2018 – Candi Kay

Taking Lance Changes, Some Personal Stuff

Thanks to all who have downloaded Finding Alex. I’m happy to finally have the Taking Lance series behind me. I’ll miss the guys but they all got their happily-ever-afters.

A few things in regards to the Taking Lance series…

I’m redoing all the paperbacks in that series and my other books. I’ve been unhappy with the way they were so I’m starting from scratch.

I’m working on combining the entire series into one edition. It’ll be available in both e-book and paperback in the coming weeks.

Now to something I’ve not wanted to do but it’s kind of necessary…

I’ve mentioned in the past how Barnes & Noble did an erotica sweep awhile back and removed a lot of authors’ books without any type of warning. A lot of mine were in that sweep so I just removed them all. Recently I discovered that Taking Lance (#1 in the series) has been removed from iBooks and all other e-tailers except Kobo, Smashwords, and Amazon. I’ve done everything imaginable to get it back on those sites but it’s not happening. The reasons are (and I’m quoting here), “The content is primarily of an erotic nature, intended to stir sexual desire,” and “Prohibited Explicit or Objectionable Content (Informational).”

I’m pulling the ‘Lance’ books from everywhere except Amazon. I hate doing it but it’s kind of senseless to have books two through four and not the one that actually starts the series. I’ve voiced my displeasure over Smashwords so taking them off there isn’t a chore. I get about a third of my sales from Kobo but not from the ‘Lance’ series. If they’re strictly on Amazon I’ll be putting them back in Kindle Unlimited.

This is ONLY the Taking Lance series. I’ll be leaving all my others on the sites they’re on now.

I absolutely despise the exclusivity of KDP Select (KU) but if they’re just going to be on Amazon I might as well enroll them again. I’ll see how things go for 90 days and take it from there.

Check out the new Keeping Lance cover. I’ve been wanting to change the cover for a long time. I’m liking the new one SO much better.

Willy, #5

Still no title. I’ve narrowed it down to three or four. It’s just deciding on which one. I know what word I want to use but it just doesn’t sound right in regards to the series. If you’ve followed me for any length of time you know that I go through this every year. 🙂 And for the first time ever, I’m going back and forth between two covers. *bangs head*

It’ll all come together. It always does.

This & That & Personal Stuff

It’s almost the middle of August (already!) and I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished much in 2018 so far. I’ve published one book, Finding Alex, but I’ve not written anything original in awhile. Granted, I’ve been slowly working on Willy, #5, but it was completed months ago with the exception of a couple of sex scenes and minor holiday details. It’s hard to write Christmasy stuff when it feels like it’s 100-plus degrees outside. 🙂

I don’t think I’ve read a book that wasn’t mine since January. I’m normally a huge reader so to not read in that amount of time is highly unusual for me. I’m obviously not focusing constantly on my writing or more than one book would’ve been published (or at least written) this year. I have about a dozen completed stories that I could do final self-edits on right now and have them out in a week or two. It’s just not happening. It’s frustrating because my whole life there have been two things to help me escape and that’s reading and writing.

The last couple of years, as I’ve said many times, have been rough. My husband is the only person on this planet who even has a clue of what I’ve had to deal with. As a result, my ADHD has been off the charts. I get antsy and I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time or concentrating. My brain is all over the place. If you have ADHD you know exactly what I’m talking about. If not, imagine the feeling of dozens of things going on in your head at once 24/7. I’ve conditioned myself over the years to compartmentalize some of those things so it’s not as bad. I’ve not been able to do that for the past few months. The first half of the year I was dealing with my mom’s issues. Now that I can take a deep breath and start taking care of myself I’m having a hard time doing it.

I also have episodes of hyper focus, another symptom of my ADHD. The hyper focus for me is much worse than the scattered feeling. With the hyper focus I get fixated on one thing. No matter what I’m doing or who I’m with, that one thing is front and center. Until I accomplish whatever task it is, it literally controls my life. That’s not me being dramatic. It’s my fact.

I hear a lot of people go on about how ADHD and ADD aren’t real. I’d love for those people to live in my brain for 30 minutes.

All this is nothing new as I’ve been dealing with ADHD my whole life. It’s just lasted longer this go ’round than in years past.

Enough of that.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I’ll update on the ‘Lance’ stuff again soon.

Until next time,

Candi

P.S. Please don’t send me nasty messages about the ADHD memes. I’m not making light of it. I live it every day of my life. And (re: the 2nd meme), I’ve never in my life felt like an idiot over it. It’s simply part of who I am.

New Release & Excerpt: Finding Alex (Taking Lance, #4)

Finding Alex (Taking Lance, #4) has finally been published. It’s been a long road to get here for a variety of reasons. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you who have read the series.

In Finding Alex, all loose ends (Jenna and Lauren, Travis’ mother and stepfather) are finally tied up. Rick and Lance finally get married. The wedding is told in their POV in Marrying Lance. It’s told in Dean’s in Finding Alex.

You first met Alex and Dean as an established couple in Saving Travis. Now you can see how they got where they are.

Below is an excerpt from Dean. To set it up, Alex is at the lowest point of his divorce battle. Not wanting to be thrown into the media fray, Dean’s about to take off.

The photos are the character inspirations for both Alex and Dean. Can you tell I love Antonio Borges, my Alex inspiration? He’s a few years younger than my Alex but look at him. 😉

Finding Alex CANNOT be read as a standalone. To understand the characters and events you would need to read the others in the series.

Blurb –

Alexander Langdon and Dean Collins have been together for five years. They’ve had to overcome some obstacles, the least of which being their twenty-year age difference.

