First Cup of Coffee – July 4, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

On writing first novels and going to the ARC stage too soon, why that can be a really rough thing to do to yourself, and other thoughts on competition, Taoism, writing, and life.



Laroche5, 2/19/21, 2:58 PM, 8C, 7850×10233 (121+197), 100%, Repro 2.2 v2, 1/15 s, R85.8, G60.3, B75.9

Transcript
00:02.45
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee.

00:14.83
jeffekennedy
Delicious today is Monday July fourth – the fourth of July everywhere in the world independence day and the US. But um, it’s um. It’s one of those funny. Maybe it’s like an american centrism thing but that we refer to it as fourth of July as if that’s the name of the holiday when it’s actually the date. You know how it goes so if you’re not on video. I could tell you that I am wearing my red white and blue. Well my skin is white I’m wearing red and blue wearing my red chilli pepper earrings. So those are my special celebration of New Mexico very glad to be living in this state. Um, so hope that it’s a good day for all of you. It should be pretty low key for us. Um, there’s going to be a parade here in our neighborhood at 10 but. I think I mentioned this they’ve changed it. So it just like goes around the parking lot at the community center which makes it rather less like a parade to me. Um, for safety I don’t really understand but not much fun to go watch. So. I’m gonna work today gonna get some work. He’s done and keep going on the book I did get some good good words on Friday so hoping to really start. Ah. Getting a consistent output here and then later today will probably go down to the plaza and hear some of the music and be around the people and stuff. Um I know Alex is a little concerned about being around people. So I don’t know. Who knows maybe we won’t do it. Um, they are going to England week after next so they want to be sure to stay join free until then and I think it’s funny. I even said to them last night I said but you’re here now you’re you’re here on vacation now doing a thing and I accept that that the trip to england was very important to them. So.

03:03.80
jeffekennedy
So I was um, excuse me I don’t know if this ah I want to mention something that I saw sorry I’m sort of messing around this because I don’t like to call out people in particular. Ah, but I did see something that gave me pause and I felt like I need to um, just say a few things about it because that’s what I do here. But I saw an author posting. That they had begun their first novel that they were 50 pages into their first novel and that they were looking for ARC readers ah and an ARC is an advanced review copy so when you are asking for arc readers that is the penultimate step to publication and putting it out in the world. You give people arcs with the intention of creating buzz of rewarding perhaps loyal readers of getting. Reviews getting early reviews. So yeah, so an arc is what you do when everything else is in place. Ah and sometimes it can be last minute. Like I will ah very often have the well for traditional publishing usually an arc goes out. Um, it’s the version right? before the final proofing. So. It’s already been through all the stages of editing. It’s been copy edited. But it just needs one more round of proofing and depending on the publisher. There might be several people who proof it the author goes over the page proofs. So ah, the arcs will often say on them. Um, uncorrected proof. Advanced review copy please do not quote without permission because there still might be a few things that change but otherwise it’s really really close to the final form. So if you are. And also writing your very first novel and congratulations. That’s fabulous and wonderful. Your next step is not looking for art readers your your next step should be looking for people to help with critique and.

05:52.70
jeffekennedy
And I understand the impulse to want to race right? to putting arcs out there for people to read but to me that the way it sounds like is if I said um I am building. My first kit car and I’m a week into it I’m about a quarter done and I’m looking for drivers to test it on the speedway I did spend some time trying to think of what a but appropriate analogy would be It’s um, it’s just not ready that you know if I’m building my my first kit car I could have the best instructions in the world I could have the most enthusiasm in the world that doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing it doesn’t mean that it’s ready to get tested on the speedway. The arc is the equivalent of testing the car on the speedway right? You’re seeing if it’ll you know before you actually put it in competition you know and I don’t like to think of publishing in terms of competition that’s something I’ve talked about a lot. Because I think it’s a well as a taoist I think competition is unproductive and actually counterproductive and I probably haven’t talked about that in a long time but I could um. I also take a lot of the competition in publishing is a false What’s the word I want there. It’s it’s just it’s not real I think people attempt to generate it because. Well some people feel competitive and then I think that there is a um I know a tendency for especially in american culture happy fourth of July um, there is a tendency to think that competition. Is good and that it brings out the best in people and I don’t think that that’s true. There have been things over the years where various um book bloggers and so forth would create. Like tournaments between books and encourage the authors to like trash talk the other authors and you know, attempt to garner votes I always hated those things where you had to like try to get votes for your book and you were supposed to you know people are like oh well, it’s all in good fun. You’re just supposed to have a good time. You know like.

08:38.10
jeffekennedy
Trash talking these other books and you know it’s it’s just to like get the books out there. Um, and I just um I never wanted to participate I never thought that it was it didn’t make me feel good. And I think that it it ittensified this idea that books and authors are somehow in competition with each other which is I mean just simply not true that you know if somebody reads one of my books and loves it and goes out there and says where are more books like Jeffie Kennedy’s I’ve read all of them. But can I read now then it’s great that there are other authors out there that have books to to satisfy them? Um, so yeah, that competitive thing is it I still can’t think of the word I want. It’s a false construct.

09:42.71
jeffekennedy
We go I had to go blow my nose tami looks like my lipstick still okay I’m I actually wearing lipstick since I’m doing independent stake colors. So anyway. Ah. We all have to go down into the drugs on competition. But. Give her I understand the impatience I understand the desire to get your book out there to get people reading it I realize that’s a lot of the the culture now with you know, social media and getting feedback and all that kind of thing that you really want that feedback. But. If. You’re a new author if you’re writing your very first book. Um, give your book. Ah a little bit of a chance because when you well if we’re going to extend that analogy if you are doing the equivalent of asking for race car drivers. To take it out on the speedway and tell you and they’re going to put it through its paces. They’re going to drive it as hard as they can arc readers are not necessarily going to be gentle with your first book. And that’s a pretty harsh entry. Um, find people who would be willing to read you read it for you and give you feedback not beta readers critique look ask for critique partners. Um. You know it’s I just think about some of my first efforts where I thought that I was so brilliant and I was so excited and then I would read it over and be utterly deflated because it it wasn’t good. It wasn’t what I wanted it to be. And you just have to get better. Um, and and you get better by doing a lot of it by doing a lot of it and by getting honest feedback. not not Reviews reviews aren’t critique. Reviews aren’t feedback. They’re not supposed to be so all right? We’ll leave that alone. Um I had fun yesterday we went out to breakfast to the tea house and then walked around kenyon road and Kelly and Alex really liked.

12:22.72
jeffekennedy
Seeing the galleries on Canyon Road I knew that they would. We went visited one of a couple of my favorite galleries the longworth gallery which has a lot of fantasy artwork I thought it was funny because one of the artists said they were featuring heavily. Um. They were really pushing the fact that it was metaphorical. Um and they even had like the owner was encouraging us or the manager you know like they got working there was encouraging us to read these screeds on the sides of the paintings and I know that I have been the one saying that I don’t like. Paintings that are untitled and people are like well that’s because you’re a word person. Jeffie and that’s like yeah but I didn’t I still don’t want that many words. Um I found the metaphorical art I mean it was very obviously metaphorical and I wasn’t quite sure why. We needed to be um, taken by the hand and really hammered about the here is the metaphor in my art now there has to be a balance there right? I I really I liked some of this artist’s work. But a lot of it was just I felt like way too heavy handed I liked the simpler stuff. Um, but it was still really fun to see I love going and looking at the fantasy artwork because it it gives me ideas and that’s always great and we went to another of my favorite galleries. Um Carol Laur Roche and so I brought out the postcard um isn’t that great Carol LaRoche does these wolves and other animals too. But for those of you not on video. This is a stylized wolf in red on a black background with red stars. And the wolf’s eyes are blue and glowing and there’s a real sense of both serenity and wildness to it. Maybe I’ll put that on the show notes. But I may frame this little picture I keep wanting to get a print from this artist. But they’re all like a thousand dollars for a framed print and that just seems like so much for for that. Um, yeah, well they were doing a 20% discount winter sale. But this is called. Under the red stars. Um, yeah so art buying art. So let’s see what else um.

15:13.77
jeffekennedy
I also saw a great um at that same gallery that has the fetasy artwork. They carry some um Michael Parkes stuff and they had a wonderful print of Michael Parkes that was called Morning that I really loved the feel of so that was fun to see and. Yeah So then you know we walked around till early afternoon and then I dropped them off again and I came home and I was virtuous and I balanced the books and pay bills and I still need to fit I started crunching royalties and I need to finish crunching royalties. But then I went back over and hung out for a while and drank wine on the portal. So that was um I don’t know kind of a good balance for the day right? and Saturday I don’t even remember. What did we do on Saturday is that funny I guess I mostly hung out. Yeah I think Kelly took the day down to to rest and recuperate and yeah, that’s right I did laundry I did laundry and I did a lot of reading. Um, finished reading this book that was not as good as I wanted it to be so here’s gosh. It’s another example in that I like this author this author has published several books so far. Um, self-published books. Um I found. Some of the previous books to be I mean they’re just not quite gellled yet and it’s hard to explain sometimes why a book hasn’t quite reached the point where I don’t know where it’s a keeper where it’s. You all know I hesitate to say things like assign qualities of good or bad to a book. But this author has a great great premises I really love how they set up. Relationship between the lovers I like the attendant fantasy world. But then it ends up being you know I grow bored reading it because the one thing that. I notice in a book. That’s not as gelled as I would like to see it is that the emotions the emotional intensity don’t seem to arise organically from the characters and I think that some of that is just again.

18:02.23
jeffekennedy
Writing more spending that time writing maybe getting the critique but you know when you get the hair the character sort of exploding into rage or exploding into passion where it hasn’t been built up I read to. I read to 78% and it was sort of to the point where some of the romance had been um, satisfied they I’d gotten a couple of sex scenes I’d been waiting for this author write sex. Well so I had. I’d gotten to that. But even then it wasn’t it just wasn’t quite built up to and I wish and I do try to turn off my editor brain when I’m reading for pleasure. So maybe if I read it again I would find where it’s not quite building up. But at that point it started to feel like. Mostly set up for the sequel and oh and I just wasn’t invested I just didn’t care that much. There didn’t feel like there was enough emotional tension there enough suspense. So yeah, so that kind of left me dissatisfied and now i’m. I’m looking for another great read. So I not that I don’t have hundreds of books in my tbr. But if you’ve read something amazing lately? Um I could use I could use an amazing read I think I’m still coming down from my. Glomming of that other author where I went through and read all of her back backlist and she’s very good, very polished author so it was hard to compare on that. But yeah, give me your Rex I want something I want a good. Emotional ride I might have to bounce out of um, fantasy romance for a little while and try some other things we shall see something with good characterization. All right I am going to get to work on my own. Characterization and emotional tension and I will talk to you all tomorrow if you’re in the us I hope you have a happy independence day thinking good thoughts for the state of our country and I will talk to you all tomorrow you all take care bye bye.

First Cup of Coffee – July 1, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

A bonus podcast today because our outing was canceled, so I’m talking about why I find the tour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s winter home and studio a mystical experience and why I think all creatives should do it.




Transcript
00:01.25
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee.

00:14.42
jeffekennedy
Ah, sheer bliss today is say it with me friday. Ah, woo woo July First happy New Month rabbit rabbit we used to have this superstition that my mom taught me um that if you say rabbit rabbit. Um, the first day of the month None thing that you say when you wake up on the first day of the month that you’ll have good luck for the rest of the month and then my mom eventually decided that it actually created bad luck and we stopped saying it a long time ago. She’s to be much more. Superstitious that she is now Jackson is out here with me this morning and I’m having to keep an eye on him because he is um he is pushing his boundaries like it’s like having a None ar old kid around. And he’s a mature cat. You would think that we wouldn’t have this but um, he has been trying to go over the wall. He’s been trying to take advantage of this recent freedom of being allowed out here by going over the wall and yesterday he. Did he went on an excursion I think maybe Kelly didn’t realize she shouldn’t let him out and we thought he was sleeping somewhere and he showed up on the front porch all tired because he’d been on an excursion and now he thinks that that’s what he gets and I’ve been telling him. No. So forgive me as I keep an eye on him. So I thought I’d made a mistake yesterday when I said talk to you all tomorrow because I blaatedly realized that I wasn’t going to be able to do a podcast today. Because we were going up to Abiquiu but then below and hold here I am because we ended ended up not going had to cancel. So um, yeah, it’s too bad. Ah, the the tldr is that Kelly is not feeling well so we pulled the plug on the excursion which is the the saddest part of it is that these tickets are difficult to get and I got them I don’t know.

