zodiac) Taurus: All That You Do - Jamie Craig (Gay / Contemporary)
9. Independence Day 2 - Christiane France (Gay / Contemporary)
10. Beyond The Shadows - Deirdre O'Dare (Gay / Paranormal)


A Hard Habit to Break is Book One in the Men of Marionville series. 

Available now at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other online booksellers. 

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com

Shine A Light favorably reviewed

In the way back time, when I was a neophyte in this writing business, I was told that to succeed, one must promote, promote, promote. If it involved your book, you had to go tell it on the mountain. Coming soon, new release, good review, bad review, reader reviewer, website update, blog update…you get the picture. You’ve seen the promo wheels in action.

I’ve never been comfortable with the promo machine. My definition of success might need a little work, too. Simply finishing a story makes my endeavor a success. What comes after, well, so much of that is out of my hands it hardly counts. No matter how hard I work the machine, people will only buy what they want to buy.

But, with all that said, here I am today touting three very good reviews for Shine A Light. Should I confess to a profound relief over good reviews? Sure. Why not? Especially when I wrote Shine A Light twice. The first draft didn’t satisfy me, which actually feeds back to the need to promote, ad nauseam. Write a good book, and it promotes itself.

Which ties back to where I am this morning, hawking a set of reviews because at least three people think Shine A Light is a good book. So without further author babbling, here are the review snippets, with links, from Joyfully Reviewed, Literary Nymphs, and the incomparable Elisa Rolle.

Go ahead and Shine a Light on this sensual and satisfying page turner. Well written, intriguing characters are the focus. Van is picking up the pieces, stumbling, in shock from a betrayal he never saw coming and Shane, tender and strong, is the perfect match for Van. Well paced, with solid secondary characters and the setting is nicely detailed as well. Shine a Light has steamy moments – hot enough to fog your glasses - and characters you will care about. Seriously entertaining and totally engaging. - Lisa, reviewer for Joyfully Reviewed

http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/Apr10/shinealight.kck.html

The characters of Van and Shane are likable and the chemistry between them is obvious from their first meeting. This 32K novella length release is definitely a love story, but the sex doesn’t overwhelm the other things going on within its pages. There’s plenty of time left for our guys to build a relationship and renew Van’s career, all while dealing with Lynn and his crazy determination to keep Van for himself. This contemporary romance is enjoyable, leaving the reader with that happy, satisfied feeling at the end. - Mystical Nymph, for Literary Nymphs Reviews
http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2010/04/shine-light.html?zx=efca84f445ea1aa

Sincerely this story surprised me since it’s not at all the light romance I was expecting, it has some deep layers that is a joy to discover….this extended novella was really a nice surprise, [one] that I recommend more people to give it a try. - Elisa Rolle
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/995650.html

For more about Shine A Light, including an excerpt, please visit my website ,

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://kckendricks.blogspot.com
Check out the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

Available now! A Hard Habit to Break

April 11, 2010

New releases are always a Big Deal to me. I don't know if others who have been writing for a while still get excited - and nervous - over them, but I do. A lot of hard work goes into the creation of a story. It's not easy to pull pure thought from the air and transform it into a properly formatted, grammatically correct, politically correct, spellchecked, twice edited, cohesive and still entertaining story that reflects the author's original seed of inspiration.

Whew! That was a mouthful! Or a keyboard full, depending on how you look at it.

After all the hours of typing, after all the hours of struggling to define the core of the story, it passes from the author's hands and becomes, as defined by contract, "the Work." And I guess if the writer hasn't withered with exhaustion after all that, it's still a Big Deal when the story is finally released.

Without a further poor attempt at wit, here's the promo on my latest Big Deal.



A HARD HABIT TO BREAK

As the reigning stud of the local gay club scene, every guy in the county knows Travis Templeton, and vies for his attention. Travis wears his crown lightly, careful not to break any hearts. He knows what it’s like to really love someone who doesn’t love you back-at least, not in the way you want.

Heath Kelley made the biggest mistake of his life the night before his best friend Travis left for college. One small action snowballed into years of silent misunderstanding and empty distance. When Heath accepts a transfer that sends him to his hometown, he doesn’t know Travis has moved back home, too. It doesn’t take long for the men to reconnect.

Admitting they never stopped thinking of each other as “best friends” is easy. Forgiveness of past sins is easy, but confessing their secrets comes harder. When Heath discovers the truth about Travis’ private life, the newly repaired bonds of friendship are stretched taut.

It’s time for Travis to choose – the love of his best friend, or a life of being second best.

