Cats, Yarn, and Words

I've had some time to process the loss of my baby girl, Cali, last Tuesday. Strange what losing a beloved animal will do to you and make you look at your life. I have been reeling for days and finally have narrowed my 'hobbies' down to a top list of three great loves of my world:

Cats, Yarn, and Words

Cats...obviously. Above is my baby boy, Jack, who has been my buddy since he was adopted as a tiny kitten. (yes, he was tiny once). This 19 lb behemoth of a cuddler is the main focus of my life, especially since the tragic loss of his sister.
He is diabetic, but takes his shots like a champ. He is pretty healthy otherwise, thank goodness!  He gets pancreatic attacks that make him sick all day and all night at times, but he gets medication and it helps.

Yarn...ha ha seems to go hand-in-hand with cats, right?  Don't let them play with it, I implore you. My first cat, Katie, ingested some and it came out the other end...ewwwwwwwwwwwww! It can wrap around their stomach and kill them. Seriously, watch the yarn.
OK, enough PSA...I love to knit and can even crochet (it just always ends up a little 'off'). ha ha. I love regular straight needle patterns (if I even follow one). I usually make up my own and run with it. Nowadays I knit for friends, or donate my creations to cat shelters.

Words...this should be obvious having written 12 books so far (plus 18 more with co-authors). I've been writing since I knew how and hope to never stop. Even if they never sell, even if they're seen as goody-two-shoes or too 'safe' for the horrific world we live in, I don't care. I love my boys, my style, and I will write purely for my love if nobody else's.

This is more of a Monday morning brain dump, if not anything grander....but I wanted to share my loves with you, my followers, fans, and friends.

Have a good Monday if you can!

Steph

Guest Blogger, Sean McKissack

Hello again! This week I host author Sean McKissack and his book To be a Different Someone

Blurb:

James Kane could be summed up in one word: loser. He silently lived as a ghost amongst his parents and he had zero friends at school...unless you count his cousin who had to defend him against the abusive Matt Tracker. When his parents divorce, James moves to Montana and stays with his grandmother, where he makes an extreme adjustment to his life-becoming a different someone named Jennifer. The transition comes with frightening issues Jennifer never thought of. After two years of recovery, she returns to her old high school to start over but she meets up with her past tormentor and gets caught in a web of secrets as she finds herself falling in love. Her conscience gets the best of her as she tries to be truthful to Matt about who she once was, but will he accept her as his girlfriend when she tells him about their past?

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Be-Different-Someone-Sean-McKissack/dp/1541217241

In Memoriam...

My precious little Cali lost the fight Tuesday morning after a long, touch-n-go weekend that included an ER vet and her regular vet.  She had just turned 18.

End stage kidney disease, hyperthyroid (newly discovered) and high glucose was too much for this little angel. She weighed only 6 lbs as it was. When it was the end, she weighed 5.

This little darling meant the world to all of us (both my ex hubby and current) and myself. She was a very vocal, lively, moody, silly, adorable, beautiful girl and she will be missed beyond description.

If you have furbabies, let them know what they mean to you now, in this life. I am wracked with guilt over every time I got frustrated or missed a sign...but she is in the best place possible now and knows how much we loved her.

Rest in Peace, Cali! I await you over the Rainbow Bridge

Guest Blogger: Ki Brightly

Today I welcome a guest blogger! Please give a warm welcome to Ki Brightly!

Hello! This is Ki Brightly here to discuss my newest release Secret Seth. I was generously invited to be here today, and would like to say thank you to my hostess. So thanks!

Secret Seth was an interesting book for me to write because I had this idea of writing a demisexual character. I’ve explored bits and pieces of demisexuality once before with Joseph in The Paranaturalist, but I never quite got what I was looking for out of that book. I wanted to see what a character would be like who was an extreme demisexual, someone who truly doesn’t feel sexual attraction unless he is very close to someone.

So, thanks to my fascination, this quirk became an integral part of Seth’s personality, in some ways. He is very careful and thorough in all of his life, part of his job in construction is to keep everyone on his site safe. This feeling of being responsible for everyone around him is something he never quite shakes. It takes Seth so long, in fact, to realize what he is feeling towards people—more than friendship or wanting to take care of them—that frequently they have given up on him and already moved on by the time he gets around to letting them know about his feelings. But, Seth’s trip down relationship lane was a while ago for him. He’s been so busy with work he hasn’t had time to figure himself out, and more importantly determine why, precisely, he never seems to like someone until it seems like they’re out of reach.

To research this aspect of Seth’s personality, I talked to several different people who identify to varying degrees as demisexul, or other somewhat similar identifications on the sexuality spectrum. One recurring theme with the people I talked to was that there always seemed to be a great amount of confusion inside themselves about someone they might actually like in a romantic sense, and frequently just as much confusion is caused by their missing cues from other people that other people are interested, because they simply aren’t looking for them the same way someone else might be.

I attempted to make Seth as true to life as I could, in the hopes that someone out there might see something of themselves in him and identify with it. Because after all the road to love is hard, and everyone should get a satisfying happily ever after, no matter where they fall on the sexuality spectrum.

