Kenzie Cade's Blog, page 4

Looking Back at 2014 and Looking Forward to 2015

2014 was an amazing year, one I’m not likely to forget anytime soon. It was also a year of firsts for me.

1. I PUBLISHED THREE BOOKS!!!! My first published work came out in June, but even before that was the first editing process. And for those of you who’ve ever had the pleasure of going through it, you know what an experience it is. I was blessed to have not one but three published works: Son of a Fish, Never Leave (part of The Project Fierce Chicago anthology), and Hummingbird House. I found two of the best publishing house (or should I say they found me): Dreamspinner Press and Less Than Three Press, without whom, I could not have done any of this without them.

2. The Readers. Ohmigod!! You guys are freaking awesome! I never in my wildest dreams imagined that people would find something I did or wrote or said so profound. Nope. Not me. Yet you have accepted me and encouraged me and loved me from day one. I am blown away by your support every single day. Thank you so so much!! You’ll never know what you mean to me.

3. Finding Friends in not so low places. Have you ever just met someone and known they were meant for you? I mean we read about it all the time–it’s part of why we read and write what we do–but who knew it happened in real life? Well, it does. And to me it happened four times in one year. I won’t go into detail, but if you were at GRL at all, you saw all five of us together (probably more than once).

4. CHICAGO!!!!! Okay, ladies and gents, if you’ve never been to Chicago, you have to go at least once in your live. This was my first year at GRL and I had my lovelies to share it with. I also spent a day out on the town (well on the water) in the city. It was amazing! So two things: Go to GRL and go to Chicago. *nods*

I’ve learned so much this year. Met so many people who I have encouraged me and loved me through my highs and lows. Without knowing it, 2014 became the first stepping stone in what is hopefully a long journey ahead.

As 2014 was a year of learning and pressing forward, I’m hoping 2015 will be equally as challenging. I love a good challenge. So here are a few of my goals for 2015.

1. Write, Write. Write. Some of you also may know that I have a side gig as a reviewer for Joyfully Jay. I love it. I actually owe a lot to Jay for finding me and the encouragement she gives me. Reading and reviewing have done so much for me in terms of discovery and craft. I found my voice there. That being said, I’ve cut back the number of books I will be reviewing this year so I can focus on writing. I love to write and now I’ll have a little extra time to do so. Besides PB with Piper, I have at least four more stories (two novels and two novellas) I am planning on finishing this year. I’ll keep you informed. 

2. Meet Deadlines. These are real things–deadlines. Some of you may or may not have heard, but one of the most amazing things to happen to me this year was starting a project with one of my idols:  Piper Vaughn. I am beyond thrilled about the story and the characters and the world that we are currently living in. And I say living because we are literally there every single day as we have a deadline coming up. My first. It’s daunting and scary, but it’s also motivating in ways I never expected (as is working with Piper). So Goal numero uno: Meet Deadlines.

3. Read. Read. Read. I am a reader first and foremost. Some authors don’t read. I get it. But it’s where I found myself. I love to read and I love this genre. I love this community. Discovering new authors is part of what I love.

4. Keep Learning. I said earlier that 2014 was a year of learning, and it was, but I love to learn. I have been lucky enough to be mentored by some of the greats in this genre and I thank my lucky stars every single day for it. Without them I would not be where I am. Still, I have a long way to go. I probably always will. So I continue to read, study, and grow. I’m okay with that.

5. San Diego. I attended GRL 2014 in Chicago this year. It was one of my firsts and something I will never forget. It was everything I’d hoped for and more. So yes, GRL 2015 is on my to-do list. I’ve never been to San Diego, but I’m told by Rhys Ford that the food is amazing. I’m looking forward to finding out. I have not yet decided if I want to go as a reader or author, but either way it’s bound to be a blast.

Hmm… I think I’m gonna go with those five. If those goals are met and can be grown and multiplied, I’m totally okay with that as well. Either way, I’m looking forward to 2015 and all it holds.

What are your goals for 2015?

Blog Tour Fun!

The Hummingbird House blog tour kicks off tomorrow! I’m beyond thrilled with the response I’ve received so far. Take a look at what Jules from The Novel Approach, Brandilyn from Prism Book Alliance, and Ron from Rainbow Book Reviews had to say!

So, tomorrow I’ll be at Love Bytes and MM Goodbook Reviews. It’s a week long tour chocked full of blog visits, fun, and prizes! I hope you guys will join me!

Hummingbird House is on Amazon!

Here you go, folks! Hummingbird House has finally made it to Amazon!

I hope you all enjoy Trent and Callum’s story.

Blurb: 

To honor his grandmother’s final request, Trenton Appleton drops everything to visit the family’s ancestral home: Hummingbird House, where he experienced his first kiss and first heartbreak with Callum Eason.