In less than a week, Rick Preston and Lance Scott will be saying their vows. After four years and a lot of drama, they’re now ready to commit in the eyes of the law.

After a heated discussion with Rick, Alex starts doubting his and Dean’s relationship. He’s wanted to get married for years, but Dean refuses to take that final step. They’re committed heart and soul. Why do they need a ceremony and piece of paper to prove it? Alex just wants to be able to call him husband. This has both men reflecting on what brought them together.

From Dean’s family secrets, to Alex’s very public divorce, they’ve been through it all. Will Dean get over his fears and finally do the one thing Alex wants most? Or will this issue continue to grow until it pushes the two men completely apart?

Finding Alex is the final story in the Taking Lance series. The wedding, told from Dean’s point of view in Finding Alex, is also told in its entirety by Rick and Lance in Marrying Lance, a bonus story at the end of the book. Free e-copies of Marrying Lance are also available at most e-tailers and via request from the author.

The series is best read in order to understand characters and events.

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo

Excerpt –

In the coming weeks I refused to meet up with Alex because he was being hounded everywhere he went. Some even went so far as to try to gain access to the building that houses the penthouse. They didn’t get beyond the lobby. Tenants pay handsomely for privacy and security and each person who tried to gain entry was promptly removed. If they persisted, the police were brought in. He and I did speak a few times on the phone but we didn’t see each other again until the height of the public divorce fight when I should have been running in the opposite direction. I tried to run in the opposite direction. I spent weeks watching everything play out and wondering why I hadn’t already moved on.

I’d always moved on.

One day I made the decision to leave.

I could get my revenge later. Doing it during a very public divorce battle was probably not the best time. I’d waited for over a decade. I could wait a little while longer. I packed my bag and was seconds from checking out of the cheap motel and jumping on my Harley and heading up north somewhere. Then I reached for the remote to turn off the TV and stopped short.

I knew at that moment that I wasn’t going anywhere.

There was a live shot of Alex being grilled by reporters as he attempted to leave his law practice. He looked tired and unwell. It was as if the fight had completely gone out of him. When he looked at the camera with circles under his eyes and a look of utter defeat I knew at that moment that I was in love with the man and that I’d go to my grave making sure he never felt defeated again.

One photo after another of Alex in sexual situations with men had been plastered all over the newspapers and the local television news. Most were blurred and couldn’t definitively identify Alex, but it was enough to hurt his public image. The ones of me standing naked inside the motel room of Mick’s were included in those photos. Thankfully the photographer wasn’t very skilled because only Alex and I could confirm for sure that it was us standing inside that door. There were none of Travis Jordan and Marcus Parker, which surprised me. Howard Mills was seen speaking to reporters on a daily basis threatening lawsuits for the slanderous photos and videos being publicized.

Through it all, Alex never said one harsh word about his estranged wife. He took the high road and allowed such vicious and brutal things to be said about him without resorting to doing the same about Vanessa. On one hand, it made him look like the better person. On the other, it made it look like he wasn’t defending himself against his wife because all the things she’d been saying were true. It was a double-edged sword.

I knew as I watched him trying his damnedest just to get to his car in the parking lot of his law practice that there was no way in hell I’d ever be leaving him. None of it made sense, but it didn’t have to. I knew what was in my heart and I believed with complete certainty that Alex felt the same about me. He was barely in his car with his seat belt fastened before I took out my phone and sent a text.

Tell security to let me

in your building.

I’ll be there in twenty.

I’d barely taken my jacket off inside his penthouse several minutes later when I heard the sounds of the code being punched in outside the door. Before even one word was spoken, I opened my arms and he practically collapsed when he walked into them.

“It’s okay, Alex,” I whispered in his hair. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

When he pulled back to look at me, his sad expression was almost my undoing. I pulled out of the embrace and took his hand. He didn’t fight me as I led him to his bedroom and slowly removed his suit and tie.

“I-”

“Shh,” I said as I placed my finger over his lips. “It’s just you and me here. Let me take care of you.”

He looked at me sadly and I removed my finger.

“I figured you’d be long gone by now,” he whispered.

I shook my head.

“I couldn’t leave.”

“Why?”

Instead of answering I cupped his cheek with my palm and leaned in and kissed him softly. My hand went from his face to his neck and I slowly massaged it as I took the kiss deeper. He moaned into my mouth and pulled me close to him, my clothed body flush with his naked one.

No more words were spoken as I undressed and Alex laid flat on his back on the bed. He looked so vulnerable. I wondered in that moment if he’d ever had any type of peace in his life. From his parents, to his wife, to his career, I doubted it very seriously.

“What would make you happy, Alex?” I asked him from the foot of the bed.

“To be able to live my life for me,” he answered without hesitation.

I got a condom from the drawer next to the bed and rolled it down over my dick, then reached over and grabbed the lube and poured some on my right hand. He pulled his legs up to his chest, spreading them for me.

“You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on, Alexander Langdon,” I whispered as I crawled on the bed between his legs.

I took my time preparing him for my dick, neither of us in a rush.

My heart ached knowing how bad he was hurting. All I wanted to do was take his pain away. I never would’ve dreamed that Alex Langdon, of all people, would be the man I’d fall head over heels in love with in a matter of weeks. No. I think I fell in love with him before I ever met him when I knew it couldn’t be possible.

“Please, Dean,” he whispered as I slowly stretched his asshole. “I need you.”

I slowly pulled my fingers out and crawled over his body, keeping my weight off with my arms on either side of him. I placed my lips against his for a brief moment before pulling back and looking him in the eye.

“I need you too. So bad.” When his eyes teared up I almost lost it. “It’s okay, Alex. I’ve got you and I’m not letting go. You’re not alone anymore.”

