Category: Blog

Getting Pounded – and Surviving

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

We had this massive hailstorm the night before last. We’d been getting evening rains, but this one turned black, with a pounding downpour. When you have a flat roof, like many of us here in New Mexico do, you really hear the rain come down, drumming just overhead. So, when the hail started, it sounded no different at first. But as it grew in size, it became sharper, heavier, more dramatic.

Then these started falling:

Let me tell you – when a chunk of ice that size hits your skylights? (and we have five) It sounds like being under artillery fire.

(Or how I imagine being under artillery fire would sound, since I’ve lead a blessed life and have never experienced such a thing. Actually, I’m pretty sure being under artillery fire probably sounds much worse and is far more scary, but I’m going for the dramatic analogy here.)

David and I kind of paced from window to window, staring out in awe. The desert ground looked like it was jumping with fleas, constantly in motion. The water shot off the roof canales with such speed and volume that it fell past the rain barrel catchments. And yet, they all totally filled anyway. We stared up at the skylights, fully expecting one of these missiles to rocket through.

Just amazing when something like that occurs and you just have to wait it out.

Mother Nature rules.

In the aftermath, we found that our grape arbor, which had been heavy with just-ripe grapes is nearly completely decimated. Grapes and leaves are two-inches thick on the ground. Other plants, like the Russian Sage, look like nothing happened. Our jelly feeder out front was battered to bits, while the agave below it appear untouched.Within moments of the rain and hail easing, the towhees and hummingbirds were out again, happily feeding. I have no idea where they sheltered.

This says something about resilience to me.

That and the fact that our skylights seem to be just fine. And that I’m contemplating making grape jam.

Climbing Back into Routine

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

I took this photo back on July 3. Apparently. I don’t remember taking it and was surprised to find it in my cache of photos to use.

But that seems about right – July was when everything seriously picked up speed. Although I note that I talked about my decimated writing schedule on June 19, alas. I was also in a heavy meme of Cute Kitten Pics for a while. There will be more of those to come!

Still, between work travel, conventions, graduation with family visits, I’ve been totally off my rhythm and ritual.

You all know how I am about my rituals.

~weeps for shattered rituals~

So, today, I’m climbing back on the wagon. Like a party girl after a six-week bender, I’m going clean and sober again. This means full rules of observing word count and writing time. Turning off the interwebs. Code One Writing Rules.

See, the rituals are there to create that sacred space to write. I’ve talked about this many times, such as here. For me, there’s a sense of building a wall around that sacred space. We all build those walls in different ways. For me it’s about a certain time on the clock, using Freedom to keep me from looking at the internet, playing particular music and enforcing word count goals. Once I’m in my rhythm, I can bend some of those rules, because I’m in the space. I don’t need to work so hard to create it.

But now, with my sacred writing space in rubble at my feet, I have to reimpose maximum measures. It’s like placing myself in solitary confinement until I can demonstrate better behavior. I know it will be painful at first and after that, the writing will flow again and I can take a few hours in the exercise yard.

On that note… see you on the flip side!

Believe in the Pantser!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

I’d like to introduce you to my friend, newly published author Branli Caidryn. He’s guest-blogging here today and publicly acknowledging how I, the wise pantser I am, know all!

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Finally! Published!

At least that’s what a lot of my friends are saying. I admit, my response is a bit more reserved—okay, I’m lying. It’s a bit more like; OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE I DID THIS!

For well over a year I planned and outlined my approach to going indie. It wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, for the longest time I was set on going traditional. No question. For years I was purchasing the Writer’s Market book and researching publishers and agents. The Query Shark site was practically the home page on my browser for all those years. Then, I changed my mind.

I can’t pinpoint what it was that made me go Indie. It was a combination of things—aside from the profit margins—what I really liked was the creative freedom. Granted, a few small presses now offer more creative freedom to an author than before, but it wasn’t enough. Once the decision was made, I started planning again. I changed course and before I knew it I was setting up a business and signing agreements with distributors and printers. It wasn’t easy. I learned a lot over the course of a year. But in all honesty, I wouldn’t have made it this far if I hadn’t researched and planned all this out. I just about planned out every month and set goals.