Eight years ago, confused by his attraction to Trent, Callum reacted badly. But with help he never expected, Callum found himself and learned to accept who he was.

Now Trent is back at Hummingbird House, and Callum has his opportunity to salvage their friendship, at least. But Trent is less receptive than he was all those years ago. Still, Callum is determined to show Trent he has changed and keep his promise to Trent’s grandmother. When past mistakes repeat themselves, Callum must break the cycle before his last chance with Trent passes him by.

Hummingbird House on ARe!

The boys are live on ARe!!

It’s Here!!!

I am sooooo excited to present to you… Hummingbird House!!

As of right now, HH is available at Dreamspinner Press. Later today I’ll link the commercial vendor sites as they become available.

I’ve been getting ready and setting up the HH blog tour with the help and guidance of Pride Promotions. The the tour begins December 8th and runs through the 12th. I’ll be giving away a gift certificate and an ebook copy of Hummingbird House. Plus I’ll be at Joyfully Jay on December 2nd giving away an ebook copy of HH.

Thank you so much for all the love and support while I’ve walked Trent and Callum’s journey. I hope you enjoy it!!

And Merry Christmas!

Hummingbird House Cover

I am so very excited to share my newest cover. It’s my very first personalized cover and I love it! Catt Ford did a lovely job.

Hummingbird House is part of Dreampsinner’s Advent anthology: Celebrate! being released on December 1, 2014

It’s beautiful isn’t it?

Blurb: 

To honor his grandmother’s final request, Trenton Appleton drops everything to visit the family’s ancestral home: Hummingbird House, where he experienced his first kiss and first heartbreak with Callum Eason.

Eight years ago, confused by his attraction to Trent, Callum reacted badly. But with help he never expected, Callum found himself and learned to accept who he was.

Now Trent is back at Hummingbird House, and Callum has his opportunity to salvage their friendship, at least. But Trent is less receptive than he was all those years ago. Still, Callum is determined to show Trent he has changed and keep his promise to Trent’s grandmother. When past mistakes repeat themselves, Callum must break the cycle before his last chance with Trent passes him by.

Heart Song

I’m such a slacker. Sorry guys for my lack of blogging even though I made a resolution to do better. *sighs* I will try. So for this week’s edition my version of TBT–Heart Song by Stormy Glenn.

Blurb:

Ten years ago, Darren Hart was rescued from a fall by a gorgeous man that tells him an outlandish tale. Once he returns to civilization, his memories blur and he begins to believe the voice in his head is a figment of his imagination.

Now, Darren is a successful veterinarian who believes he is just a bit crazy. After years of therapy and medications, he has learned to live with the sexy voice in his head. He even carries on conversations and occasionally fantasizes about the voice. When he’s attacked, Darren doesn’t know what to think, but when the voice comes to rescue him in the form of the most gorgeous man he’s ever met, Darren is positive he’s lost his mind.

On the run from a killer, Darren has to come to terms with the fact that the voice is real and has a name. Asher Stone is the alpha of a werewolf clan and claims that Darren is his alpha mate. Can Darren believe in Asher’s promise that they were meant to be together or will an unknown assailant kill him before he realizes that being the alpha mate is what he desires most in the world?

I am a huge fan of all things paranormal and after devouring JD Langley’s With or Without series four years ago, I went on a hunt for anything remotely paranormal/shifter sexy and Heart Song was the first book I found. To say I devoured it soon after would be an understatement.

Heart Song is about human veterinarian Darren Hart and the man he can’t get out of his head–literally. Asher, to Darren, is the voice in his head. It’s complicated and I don’t want to give it all away to you, but know that Asher is real (obviously if you read the blurb). Asher has spent years making his pack safe for his mate and now his mate doesn’t believe he’s real.

Darren and Asher are amazingly sweet and hilariously hard-headed. One thing that I’ve grown to love about Glenn’s character’s since reading this the first time is the likability and stubbornness, but also the strength and confidence (even if sometimes it’s hidden). Darren and Asher have these in spades. Add the alpha grumbly growl to Asher and we have achieved perfection. Darren is the heart of the story, no pun intended. At first he gives up his life, begrudgingly, but then he’s so giving of himself and his time and his talents to any and everyone, even those who would hurt him. He doesn’t let fear rule him. His fearlessness knows no bounds.

This story starts out fast paced and ends that way. From beginning to end, Glenn captured my attention and held it. I was and still am head over heels for this story. And I can’t mention the story without mentioning the world. It’s amazing. I love the way the author builds this one–from the cubs to the structure of the clans as a singular body and as a community. Then the relationship between mates, especially Asher and Darren, I’m so freakin’ in love.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back and re-read this book It’s one of my all time favorites and will probably remain so for a long, long time.

