K.C. Kendricks's Blog, page 56
July 1, 2016
Eye of the Beholder
July 2, 2016Welcome to another My Sexy Saturday blog hop here at Between the Keys! My Sexy Saturday is the blog hop that every Saturday brings you seven sexy words, sentences, or paragraphs from a wide variety within the romance genre.
This week, I'm happy to have seven sexy paragraphs from Eye of the Beholder. Enjoy!
*_*_*_*_*
I was just about to tuck my toes under the sheet when for no real reason a movement on the other side of the narrow alley drew my attention. I yawned as the lights in the apartment across the way and down a story went out. The lower half of the window rose about six to eight inches and a pair of male hands set a block to keep it from falling closed. The hands, now unseen, pushed the sheer curtains apart to allow what little breeze stirred this night entrance to his room. Naked, he flopped down on his bed, his back arched as he stretched his arms over his head.
Why I didn't crawl between the sheets and go to sleep will forever remain a mystery. I never aspired to be a peeping Tommy. I might watch a little gay porn now and again, but what poor deprived country boy hadn't resorted to the joys of the Internet to get by until they could find a real man? That didn't make me a pervert. Unlike a few of the tricks I'd had since arriving in lower Manhattan, I didn't even like to have sex in public places. But in the blink of an eye I became a voyeur.
I suppose I was surprised to be able to see him so clearly, but I didn’t give it much thought. Hell, who could think? Not me. I could only watch and ache as my cock swelled.
He was beautiful. His face was shrouded in shadow, but the city lights revealed his lean, toned body in all its well-formed splendor, cast in liquid silver. He stretched a second time, and I longed to trail my fingertips over the long lines of his torso. I cupped my balls and settled them in a more comfortable position, then stroked my shaft. Arousal teased my nerve endings before it shrieked through me as the man on the bed ran his hands over his thighs.
The inside of my thighs prickled. I soothed the skin, rubbing gently. The hair on my legs was rough under my palms. Were his thighs dusted with hair, or did he have a darker pelt like mine? I followed his path as he caressed the softer skin where leg blended to hip, sliding my fingertips down the valley and in alongside my sac. My dick throbbed, but until he stroked the dark rod that rested on his pale abdomen, I couldn’t give in to the temptation to reach for relief.
I groaned as the man flipped over onto his belly and wiggled his hips, the perfect muscular mounds of his buttocks alabaster in the starlight. He spread his legs, knees well apart. How could he do that to me?
Was that a movement in the shadows behind him? Heart pounding, I froze, fearing my presence would be detected by this second man, who eased between the man’s open thighs, his sizable boner pointing straight out at my phantom lover’s ass.
_*_*_*_
EYE OF THE BEHOLDERA little irreverent, a smidgen of humor, and a lot sexy.Available now at All Romance eBooks and other online book sellers.
Some neighbors share more than others...
Andy Madison is city born and bred. Filling in for a friend at a coffee shop, Andy meets Ben Hardin and sparks fly. They spend a long, lazy Sunday afternoon together to get to know each other, and when they decide to let nature take its course, they go to Ben’s cozy apartment.
Ben’s taking his time becoming acclimated to his new life in the big city. He’s got a great job he loves, he’s making new friends, and his starter apartment has the most incredible views a young man could dream of. Ben’s discovered there’s more to admire than the arts, music and architecture. All he has to do is look out his window and across the narrow alley.
Andy thinks he’s seen it all living in the Big Apple, but what he spies through Ben’s window is something that can only be enjoyed by the eye of the beholder...
*)*)*(*(
Be sure to check out all the My Sexy Saturday blogs by visiting http://mysexysaturday.blogspot.com .
KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks
June 18, 2016
Beset by lists, I'm into the cloud
June 18, 2016I've been a bit slow to embrace the world of Google docs. For my personal stuff, that is. It's been very handy at the day job job where there are several of us exchanging information on a frequent basis. What really convinced me I needed something other than my handy dandy jump drive is the amount of lists I use. I'm beset by lists.
At the day job, I frequently joke, in a semi-serious way, that my brain is like a full glass of water. Every time someone insists on pouring some other piece of information into my brain, something runs out the other side and I never know what until I go looking for it.
