Snippet Sunday: Assignment: Reunion edition #1 (plus some personal notes)

As I emerge from the miasma my life has been the last six to eight months I've realized that I have to start using this little cul-de-sac of the World Wide Web I created long ago. Siobhan Muir has given me a great way to do this with her Snippet Sunday, of which this is my inaugural post. But first, a quick note about me.

For the few of you that may not know, I lost Holly, my wife of 14 years, last November after a month long battle with sepsis that the doctors now tell me was caused by (they believe) pneumonia. I know there wasn't an autopsy and they hadn't told me that before, but the news doesn't surprise me. Either way, she's still gone.

However, I am returning to as normal a life as I can. I recently rejoined the work force as a part time associate at Walmart. That, plus a survivor's benefit I'm receiving from Holly's SS disability will enable me to live comfortably while I work on my career as an author.

That is beginning to get back on track, too. What I thought was a grief-induced writer's block I have discovered was also partially due to trying to force an unnatural structure on Darius and Ayano's story. When I gave that up and decided to roll with the punches, the story began flowing again. Now, the only thing that is slowing me down is fatigue from work. My body is growing stronger and I am regaining my desire and ability to write. That will be evident by the following snippet. This snippet takes place on the day in January, 1992 when Darius and Ayano first meet.

Disclaimer: This is an unedited first draft and may not make it into the final draft in this form.

Just for Fun... How Many Squares...

I posted on my personal Facebook timeline the following quiz:

Want to know how many squares are actually there? Just continue after the jump...

A New Beginning or the Beginning of the End?

You know, life has a funny way of interfering with your best-laid plans. For example, as I was preparing to launch Assignment: Sensations (Available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Kobo and Inktera), I had planned to use this blog as a marketing tool. Some of you may know what actually happened--my wife of fourteen years, Holly, was admitted to the hospital with what turned out to be a fatal illness and passed away just a few weeks after the launch of my first book.

I'm slowly recovering from the loss--there's a huge hole in my life and my soul right now--but I'm picking up the pieces and determining to continue on in her memory. I've had the support of family and friends in this, including many of you who have been patient with me as I I return to what is my new "normal."

I was thinking just today of what I would say in this post as I was waiting on a doctor's appointment. I was going to explain all that has been going on in my life the last few months and what my plans are for continuing my writing career. Before I turned to that task, however, I checked my G-mail. I found a notice from Google Blogger that was sent today. It read:

Dear Blogger User,

We're writing to tell you about an upcoming change to the Blogger Content Policy that may affect your account.

In the coming weeks, we'll no longer allow blogs that contain sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video. We'll still allow nudity presented in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts, or where there are other substantial benefits to the public from not taking action on the content.

The new policy will go into effect on the 23rd of March 2015. After this policy goes into effect, Google will restrict access to any blog identified as being in violation of our revised policy. No content will be deleted, but only blog authors and those with whom they have expressly shared the blog will be able to see the content we've made private.

Our records indicate that your account may be affected by this policy change. Please refrain from creating new content that would violate this policy. Also, we ask that you make any necessary changes to your existing blog to comply as soon as possible, so that you won't experience any interruptions in service. You may also choose to create an archive of your content via Google Takeout (https://www.google.com/settings/takeout/custom/blogger).

For more information, please read here:                                 (https://support.google.com/blogger?p=policy_update).

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

Now, I have another decision to make. Do I stay with Blogger and eliminate all adult content? That would mean I would be limited in the types of teases I could post. It would even limit the scope of general discussions I could have on my blog.

I know there's WordPress, but they didn't seem as adult content-friendly as Blogger was when I established Gardener's Plots.  I also appreciated that Blogger had a built-in adult content warning system, but that's  a moot point now.

I will make my decision on the future of this blog sometime in the next two weeks. I will let you know what that decision is as soon as I've finalized it--but I will continue this blog and start using it again.

It's funny, though, that Google announces this policy change shortly after the record-setting premier of Fifty Shades of Grey. Don't they know that kink is going mainstream?

Until then, stay tuned!
KB Gardener

Good, Fast, Cheap...

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying before: “Good, Fast, Cheap—Pick Any Two.” I’ve had this in mind lately as it pertains to my first book, Assignment: Sensations. I definitely want it to be good—make that great. Unfortunately, I have to do it on the cheap, so the “odd man out” is fast.

What am I getting at? I’ve decided I’m going to have to delay the release of Assignment: Sensations. By how long? I do not know. I’ve set a personal target of May 21st, but with the problems I’ve been running into, I’m not setting it as a hard and fast date.

I think what will be best is that, when I’m within two to three weeks of the release date, I will begin a big publicity push to let you all know the book is about to come out. I’ll keep you posted on my progress here, on my Facebook author page and personal timeline, on Twitter and on Google +.

Trust me when I say I wish I could be announcing the coming release date of my next book instead of the delay of my first one, but I want it to be the best book I can put out. Thank you for your understanding.

KB Gardener.

Assignment: Sensations Teaser

Now that the release of Assignment: Sensations is a month away, I'd like to give you a teaser of what's in store for you when you buy the book. This is also the first week that I'm participating in the Romancing The Kink's Dungeon Crawl, and I would like to thank them for this opportunity. I do want to let you know this is NSFW and is for those who are 18+ (or the legal age of majority in your location.)

    “Jen, the scene starts now. Strip.”

    Jennifer froze at the command, her brow damp with perspiration. How—how does he want me to do this? Am I to entertain him? Just bare my body? I—I—I don’t know if I can do it!

    Paul leaned forward in his chair. “Jennifer, when I tell you to do something, you are to do—”

    “O—Orange.” She couldn’t keep her voice from wavering. She felt a tear on her cheek but was afraid to wipe it away.

Assignment: Sensations Cover Reveal

Today, March 24th, marks the one (31 day) month until the release of Assignment: Sensations, my first book. I'm going to put it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords at first and expand as I can from there.

Before I show you the cover, I'd like to thank my amazing cover artist, Kathey Amaral. You can see her works on her DeviantART page or her Facebook page. She was a joy to work with and made the cover better than I thought it could be--but isn't that what a good artist should do? If you need a cover, talk to her-and tell her KB sent you.

Now, here is the cover for Assignment: Sensations:

A bit about me...

Welcome!

I'd like to welcome you all to my blog/website.  I've hesitated launching it because I've not know what to say before.  Now that I'm getting close to launching my first book, I have a blog that almost no one knows about!  I'm correcting this oversight now.

Perhaps, as a beginning, I should tell you a bit about myself.  It may surprise you to know that I am a man--but then, it may not.  I don't deny it, I just don't flaunt it.  With that out of the way, I'll fill in some details.  I'm 61 years "old," a husband, father of five and grandfather of ten (soon to be twelve.)  I'm on my second marriage, to a wonderful woman whom I met on the Internet back in 2000 (or as I like to say, before there was even a Match.com.)  One last thing: we are in a D/s relationship where I am her owner and she is my slave.