Tell me to stop. Don't you dare stop.

Tell Me to Stop…

B7Pird4CEAE8fM2UNDER HIS TOUCH comes out next Monday – yay!!!!

“…the core of the story is the development of a gripping and realistic relationship between two well-drawn characters.”

Publisher’s Weekly

“Kennedy’s novel has all the addictive tension and high-stakes passion that fans crave. Her main couple’s interactions are intense from the start, and she doesn’t shy away from either realistic details or dreamy fantasies. Best of all, she moves beyond their overwhelming physical passion to the emotions that drive them both, including the achingly real fears that threaten their happiness. As a result, this book is as touching as it is torrid. “

RT Magazine, 4 1/2 stars!

Preorder linkys:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/under-his-touch-2

https://play.google.com/…/Jeffe_Kennedy_Under_His_Touch…

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-underhistouch…

http://ebooks.carinapress.com/…/en/ContentDetails.htm…

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/under-his…/1120159551…

http://www.amazon.com/Under-His-Touch…/dp/B00MTGFACQ 

 

How Writing 1st Person POV Gave Me Boy Cooties

B7BLQj7CcAAaPBYYesterday, at #LERANM, my local RWA chapter, I gave a tutorial on using Twitter. We had a great time and the lovely and viviacious Katie Lane snapped this pic as I was talking. And gesticulating. LOL!

I’m over at Word Whores, talking about perspective – as in first, second or third person point of view (POV) – which works best for us and why.

Can Books Be Like Music?

B6sf4_dCQAAzIS-This time of year in Santa Fe, we can get gorgeously warm days. On Tuesday we ate lunch on the patio in shirtsleeves and the kitties stalked the restless gophers. Good times were had by all. Of course, today it’s cold, stormy and overcast, but I’m ensconced in my cozy chair with a teapot on the warmer and life is still good.

A funny thing – I use Tweetdeck to sort my Twitter feeds, to help manage the flow of information. I also have columns devote to searches for mentions of my name or of my book titles, so I can see when people are talking about them. A couple of my titles overlap with album titles – particularly THE TALON OF THE HAWK and COVENANT OF THORNS. I think this is kind of cool, that I title musically, in a way.

The upshot is I see conversations – and fan enthusing – about these, especially Talon of the Hawk by The Front Bottoms. I’d never heard of this band, but I impulsively bought the album so I could listen, since we have this serendipitous artistic overlap. I like it. And wow – do other people love, love, love this album! People tweet about it all the time, say how he listened to it over and over, sang all the song with her sister on a road trip and expressing all the love. They discuss how awesome this album is. And tons of them want to get tattoos of the knife on the album cover.

It just makes me think.

Readers do this to an extent, but not nearly so many and not to the same extreme. I think there are a few reasons for this. A lot more people listen to music than read books. In 2013, 76% of American adults had read at least one book during the year and the typical American reads five books a year. Compare that to the stat that the average American listens to four hours of music a DAY. An enormous difference, huh?

Also music is social in a way that books tend not to be. Listening to music can be a gregarious event, from singing while road-tripping with your sister to attending a massive stadium rock concert. Books, even if we discuss them at length, tend to be a fairly solitary experience with a huge internal involvement.

Still.

I clipped this quote from Kurt Cobain once, which I have not been able to find. It’s probably floating aimlessly around in some forsaken file folder. At any rate, it’s amazing because he’s talking to an author about how he imagines readings are like rock concerts, with screaming fans and a mosh pit. It’s kind of adorable, how mistaken he is – and also enlightening. I read it and thought, why CAN’T it be like that? Wouldn’t it be great if it was?

I dunno – maybe I’m dreaming. What do you guys think?

 

 

Hottest Heroine!

The Talon of the HawkSO excited that the cover for THE TALON OF THE HAWK totally won the Hottest Heroine Cover over on Addicted to Heroines. It’s such a great cover and for such a wonderful heroine, I’m just thrilled.

Coincidentally (OR NOT???), I received some fax pages yesterday from my awesome production editor at Kensington, Rebecca Cremonese. She wanted me to see the design and particularly the sword symbol in the line breaks. In celebration of this MAJOR WIN, I thought I’d share them here. Whee!first page

sword break Yeah, yeah – these are screen shots of a third-generation fax. Good luck making out the text. 😀 Come on – you guys know what a tease I am!

Speaking of teases, you can still register through today for my online workshop on Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation. You still have time to catch up on the first assignment, because it’s easy. We have a great group – 27 participants at this point – so come join in the conversation!