Tyler, on the other hand, Seth’s counterpart, has more along the lines of what we think of, however erroneously, as the average sexual tendencies of a man. He’s sexual, knows it, and is very interested in flirting with men, especially attractive men like Seth. You can see where some problems may arise. Part of this book is a comedy of errors, but I think another, very real part of Tyler and Seth’s relationship is the gentle, organic growth of a friendship before a romantic relationship begins. In a lot of ways that isn’t something we get to see much of in contemporary romance. So many romance novels are two people tripping into bed with each other (and I’ve written them and liked plenty of them, so please don’t think I am in any way upset about that), but Tyler and Seth were a nice change of pace to write.

This is a slow burn love story.

I hope everyone enjoys Tyler and Seth. Happy reading!

Blurb:

Tyler Faulkner lived for his work, constructing Hollywood sets. His designs were perfect, and he expected equal perfection from his crew and himself. But, talented as he was, he felt trapped. A creative clash with a producer left him out of more than just a job, and Tyler decided that maybe a new beginning was exactly what he needed.

Seth Goodwin was reliable. So rock-steady that his father made him a partner in the family construction business over his older brothers. Seth’s job was simple—he took a highly skilled crew out on the road to build ridiculously expensive projects for rich clients. Their success prompted Seth and his dad to hire a new designer.

Seth wasn’t so steady around Tyler. Tyler didn’t simply draw art; he forced it into reality, elbowing his way into Seth’s work crew and life, whether he wanted him there or not. But Seth had a secret he’s been keeping for a long while, and Tyler, flamboyant and verbose, wasn’t someone who fit in a closet, unless he was looking for the perfect shoes to go with his outfit. Would Seth and Tyler be able to make it work? Or would everyone’s secrets catch up with them?

Excerpt:

His lips were glossy. Like glass over cherries, maybe? I had trouble swallowing and couldn’t look away, but he was talking, so that was probably all right. It would be so easy to bend down and…what? I cleared my throat. My mouth watered. Are you wearing… lipstick? Lip… stuff…? I wanted to ask so bad, but I could see that he was.  My heart hurt at the thought of him being far away, but Tyler didn’t actually look happy about the prospect either. 
“This is my job. It’s all I have, so I’ll do what I need to do to keep it, but I like doing it with you.” 
“That’s not true.” 
A confused little crease appeared between his eyebrows. “What’s not?” 
“The job’s not all you have.” 
His lips were glossy. Like glass over cherries, maybe? I had trouble swallowing and couldn’t look away, but he was talking, so that was probably all right. It would be so easy to bend down and…what? I cleared my throat. My mouth watered. Are you wearing… lipstick? Lip… stuff…? I wanted to ask so bad, but I could see that he was. Tyler’s POV He used his thumbs to wipe at my cheeks. Stupid tears. Still, it was kind. I batted his hands away and leaned closer. He let me burrow against his body, and then wrapped his arms around me tight. It was such a relief.

Buy Link

Secret Seth is available for purchase in e-book and paperback, and is also in Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079TL86MW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518701159&sr=8-1&keywords=Ki+Brightly

Bio

Ki Brightly

Ki grew up in small town nowhere pretending that meteor showers were aliens invading, turning wildflowers into magic potions, and reading more than was probably healthy. Ki had one amazing best friend, one endlessly out of grasp "true love", and a personal vendetta against normalcy.

Now, as an adult, living in Erie, Pennsylvania, Ki enjoys the sandy beaches, frigid winters, and a wonderful fancy water addiction. Seriously, fancy waters...who knew there were so many different kinds? It's just water...and yet...

Ki shares this life with a Muse, a Sugar Plum, and two wonderful children. 

You can connect with Ki in many different ways:

Social Media

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/kibrightly/

Blog

www.brightlybooks.wordpress.com

Tumblr

https://www.tumblr.com/search/Ki+Brightly

Twitter

https://twitter.com/KiBrightly

E-mail

kibrightly@gmail.com

Separate Ways; Southern Comfort #5

Sometimes good-bye is a second chance…

Thanksgiving’s harmony turns out to be just the lull before the storm, as relationships begin to fall apart, beginning with Violet and Dylan. The presence of Clay’s mother, Brandi Wine, in New Liberty, is quickly becoming a bone of contention between the four boys. Mark and Todd don’t think she’s so bad, while Clay and Blake want nothing to do with her or her cockamamie reality show.

A family crisis draws Todd and his mother to Atlanta, and when they return, the news isn’t good, and decisions must be made. Blake and Clay face their own crisis when big mouths callously reveal secrets not meant to be shared. Todd’s relationship with Taylor has grown, despite the revelation that she is transgendered. But her psyche is fragile, and unable to bear the weight of Todd’s censure when he decides to withdraw his support. The aftermath of his words will shatter everyone’s world.

Sometimes you have to agree to disagree, and go your separate ways.

http://www.extasybooks.com/s-l-danielson/978-1-4874-1128-2-separate-ways/