I moved down his body and guided my dick to his hole, my eyes on his as I took my time entering him. He didn’t flinch. I slowly made love to him – this wasn’t just a quick fuck – giving him all of me. I took his cock in my hand and slowly stroked it as I moved mine in and out of him. He closed his eyes and lifted his lower body to meet each of my slow thrusts.

“Open your eyes, Alex. Watch me as I make love to you.”

His eyes popped open.

“Is that what you’re doing, making love to me, Dean?” he asked, the nervousness in his voice obvious.

“Yes.”

“I’ve never made love before,” he murmured.

“Me either,” I responded as I started moving my lower body a little faster.

“It’s always just been fucking.”

“Not this time, Alex.”

No more words were spoken as we both moved toward the finish line. I think we both knew in those few moments that our lives would never be the same again. When we came, we came together, our eyes still on each other.

When it was over, I pulled out and disposed of the condom and wiped off my hand and his stomach. I got back on the bed and pulled him close.

“Did I make a mistake, Dean?” he asked, his face on my shoulder. “I knew it would be bad, but I never anticipated this.”

I slid my hand up and down his back.

“Only you can answer that question, Alex.”

His eyes came up to meet mine.

“Why are you here?” he asked me.

I could’ve made a joke. I could’ve just said I was horny. I could’ve done a lot of things. I went with the truth.

“Because you shouldn’t be fighting this alone.” I leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips before pulling back. “And because I’m in love with you.”

His eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but I placed a finger over his lips to stop him.

“I’m not asking for a declaration from you. You’ve got enough going on in your life right now, and I know a relationship is the last thing you need or probably want. I don’t believe in beating around the bush or wasting time. You said there was something special between us. I know that with certainty now. If you’re willing to have me, I will fight with you, and I’ll be by your side through it all. If you’re not ready to come out, I’ll respect that and remain in the background until you are. I know I said before that I wouldn’t, but I know it’ll take time for things to settle enough for you to be comfortable being public with a male partner; hell, with any partner. If I’ve read things wrong with you, now is a good time to tell me so I can get out of your life before I’m in so deep I’m unable to.”

I moved my finger from his lips.

“I think I fell in love with you the second I saw you at the bar.”

My heart full, I wrapped my arms tighter around him.

“Then we’ll get through this together,” I said over the lump in my throat. “You and me.”

Teaser Tuesday, #1: An Unlikely Romance (NSFW!)

This is NSFW!

For my first Teaser Tuesday I’m going back to a story I wrote in January of 2016, An Unlikely Romance. Life got in the way so it was set to the side. I’m slowly going through completed manuscripts and deciding what’s worth publishing and what’s not. I adore Casey (aka ‘Tom’) so his story needs to be told. I like Brett too but there’s something about Casey’s cockiness and his ‘take no b.s.’ attitude.

The way I described An Unlikely Romance to my friend as I was writing it was as ‘the not quite a rent boy’ story. I think you’ll be able to figure out why.

It’s roughly around 21,000 words at the moment. Some may be added. Some may be removed. Only time will tell.

Below is an excerpt of when Brett and Casey meet the very first time. While Casey would like you to believe that Brett is an old man (his words), he’s actually only 31 to Casey’s 21.

Y’all know me and the age differences. And, hey, what do you know? Brett has black hair and wears glasses. 😉

Everything’s unedited, especially the cover, so keep that in mind as you read it.

An Unlikely Romance

Blurb –

After being burned by love too many times, Brett contents himself by hiring prostitutes whenever he needs to scratch his itch. He can have as much sex as he wants without the silly emotions that always got him in trouble before. But then he meets a rent boy who calls himself Tom. Tom’s no different from the others he’s hired in the past, so why can’t get him out of his head?

Casey isn’t exactly as he appears to Brett, but what could he do? He wanted to have sex with the man so he played the game. What he didn’t expect was to fall in love with the guy. Throw in a little bit of family drama, and the fact that Brett has no clue of who he really is, and these men are destined for trouble. Can they meet in the middle and find what they didn’t even realize they were looking for? Or do they end their so-called business relationship and move on?

Excerpt –

I glance across the smoky room and see exactly who I’m looking for. Two men are leaning in close to him so I know I have to make my move before he takes off with one or both of them. I can tell he’s young, maybe early twenties. Around my height of six-feet, he has straight brown hair to his shoulders, tats of designs I can’t identify on his right arm, and two leather bracelets on his left wrist. When I get closer, I see a small hoop in his left ear. He’s wearing a tight purple shirt with skinny jeans and designer sneakers. He’s thin, at around one-sixty, and looks a little more put together than most of the guys I pick up.

Designer shoes? On a rent boy?

I don’t care, nor do I allow myself to think about it for too long. Good looking kid, but even if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter. I won’t be paying him for his looks. When I’m only a few feet away, I get his attention. I take two one hundred dollar bills from my front pocket and wave them, my eyes not leaving his. The other two guys are shoved aside as he makes his way to me and takes my arm and starts pulling me toward the back of the bar.

“No. You want the cash, you go with me.”

He stops and glares at me.

“I don’t know you from anybody, man. You could be a serial killer for all I know.”

I pull away from him and take a step back.

“Fine. I’ll find somebody else to take my money.”

I’ve not made it two steps before he’s grabbing my arm again.

“Maybe I’ll take my chances.”

I ignore him and keep walking, not doubting for a second that he’ll follow. We climb in the backseat of the first cab we see and a few minutes later we’re exiting outside of the cheap motel room I rented for the night. Inside, I order him to strip. He kicks off his shoes and unsnaps his tight jeans.

