Candi Kay

On April 5, 2014 I did something I never thought I’d do – I published my first book, Taking Lance. Hitting publish on that story was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’d never shown anybody my stories, though I’d been writing them for decades. I only had the courage to do it when I did because I have the best friend in the world who encouraged me to publish it.

She still encourages me.

Taking Lance was written in fun, meaning nobody was supposed to read it. And when I published it, I honestly thought nobody would read it. It’s bi-erotica with the two main characters having a substantial age difference. They also (early on, before they’re an established couple) have sex with others on-page, something I know is a big no-no to some readers. But like I said, it was written in fun.

To my surprise, people did read it, and they’re still reading it.

I’ve not published a bi-erotica book since Finding Alex, the last book in the Taking Lance series. They’ve been written but are in folders on my laptop with dozens of other completed stories. I hope to someday clean them up and put them out into the world. It was never my plan to strictly publish gay romance and gay erotica after the ‘Lance’ series was over. It just happened. A few months after Taking Lance was published, I published the first Willy the Kinky Elf book. When ‘Willy’ took off, I had to put a lot of my focus on that series, and other stories ended up on the backburner.

And, honestly, Finding Alex was very challenging. I wrote 4 full-length ‘Alex’ books from start to finish (all with different plots and scenarios) before being satisfied. I’ve been challenged with my writing since, but nowhere near like I was back then. I tend to overthink things, which I believe is what happened with Finding Alex.

Even so, I’m damn proud of Rick and Lance and their friends who have their own books in the Taking Lance series. If I could go back 8 years, there are a few things I’d change. There’s one scene in particular in Keeping Lance that I somewhat regret leaving in the final draft. Even so, I love those guys and I miss them because they were my firsts.

My writing style has changed drastically over the past 8 years. I find myself wanting to lighten things up more often than not these days, though some of my upcoming books focus on some pretty serious topics. Even so, my silly sense of humor usually finds its way into my stories.

Every year on my publishing anniversary I do some type of giveaway. Sometimes it’s one book of the reader’s choice from my catalogue. Other times (in recent years) I’ve done an Amazon gift card giveaway via Rafflecopter. I’m not doing either of those this year. The former because some people are iffy about contacting me privately with their choice of book. The latter because of the amount of spam I receive when I do the Rafflecopter giveaways. It’s hard weeding out the fake entries from the legit ones.

So, this year I’m going back to where it all started – Taking Lance. From April 5th through April 6th, Taking Lance (The Complete Series) will be free on Amazon only. At 463 pages, it covers the entire series from start to finish, including all the short stories in between.

Note that the freebie is ONLY the complete series, not the individual stories listed on Amazon. It’s an all or nothing thing, as the complete series edition covers everything.

Rick Preston and Lance Scott would never be called a traditional couple, but when they love, they really love. It takes a while for them to get where they need to be, but when they get there? Yeah, it’s really sweet, and they’re only about each other.

Thank you to every single person who has ever read one of my books. I never thought one person would read my little bi-erotica story. For it to still be doing well 8 years later means more to me than you could ever know.

Most of all… thank you to my very best friend in the world. Without you, there would be no Rick and Lance. There would be no Willy or Randy or my kooky version of the North Pole. There would be no Jacob or Owen or Dustin or Reese or any of the others I’ve written about over the years. I will forever credit you for every single book I publish. It was with your encouragement that I finally moved my stories out of the hidden folders and put them out there. I appreciate you. I value our friendship so much. And I’ll forever be grateful that you came into my life. Much love, my friend.

To download a free e-copy of Taking Lance (The Complete Series), just click the link and it’ll take you to the Amazon page.

Until next time,

Candi

P.S. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve seen me reuse the top two photos on this post. As I was writing Lance Scott, THAT (above) is the way I saw him inside my head, though I’d not seen this photo before the first book was published. My best friend saw it and knew it was Lance. I stole it from her (lol) and use it pretty much every time I mention the series in any of my posts. Isn’t he gorgeous?

Below is an excerpt from Eros, my Valentine’s Day story.

The excerpt takes place moments after Eros and Sy (aka Psyche) meet the first time in the story.

Two things about the excerpt –

1. It’s NSFW, with a full on-page sex scene.
2. Contrary to what one particular reviewer said way back when, there is zero cheating in this book, and Eros does NOT continue ‘fucking around with other guys’  – not my words – once he and Sy meet. The excerpt mentions it being Sy’s bachelor party. This little bachelor party is more of a joke than anything else. Saying more than that would give most of the plot away. Again, there’s NO CHEATING IN THE BOOK by any of the characters, main or secondary.

