K.C. Kendricks's Blog, page 59

R is for Rewind

Day 18
April 21, 2016
Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys as part of the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge. 
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I believe it was Jim Croce who wrote in song lyrics we never have enough time to do the things we want to do once we find them. I think that’s true. I was forty before I completely acknowledged I was at my core a writer and that’s what I wanted to do.
Oh, maybe I suspected it, or actually knew it on some level, but I didn’t actively pursue it. I’m not angry that I waited so long. I think everything happens when it’s supposed to. But do I sometimes wish to go back and rewind? Sure.
Maybe it’s knowing I can’t do a rewind in time that keeps me better focused on moving forward. I think of the time I spent on idle pursuits and I wonder why I did them. My only excuse is I was younger then.     
If I could rewind my writing career, would I be as happy with the outcome as I am today? What direction would I have taken?
Would I have made the same wonderful friends? I wouldn’t want to lose any of them. 

Would I have learned the same things on different paths? 

Maybe the universe is right to keep the rewind button inactive.
 KC Kendrickswww.kckendricks.comwww.twitter.com/kckendricks
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R is for Ride Your Luck
RIDE YOUR LUCK(Modern cowboy) www.allromanceebooks.com/product-rideyourluck-2004418-145.html
Regan Oakley’s luck ran out. After a stint in rehab, he’s putting his life back together without the booze. What he thinks is an old friend’s charity is really a plea for help. There’s trouble at the Bar RC Ranch and the friend’s son is in the middle of it. Regan takes one look at Wythe Carver and knows that young man isn’t the only one with his world turned upside down.
Wythe Carver’s life took a strange turn. Suspected of murdering the ranch foreman, he’s hanging on, one day at a time. The person who could alibi him has disappeared and Wythe can’t find him. To make matters worse, his prize stallion is loose on the range. Complicating his life even more, his father called an old friend to come help out at the ranch. One look at Regan Oakley is all Wythe needs to know it’s going to get hot at night. 
Regan sets out to find the truth of what happened that night at the Bar RC. He’s sure Wythe is innocent, and he’s just as sure he has no business getting involved with the boss’s son. With no solid proof to clear Wythe, Regan needs to ride his luck to get to the truth and keep Wythe by his side. 

Q is for Quality over Quantity

Day 17
April 20, 2016
There’s few who would argue we live in a world that values quantity over quality. That’s okay if your fetish is socks or golf balls. 

Okay. I guess pocketbooks should also be on the list of things of which you can never have too many. Color me guilty there. But I think it’s time some of us took a step back and looked at quality over quantity. Take the aforementioned pocketbooks for example.
A few years ago a girlfriend and I bought into the Miche bag craze. It was fun. We bought the shells and traded them back and forth. The downside was the shells didn’t hold up. Neither did the liners. We ended up with a quantity of Miche we no longer could use. I found an Ellen Tracy bag that cost what two of the Miche shells cost and I’ve carried it for four years now. People still ask me if the bag is new. Quality shows itself.
I think writing is better if approached from the “quality before quantity” viewpoint. To my way of thinking, I don’t help my career if I churn out quickie story after quickie story with no real substance. Whatever time it takes to accomplish the writing - that’s what it takes. I want to end up with a book I can feel good about having written, especially since I’m in this for the long haul.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks

P is for Prioritize

Day 16
April 19, 2016
2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge
I can’t think of anything more important to managing my time effectively than prioritizing. 
And that’s prioritizing everything, not just writing projects. Every day I take the time to figure out what needs done and then prioritize what needs done today. It’s part of that mountain climbing thing I talked about a few days ago.
What I thought was vitally important yesterday may be less so today. Needs do change. Decisions made by others have a ripple effect. So it’s important to examine what I need to do to maximize my time.
Unfortunately for me, or maybe it’s fortunately because I do like getting a paycheck, my day job is a priority Monday through Friday. Everything has to fall in around the day job and that includes family, friends and writing career. Everything. I don't like it much, but that's the financial reality of it.  
If I keep the main things in my life a priority, those little things that slip away maybe weren’t so important. It’s up to me to decide.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks

O is for Opportunity Missed

Day 15
April 18, 2016
Welcome to the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the SIXTH year I’ve participated in the challenge. Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys as we kick-off the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge. 
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The missed opportunity. Oh, how we think it’s the end of the world! We moan and groan and decry our stupidity. We start whining with the very unproductive, “if only I had…”
Have you ever stopped to think that as you sit bemoaning your bad luck, you’re missing yet another opportunity?
Let’s step back from the edge of the cliff.
Most missed opportunities do not signal the end of life as we know it. One of my early failings was to realize every opportunity I heard about was not right for me. I wasted a lot of time feeling paralyzed because I’d missed a promo op, or a deadline to get in on a special publisher promotional. It was definitely counter-productive.
It's simply impossible to take advantage of every opportunity out there. Even with the most splendid of time management skills there is no way to hit everything. It's probably a lot more important to maximize what opportunities you can, especially on the Internet. Building lasting opportunities on the web is definitely doable from a wiki to a blog. Those things are static - always available. 
So seize every opportunity carefully. Sometimes it's better to pass and get some writing done. If I take the time to look at the missed opportunity from different angles, I often discover it’s still an opportunity for me to learn something about myself. And that’s a miss I’ll accept every time.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks

N is for No More Time Management?