“Why do you have to pay someone? It’s not like you’re ugly or anything. You’re actually kinda hot. I’ve always had a thing for dudes who wear glasses.”

“Just shut up and do what you’re getting paid to do.”

“Ah, that’s why. You’re an asshole.”

I don’t say anything. I just watch as he kicks his jeans off, leaving him standing there in tight blue briefs and his bright purple shirt.

“That’s why you have to pay someone,” he continues. “If you were a nice guy, maybe you’d be able to get it for free. Hell, maybe even have a boyfriend or something. With that attitude? No wonder you have to skulk around in shady bars and pay guys to get laid.”

“What part of shut up did you not get, kid?”

He shrugs his shoulders and removes his shirt and briefs and throws them on the floor with his other clothes. He crawls on the bed and gets on his hands and knees, his ass on display.

“What’s your name?” I ask him.

“Tom.”

“Sure it is.”

He looks at me over his shoulder and smirks.

“Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

“Tom it is then, though I think I like Tommy better.”

“That’s a kid’s name.”

“And you’re a kid.” I slap him on his bare ass. He flinches slightly, but doesn’t scream out. “And kids with smart mouths get spanked.”

He wiggles his ass.

“Spank me again, daddy!” he says on a laugh.

I almost grin, but somehow manage to stop myself.

I remove my shirt and pants quickly and crawl on my knees on the bed behind him. My hands slide up and down his back before I grip his hips and rub my wet dick up and down his ass crack.

“No condom, no deal. I don’t care how much money you’ve got.”

I rock my dick against him.

“I won’t fuck you without a rubber, so shh.”

His face goes down on the bed and he pushes his ass back, squeezing my cock between his ass cheeks. I continue teasing him for a few minutes before it gets to be too much for me. I pull back and grab my jeans off the floor and remove a strip of condoms and a some small packets of lube from the front pocket. I toss them next to him on the bed.

He glances at them.

“Seriously? You think you’ve got enough, old man? How many times do you think I’m gonna let you do me for a measly two hundred bucks? And no offense, but with your age, I doubt you’ve got a second round in you until tomorrow sometime and I’ll be long gone by then.”

“I’ve got plenty in me, you little shit.”

I roll a condom over my dick and squeeze lube on my fingers. When I lightly circle his asshole with my fingers he jumps.

“That tickles!”

I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it. I disguise it as a cough.

I don’t take a lot of time prepping him, just a couple of fingers fucking his ass for a few minutes. He seems eager so I squeeze lube on my dick and grip his hips and line up. I don’t hesitate before I’m slowly pushing the head of my cock inside.

While waiting for his body to relax, I say roughly, “Don’t touch your dick. Don’t grind against the bed. You don’t cum. Got it?”

“I didn’t come here just for you to get off.”

He tries to turn to look at me, but I use my left hand to push his face back on the bed.

“You can’t cum until I say so.”

I think I hear him mumble “dick wad” but I can’t be certain. Either way, it helps take away the sudden urge to get inside him in one thrust – for a few seconds anyway.

Flashback Friday #1: Taking Lance (Part 1)

Taking Lance (#1) is .99 at Smashwords until the end of July! You can find the link here.

Special Note: All books in the Taking Lance series will be combined into one large edition in the coming months, a few weeks after the finale, Finding Alex, is published.

###

For my first Flashback Friday I thought I’d go back to where it all began. Taking Lance was my first published story.

The first in the series, it introduces the reader to Rick Preston and Lance Scott. If you’re not a fan of substantial age differences in books, main characters having sex with others on-page, or stepparent and stepchild relationships, this won’t be for you. It is bi-erotica and Rick is openly bisexual and has sex with both males and females on-page.

A special thanks to Kazza at On Top Down Under for allowing me to steal the Lance photo. 😉 Check out her NSFW review.

The excerpt is NSFW and pure erotica. I guess you can say that this is the scene that sets things up for Rick and Lance later. 😉

Blurb –

Forty-year-old Rick, who is bisexual, had to marry a woman or lose a large inheritance from his homophobic father. The marriage is loveless and practically sexless, but he plans to stick it out just long enough to collect his cash. Horny and frustrated, that changes when Rick meets his wife’s eighteen-year-old son, Lance.

Rick and Lance’s story is continued in Keeping Lance, part 2 of the series.

Excerpt –

I wait until Jenna is asleep and quietly make my way to the outside of Lance’s bedroom door. The door that is conveniently cracked open a few inches. Lance is sitting on the side of the bed facing me, though he’s not aware of that fact. His pants and underwear are at his ankles and Mandy, fully dressed, is on her knees with her back to me, taking his hard cock in and out of her mouth. Her hands are stroking the few inches of his dick that won’t fit. From where I’m standing, I can tell his cock is at least seven inches, and thick. His hands are in her long hair and his eyes are closed as he slowly fucks her mouth, moaning, his hips lifting off the bed with each forward thrust of his dick.

I don’t stop to think. All I can see is Lance’s cock going in and out of Mandy’s wet mouth and I know I have to have my own relief right then. I’ve been so horny since he started living under my roof and I know I can’t let this moment go to waste. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m pushing the door open a little more and my pants are unzipped and my aching cock is in my hand. I’ve been leaking precum since I watched Lance and Mandy in the car. There is more than enough lubrication for me to stroke myself as I watch Lance getting a blow job from his new girlfriend.