You can find Eros on Amazon here, in Kindle Unlimited and paperback.

🏹

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate, and a HUGE Happy Anniversary and Valentine’s Day to the love of my life, S!

🏹

Blurb –

Eros is the Greek god of love and lust. His only job on Earth is to bring couples together and shoot them with his magical arrows. If he occasionally hooks up with the guys first, what of it? He’s all about the lust thing, but love? Not hardly. Not after all the broken relationships he’s witnessed throughout his long, immortal life. After four assignments that he nearly blows because he’s quicker to shoot his load than his arrows, Aphrodite gives him a final chance to prove himself. If he fails, he could lose his privileged position among the gods and be eternally banished from the planet he calls home. Confident in his skills, he isn’t overly concerned. That is, until he hooks up with the guy he’s supposed to shoot for his do-or-die assignment. In the eons he’s spent on Earth, he’s never felt this way before. Does he risk losing everything he’s ever known? Or does he fulfill his duty and walk away from the only love he’s ever found?

Excerpt –

“Come here,” he ordered.

I fell to my knees.

Never one to play submissive, I was questioning the hold this stranger had on me. I’m kind of a big guy. I don’t come across as a sub in any way, shape, or form.

I’m the god of love and lust. I have men falling at my feet, not the other way around.

When his hands found my hair and he lifted my face so I could look into his light blue eyes, I no longer questioned anything.

“What’s your name?” he asked me, his fingers running through my long hair.

“Eros.”

“Your real name.”

“Eros.”

His brow went up, but he didn’t push. His left hand still in my hair, he slid his right one down to my chest, his fingers stopping to tug on my left nipple. My cock jumped, and I gasped before I could stop myself. I leaned into his hand. He let go of my nipple and continued his journey down my chest until he was touching the head of my dick that was trying its damnedest to free itself from the flimsy fabric. A fingernail rubbed across my piss slit and I groaned out.

“You don’t want to know my name, Eros?” he asked softly, his eyes never leaving mine.

I shook my head. Names don’t count in my business unless it’s couples I’m forced to bring together. I’m not a paid whore, but I’m known to take advantage when the opportunity presents itself. I’ve never been known for following the rules of my duties. If I want sex and a guy is willing, I’m not usually one to say no. I knew once this man was done with me, I’d never see him again. Why would I need a name? To call out when I jack off to the memory later? No. There wouldn’t be any jerk off sessions involving this or any other man. Names are personal. I don’t do personal.

“That’s okay. I know yours.”

His thumbnail continued flicking back and forth over my slit. When he pulled it away and sucked his thumb in his mouth, I almost shot all over his jeans.

“Take it off,” he ordered.

I stood up and pushed the g-string down my body, leaving my erect cock standing at attention. I took a step back and waited. Finally getting control of whatever hold he had on me, I motioned to his fully clothed body.

“Your turn.”

He kicked off his shoes, his blue eyes sparkling. When his hand went to the button of his jeans, I almost shooed it away and undid it myself. My dick was aching, harder than I can ever remember it being. It was wanting to feel the heat of a tight ass or the warmth of a mouth. I took my cock in my hand and he licked his lips as he slowly slid his zipper down.

“Off.”

With a grin, he shoved his jeans down, taking his boxer briefs with them, and kicked them to the side, leaving his long and thick dick on display.

“Your shirt.”

He slowly unbuttoned his blue shirt and tossed it with the rest of his clothes before leaning back in the chair again, his eyes never leaving mine. I crawled over his lap, my knees ending on each side of his thighs. I leaned down and slid my tongue back and forth across his lips. His hands came up and gripped my hips, attempting to pull me tight against him. My dick was inches from his, but I held my body back a little.

His mouth opened for my tongue and I dove in. The kiss felt familiar, like we’d done this before. For some reason, the way our tongues moved against each other and his moans in my mouth felt like deja vu. I knew I’d never laid eyes on him before this night, much less kissed or had sex with him. I may not remember details about all the fucks I’ve had over the years, but no way would I have not remembered every single detail of this particular man. Even if I’d only seen him in a crowd on the street, I’d remember.

When he again attempted to pull me down, I allowed him to. Our cocks were grinding against each other as he held me hard against his body, his hands on my bare ass. The heat of his erection had me almost coming before he even got inside me.

Inside me?

What the fuck?

I was about to pull back and let him know that I don’t bottom, ever, but then a finger rubbed across my asshole and I was lost. If he wanted to fuck me, I’d bend over for him right then and there.