Day 14April 16, 2016
2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge
No more time management? Seriously? Well, yeah. Who hasn’t been tempted to throw out the concept and fly by the seat of their pants? I’ve done it a few times, but I always drift back to my better habits.
If I stop paying attention to what I’m doing things in my life fall apart pretty fast. Chores pile up until I’ve got a mountain of my own making to climb. (We talked about mountain climbing yesterday.)
Saying no more time management is, to me, squandering the most valuable resource I have. I can get more clothes, more money, more everything except time. Time is a non-renewable resource. It’s in my best interest to make every moment count for something. I need to be intentional about time.
No more time management? Not this girl.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks

M is for Mountain Climbing

April 15, 2016Day 13
2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge
When you stand at the foot of the mountain and look up, how long do you estimate it will take to climb to the top? Do you think about how many steps it might take? It’s a daunting task, climbing a mountain.
I have a good friend who sees everything in life as a mountain to climb. She has an “all or nothing” personality. After many years, she’s learned to look at the mountain and then scale it in achievable steps. She still won’t tell herself she’s doing good until she reaches the top, but she’s at least making progress.
While it may sound simplistic to break a large task into smaller steps, it’s one of the ways I keep my sanity. I know a fifty thousand-word book will not be written in a day. I can’t even do it in a month. I know I have to break the work into pieces of maybe one thousand words a day. The only way for me to reach the summit of the mountain is to accomplish the climb a little bit at a time. And I actually think I enjoy reaching the top more that way.

Each step up the mountain is intentional. It can be examined, savored. It gives me time to look at alternate paths. The mountain may be high, but in the end, I'll own it. 
 KC Kendrickswww.kckendricks.comwww.twitter.com/kckendricks
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M is also for the Men of Marionville
http://www.kckendricks.com/MarionvilleSeries.html
I didn't set out to write a series. I set out to write a story that included a main character who had a long history with his friends. It was a short step from the original concept to series. Each story stands alone -none are sequels in the strictest usage of the word.
As I write this I can't say how many more stories will be set in Marionville. I do know there will be more. If you like reading a series in order, it’s A HardHabit to Break, Open Roads, What You Don’t Confess, Your Whisper in the Dark, A Cat Named Hercules, Leather Jackets, Station to Station and Dreams to Sell. 

Check it out on my website using the Marionville series link just above. 

L is for Limiting Behaviors

Day 12
April 14, 2016
2016 A to Z Blogging ChallengeIt’s All About Time
Welcome! We’re almost to the halfway mark in the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge. That’s amazing. This is the sixth year I’ve participated in the challenge. Yes, it may appear on the surface I’m a glutton for punishment, the truth is I think the A to Z is a lot of fun.
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One of the truest things about human behavior is that we can be our own worst enemy. Trust me - I don’t exclude myself from this. In fact, I’m very good at it. Knowing this gives me an edge for keeping it in check.
What are some limiting behaviors? They’re worse than spending an hour a day on Pinterest.  In no particular order, I define my big four limiting behaviors as negativity, giving in to frustration, being jealous of others, and not believing in myself one hundred percent.
Writers, by the very nature of what we do, spend a lot of time alone. It’s easy to fall into one of these limiting behaviors and not be aware of it. It’s easy to become frustrated with a story, proclaim we’ve written crap, and acknowledge our writing “goddess” would never type such tripe.
Wow. Hit all four points in one fell swoop.
I learned early in my writing career that being compared to any other writer is a head game. It happened, and it didn’t take long for me to realize this person was toying with me. Why? You’d have to ask them. All I know is instead of being flattered, I became insecure. And then I realized that may have been the intention.
Take a moment to define your limiting behaviors. You might have to think about it for awhile (I did), but it’s worth doing. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know what the problem is.
Do it for yourself.
KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks

K is for Keep a Log (and Kentucky 98 Proof)

Day 11April 13, 2016
2016 A to Z Blogging ChallengeIt’s All About Time
Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys in the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge. We’re up to the letter K and Keep a Log.
This is the SIXTH year I’ve participated in the challenge, and this year I’m focusing on how I manage my time.
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I keep an activity log. It’s a simple spreadsheet, but I it’s a vital tool for this writer.
My spreadsheet has a workbook for each year, but you may prefer separate spreadsheets. There's no right or wrong. It's about what works for you.

