Clean Fire – Flash Fiction for James A. Moore

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We’re playing a game this week at the SFF Seven, writing flash fiction inspired by a book cover belonging to the writer who posts on the day after us.

This means I drew Jim.

Hee hee hee. 

I love this cover! Oddly enough, it perfectly fits the world of the series I’m currently writing, Sorcerous Moons.

So it’s my pick for my little story over at the SFF Seven.

Lady Jane’s Salon

Lady Jane’s Salon – August 1

Founded in February 2009 by romance authors Hope Tarr, Leanna Renee HieberMaya Rodale, and  book blogger, Ron Hogan, Lady Jane’s Salon® is New York City’s first–and only–monthly romance fiction reading series. The Salon takes great pride in having hosted such luminaries of romance fiction as Eloisa James, Suzanne Brockmann, and Marjorie M. Liu while also encouraging debut and mid-list authors to “be our guest.” Past and present guest authors represent the full spectrum of the diverse and ever-evolving romance genre from traditional historical and contemporary romances to novels that cross over to science fiction and futuristic, fantasy and steampunk, inspirational and GLBT romance, to name but a few.

Lady Jane’s meets on the first Monday of the month, from 7-9 PM, at our host venue, Madame X in Soho (Top Tier). Admission is $5. Net proceeds from the Salon support our end-of-year donation to Win (formerly Women in Need).

Overcoming Two Towers Syndrome

CjzfuodUoAAK69GIt’s been a great week for my duology with Grace Draven, FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM! I’m frankly astonished at the response and grateful to all of you enthusiastic readers. If you’d still like to pick up a copy, here are some linkys:

Amazon
Apple/iTunes
Kobo
Barnes & Noble

Now that the promo pony parade is wearing down for both this release and for THE PAGES OF THE MIND, which also released last week to the best rankings that series has seen so far (yay – thank you!!), I’m turning my attention back to book two in this new series I’m writing, The Sorcerous Moons. Book one, LONEN’S WAR, is done and I have an actual blurb now!

An Unquiet Heart 

Alone in her tower, Princess Oria has spent too long studying her people’s barbarian enemies, the Destrye—and neglected the search for calm that will control her magic and release her to society. Her restlessness makes meditation hopeless and her fragility renders human companionship unbearable. Oria is near giving up. Then the Destrye attack, and her people’s lives depend on her handling of their prince…  

A Fight Without Hope 

When the cornered Destrye decided to strike back, Lonen never thought he’d live through the battle, let alone demand justice as a conqueror. And yet he must keep up his guard against the sorceress who speaks for the city. Oria’s people are devious, her claims of ignorance absurd. The frank honesty her eyes promise could be just one more layer of deception.  

A Savage Bargain 

Fighting for time and trust, Oria and Lonen have one final sacrifice to choose… before an even greater threat consumes them all.

Book two is called ORIA’S GAMBIT and it’s slow going so far. I’m working hard to keep from hitting Two Towers Syndrome, which is a common pitfall of second books in trilogies – and I’m over at Here Be Magic talking about what happens in that syndrome and how to overcome it

Oops. When a Deleted Scene Becomes a Novella

For Crown and Kingdom coverThis month’s theme at one of my group blogs is The Cutting Room floor, where everyone will share deleted scenes or talk about the revision process.

It’s apropos timing for me – and I thought I’d share here, too – because just this week I released a novella that’s essentially one big deleted scene.

*cough*

And, really – I almost never do this. I save pretty much everything I cut from manuscripts, which typically isn’t much. The revision process for me almost always consists of adding, not deleting. However, I’m usually of the opinion that I cut them for a reason and they don’t need to ever see the light of day.Crown-of-the-Queen-Final-Type small

This novella, The Crown of the Queen, is with Grace Draven’s The Undying King in our brand new duology FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM. And it’s obviously seeing the light of day in a big way.

pagescover397See, what happened was that I wrote THE PAGES OF THE MIND, which is technically book one in The Uncharted Realms, but chronologically follows book three in The Twelve Kingdoms, THE TALON OF THE HAWK. The way my story brain works, and because I moved to a new point of view (POV), I picked up the tale with the heroine of the new book, Dafne, who’d been left behind in Annfwn for safety and wasn’t there for the climax of the ultimate events in TALON. This was important to me for a number of reasons. One is that it’s key to Dafne’s character – and her journey – that she’s always sidelined. She’s been forever on the fringes of everyone else’s adventures. So, she needed to start from that place. Another reason is that she discovers things in the Annfwn library that become relevant much later.

There was one huge problem with this – by the time I finished THE PAGES OF THE MIND, it was 1) too long, and 2) took way too long to get to the heart of the story. My editor asked me to decapitate the book (his actual words), which meant cutting about 17,000 words. I wasn’t surprised, as I’d worried the story would be too top-heavy, but I also felt that part of the story formed a critical bridge and needed to be told. My editor, frankly relieved that I didn’t have a fit over the “suggestion,” suggested that I self-publish the story as a novella.The Undying King cover

Serendipitously enough, Grace Draven had asked me to do a duology with her around the same time, so woo hoo!! I revised and expanded Dafne’s interim story to 26K and called it THE CROWN OF THE QUEEN. Amusingly, Grace also expanded her story considerably and it’s as lovely as all of her work.