You can buy Heart Song here:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Bookstrand

Throwback Thursday

Welcome to my very first ever edition of Throwback Thursday!! Before I consider myself a writer (because I still have trouble with that) I consider myself a reader first and foremost. I discovered the world of m/m by accident, as many of us do. My cousin had talked me into reading Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series and I kind of fell in love with the paranormal world–believe it or not, the homoerotic attraction in those books neither persuaded me nor dissuaded me to look elsewhere for man on man action. It was what it was. So after I finished that series, I devoured her Merry Gentry series (some of you may have heard me tell this story before) and when I was finished with it, I was bereft without anything vampire/werewolf/cat shifter/sexy beast related to read. So I followed my lonely heart to Google where I searched for Hamilton’s next release to no avail, then I decided to search for books similar to hers. I needed something to read and I need it now. I happened upon this blog–don’t ask me the name I couldn’t remember the name if I tried–that listed thousands of erotic paranormal romance novels. I was in. I clicked through a few, reading blurbs here and there until I happened upon a vampire series (Master Chronicles by Jamie Craig) with a hero named Gideon and heroine (I thought) named Jesse. Much to my chagrin, scene two in the alley where Gideon loses control because of the Obsidian and becomes a slave to his lust and attacks a very willing Jesse turned out to be much different than I expected. It was the beginning of my love affair with the m/m world. That was nearly five years ago.

In the past five years, I’ve read some a-freaking-mazing books and they are worth another read. You may or may not have read them. I can guarantee, if I share them, I’ve probably read them more than once. I’m going to try to share some that are maybe lesser known, or at least lesser talked about, as well as those that we all love and adore and still talk about on a regular basis.

So for week one… I’ve thought long and hard (I have to be careful not to cross paths with my other identity on this subject) and have decided on… Nothing Ever Happens by Sue Brown

Dear Sue, you break my heart. It’s not a secret that I keep from this author–the love/hate relationship I have with this book. Don’t let my words fool you, I very much love you. There’s such a tug of war of emotions throughout this story and a rollercoaster ride on top of that, that I felt dragged through the ringer by the end. And I loved every second of it.

Nothing Ever Happens is the story of Andrew–a gay man trapped in a marriage he never wanted because of his religious zealot, overbearing mother– and Nathan, the new next door neighbor. Problem one: Nathan is married. Andrew and Nathan strike up a quick friendship and Andrew finds himself falling for his handsome, charming neighbor. Enough that when Nathan discovers his truth, he’s not exactly put off, though he’s not clamoring to have a sleepover either.

Nathan is young and newly married, but something in his life is missing. Something he finds with Andrew, though he doesn’t understand it. As months pass, watching Andrew give himself to other men twists something deep inside Nathan. And when a night out leads to an unexpected encounter Nathan doesn’t know whether to run scared or follow his heart. Although he’s not exactly sure what his heart is saying.

As months turn into years, secrets and deceits break hearts and shatter dreams, Nathan and Andrew journey through a friendship and relationship full of heartbreak, tears, love, and desire, wrought with deception by other lovers and meddling from outside forces. For an attraction and need so strong, something always seems to stand in their way, preventing the love they so desperately have for one another. In a quiet neighborhood, on a quiet street where nothing ever happens, Andrew and Nathan’s worlds will be rocked and their lives will never be the same.

And that’s not even half of it. These guys are all of a mess and a half. Andrew is just a good guy who wants to do the right thing. I think for the most part he loves his mom, which is how he came to be in the situation he’s in. His wife… well… in the end, she’s not all bad, but she doesn’t make it easy for him. Andrew breaks my heart. He wants to do what’s best for his kid and his family, but he’s so unhappy. Then Nathan comes along and flips his world upside down. Nathan kind of breaks my heart because he had no intention of falling for Andrew. It just happened. And when his wife figures it out… We’ll just say I’m not her biggest fan. In fact, she’s the accumulation of everything I despise in female characters in m/m fiction. She’s conniving and deceitful and horrible all while wearing an innocent, pretty face. Ugh. But Nathan–naive, gullible Nathan–falls for it. It’s something I both adore and dislike about him. There are so many time I wanted to yell at him to man up, but then I’d see his need to take responsibility and understand. He couldn’t win.

This story spans years and years. It’s a lifetime for these guys and it’s gut-wrenching. This author does a wonderful job walking readers through the ups and downs without causing disinterest. The ups and downs, the twists and turns are captivating. I was glued to the pages in hopes of Andrew’s and Nathan’s happily ever after. And trust me, whatever happy they have by the end, they work for it. I am enamored with the telling of this story. It’s such a beautifully written, heartfelt story. I still feel the emotions when I simply think about it. That’s how wonderful it is.

If you’ve not read Nothing Ever Happens by Sue Brown I suggest you pick it up. You can find it at Amazon, ARe, B&N, Dreamspinner Press, and other ebook outlets.