So I make lists. When I'm ready to upload a book to the various vendors, I consult a list. When it's time to do a My Sexy Saturday post, or write an article for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, I consult a list. You get the idea. To save myself a lot of time, time being the most precious commodity we have, I utilize lists. By finally putting some of those into the cloud, my life becomes simpler.
Because if one forgets to take one's jump drive to the day job, one is without one's lists.
(It wasn't pretty.)
Will I ever get bold enough to put a work-in-progress into the cloud? Some do, but I don't yet know if I'll be one of them. It's tempting, but it's not a step I'm ready to take. For now, let's see how having my lists in the cloud and at my fingertips works out.
My co-workers are going to be relieved. I just hope they pray the Internet never goes down.
KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
twitter.com/kckendricks
June 13, 2016
A new cover for Ride Your Luck
June 13, 2016
One of the best things about making my own covers is the freedom to redo any I decide I can make better. Photoshop has, in my opinion, a pretty steep learning curve. As I improve, so should my covers. It's not that I dislike the old Ride Your Luck cover. It's not bad. I love the clouds and the cowboy silhouette. If I'd not blundered across another photo of a cowboy riding into the sunset, and we all know cowboys simply must ride into the sunset, I would have kept the original cover.
The new background warms it up and gives the reader a better look at the hero. I like it.
Will I keep it forever and ever, amen? Not likely. I'm having waaaaay too much fun playing with Photoshop. But I do think this one will be around a bit longer than the last one.
RIDE YOUR LUCK
Available now at:
Amazon
All Romance eBooks
OmniLit
KOBO
iTunes
Barnes & Noble/Nook
KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks www.pinterest.com/kckendricks www.facebook.com/kckendricks
June 10, 2016
Double Deuce for #MSS145 (My Sexy Saturday)
June 11, 2016
Welcome to Between the Keys and week #145 of My Sexy Saturday. If you arrived via another path, My Sexy Saturday is a group blog hop where participating authors post seven sentences or seven paragraphs from a current release or a work-in-progress.
This Saturday, I'm taking seven sexy paragraphs from Double Deuce. You won't find these anywhere else on the Internet, only at Between the Keys.
= = = = =
He was silent, swirling the ice in his glass. Every few moments, he shook his head. I’d had those kinds of discussions with myself, too. Selecting the lesser of two bad choices wasn’t easy. Rick looked at me.
“Can we just go to bed and forget all this for one night, Ian?”
“Fucking me compromises you, and your case. Why do you want to do take that risk?”
He tossed back the remainder of the liquid in his glass with a quick flick of his wrist. “If we were straight, no one would care who we fucked, would they?”
“No, but we’re not.” I sipped my bourbon. It’s amber magic hit my joints with a relaxing rush. “Did you inform your agency boss of your contact with me?”
Rick set his glass aside and massaged the bridge of his nose. “No, Ian. I did not.” He plucked the glass from my fingers and placed it beside his on the end table.
He turned to me and I allowed him to press me down beneath him on the narrow couch. His gaze never left mine as he shifted his hips between my thighs. My cock hardened in three wonderful throbbing, pounding heartbeats. I ached with the need to feel him moving inside me and throw me into that almost forgotten white heat. I cupped the back of his head and dragged his mouth down to mine. = = = = =
About Double Deuce:
Free spirited Ian Coulter works hard and plays harder. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Ian enjoys meeting new men and making new friends. A night out ends up with one man on the floor at his feet, and another asking for his help. Big trouble’s brewing in little Amethyst Cove, and Ian’s a step behind. He’s quick to see Rick Mohr is the man holding the flare at the end a long, dark tunnel.
Undercover agent Rick Mohr walks a fine line, serving two masters. Insider trading, counterfeit printing plates, and a blown-up yacht have Rick stuck between two Federal agencies, one of which has been compromised. Rick has to discover the mole before it’s too late. When Ian Coulter walks into his life, Rick grabs the chance to salvage his assignment with both hands.
It doesn’t take Ian and Rick long to discover joining forces, and sharing resources, has definite perks - ones not found in any departmental manual.