Two epic tales of Fantasy romance from Jeffe Kennedy and Grace Draven.

FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM

The Crown of the Queen: a novella of the Twelve Kingdoms

It’s been a lifetime since librarian Dafne Mailloux saw the coronation of the tyrant who destroyed her family. She did her part to pull him off the High Throne. But his daughter, the would-be Queen, and her sisters must still tame their conquest. If her victory is to last, Dafne must forge peace with the subtle, ruthless methods of a diplomat—and the worst memories of her life . . .

The Undying King

The stories are told in whispers, even after so long:  of a man whose fair rule soured when he attained eternal youth.  Imprisoned by a sorceress wife in a city out of time and place, he has passed into legend.  Few believe in him, and fewer would set their hopes on his mercy.  But Imogen has no choice.  To break the curse that’s isolated her since birth, she’ll find the Undying King—and answer his secrets with her own…

Buy the Book

On Career-Ruining Books and Moments of Panic

CjVEzFzW0AAwjEOAt long last, THE PAGES OF THE MIND is out in the world!!

That was a long stretch, huh?

Sometimes it works out that way. Because this book and the next, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, were part of the second contract I signed with my publisher, this series got bumped out a full year from the previous novel, THE TALON OF THE HAWK

I hope the long wait was worth it!

So far, it seems like yes. This book is selling gangbusters and you’ve all been *awesome* about posting those reviews thick and fast. I love that you all embrace Dafne’s story like family. It’s one of the best parts of writing these stories. 

Plus I’m amused by the debates over whose story should come next. I’m contemplating what direction to take after Jepp & Kral’s story in THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, so now is a good time to chime in with your wishlist! I’m totally taking notes, as there’s several paths open in the overall arc to my mind.

Another cool aspect of having you all *finally* get to read this book, is hearing the reactions. I’m fascinated by who chooses which book, which hero and which heroine as their favorite. There’s so much variety! And each book is difficult in its own way to write. I don’t blog regularly about my process because it’s so up and down. One day I’ll be thrilled with how well it’s going and the next I’ll be convinced THIS is the book that will ruin my career. My close friends and critique partners (CPs) have gotten quite good at weathering my despair moments – which can last a week or two, quite frankly. They’ve learned to tell me, “Jeffe, you always do this. Just keep writing.”

With PAGES, I got all the way to the second volcano scene – if you’ve read, you know the one I mean – when I abruptly panicked, quite sure that the book was All Wrong and I needed to go back and… I dunno. Start from the beginning? Scrap it entirely?? I even briefly entertained that Kral was meant to be Dafne’s true love, until my editor gently but firmly informed me that I was Not Allowed To Do That.

And in retrospect… yeah.

So I made my CPs read it at that point and tell me if it sucked. Instead they all said, “how dare you stop there – keep going, dammit!” 

Which really helped.

At any rate, this story was a big departure for me. The title of the next phase of this series, The Uncharted Realms (my editor’s idea), turned out to be strangely prescient. I’m not usually much into fated mates, but this story insisted. I worried to death that all the gesturing would be too much. I fretted that Nakoa was too impenetrable. 

As usual, all that angsting turned out for the best and my CPs were right, as always. It seems I did okay by Dafne, which was hugely important to me. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, here’s all the current buy links!

Thanks ever so much for your love and support. 

~twirls~

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How to Write Through the Bad Times

The Undying King cover

Hi all!!

I’m back online after about ten days away and look what I returned to! The fantabulous Grace Draven shared the cover for her story in our duology FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM. Her story is THE UNDYING KING and, wow – I dunno about you guys, but I’d take him for my forever king anytime!ChsYKYhVIAAHGw2

I like how her story cover works with mine, her hero and my heroine gazing out at the reader with an implicit call to adventure. Both individual covers will be included inside the digital versions, which should be very cool!Cim_r8YUYAA2v9D

The duology technically releases on Tuesday, May 31, the same day as THE PAGES OF THE MIND. That said, I believe buy links will be going up very soon! 

I’m over at the SFF Seven today, talking about Writers in the Storm – handling adversity, stress, and generally terrible shit while still producing

Cover Reveal! For Crown and Kingdom

Sword hilt on blue backgroundA couple of years ago, in the fall of 2013, I read a book called MASTER OF CROWS – because Ericka at Bookpushers nagged me into it. I loved that book every bit as much as she promised I would. Because it’s my thing, I began stalking  following the author, Grace Draven.

I must have been fairly subtle in my efforts, because we didn’t become actual Facebook friends until the following October. (Facebook: The Ultimate Metric for Everything About Our Social Lives.) We became virtual friends, then met in real life at the RT Convention in Dallas the following spring. Let me tell you folks – we had an epic, nearly three-hour “coffee” meeting. You know when you meet someone and just immediately click? We had that. Toward the very end (I think once she decided I wasn’t a psycho stalker), Grace asked if I’d be interested in doing a duology with her. My answer?