02:58.48
jeffekennedy
three months ago um they’re booked up till August at this point so there’s no no getting new ones I’ll call the place when they open at eight thirty it’s um an hour a half drive away. Um. Jackson no, he went over the wall all right kitty retrieved sorry for yelling in your ears. He is um, thought he was just gonna have a little escapade.

03:45.75
jeffekennedy
David’s pulling the car out I was like no, what’s happening so much activity today. So anyway, we were going to go do this tour of um, Georgia O’Keeffe’s winter home and studio in Abiquiu. And this would have been like my fourth time I love to take creative friends there and I recommend it if you’re in the Santa Fe region and you’re any type of creative. It’s so worth going because this is where she lived towards the end of her life and she set up this house. Exactly as she wanted it I want to say the latter half of her life. Um up until she had to move into. Um you know, kind of assisted living in Santa Fe when she was very old and declining last couple years. So. Because she was a visual artist. The house is set up with these beautiful windows that capture specific ah swatches of landscape. it’s um it’s like to me this is the pilgrimage. You know it’s like I could take her leave. The the chapel at Chimayo if um, you know I’ll take people to see that if they want to. You know you can go touch the holy dirt as it were um that has no mystical significance to me. Being in Georgia O’Keeffe’s home her studio. Her garden is um that for me is the mystical experience. It is I don’t know there is a there is a vibe to it. There is an energy in the air. There is a. Ah, purity to it that I find it immensely moving. So I’m disappointed that Kelly and Alyx won’t get to experience it. We also had a day passed to Ghost Ranch but that would have been just sort of knocking about and seeing some of the landscape we didn’t have like the the horseback ride or anything. So um, yeah, that’s too bad. It would have been a fun excursion I really wanted Kelly to see it but she woke up this morning. Saying that she’s sure she has strep throat I really suspect. It’s the the dryness of the climate here I could be wrong. It’ll be interesting to see but she went ahead and made an appointment with urgent care. For first thing this morning. So yeah, she um.

06:28.60
jeffekennedy
She did she kept saying oh well because we were messaging Alyx was messaging me Kelly was messaging me um and she kept saying oh well you and Alyx go and I was like you know if you’re sick enough that oh excuse me. Little bit of a burp there unexpected didn’t even feel it rising up so please excuse me. Ah, yeah, you know I was like you know if you’re sick enough that you have to go to urgent care. Then it’s probably a really bad idea for the 2 of us to be a 2 hour drive away while you’re alone in a city. You’re not familiar with David is here but um. You know and he could have been on call but know and I know that that can be the sickness stocking to sometime I remember being um with one of my colleagues there. We go what’s being weird. Ah, being was one of my colleagues when I had the day job. She was sick with a terrible terrible sinus thing fever um lungs oh she was bad off and we were in Atlanta and we’d been on a long trip where we um. Did Atlanta first and then we were going to fly I can’t remember exactly how we were going to do it but we had to spend the weekend away from home and then the next week in like North Carolina and I think we were flying into North Carolina on Saturday and. It was like Friday afternoon. We’d finished most of our work pouring pouring rain. Ah and it let out the whole time we were there. It was um, it was winter time that cold and dreary atlanta rain nonstop so heavy all the time. I had to go grab my water.

08:53.52
jeffekennedy
Ah, so much better coffee doesn’t always um quench the throat when it feels dry right? So anyway, this story ended up being long this here’s versimilitude this is like me trying to tell you a single story. As all sorts of things are going on at the restaurant. But um, so she was feeling sick. She was worried about having to fly because her ears were really stopped up and we had finished work early and one of the people we were working with one of the local epa guys found a. Urgent care location for her. Um, right off of the bart station so that we could because of course we had no transportation so that way we could just hop on the train and go there and ah, you know be right? there. And then get back on and get back to our hotel which was also very near it was near that downtown Bart station. Very fun, kind of vintage hotel so we left the Epa offices went to the bart station which I think was like right below the building and she turns to me. She’s so sick and she has big puppy dog guys and she says would you go with me and I was like no it was totally my plan to just like push you onto the appropriate train and say good luck out there I would like. Course I am coming with you anything else would be completely irresponsible. So but that’s how it is when you’re set right? You don’t always I don’t know you feel so pitiful right? So it turned out well she she got the serious antibiotics. We were able to delay the flight by a day so that it was long enough that the doctor said that she should be okay to fly without rupturing her earrums which was a concern. They’re a miracle cure. So anyway, I’m hopeful that they’ll be able to get Kelly fixed up. They’ve got another week here. So many fun things yet to do holiday weekend here in the us and well really in Canada too because that’s part of why we were going today is that it’s Canada day because they are um, working while they’re here particularly Alex who has a. Full time job.

11:27.30
jeffekennedy
Just kind of a scattered moon around here now. David’s out here in the garden look. It’s Stephan. It distracted me so exciting. Garden news is our lily blossom bloomed so beautiful I took a photo. Yesterday. It’s not yet open this morning cause it closes at night. But I’ll put that on the show notes so that you can see it and so yeah holiday weekend. Um, no big plans for the weekend. Otherwise we’ll try to assure canadian visitors a little bit of um. American fourth of July fund. They interestingly asked me if there would be military flyovers and I was kind of confused by the question at first and I was like well no I mean there would only be like air shows at. You know and that would be if you like went to one

12:29.77
jeffekennedy
But apparently in Canada and Canada day they have like military demonstrations and it made me realize how in the us that’s really not a thing like our parades are um, we have veterans and we. Have like emergency service vehicles and that sort of thing but we don’t include military equipment in our fourth of July parades. It’s not anywhere I’ve ever lived I don’t know if it’s different where you are but I was telling them about that. That’s part of why it had been such a um. A big freakin’ deal when Trump was elected that he wanted to have the um military parade for his inauguration that shit he’s such a shit and he wanted to have like tanks. And the pentagon put down its foot I don’t remember who it was or how but they said no they said that there has never been and and I was trying to qualify what never was you know like maybe not since the civil war but that there have never been. Military vehicles on us civilian streets in all of our history and it was a good start now. Even if Trump does think that he’s putin and some of these gp conservatives fancy themselves Putin. I take that you know that is one of our our last lines in the sand that I hope we hold to that. Um, we are not a military government and we do not parade military vehicles. Through the sky or the streets or the waters if you’re near water. Um, it was interesting to think about that and think back to all the parades that I’ve seen Ah yeah I mean certainly sometimes you might get like national guard troops marching but not. Like full out military right? so ah so yeah it should be a late back weekend. Maybe we’ll go get to do some fun things shop around and that sort of thing hopefully Kelly will be feeling better Alex is off today because of Canada day. So. I said that I might um, be able to meet up with them later and take them to do some things since Kelly will probably be sleeping and so forth. So I have my writing day back. Unexpectedly so that’s kind of a bonus for me.

15:18.63
jeffekennedy
Very excited to get that.

15:23.62
jeffekennedy
Excuse me.

15:29.57
jeffekennedy
So um, yeah, and so bonus Podcast My mom was sorry that I didn’t get to go and I said yeah but hey bonus podcast for you. So I’m gonna. Dash inside and call the Georgia O’Keeffe museum to let them know that we’re not coming. Maybe someone lucky person will be able to use the tour tickets. So I Hope you all have a wonderful weekend holiday weekend or not wherever you are. Hope you get to do some fun things perhaps make some pilgrimages to some illuminating spots.

16:13.66
jeffekennedy
And um, yeah I will talk to you all on Monday you all take care bye bye.

First Cup of Coffee – June 30, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

How I’ve been learning to use TikTok and other thoughts on keeping up with technology. Also damaged protagonists, how Romance treats them differently, & potentially selling Bristish rights to Prisoner of the Crown.




Transcript
00:02.42
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee.

00:14.58
jeffekennedy
Um, wonderful. Ah today is Thursday June thirtieth last day of June. It’s very exciting isn’t it so exciting I had to set up again. Um, yeah, so here we are at the end of June halfway through 202022 I probably said too many 20 somewhere there didn’t I no wonder the transcript can’t figure out my numbers It’s choking on my coffee a little bit there excuse me.

00:54.94
jeffekennedy
So here. We are um what do I have to report I don’t know. Ah my allergies are finally receding I’m feeling much much better and. Although occasionally still coughing a little bit much much less much less than I was and my voice is better I think so um, so yeah, ah. Been working on shadow wizard I nearly said storm princess and that’s not correct. Is it ah something that I have finally gotten to on my list is is the ticks on the talks the Tiktok. Um, you know it’s really hard when you get to be a particular age. A woman of a certain age so that awful that we even say that um and you become aware of like. how how much technology you have witnessed. Um you know and it’s funny to me because I’m you know I’m sure it annoys the young people. It is the job of older people to annoy young people anyway and one of the ways that. Is traditionally done is to talk about how things were different when you were their age but you know I find it very interesting I’m I’m somewhat absorbed by the fact that my beautiful mug this beautiful mug that I got for christmas. Handle is starting to detach at the top I picked it up this morning and it’s like crack through. So if I tug on it. It actually separates which I know the answer is don’t tug on it but can I trust it to hold um is there anything I can do. Um, you know there’s the which it feels like it’s become ever so fashionable to mention now the japanese art of Kintsugi ah where you repair breaks and fill them in with gold and or make the the breaks decorative. Um, another way to look at it is visible mending. Um my friend Mary Robinette Kowal is really into visible mending and posts about it occasionally where you fix things but you don’t attempt to conceal the fact that they were broken instead you make.

03:39.98
jeffekennedy
Fix be decorative in some way and I don’t know if there’s a way to do it on this? Um, but I really love this this mug and I’ve I’ve been handwashing it people which is a big concession. So I don’t know what to do. But it’s interesting because in the essex serpent which I was talking about the other day that I I gave up reading it like um, 62% because I don’t know it wasn’t making me happy I wasn’t enjoying it. I could kind of see where she was going but and I went and read some of the reviews and I would review this one myself except I don’t like to post reviews of other authors’ work. That’s critical instead I just rant about it here to you all because you keep my secrets. I know it’s like it’s not like this is it public but I don’t think Sarah Perry is going to seek out my little podcast and if she does it’s on her right whereas I feel like ah posting a review is a little bit more putting it in her lap I thought the book had a lot of early promise and I noticed a lot of reviews said that. Because I was compelled from the beginning and one of the things that I loved is the damaged heroine, Cora – is there anything more compelling than the damaged heroine or hero damaged human being and and she references Kintsugi um because she had this horrible sadistic controlling husband. Um, and and I almost kept reading to find out more about that except I was starting to feel like she was never going to tell me any more than that. Um. Which is kind of a thing that I think literary fiction does um as opposed to to romance that maybe romance will go to these places that that other genres won’t because it’ll go in and delve into. Um. People’s feelings and their scars and how they overcome them in a way that other genres sort of stay away from when I first was writing prisoner of the crown I was working with a critique group of mainly. Science fiction and fantasy writers which I thought was going to be just fine because in many ways prisoner of the crown is one of my few books that has no romance in it at all. Um, this series ends up going that direction but prisoner of the crown itself is more or less high fantasy.