Excerpt:

The ghost of his lips slid coolly over mine like they had so many times over the years, a phantom whisper that raised gooseflesh on the back of my thighs and buttocks. Travis fixed me with a stare far colder than my memories. His angry, hurt voice froze my insides.

“You had what I wanted, Heath. You were normal. You dated girls. You fucked girls.” He sucked in a deep, difficult breath. When he spoke again, the anger was gone, but not the hurt.

“Then you kissed me and brought the very thing I hated right to my bed. How could you do that to me? Why didn’t you tell me you were really gay?”

Stunned, my knees wobbled, and I leaned back against his car before they gave out and I ended up on the pavement. Never had I imagined he felt such self-loathing. I hadn’t seen it, but then I’d been just seventeen. Liking some girls muddied the water for me, and I never thought of myself as anything but straight, back then.

What I felt for Travis was special, outside everything, and everyone, else. He was my best friend. I was a senior in college before I dared put a name to my sexuality, and begin to accept what it meant. I took a chance he wouldn’t shake me off, and grasped his elbow. He trembled under my fingertips.

“Travis, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. How could I?”

He shivered, like he had a sudden chill. The anger left his beautiful eyes, to be replaced by a great sadness.

“I’m sorry, too, Heath. I didn’t know how to tell you. I thought you’d hate me.
I thought you’d run away from me, and then I ran away from you.”
My chest ached. Thirteen years lost.

“I could never hate you, Travis. There was a lot I didn’t know about my teenage self. So much I didn’t understand.” I took a deep breath. “The truth is, I’m bi.”

His eyebrows drifted up. He blinked. I nodded and rolled my eyes at him.
“Don’t look at me like I’m speaking a foreign language.”

Travis swallowed, hard, his Adam’s apple moving convulsively. “Um, sorry. Not that you’re…Your mom… I mean, I thought… is Dani a man or a woman?”
It was my turn to blink. “How’d you hear about Dani?”

“Your mother mentioned her.”

Fuck.

“Well, buddy, Dani is a guy. Daniel.”

“That’s not what I heard, man. Your mother thinks you had a live-in girlfriend.”

I snorted. How was he going to handle this bit of information?

“Well, Travis. Dani is fucking hot in a skirt, and on the telephone, it would be easy to jump to several conclusions.”

He blinked owlishly. “I see.”

I doubted it. Dani did standup comedy in full drag regalia, and it was damn funny.

Travis slumped against the fender beside me, our shoulders brushing. “You still want to go get that pizza? I really have to eat something so my glucose level doesn’t bottom out on me.”

That sounded like my old friend. “Do you still run for fun?”

Travis treated me to a real grin. “Yeah. Gotta feed the machine. Do you still run?”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t the same without you. Maybe I can get back into it, though. What do you think? Will you help me start training again?”

He looked pleased as he nodded. “Sure. It’ll help us get to know each other again.”

I leaned a little closer. “So, you’re not going to blow me off?”

Travis drew back like I’d struck him. Too late I realized the double-entendre. I grabbed his arm.

“Oh, no. No, man, I did not mean I wanted…I meant you weren’t going tell me to go to hell and then run away again.”

His eyes narrowed. “What? I’m not good enough to give you a blow job?”

We’d veered into very murky waters, the potential for disaster suddenly and exponentially increasing. We’d just reconnected, and the only thing that kept me from throwing my arms around him and never letting go was fear he’d bolt again.

As for blow jobs, I’d go to my knees for him anytime he snapped his fingers and pointed at the spot, but I didn’t dare tell him that for the exact same reason. “Lord, Travis. Let’s not talk about sex just yet.”

To my surprise, he chuckled. “Heath Kelley, backpedaling. I’m amazed I lived long enough to see it happen.”

“Laugh all you like. We can talk sex over lunch.”

Travis turned to me, arms crossed over his chest, his hip against the car.

“No, Heath. We won’t talk sex. You’ll always be my best friend. Hell, you’re more than that. I’ve missed you so much.” He paused and took a deep breath.

“Sex is off limits, Heath. I don’t want to talk about it with you, and as friends, we’re not going to do it.”

He might think that, but I knew better.

A HARD HABIT TO BREAK
Available now at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & 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

 

A Hard Habit to Break, and why I don't like 'coming soon'

April 6, 2010

I'm not real big on the "Coming Soon!" promo. Some people are really good at it and have it down to a science. I can't tell you how many times I've read a promo excerpt only to discover I can't purchase the book NOW. And therein lies my problem. I'm a bit of a book tramp.