My body pressed flat against him, as I ground my cock against his. Behind me, my legs were spread out, and my feet were on the floor. While he assaulted my mouth with his, I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could feel his hands gripping my ass, guiding the movements of our cocks against each other. Awkwardly, one of his hands went to the floor, and he fumbled with something, never pulling out of the hot kiss. He mumbled something in my mouth, and I pulled back.

“Supplies,” he whispered.

I pulled farther back and he continued to dig through what I saw was the pocket of his jeans. It took a few seconds of fumbling before he came back with a condom and a mini tube of lubricant. I took both from him and after a bit of fumbling of my own, I somehow managed to roll the latex over his hard cock and to open the lube packet. I didn’t wait for him. I squeezed the lube into my hand and reached back and roughly shoved two fingers inside my asshole. I’d only been fucked a dozen or so times in my long life so it was tight, and I knew there would be pain when he entered. I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting his dick inside me.

I crawled off and got on my knees on the hardwood floor, my fingers continuing to fuck my ass. I looked at the man over my shoulder. His expression told me that he wanted it as bad as I did.

“Ready,” I murmured, though I knew I wasn’t even close.

He was off the chair and on his knees before I finished speaking. He grabbed the lube packet from the floor where I’d thrown it, and he lubed his fingers, and slowly pressed them inside my hole after pulling mine away. He started with one, but before long there were two inside and he was stretching me as he fucked my ass with his long fingers. When he hit my prostate I cried out. I shoved my ass back, practically begging him to take me already.

“You weren’t ready,” he whispered, his fingers still inside me.

“Now. Oh God, now,” I moaned.

He wasted no time getting in position. When I felt the head of his cock at my entrance, I tried to push back, but he held my hips still.

“No. We go slow.”

When the head eased inside, I flinched in pain and tightened around him. He softly rubbed my lower back until I relaxed.

“Okay?” he asked, his hands continuing to rub.

It still hurt, but I nodded anyway. It had been decades since my ass had been breached by anything other than my own fingers and a few select sex toys, so it took a while for me to allow him to keep going. He slowly pressed each inch of his long dick inside me until he was fully seated. I took deep breaths and waited out the pain. He made quick jabs with his cock, taking it slow until the pain eased and my body relaxed.

“Go,” I grunted out.

He did.

His fingers pressed into my hips, he started out fucking me slow, but slow disappeared quickly as he got into it. The head of his dick was hitting my prostate with almost every thrust, and I felt pleasure unlike anything I’d ever felt in my long life. With his balls slapping my ass, I moved my body back to meet each thrust. My dick was bouncing with the movements of our bodies, but I didn’t touch it. I was making sounds I’d never made before, so lost in the sensations of the hard cock in my ass. A few minutes later, and with no warning other than a tingling in my balls, I was tightening around him and shooting my cum all over the floor without the aid of a hand. I howled out from the intensity of the orgasm. My vision blurred, and I felt as if I’d pass out. Moments later, his fingernails dug into my flesh, and he was moaning out as he emptied into the latex. He didn’t move for a few seconds. My head was down as I attempted to catch my breath, his softening prick still inside my ass.

What just happened? I’ve been around for thousands of years, but there had never been sex as exciting, as pleasurable, as what I’d just had with this total stranger. This stranger who felt so familiar to me, as if we’d been together dozens of times. Everything from his hands on my waist, his kiss, to the way he moved in and out as he took me. All of it was oddly familiar.

It scared the shit out of me.

I pulled away, ignoring the pain of his cock slipping out of my asshole. Still on my knees, I looked around the room for my clothes. I knew I had to get out of there. I was in the process of standing up when I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t go. Not yet.”

Rooted to the spot, I watched as he disposed of the condom and cleaned my spunk off the floor. I felt so vulnerable, a feeling I’ve never felt in my long life. When he was done, he sat back down in the chair and held his hand out to me. I allowed him to pull me back into his lap, his wet dick pressing against my ass. With his arms around me, he rocked me a little, which was a bit awkward at first considering he’s at least as tall as I am. His hand rubbed up and down my thigh and up to my chest. The tingling I had been feeling in my chest had intensified. It wasn’t a painful sensation, it was almost pleasurable, actually, but it was another first for me.