06:26.63
jeffekennedy
Um, and for those of you who have not read it. It is about a young woman being forced into a cruel and sadistic marriage and she is also treated very badly by her mother. She’s basically groomed to be I hope this isn’t spoilery, but. Um, she’s basically groomed to be a victim ah from a very early age she is subjected to treatment from her mother who has long range plans for her daughters this political alliance to make her into. Kind of person who will accept what she later must endure and in some ways it was interesting to do because in some ways her mother. Um, while awful. Her mother is is simply repeating the generational cycle she is repeating what was done to her. And and in many ways she feels like she’s doing what’s best for her daughter because she’s preparing her to endure and she doesn’t see any other paths for her daughter but there’s some stark stuff that happens at the beginning of the book because I really wanted to show. How how these how a particular victim is created and I remember that the other people in the group actually all the guys one other woman in the group did not have this reaction but the other guys were all like whoa. This is really dark. This is really brutal and you know should you really show all of this. And it’s like you know this is what some women’s lives are like you guys. You know how how precious are we going to be I was frankly taken aback that they were so squeamish about it. They’re like well maybe have the mother be a little bit less cruel and. Okay, but so ah reader I did not take their critiques and I know that that book is hard to read for some people because it is um, does explore so much of that. I believe I have recently sold um u k rights to that book. Although Kensington didn’t actually tell me um because why would they tell me it’s only my book that is sarcasm in case, you need the sarcasm emoji I find it really irritating that publishers. Ah, don’t bother to tell us these things. Um, but they sent me money they sent me what appears to be a advance. It says. Um, it’s weird I shared it with doranda when we were working yesterday.

09:16.35
jeffekennedy
The sort of the check memo from Kensington says BristishAdvSign anyway those are all capped so it looks like british advance signing so like my signing advance only why is it bristish and and I asked Darynda what she thought and she said oh that um Bristish is near Britain. So. It’s not quite Britain but it’s bristish. We were amused. Ah thank you for the person who ah commented I believe on Instagram longtime listener and lurker Thank you explaining that, yes, an effort is being made lately to specify authors as being english. And they pointed out that we don’t refer to like welsh authors or scottish authors or Northern Irish authors as british so we should then specify english authors as english so. Good to know. So anyway, that was a winding path to get there. Um, so yeah, kind of cool that prisoner of the crown will be published in the uk in brist dish I have no I worked I idea on that. I was corresponding with the financial gal at the literary agency because agent Sarah is on vacation good for her until next week so Sarah will be able to exp explicate further. Um, so so yeah it’s interesting that that little trilogy chronicles of des area is seeing the translations because it’s also been translated into check and the checks gave it perfect colors. Gorgeous covers the covers. It should have had all along um, piss me off, no end. The way Kensington punted on those fucking covers and then tried to and then my editor who I loathed and is now gone. Um, she was awful. She would lie to me all the time she would blow sunshine up my skirt you know and she would by like flattering me flattering me in a way that um. I mean was obvious I mean she would just any time I questioned anything she would start telling me what a wonderful writer I am and it would be like okay am I supposed to just like fall down on my knees and start sucking now sorry you guys? um, show me crazy and she’s like well this is very expensive art.

12:08.17
jeffekennedy
And it’s like I can recognize clip art when I see it anyway. I keep um, diverting off topic here. So I was talking about technology and I got totally off on other things. Let me finish the thought on technology ah because I do talk about how when I was in high school I learned to program in dos and now the thing about technology is it keeps changing and my very first website I programmed my first website and. I knew how to do html programming but then it keeps growing and changing and after a while you either have to devote yourself to keeping up or hand it over to other people who have time to keep up. So. Every onces a while you know like what somebody says oh well, you know it’s so easy to learn this. You could do this yourself and I’m like yeah talk to me after you’ve been doing that for 20 years you know after a while you just you have to c seed certain territories. So I’ve been learning tick talk um playing with it. Which I do think is one of the best ways to learn things and it’s the way that we learn things when we’re young the way that kids learn things. Is you play with it because you’re not afraid of doing it wrong. You’re not afraid of breaking it and as you get older, you get more worried about doing it right. Which is unfortunate. So I’ve just been trying to take some time to play with Tiktok and share some things. So I think I’m clumsy at it. But I’m getting better and it’s been fun going and finding. Wonderful videos people have been making about my books and sharing this so that’s been a kick and if I lost other points along the way please remind me um, sorry. If I edited this podcast. We would catch those but since I don’t they are um, lost lost to the wind and the dregs of the coffee. So I can’t remember if I had a point how did I get on to prisoner writing dark things. Oh The Essex Serpent. That’s right and Kintsugi. That’s it um, that there’s I was very very intrigued by this marriage where the husband tells her he wants to break her apart and mend the cracks with gold and.

14:49.10
jeffekennedy
I wanted to know more about that and I finally decided I probably wasn’t going to find out more and that it wasn’t worth it shen a lot of themes in there I think um and this is probably uncharitable. The whole review is uncharitable. Um, you know she got to this whole thing about. Housing crisis in London and I don’t know I felt like she was trying to make it be an important novel you know with capital letters and trademark and I don’t know I wanted to know more about the woman whose husband tried to break her apart. And men the cracks with gold and what that made her into and I felt like at 60 to 65 I hadn’t found out nearly enough about it and I was finding out way too much about the housing crisis in London and so. So I bailed I don’t this all came from trying to mend my coffee mug. Um or thinking about mending it. Alas.

16:04.17
jeffekennedy
So um, I had another thing I wanted to talk about and I was trying to decide if I had time time to address it. Okay I thought about it. Um. I’m not sure I have complete thoughts on it. That’s why I’m not sure how long it would take and I I do remember it from last night even though I didn’t write it down I went out with my friend Kelly Robson and we did some shopping and I even found a birthday present for me which is not till the end of august. But I texted my mom about it and said what if I found a birthday present and she said get it. So I got it and have it set away so that she can wrap it up. We have to talk about how you want to do that mom but um and we had drinks and we got takeout and took them back to her wife, Alyx, and sat and had pizza and then I got home and David had been watching five hundred days of summer which I remember vaguely seeing the first time I liked it well enough that I bought the soundtrack but I think a lot of us went into that movie thinking it was going to be a romance. And it is decidedly. Not I did not remember it was Joseph Gordon Levitt in it which is why David was watching it because he really likes that actor I remembered it was Zooey Deschanel I remember how that whole thing about the manic pixie dream girl came from that. And I understand the criticism more because um I would like to watch it from the beginning again because David and I kind of came away from it disagreeing on it I felt like she had been kind of unkind to him. Um, that she had let him on and and David said no he wanted her to be something that she couldn’t be interesting so we don’t often swap like swap sympathies gender wise that way. So now I kind of want to watch it from the beginning again, but the script I was reading in the trivia. You guys know I’m always ah scrolling the I am db trivia as I watch your show. Um that the screenwriter had written it. About a specific woman that he even calls out in the credits Jenny Beckman bitch um so it’s always questionable right? when you.

18:52.98
jeffekennedy
Write about something that is a deeply personal experience and I think that especially as new writers we have a great tendency to make the protagonist be an avatar of ourselves. Um, maybe it’s because it’s like. That’s a story. We have to get out or we just don’t know better. It’s interesting releasing Rogue’s Pawn now because that was um, out soon right? Thank you all for all the preorders I should include those I think it is in the show notes. Um, but that was the none novel I ever wrote and the ah I mean the protagonist is a neuroscientist who accidentally ends up in Faerie and was absolutely my avatar. In fact, I even gave her my name and a lot I gave her my dress I gave her a lot of my same characteristics and I felt very clever at the time not realizing as so many newbie writers. Do. Is we think we’re very being very clever and we’re actually following a very well-trod um, unfortunately so path. Um, it’s like we have these blinders on and we don’t see how many people have tried this path and the other writers going. Don’t go down that path. Which is why I don’t totally hold things against Sarah Perry because she’s still a new writer. So even if she says things like I want to create the first female monster villain. Um I just. Shake my head and say oh you sweet summer child because she’s thinking of her predecessors as Daphne du Maurier and Mary Shelley and is apparently oblivious to the entire world of genre fiction because literary writers think that. Those books don’t count. There’s a grand tradition of that too. Um writers like ah Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro thinking that they have invented genre. Because somehow all the other genre being written is beneath notice and that they’ve come up with something really interesting like Ian McEwan talking about that he was going to write about artificial intelligence but he wanted to write about how it was affecting society not in terms of like ah.

21:38.25
jeffekennedy
Space Boots with rockets on them. It was really that Bad. It’s like you have no idea how much thoughtful, really wonderful and entertaining stuff has been written about artificial intelligence Anyway, I’m running out of time. So I think I’ll just stop there if I had a point I probably didn’t make it. But you all will forgive me and feel free to poke me about it because I will definitely talk to you all tomorrow you all take care Bye bye.

When You’re Caught in Author Drama: 3 Steps for Extracting Yourself

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Monsoon rains in New Mexico bring green green green!

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week concerns Author Drama. We’re asking specifically if we think it’s idiocy or a PR campaign.

So far the opinions this week have run to proclaiming it unwise at best and idiocy at the baseline. I don’t disagree. I’m not much for drama in any aspect of my life, so I go to lengths to avoid it. Those of you who’ve followed me for a long time know I’m all about balance, that – as a practicing Taoist – I’m forever seeking the middle path and a place of equanimity.

That said, sometimes the drama finds you.

As with all of life, we are walking a fine line with author promotion. We put our books out there, and we put our SELVES out there, because the author is the brand that readers follow. When we post photos of our lives, our likes, our pithy observations, and so forth, we are doing it because we WANT attention, right? If nothing else, we’ve been trained by social media to court those clicks and likes and followers, in the hopes that they translate to book sales and readers.

But we only want positive attention! you might say. Well, yes. Still, there’s always the chance that a bid for attention can go too far and tip over into negative attention. These things aren’t always controllable. When I see the latest kerfuffle and readers lining up on sides, it’s easy for me to sit back and feel smug that they’re not yelling about ME. I also have to be honest about myself and realize that they’re not talking about me either. It’s easy to declaim drama when you’re not noticed at all.

What’ most important to remember is: most authors who find themselves mid-drama did not intend to incite that level of reaction. What’s happened is they handled it badly. They don’t have the professionalism, the emotional maturity, the support network, the sheer ability to control themselves, to back away.

That’s what it takes. The common wisdom holds, should you find yourself propelled into drama:

1) Step away

No matter what anyone says, you are not required to respond immediately. It’s almost always better if you don’t  respond until things have cooled. This includes not looking at what people are saying.

2) Apologize

Don’t entrench. Don’t argue. Don’t try to convince everyone that you really are a Good Person™. If you don’t know how to craft a good apology (which admits being wrong, makes no excuses, and includes real resolve to change), get help with it.

3) Don’t fan the flames

Resist the urge to respond further. Stick to your statement and apology. Don’t succumb to the lure of attention by stoking it just a little more. Actually do the work to correct what you did to upset people.

What happens with some Author Drama cases is that the person in question becomes so enticed by the attention that it all feels good. In extreme cases, it becomes their brand. It’s a choice, but not always one that serves the books and the storytelling.

First Cup of Coffee – June 28, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

I’m exploring a topic that’s been on my mind lately: the delicate line a creator walks by including racist, misogynistic, or other kinds of hate in a work and still make it clear that they don’t agree with it.




Transcript
00:02.97
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee. Um, who ambrosia today is Tuesday ah June 28 almost done with June ah halfway through the year right? hope that it is um. That that feels good to you I think I’m all right with it. It seems soon. But I think I’m also all right with it. I am also all right with the fact that it is not raining which I feel bad about saying oh if you’re on video. There’s an Isabel siding behind me. She’s out here with me in the secret garden this morning. Poking around is it. She pretty. She is a blue smoke Maine coon cat and I really wanted that coloring and she has lived up to it. She’s our sixteen year old girl. So yes, um. Being grateful for the rain happy to have a sunny morning can coexist right? I can I can be both things. Ah, the rain’s been fantastic. It has also been amazingly nonstop. Um, just not like us at all. Ah yesterday I had to record inside because it was pouring rain and then I muffed up the recording so apologies for no podcast yesterday. Um, so it goes sometimes right. so um so yes it’s wonderful. Free water falling from the sky. It’s it was cold. It was downright chilly and um and yeah, no sun for it for days which is unusual for us. So. I can I can be in this happy place of happy that the sun has come out happy to be back out in the grape arbor if only temporarily because we’re to get more rain and my Tucson family is envious that we are getting these monsoons. So I will continue to be appropriately grateful. So um I had a busy few days. My friends being here visiting we had um, just some wonderful.