Pride & Prejudice, Jane Bennett, "a thousand times, yes"

Fast forward to a year later and we did it! FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM comes out May 31! Dafne holding the crown of the Thirteen Kingdoms with the stained glass window behind herIt contains my story, THE CROWN OF THE QUEEN, which takes place in the aftermath of THE TALON OF THE HAWK and ends right where THE PAGES OF THE MIND begins, which is also out May 31. the pages of the mindGrace’s story is a stand-alone called THE UNDYING KING. 

Grace designed this fabulous cover for the duology and we released it last night to the interwebz with great joy. 

We exchanged the following messages:Jeffe: "I'm grabbing your hands and dancing you in a mad circle." Grace: "and I'm signing warbly and off-key"See why we like to work together?

At any rate, I’m so twirly about this joint project. I’m headed out of town for the latter half of May and don’t expect to be online at all, so Grace will be handling the last-minute stuff on this. But I’ll be back for release day! 

Moar dancing! Moar warbly singing!

 

May the Road Rise to Meet You

Jeffe and PatrickLast week I posted to Facebook that I’d heard that my Uncle Patrick died. It was quite a shock, because we’d been in tenuous contact for the last few years. I knew he was getting older, that he’d retired, but not that things had gotten as bad as they had. The last couple of times I talked to him, he got confused about who I was, mixing me up with the Campbell cousins from Nebraska.Mom and Me - Christmas 1971

Patrick became my uncle just before my seventh birthday. Many of you know my father died when I was three, my mother widowed at twenty-seven. For a few years, it was just the two of us. Then my mom met and married Leo Kennedy. He was my stepfather for thirty years, until his death in 2003. With Leo, I gained another grandmother, Francie, and my Uncle Patrick and Aunt Jane. I also gained those Nebraska Campbell cousins (Francie’s family) and assorted great-aunts. scan0004

If you’ve read my essay collection, A Report from Driver #3 is about the aftermath of Aunt Jane’s death in 2001. At that time we knew Leo was sick – and I mention it in the essay – but we didn’t expect him to be gone a short two years later. As Francie had passed away while I was in high school, that left Patrick the last of that branch of the Kennedys. 

Leo and Patrick had been tremendously close. Leo idolized his older brother and followed his footsteps into the priesthood, though he later left the church. Patrick remained a priest all his life, serving at various parishes around Colorado. He treated me as his own family. My growing up is littered with visits to whatever town he lived in at the time – fishing in Brighton, fiestas in northwest Denver, cross-country skiing in Minturn, near Vail. He attended most holiday dinners at our house. On Christmas and Easter, he would bring the collections from mass, as they were always the largest, and had us help count them to keep his numbers straight. Over those dinners, over many years, he and Leo debated politics, religion and the church. I learned more about Catholicism, both old and new, from the two of them – and also how to argue a point. Or even play devil’s advocate. With a father who died much too young of black lung, they leaned far left. Patrick famously got in trouble with the Archdiocese for his relentless defense of what he felt the church should be doing for the poor. 

I once blurted out that they wouldn’t vote for Jesus Christ if he ran as a republican and they agreed that I was absolutely right.

There wasn’t a question of church doctrine Patrick wouldn’t answer for me – even if it reflected badly on the church. With an encyclopedic mind and a lifelong love of learning, he knew the answers, could cite and quote extensively. Patrick and Leo both taught me to understand the difference between the religion and the church, the difference between personal faith and spirituality, and man’s institution on earth. Patrick gave me my first communion in Francie’s living room, but never bothered me about attending church. He lived his faith, embodying compassion. 

After Leo died, and my mother remarried a few years later, we saw less and less of Patrick. With my mom living in Tucson half the year, I made it to Denver less frequently. Then even less so when I moved to Santa Fe and when she later sold the Denver house. I sent Patrick Christmas presents, though he never much cared for material possessions, another way he lived his faith. Mostly I gave him subscriptions to Wyoming Wildlife and sent food baskets, as he always loved to eat. 

I tried to keep in touch, as Leo would have wanted, but Patrick didn’t seem to need me to. He kept busy with the church and his parish. When he retired to the Catholic Priests Home, they spoke of him with affection when I called. In the end, his mind went, which explained his confusion when I talked with him.

The funeral mass last week was done in grand style at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver. The Archbishop presided, along with many bishops and priests – many who remembered me from the years. They spoke highly of Patrick, and wryly mentioned his contentious politics. It was a good service.

I don’t remember much about Leo’s funeral. He died much too young, after years of struggling with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). His was not an easy or peaceful death and that was a hard time for us. One of those things you bear down and grit through. 

Somehow, though, saying goodbye to Patrick felt much like letting go of Leo all over again, too. I wept during the Eucharist, which shouldn’t be emotional, and yet somehow was. The core of faith, that bread and wine become body and blood, that we transform and move on. We say goodbye, but no one is ever truly gone. 

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.