I reached a hand up and rubbed my chest, feeling the translucent bow and arrow that is forever attached to my body. I have carried this bow and arrow since my creation. The tingling I was feeling under the bow wasn’t exactly the same feeling I get when mates have found each other, and my job is done until my next assignment, but it was close. The only difference is that what I was feeling in this man’s lap was magnified by at least five-thousand compared to when I’m bringing the marks together. There was also a feeling of thousands of butterflies going crazy in my stomach, and I had an odd feeling in my heart. Before I had a chance to analyze why that was, his fingers outlined the bow across my chest, starting at my shoulders and going all the way down my chest. He continued until he had traced the entire outline with his fingers. I didn’t move a muscle.

“Nice tat,” he said, his fingers still touching the bow. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice it earlier.” He chuckled. “I guess I was too wrapped up in getting inside you.”

I froze. He could see it?

“Um,” I mumbled into his chest, “is your boyfriend around? Girlfriend?”

“Just you and me, Eros. There’s no one around here for miles. The first time I saw you-”

I looked up at him, cutting him off. “The first time you saw me?”

“Yes, I was inside Rocks a few weeks ago with my friends and saw you working the bar. The others were there to see the girls, but I obviously didn’t care about that. I wanted to be inside you the instant I saw you, but you disappeared before I had a chance to make a move. I had no idea I’d actually get you for my bachelor party after being told you didn’t do many private parties. How awesome is that? My jack-off fantasy here in the flesh.” He smirked. “Literally.”

I jumped up and scrambled to grab my clothes that were thrown while I was dancing.

“Your bachelor party?”

He was out of the chair and had his hands on my shoulders before I realized it.

“Yeah, bachelor party. You were requested specifically after I saw you that night. I didn’t know all this would happen, but I had hoped.”

I pulled away and jerked my leather pants up, leaving the g-string where it had landed earlier. I grabbed my shirt with shaky hands and quickly put it on, not bothering to button it. I looked around for my shoes and was rushing to them when it hit. I turned back to look at him across the room.

I pointed at my chest. “You can see this?”

“Yes,” he answered like he was speaking to a child. “It’s a nice tat. Excellent work. I’d love to know who your artist is. I’ve been thinking about getting one, but nev-”

“Stop!” I screeched. “Where’s your fiance?”

“Out with her friends probably doing what I just did with you.”

“Her? Are you kidding me?” I growled. “She’s not here? Anywhere?”

“Eros, calm down. She’s off having her own little party. She flew to Vegas. She’s not even in the same state.”

“There’s no one else? Here, I mean?”

He walked to me and stopped me with a look.

“What’s got you panicked? We’re miles away from anyone. There’s no one here but you,” he leaned in and kissed me, “and me. The guys and your girl left when they saw what was about to happen with us.” He turned away from me, walked to a window and motioned for me to follow. Pulling the curtain back, he pointed to the darkness beyond the window. The only light was that of the moon. “See, only two vehicles here, mine and I assume the other one is yours. There’s no one else. If you’re worried about Kay popping in, stop it. Again, she’s in Vegas. She knows I’m gay anyway.”

I could barely see the hoods of both cars in the poor light, but I didn’t see any others nearby.

That didn’t reassure me.

“You can see this?” I pointed to my chest again. “You’re not supposed to… unless… shit. I have to go.”

I rushed to the door, tripping over my shoes. I grabbed them and my jacket as I dug in my pocket for my keys. I rushed out the door without bothering to put my shoes back on or to button my shirt. My hands shaking, I started the car and was backing out before the man who’d just had sex with me was even out the door.

I drove several miles before stopping in an abandoned parking lot. I put my head on the steering wheel and took deep breaths, cursing the fates that brought me out tonight. Why now? I’ve been around for thousands of years.

Why fucking now?

The only way someone could see the bow, outside of the marks and other gods, would be if they were the one I’m supposed to be with. I’d heard stories about so-called destined mates my entire life, but I never took stock in it. Hell, I bring so-called destined mates together. It’s what I do. But there are millions of people on Earth. There are tens of thousands in Olympus. The odds are against gods coming in contact with their one, hence why we fuck around a lot. Look at Aphrodite. She’s been sleeping with guys since the dawn of time and she still hasn’t found her so-called one. She’s found hundreds of her so-called right nows, but not the real one.

🏹🏹🏹

Eros was originally published in February of 2016. Since then I’ve gone back and forth with turning it into a small series, with Cupid being the second book. Unlike in Greek and Roman mythology where Eros and Cupid are the same god, I changed things up a little. In my world they’re two different people.

If you’ve read any of my Willy the Kinky Elf books you know that totally makes sense to me. 😉

I’d kinda/sorta been writing on Cupid since Eros was published six years ago, but I never got really far with the story. That changed right after Christmas this year. I went back into my old manuscript and wrote almost nonstop until the book was finished – finished but nowhere near ready to publish. The world count – before editing – is 43,486 words. It will be available on January 1st, 2023. That’s the plan anyway.