On mine, the book titles go across the top in row 1, and dates go down the side in column A. Whenever there’s something to record - first clicks, updated work count, book submitted, contract, edits, cover, release date, review - it gets added in the column for that book. (That doesn’t mean I have 365 rows on each workbook. I only record word count every few days if that’s all I have to track.)
This way, I don’t need to waste time searching through file folders to find dates for anything. I've kept a log and it’s all on the spreadsheet.
And it feels pretty darn good to view my writing history, too.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Have you joined my mailing list? No chatter, just the news.Send an email to: betweenthekeys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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K is for Kentucky 98 Proof
Available now at All Romance eBooks
www.allromanceebooks.com/product-kentucky98proof-2004412-145.html
(I confess. This is one of my favorite stories.)
KENTUCKY 98 PROOF
Victor Carter knows his grandfather only from a handful of black and white photographs, so his surprise when the man’s will is read is genuine. What’s he going to do with seventy acres on the side of a Kentucky mountain? More importantly, how’s he going to survive living there for a year to satisfy the conditions of the will so he can sell the property? Even worse, it’s not like the hills of Kentucky are teeming with gay companionship.
Boone Mosely is Kentucky born and bred with a proud family heritage he can trace back to his home state’s founding. Following in his uncle’s footsteps, Boone’s in his second term as sheriff of Four Points. He takes the job seriously and doesn’t suffer fools - or crime - in his town.
When city slicker Victor Carter arrives on Shepherd Mountain, Boone knows he’s got a whole new brand of trouble to deal with. And this time, the badge isn’t going to help him at all.

For an excerpt and buy links for Kentucky 98 Proof, please visit my website at http://www.kckendricks.com/Kentucky98Proof.html 

So how's the indie publishing progressing?

April 12, 2016

If you're a regular here at Between the Keys, you know I was recently blindsided by the closing of Amber Quill Press went out of business on March 30, 2016. I've been working as diligently as possible to get my books back out into the world. Out of forty-two books, I've gotten nineteen back out for purchase, and I have five more ready to upload. All-in-all, I'm rather pleased with the progress. 

The publishing side of all this is more than just building a cover and reformatting a document. Formatting is not too difficult, and gazing at all the pictures of handsome men to select one or two for a cover is, well, that's not too difficult either. Beyond that are website and blog updates to make. Keeping track of, and updating, all those links is a monumental task, but a necessary one. I'm not complaining, mind you. Just saying.

So what's out and available today? Glad you asked. below is the list as of today. The covers are ones I've made and really like. There are more at my website. Some turned out better than others, but I'm still learning Photoshop. Once I have all the covers done, I'll likely go back and apply what I've learned to recreate earlier covers.  We learn something new every day, for which we are grateful. The Doors of Time cover turned out really well - I got the elements scaled properly on that one. Scale is important. I'm learning.

So that's the progress on the indie publishing front for today. I can honestly say so far, so good.  But there's more to this than just having books for sale. The publishing industry is changing. It's a constant worry as to whether or not I'll be able to keep up. Can I really learn what to do to keep going as an independent? And as soon as I learn this one thing, will it be outdated? I'm sure the answers to those questions will be discovered in due time. I'll find out as I go! 

Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys! 

KC
http://www.kckendricks.com
twitter.com/kckendricks



Ian Coulter's Amethyst Cove Series
Double Deuce
Deuce of Diamonds
Ace, Deuce Trey
Circle of Steel

The Sundown Saga
The Back Stairs
Beneath Dark Stars
River Walk
Moon Dances
Fly By Night

Kentucky 98 Proof

Doors of Time

Seducing Light

Shine A Light

Ride Your Luck

September Morning

The Men of Marionville
A Hard Habit to Break
Open Roads
What You Don't Confess
Your Whisper in the Dark

Hey, Joe


     

J is for Juggling Projects (2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge)

Day 10April 12, 2016
2016 A to Z Blogging ChallengeIt’s All About Time
Welcome to the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge! I set my 2016 theme as “time” and ways to manage it more productively in regards to my writing. Thanks for stopping by Between the Keys as I share what works for me when it comes to managing my time. 
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I tend to juggle multiple projects. I’m not going to say it’s something you should do, especially if you’re a novice, but it’s the way I roll.
When I first started to write, that is actually put words on a page, I was singular in my thinking. The very first story I wrote took months to complete. I didn’t work on anything else. That was okay because I was caught up in the rush of writing my first book. Fast forward to about the fifth book and I knew I had to do something differently.
Sitting and staring at a computer screen when the words won’t come is a waste of my time. I’ve learned (the hard way) that when that happens, something is wrong in my thinking. It’s time to regroup. And to regroup I’ve got to think about something else other than the story I’ve been working on.
I only have a few short hours a day in which to write. If one project isn’t moving, I switch to another. That may mean blogging, doing promo snippets on twitter, or writing a character bio for the next story.
By juggling several projects I stay productive, and productivity is vital in the publishing industry.
 KC Kendricks www.kckendricks.com www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Have you joined my mailing list? No chatter, just the news.Send an email to: betweenthekeys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com