Month: August 2019

THE ORCHID THRONE is available for preorder!

Jeffe Kennedy / / News

It makes my publisher super happy if you preorder *puppy eyes*

         

 

Welcome to the world of Forgotten Empires from award winning author Jeffe Kennedy that begins with The Orchid Throne.

A PRISONER OF FATE

As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…

A PRINCE AMONG MEN

Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?

Reviews

“The Orchid Throne captures from the first page and doesn’t let go as Jeffe Kennedy weaves a timeless tale of love and survival amidst a lush backdrop teeming greed and deceit. You will fall for Lia and Con and root for them with every breath you take. This is a book that will linger in your thoughts for a very long time.”- Darynda Jones, New York Times bestselling author

“A fantasy romance by a writer at the top of her game.There are two strands to this story and each is beautifully distinctive. The chapters portraying Lia, the virgin queen who protects her people from the ruthless emperor through statecraft and artifice, are lush and hypnotic. Those that follow the damaged Conri and his army of rebel slaves are raw and propulsive. Kennedy plays with these differences building tension so that when the two come together it is like a match to tinder. The world building is immersive and there are secondary characters to root for (especially fond of Ambrose, Conri’s wizard). I only wish I didn’t have to wait so long for the 2nd book.” – Maria Vale, author of The Last Wolf

Jeffe’s Earliest Writing (More or Less)

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is a challenge. I’m not sure who proposed this, but it goes: “Share tiny snippet from earliest writing of yours that you can get your hands on. This is kind of a dare, and also I’m nosy.”

It IS quite the dare because it’s kind of scary to show this super old stuff. Come on over to find out more about mine. 

 

 

My WorldCon 2019 Schedule!

Jeffe Kennedy / / News

Thursday August 15, 2019

What is SFWA and what can it do for you?

04:30 PM to 05:20 PM (50 minutes)

Join SFWA board members and staff to learn about the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, touching on some of the many programs and services it offers to traditional, hybrid, and indie writers.

Friday August 16, 2019

Autographs: Friday at 13:00

01:00 PM to 01:50 PM (50 minutes)

Introduction to SFF romance

03:00 PM to 03:50 PM (50 minutes)

SFF romance is as varied and creative as the speculative genre as a whole but, along with other romantic subgenres, has often been dismissed and undervalued. From shapeshifting billionaires to far future secret agents, vampire brides to Highland flings, this panel will provide a broad introduction to SFF romance in all its glory as well as providing a range of reading recommendations.

Monday August 19, 2019

Shifts in Irish mythology across the diaspora

01:30 PM to 02:20 PM (50 minutes)

Since 1700, more than 9 million Irish people have emigrated to other parts of the world, taking their stories with them. Do those stories change in the telling the farther they travel? Are the myths shared in Australia or the Americas different to those told in Ireland? The panel will examine Irish mythology across the diaspora and whether distance causes a romanticisation of the source material.

When the Algorithm Works

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Sometimes I buy my own books on Amazon. There are a few reasons for this, the primary one being that some publishers, like Kensington, never give me finished digital versions of my books. That means that the last version I’ll have of any of my Kensington books is the Word document where I reviewed copy edits. Yeah, I can accept all changes and make a reading version to send to my Kindle – and sometimes I do that – but the formatting is funky and there can be distracting errors. So, if I want to revisit one of my books and read it on my Kindle (like if I’m not at home to grab the paper copy, or if I want to search for something and not read on my laptop) then it sometimes makes sense just to buy the ebook.

Yes, it IS kind of weird to buy my own ebook.

But, I figured I get some of that money back in royalties, and it gives the book a bump in the Amazon algorithm, which never hurts.

So, I did this last week with THE TALON OF THE HAWK. I’d just finished reading Kennedy Ryan’s LONG SHOT, which deals with an abusive marriage (and is *excellent*), and it got me thinking about how I dealt with recovery and healing from sexual assault. This isn’t something I mentioned about THE TALON OF THE HAWK for a long time, because it felt spoilery, but the book has been out for enough time now that I think I can. The heroine, Ursula, suffered sexual abuse in her youth and wrestles with the scars it left behind. I wanted to reread what I did as a foil to what Kennedy Ryan did in her book.

It was an interesting exercise, and I learned quite a few things about my own writing.

Anyway, today, I got this email from Amazon with “Since you read THE TALON OF THE HAWK.” I get these all the time, as we all do, and I never open them because Amazon is always wrong. This time, though, I thought I should look, just to *see* what their AI thinks is like my book. Thus the screen shot above.

The Tessa Dare historical romance is a bit of an outlier – though I don’t care since Tessa is wonderful – but otherwise it’s pretty damn close! Go figure. And I’m pretty chuffed to be listed with Anne Bishop and Seanan McGuire! And Jessie Mihalik is my agent-sister and an awesome writer of SFR.

I’m over at The Romance of Reading Facebook page today, talking about The Magic of Books. I’m also doing some book giveaways, so come on by and chat!