The series name is LOVE GODS with Eros, obviously, being #1.

I have republished Eros in ebook, and it’s now also available in paperback. Right now, it’s only available on Amazon because I put it in Kindle Unlimited. Very minor changes were made to Eros. A word here and there changed, and I fixed a couple of minor other issues, but the story remains the same.

There’s a new cover – I was never happy with the original – and I added Cupid’s blurb and first chapter at the end. Otherwise, it’s the same story of Eros and his beloved Psyche. Cupid will likely be going up for preorder soon.

You can find Eros here on Amazon, or you can add it on Goodreads here. I’ll pop back on in a day or two and publish a quickie excerpt of Eros for those who haven’t read it yet.

Below is the new cover and (unchanged) blurb.

Eros is the god of love and lust. His only job on Earth is to bring couples together and shoot them with his magical arrows. If he occasionally hooks up with the guys first, what of it? He’s all about the lust thing, but love? Not hardly. Not after all the broken relationships he’s witnessed throughout his long, immortal life.

After four assignments that he nearly blows because he’s quicker to shoot his load than his arrows, Aphrodite gives him a final chance to prove himself. If he fails, he could lose his privileged position among the gods and be eternally banished from the planet he calls home. Confident in his skills, he isn’t overly concerned. That is, until he hooks up with the guy he’s supposed to shoot for his do-or-die assignment. In the eons he’s spent on Earth, he’s never felt this way before. Does he risk losing everything he’s ever known? Or does he fulfill his duty and walk away from the only love he’s ever found?

~~~ 🏹 ~~~

To those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope you have an amazing one. The hubby and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary that day. If you’ve read any of my books, you’ve probably seen me joking a little about people who get married on Valentine’s Day. A lot of people do it and I totally get why. But as someone who’s celebrated a wedding anniversary on that year for way more years than I’ll be mentioning here, I don’t recommend it. You are sharing your special day with everybody. Even so, it’s the day of love. 💖

I hope everybody is doing well.

Until next time,

Candi

P.S. The above photos were my original inspirations for Eros and Sy (Psyche). The blond man is musician David Garrett. I saw him as Sy as soon as I came up with the idea for the story and his character, though Sy isn’t a musician. Check out his music. He’s absolutely brilliant. And yes, very nice to look at. 😉

I usually start my end of the year posts saying how I’m looking forward to the new year ahead. This time, I’m not sure I am. 😉 2020 was crazy. 2021 stepped up and said, “Here. Hold my beer.” I’m almost scared to see what 2022 will bring.

The Pandemic

2021 was strange. We’re still in the pandemic yet a lot of us have tried going back to our normal lives. I say tried because every time it looks like we can, there’s another COVID-19 variant. I got my COVID vaccine back in early April, though I still need a booster. I got the Johnson & Johnson one-dose shot. I’ll have to talk to my doctor to see which booster to receive. I should be seeing her in a week or two. Nobody likes getting shots, but I’ll do it because getting vaccinated is the right thing to do. If you don’t agree, that’s your right, but I’ll respectfully disagree with you.

Christmas in Holly Pines & Hooper Lake Series

I only published one book in 2021, Christmas in Holly Pines (Small Town Gay Romance), my most successful book to date. I don’t know if it’s done so well because it’s in Kindle Unlimited, or if some of my other readers have read it and recommended it. Regardless of why, I’m beyond thankful for how it’s been received. There are a couple of things in the book I wish I could go back and tweak, but overall, I’m quite pleased with the story I wrote. Well, two stories, as it’s told in two sections – Jacob & Owen’s and Dustin & Reese’s.

One of the main complaints I’ve had about the book – and something I’ll remember the next time I get the crazy idea to publish two books in one edition – is that it’s too long at 366 pages. It’s that length because it is two books in one. Even so, I’m happy to have the feedback from readers. I could’ve easily published the two sections of Holly Pines as two different books, but then the reader is paying more (each book would’ve been at least $2.99), and they’re also not getting the full picture as Jacob and Owen’s story has an epilogue at the end of Dustin and Reese’s that ties up their story.

A quick tip for those interested in just Jacob & Owen’s story (the first one) – After their section of the story before it goes to Dustin & Reese, skip ahead in the book, past Dustin & Reese’s story, to ‘Not Quite An Epilogue’. That one ties up Jacob and Owen nicely. The actual Epilogue (taking place a year later) is in Dustin’s POV and basically ties up everything else.

E-Book Pricing