 

Virtual Appearances

 

Can’t make it to one of Jeffe’s In Person Appearances? Jeffe loves to Skype or Facetime with book groups to discuss her books, so feel free to contact her.

 

Workshops:

Here is a list of the workshops I’ll be giving. More information will be added when available. 

A description of the workshops can be found here

Identifying and Breaking Bad Writing Habits

Dates: JUN 2 -30th, 2020
Fee: OIRW Member $25| Non-Member $35

Keeping Secrets and Creating Suspense

Dates: AUG 3 -31, 2020
Fee: OIRW Member $25| Non-Member $35

Check back for news, or sign up for the newsletter

Want to book a workshop for your organisation? Fill in the contact form for more information

Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation

The workshop starts next week!

I’ll be teaching that starts next week. It’s for Outreach International Romance Writers on Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation. Non-members can register here up through the 5th. (As far as *I* am concerned, you can sign-up anytime, but OIRWA might not feel the same way…)

If you want to know a bit more about WHY I think transformation is key and how sex plays into that, I wrote a post about it.

Sex Workshop!

B6TQt4wCEAAPMqnEven in Santa Fe, winter can get frosty, keeping restless kitties indoors…and bored. Watch your toes!

I’m busily preparing the online workshop I’ll be teaching that starts next week. It’s for Outreach International Romance Writers on Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation. Non-members can register here up through the 5th. (As far as *I* am concerned, you can sign-up anytime, but OIRWA might not feel the same way…)

If you want to know a bit more about WHY I think transformation is key and how sex plays into that, I wrote a post about it yesterday.

A couple of people have pinged me on social media asking if this class would be good for someone who hasn’t written much – or any – sex before. The answer is yes. In fact, I think you could write any heat level and this class would work for you – just be aware that conversation will be straightforward and explicit.

And also really interesting.

In other news, THIS happened right before Christmas and I didn’t get a chance to mention it here. THE TEARS OF THE ROSE got first Honorable Mention for the RT December Seal of Excellence. The list of other books up for consideration are not in alphabetical order, so that’s how I’m taking it. 🙂 They said:

I had been waiting for this second installment of Kennedy’s fabulous Twelve Kingdoms series since I turned the final page of The Mark of the Tala, our June SOE winner. While Andi, our previous heroine, always doubted her worth, the same could not be said for Princess Amelia. Ami was the beloved beautiful princess, the crown jewel of the Twelve Kingdoms. And when she married handsome prince Hugh of Avonlidgh, it seemed like she’d already found her happily ever after. But The Tears of the Rose tears Ami down — and rebuilds her. After Hugh’s shocking and sudden death, Ami is paralyzed with grief and without direction. Pregnant with Hugh’s child, she is torn between kingdoms, seeking — ultimately empty — gratification in the idea that she is the human avatar of the goddess Glorianna. The irresistible White Monk, Ash, shakes Ami out of this grandiose, false vision of herself. He helps her find the real Ami – not a goddess, not a pampered princess, but a person of conscience. Kennedy does a pitch-perfect job of not only charting Ami’s belated journey into adulthood, but of making her love for Ash emotional and believable.” — Regina Small

 I know a lot of people (my editor, my agent, assorted members of my cheering section) were hoping this book would receive the Seal of Excellence as THE MARK OF THE TALA did, but I’m thrilled with this nod. I think it’s good for another author to experience the sweetness of being singled out this way, too.

Besides, being in the company of heavy hitters like Tiffany Reisz, Sarah MacLean and Eileen Dreyer is pretty damn awesome!

I was chatting on Twitter with Rachel Caine, whose PRINCE OF SHADOWS, is also an RT Book of the Year nominee. As one does. HEE! Seriously, she tweeted that she’d ordered THE MARK OF THE TALA and THE TEARS OF THE ROSE and was looking forward to reading them and I had a fangirl mini-meltdown. See, I picked up her first book, ILL WIND, back in 2003. For those keeping score at home, that was when my own first book – WYOMING TRUCKS, TRUE LOVE AND THE WEATHER CHANNEL – came out, which means I was solidly writing nonfiction then. It’s a serious kick to know SHE is reading MY books now. Also terrifying, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing.

Anyway, she mentioned that she’s going to try to read all of the Book of the Year nominees, which I think is a really fun idea. I might try to do this, too. We should have a book club and discuss! Hmm…

At any rate, welcome to 2015 – the water seems to be just fine. Best wishes to everyone in the year ahead!