Saturday, June 7, 2008

It feels like the first time


June 7, 2008


It's almost time, so I've "acquired" the Amber Quill Press Amber Heat Wave Contest Winner 2008 logo for on my website and blog. Don't you love that right click, save as feature?


I've added the link to Surrendered Victory on the APQ site, and taken a deep breath. I'm not really sure what I expect to happen when this story goes live, all I can say is it feels like the first time all over again. I'm excited, and a little scared. What if no one likes the story? We writers can be an insecure lot, you know.

My second KC Kendricks story is finished and it's time to send it off to my editor and see what response I get. Maybe I should have sent it in sooner. Hmmm. Did I mention we writers like to second-guess ourselves, too?

Maybe I'll just go watch the Belmont Stakes, root for Big Brown, and then get back to work. That sounds like a good plan for a quiet Saturday night when it's too hot to sit on the porch swing and swat at the bugs.


More about Surrendered Victory at www.kckendricks.com/SurrenderedVictory.html

KC

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

New Kid on the Block

June 3, 2008

Being the "new kid" on the block isn't easy, especially if in another life you're the old veteran. Everyone at Amber Quill that I'd had occasion to speak with has been kind beyond measure. It means so much to be in a group with such spirit of generosity.

My thanks to Adrianna Dane for setting me up on the Amber Heat and Amber Allure Authors blog so I can blog there on June 22, 2008. And here. Blogs everywhere. Ain't it grand?

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com/
www.myspace.com/kckendricks

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The touch of a hand

May 28, 2008




I should be past this stage. You know, the stage where the butterflies hit the stomach and have a little party. The tentative release date for Surrendered Victory is June 8, 2008. Do you believe in signs? Sometimes, I do. June 8th would have been my parent's wedding anniversary. My mother and I still always mention it. It's hard to believe my father has been gone for twenty-five years.


Maybe having a tentative date of June 8th is a good thing, then. I'm going to say that it is.


This past weekend I got the galley for Surrendered Victory. The galley is the last chance a writer has to go over the story before its final format. I'm pleased to say I only saw four or five things, and they were small. Like changing the word 'bar' to 'pub.' That sort of thing. The changes make no difference to the story, just improves visualization for the reader.


Working with Amber Allure has been a breeze. Their process is seamless and painless. The accolades they get from their authors are well-deserved. I sincerely hope I have a home there for the majority of my m/m stories. It's too bad they can't bottle their process or sprinkle it around like fairy dust to benefit all.


With the release of Surrendered Victory coming up so soon, here's a little teaser. This is what appears inside the front cover.


Enjoy!


His hand rested on the table, palm down, relaxed. The pale band around his wrist where he normally wore a watch showed off his suntan. Slowly, he rolled his hand over. Anyone watching wouldn’t think a thing about the small gesture, so easy and natural as he did it. But I knew it for what it really was.


Invitation. Promise. Please.


My own personal Rubicon lay before me. The line that once crossed changed worlds. What was would cease and what was to be would come to life with the touch of that hand, and I trembled in the face of it.


Always before I’d shied away from this moment, running from the commitment the acceptance of truth would bring to my door. There would be no more denials, no more flight. If I crossed my Rubicon, I would be forever changed.The freedom that beckoned took my breath away in much the same orgasmic way Dalton did…


Surrendered Victory by KC Kendricks
more info at www.kckendricks.com/SurrenderedVictory.html

KC Kendricks



Saturday, May 3, 2008

Surrendered Victory - The Cover is Up!

May 3, 2008

**This post has been edited. This is the second cover for Surrendered Victory**


Sometime today while I was out getting groceries and living a mundane life, the cover for Surrendered Victory arrived. Yea!!


Talk about butterflies in your stomach. There's a whole swarm, or flock, or herd, or whatever a group of butterflies are called, in there flapping around.


I think it's a great cover for the story.

The KC Kendricks website is coming along nicely. The first excerpt from Surrendered Victory is posted. If you're over the age of 18, check it out.

Have a safe and happy Saturday night.

KC

Thursday, March 27, 2008

By Any Other Name

March 27, 2008


It’s official. I’ve signed the contract for Surrendered Victory, filled out all those annoying publisher forms, sent them back, signed up at various social media sites, and gotten a website. All in the name of KC Kendricks. I’d forgotten how much work is involved in launching a new name.

Or maybe it just seems like more work because I know and want to get everything done NOW! Whatever it is, I’ve made good progress this past month.

Now it’s time to start doing some promo, like blogging, and what better topic to being with than an explanation of why a multi-published author would suddenly decide to reinvent herself under another name. The answer is easy: subject matter.

Not everyone wants to read homoerotic stories. I don’t want those readers familiar with my work to pick up a book and discover it’s something they would never, ever read. I want to do everything in my power to respect those readers and delineate between my more traditional stories and my GLBT stories.

If you happen to like both – great! I’ve discovered I like writing both. It’s a match made in epublishing. I try to approach both styles with an eye to the sensual and the sensitive.

Readers familiar with the chatter on the Yahoo loops will recognize the word, “branding.” Simply put, branding is the connection you make when you see or hear an author’s name to the content of the stories she writes. KC Kendricks brand is what is lately called contemporary male/male romance, or contemporary GLBT romance.

So is it worth all the effort to brand KC Kendricks to one style of writing? You bet. Come along for the ride and see.

KC

PS. What does the KC stand for? Nothing. I just like the initials.

***
Surrendered Victory - more information at
http://www.kckendricks.com/SurrenderedVictory.html

Saturday, March 1, 2008

You Got to Know When to Hold 'Em

March 1, 2008

The email came this morning. The first official submission by KC Kendricks has been accepted by Amber Quill Press for publication this summer.

Amber Quill only accepts submissions for two weeks out of the year in a contest format. Competition is stiff. I've been published under another name for several years, but would an unknown name stand a chance among 200 entries?

Obviously, yes. This is doubly affirming for me. In an industry where praise can be merely lip service, the writer constantly wonders if they actually live up to some of the hype. It's nice to know that occasionally we do.

Now there is much to do - a website to create, and promotional material to design. I'm excited - thrilled even - to be starting a new venture.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Tumblin' Dice

January 1, 2008

With a new year comes new challenges. The first - "KC Kendricks" becoming a published author. Writing the stories has been easy. Getting them contracted as an unknown will be difficult. I'm up for challenge, I think.

First up, a roll of the dice with the Amber Quill yearly submission call. I'm submitting a piece to Amber Allure. You don't know me as KC Kendricks yet, but maybe you will. 

Wish me luck!

Thanks!

KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com