02:41.33
jeffekennedy
Touristy type escapades doing all the things they arrived right on time on Friday so um, everything went smoothly and I took them american shopping for. Them being canadians that’s what they wanted to do was go to a department store I took on Saturday I took them to Kohl’s so they could go American shopping which I feel like is not one of the sights of Santa Fe but they were very happy. Oh and I should say for those of you on video you may have noticed. This beautiful globe. Um, the the staff at SFWA um, Kate and Terra sent me this beautiful Mova globe with the irises in it. We should move this up so that you could see it. Oh. That’s probably a little close but give you a little if you’re on video you can see the irises isn’t that beautiful excuse me.

03:54.10
jeffekennedy
Yeah, so they gave me this beautiful globe. Um, it moves with the earth’s magnetic field makes it turn. It’s like magic. We’ve. Given them to other people like at the nebula award ceremony. We gave one to Mary Robinette Kowal in thanks for her past service as president and gave her the moon but I didn’t know that they had non-planetary ones and it’s incredibly thoughtful of Kate and Terra knowing that I don’t necessarily care about the planet ones. That they gave me this beautiful ah irises and I’m just I’m just thrilled and they also sent me a treat box full of um things from Hawaii Terra who lives there sent me that so I got things like. Macadamia nets and um, little pineapple candies and all of that and so they’re very sweet and I was I was incredibly touched. Um, excuse me still dealing with allergies I think it hasn’t helped that it’s been so cold and damp. But um, they’re finally working out of my system just getting the drainage out now. So um, things to tell you oh one thing that I did with my friends AlYx and Kelly was so on Sunday morning we went up to Ten Thousand Waves which is this gorgeous japanese spa. And we ah in Santa Fe sort of on the mountain above Santa Fe it’s a great place to go. It’s just um, the peacefulness in the air and we soaked in the hot pools we were rained on but it was still ok. I’ve been there when it was snowing being rained on in the pools is. Less romantic but it still worked and we had wonderful massages that melted our bones and it was um it was it was a lovely day very relaxing and we ended up canceling the party I was planning to have that night because rain it was just too much deluge even though it did clear up a little of that evening. It was just too wet everywhere and it was cold. You know it was like in the 50s so we um I knew everyone would want to be crowded inside.

06:32.61
jeffekennedy
And my house is too small for that. Maybe next time I have to go check Isabel be right back she did want to go back inside so that was good. Um, so what was I saying oh so at town thousand waves they you know they have the big soaking pool and they also have a sauna and so I was sitting in the sauna to dry out my sinuses and there was another gal in there. Ah, who was very um. Was the right amount of talkative not intrusively talkative but invitingly talkative and she said it was the first time that she had shared a sauna with a stranger since pandemic which you know it’s like it’s funny how we note all of these little milestones right. So but she was interesting because we were just talking about various things and she said she works at the bookstore at St John’s which is the um I think it’s a liberal arts college here in Santa Fe unusual teaching method I’ve I’ve always been very interested in what they do at St John’s but she said she um runs the bookstore there manages I’m not sure exactly but something along those lines which of course they have a bookstore there and it hadn’t occurred to me to ever go there but I was like I should go there. And she said she also runs a bookstore part-time in Berkeley seems like such a very interesting person and I said well that I approve of approve then I like bookseler type people because I’m a writer and I’ve talked about this before like how do you reply to. People who say things like as soon as they find out, you’re a writer they’ll say ask what do you write which is marginally better than have I heard of you. Um, and and I’ve learned to reply to those questions by saying are you a reader so that that way I can kind of drill down to what conversation are we having here. Um, because most people are not readers and they just want to know if they’ve met somebody famous which in my case, according to their bubble of the world. Not so yo it was funny I’ve talked some about all the really cool people that. Megan and Charlie’s wedding ah one of the gentlemen there who was really just um, delightful to talk to as soon as he found out that I was a writer that that was how I knew Megan and that I’m current president of SFWA he said so he said so you’re famous and I said.

09:22.87
jeffekennedy
Within a very narrowly determined bubble. Yes I at least am my name is recognized and you know like what is fame what is art who am I and. And he said yes, but within that bubble if I told people I was sitting here with you. They would be impressed and I was like I don’t know about impressed but they would know who you were talking about always working against the ego stuff. So this gal. Just said that that was really cool that I was writer and I said yeah that um, you know that I’m making my living doing now which is something I you know feel very blessed to be able to do. There. We go. So um, yeah, it was so a nice conversation and so then later as I was getting ready to leave the pool she was soaking again and she waved at me and she said um. What’s your name so I can look you up so I told her and I thought that’s a nice way to handle it and I don’t get that response very often. But I said to David I thought that was part of her being professional and he said no I think it’s just her being an aware human being. Was like well maybe so but I thought it was interesting. A note right? So I’ve been both reading and watching The Essex Serpent which is a 6 part mini series on Apple Tv um recommended by Megan and Charlie – Kelly and Alex had also started watching it and tapped out but after episode 3 – and they told me I would see why and I understand why they did I’ve only watched through episode 3 and I’ve been reading the book at the same time. Because I was intrigued. Um, author is Sarah Perry who’s an English author. So as an aside I’ve noticed lately that people have been saying English like um Neil Gaiman they say English author and Sarah Perry They say English author whereas I would have knee jerks said Eritish um is this a change or is this just me not being very aware before? Just curious. You know it could be that it’s a a clarification because.

11:58.63
jeffekennedy
You know like United Kingdom what does british mean maybe it’s um, you know one of those language shifts we’re saying are we not saying british anymore or are we saying british only in particular circumstances I need to ask somebody who is English. Why that is so anyway. Um I’ve been reading this book and I am conflicted I’m I’m at 62% so I like it well enough that I keep reading it but I’m also not. Exactly enjoying it. The author has made certain choices. Um that I that I do find do I want to say problematic. Um, one thing that she does because it’s set. In Victorian England is that she uses a lot of references that would have been in common use of the time and I know this is something that we debate about that we don’t want to whitewash the past and pretend that. People didn’t speak in certain ways. But for instance, she uses the phrase multiple times multiple times like it 3 at least now. Um, and I think it says something if you use a phrase more than once.

13:30.24
jeffekennedy
Well want us I was trying to spare you my coughing but I think I can spare it for you spare you from it anyway, um, she uses the phrase. Chinese whispers. So. It’s a like a game of Chinese whispers whispers which I can see that she can’t use telephone which we would say today but I feel like that that is is is racist right? You know it’s um. It’s it’s an uncomfortable phrase to use and yes, accurate to the era. But do you have to put it in a book written in 16 is when it was published and I feel like no there are other things that she does that she wants to show you know like the. Position of women. Um I saw an interview with her where she says that um feminism didn’t begin in 1970 it began in 1870 which I thought we all knew but you know maybe that’s an english perspective. Um, and I don’t know it’s so so here’s a thing and and this has been an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with some of the writer coffee people too particularly Jim Sorensen and to the point that he and I have been texting examples back and forth to each other as we encounter them that there’s a great difficulty in portraying an attitude that we do not sympathize with. Accurately or vividly while at the same time somehow communicating that we don’t agree with it and something that I’ve seen a lot of newbie writers do um and I recall one vividly from like a contest or um, critique. Where the book began with a very racist character saying really terrible things and none of the other characters called it out and and several of us tried to explain to this author that you can’t just have. Ah, character saying these things because it sounds like it’s being put out there as truth and she was saying well she’s trying to show that this is a bad person and it’s like yeah, but then you have to show that they’re not a good person and it’s it’s a delicate line to walk interestingly enough.

16:18.60
jeffekennedy
This particular author. Um I found out later is a Trump supporter and therefore I’m I’m sorry you know if you disagree with me but I feel like this goes this is a truth ah therefore is racist or at least. Believes in the supremacy of white people. So it’s like well so all of that protesting was actually just protesting and not real right? which is which is another thing right? When people. Want to put things in their work that is racist or misogynistic and pass it off as being oh that’s just what my character thinks. It’s not what I think and it’s like well then you have to show us that. So one of the things that Jim and I have been talking about in particular um and I did not know this was that the Rolling Stones song Brown Sugar is about slavery and apparently I just never listened to the lyrics I am. Ah, very very late to this party but Jim told me that and you know because basically I only listened to the chorus right? You know it’s brown sugar. Um, and it’s a Jaunty song and it’s a sexy rowdy fun song. Well apparently the Rolling Stones have taken it out of their rotation now and. Ah, Mick Jagger wrote it in the mid 90 s and it’s um, but if you look at the lyrics. They’re awful you guys it’s um I’m trying not to say you guys people they’re awful people um they are um. You know about whipping black women and white men having sex with black women who are slaves. That’s what the brown sugar is it’s not loving black women. It’s black women as slaves. Maybe you all knew this I you know one those things that song had always been in the background and not. Something I’d listened to so they’ve taken it out of their rotation Mick Jagger says he wouldn’t write it the same way today Keith Richards who co-wrote it says he doesn’t understand what the big deal is and that he thinks they should still play it I think Keith Richards is also notably an anti-vaxer It’s so weird to me how these things just March along hand in hand so we were talking about this like Mick Jagger said that it was supposed to be um.

19:04.71
jeffekennedy
Speaking against slavery against Black slavery. But there’s nothing in the song that that shows that the narrator of the song disapproves of it. Ah, and there’s nothing in as Jim pointed out nothing in the melody that it is a very jaunty happy. Sexy song so that makes it seem like the narrative is okay and we were comparing it to or I brought up the comparison jib wasn’t familiar. Um Billie Holliday’s Strange Fruit which is about Black people being lynched right? and the strange fruit hanging from the trees and so we were using that as a comparison that strange fruit makes it abundantly clear that this is a terrible awful horrible thing but the song’s written all in these minor chords and the. Lyrics make it clear that this is a terrible awful thing. So I think you have to be really careful when you want to show that something is terrible. It’s ah it’s a delicate line to walk. If you want to put a character in your books who is like a tyrant or so forth. Um, you have to make it clear that everybody recognizes that they’re a tyrant and that they’re awful and sometimes. You know, like readers might complain that it’s over the top I think I would rather go on the side of over the top than um, then let it be thought that this is okay so um. This is the thing I’m thinking about a whole lot lately when you show a society and and this is something Sarah Perry is doing a whole lot. She’s put a lot of themes into this book and she said in this interview that I read with her that she wanted to show. Um. Boundaries between faith and superstition. She has a vicar in it who is played gloriously by Tom Hiddleston in the show but that he is also a rational man. Um I’m not sure it’s working. The other thing that’s not working and I’m going to get into Spoilerville and then sign off. So if you don’t want to know now it’s a good time to sign off but they call it a romance and she’s kind of fallen into the syndrome of authors who think that they’re smarter than.

21:49.72
jeffekennedy
The bulk of the genre. So she’s said things like um oh that she doesn’t really believe in the strong female character. Ah which you know that can go either direction but she’s also said that she really wanted to write um, a female monster because there had never been a titular female villain. And I was like never really? But um, yeah, but that’s not having an awareness of what’s being done in other parts of the genre other than like literary right? and you know she’s talking about. Daphne du Maurier and Mary Shelley you know and ignoring the fact that there’s a whole lot of stuff being written out there. That’s maybe like not important enough to notice stuff that ah you all read and write. So. Where was I going with that. Oh the spoilery thing the romance the vicar is married happily married and the wife is in the book and I find the love affair between the vicar and the ah main female character. Ah very compelling and and that may be part of what’s. Ah, drawing me along is that I’m very interested in the merging of their personalities. The friendship that they’ve built. But yeah, it’s um, you know the wife is dying of consumption and it is a it’s a violation of the. Of the romance tenets. It’s walking a line that that she probably is not aware exists because she’s clearly not a romance right? or right? she’s a literary fiction person. So. That’s a lot of thoughts for today. But that’s ah all what’s been on my mind. Let me know what you think I always enjoy it when you guys let when you all let me know what you think and I will talk to you all again on Thursday you all take care bye bye.