Another thing to note – and I really hate doing this – is that I’ll likely be increasing the prices of some of my books in the very near future. It won’t be anything drastic, but I do want the readers to know before I do it. I could’ve easily charged $4.99 for Christmas in Holly Pines, but I’ve been consistent over the years with the $2.99 price tag for my longer books. I’ll wait until the sales of the book slow in the coming weeks before I’ll be increasing it. It’s also in Kindle Unlimited, so if you’re subscribed to that, it won’t affect you. The cost of the paperback will remain the same.

This will mostly only apply to my longer, novel-length, books, not the shorter stories.

Willy the Kinky Elf, Kindle Unlimited, & Paperbacks

With the series ending at the end of 2020, I’ll be pulling the Willy the Kinky Elf series from all e-sites except Amazon and adding it to Kindle Unlimited. I’ve been asked by SO many readers over the years to put it in KU. I wanted to wait until interest waned on the other e-sites before doing so. I’m not, nor have I ever been, overly thrilled with being committed to just one site for the ninety days required for KU, but I’m going to see how it goes. A lot of my readers are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, and again, have asked when/if I’ll be doing it with ‘Willy’ and some of my others.

In the coming weeks I’ll be focusing on publishing most of my books (except for the really short ones) as paperbacks, like I did Holly Pines. I’ve balked on doing paperbacks over the years because the formatting was such a hassle. I now use an amazing program (Reedsy.com) that does most of the work for me. With each new paperback I’ll be skimming over the content to ensure there were no issues missed before I published the original e-books. The stories won’t change but a word here and there might.

2022 Goals

My goals for 2022 (including what I mentioned above) will be to complete some of the works-in-progress that I’ve been working on for months and (for some) even years.

Hooper Lake Series – It’s about five adopted brothers who all have a past who come home when the oldest (Noah) receives some life-changing news. The first book is Noah’s, and the other brothers have their stories following his. The first three are complete. The last two, about the only biological brothers, twins Elijah and Ethan, aren’t. I had to walk away from Eli and Ethan’s for a while. I know exactly in my head what I want to say in both books and to close out the series. Unfortunately, what I want and my writing it haven’t exactly been in sync. I’m hoping that changes in the coming weeks.

The feedback I’ve received regarding the length of Holly Pines will be considered greatly when I publish the Hooper Lake series, that I hope to be publishing at some point in 2022. The original plan was to publish them all in one edition because they all take place pretty much during the same time period. It’s highly unlikely I’ll be doing that now, though I will be publishing all five books around the same time. The cost of each story will depend on the length of each individual one.

Cupid – If you’ve read Eros (published in 2016) you know that in my fictional worlds Eros and Cupid are two different gods – one Greek (Eros), one Roman (Cupid). I started on Cupid’s story a long time ago but walked away until recently. I went back into it right after Christmas, and should be finished with it very soon. Unfortunately, that ‘very soon’ isn’t soon enough for me to publish it before Valentine’s Day of 2022. So, expect a 2023 release of that.

New stories – I have several I’ve started on recently. Three involve characters with substantial age differences. Two of those stories will go together but will be published separately. They involve two best friends – in their forties – and two other best friends – early to mid-twenties – who come together. The first one is about a young man who falls for his father’s best friend. His dad gives his blessing so there’s no drama or the two main characters being forced to keep secrets, which I absolutely hate in the books I read. The other one involves the same dad falling for his son’s much-younger best friend. Again, there will be no issues with said best friend knowing about the relationship.

Keeping It Simple (Falling For The Neighbor, #1)

Keeping it Simple, the third story I’m working on, involves a forty-eight-year-old bisexual man whose name hasn’t been finalized yet. With a little help from his adult daughter and pre-teen grandson, he meets his hot new thirty-two-year- old neighbor. The new neighbor has moved next door from the other side of the country to escape an unstable ex.

At the time of my typing this post I’ve written close to 19,000 words on Keeping it Simple. Once the story took hold in my head I went with it. All except around 500 of those words have been written since December 27th. The story is REALLY flowing for me right now.

The series title will likely be changing before the story even makes it to my best friend to read because I’m not loving it. Keeping it Simple, the book title, likely won’t because of the reasons behind the title that are explained in the book.

One of the most difficult things I have to do when I write a book is come up with character names, hence why the two MCs in Keeping it Simple haven’t been finalized. Both guys have placeholder names for now. None I’ve come up with so far have worked because they don’t ‘look’ like the guys in my head. All the secondary characters, no problem. The main two? Grr.

