Black Kat News: From the Southwest with Love
Jun 05, 2024 12:54 pm
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Greetings from Sunny Arizona!
Kim here. I hope this letter finds you and your family well.
I've been hanging out in the Southwest with my Mom and youngest kids, healing from the loss of my dad. Grief is strange. Some days you feel okay and some days you don't. It's been six months since we lost him, but sometimes it feels like six minutes. I'm sitting here at his desk, thinking he's just off somewhere and will be back anytime. Maybe I'll always feel that way, I'm not sure.
On a brighter note, it's hotter than Hades here, but then again, we're in fire shifter territory. The temps are in the hundreds now, but we've got a pool and we swim every day. After 30+ years in the muggy, buggy Midwest, I'm actually loving it. The scorpions, not so much. Thank God they're not as big as the skairps in my last book!
Speaking of creatures big and small, this past weekend, we celebrated our fourth year of homeschooling by visiting the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch and had a wonderful time. We fed all kinds of animals, from the chirpy rainbow lorikeets to sluggish giant turtles, slippery stings rays, gentle miniature donkeys, and of course, ornery ostriches! They were a hoot!
All of the animals were well cared for and so very sweet. It did our hearts good.
We're also reconnecting with my grown sons and enjoying grandbabies! (Yeah, I’m that old.) It’s great to make new memories while also cherishing old ones. Due to the age range of my kids, my youngest sons are only a few years older than their nephews and niece. So they all played together and had a blast. (Lots of Legos were involved. My feet seem to be a magnet for them!)
And I’m writing again. Hooray! For a while, the Supers didn’t talk to me much. Now I can’t get them to shut up. Poor Hugh. I’m not sure he’s going to survive the next book. He got pretty banged up in Kat-a-strophic, and isn't faring much better in Star Crossed. Escape artists just seem to have a knack for getting in and out of trouble, as do characters named Kat. And she is SUPER cranky in this next book. Can't imagine why...(if you've read the last book, you know.)
I currently have 50,000 words written (out of a zillion!), but they're not all good words yet. At least, Hugh doesn’t think so! So we’re working on it. Or rather, I’m working on it and Hugh is pestering me endlessly, which he always does. Somehow, it all gets done. Like…magic.
Or like this...(from Shakespeare in Love:)
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
The same can be said for writing. And since this is our gypsy year, possibly one of many, we’ll be heading back East soon to help my mother deal with things there. Two houses 2300 miles apart is hard for anyone to manage, and there's a lot to get done. It's a mystery, but somehow it all works out!
So my goal is to have the solid draft of Star Crossed done before we leave in mid-July. Fingers crossed! If you are part of the ARC (advanced reading) team, I'll have something this summer for you. You can join the team here. (Those who actively participate get a full finished copy of the book.)
Later this fall, we’ll drag ourselves back here, publish Star Crossed, and finish The White King, which I'm hoping to release this winter (while I watch snow falling on the mountains as I bask in the sun by the pool. YAY!)
GREAT ESCAPES:
Check out these fabulous titles for your eReader!
After a deadly virus wipes out most of humanity, the infected undead prey on those of us who are left. Meanwhile, something worse is happening in New York City. The Four Horsemen kidnap young girls and drag them back to their lair. During a rescue mission, I depend on a charismatic stranger named Jax Constantine. He brings hope to my life with his charm and smile, but he hides a dark secret. I begin to doubt if he's the person I believed him to be.
Now, the fate of humanity rests with me. I must decide whether to stop the Devil from claiming the already ruined Earth or save the man I love. The same man who is destined to damn my soul.
An occupied world. A slave labor mining camp. Two captured Fleet officers. And a frontier god who could no longer stand to watch innocent lives perish.
The millennia-long conflict between the Shoultain Warlords and the Federation, confined to Neutral Zone skirmishes, escalates when two Fleet officers, Karin Vexley and Kitaya DeWynter, are captured by traitors within their ranks. Their ship cannot intervene without risking war. All captives are sent to Yerendor, a slave labor camp and one of the six worlds the Federation traded for peace fifteen years ago. Karin and Kitaya's survival hinges on aid from a renegade frontier god. Meanwhile, Captain DeWynter successfully completes a dubious mission, but the high cost may end his Fleet career.
For nearly a century, Dahlia Nite has defended humanity with her shapeshifting abilities. She works in secret, hunting what lurks in the dark, burying the secrets that could destroy them all.
But when a rash of gruesome murders sheds light on what should remain in the shadows, her limits are tested. Ancient conspiracies are in danger of being exposed, awakening humans to a reality steeped in legend—one more terrifying than they could ever imagine.
As Dahlia straddles the line between solving the crimes and concealing their shocking circumstances, the mystery deepens. Each new murder lifts the veil higher. Each new clue leads her to the one place she thought to never go again: home.
Some pasts do more than just haunt you. Some pasts can kill. Solomon Ivy owns a bloody track record of killing monsters. He’s the most ruthless stone-cold killer you’ll ever meet. With magic in one hand, a gun in the other, there hasn’t been a beast he’s failed to take down.
The only thing better than burying evil is seeing the look in its eyes when you’re shoveling dirt on its face. The one rule that keeps a hunter alive is to keep moving forward and never look back. But when Ivy's past finally catches up to him, he has unfinished business to take care of. A promise to honor. And a monster to kill.
From the first flickers of ingenuity, humankind has excelled in civilization-defining inventions and innovations. Lightbulb Moments in Human History takes a playful and perceptive look at how these big ideas have driven humanity’s inevitable rise.
Enjoy irreverent, yet affectionate, glimpses into the lives of ancient peoples. Explore the evolution of sciences, religions, technologies, and social systems. Lightbulb Moments in Human History is perfect for history buffs, trivia nuts, and anyone seeking a cheeky perspective on our collective journey. It sheds humorous and thought-provoking light on our common heritage. You’ll never see history the same way again.
YOUR FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOME
We love to hear from our fans! Let us know what you like about the series and what you'd like to see next. Contact Hugh anytime at hugh@blackkatseries.com or by replying to this email.
You can also reach the Supers on our public pages (listed below.) Please keep in mind that due to Hugh's death-defying schedule, it may take him a little while to get back to you. He also loves fan art. Boatloads of fan art! Feel free to send some in!
Until next time, I wish you love, joy, and peace. We can all use more!
Lots of love,
Kimberly Gordon
(This pic was a few pounds and kids ago but I'm too lazy to change it right now, lol)
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PS. To simplify things, I'm merging the Black Kat website with my author site as I focus mainly on Black Kat books. My other projects will wait till life is less hectic. Both sites will continue to work, but newer stuff will be posted here: https://www.authorkimberlygordon.com/