First Cup of Coffee – June 24, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

A firedrill from my agent had me going back through really old writing files, so I’m reflecting on what I observed – how my file organization has changed, how my writing has changed, and how what I once thought was SO CLEVER… isn’t.




Transcript
00:01.10
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee.

00:14.00
jeffekennedy
Ah, delicious. Um today is oh you know what today is say it with me friday! June Twenty Fourth one more week left in June then we’re halfway through the year how did this happen to mystery.

00:47.12
jeffekennedy
Um, so um, yeah, things are going well here today’s an exciting day for me taking my friends Charlie and Megan to Santa Fe airport to go on their trip to Italy lucky them and picking them up at 11 so I’ll have a little bit of a strange morning. Not quite my full writing day. But it’s a special occasion and then I pick up. It’s funny because their plane goes out and. My friends playing come in Alyx Dellamonica and who is also L.X. Beckett and Kelly Robson ah arrive at um, like 11:45 in Santa Se a very small airport. Um, so um, it’s it’s exciting. What’s funny is is they’re going to do the same thing on the return departure. Um, so I’m beginning to wonder if maybe they’re like. Superhero alter egos of each other that they can’t be in the same place at the same time. And um, probably take Alex and Kelly out to lunch because I think they’re not going to have time to eat. They got up very very early toronto time Kelly messaged me a good morning at one thirty my time so three thirty Eastern time but they were at the airport and left at um 7 my time the plane departed they have a pretty tight connection in Denver and then it’s just a real short hop from Denver to Santa Fe so I suspect they will not have eaten except for airplane food which probably doesn’t count remember when they used to like serve you full meals on the airplane like you’d get those kind of like what was even before microwaves so it was like I don’t know how they did it like steam. Heat or something that it was um yeah like those sort of Tv dinners. It was like being microwaved but you’d get the meal on the plane is that dating myself this last time flying it was um.

03:23.22
jeffekennedy
It was a bit more like normal times it was um, you know you could get alcohol on the plane you could drink and it was um it was american. And both of them were fairly short flights so we just got like cookies, cookies or pencils. Um, I wonder if they will go back to offering things like the you know the box lunches and that sort of thing in July I am flying to um, um, to to Reagan national airport. Via atlanta I think on delta so I’ll be interesting to see um, all it some resuming travel again seeing people right? kind of cool. So um, it’s a pretty morning here. We’re supposed to have a relatively sunny day and then more rain coming in tomorrow. My allergies. You can hear um my allergies are going crazy with the um desert. Pollen kicking into bloom it’s the ah the up and downsides of monsoon love to get that rain? Um, but then the grass pollen really kicks him.

05:03.59
jeffekennedy
Was trying to get this to pause but it won’t I have weird connectivity this morning I was just going to clear my throat a little bit so you guys didn’t have to hear it. There. That’s better.

05:25.80
jeffekennedy
Ah, all right? So um I made progress on shadow wizard yesterday I’m nearly at the end of scene one. It’s a lot of banter. But ah, but there’s adventures to adventures plus banter. Can’t go wrong there right? Um, judgment jeron is pretty hunted and tormented I haven’t quite figured out what all his deal is but yeah and I got to do a scene that um. I’ve never gotten to write before and it’s it’s a somewhat cliche scene we’ve seen it in various movies. Um, and I asked to rinda I said this is this too cliche the scene I just wrote and she’s like no I love it and I’m like It’s a classic for a reason right? and she said yes, absolutely.

06:27.50
jeffekennedy
So um, the other thing that happened yesterday was I got a message from agent Sarah on a quick turnarounding seriously quick. Um, quick like she needs this from me next week and I don’t normally I try not to check my email but everyone’s well I check it on my phone because I only get one kind of email on my phone. It’s one email address and it’s um. Only some people have it and it’s it’s for important stuff like that. So I saw the email from Sarah saying quick turnaround so I went ahead and read it. Um, and it’s kind of a cool opportunity. Course I cannot tell you about it? Um, but it’s um, yeah, it’s a work for hire thing and I needed to pull a pitch together for her and it involved going through like a lot of old material. So that was really interesting. It had been a long time since I have gone back through the dregs of um, it’s not the drugs. The archives doesn’t the archives sound happier the archives of when I was a baby writer I mean we’re talking. Mid late 90 s people people is also a good alternative to you guys? Um, so um so yeah it’s funny because. Back in the day. Um it the way that I organized my files on the computer and this is someone who you know I’ve been using computers most of my life I started learning how to program and dos when I was a sophomore. And high school I think so on ah those little boxy mac computers and we could program the pixels you know pixel by pixel to create graphics. Um, it was really um, it was terrific experience. I learned a lot about. Computer logic and how to assemble a program. Um, in some ways I really miss I mean I know I can still go to dos command but there were ways that we could manipulate the computer then that windows actively prevents us from doing now.

09:20.19
jeffekennedy
Um, so I am ah oh well, the way that these files were organized because my um I worked for my career type job right? Sorry I’m coughing so much. I did take an at homeme covid test and it came out negative I think this is just allergies I don’t have a um I don’t have a fever or anything like that. It’s just just a little croupy. So for a whole lot of my early writing career I also had my environmental consulting career and I would use the same computer for both um later I got my own computer. But especially because um, well we’re all aware of you know, like the ah the day job subsidy on your ah passion career right? Where you you know you send in reply to emails. During the workday and during slow times at the day job I would do writing stuff but I was very careful to keep those files separate and so I had um you know like ah. It’s funny because I created um a folder that was called like work file only I called it a work file so it would be at the top of the sort because back in the day you couldn’t do like reverse alphabetical sort so it was called a work file. And that was where I kept all of my personal files and then I had jeffie personal and within Jeffie personal was writing and within writing I had subfolders and it’s. Funny to see this now because of course now I have things organized by by like series. So my current file organization is you know, like generally by series. Um. And then I have subfolders for the various books and now I have for editions. Um, so like for covenant of thorns I have the 2022 editions because we’re going to be releasing them I think I’ll put the rogues pawn cover on today’s

12:01.18
jeffekennedy
Show notes I think I haven’t yet. Um I’ve been having fun making reels though I’m getting closer to to Tik to land. It’s fun to choose the music for Them. So. Then I thought of things differently and it’s interesting to me to see the shift in how I thought about my work So back then I had these folders that were like um. Have to think of what they are now they were drafts.

12:47.50
jeffekennedy
Published and ping pong were the 3 main folders published is obvious as soon as something got published I would move that subfolder into the published folder. Um drafts had a couple of subfolders that were um. In progress and finished so finished were the ones that I’d actually completed it whereas the inprogres were fragments or things that I felt like I needed significant work on and then ping pong. Which I’ve talked to a lot of mentees about and I’ve probably mentioned on here was I got this advice very early on with sending stuff out was to treat it like a game of ping-pong so you ah send out a query or a submission and when it came back and this was. Days of snail mail very much later and and then it merged there was this sort of transition where there was some via email and then it moved entirely to email but there were like still a few holdouts. There were still some places that would only take place things by snail mail they’re all gone now they dive out with the dinosaurs. Deservedly so um, but. The the way that ping pong worked was it. It took away that um, playing going by. It took away that onus of or the it’s not really an onus. It was. I don’t know that burden that terrifying burden of like having to send stuff out again. You know it’s like oh my god I got rejected instead. You treat it like they fired the ball back you got a volley it back and so I would have things ready to go. So. A lot of things in the ping pong folder are were never published. They were finished and never published so when I went back through all of this old stuff I I belatedly thought to look for ping pong because there was one night that I was thinking I know I have this somewhere and I remembered what it was called and it was ah an essay that was a series called grooming lessons that was actually a series of poems which one of the few poems um that I wrote professionally you’re like.

15:21.63
jeffekennedy
Since my angsty high school poems but it they won me a poetry fellowship from wyoming arts council which I always found kind of ironic. Um I never won the fellowship for my essays or my fiction. It was for these poems. And I only wrote these as poems because I’d been trying to write them as an essay for so long and I couldn’t get them to work and a friend of mine who was a poet um Paisley rectall who’s kind of famous now. Paisley and I were having coffee and she suggested trying to write them as a poem instead and it it worked. I mean yeah, it worked so but they were never published. So now I would like what I’m going to do is take them and break them apart and turn them into something fiction because it was one of the ideas that Sarah liked so it was funny. You know like I went back to these to that drafts folder and and I’ve got multiple iterations one of these days in my spare time I need to go back through I’ve got everything in Dropbox and I’ve got to go back through Dropbox because I have things. Repeated like I have that writing folder in like Jeffy personalel and I have it in other subfolders because I was so paranoid about losing stuff, especially when I finally left the day job and everything was going to be on my computer and I no longer had access to. You know, like the well I used to do like those tape backups remember those things before the cloud. Um so i. And sorry got all distracted thinking about the ah ah, it’s such a monumental effort I just and ah, who knows maybe I will never do it I just go ahead and pay my twenty bucks a month to Dropbox to keep multiple copies of all of my files forever. But they came in handy at this time. Um, yeah so I’d gone back and I’d found like the in-progress stuff and the fragments and I have multiple different places where I have like story ideas and so I put all of these down into a document for Sarah and she went through and. Picked out some stuff so it’s kind of kind of cool to resurrect some of these things. It was funny to read some of my early stuff from the mid 90 s um, there was one set of.

18:06.30
jeffekennedy
It was like these 3 pieces of of flash and I don’t remember if we called it flash then maybe we did but the idea they’re just like 350 words each 3 of them and I thought maybe this would work for this project that I could tweak and expand. Because I always liked it. I remember it having a very fond great fondness for this and it was called um 3 fairy tales showing a morbid fascination with feet I have my themes so it it was funny to see that I was thinking about this stuff even then it was the red shoes. The Twelve dancing princesses and Cinderella. And I remember them as being very witty and snarky and they are kind of snarky um, almost unpleasantly so and I was not nearly so witty as I thought my self ah not nearly so clever as I wanted to believe. And kind of read these and I’m like I thought that these were I’m like at last I can resurrect these things that I you know I was ahead of my time and said all these very interesting things about misogyny and fairy tales and how women are punished punished for their feet and um I don’t know. Maybe the kernel of the ideas there but these were not the jewels that I recall them being alas, so um, but there were some some jewels and it was very interesting to read these things from when I was. Trying out my voice when I was experimenting with different prose styles um trying to show different things. Um, yeah. Yeah, so I’m glad I have multiple versions of all these old files. Um I will be no harper lee where they dig out the manuscripts to publish after I am gone in a brazen attempt to cash in on my reputation. Perhaps someone will but you guys these things are not going to to rake in many um I just don’t see it so anyway. Um I got that back from Sarah and so this morning I need to punch them up a bit I can do it over the weekend but it’s gonna be kind of a. Busy, fun-filled weekend. So I may not have a lot of time. So I’m gonna do that this morning and um at least get them started so that I can go back and punch them up some and also work on shadow wizard. But then.

20:55.72
jeffekennedy
I’m out of here go doing airport runs and fetching friends so it was actually a good place for me to get this emergency thing from Sarah you know like if she had sent this to me two or three weeks ago when I was in the um panicked depths of trying to finish storm princess. There would have been no way. But right now I’m doing well on track for um, for shadow wizard. What am I doing I like made air quotes really what I want to do is knock on wood so I should do that knock on wood. But um, yeah, yeah. So all right I’m going to go get to work I hope you all have a wonderful Friday hope you have a wonderful weekend I hope you get to spend the time with dear friends. Um I have not seen Kelly and Alyx since August of 2019 in Dublin. As it were I don’t know not as it were ironically enough oddly enough when we were at world con in Dublin. So um, coming up on almost three years since I’ve seen them in the flash. So yeah, it’s really good to be able to. See friends and be with them again and I hope that you can have some of that and I will talk to you all on Monday you all take care bye bye.

First Cup of Coffee – June 23, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

Changes in language and what’s acceptable in a culture, and making the effort to keep up with the times and not be THAT person. Also, the pitfalls of reader magnets and some thoughts to take into consideration.