Never taking my eyes off of Lance’s dick as it moves in and out of Mandy’s mouth, I start to stroke my cock, my hand twisting at the head with each upward stroke. Making a fist, I fuck my hand quickly, my eyes never leaving the sexy boy in front of me. I must have moaned, or the wet sounds coming from the door alerted Lance to my presence, because he opens his eyes and looks right at me, my cock jacking my hand the whole time. I almost stop and back out of the room but I am right there and I can’t force myself to move. The look on his face registers surprise at first, but then he surprises me by moaning louder and fucking Mandy’s face harder and faster, his eyes never leaving mine. That’s all it takes for me to cum hard in my fist with a quiet groan, Lance watching me the whole time. When I put my hand to my mouth and lick off my release, he jerks forward, and with a loud groan, cums down Mandy’s throat.

Knowing it is time to take my leave, I back away from the door, with one last look at Lance. His softening cock is now lying on his thigh and Mandy is moving to stand. His eyes never leave mine until I am completely out of his sight.

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords

Sale & Freebies, Independence Day, This & That

Hello, all.

I hope you’re all doing well. My husband has been home for the past few weeks so I’ve taken a step back from everything. It’s rare to have this much time with him so I’m taking advantage of it, as I’m sure you all can understand. I’m also still dealing with a death in my family. Hopefully things will clear up a bit in my life so I can try to get back to normal. Or as normal as I can be anyway. 🙂

Sale and Freebies

Smashwords is having a sale through July. The few books I have on the site are either on sale for half price or free. I don’t have the last 2 Willy the Kinky Elf books on there or Marrying Lance. I’m not the biggest fan of Smashwords, to be honest, so the site has not been a priority when I’ve published new books. Maybe someday I’ll add the others. Undecided at this point.

Below are the books on sale or free and the Smashwords links:

Just Friends – .99

Eros – .99

Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer (#1) – .99

Evan the Virgin Reindeer & His Sexy Buck (#2) – $1.25

The Guy in the Coffee Shop – Free

My Son’s Girl & My Son’s Friends – Two Erotic Shorts (M/F Erotica) – Free

Taking Lance (#1) – .99

Keeping Lance (#2) – $1.50

Being Karen (#2.5) – Free

Saving Travis (#3) – $1.50

Trusting Lance (#3.5) – Free

Willy the Kinky Elf #5

Still no title for the upcoming installment.

Dylan the Bad Boy Reindeer & His ????? Mate

I wrote a blog post about it here.

I’m still open to suggestions. I won’t have to get serious about the title for a few weeks but I’d like to have that squared away soon so I can get the cover and blurb completed.

Independence Day

If you’re American I hope you had a nice and safe 4th of July. My husband grilled steaks and we just hung out together at home. My oldest son’s birthday was on the 3rd so we did most of our celebrating then.

I’ve seen a lot of anti-American posts and memes lately by actual Americans. I understand being frustrated and angry over the current administration and the damage it continues to do. However, I’m not letting our president or anybody else take away from my love for my country. I’ll always be proud to be an American and there’s nothing Trump or anybody else can do to take that away from me.

Along with most of you, I’m not happy with the way things are right now and I worry daily about what will happen next. That makes me want to work to get these people out of office so that maybe, just maybe, the U.S. will be a place we can all be proud of again. I refuse to be ashamed of being an American or waving the flag. A lot of people died for that flag. It’s bad enough I have to see so much anti-American stuff from those outside of the United States. Be anti-Trump. Be anti this administration. Be vocal and fight like hell to stop him before he causes more damage. But don’t hate your country because of the idiot in charge of it.

That’s all I’m going to say about that and I won’t be debating it with anybody, regardless of who you are. I try so hard to publicly stay out of all things political and I usually do. This will likely be my only exception.

Flashback Friday

A few weeks ago I mentioned doing Flashback Friday posts with excerpts from my books. I have a bunch of them ready to go but I didn’t want to start the weekly thing until I slowed down a little.

I also plan to add excerpts from upcoming stories. Those will be Tuesday Teasers and will either start the same week as the Flashback Fridays or I may alternate weeks. I’m not sure yet. I don’t want to overload you guys with posts.

This and That

The next few days will be spent getting a lot of stuff done around my house. My husband will be going back to work out of state this weekend so we need to do it all while we can. This is the longest he’s been home in quite awhile so it’ll be sad, as it always is, when he leaves again. But it also means that I’ll probably be traveling again in a few weeks. I always enjoy that.

Until next time,

Candi

Willy the Kinky Elf, #5 – Title Help

Hi, all.

I typed my two favorite words on Willy, #5 – THE END. 🙂 I’ve made quite a few changes since and likely will continue to until the day it goes live on Amazon. More good news is that I accidentally found the perfect cover art and purchased it for the cover. I never have that done until much later in the year. I’m still having a problem with the title, though.

Dylan the Bad Boy Reindeer & His ______ Mate

Cole is his mate.

Cole, unlike Dylan, had an almost perfect childhood with almost perfect parents. He graduated 2nd in his class and is very successful. He’s never been in trouble a day in his life. He’s very respected in the North Pole.

He wears slacks and dress shirts, drives a sensible car, and is an all around good guy.

Dylan, on the other hand, suffered abuse at the hands of his father until he had enough at 16 and ran away. Now 25, he’s not ashamed of anything he did to survive. He did what he had to do and he did it in the one place Santa isn’t allowed – Mistletoe Hill. If you’ve read the first 4 books in the series you’re already familiar with the place. It’s bad news. But Dylan took a bad situation and turned it into what would be considered success.

He wears leather, drives a motorcycle, and is an all around bad boy. Good hearted and a good man, but likes getting down and dirty. 😉

That was the description of the characters. Now I need help describing Cole in the title. It’s obviously a bad boy/good boy story but I think ‘good boy’ sounds too young, maybe?