It's true. When it comes to books, I want instant gratification. Don't tease me - please me. NOW!! Yet, here I am, trying my best to do a coming soon promo on my next release, A Hard Habit to Break, due out April 10 or 11, 2010. 


(Get back on track, KC)

A Hard Habit to Break is about two boys who were best friends forever growing up, but each had one secret they kept from the other, with disastrous consequences. It takes a few years until the boys, now men, reconnect and realize what they still mean to each other.

So hold on to a few of your book buying dollars until this weekend. I know I am.
***
Click here to read an excerpt from A Hard Habit to Break.
***
Want to get the word about new releases when they happen? Join my mailing list by using the link below.

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

The Blue Moon Cafe by Rick R. Reed

An odd thing happened on my life journey one day - I met Rick Reed. Rick is a talented, funny guy. Just Google him sometime, and prepare to be amazed by his body of work. When Rick was putting together his blog tour for The Blue Moon Cafe, a great read by the way, I knew it would be a cool thing to have Rick as the first guest author on Between the Keys. Enjoy! - KC






The Blue Moon Café by Rick R. Reed
Release Date: March 7, 2010
Publisher: Amber Allure (the GLBT imprint of Amber Quill Press)
Publisher Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BlueMoonCafe.html

Sometimes a book comes along where I completely fall in love with the characters. The Blue Moon Café is just such a book. Not only is it set in my relatively new home town of Seattle (which is a great place for not only a creepy story, but one where new love can blossom and flourish), but Todd, Jared, and Sam became so real to me, I hated to say goodbye to them.

I hope you’ll take the time to check out The Blue Moon Café. It’s the book where I finally succeeded in fusing romance and horror into one page-turning read. I hope you agree!


Blurb:
Someone—or something—is killing Seattle’s gay men.

A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city’s gay gathering areas.

Someone—or something—is falling in love with Thad Matthews.

Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places—a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair’s love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam’s unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon?

Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, “the Stephen King of gay horror.” You’re guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...

Excerpt:
Sam leaned back against the headboard and lit a cigarette. The room filled with the acrid stench of burning tobacco and paper and instead of being repelled as he normally would be, Thad moved close to Sam again, taking up his newly claimed spot on the man’s chest. He stared up at him, watching him smoke. Lazily, he traced circles in the hairy mat covering Sam’s chest. His fingers stopped when he caught sight of a design on Sam’s left pectoral, something he had hadn’t noticed in the dim light or perhaps because it was all but hidden by the forest of hair. Thad got up on one elbow.

“You have a tattoo?”

In the dark, Sam nodded. “I’ve had it for years, way before tattoos were all the rage like they are these days.”

“Especially here in Seattle.” Thad often wondered if there was some requirement that all citizens of Seattle must have at least one tattoo. “What’s it of?” Thad strained to make out the design’s contours in the dim light and couldn’t.

Sam leaned forward to switch on the bedside lamp. Thad squinted at the sudden light source, then directed his gaze down at the muscled chest before him. “What is it?” Thad traced the design with his fingers, lowering his head to peer more closely at it. He nipped at Sam’s nipple and Sam laughed.

“It’s Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded Rome in mythology. Cool, no?” Sam flexed his chest so the wolf seemed to move. Two cherubic twin boys below the figure suckled at her teats.

“It’s kind of weird. But it suits you.” Thad reached over Sam to turn off the light again.

“What brought you to America?”

Did Thad detect a slight stiffening when he asked the question?…


BUY The Blue Moon Cafe: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BlueMoonCafe.html

Website:
www.rickrreed.com

E-mail:
jimmyfels@gmail.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/RickRReed

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/rickrreed

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/rickrreed

Blog:
http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/

Life is Balance

March 28, 2010


I’ve been remiss about my blog. It’s been a while since I checked in. I can only report I’ve been busy. (Note to editor: yes, I see that’s three usages of ‘been’ in three sentences.)

Actually, I rather like the aforementioned editor. As someone whose time is valuable, I appreciate her approach. She keeps things very business-like, but every once in a while her sense of humor shines through.

So what’s kept me busy? The man and the home front most certainly. With the arrival of spring, we’re gearing up for home and garden activities. This year, finally, we’re installing central air conditioning. It’s been [ack! another ‘been!] a long time coming, but paying off the mortgage was more important. Now that I’m mortgage free, it’s time to do some things to feather my nest in preparation of becoming a full-time writer.