Oddly, for all the planning, outlining, and research… when the time finally came, it didn’t make hitting the ‘publish’ button any easier. I think Jeffe saw this. For as much as I teased her once on twitter for being a pantser versus a plotter, I couldn’t take the next bold step. The many passes, rewrites and edits couldn’t prepare me for the giant leap. I’d spend weeks going over every single marketing and publishing strategy, down to the day-to-day activity. In hindsight, my biggest error was that my plan had me trying a different marketing strategy every single day! What’s the problem with this? It doesn’t give time for any one method to work—much less see results. Plus, the contingencies weren’t in place to say what to do if one method didn’t work. I was simply busying myself with just about every known marketing approach!

In talking to Jeffe and trying to explain the reasons why I hadn’t set a release date, or why I wasn’t ready to publish—I mean really I was just floundering in the open trying to come up with a good excuse.

“Do it!” she said. “Hit the button.”

I have to say it was the perfect advice.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to have all the basic outlines and marketing strategies. But now that my book is out there, I can think much easier on my feet and take it one day at a time. There’s an overall plan, but it’s mostly a see-and-wait approach; and I think for someone who is just starting off, that’s okay. I’ve read many books on the proper book release strategies and each one was slightly different, though in some cases they contradicted one another.

Don’t pay for blog tours. Not worth it.

Be ready to pay for most blog tours.

Never do paid advertisement.

Never price at $0.99. You devalue your work and everybody else’s.

Price $0.99, but only for your first book, or a promo.

Never pay for book reviews.

Be ready to pay for most book reviews.

The list honestly keeps going. Like I said, I tried wrapping my mind around all this, planning things out for a few months. I’m sure I’d still be busy doing all this had Jeffe not come to my rescue. It comes down to diving right in, sink or swim, and see what works for you. I keep what I’ve learned in the back of my head as a general guide, but not as set rules that can’t be altered on a whim. Dare, I say, I believe in the pantser.

Phoenix Splinter (Book 1 in the Project Horizon trilogy)

Keith Groenewald is an escaped experiment from the top secret military known as Area Fifty-One. Veluz, a powerful secret society, helps keep Keith hidden from the government hands that demand his return. But everything has a price and his purpose goes far beyond what he knew. His creation and his role are other-worldly.

Currently available in ebook, with print becoming available by August 13th. 

 

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/phoenix-splinter-branli-caidryn/1112327990

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/208477

UK Site: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008R9DICI

US Site: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008R9DICI

 

Debut promo price for ebook:

US $0.99

UK £0.77

Promo price ends August 12th

 

Agent? Haz

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

So, I’m in downtown Atlanta this week – see? – working that day job.

I would make a Sixteen Tons reference, but I’m a numbers jockey and my grandfather died of Black Lung – there’s really no comparison.

But this is a Bright and Shiny Week for me. Because? Yes!

I signed with the agent. The one who chased me down.

(A girl likes to be pursued.)

After talking with the other agents and deliberating with friends. And Thinking. And Comparing. And DELIBERATING. I made my choice last night. I agreed (and announced!) that I would sign with…

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg

Associate Agent with the venerable Larsen Pomada Literary Agents.

What can I say? She wooed me and I couldn’t resist. She loves that I’m the bad girl of sultry romance. It’s good to be loved.

Kisses Pam!

 

Final Wrap-Up of RWA. Includes Dancing.

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Hey, it’s Friday, which means it’s my last day to wrap up the final two days of the conference. Which pretty accurately captures how it all feels at that point: fast and compressed.

First thing that Friday morning, I dragged myself together in time to meet several other Carina authors (Jennifer Bray-Weber, Adrienne Giordano, Ruth Casie, Rita Henuber, Julie Rowe) and Carina freelance editor Mallory Braus for breakfast with our Brenda Novak auction winner. We had a lovely time – including mimosas! Poor Joyce had managed to sprain her ankle the day before, tripping over tape at the doors of the keynote luncheon, and was a real trooper. She asked us for the honest dirt on writing for Carina and we all raved with the lurv. So much for dirt!

I made it back over to the convention in time to catch the tail end of Marcella’s workshop on using acting techniques to add tension and emotion into your writing. She even put me on the spot to talk about Feeding the Vampire, which she’d used early on as an example of starting with action. Hey kids – I’m an example! And not a cautionary tale this time!