DOUBLE DEUCE Contemporary gay romance Book I of Ian Coulter’s Amethyst Cove Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/z86rcdf All Romance eBooks - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-doubledeuce-2004542-145.html
Welcome to Between the Keys and week #145 of My Sexy Saturday. If you arrived via another path, My Sexy Saturday is a group blog hop where participating authors post seven sentences or seven paragraphs from a current release or a work-in-progress.
This Saturday, I'm taking seven sexy paragraphs from Double Deuce. You won't find these anywhere else on the Internet, only at Between the Keys.
= = = = =
He was silent, swirling the ice in his glass. Every few moments, he shook his head. I’d had those kinds of discussions with myself, too. Selecting the lesser of two bad choices wasn’t easy. Rick looked at me.
“Can we just go to bed and forget all this for one night, Ian?”
“Fucking me compromises you, and your case. Why do you want to do take that risk?”
He tossed back the remainder of the liquid in his glass with a quick flick of his wrist. “If we were straight, no one would care who we fucked, would they?”
“No, but we’re not.” I sipped my bourbon. It’s amber magic hit my joints with a relaxing rush. “Did you inform your agency boss of your contact with me?”
Rick set his glass aside and massaged the bridge of his nose. “No, Ian. I did not.” He plucked the glass from my fingers and placed it beside his on the end table.
He turned to me and I allowed him to press me down beneath him on the narrow couch. His gaze never left mine as he shifted his hips between my thighs. My cock hardened in three wonderful throbbing, pounding heartbeats. I ached with the need to feel him moving inside me and throw me into that almost forgotten white heat. I cupped the back of his head and dragged his mouth down to mine. = = = = =
About Double Deuce:
Free spirited Ian Coulter works hard and plays harder. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Ian enjoys meeting new men and making new friends. A night out ends up with one man on the floor at his feet, and another asking for his help. Big trouble’s brewing in little Amethyst Cove, and Ian’s a step behind. He’s quick to see Rick Mohr is the man holding the flare at the end a long, dark tunnel.
Undercover agent Rick Mohr walks a fine line, serving two masters. Insider trading, counterfeit printing plates, and a blown-up yacht have Rick stuck between two Federal agencies, one of which has been compromised. Rick has to discover the mole before it’s too late. When Ian Coulter walks into his life, Rick grabs the chance to salvage his assignment with both hands.
It doesn’t take Ian and Rick long to discover joining forces, and sharing resources, has definite perks - ones not found in any departmental manual.
DOUBLE DEUCE Contemporary gay romance Book I of Ian Coulter’s Amethyst Cove Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/z86rcdf All Romance eBooks - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-doubledeuce-2004542-145.html
June 5, 2016
New cover reveal - Eye of the Beholder
June 6, 2016Eye of the Beholder is one of those stories that defies the definition of "category." It's romance, but is it voyeurism? A bit.
Is it hanky-panky in public places? Weeeeell. So the neighbors forgot to close the curtains.
Is it serious? Irreverent? Humorous?
Perhaps it all of the above.
Do you know how hard it was to find a cover model with just the right about of humor mixed with seriousness mixed with sex appeal? And with blue eyes?
I think he's perfect.
Eye of the Beholder will be available sometime this month. Check back here at Between the Keys, or visit my website.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
June 4, 2016
Two new covers for Levi & Stacy
June 5, 2016
Shining Victory is the third story I published as KC Kendricks. It quickly spun off a sequel, No One But You. Stacy and Levi are special characters. Stacy is a wounded man, and it takes a brash younger man to put the last of his demons to rest.
For years now I've thought about giving Levi and Stacy another story but I worry I won't do them justice. But if I've learned one thing in life, it's never say never. It may yet happen.
Without any more blathering from the author, here's the new cover reveal for Shining Victory and No One But You. The books will be available later this June. Stay tuned.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Shining Victory is the third story I published as KC Kendricks. It quickly spun off a sequel, No One But You. Stacy and Levi are special characters. Stacy is a wounded man, and it takes a brash younger man to put the last of his demons to rest.
For years now I've thought about giving Levi and Stacy another story but I worry I won't do them justice. But if I've learned one thing in life, it's never say never. It may yet happen.