As for the second book in the series, that’s still being worked out in my head. All the books may connect in some way or they may be like my An Unlikely Romance series, where none of the characters are connected. Time will tell on that.

~*~

I’ve written quite a bit on all of the above stories I just mentioned. My number one goal right now is to finish Keeping it Simple and Cupid. And, of course, I need to finalize character names for the former. I then hope to figure out what’s holding me back on the Hooper Lake series. First, I have to get my head right on how to finish it with Elijah and Ethan. I’m hoping it’ll click soon so I can get that series out into the world. Because each book involves a brother with a past, there are a LOT of timelines I have to keep straight. Hopefully it’ll all come together soon.

Something that will MOST DEFINITELY be happening in 2022…

I’ll be moving my website hosting and all my domains (I have quite a few, both writing related and non) away from GoDaddy. While the issues I had earlier in the year are resolved for now, it’s only a matter of time before they start up again. My followers can see that I’m no longer sending email alerts when I publish a post, though I’m going to ATTEMPT to with this one and hope the plugin doesn’t go crazy. I’ve been advised by GoDaddy to deactivate most of my plugins or risk my website screwing up again.

That’s only one of the plugins that I’ve had to temporarily deactivate. I refuse to keep paying an outrageous price every month for hosting that may or may not work. The last time things went crazy it lasted for over a month. That’s a month I could do NOTHING. Nothing I typed could be saved, much less be published. GoDaddy Help did everything they could to help fix it, but they couldn’t duplicate the issue on their end, so it didn’t work. It only started working on its own after I walked away in frustration for a few weeks.

If I’m paying for something, I should get what I pay for, right? I didn’t, and I haven’t since the day I made the mistake of setting up a website via GoDaddy. The domains are dirt cheap, but trust me, if you go with them on the hosting, it’s just not worth all the hassle.

A lot of you already know that I took down the Reindeer Secrets site. I’m going to say it’s temporary for now because I’ll likely do a landing page only site when I switch hosts. Like with CandiKay.com, there were constant issues with the hosting, and the amount of spam that was able to get through was just too much for me to keep up with on a site that wasn’t updated regularly.

Closing Out 2021

I can’t not mention the passing of the great Betty White. Losing her hit home yet again how crappy 2021 was. There were a lot of others who passed during the year, and they’re no less important, but she was someone you just always think will be there. I’ve been a big fan of hers for as long as I can remember. To lose her was the icing on the cake of a very crappy year.

We also closed out the year with a big win for my Alabama Crimson Tide football team against Cincinnati. We’ll be playing Georgia, who beat Michigan on the 31st, in the National Championship game on January 10th. This will be a rematch game as we played Georgia in the SEC Championship game not that long ago and beat them, knocking them out of first place and putting us back there. I’m not a fan (by any means) of the Georgia Bulldogs coach (a former assistant at Alabama), so hopefully we’ll pull out another win for back-to-back championships.

~*~

What else?

I really can’t think of anything other than to tell you all how thankful I am for every single one of you who has supported me and my writing over the past seven or so years. I’m still in awe that people actually read what I’ve written. I honestly thought maybe five people would read my stories (*cough* my best friend’s family) and that would be it. 😉 I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that so many readers have embraced me and my (often kooky) fictional worlds and characters.

And a huge thank you to my above-mentioned best friend, who I swear keeps me from throwing my laptop at times. Without her, I never would’ve published my first book. Without her, there would be no Willy or any of my other characters, though she swears Rick Preston (from the Taking Lance series) is her man. 😉 Taking Lance (#1) was my very first published story.

Of all my books I’ve written over the years (published or no), the Lance books are the ones I have a hard time going back and rereading. My writing style has changed drastically since those days, and I always want to make changes. So I’ll just be proud of the series, and be grateful that people like reading them, are still reading them all these years later. Strangely, I think more people read the whole series in 2021 than they did in all the prior years combined.

I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice holiday, and here’s hoping for a much better year in 2022.

Until next time,

Candi

 

 

Hello, all!

I hope you all are having a nice December. I’m so far behind on pretty much everything, but it’ll all come together. It usually does. 🙂