Robyn Carr spoke at that day’s luncheon and did a marvelous job. She gave us her personal story, which is my favorite kind of talk. It took her thirty years to make the NYT Bestseller list, so she said she wasn’t inspirational to anyone. She so was. You might have seen all the people tweeting her best line: “Success is not measured by fame or fortune or power. Success is measured in moments of satisfaction.”

After lunch, an incredibly handsome man gave me a massage. He’d been set up there all week and, by this point, had three other handsome young men working with him. Brilliant business idea. I told him a lot of heroes would be modeled on him after that. He laughed but, after he finished, he knelt down and put my shoes on, which involved tying the ribbons around my ankles. He gave me a sexy smile and said how into those shoes he could get. Several women watching said they nearly swooned on the spot.

After more workshops, that evening was the Carina Press Author Cocktail Party. Always a delight. I made two new friends there, Cathy Perkins, who I’d vaguely known from Twitter before that, but never really talked to, and Monique Domovitch, a brand new author, who is also with fabulous Editor Deb. We hit it off so well that we retired to the pool bar for a glass of wine before the Harlequin party. Alas, Monique had signed too recently to go, but we had lunch the next day, where I think we talked for two hours. My favorite part of conference: new friends!

The Harlequin party was, again, awesome. Held off site with a tight invitation list, the party showers us with treats. Wait staff were lined up at the doors with trays of a special pink Harlequin martini. I may have had three that night… Which isn’t as bad as it sounds, because I danced and danced and danced.

The lead photo up top is from that party, showing one of my local chapter mates, Robin Perini, explaining something to agent Laurie McLean. And here’s Pam van Hylckama Vlieg, a junior agent with Laurie’s agency, giving us the Vogue pose.

Here’s the ever-vivacious Victoria Dahl, being unnaturally demure.

And Carina Press Executive Editor Angela James, with photo bomb provided by the wiley Andrew Schaffer.

And Carina Press Editorial Assistant Carrie Holden holding an incredibly earnest conversation with freelance editor Rhonda Helms.

Mallory Braus, looking deceptively sweet.

And the dancing, of course.

Hope to see you all next year!

Fantasy Romance and Professional PJs

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Thursday at conference ended up being Fantasy day for me. Not sure how that worked out, but there it is.

First thing in the morning, I met up with the agents for breakfast. Actually – before that I ran on the fancee treadmills at the hotel, which let me gaze out on palm trees. You know how I am about palm trees! In fact, I’m creating a blog label for palm trees. So there. I ran on the treadmill on Wednesday, too, and went to Starbucks for my skinny latte after. On Wednesday I had both the fitness center and Starbucks to myself. On Thursday? Whoa! I barely wedged myself in.

So, I already mentioned that this agent contacted me before the conference, to set up a meet to talk. The night before, a senior agent with her agency stopped by my table at the literacy signing, introduced herself, and said she’d be coming along for breakfast. It was very fun to meet up and hear what they had to say. I was joking with people that I wasn’t pitching at this conference – I was taking pitches. For all of you who have been in the trenches with me, being nervous about those pitch appointments, pinning so much hope on them, I’m sure you know how delightful this felt.

We talked about my favorite subject – me and my work – for an hour. Senior agent was great and said she’d be mentoring younger agent. And I really liked the gal who eventually said she was officially offering to represent me. She really groks what I write, which is the most important thing to me. Senior agent said she really sees Fantasy Romance as a genre on the rise and they’d like to make me the Queen of Fantasy Romance.

Hell, where’s my tiara?

Obviously this was a great way to start the day! I attended the PAN retreat and learned a lot of interesting things about the market. At the Carina Press spotlight, Angela James mentioned Rogue’s Pawn – and how Fantasy Romance is getting more attention. She, and several other people, said Rogue’s Pawn had been discussed at breakfast and there was lots of good buzz swirling about it.

Whee!

That night was the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFP). The hotel staff were just great helping us with this party – and seemed terribly amused by our costumes, as above. All the pics I’ve seen of that night so far are dark and blurry. Must have been all that magic in the air. We did a costume contest, the PRISM awards and had a fabulous time overall. Such a fun party, every year.

After, I switched into my pajamas for Harlequin’s PJ Party, which started at 9. I stayed to watch the Disney fireworks from our room, so I made it there a bit late. WHY I didn’t take pics, I don’t know! But everyone really wore pajamas and it was just a kick. They had candy – like M&Ms and cherry sours – and potato chips with warm blue cheese sauce to put on the side. I seriously felt like we should start making crank phone calls.