Without any more blathering from the author, here's the new cover reveal for Shining Victory and No One But You. The books will be available later this June. Stay tuned.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Two very important covers - Levi & Stacy
June 5, 2016
Shining Victory is the third story I published as KC Kendricks. It quickly spun off a sequel, No One But You. Stacy and Levi are special characters. Stacy is a wounded man, and it takes a brash younger man to put the last of his demons to rest.
For years now I've thought about giving Levi and Stacy another story but I worry I won't do them justice. But if I've learned one thing in life, it's never say never. It may yet happen.
Without any more blathering from the author, here's the new cover reveal for Shining Victory and No One But You. The books will be available later this June. Stay tuned.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Shining Victory is the third story I published as KC Kendricks. It quickly spun off a sequel, No One But You. Stacy and Levi are special characters. Stacy is a wounded man, and it takes a brash younger man to put the last of his demons to rest.
For years now I've thought about giving Levi and Stacy another story but I worry I won't do them justice. But if I've learned one thing in life, it's never say never. It may yet happen.
Without any more blathering from the author, here's the new cover reveal for Shining Victory and No One But You. The books will be available later this June. Stay tuned.
KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Vacation, vacation? Who stole my vacation?
June 4, 2016
I've always enjoyed my spring vacation. I take the week following Memorial Day because, generally speaking, my birthday falls at the end of that week. Do people really enjoy working on their birthday? I don't. I want to kick back and relax on my birthday. Anyway, spring vacation 2016 is winding down.
We didn't do much this year. Having Deuce kept us close to home. He's five months old now and I can really see who he's going to be. He's very different from Jett, and that's okay. Jett was laid back, almost reserved. Deuce is outgoing and in your face. When he's over being a puppy, he's going to be a great companion. He rides better than Jett, who didn't respond well to the DH's herky-jerky driving. (Hell, I don't like the man's jerky on-and-off-the-gas driving style, but it doesn't make me throw up.) Our hope is that Deuce will be able to accompany us and we can do a bit of traveling when I either scale back my time at the day job or retire.
All-in-all, I enjoy being home. I look forward to the day I can call myself a full-time writer instead of a writer with a full-time job. I made pretty good use of my writing time during this vacation. The current WIP is at 19K. I created several simple covers for my back list, a cover for Christiane France, and got Hot August Comes back up. Not too bad.
Now I must go through the old blog entries at Between the Keys and change any links I've missed to go to my website. Typing in some urls that have "amber" in them will direct you to strange places. I really must update those old links. What grinds my time is that I'll have to go back and update them again when the books go back out. Or not. Going to my website for more information could be a good thing.
Life certainly changed since Vacation 2015. I shudder to think what Vacation 2017 might bring to the door. Whatever comes, I'm determined to go with the flow and keep writing.
KC
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
I've always enjoyed my spring vacation. I take the week following Memorial Day because, generally speaking, my birthday falls at the end of that week. Do people really enjoy working on their birthday? I don't. I want to kick back and relax on my birthday. Anyway, spring vacation 2016 is winding down.
We didn't do much this year. Having Deuce kept us close to home. He's five months old now and I can really see who he's going to be. He's very different from Jett, and that's okay. Jett was laid back, almost reserved. Deuce is outgoing and in your face. When he's over being a puppy, he's going to be a great companion. He rides better than Jett, who didn't respond well to the DH's herky-jerky driving. (Hell, I don't like the man's jerky on-and-off-the-gas driving style, but it doesn't make me throw up.) Our hope is that Deuce will be able to accompany us and we can do a bit of traveling when I either scale back my time at the day job or retire.
All-in-all, I enjoy being home. I look forward to the day I can call myself a full-time writer instead of a writer with a full-time job. I made pretty good use of my writing time during this vacation. The current WIP is at 19K. I created several simple covers for my back list, a cover for Christiane France, and got Hot August Comes back up. Not too bad.
Now I must go through the old blog entries at Between the Keys and change any links I've missed to go to my website. Typing in some urls that have "amber" in them will direct you to strange places. I really must update those old links. What grinds my time is that I'll have to go back and update them again when the books go back out. Or not. Going to my website for more information could be a good thing.
