Gratitude & Giving Day 25 - Cody Kennedy

A very special thank you to beautiful K-Lee for inviting me to participate in this wonderful event on her blog. Trust me on this: you haven’t met a pure heart until you’ve met K-Lee. Not to mention... she rocks!

I practice positive thinking as a matter of course. I’ve done it for so long that it is habit and one I’m thankful I have. It’s helped me through tough times and I’m more than a little grateful for, and protective of, my positive outlook. So much so, I struggle not to resent it when something rains on my parade. I haven’t had a bad year since 2005—a horrible year that culminated in a major health event two days before Christmas and put me in the hospital for 35 days. Since, things have been great and I dared to believe bad years had gone the way of the dodo for me.  Not true. This year sucked for me personally. It doesn’t matter why. It simply did. #TrueStory

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When I have a year such as this, it’s easy for the black hole of depression to swallow a positive outlook. If you’ve ever suffered depression, you know it hurts. When this begins to occur, I remind myself that positive thinking is a matter of choice and I must simply get my badass on. 

My badass self is made up of all kinds of anger and frustration that I’ve lived with since early childhood and learned to channel in positive ways. I am very grateful for the life I have and hope I can bestow you with the happiness I feel as often as possible. It wasn’t easy to learn how to do it. I tripped and fell a million times before I succeeded at doing it as a matter of habit. But I did master it. This year reminded me just how tough things can be and I’m proud of myself for refusing to succumb. Better yet, I’m ending this year on a fantastic note thanks to all of you.

As this year draws to a close and we begin again, I thank all of you believing in me, my books, but above all, for being my friends. In our extraordinary information age, and being an introvert and painfully shy, I struggle with being social, accepting compliments, etc. To my elation, all of you kept me going. You offered encouragement, support, and kicked me in the ass when I needed it. Your inspiration and acceptance has rocked my world and I appreciate all of you more than you can imagine. Thank you for being there for me, but most of all for being you. Each and every one of you contributes something unique and special into my world. Please don’t ever hesitate to let me know if I may do the same for you in some way—no matter how small. Take this post personally because it is all about you. 

Give me an example of your badass self and what you're grateful for along with your email address in the comments, and my macaw, Kismet, will choose a winner at random to receive an e-copy of Safe!

Thank you for supporting my brand of badass! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sleight of Heart coming in January, 2016 from CoolDudes Publishing.

Add Sleight of Heart to your Goodreads and Booklikes lists!

Lord Taliesin Solitaire was born albino, cursed mute by the fey, and betrayed by a vampire lover. For two hundred years the vampire mage has vowed never to love again and has only used sex as a means to a meal. Until a palm-reading gypsy finds himself in peril and Taliesin can’t resist rescuing the beautiful young man.

Pesha Sinclair is the eldest but smallest son of King Vaida Sinclair, the oppressive ruler of the Kåle Romani Compania. Deemed impure by his father, Pesha is shunned and mistreated by his band and four half-brothers, and one brother in particular wants him dead. His pale, silent savior gives him safety, security and a love he never could have imagined. As Pesha falls in love with his handsome white knight, his half-brother does the unthinkable.

Can Taliesin rescue Pesha from the cruel clutches of his half-brother a second time?

About Cody Kennedy/Aisling Mancy

Ash is an author who lives, most of the time, on the West Coast of the United States. Ash writes adult fantasy, science fiction, adult romance, and fiction for gay young adults as C. Kennedy.

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Ash doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Ash contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Ash can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much-maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary.

Find Ash on blog, Twitter @AislingMancy, Facebook, Goodreads, Booklikes, Amazon and Ash does respond to emails because, after all, it is all about you, the reader.