And that is the conclusion to our very first TBT! Thanks for joining me!!

On the Blog Front

Okay…I’ve been quite the slacker on the blog front. So I’m going to try something different. Taking a cue from a friend, I’m going to mold the idea to fit my hectic schedule. I won’t promise daily posts–I’m not that good–but I will try (emphasis on try) to post at least twice a week. So look for Teaser Tuesdays, WIP Wednesdays, Throwback Thursdays, and Flash Fiction Fridays…I haven’t decided on Mondays yet…maybe Manic Mondays…because Mondays… O.O

But I’m gonna give it a go.

Maybe something like this…

 

 

Breakfall Blog Tour

Today I’m happy to have Kate Pavelle to the blog with an excerpt and giveaway from her newest release Breakfall, the first book in the Fall trilogy.

Blurb:

Sexual assault doesn’t discriminate. Aikido instructor Sean Gallaway learns that when he falls prey to a violent stalker. Asbjorn Lund, a karate sensei on campus and a Navy vet, yearns to teach Sean how to survive. How to overcome. How to recover. Sean feels hunted and alone as the stalker escalates, testing his boundaries. With the entire dojo at his back, Sean resolves to play bait. He will catch the animal stalking him and reclaim his sense of self if it’s the last thing he does. Yet Sean’s hunger for justice clashes with Asbjorn’s protective streak, and their budding romance might not survive their war of wills.

Excerpt: 

THE QUALITY of silence around him awakened him. Sean strained his ears in vain for familiar sounds. The car traffic of Cambridge was replaced by the gray, early morning stillness of nearby woods. There was no sound of a clock ticking, no popping of ancient radiators, no footsteps of fellow students overhead. The silence was like a blanket of cool, morning fog, comforting and private.

He turned toward the source of breathing to his right. This was Sean’s first-ever opportunity to observe Asbjorn at leisure. His eyes, deep like the ocean blue, were closed, their pale eyelashes stretching down in a graceful arc. It amused Sean to find faded, sun-kissed freckles on Asbjorn’s nose and cheekbones—a testament to his heritage as well as to his lifestyle. The scar splitting his right eyebrow was still angry and red, a reminder of his bout with Don, a fight without a victor. Sean let his gaze travel down the chiseled planes of Asbjorn’s exquisite, sharp cheekbones, his lovely and defined jaw blurred by morning stubble, his stubborn chin. Above his chin, his lips: lush and generous and tinged pink with promise.

Sean leaned forward, sharing his breath with Asbjorn, feeling the stirrings of air on his nose. He brushed his lips against the stubbly jaw with a soft caress.

Asbjorn opened his pale lids. “What time is it, Sean?”

“I dunno. Early.” Sean reached for his cell phone, only to realize it was still in police custody.

“What day is it?” The pressure-cooker of recent events had left him disoriented.

“Uh, Thursday. Thanksgiving.” Asbjorn’s voice was still clogged with sleep.

“Shit.” Sean hit his head back against the pillow. The lab. He never handed in his stupid physics lab report.

Asbjorn reached for him with his large hands. “Shh. Don’t worry about anything right now.” Asbjorn’s voice soothed him. The strength of Asbjorn’s arms filled him with strange awareness as he was pulled in closer. The warmth was comforting, and he did not resist. He felt a cool nose nuzzle his neck.

“Bjorn!”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re not helping.”

“Not helping what?”

Sean blushed. “My morning situation.”

Sharp teeth worried the tan skin of his shoulder. Soon, a warm, wet tongue laved the nibbled skin smooth again. He felt sensuous lips taste of his arm and neck, and Sean felt himself arch. His morning wood was now a fearsome force of nature.

He felt Asbjorn press into his lower back, feeling his heat and the smooth hardness trapped between their bodies.

“Good to know I’m not alone in my predicament.”

About the Author: 

KATE PAVELLE is a picky woman. She liked a number of men well enough, but she fell head-over-heels in love only once. And she is still there: one man, two kids, and quarter of a century later, she explores the exploding flavors of lust and infatuation through fiction alone. Love is a power struggle and a compromise. But what if both could open a jar of tomato sauce with equal ease? What if pregnancy was never a concern? Would love between two men create a level playing field? Life and relationships are never as simple as that. Her characters brave life like a bed of roses: beauty and soft petals and hidden thorns—and perseverance. Obstacles within and without her characters result in personal growth that far exceeds a mere erection. Kate Pavelle is a sucker for a “happily ever after,” but she paints her boys as flawed and complex. If they want the love she enjoys in real life, they will have push outside their comfort zones to grasp it!

Contact Kate at http://www.katepavelle.com for more reading pleasure, or follow her on Twitter at KatePavelle.

 

 

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