Tuesday, July 14, 2015

All The Cool Things To Come in August, September, and October!


Hey guys!
Welcome to all the newbies! I hope you are finding something on the blog that interests you. If you haven’t yet, boy are you in for a wild ride for the next few months.
We are 4 months from the release of UNLOVED, the second book in the Unwilling series. And every single day until 11/3/15 is going to be full of stuff!
To help you (and me) keep up with all of the fun, I’m revealing the schedule of what you can expect on all my social media in this blog post:

Daily Schedule:
There have been SO MANY awesome friends who have helped me prepare this book for publication in one way or another. Or added a little something special to make its creation journey even that much more. That group of friends will be part of my daily postings and you’ll get the chance to know a little bit more about their awesomeness in the coming weeks.
Also, I’ll be including some fun things that are KD specific!
*SUNDAY* “CHILL AND INSPIRATIONS” – Each Sunday I’ll be sharing either one of my favorite coffee recipes or something that has inspired me. There may even be a few extra special treats of me and the boys concocting them LOL! And of course, there will be surprise giveaways for comments from you that inspire me!  So watch those FB posts carefully.
*MONDAY* “INSTANT AN’GEL’S” – Each Monday I’ll be featuring a favorite picture from my pal, An’gel of An’gel Molpus Photography from her Instagram account and photography focused FB page, "Barefoot On The Beach". An’gel takes some amazeball beach photographs that are almost as good as really having your toes in the sand. Minus the grit! The other treats An’gel has had a hand in will be coming later too so make sure you are a follower on all her accounts.
*TUESDAY* “TUESDAY TEASERS” – Every Tuesday in the months of August, September and October I’ll be posting a new teaser from UNLOVED.
*WEDNESDAY* “JENN JAMMING WEDNESDAYS” – Each Wednesday for the next three months Jenn and I will be featuring special tidbits on the release event page dedicated to the characters and all the fun things she creates for the series.
*THURSDAY* “BLOGGING DAY” – Thursday’s will be dedicated to updates on the blog by me and special Wattpad snipets and deleted scenes.
*FRIDAY* “FREEDOM FRIDAYS” – I’m soooooo excited about the things Freedom has for you guys. Freedom is a super talented artist and designer for Sweetwater Swamp. Most of Freedom’s features are secrety-secrets still so I can’t go into huge detail yet. BUT, you want to keep an eye on Friday’s posts for sure. There will be several chances to get in on some really sweet giveaways.
*SATURDAY* “TBA” – I’m leaving our Saturday’s open for changes and updates.

Now for the extra special stuff …
I’m doing something very special to celebrate UNLOVED’s release in November. That's a picture of all the box collection dedicated to pre-orders.
To your right on the blog page you’ll see a PayPal button labeled “Purchase a signed copy of UNLOVED” and directly under that, a drop down menu with “receive via US mail $16.00 USD” as an option.
This button is LIVE
I’ll be accepting pre-orders for Unloved which will be mailed after the release date of 11/3/15 to the first 50 people who have purchased a signed copy.  
Now I bet you are saying, bah, who wants to do a pre-order? I’ll just buy it after release day.
Oh no my friend, you do not want to wait. And here’s why:
The first 50 pre-order boxes will contain an original piece of art commissioned by me and created by Freedom Bruce of Sweetwater Swamp exclusively for Unloved’s release and dedicated to the Unwilling series. Each piece will be one-of-a-kind and bring a little bit of the story to you from the Gulf of Mexico, which is the area of the US where the story takes place.  
There are only 50, and when they are gone, that’s it.

SO! If you want to get in on this very special gift from me don’t wait to place your order!

Here’s how:
1. Purchase your copy of UNLOVED via the pay pal link
2. Check your email afterwards for a personal confirmation from me J
3. Jitter in your chair along with me as we wait for 11/3 to get here!
***Please note, this price is for delivery within the United States only***
I'm not opposed to international deliveries, but you'd need to email me BEFORE ordering and your price for postage can be determined on an individual basis.
 
 

I hope you guys are looking forward to all the things we have planned for you! I look forward to hearing from you guys in the coming weeks and don’t forget to give a book some love!
If you are looking for a new read, may I suggest ELITE, by Rachel Van Dyken. This week se just celebrated her sixth book birthday in her mafia series with ELUDE.

Until then, KD

Friday, July 3, 2015

Surviving Initiation into the No Dad Club

   This blog took some time to work out in my mind and heart. Honestly, on the actual date of Father's Day, I was beyond tired and too emotionally trashed to say my name much less write a blog post. But I knew I had something brewing so I waited and listened.
    I hope you fatherly types enjoyed being pampered by your family and friends for Father’s Day. Your job is a hard one. For the great dads, I salute you every day, not just in June. For the “not so great” ones, it’s never too late. Get with the program, you got stuff to do so you too can get in on the Father’s Day stuff too.
    I have a friend who recently re-connected with his daughter, and he says often on his FB posts, “Every day is father’s day.” And I agree with this completely. I always smile seeing that message roll by on my feed. For him, for her, for the new-to-them little family they’ve created. It’s a wonderful thing to see their family growing stronger.

 
Unlike my friend’s daughter, my dad has always been in my life. Or, I have to say now had been in my life. So I understand the specialness of their situation. There’s not been one moment since April that I haven’t felt the weight of his absence. It’s a very strange part of losing a parent and there’s no day or card for that.
 
 
Don’t get any ideas, Hallmark.
    Still, the hole never closes. Some days the grief eats me, literally swallows me whole, and some days it only nibbles and slowly bleeds me to exhaustion.
    On Mother’s Day I sensed this crushing dread looming large in the distance. I dreaded the “day” of Father’s Day coming. Simply because I don’t need an extra reminder he’s not just at work, or out in the garden, or fishing, or gone to the feed store. I didn’t want one more reminder of how I can’t pick up the phone and call him anymore. And there’s no one to take my stupid Father’s Day card out of the mailbox and chuckle at how I signed the dog’s name to it anymore.
    Now every June my family and I will be in this crappy No Dad Club together and it sucks. Along with every person my dad’s gigantic heart touched. We’ll always be looking backwards at what he left us instead of forward because he’s not in front of us anymore.
    On my initiation into the No Dad Club, I found myself in a room full of exhausted, weepy-eyed people. But they weren't on the edge of bawling for the same reasons I was struggling to hold my crap together. Or I don’t think so since we were in the closing ceremony of UtopYA in Nashville.
    I sat and listened to people talk about how much fun, connection, love, joy, friendship and a million other awesome things they’d gained during the conference. And I felt exactly the same way. UtopYA was the one hundred percent, amazingly euphoric punch in the soul I’ve been needing for a while.
    I let a few tears fall myself that morning but it was in thanks.
Thank you for letting me find these amazing people.
    Dear Utopia Tribe, thank you, awesome people, you got me through a hell of a week in so many ways.
    For my friend, I wish him and his daughter so many more wonderful years together. Your little notes to each other have brightened more sad days than you know. Keep loving and connecting.
    And if you are in this crappy club too, I wish you peace and comfort any way you can get it.
Until then,
KD