DANGEROUS Release Day!!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

A special shout-out today to the debut release, DANGEROUS, for my friend Minerva Spencer! She lives in nearby Taos and is an amazing person who’s become a great friend. She is a Vegan for compassionate reasons – most of her earnings goes to feeding her zoo of rescue animals – and has had a remarkable series of careers. She’s owned a bar, a B&B, and has been a lawyer who did pro bono work for asylum applicants. Her interest in history along with her keen intellect and love of romance combine in perfect harmony in this book. 

Full disclosure: I read an early version of this book. This can be dicey in the author world – just because you like the person doesn’t mean you’ll like their writing. And this is Minerva’s first book, so I was cautious. Also, while historical romance was my gateway drug to romance, I’ve fallen off of it for quite some time. I’d gotten bored and the subgenre had lost its freshness for me. 

To my utter delight, I *loved* it! I loved it so much that I posted a review to Goodreads. Because it was on Goodreads and Minerva hadn’t asked me for a blurb or anything like that, I just raved about how much I liked it, in a chatty, irreverent way.

Shockingly enough, Kensington grabbed my quote and printed on the back of the book.

Just to clarify, it says:

“Georgette Heyer, BUT WITH SEX!”

 

For those not in the know, Georgette Heyer is one of the great lights of historical romance. She is Austenesque in the exquisite details of the manners she portrays. She is incredible at layering sexual tension into the polite restraints of the eras she sets her stories in. But I can’t read her books because she always closes the door on the actual sex! I end up so frustrated that I can’t stand it. That’s why I was so thrilled to find that Minerva tells a tense, mannered, intelligent story in the same way – but takes me all the way to the hotness I love. 

Whew! Is it warm in here?

Anyway, I’m highly amused that, of all my carefully crafted blurbs that I’ve written for fellow authors, it’s THIS irreverent and joyous burble that gets highlighted in all caps.

Says something, doesn’t it? 

So, this book is truly wonderful and I advise you to pick it up. You’ll at least be feeding a lot of animals!

Seven Pros and Cons of Trad vs Indie

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

The last of the light on the longest day of the year – on a hot and still summer evening.

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing. I feel pretty well positioned to compare and contrast the two methods (broadly – there are a lot of subsets and gray areas) of publishing books because I’m solidly hybrid. In 2016, my income was 40%/60% traditional/self-publishing; in 2017, it was the reverse proportion. Come on over to find out more!

Prisoner of the Crown – #1 Best Seller!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

So this happened. Super exciting! I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve hit #1 Best Seller on Amazon on my own. We did with AMID THE WINTER SNOW (which is no longer up for sale, though the individual stories are – mine is THE SNOWS OF WINDROVEN). Much of the credit goes to Monday’s BookBub ad and the .99 cent sale, but still! And the sale continues on all retail sites, so you can still grab PRISONER OF THE CROWN for that fantastic price. It should go back up any minute now, so hie thee on over for the clicky goodness!

Otherwise I’m working on a fast-turnaround new project. I know, I know – so many OTHER ongoing writing projects for me to be working on, but this one isn’t my fault! an opportunity came through Agent Sarah and it has a Movie Thing attached. I’ll tell you all more if it becomes an Actual Thing rather than an Exciting Possibility. Once I get this out, I’m back to THE ORCHID THRONE, and after *that* I’m definitely for sure finishing THE ARROWS OF THE HEART. I greatly appreciate your patience in this. I never dreamed it would be a year between it and THE SHIFT OF THE TIDE.

Where has the time gone???

I promise I haven’t been lying about eating bonbons and watching daytime television. 

Not that there’s anything wrong with that… 😉

 

 

Lake Sakakawea in twilight, thunderclouds overhead, last light glimmering on the water

Want to Improve as a Writer? Step One.

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Lake Sakakawea in twilight, thunderclouds overhead, last light glimmering on the water

This is Lake Sakakawea, up in North Dakota. We just got back from a super long road trip to there from New Mexico to spend some time camping, boating and fishing with family.

This week at the SFF Seven we’re asking: How do you level up as a writer? 

It’s a great question and I look forward to reading everyone else’s answers – but I’d like to address something else first. This question makes the basic assumption that all writers want to “level up” – or improve. And improving can mean a lot of things to different people. And first of all, you need to get your priorities straight. 

Worldbuilding: Political Systems in Conflict

Jeffe Kennedy / / Workshops

All works of fiction require worldbuilding. This is true even of stories set in the contemporary world because it’s impossible to replicate the complexity and detail of the entire world—the author must always focus and refine the details of the fictional world to fit the story. In science fiction and fantasy, we often create entirely new worlds, to the point where different physical laws, etc., might apply. Political systems come into play any time there are communities of people, and they often form the major conflicts in subgenres like epic fantasy, space opera, and military science fiction. In looking specifically at creating political systems in conflict with each other, we’ll explore how to ground the conflicts in the basic needs of people. This workshop starts with the standard needs of human beings (always the audience, if not the subject of the story), how political systems are constructed to supply those needs—and how the balance of power can be destabilized to create an effective fictional conflict.

Prisoner of the Crown

The Single Most Helpful Thing I Do When Stuck

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Prisoner of the Crown

Tuesday sees the release of PRISONER OF THE CROWN! There will be print (POD) versions available, too, but they won’t appear on the retail sites until release day, Tuesday, June 12, 2018.

 

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is: What’s the single most helpful thing you do to keep from being stuck in a story? Or how not to paint yourself into a corner. Come on over to learn what I do!