Below are some words I have so far –

Straight-laced

Respectable

Reputable

Virtuous

Upstanding

Good Guy

Good Boy

Grr! (<— That’s me growling, not part of the list…. lol)

I’m open to suggestions. I can’t work on the cover until I have the finalized title. If there’s something on my list you think would sound right – it must be in line with the other titles in the series – please let me know. If you have another suggestion (not on the list), even better.

If you’ve followed the series to now you know what I’m looking for, I believe.

I’m pulling my hair out over this and my hubby really loves my long hair. *snort* I’m too close to it and what sounds right to me might sound ridiculous to you guys.

(… says the girl who wrote a book called Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer …)

Suggestions? Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment on here, on Goodreads, or any of my social media accounts. If you’d prefer, shoot me an email at candikayauthor@gmail.com.

The sooner I can get the title finalized the sooner I can work on finalizing the cover, story, and blurb. If I use your suggestion, I’ll send you an advanced copy weeks before it goes live. If more than one person suggests the word I end up choosing, each one will get an ARC.

Note that Cole is NOT a virgin or innocent. If he was, the title would be easy. The reason I’m throwing that out there is because someone asked if it was a bad boy/virgin story.

Hmm… not a bad idea for a future story.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

~Candi

P.S. There are 3 on the list above that I’m actually considering. I just want suggestions from others before I officially make any kind of decision. Who knows? Maybe the readers will pick 1 of the 3 as their fave.

New Privacy Policy, Some Personal Stuff, Playing Catch-Up

Privacy Policy

In accordance with GDPR, I have added a Privacy Policy to this site. It’s pretty straight-forward. I don’t share anything. I don’t repeat anything. I don’t want sites giving my info to spammers so I damn sure wouldn’t do it to you guys. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Website Changes… Again

Notice the change in the way the site looks? My having to redo things on my website has become a habit – a very frustrating habit. I was out of town and received an email from a reader saying there was an error message every time they tried to access the site. I couldn’t find out what the deal was until I got home. My pics and media had been reset to the theme’s default pics and media. Thankfully I didn’t lose content this time, but I did have to go back and add visuals (header, background, my font preferences, etc.) And I had to put the menu and a few other things in order. I don’t know if this is a WordPress thing or a GoDaddy thing. Either way, I’m seriously tired of having to deal with my site acting up every few months. If it’s a GoDaddy thing I’ll be rethinking who hosts my site when it comes up for renewal in a few weeks. It takes several hours each time I have to redo those things. My time is limited so to say it angers me is an understatement.

Personal Stuff

Thank you to everybody who contacted me after my last post when I mentioned having a death in the family. The past two years have been difficult, to say the least. This particular death has truly hit home the fact that both of my sisters are gone. I wish I could go back in time to help them before it got to the point where they couldn’t be helped. I wish I could take all the pain my mother caused and make it all disappear. Mostly, I wish like hell I could have my sisters with me. I’ve not been allowed to mourn the loss of my last sister two years ago because I was too busy being the so-called perfect daughter to someone who never so much as said thank you.

We were taught at a very young age to keep things to ourselves. No matter how bad things may have gotten, or how down we were, we were told to put on that little happy face and pretend all was well. Unfortunately, that carried over into adulthood for me. When you’re so used to pretending like all is well people automatically believe it’s true. And honestly, it’s tiring pretending to be strong all the time.

I’ve never been a woe-is-me person and I’m not becoming one now so I’ll stop on that. Maybe someday I’ll write a longer blog post about this stuff. Maybe I won’t. I went into it a little in this blog post under the personal section.

This and That, Willy, #5

I have done SO much traveling this year. I’ve literally been from one end of the country to the other since December 26th. It’s been nice, especially over the past few weeks when I’ve needed to escape things for awhile. Most of the traveling has been by car so I’ve been able to see a lot of things I wouldn’t have had I flown. While it’s been nice, I’m hoping to stay home for a little while to play catch-up with some things, mainly getting Finding Alex published and finishing the first draft of Willy, #5. I still need a title for that one. Hopefully it’ll come to me soon. I did something different with that particular book. I’ve written it in two sections. The first section isn’t complete but the second one (including Mrs. Claus’ Christmas party) is. Now I just need to combine the two and add what needs to be added to the first part, which isn’t much. It’ll all come together. I’ve not been in the right frame of mind to concentrate on it over the past few weeks or the first draft would’ve been completed already.

Memorial Day

If you’re American, Happy Memorial Day. The holiday is so commercialized these days and the true meaning of the holiday tends to get pushed to the side. We need to take the time to remember, to honor, those who fought and died for us. If you celebrate, be safe.

Alberto

I am right in the middle of where the first Tropical Storm (Alberto) of the season is headed. Hurricane season doesn’t start until June 1st but Alberto has other plans. 🙂 We’ll likely just see a lot of rain and some wind. Hopefully it won’t be too bad. I think we’ll get the worst of it between Monday and Tuesday.

Excerpts

Starting (probably) next Friday I’ll be posting a weekly Flashback Friday post, which will have excerpts from already-published books and upcoming ones. This was suggested to me forever ago but time got away from me and it never happened. I suck at self-promo, as most of you are aware. 🙂

Catching Up & Social Media

My apologies to everyone who has sent me Facebook and Twitter messages that I’ve yet to respond to. I’ve barely been on Facebook lately and I haven’t been on Twitter at all in quite awhile. I’m actually behind on everything. I’ll catch up with it all soon. Right now I just need to regroup a little.

And because I’ve not said this in awhile… please don’t add me to Facebook groups without my permission. I don’t know how many groups I’ve been added to this past week alone. Send me an invite, a PM, or even an email, but adding me to a group without my permission just makes me mad. It usually has me getting out of it, even if it’s something I might have been interested in before. I don’t tag anybody without their permission. I don’t add people to groups without their permission. I don’t send a dozen invites in one day to like the same Facebook page. I don’t send PMs spamming people with my book purchase links. Hell, I almost never send friend requests. I think it’s rude to just add people to something without asking them first. There are a couple of exceptions but those exceptions only apply to groups I’m a member of outside of Facebook.