This is also the year to repaint the bathroom. I firmly believe a coat of fresh paint is a marvelous thing, so every other year, I paint a room. It’s a cheap pick-me-up for the house. I’m changing the shade a wee bit this time around, and that’s not all. It’s time for new towel racks, and maybe even a new light if I can find one I like.

On the writing front, I finished my first shapeshifter story and got it turned in. I missed my self-imposed deadline by three days, but I got the edits for “A Hard Habit to Break” early. I spent exactly three days on the edit process, so there ya go. With those two things accomplished, I’ve turned my attention to the story for Amber Allure’s new themed series.

I got a haircut, did website updates, went for a bicycle ride, participated in a chat, had some of the in-laws down for dinner, and filed my taxes. With all that swirling around in me, it’s no wonder I didn’t get the chance to blog.

None of that is a complaint. I feel very blessed to have so much in my life. The activity keeps my brain functioning and my senses alert. I appreciate the quiet times more by having the pendulum swing in the other direction, too.

April is just around the corner. There’s Easter, my young cousin’s baby will arrive, my best friend is going on a vacation and I get to watch her cat, and the release of “A Hard Habit to Break.” That’s the tip of the iceberg, so forgive me if I don’t check in too much.

Like all things, it will balance out somewhere down the road.


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://kckendricks.blogspot.com

Fate loves focus

I’m not sure why, but I’ve been a bit ‘scattered’ this week. Maybe it’s an awareness of all the things I need to accomplish over the next few weeks, or perhaps it’s just the end of a long, hard winter. Whatever the culprit, my concentration is non-existent.

Part of the problem may be that I’m physically tired. With the sudden change in the temperature, I’m not sleeping well. It’s too warm for blankets, and too cold to open a window and let some fresh air in the bedroom. And have I ever mentioned my bed partner feels the need to sleep plastered to my backside?

Tired or not, the break in the weather means it’s time to start walking again. I’ve not been able to get outside on my lunch breaks since Christmas. Every day this week, I’ve made my way to the small city park I like, and made two laps around the place. It’s twenty minutes of fresh air, sunshine, and stress relief. Next month, I’ll up the walk to three laps, and then four the month after. Before too long, I’m going to try on the skinny jeans and see how they fit.

If you’re wondering what that has to do with writing, well, here’s the thing. If I’m going to ever go to writing full-time (only 2,639 days until retirement), I’ve got to have a good exercise regimen firmly established. I refuse to channel Jabba the Hut as I sit at my keyboard. A better me means better writing, or so I firmly believe.

So what’s up with the writing this week? I’m scattered. I’m coming up on the end of a story, and the floodgate of new ideas has opened. Pick one. Pick one. PICK ONE! It’s always difficult to narrow it down to the most complete idea and forge ahead. But this time, my AQP publisher helped me along, albeit unwittingly.

Amber Allure posted a call for submissions that perfectly fit one of the ideas I had in development. I even had that folder open on my desk when I saw the email. Kismet? Fate? Psychic vibes? It doesn’t matter much. I jumped onboard for the series, which means I need to get the current work-in-progress, the shapeshifter story, finished. There’s no time to dally the way I usually do.

I don’t mind the nudge to refocus and get my butt in gear. Sometimes we all need that, but I am glad Fate chose a gentle and positive way to send a message. She doesn’t always take such care with me when she has a message. Nudges are preferable to slaps, so I’ll buckle down and get busy, and hopefully next time will be a nudge, too. I can handle those.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com

Spring!

March 6, 2010


Sometimes day-to-day life overruns my attempts at writing prose. I want to write prose, believe me. The words are there, ready to spill onto the page, but the countless details of the actual business of being a published author, having a day job, and the needs of family and friends roar to the forefront and are not to be denied. We do not live in a vacuum, although we may sometimes long for that bubble of cold silence to keep the world at bay so we can free the voices inside us. Bottle them up for long, and they vanish.

And speaking of vanishing…For some unknown reason, my computer blue screened on me last night. Yes, boys and girls, the new Dell, circa 2009, is NOT the machine the old Dell, circa 2003, was. Three gigabytes of RAM aside, I am not impressed. Next time, I will ask if the power switch is lighted, too. I don’t care for that feature at all. I’m worried it will burn out and I’ll have to cart the bloody thing off to be replaced. This one may not make it through full depreciation and simply become a loss.

I didn’t start blogging to bitch. Honest. Well, maybe a tad, but certainly not about my processor, which, in truth, suffices well enough for now. What I really came to share was that this morning brought a harbinger of spring to my little postage stamp sized piece of the planet I’m blessed to hold in trust and call my own. The blackbirds arrived. At dawn.