Transcript
00:00.62
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee. Um, delicious. So today is Thursday June Twenty third a lovely rainwashed morning. I woke up around five and it was pouring rain. But now if you could see on video the sun has come out and we’re supposed to get warm today yesterday was cool. We never got above like um, f cloudy all day. Which was just fine. You know it’s delightful. Come a little bit froggy this morning. so um so yeah it’s we’re supposed to be up to F today and my friends arrive tomorrow. Kelly Robson and Alyx Dellamonica also known as L.X. Beckett are going to be here for like two and a half weeks oh that’s not good getting little dribbles on the laptop I’m gonna have to figure out something here because. There’s drips coming down from the grape leaves above I know I don’t have to tell you to hold on. But I’m telling you to hold on there. Yeah, if you are on video you can now see the the Jameson logo on my green umbrella which I now have. Propped somewhat um, unbeautifully over the keyboard to shield it from further drippings I spent a little bit of time fussing with it trying to come up with a better system and then I just decided this was gonna be a. So what? if this would work actually that works doesn’t it. Yeah all right that works I moved it sort of out of frame and it’s still good enough to shield the keyboard that’s actually in simple and elegant solution. Unlike. Many of the several tried um all right? So let us ah recommence with first cup of coffee here under the dripping grape arbor ah um, so let’s see.

02:45.40
jeffekennedy
What’s going on I’m getting back into the groove writing Shadow Wizard um I got 2000 words on Tuesday but I did not yesterday. Um, it was just a. Distraction day that seemed to be a lot of um I just wasn’t concentrating well I did come back from my trip tired I think tired from traveling I think you know that’s been one of the great. Realizations of the pandemic right is that traveling is exhausting. Um, it’s the the breaks right? Um, yeah, being in airplanes being in airports. Um, yeah and I got my sleep. Schedule all disrupted on the way there because of travel shenanigans I ended up not getting there I didn’t land until close to midnight eastern time at least it was only like do 10 my time which if you guys know me. I’m trying not to say “you guys” did I tell you that I am um well’ll finish that thought that ah no I lost the thought oh just that I got all disrupted. Yeah and if you all know me. You know that I am um am an early bird and early to bed at least these days. so um so yeah one of the. Things I’ve been thinking about and conversations that we’ve been having you know is and part of it comes out of some of the stuff that happened at nebula conference and um, whether or not older people should be excused from using. Language that has been determined to be offensive since their youth because wanting that people so come back and say older people who are in their seventy s and eighty s is you know when I was younger. This was a polite term and it was perfectly fine to say this and even when we try to explain that well times have changed and it is no longer a polite term and has not been considered a polite term for decades. They tend to entrench and.

05:31.10
jeffekennedy
What to argue the point rather than change and I realize change is hard. Um, but one thing that I was talking about with my friend while I was on this writing retreat is we were just talking about some of the recent changes in languages in language and what’s considered. Appropriate not and she was not aware I told her which is something that one of my friends told me that it is no longer appropriate to use the term master bedroom or master bathroom because it implies masters and slaves and which is. You know what it came from right? The master’s bedroom and realtors are now saying primary bedroom and bathroom and so we were trading these things off you know, talking about another one I learned recently. Um, is that it’s not considered appropriate to say homeless anymore that people are saying unhoused which to my ear sounds like pretty much exactly the same word, but this is my initial reaction right? This is you know would somebody tells me something like this I think well that’s just dumb. Ah. Why is it better to say unhoused instead of homeless. Well there are reasons right? So and I do not want to be in 30 years you know creeks don’t rise maybe one day I will get to be fetid on a panel and be there with starry-eyed young writers are excited to meet me and I do not want to be the older person who. Carelessly uses a word that is offensive to people that is harmful to people and it requires keeping up with the language. It requires keeping up with the politics. It’s not easy, but it’s something that i. Absolutely assigned myself to do it. My friend was feeling the same way. It’s like we have to be able to keep up with this. So for me, the new project is to lense you guys from my language which hurts my heart people. Because I am a child of the rocky mountain west I grew up saying you guys as a gender neutral term. It has always been gender neutral in my vocabulary. Um as I used it.

08:19.66
jeffekennedy
I use it on this podcast I’m sure all the time. Oh little moth is caught in the water here you’re gonna get out.

08:32.39
jeffekennedy
There’s some standing water on my table here. So I fished the moth out and put it over in the plant in the Sun. So its little wings could dry out. Yes I was also that kid who. Fished mods out of the swimming pool and put them up on the edge to dry.

08:53.75
jeffekennedy
You know? and and this is an aside but I remember being so struck by Vonda McIntyre’s novella Dreamsnake and I got to be on a panel talking about Vonda McIntyre and how great her books were ah after her death which. You know it was both fabulous and sucked because I didn’t get to meet her and she was an amazing writer and very influential on me but I remember so vividly the line when they the people that she’s trying to help that she’s there to heal. She comes back and they. Broke in the back of her little dream snake and she says um, do people feel nothing for small things and their pain. What a great line. Wonderful writer all right? So anyway. I was talking about something oh cleansing you guys from my language so I felt very stubborn about this so far I recognize this stubborn behavior when people have said that you guys sounds like you are. Talking to men. It’s like saying you men that is not gender neutral um and reader I do not want to change but I’m going to because the point is valid and I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to be the person who stubbornly persists in saying you guys just because it’s what I grew up saying which is the same argument that people have used for some of these other things that are now considered racial slurs that they were not racial slurs when they are younger and it’s like well. I accept that it was not a racial slur when you were younger I accept that you guys was not intended to be gender specific when I was younger. But now that’s how we hear it and the world turns and times change that’s a line from another. Great author Anne McCaffrey. So I’m trying to not say it anymore which means I kind of have to go with either you intending the plural I wish we had vous like in french but we don’t um or you all, um i’m. Never’all because I’m not that much of a southerner I have southern blood I have that much southern breeding you all you people you people I don’t even love because it sounds a little bit like um, othering right? So ah.

11:36.77
jeffekennedy
Onward always. Um, so the other thing I wanted to talk about is that I was reading I finally finished my reread of that trilogy I’ve now exhausted all of that author’s books I’m going to move on with my life and I am. Reading a short story. Um by an author that I had not read before and because um, she had recommended Dark Wizard and I was so pleased that she recommended Dark Wizard and I thought oh I should check out her books and. My assistant happened to have I asked my assistant if she had read this gal because ah, that’s our ah our reader check I’m like what I like her books and she said you know I haven’t read them but I have her free story the reader magnet from her newsletter and I’ll send that to you and I said oh okay, great. So the thing is for those of you who do not know and and I am actually one of them because I don’t do reader magnets. Um, and I apparently don’t understand them very well because when somebody asked if I did a reader magnet I said. Which is something that you do for newsletters I said oh well. Um I yes, I do if people sign up for my newsletter. They get a choice of one of a couple of free books depending on what genre they like and my assistant sends them and they said oh my sweet summer child that is not what a reader magnet is and I was like. Oh okay, so apparently a reader magnet is something that you write specifically for the newsletter. Um, and it is when people subscribe to your newsletter. They get this but it’s the only way they can get it I think that’s the definition and if I am wrong. Please feel free to comment and illuminate for all of us do not be like the gal who commented about how we should only be drinking organic coffee. Um, normally I do really believe in organic stuff and I’m leaving her comment up for general information. But um. Feel like it mainly illustrated that she doesn’t actually listen to the podcast since we don’t talk about coffee here the title out withstanding. Um so ah.

14:09.42
jeffekennedy
So do explain please do if I’ve got it wrong but that I think this is how the reader bag works. So the thing is is that I’m reading this gal’s short story and and I think she’s a good writer I can see that she’s a good writer. Um.

14:29.65
jeffekennedy
I’m not in love with the story and I think probably what I’m gonna have to do is go get one of her novels because I can just tell by reading this short story that her it. It’s written like like a novelist would write a short piece. Pass out. Um and it made me think that um we have to be careful because I know that this is a standard piece of advice to build your newsletter by having a reader magnet that you write. A standalone short so that readers will subscribe to your newsletter. The thing to keep in mind is that very often people are going to read this as I am as a sample of your work right? Do I want to read this author and the skill set for writing. Ah, short story versus a novella versus a novel are very very different skill sets and I feel like this has gotten lost in part because um, with all of the self-p publishing stuff. There’s such a relentless focus on marketing and promotion and less on craft. Which I know I bitch about all the time I’m sorry but you wouldn’t be listening right? If you didn’t want to hear me bitch about how kids these days don’t pay attention to craft least. Hopefully so The thing is is that I feel like the chops are not there for this short story and it makes me not want to keep reading her I think that I will give her a chance and go read one of the novels because because I think that. Probably the novel writing chops are there. Yeah, some water just poured down on the umbrella fix is working so and and I’m not sure what to tell you tell you all, um, as a fix for this except. If you’re going to use a short story as a sample for your work. Make sure it’s it’s well done. Um I know that there is a sense that there are short stories that are um, reader rewards. You know that you write like that. Scene that didn’t get into the book. Um readers like reading the deleted scenes and those of you who have been listening to me for a long time know that I’m very hesitant to share deleted seats I only rarely share them because I feel like.

17:22.14
jeffekennedy
They are deleted for a reason and usually that reason isn’t because they’re not that good because they don’t so. Don’t do what they should they they’re they’re flat out just not up to the standard of the rest of it and I know that die hard fans love seeing. Those little glimpses and I think that there’s a place for that. But I think you also have to be really careful about sharing substandard work because it does influence. How people see your work. Um. I think that’s different than delivering something that people have asked for um, one thing I actually no one has asked for it yet. But I’ve got it sort of in my hip pocket that if you have now read all of the airs of magic. Books. Ah, there is that bit in book 4 the storm princess and the Raven King where Jack and stella go off for a few days by themselves and and I have an idea of of what happens there besides. Lots of sex and napping because they’re supposed to be recuperating ah that there is a conversation that happens there that it’s hinted at in storm princess and I’ve thought about that I will write that story so far nobody has said hey jeffie I mean I know you guys have sent me other stuff and I appreciate the. Thoughts but I really did think people would say something like what happened with Jack and Stella while they were away. Maybe you guys all just figured. It was sex and napping which is legit. Um, but yeah I appreciated all of the thoughts people sent for It’s it’s interesting because readers ask for very different things than I think that you will ask for. So it’s always um, illuminating to hear your thoughts on I would really love more of this kind of thing. So anyway, I think you have to be really aware of what your reader magnet is doing and. If you see with this author if I had not had access to this free short story which I obviously got through um, underhanded means right? because I did not sign up for the newsletter I got it from my assistant. But because I don’t like signing up for newsletters. There’s my my dirty little secret I kind of hate newsletters and I don’t like getting them I don’t like email I I want to be I want to be like C.M. Nacosta who does not read email.

20:08.82
jeffekennedy
Um I figured out how to pull that off although my email has been very light lately. So maybe I’m getting there I’ve been ah, unsubscribing to lots of things and ruthlessly blocking. So we’ll see um but my point. And and I do have one is just because you have a reader magnet doesn’t mean that it is accomplishing the function that you want it to if I had not been able to get this short story that was already free. So I didn’t feel bad about getting it through underhanded means. Even though I did not keep my end of the contract by signing up for the newsletter I would have probably gotten a sample of the novel and I think that would be better on trade and I probably still will at this point and probably there are readers out there who are far more forgiving than I but I would be aware of that. That it. Um yeah, requires very different approaches and some people can’t write short just like some people can’t write long so back to the same mantra right? Discover what your process is own. It. If you want to develop new skills new chops. Then yeah, do that but be aware that you need to do that that it’s not something that you can just churn out. It’s not and I and I hate that phrase I shouldn’t use it. But it’s. Writing a short story or writing a novella is not like writing a novel that takes less time. It’s different skills and maybe that’s something I could talk about on here I know that you guys ask me to talk about stuff and then I forget but um I could talk a little bit about. How those things are different and and how maybe if I could figure out to how to explain how this reads like a gutted novel and instead of an actual short story. Um, that might be helpful. So anyway, not today because I’ve already gone long. Um, and now I’m going to go get to work hope you all have a wonderful Thursday under your umbrellas or not and I will talk to you all tomorrow you all take care bye bye.

