Author Spotlight: J.C. Kenney Is Back with a New Cozy!

We have a winner! Latesha B, your name was chosen at random and you will be receiving a signed copy of Concert Hall Hit. J.C. will be in touch with you! Thanks to everyone for stopping by. 

What’s more fun that a great cozy mystery? Not much! I’m crazy about J.C. Kenney’s stories and he’s got a brand new one out for our reading pleasure!

J.C. Kenney is the Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo bestselling author of The Allie Cobb Mysteries, The Darcy Gaughan Mysteries, and The Elmo Simpson Mysteries. He’s also the co-host of The Bookish Hour webcast. His debut, A Literal Mess, was a finalist for a Muse Medallion from the Cat Writers’ Association in mystery fiction. When he’s not writing, you can find him following IndyCar racing or listening to music. He has two grown children and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and, kitty cat Maria. You can find him at www.jckenney.com or by checking out his Linktree at JC Kenney .

Talk to us, J.C.!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Hi, folks! It’s great to be back hanging out with Nan and the rest of you all. When I sat down to write this post, I took a few moments to think about what I wanted to chat about. Then it came to me. I wanted to talk about time. Specifically, where has the time gone?

You see, the past few weeks have included some big moments in my life.

On April 23, my older kiddo, Shea got engaged. That was such a happy moment for everyone in the family.

Then, on April 25, Concert Hall Hit, the latest in my Darcy Gaughan Mysteries series, arrived. It’s the fifteenth book I’ve had published! Not a bad run since I first started writing seriously back in 2011.

And then, on May 6, younger kiddo Aidan graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Music Education. It seems like only yesterday that he came home from elementary school to tell us he was going to start playing the trombone.

And finally, on May 10, Aidan turned 22. He’s celebrating his graduation/birthday by taking a well-earned vacation.

At this point, I think it’s only appropriate for all the humblebragging in the previous four paragraphs. We like to hear good news, right?

Anyway, those events, and other big ones in our lives, like weddings, new jobs, moving into a new home, retirements, don’t happen in a vacuum. They’re typically the products of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

And time.

Shea’s 26. In June of 2013, they attempted to take their life. They’ve come a long way over the past decade to get to the point where they’re healthy enough to be in a long-term relationship. Ten years spent getting better, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. It hasn’t been easy, but Shea never gave up And now they’re going to get married to a lovely soul from Cincinnati. That’s pretty cool.

Something else that’s pretty cool is that fact that Aidan’s still playing trombone. Not only that, but his degree is also in Music Education, so he’ll be teaching others to play music. I’ll be honest, when he came home that day in May of his fifth-grade year, I thought there was no way he’d be stick with trombone much past middle school. He proved me wrong, though. He’s still at it, 12 years later. And now, he can also play the drums, guitar, and a whole host of other instruments, thanks to hours upon hours of hard work, dedication, and practice.

As for me? When I started clicking away on the keyboard in August of 2011, all I wanted to do was tell a story that was banging around inside my head. Like the kids, though, I kept at it. I worked on my craft of storytelling. I joined writing organizations, attended writing conferences, got to know amazing writers who are equally wonderful human beings. Like Nan. My writing path hasn’t been a straight or smooth one. I’m still at it, though. And I even have four more books in the works!

All this talk about the past brings me to the nature of time. And to me, how abstract it can be. On May 18, 1991, I was getting married. Almost thirty-two years later, I’m a father of two grown children, still happily married to my music festival partner in crime, Nancy, and still a cat guy. Looking back over those decades, it seems like time has truly flown by. In the moment, especially the tough ones like Nancy’s cancer treatment, and Shea’s time spent in the Stress Center, it seemed like time ground to a halt and that the good days might never return.

It might have taken a while, but fortunately for me, they did. And now look at my family. Aidan’s starting his career as a music teacher. Shea’s continuing down the path of expert in all things comics related. Nancy’s giving serious thought to when she’s going to retire. And I’m still making stuff up for other folks to read.

If you would have told me this is what my family would go through and where we’d be in May of 2023, I would have said no way. Funny how things can change over time, huh?

So, how about you? How have things changed over the years? Have they undergone a steady change, like a smooth road or have circumstances taken the wheel and brought you along for a ride you never thought possible. Or maybe something in between? Let me know.

GIVEAWAY! Since sharing is caring, J.C. is giving away a signed copy of Concert Hall Hit to a random commenter. USA only. Thanks, and good luck! We’ll draw a winner on Saturday morning, so comment below and then stay tuned!

Concert Hall Hit

The town of Marysburg, Indiana, is buzzing with excitement when legendary British blues guitarist Derek Tufnell appears at Marysburg Music to sign autographs and chat with fans the afternoon before a performance at the Marysburg Center for the Performing Arts. The meet-and-greet session is a huge success and record store owner Darcy Gaughan couldn’t be more pleased with how the event went.

Darcy’s glee turns to despair when, only hours later, Derek is found murdered in his dressing room. Fingers are pointed at her, since she was the last one seen with him. In order to keep her freedom, and the record store open, Darcy begins her own investigation and soon finds the number of suspects is exceeded only by the number of hit songs in Derek’s music catalog.

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