No, really. At the (butt)crack of dawn. If you’ve never had a flock of blackbirds in your treetops, you’re probably wondering what’s the big deal. Well, writer or not, words fail me to adequately describe the cacophony of sound hundreds of blackbirds can create. I’m not joking or exaggerating – hundreds of them. I woke from a rather restful sleep to all this noise and lay there, in the dark, until my brain managed to process what was going on. My first thoughts were not charitable ones about all God’s creatures, great and small. Thankfully, they disturbed one of my neighbors, who responded by firing one [loud] shot that scared the flock away.

Rising at dawn brings its own rewards. I found my slippers, pushed the button to brew the coffee, and took inventory of my now quiet world. Spring is coming.

The tips of the maple trees have pushed out tiny red buds. There is a blush of new green in the lawn.The snow has finally melted enough for me to see the green tips of daffodils and hyacinths pushing up along the edge of my back walkway. There is even one lonely clump of crocus, although it's a bit shabbier than the old photo above. Maybe today, I’ll see the first robin of the year. I feel spring coming, too, its power of renewal seeping into me, warming and lifting me like a returning lover.

I’ve much to do today, from the usual Saturday chores to a baby shower for my young second cousin. I have a special gift for her – a baby quilt that was made for me many years ago.

The blocks were embroidered by my aunt, who is her grandmother. Then it was quilted by my great-grandmother and her great-great-grandmother, a woman she never knew, but her father did, and whose name she carries. The quilt was presented to my mother before my birth. My mother treasured it, and kept it for her own grandchildren, but that was not to be. It’s fitting that after so many years kept safe in my cedar chest, I pass it to the next generation. Such are the ties that bind us.

Later, after the family celebration, I hope to settle down with the current work-in-progress, and write prose. I’m excited about this story. It’s a stretch for me, being that one of the characters is a shapeshifter. I’ve gotten to the chapter where our main hero realizes his lover has this unique little “gift,” and it’s been fun to write. I’m anxious to finish it, and see exactly how the ending will play out. The characters haven’t revealed the closing paragraphs yet.

After that, a blue-collar worker will live part of my dream vacation. He’s traveling to see the great national parks found in the United States, which is the trip I've sworn will be a retirement gift to myself. Anyway, he stops in a small town and finds someone he never expected to find. I can’t wait to get going on this one.

Spring is definitely coming.


KC Kendricks
Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
Join my mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys
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Shine A Light by KC Kendricks

SHINE A LIGHT
contemporary gay romance
available now at 
Amazon, Apple/iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo,
and other online booksellers


After being viciously outed by his spiteful ex-lover, Van MacKenzie, fallen Hollywood and Broadway star, lands on stage in a small town community theatre - and in the arms of set designer Shane Hollister. Van knows his attraction to the talented young man could seal the fate of his career, but he can’t resist having a ‘summer thing’ while performing at The Globe. When an act of violence catches them unaware, Van recognizes the message was really meant for him. Walking away from Shane might be the smart thing to do to keep him safe.

Shane Hollister had established himself as a Broadway set designer before his father’s accident forced him to move home to St. Charles. Needing work, Shane accepts a job at The Globe. To his surprise, the small operation equals any big city production. When Donovan “Van” MacKenzie signs on for the new show, Shane grabs the chance to have a summer fling with his big screen idol, refusing to allow Van’s past to intrude.

Shane knows he has only one chance to catch a fallen star, and keep him for his own.

EXCERPT

When I stepped out of the men’s room, Shane waited for me.

His drawn, pale face, and the dark smudges under his eyes made me pause.

“You look like hell.”

“I feel like hell. I don’t know how to make things right with you if you won’t believe me.”

“I believe you, Shane. You said you didn’t know he was coming here. Well, okay. People surprise us. I know that. But he is here, and you are involved with him, and I can’t afford the distraction.”

That wasn’t what I wanted to say to him. It wasn’t even close. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him to send Doug packing. I needed him to prove to me he wasn’t planning to fuck me and any other guy at the same time. But one trick with him didn’t give me the right.

He nodded, his eyes sad. “I don’t know what else to say except I’m sorry, Van.”

The ice around my heart cracked. I managed a smile for him. “I’m sorry, too.”
Shane reached out and smoothed the lapel of my jacket, although it didn’t need it. This might be as close as I ever got to him again. God help me, but I couldn’t walk away without touching him one more time. I grasped his hips and pulled him, unresisting, to me.