I think that’s it for now. I hope you’re all doing well.

~Candi

Cocky! & A Few Quickie Updates

I’ve not posted in awhile so I wanted to pop in real quick before things get crazy in my life again.

4th Anniversary Giveaway

Congrats to Kelsy Kasey for winning my 4th publishing anniversary giveaway. She chose Eros, Christopher, Blake the Rogue Reindeer & His Cocky Human, and Just Friends as her winning books.

Finding Alex (Taking Lance, #4)

Finding Alex, that I swore I was about to publish, is still in draft on Amazon. I had a death in my family and have been unable to go back into it. It’s complete. It’s just waiting on me to hit publish.

Willy, #5

Willy the Kinky Elf #5 is a chapter or so from being done. It’s still untitled. I’ve been trying to come up with a title but I’ve had no luck so far. I really want it finalized so I can start working on the blurb and cover. I may be open to suggestions in the coming days or weeks if I don’t come up with one on my own. Two reindeer. One’s a ‘bad boy’ and the other is about as straight-laced as they come. Outside of the bedroom anyway. 😉 Certain things come out that make everything Mrs. Claus has done to this point seem tame. Santa, on the other hand, has mellowed quite a bit. You’ll actually see his softer side in the latest installment. I’ve considered toning down some of Mrs. Claus’ antics. They’re pretty bad. I’ll see how I feel when I get closer to publication. Both Mr. and Mrs. Claus have secrets that come to light when Dylan (aka the bad boy) comes back into town.

COCKY!

Speaking of Willy’s World, I’m sure you’ve seen all the stuff about the word COCKY being trademarked recently. If not, Google it. What’s a guaranteed way to lose fans and all respect from other authors? Do what this author did. Willy, being as outspoken as he is, has decided that he wants to share his views on the whole cocky thing. We know that Willy is a naughty little elf and, well, it’s been awhile since he and Randy got naughty on-page. He’s got a lot to say about the cocky situation. 😉 If I finish the story it’ll be a quickie and won’t take place during the holidays. I’ll update on that soon.

I kinda joke about it but I actually have a title with the word COCKY in it, Blake the Rogue Reindeer & His Cocky Human. It was published November 1st, 2016 – long before the trademark was issued. Should I be concerned? I don’t know really. The more I see on the whole situation the more baffled I get. I guess the number one question I have is why was a word – that’s been used tens of thousands of times in books and titles – allowed to be trademarked? It’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen since I started publishing my books and I’ve seen some really ‘out there’ stuff. The author put a video out supposedly in defense of what she did. Instead of helping her cause it made her look like she was calling her readers stupid and she even went so far as to imply that stupid equals autism. The last part especially angered me, but that’s another blog post.

Enough about that.

Mother’s Day & Other

I think that’s it for now. I mentioned there being a death in my family. Honestly, I’m exhausted both mentally and physically. I need a few days to regroup. The weekend will be crazy busy with Mother’s Day and other plans and then some family members will be graduating from high school next week. Hopefully afterward I can take a much needed break for me. I’ve been going nonstop for the past week or so.

If you are a mom I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day. If not, I hope you have an amazing weekend. 🙂

Until next time,

Candi

Anniversary Giveaway, Reviews, This and That

Giveaway

If you haven’t entered yet, there’s still time to enter my 4th anniversary giveaway. It ends at midnight my time (central) on Sunday, April 15th. The winner will be chosen completely at random and contacted on Monday, the 16th. If I don’t hear back from the winner within a couple of days I’ll have to pick another one.

You can find all the giveaway details here.

Reviews

There’s something that has really been bugging me over the past few weeks but I wanted to wait until my publishing anniversary was over before bringing it up. Also, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and have simply not had the time to go into it. And honestly, I didn’t want to come across as rude to those this is aimed at.

To be blunt, I don’t agree with buying reviews, nor do I agree with the practice of trading 5 stars for 5 stars with other authors. I know I’ve gone into this at length in the past but I think it’s important to do it again.

I’ll start with the 5 for 5 thing. I’m all about helping other authors. You want me to promote your book? I’ll promote your book all over the place. You want me to give you 5 stars without reading your book because that’s supposedly the norm between authors? Not happening.

And then I get to paying for reviews. When I see sites advertising for paid reviews I usually run the other way. Does the person getting paid actually like those books? Who knows? Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. Either way, it’s not something I will ever support, much less be part of.

I’ve said this so many times I sound like a broken record… give me an honest 1-star review over a fake 5-star one any day. A 1-star Goodreads review helped my most popular series (Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer) get noticed. People wanted to know what was so “painfully bad” about the book so they checked it out.

So, why am I going into this again when I’ve done it so many times over the past 4 years?

Not that long ago, I got an email from someone offering their review services for a fee. This person probably thinks I’m a horrible person because I didn’t respond to the email. I didn’t respond because I wasn’t quite sure how to word my response. It’s something I feel so passionate about that I didn’t want to come across as a total bitch. Their website looks totally legit and the email sent to me was very kind. I’m not judging them in any way for what they do. I’m only, again, saying I’m not interested.

Enough about that.

Finding Alex, Willy, #5

I’ve been traveling almost nonstop for the past few weeks. I’ve only just gotten home a couple of days ago. I’m trying to play catch-up. I have 2 main writing goals right now – publishing Finding Alex (finally) and working on (still untitled) Willy, #5. ‘Alex’ is 55,000 words. Willy, #5, is (so far) 22,200. There are other stories that have been started and even more rattling in my brain. However, I can’t focus on any of those until the other two are complete. Or at least close to it in Willy, #5.