Life certainly changed since Vacation 2015. I shudder to think what Vacation 2017 might bring to the door. Whatever comes, I'm determined to go with the flow and keep writing.
KC
www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
May 31, 2016
IWSG - An Exercise in Introspection (or how I almost quit writing)
June 1, 2016The Insecure Writer's Support Group
http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com
I think the scariest thing I’ve experienced since being published was the dry season at the beginning of this year. For the first time since 2003, I seriously considered pulling the plug on my writing career.
The timing to take that action was perfect. Amber Quill Press had announced it was closing. This meant all but one of my KC Kendricks books would be going out of print. I could pull my one indie release, take down the KC website and fade away. It was tempting beyond measure.
For two weeks I did nothing related to writing. I played on the computer and kept in touch with friends, but if it wasn’t pre-scheduled, it didn’t go out. I wanted to know what life could be like without writing, and the answer was sobering, if not downright frightening.
Fast on the heels of discovering I actually could walk away from writing, my mother landed in the hospital. It was a comfort to me, in my heart, to know that if I had to devote more time to her care, I wouldn’t miss writing with gut-wrenching, heart-rending sorrow.
June is my birthday month. I live with the duality of being a Gemini. Some folks think astrology is hogwash, and while I won’t say I agree or disagree, I do see in myself many of the traits attributed to the Twins. The introspection of the last several months has been good, at least for part of me. I think that in small ways I’m sad my passion for writing isn’t the same as it was in 2003, but looking at the Big Picture, my dry spell was a positive thing. I want to write.
Writers weather many storms. We’re in touch with emotions in a unique way. We have to be to translate them to the page. This sometimes leaves us at the mercy of our own feelings. If we can step back, look at ourselves as we would one of our character creations, we might discover the path we just traveled, and the road to our own future, isn’t as scary as we thought. Sometimes we walk in daylight, with our eyes closed, and we only think it’s night. When we discover the truth of what lies beneath our own skin, we write.
And sometimes we write better.
KC Kendricks http://www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks www.facebook.com/kckendricks
May 29, 2016
New cover up! Hot August Comes
May 29, 2016
So far it's been a rather productive weekend, and a great kickoff to my annual spring vacation. I've worked a half-dozen things off my home & garden to-do list, and a few more than that off my writing to-do list. Now, if the elves would just come and catch up the laundry...
One thing I didn't expect to mark off the list was the new cover for Hot August Comes. I was trolling the stock photo sites and spotted this guy. He just has that certain brooding something that meshes with the story. He looks like a guy at a major crossroads in his life. The cover is up on my website at www.kckendricks.com/HotAugustComes.html . I expect to have the book available within a day or two.
For some reason I seem to end up in surprise places. I didn't set out to turn the Marionville stories into a series. Same for the Southern Cross books. And I didn't set out to have a "calendar" series, but I have Hot August Comes, September Morning and December Promise. Go figure.
I don't think I'll ask the universe why. I'll just go with the flow.
KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
www.facebook.com/kckendricks
**update 5/31 - the book is live at Amazon**
So far it's been a rather productive weekend, and a great kickoff to my annual spring vacation. I've worked a half-dozen things off my home & garden to-do list, and a few more than that off my writing to-do list. Now, if the elves would just come and catch up the laundry...One thing I didn't expect to mark off the list was the new cover for Hot August Comes. I was trolling the stock photo sites and spotted this guy. He just has that certain brooding something that meshes with the story. He looks like a guy at a major crossroads in his life. The cover is up on my website at www.kckendricks.com/HotAugustComes.html . I expect to have the book available within a day or two.
For some reason I seem to end up in surprise places. I didn't set out to turn the Marionville stories into a series. Same for the Southern Cross books. And I didn't set out to have a "calendar" series, but I have Hot August Comes, September Morning and December Promise. Go figure.
I don't think I'll ask the universe why. I'll just go with the flow.
KC Kendricks
http://www.kckendricks.com
www.twitter.com/kckendricks
www.facebook.com/kckendricks
**update 5/31 - the book is live at Amazon**