His arms snaked up around my neck, holding me with his fierce, young strength. We pressed together, chest-to-chest and thigh-to-thigh. I breathed in his scent and kissed his hair, committing the feel of him to memory, then I gently pulled away.

“I’m flying back to the city tomorrow, and then driving my own car back on Tuesday. I’ll put the key under the mat and leave your car at the cabin since you have your keyless entry.”

His hands came to rest on my shoulders. “How are you getting to the airport?”

“I cut a deal with one of the boys who work at the resort. He’s agreed to be my go-fer when I need one, provided he’s off-shift.”

Shane accepted that, nodding, his gaze somewhere past me. I was poignantly reminded of his youth. Would he listen to my advice?

“Shane, if you have any doubts about Doug, do yourself and him a favor, and end it. I didn’t do that with Lynn and I paid a high price for it.”

“It’s not like that, man! I told you. I don’t sleep with him any more. That’s in the past. We’re just friends now.”

“Lot’s of things are in the past,” I told him as gently as I could. It was all over him that he wanted to argue with me, but his shoulders slumped, and his eyes had a vacant look to them. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to touch him again.

“Shane, what’s really wrong?”

“Nothing. You don’t want anything to do with me. Well, okay. I’ll get over it.” With that he turned and walked away, his long strides quickly putting a lot of distance between us.

I watched him go with a sinking feeling in my gut. I’d bungled that, and badly.

SHINE A LIGHT

Amazon

www.amazon.com/Shine-Light-KC-Kendricks-ebook/dp/B01E89DJLA

ITunes/Apple

itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1098679955

Barnes and Noble/Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shine-a-light-k-c-kendricks/1028729180?ean=2940153164472

Kobo

store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/shine-a-light-2


KC Kendricks
Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
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Togetherness, house cleaning, and who's fixing lunch

Yesterday, for some odd reason, the spousal unit and I had a touch of spring fever and cleaned house. With all the snow we’ve had this year, the dining room became a staging area for dressing and undressing. Right inside the back door – shovel and the bucket of snow melt. Center of the room: four coats draped over four chairs. Gloves lined up down the long side of the table on placemats to dry. Under the table – three sets of boots, one pair of slippers, an extension cord for the snowblower and a small toolbox. At one time, we even hung wet scarves over the light fixture to dry, but at least we took those down as we went along.

Yes, the room needed a little work, and we decided the time had come. Maybe it was the need to clear a space so we could sit at the table together and enjoy Saturday morning coffee that tipped the scales. It led to the discussion of whether of not we needed a mudroom, but you know what? I refuse to sweat the small stuff, and having the dining room be messy for a few weeks, out of necessity, is really teeny, tiny stuff. I might be of different mind if didn’t have a lot of throw rugs to protect the oak floor, but hey, old towels would have worked as well. Small stuff.

After coffee, we tidied up, loaded our weapons and went to work. I put a new bag in the vacuum, and went to the opposite end of the house while he attacked the dust with furniture polish. We passed in the middle.

What was to be a simple dust and vacuum day, turned serious. Woodwork got wiped down, ceiling fans got cleaned, crystal stemware (which hang from a custom rack built by my honey over the kitchen island) got a rinse in the dishwasher. We went a little crazy for it only being the end of February with lots of wet weather to come. It was worth it, though, because we did it together.

If you’re wondering, no, helping with housework did not come naturally to the spousal unit. It took two rounds of cancer, and watching me slave at a full-time job I’m not fond of and manage a successful writing career while taking care of him and our home, for him to realize he really hadn’t done enough to carry his half of the Life Together load. I wish he’d share the details of that epiphany, because I’d write it down for future reference. But that’s history and not today.

This morning, he’s sitting in our very clean dining room, waiting for me to finish this blog entry so I can join him. I’m pondering whether or not yesterday was enough togetherness for one weekend. Chapter seven of the current work-in-progress is calling, and this chapter contains the Big Reveal. I feel like a junkie today, and I need a fix of prose more than another shot of caffeine.

I guess I’ll go join him for half an hour. I can enjoy my spotless office after I enjoy my clean dining room. If I play my cards right, he’ll fix lunch and I can bang out the whole chapter today. I wonder if he’ll take the dog out on the patio and brush him, too? I guess that depends on when the Las Vegas race coverage begins.

So, there you have it - a slice of the writing life for February 28, 2010. Not so glam, but certainly glorious!

KC Kendricks
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Twenty Questions?