Tomorrow will be final wrap-up!

The Glamour, the Excitement – the Pools and Palm Trees!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

When I posted this particular picture to Facebook, my mom commented, asking what was with me, pools and palm trees.

What can I say? I’m consistent!

(But not a foolish consistency – fie on you hobgoblins!)

So, the second day of conference was still pretty laid back. The Wednesday of RWA is largely for special interest events. There’s the leadership retreat for chapter presidents and some of the chapters have “mini-conferences” and so forth. A lot of people were arriving that day. The big event is the Literacy Signing, which starts at 5pm. If you’re signing, you might consider getting there the night before, just for the frazzle-factor. Yes, that’s a real thing. Especially if you’re flying!

But I didn’t have a lot of obligations that day, which was lovely. After a morning of day job phone calls (necessary ebil), I hung out and socialized with the incoming frazzleees in the lobby and dropped by the Carina Press Digital Day session.

I know I tend to wax on about Carina, but this is one of the things I love. As a digital publisher, they’re committed to giving us the tools to deal with the digital world. In the conference room set aside for this, they had tables set up for various stations – Facebook, Twitter, Websites, Pinterest, etc. You could go from table to table, ask questions of the lovely, vivacious and charming Carina staffers and get personal lessons and feedback. I went in thinking I pretty much knew All The Things already and came out having learned several very interesting tricks. Those gals spent the entire day on their feet, too, coaching all of us. Just one of the many things I love about Carina.

My website designers, Liz and Sienna from Bemis Promotions, attended the conference, so Sienna and I had a late lunch and talked about the website. Since I’m handing out praise, I really like that Liz and Sienna are at RWA and know the pool I swim in. Makes everything so much better!

The Carina authors met up early for the Literacy Signing, to meet each other and for solidarity, and we all got helium balloons to tie to our chairs. You’ve already seen the pic of me at the signing.Here’s one of CP and roomie Marcella Burnard at her table.

I had a wonderful time – much better than I expected. I figured with all the truly fabulous and famous authors in the room, no one would notice little ol’me. Several of you have asked how I signed books, being Digital Girl. Carina put our books on CD, with this lovely packaging. I signed the CD covers like, well, a Rock Star!


Vivian Arend, who is so wonderful in so many ways, had “Autographed by Author” stickers for all of us first time signers. (She’d asked us to rais hands on Twitter.) Here she is at the Harlequin Ball, later that same week.

As I was leaving the signing, the lovely and so-smart Courtney Milan said she liked my jacket. (Told you she’s smart!) We chatted on the walk back to the hotel. Vivian and I sat at the lobby bar after that, having wine and snacks, and talking to the 50 bajillion people who walked by.

So, I’ve heard some of you making high-pitched noises about wanting one of those Rogue’s Pawn buttons. If you want one, leave me a comment here and I’ll email you for your address. Buttons for everyone!!

Whales, Dolphins and Why I Love My Twitter Friends

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

I arrived at the RWA conference early Tuesday morning, expressly to spend the day with my Twitter friend, Branli Caidryn.

Not that Twitter is good for anything but talking about what we had for breakfast. (Blueberry pancakes, thank you – with pineapple on the side.)

At any rate, Branli, whose sci fi book, Project Horizon, will be coming out ANY MINUTE NOW, picked me up at the hotel for a day of yakking about writing and to see whales. Now, I’ve been on a few whale-watching tours in my day. (You can imagine me saying this in a wheezy voice while you pretend you didn’t see me pour whiskey into my coffee mug.) I’ve been on tours out of San Francisco, Oregon and Alaska. I’ve glimpsed some whales. I’ve seen dolphins, too.

Nothing like this.

The morning fog burned off leaving us out on the water on a gloriously sunny day. And we saw blue whales feeding. Now, it’s kind of hard to see whales because, you know, they’re under water, duh. But you get pieces of them. That I tried to capture on my iPhone 4s, without dropping it in the water. Quite the feat, I’ll have you know. 

The video doesn’t capture how fabulous this was. We watched the whales feed for what felt like hours, their backs and flukes churning into sight.

On the way back to port, dolphins escorted the boat in.

Magic!

Afterwards, we enjoyed a fabulous lunch overlooking the ocean. Just the kind of thing I love.

Thank you, Branli, for a perfect day!