ROGUE’S PAWN, Rights Reversion, Hybrid Authors, Dear Hollywood and Gateway Drugs

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Things have been busy in my part of the world… 

So much so that I missed posting for the last two weeks – and I’m posting late in the day today. Madness!

This is my brilliant (one hopes) catch-up post.

In book news, I got the rights reverted on the ten (10!) books I did for Carina Press. I started with my first dark fantasy romance trilogy, Covenant of Thorns, which meant new covers and new back cover copy (BCC). Done and done, times three. (What about the other seven books, you ask? I’M WORKING ON IT, OKAY?) I’ll be re-releasing these three books over the next several months.

Here’s for Book #1, ROGUE’S PAWN:

Be careful what you wish for…

When I walked out on my awful boyfriend, wishing to be somewhere—anywhere—else, I never expected to wake up in Faerie. And, as a scientist, I find it even harder to believe that I now seem to be a sorceress.

A pretty crappy sorceress, it turns out, because every thought that crosses my mind becomes suddenly and frighteningly real—including the black dog that has long haunted my nightmares.

Now I’m a captive, a pawn for the fae lord, Rogue, and the feral and treacherous Faerie court, all vying to control me and the vast powers I don’t understand. Worse, Rogue, the closest thing I have to a friend in this place, is intent on seducing me. He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, enthralling, tempting, and lethally dangerous. He’s as devastatingly clever as he is alluring, and he tricks me into promising him my firstborn child, which he intends to sire…

I don’t dare give into him. I may not have the willpower to resist him. He’s my only protection against those who would destroy me

Unless I can learn to use my magic.

Exciting milestone, to be re-releasing these!

As for the actual topics I’m supposed to address:

What do you see in your crystal ball for publishing? Will the Big 5 become the Big 4 and what would that trickle down cause throughout the industry?

I doubt that the merger that would make the Big 5 become the Big 4 will be approved. Even if it does, there are still other publishing houses that aren’t the “big” ones. Also, traditional publishing is only one part of the market and one that’s no longer at the forefront of everything. I think there’s value to trad publishing still, but I also think most authors will become hybrid, since we want to be able to pay our bills.

Dear Hollywood: Which of your works would you most like to see made into a movie or miniseries What makes it stand out above the rest?
My Twelve Kingdoms and Uncharted Realms series. I really want to see these books as an ongoing miniseries, primarily because I’d love to write the other POVs that are going on simultaneously with the 1st Person POV of these books.

Your gateway drug: the book that made you love SFF
DRAGONSONG by Anne McCaffrey. I found it in my school library in 5th grade and it opened up a whole new world to me. Possibly also the first time I glommed an author’s backlist.

First Cup of Coffee – June 21, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

How traditional publishing handles covers, the importance of the first book in a series, and how trad sometimes punts (or fumbles) on that second cover. Also thoughts on my new reading catnip.




Transcript
00:00.41
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee.

00:27.70
jeffekennedy
Ah, today is Tuesday June Twenty first and summer Solstice Longest day of the year we’ve actually already pivoted happened at 3 thirteen this morning my time and it’s a good thing. We don’t observe things by the solar calendar here you ever wonder how they managed to pull it off and like the united kingdom right? Um, it’s cloudy here today. Very overcast. We’re supposed to get more rain which is incredibly welcome. So rain rain rain!

02:01.63
jeffekennedy
And the garden is looking lovely makes me happy I have a ah guy coming by at any time now supposed to stop in between this certain window. To give me an estimate on hauling away a whole bunch of our brush remember I posted those pictures of like our all the tumbleweeds because our monsoons were so robust last year and we had so much growth and then such terrible winds this spring and we’ve got this brush just piled up everywhere. So he’s going to come by and give me an estimate on hauling it off also exciting. Um, and it’s musing because his name is hay-SOOS which is a very common hispanic name especially in this region but it is spelled like Jesus. And so I’ve had it on my calendar and it’s somewhat disconcerting to have Jesus on your calendar I almost um, tweeted about it I had a very pithy tweet about having Jesus on my calendar and then I thought should I? But is that a good idea and my policy is is if it occurs to me that tweeting or Facebooking something may not be a good idea I default to not.

04:58.30
jeffekennedy
So um, yeah, getting back in my groove I was clearly tired from the traveling and what all because yesterday afternoon I just hit tired. Um. Even hit tired before that after the second hour of writing I laid down to put my feet up because I work on the walking desk and so I occasionally like during our breaks I’ll elevate my feet get the blood going the other direction so I had my book in my hand and. Put my feet up on the you know sort of the futon couch in our bedroom and fell asleep I was late coming back I was like I was sorry gurnda I totally fell asleep and then by late afternoon I was just fighting sleep. And I considered going and taking a nap then but it was already 4 and I thought ah do I really want to take a nap at like 4 and it’s still wanted to take 1 at like 5 so I read for a while in the grape arbor the pergola under the pergola and I think maybe this is a pergola but then when you put grapes on it. It becomes the grape arbor does that seem like a reasonable definition. So I read for a while then I watched an episode of ob b one. But only watched the first episode I think david didn’t love. Love love it and he was he was sleeping because he had had a bad night the night before and hadn’t slept much so I watched ob one and I’m liking it. Um. I’m not gaga for it I have thoughts about that I’ll talk about that in a moment. Um, but then by like seven thirty I was just still feeling like I needed to sleep so I ended up starting to get ready for bed. You know, picking things up and that kind of thing and I was asleep by 8:30 people and slept until six thirty so clearly I needed it I was kind of thinking about the thing about shows because we talk about them so much. Um. My ah couple friends had recommended watching ob b one saying that they thought I’d like it and I do It’s not that I don’t like it. But I think part of it is because I don’t watch all that much tv overall I prefer to read right? you know? and so i’m.

10:37.85
jeffekennedy
Get very absorbed in the books I’m reading. In fact, I’m not sure if I mentioned I probably didn’t since this is partly over me being gone but you know I’ve been doing this whole series reread of this author who I’d liked for so very long. Um and had fallen off and. Didn’t ever get around to her spinoff seriess or not off to um, more than like a couple of them that I wasn’t wild by but then later she did some series with spinoff characters where she did the same. Ah, female male lead for 3 books and I’m discovering that this is my catnip. This is my sweet spot to have that same relationship for 3 books which is why I am considering doing that for. I have to figure out at like what point does considering become the plan I am considering doing this for the next books in the bonds of magic world I mentioned that book one is being called shadow wizard. Which I think is pretty well set. And yeah I want to do 3 books with Judgeron and Cellie and then I want to do another trilogy with somebody else I don’t know if I should say yeah because it could change right. That’s the other thing. Oh he Zeus might be here I will be back now. It was someone doing something over at my neighbors. Um, also apparently all way brush tis the season. So. So yeah, that’s some I’m discovering I really love that especially in something like epic fantasy romance or urban fantasy which is what the books I’m reading are and it’s um, yeah, where you have a lot of. External arc where you have a lot of action lot of things going on being able to have that romance that’s developed over the course of a trilogy is ah yeah, just my catnip these days and it’s what I want to read? It’s what I want to write.

15:35.73
jeffekennedy
So that’s why a couple of you did comment social media to me about the am I really talking about nine books in the bonds of magic world and yes, reader. I am ah I think it was Laura Darnell asked if I’m going to do these straight through or if I’m going to interweave them with other books I wish I was doing them straight through I really do. But I do have other things to write. It’s one. Things about when you have a relationship with an agent that you kind of have to accommodate that relationship. So unless she’s selling books for me, she doesn’t make money and we also kind of have to keep my name out there and so forth. So they. Secret projects secret projects. There are 2. One is totally brand new. It’s this idea that has been a twinkle in my eye I think these guys are stuck I have to go look again? Sorry okay so I think what happened is they were not going to my neighbors. It looks like they. Are delivering trees which is great season to plant them with the monsoons and I think they came around the corner a little too fast and went to the borrow ditch and they had to get the ah truck on the borrow ditch. You know he slipped a slidey with the mud people here aren’t used to it. So anyway, ah, what was I saying I shouldn’t let myself get distracted. So yeah, reading oh the new projects. So yeah, this one has been a twinkle in my eye since early in the year and Sarah is interested in that story. And then the other one is one that I’ve talked about before which is the science fantasy that I wrote like 50 pages of and we went out on submission and came this close now. These guys are roaring off again. Glad this is not my brush guy because these guys are um, not on top of it. It was oscars tree service not my lord and savior Jesus. But I can hear their engine roaring. They’re just like ah they were running around like ants around the truck. Ah always exciting around here. So anyway, um, yeah, so the other ones the science fantasy we came this close I thought I was going to sell it.

21:07.55
jeffekennedy
To Tor I mean the the editorial director at Tor said that she fucking loved this book. But it was too close to something else that they had like sold and marketed like a decade before this is how tribe publishing works. So anyway, um. I had mentioned in our beginning of your planning call to agent Sarah that I was planning to finish writing that book and self- publishlish it because I do love it and she said well since it has been since fall of 2019 my how time flies. Ah. If I’m going to go ahead and write the whole book. Anyway, would I let her take it on submission one more time because the publishing houses have completely turned over It’s you know by the time we got it out there. Well at this rate who knows when I’ll have it written but you know could be spring of 2023 and that’s coming up on 4 years so we’ll see um I need to talk to her about which book she would like to see first but I’m going to write shadow wizard then write one of those books and then um and then go to town on renegades of magic. Which is what I’m calling this trilogy but back to the trilogy that I’m reading ah I had read this I read all the way through all of this authors currently published works and it was a great reading binge I enjoyed it and those. The last trilogy she did I really feel like she just knocked it out of the park I just loved it and now I’m in the peculiar position of do I recommend it without ah tipping all of you off to who I’ve been reading all this time. Because I know I bitched about stuff in the earlier books. But I love this trilogy I love this trilogy so much that I turned around and reread it which is unusual for me part of it was because I finished that third book and I was going to be flying the next day and I wanted stuff to read on the airplane I wanted something that I knew would satisfy me get me through the airports and I wasn’t ready to leave it behind. So now I’m almost done rereading the third book and then I swear I will move on with my life and read something else. But. Wow are these books good? um it. It just hit my sweet spot. So um I don’t know what I’m gonna read next I’m supposed to read something for I’ve I’ve couple things that I’m supposed to read to blurb and so I need to start doing that.

26:49.65
jeffekennedy
Work that into my schedule see if I can. Um yeah I was thinking about a syndrome I was gonna just sort of tip you guys off to this. This is a part of my personal theory of how the world works. But. I think it’s correct because I would not harbor an incorrect theory. You guys. So one thing about traditional publishing is that they will really invest in the cover of the first book of a series. Um, did. They just have this whole mindset of promoting that irst book which can be a useful mindset I mean there there is a lot to be said for having control of the none um I just get over having control of that none book in the series. Because that’s the entree. Um like I was mentioning yesterday with covenant of thorns with my re-release of those books I looked at the math. It’s 3 times I have 3 times as many preorders for book one as I do for all 3 and you know so some people are giving me that vote of confidence of yes. I’m absolutely going to read all 3 but you know the other 2 thirds of readers I think this is probably a pretty reliable statistic will preorder book one and see how they like it and and I would totally do the same thing so and Amazon has a really cool deal. Where and I love this actually that when you buy the first book and then decide to buy the rest of the series. They’ll give you that series price less the book you already own. So there’s really no penalty to waiting. So you know that first book is the entree traditional publishers have that much correct. What they what they do that is really frustrating is that they will then punt on the cover of the second book. I’m trying to feel what this is behind me I could see it on the screen. Okay, it’s it was just that um fragment of that vase that I have back there for some reason it was looking dark and lurking. Don’t mind me while I get distracted. So part of why I’m thinking about this is that I don’t know what it is about the second book but they kind of they must have this make or break and I don’t have the inside knowledge on this but I’ve observed it happen where.