**Since this post was originally posted, a lot of changes have happened. Between the Keys is now my home on the web.**

February 20, 2010

Questions. We all get questions. I was over on the Talking Two Lips list the other night, doing some promo, and the list owner posted a few questions for all the Amber Quill authors. I don’t mind answering questions at all, but when I only have an hour to post excerpts and such, if I take the time to answer, I don’t get anything about the books out. It’s a real Catch 22.

Well, maybe I’ve solved the problem. Maybe. I’ve added a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page to my website to give a few answers. The questions found there are from myriad sources, public and private. I selected what I think are what most people would be curious about, which doesn’t include what books I’d take with me to a desert island.

I publish and purchase electronically. I’d take all of them on the ebook reader of my choice, of course.

Good answer. I’ve changed my mind. I think I WILL add that one.

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
facebook.com/kckendricks
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My country life at Holly Tree Manor

 

Panic Mode

A few weeks ago, my computer got zapped with a bug. I visited a reputable review site, and POW! BAM! WHAM! It goes to show infections are not always due to careless behaviour. Anyway, I didn't worry much. I keep redundant data backups, and make sure all my software is on discs, so I hit the button, wiped the hard drive clean, and reloaded. Problem solved, with a big bonus. A clean drive is a magical thing, let me tell you.

Weeeeell, last night the latest update on Windows, or Java, or whatever the heck it was came in, and my computer did a restart. Only, it didn't. Restart, that is.

No, really. The OS didn't load. It sat there, not even blinking. This was something new and different. I know when it's time to panic, and it was time, so I did.

Think? Problem solve? Oh, no, no, no. I went into PANIC MODE. I went straight to my last resort. I ran from my office, got between my hubby and the NASCAR truck race (at Daytona, no less) and yelled for help.

Do you know how utterly infuriating it is when they just sit there and stare at you? Why didn't he feel my pain? I'm sure it had something to with my waving arms blocking the television. But after almost twenty years, he should understand how devastating this situation was, right?

Maybe he did. Who knows? Anyway, he looked at me and calmly instructed me to pull the power cord from the processor, wait sixty seconds, then plug it back in and see if it would boot.

I hate it when he's right.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com

Somewhere between fantasy and reality

February 10, 2010

It’s snowing. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, you’re well aware it’s snowing. Last Friday, we had twenty-two inches land on my front porch. Today, five days later, there is an additional eighteen inches out there. I know because I shoveled my front porch last Sunday. Now I’ll have to do it again. No, it does not make me happy. The snow doesn’t make me happy. It has wreaked havoc with my concentration, but what else is new in this New Year?

Being home on a week day is a treat, though. It’s almost like playing hookey. Almost. The fact of the matter is it would have been the height of stupidity to leave the safety of home today.

I’ve always had this fantasy about what my days would be like – WILL BE LIKE – when I officially retire from my day job and I’m home every day of the week. Not long ago it occurred to me I was in the home stretch of my working years. By the time I walk out of my business office, and take up full time residence in my writing office, I will have worked fifty-and-one-half years. If I work until what the government says is my Social Security full benefit age, that is. Whenever I make it to full-time writer status, I’m ready.

In that perfect world, my day begins around six a.m. in a quiet house, and a slowly sipped cup of coffee. If you live with another person(s), you probably have that same appreciation for moments of quiet. If not, this is my fantasy, so stick with me here.

After a leisurely cuppa, I check my email. Since it’s fantasy, I’ve no junk mail to sort through. (You’re with me now, aren’t you?) Email handled, I get a second hit of caffeine, eat breakfast, then put on my writer’s hat for an hour or so, and bang out a chapter. A whole chapter. Without pauses or breaks. The words flow. Fantasy, remember? Once that is done, I join the household for two hours or so, and get lunch out of the way. Then I whip out another complete chapter, after which, it’s a leisurely evening on the veranda.

I really do hope my days will be something like that, but I know they won’t. Like today with the falling snow, there will always be a distraction to enjoy. Part of the fun of living is the distractions, the participation in all those little things I miss working under the umbrella of “making a living.” And while I did get some writing done today, and wish I’d done more, my day was well spent.

Maybe not every day has to be fantasy perfect. Maybe perfect days become boring, like the Weather Channel playing in a loop. Coming into the evening hours, I have a feeling of accomplishment knowing I checked in with a few friends, had some quality time with the spousal and parental units, worked at the writing, and managed a few household chores. Those things left undone do not trouble me.

Perhaps fantasy pales in the face of reality, although one can still dream.