Christmas in Holly Pines was published on November 1st. I’ve published quite a few books over the years (the Willy series included), but I’ve never had the success that I’ve had so far with Holly Pines. Honestly, it surprised me. Not because I’m not proud of the book – I am – but because it was the first book I’ve published since the Willy series ended last year. It surprised me because it’s a Christmas story not set in my crazy version of the North Pole, and there are no kinky elves or shifting reindeer to be seen. 😉 There is, however, a small shout out to Randy.

Thank you to everybody who has bought or downloaded Christmas in Holly Pines so far. I held on to that story (well, 2 stories in one) for over 2 years. Jacob and Owen’s was written and polished approximately 2 and a half years ago. Only later did I add Dustin and Reese to the mix.

I also send a huge thank you to my best friend for encouraging me to publish it even though she hadn’t read it yet. Just knowing she had that kind of confidence in me and my writing means everything.

Below is a quick excerpt from Holly Pines. It describes the first time Reese Wells and Dustin Knight meet face-to-face. You can find out a little about how Jacob and Owen met in an excerpt that was published in October on On Top Down Under Book Reviews. You can find it here and Kazza’s review of the book here.

Excerpt –

I barely have time to react before Jesse’s yelling my name and running to me. I just manage to lift him up before I fall back on my ass.

“Reese, you’re here.”

“I am. You must be Jesse.”

“Well, duh. You’ve seen me a million times.”

“I’ve seen you exactly twice outside of pictures.”

“Yeah, same thing. Dad, Reese is here,” he calls out as he climbs down.

I look over, and I swear my heart stops. Dustin Knight is standing a few feet away. I take a step toward him, but Owen has other ideas. He nudges me to Jacob.

“This is Jacob Knight,” he gushes. “He’s mine, so hands off, little brother.”

“You’re so weird, Owen,” Jesse tells him.

“Nice to officially meet you, Jacob,” I tell him as I shake his hand.

“You too, Reese.”

Jesse grabs my hand and pulls me to his dad. “This is my dad, Doctor Dustin Knight.”

“Hello, gorgeous,” Dustin says with a grin as he takes my hand in his.

“Oh, my gawd,” Jesse blurts out. “You can’t be calling people that, Dad. This is Reese. He’s practically family. He might not want to stay if he thinks you’re a weirdo.”

I laugh and look down at the kid, my hand still in Dustin’s. “There’s not a person alive who doesn’t like being called gorgeous. And you’ve met Owen. You know I’m used to being around weirdos.”

“I resemble that remark,” Owen says from somewhere behind me.

“Let go of his hand, Dad. Geez. You’re embarrassing me in front of my new best friend.”

“We can’t have that, can we?” Dustin says, letting go of my hand, reluctantly, if his expression is to go by. “Go wash your hands for dinner.”

“You’re not going anywhere, are you, Reese?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He rushes off to do as he’s told.

“We’ll, uh, be somewhere,” Owen says, pulling Jacob with him.

“In the kitchen where dinner is?” Jacob asks him.

When they’re out of sight, I get a good look at Dustin. “Hey there.”

“Hey there, yourself.”

He surprises me by leaning in and kissing me softly on the lips. He’s smiling when he pulls back.

“I’m suddenly really wishing we’d met the first time without the others around,” he whispers.

“We have time, don’t we, Doc?”

“Yes, we do. Now let’s go to the kitchen before a certain little boy comes in and fusses at me for monopolizing his new best friend’s time.”

Blurb –

Holly Pines, Vermont, is a traditional small tourist town. In the off-season, there are fewer than two thousand residents. A snow skiing paradise, that number increases dramatically during the holidays. It’s been home to brothers Jacob and Dustin Knight their entire lives.

Being the chief of police in a busy tourist town makes it hard for Jacob to find the time to date. Dustin is bisexual and has plenty of options but no interest in anyone in town. He’s a single father who knows that anyone he brings into his world has to accept that he and his son are a package deal.

Owen Wells is a professional photographer who plans to snap a few shots of the Christmas lights on Holly Pines Bridge then be on his way. A matchmaking seven-year-old boy has other ideas. When unforeseen circumstances keep Owen in town overnight, sparks fly between the photographer and chief of police. Suddenly, Owen’s not so keen on leaving after all.

Reese Wells is a traveling nurse who never stays in one place for long. His older brother may have found love, but he has no plans to follow suit. That changes during a video call with Owen and young Jesse Knight. When the boy’s dad joins the chat, all bets are off. Reese is suddenly eager to take a trip to the small town of Holly Pines, Vermont.

Jacob and Owen’s relationship runs smoothly from the get-go. Dustin and Reese’s, not so much. Between a quick misunderstanding, a jealous nurse, a busybody teacher, and a less than maternal ex-wife, these guys have to work hard to become the family they desperately want to be.

Available from Amazon in Kindle Unlimited and paperback.

You can add it on Goodreads here.

~*~

In the event I don’t pop in again before the end of the month, I hope you all have the best of holidays and a very Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Candi