My writing has evolved over the past 4 years. I’ve consistently published mostly gay romance and/or erotica. The Taking Lance series is different. It doesn’t shy away from characters having sex with others while they’re working their way toward the one they’re meant to be with. I’ve not done that with my other books, contrary to the belief of one person who swears that Eros continued screwing around after Sy was introduced in Eros. He didn’t, by the way, but that’s another blog post. 🙂

Because I’ve not had the main characters playing around with others in most of my other books, I’ve been iffy about the Taking Lance finale. Dumb on my part because even Rick and Lance have sex on-page with others until they finally commit to just each other. If you’re a fan of the Taking Lance series you’re aware of everything I just mentioned and likely expect it. If you’re a fan of my others (the Willy series, for example), you know none of that will be happening on-page in those.

Alex Langdon, like Rick, is bisexual. While Alex doesn’t actually have on-page sex with a woman like Rick does in Taking and Keeping, he is bi. He was married to a woman and had a very active sex life with her for many years until certain things came to light. Only then did he start hooking up with males. This is actually done while they’re still married so if cheating bugs you, you might want to avoid this one.

Cheating’s another thing I’ve never put in any of my gay romance books and it won’t be happening in the future.

For the record, Alex isn’t the only one in the marriage who’s unfaithful. He’s just more discreet until it gets to the point where he can’t be.

Alex and Dean bring in a third one time. This is the only on-page sex that’s not strictly between the two of them in the entire book.

On that note, I have to finish my (hopefully) final run-thru of Alex and then get back to working on the blurb.

I just love typing blurbs.

Said no author ever. 🙂

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. If you still want to enter the giveaway, you still have a little bit of time to get your entry in.

Until next time,

Candi

!!! 4 Book Anniversary Giveaway !!!

Congrats to Kelsy for winning the giveaway! For her winning books she chose Eros, Christopher, Just Friends, and Blake the Rogue Reindeer & His Cocky Human. Thank you to all who entered!

On April 5th, 2014, I published my first book, Taking Lance. Written in fun, I never expected it to see the light of day. Those who’ve followed me for awhile know the story. I’d been writing for decades but had never shown even one of my stories to anyone. Taking Lance was different because something had me sending it to my best friend. With her encouragement – and a lot of fear on my part – I published it. Here I am 15 books later with no intention of stopping anytime soon.

A lot has happened since April 5, 2014. I often cringe when I read some of my earlier stuff. There’s one scene in particular in Keeping Lance that I wish I could go back in time and remove completely. Don’t take that to mean that I’m not proud of what I’ve published. I am. I believe every author who has ever published anything wants to make changes later. For that reason, I don’t often reread my books once they’re put out into the world. There are times when I need to, obviously, like when I’m adding to a series and want to ensure I get specific details correct. But honestly, I prefer not to unless I have to. I’ve published 15 books to date. The only books I can go into without wanting to change every word are Eros and Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer (Willy, #1).

For at least 3 of the past 4 years I’ve been promising the finale, Finding Alex. What do you think of the (tentative) cover? The story was completed to my satisfaction well over a year ago. So, why isn’t it published? Nerves, I guess. It’s the final story of my very first series. It’s the first book I’ve written with an established couple. Not just any couple, but a couple who brings in thirds on occasion. There’s only one graphic sex scene in the book with another guy, but I know a lot of readers aren’t fans of that. Because Alex and Dean are an established couple, I had to take them back in time some in order to tell their story. I personally hate flashbacks in books. I wanted to make sure I did it right. All that’s left to do is formatting for publication and finalizing the blurb. Ending it all will be bittersweet. Rick and Lance were my firsts. It’s going to be really hard to say goodbye.

No doubt I’ll be feeling the same when it comes time to end the Willy the Kinky Elf series as well. Though, honestly, as much as Willy rambles in my brain, his world will likely go on for quite awhile longer. The elf is nuts. 😉 Just wait until you see him in (still untitled) Willy #5. He gets into the ‘good stuff’ early. You know you love a character when they can keep you giggling. There’s a scene in the jewelry store that cracks me up every time I read it. Sometimes I have to force myself to remember that this is Dylan and Cole’s story, not Willy’s. But you know his nosy, matchmaking little self is going to be in the middle of it all. It wouldn’t be Willy otherwise.

Without my readers, there would be no Rick and Lance, or Willy and Randy, or any of the others. I can’t describe the feeling I get knowing people read my books. I didn’t expect 5 people (total) to read Taking Lance but it’s been going strong since I published it, along with my others. You guys have embraced my kooky worlds and that means more than you can know.

To celebrate year #4, I’m giving away 4 e-books – one for each year I’ve been publishing. 4 books of the winner’s choice from my catalog – OR – the entire Taking Lance series, including the finale when it’s published, Finding Alex.

To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post, send me a message via here, my email, candikayauthor@gmail.com, Goodreads, one of my social media accounts – Facebook Personal, Facebook Author Page, Twitter – or share or retweet this post with the word ENTERED. I’ll pick the winner at random on Sunday, April 15th.

Thank you to every person who has read my books. You’re the reason I keep doing this. There are no words for how much I appreciate every single one of you.

To my best friend, as always, thank you for giving me the big push to publish Lance and for all of your encouragement since. And to my hubby, it goes without saying that I appreciate your support.

I look forward to seeing what happens in the coming years. There are always stories rattling around in my brain so I hope to continue writing for a long time yet.

~Candi