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com

Of winter snows and urban legends

February 5, 2010

The weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow is pretty, well, bleak. A winter storm has us in the crosshairs, and up to thirty inches of snow is possible. This is not so good. The bumper of my old Chevy truck can only push up to about twenty inches. After that, I’m stuck, with a lot of gravel lane between me and where the snowplow goes.

Actually, I don’t think I mind too much.

I just finished a story, and submitted it, last evening. It was one of the few I’ve written to a firm deadline, and I’ve discovered other people’s deadlines don’t work well for me. The writing flows much better if I stick to my own timetable. I can hear the professional writers out there snickering, saying that writing to a deadline is necessary, and I do agree. But I could have had that thing finished a month ago if a third party hadn’t set the deadline. I had way too much slack time.

And with that said, I now have to admit that I will be slacking until I get the edits for “Shine a Light,” which is due to be released February 21, 2010. Another little problem I have. Starting something new with an edit imminent. The focus wanders.

It’s time to kick back, watch the snow fall, and recharge a few creative batteries. And yet, give me a weekend away from this passion called ‘writing,’ and I’ll be like a junkie needing a fix. No joke. I must write. Here I am blogging because I know not to start a new story. I must write. God help me if the power goes out and my computer goes down for more than a few minutes. I’ll snap.

I’m not fooling anyone, even myself. I won’t watch the snow accumulate. I won’t take a nap, work a puzzle, catch up the laundry, or even read a book. If I need a recharge, I’ll slug down some caffeine. I have a new story in mind, and it’s a little different from anything I’ve done – urban legend.

Recently, I read a blog about growing and stretching as a writer, and I knew it was time to do just that. It may be the only one I ever do, or it may be the start of something wonderful. Only time will tell. But I can’t wait to get moving on it!

Stay tuned.

KC Kendricks
My home on the web- Between the Keys: http://kckendricks.blogspot.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
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My country life at Holly Tree Manor

 

I guess I should have listened

February 1, 2010

Here’s the outsiders view, looking in. I’ve been buried in a story, so following all the little online dramas has been out of the question. Writing comes first with me. Always. But here’s my take on the latest in the Amazon.com saga.

A few days ago, Amazon pulled all of a particular [really big, big] publisher’s ebooks off their website. Why? Because the publisher apparently thought the ebooks were under priced (at somewhere around ten bucks a pop, say what?).

It seems Amazon, that hulking giant that makes a fortune every day by selling [fill in the blank] to the world, must not know its customer’s financial limitations. I find this curious since Amazon’s only business is selling product. If there is one thing those folks know, it’s the cyber marketplace.

Not that they haven’t stumbled - George Orwell, anyone? Have your Kindle hacked, anyone? Bury the glbt books in a back cyber-room, ya dumb shits? But I think the powers that be there are capable of learning by their most public foibles. Embarrassment is a great teacher.

Today I read where those ebooks removed a few days ago are coming back, and at the higher prices the publisher wanted. Well, maybe not all the way up there pricewise, but higher than they were, okay just go with me here. As a writer, this should make me happy, right? Not exactly.

For those authors whose ebooks have just been priced out of range for so many people who are part of the ebook buying public, hey, I feel bad. I might be in the minority, but I think it far better to move five hundred copies at two bucks a download than three hundred at three dollars a download. Do the math. That’s two hundred more READERS. Without the readers, you’re done, no matter how much money you do, or don’t, make.

When I first started writing, ebooks were in their infancy. Every ebook author I came up with spent a lot of time telling people what a good thing ebooks are for planet Earth. I happen to believe that, too. Yes, a few of my stories have been put into paperback compilations, and guess what? My ebooks sell better.

Why? I think it’s the pricing more than anything else, but going green has a bit to do with it. In our current ‘green’ culture, people want to do what they can to help. Buying an ebook is a small gesture with ultimately big results when combined with millions of other people doing the same thing. I’ve saved a lot of trees, and I’m damned happy about it! Trees are the greatest air cleaners we have.

And then there is the cost of producing those five hundred ebooks as compared to five hundred pulp books. Hmm. We’ve all thought about that. No pine forest to manage. No loggers cutting trees down on reality television. No god-awful stench from water polluting paper mills. Yes, it costs to produce an ebook, just not that much.

I don’t know what the ebook royalty rate is on those previously available in hardback only books, but I wonder who gets the biggest slice of the pie. I bet it’s not the author. And that’s a shame, because for once, I think Amazon had it right. I think ten bucks is too high for an ebook in our economy today, and someone over in their New York ivory tower is going to end up wishing they would have listened.

Yeah, burn me at the stake now.

KC Kendricks