32:27.37
jeffekennedy
If the first book doesn’t hit some kind of watermark for them then they slap a cheap crappy cover on the second book which I can’t even um, it’s they did it to me on 12 kingdoms. The the mark of the tala has a really great intriguing cover. It’s not my ideal cover. It looks a little too YA they made me change the title of that book because it was originally called the middle princess. They made me change the title because I felt like the title was too YA which fair enough. Ah, but then they slapped a really YA cover on it and as one of my stalwart readers Mary Lynn Nielsen I don’t know if you listen to this podcast mentioned she was going through and compiling books by women fantasy writers. She was really interested that Kensington called those books fantasy. They didn’t package them as fantasy. So some of that is confusion within the house I don’t even know. But for the second book for The Tears of the Rose that cover wasn’t nearly as good. It’s um, there are a lot of crappy things about it and they gave me 0 consultation. They handed me that cover. They said here you go um I think it was even posted before I saw it and I was terribly disappointed because it’s um. If you go look at them. it’s just um it’s a dumb cover. It doesn’t look like it doesn’t look like anything um and it’s not as well done as not as well executed as the first cover. The third cover is much better and I did get. Input into that cover. So I I’m not exactly sure what happens there if they like do books one and two too rapidly and like that second cover is like okay, let’s do the same kind of thing. But as I said I’m thinking about this because I have a friend who had self-published some books and then decided to um where we don’t talk much anymore from long history. There. So I don’t know why she made the decision but she went with this small press. Publish the books for her and I know she was at least social media excited on it right? You know talk to up a good game. Really happy to have someone else publish and market these books for her yada yada they gave her a really cool cover for that first book and you know it’s like great.

38:02.65
jeffekennedy
And and this is totally legit I am not um, you know whatever people decide to do you know having somebody else package of market. Your books can be huge if you don’t want to spend the time doing it and you know if you’re hoping to break into other markets. So forth so they give her a gorgeous cover for that first book. And then just the other day I saw the cover for the second book and it’s nothing like the first book. It’s not nearly as good and it’s like what they did to me on these that’s like they just phone in that second cover and and I tend to think it’s when. That first book doesn’t sell at the numbers that they want it to so um, the mark of the talla is still still selling strong. In fact I just got this renewal of rights the other day. It’s it’s selling consistently. Um, you know my first agency. Sends me checks and she sends me little congratulations with it because it’s like still making money and I know a lot of people still pick up those books still love those books. Um I I would love to get the rights back for those books and I just think it ain’t gonna happen because they sell too well. But. I wish I could because the the other option folks is if they so well enough that they decide to put new covers on them so we could hope for that because um I while I’m fine with the first and third covers. Um I would love a new cover for tears of the rose. So let. You know that Hbo mini series when they decide to recover to match the series aesthetic. Let’s do that all right? I’m gonna go get to work today and hope you all have a wonderful midsummer day. Um. Perhaps a midsummer night’s dream tonight and I will talk to you all on Thursday you all take care bye bye.

First Cup of Coffee – June 20, 2022

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog, Podcast

Big thanks to loyal listener Meghan Ciana Doidge for the gorgeous coffee cup! Also about my writing retreat, what was fabulous about it, what I like about the phrase “story brain,” and other news, etc.




Transcript
00:00.00
jeffekennedy
Good morning Everyone! Oh I forgot.

00:15.68
jeffekennedy
Good morning. Everyone this is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee who clearly all. Discombobulated today is Monday um June twentieth 2022 and I’m back yay and look if you’re on video you can see that I have this gorgeous I feel like qvc. This beautiful mug suitable for all occasions. Um hand paintted with beautiful flowers. This was a gift from lovely and amazing steadfast podcast listener Meghan Ciana Doidge ah she asked me a while back. If she could send me something and it turned out to be this gorgeous mug that she got at her local farmers market I could totally be on Qvc couldn’t I the way I gesture her to the and she also sent me a yummy chocolate bar I got it like the morning that I left. And so I didn’t have an opportunity to say anything. But thank you Megan that was really sweet and she sent me a really nice note with it thanking me for the podcast and um sifwi work and all of these things and. And it meant a great deal I was incredibly touched and I shall treasure. It. Thank you as soon as I saw it was a coffee cup I was like yeah oh if you’re on video you can see jackson s lurking behind me. He’s out here. Um. We’ve been having rain while I was gone. The monsoons came in which is subject for rejoicing. Um, so great. Ah free water falling from the sky. It is truly a miraculous thing I know I use the metaphor. All the time in my books about drought and like water in the desert and there’s a reason for this people. Everyone’s well I think maybe I shouldn’t use this yet again and then it’s like but it’s the bar right of our so um. Last week I went on a writing retreat I went on Tuesday and left very early I did have travel shenanigans um, think this is just going to be our lives for the near future that there’s just going to be.

05:54.24
jeffekennedy
Airline travel shenanigans they are desperately trying to make back their money. Ah from pandemic. They don’t have enough people they’re charging extortionate prices and giving shitty service. So yay, but. And went on this writing retreat. Um I finally did find out for those of you who who listen regularly that um that the person hosting it preferred not to have their name connected to it yet because they’re still putting things together. This was um. Little bit of a test they’re considering hosting ongoing writing retreats and had invited me and a few other people to kind of come be the guinea pigs and see you kind of kick the tires that kind of thing. And to keep an eye on Jackson um, and you you guys it was. It was fabulous. It was so wonderful. Um, in fact, that reminds me I meant to they gave me an exit survey and I meant to reply and say um that I’m happy to give a testimonial anytime. Have to remember to do that fact, let me put that on my things to do list I hope you guys don’t mind – testimonial – otherwise I forget to do these things. Um. So oops so it was beautiful. A location I will post a picture of my writing spot. It was very different from my natural habitat in that it was um in a warm and humid place and was forestres. And I would sit and write at the verge of the forest in a they called it a pergola I always call this the grape arbor they call it but it was very much like this um only their vine was not growing. Um, and I’m not sure why it was kind of fascinating because this. Land has been within the same family for a really long time over 100 years and I could see evidences of previous gardeners. A lot of the garden had been neglected for a very long time. But. It was really cool to see where the garden had been and sort of identify with this person who had gone before and spent all this time putting things into place and I had a ah very strong desire to.

11:31.88
jeffekennedy
To work in that garden and reconstruct it I remember when my mom married for the first time my mom’s been twice widowed and my when my stepdad died her second husband my first stepdad. After he died and she remarried to my current stepdad stepdad Dave ah Dave was like going through our house. They ended up eventually selling that house in Denver and he was going to the house and you know like. Down in the basement through Leo. My stepdad’s workroom and he said made a really interesting comment that because he hadn’t known Leo and he said that he felt like he had kind of come to be friends with him. Sort of seeing his projects and seeing how he had organized things and not organized things and that is how I feel about this probably in a more distant way. But this ah unknown gardener I felt like I could see the traces of I’m I’m gonna. Like I guess there see that although I was picturing a woman that I could see the traces of her design and her aesthetic and I found some. There were some plants amidst the overgrowth you know that were still struggling on and I could. Picture her planting those things and seeing how it looked when it was all in life. So I think that’s going to turn up in the new book I did start the new book. Um. And I believe it is the working title which I believe will be the sticking title is shadow wizard du um, and and I’ll set up a approved or for it soon because it’s goingnna be september you guys. It’s gonna come out in September but. It started and I’m happy with that title Shadow Wizard things for all of you who sent suggestions greatly appreciate it I think that this trilogy title is going to be. Renegades of Magic. It’s what I’m playing with so. So yeah, um, the retreat. It was very late back. It was unstructured.

17:04.30
jeffekennedy
Ah, my friend who is organizing and hosting it um did offer a conversation writing conversation but not necessarily direct teaching that sort of thing. I think that this would vary depending upon who decided to do it. But I think that um yeah, it was just it was so relaxing and and you all know if you are a longtime listener. You know that I am more than a little um I know. Want to use the word. Compulsive Jackson is really watching something over there I making sure he’s not going to go over the wall I don’t know what he’s got his gaze on oh mustve been a bird all right? So I am. Highly ritualized about how I get my work done. So I said to my friend that I think I’m the only person who goes on a writing retreat and panics about not getting any writing down and my friend said no everybody feels that way. Everybody worries that they’re not going to do it and I thought well it’s not exactly the same thing because for me I can feel reasonably confident that if I stay home I will get my work done and you know and I lost time and energy to travel right? that Tuesday was was a wash. Um. Did do some shopping if you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I did buy a couple things while I was stranded at the dallasport where is that airport. Ah. Yeah, I’m not going to talk about my travel shenanigans. So and then Wednesday I spent a lot of time just kind of getting my head back into the bonds of magic world and then I did. Get writing done on Thursday Friday and then Saturday before I leave for the airport. So I’ve got I’m about 5,000 words into the new book and and I’m happy with it. One thing that I decided to do since I was on retreat was. Thought okay, well this is an opportunity for me to mix things up a bit that I don’t have to do try to replicate my at home experience. In fact, I will not be able to replicate my at home experience. So I I kind of just left it open I let it be.

22:26.58
jeffekennedy
Working on stuff as I felt like it I let myself be a little bit more dreamy and less focused on getting the word count done I didn’t keep track of my hours and so forth and it was definitely a much more relaxed approach. Um. There was a lot to be said for that kind of Approach. What’s going on. Okay, he’s just up under the tree have to make sure he’s not marauding the Avian Life. Cat wrangling. So So yeah, now I’m I am kind of wondering if I should mix up my process a little bit and I don’t know. Something to keep in mind anyway or maybe it was just good for me to do that every once in a while I Really loved um, just being out of my routine I loved being off on my own day. It was great having someone who is a career author organize something like this because my friend was sensitive to just how writers are and so for like breakfast and lunch. They they did all of the food they provided the food they wanted it to be like. You know that I could just have whatever whenever I was ready so they would just set out like um bowls with different kinds of fresh fruit berries and that kind of thing they had asked me ahead of time if I had food allergies or what I didn’t didn’t like to eat and then at lunchtime they had set out salad makings. So. You know, big bowl of lettuce and then various other things that I could construct my own salad with and so like when I finished working on stuff when I finished writing I could just waltz in and you know find everything set out for me and it was very princess-like. And then they cooked dinner for me and provided conversation and that was um, it was all charming I did get to ask my friend about this thing I’ve been pondering about going to multiple povs. Ah. With shadow wizard and and she asked really good questions. Um, instead of offering advice asked me a series of questions about why did I want to do it and which is really a good way to do things and after I finished talking about it.

28:11.58
jeffekennedy
She pointed out that I had only one reason not to do it and a whole bunch of reasons for why I wanted to do it and she used the phrase story brain which I really like um and would like to credit her with and will someday when I am given leave to say where I was and who I was with. But I found that really helpful because for some reason and you know this is all part of like figuring out what your process is of owning it. Um the terminology like muse inspiration that kind of thing. Just doesn’t work for me because I don’t know I don’t like the idea that the muse is some sort of external deity that deigns to come or go I think. Well my stories seem to come from somewhere that is not always within my conscious control. It also doesn’t feel like this numinous thing that has its own mind and personality. Instead whoops have to stay back. Get a little bit of sun breaking through the clouds monsoon. Ah I like the idea of storybra. Because it does feel like a very particular part of my brain. Let’s see where he went now. Oh there. He is okay, you guys might be able to see him on video. He’s right under the tree but he’s also in with the flowers. Yeah, so. That’s really how this feels is that this is my story bring really wants to do this thing and so I’m gonna do it I’m excited and I feel. Um, relieved maybe. And then sense and energized to have permission I’m putting that in air quotes to to do this so that was a great outcome. Um, and yeah, it was just ah, it was basically a vacation where i. Got to still talk writing stuff and get some writing work done and and that was fabulous. It was great. So I’ve got about 5K words so far on Shadow Wizard.

33:41.72
jeffekennedy
Start ramping up into that. Um, thank you all for the lovely comments on Storm Princess and the Raven King it’s a um out it got to be in the like top 5 recommended indie books on. Barnes and noble that was kind of cool huh. So I’ll share that on social media today that came while I was gone I didn’t look at email the whole time I was there that was one thing where they offered me the wi-fi password and I just never asked for it until like the. Day before I left when it occurred to me that I didn’t know anything about my plane flight and maybe I should look but but otherwise I didn’t look at email and that was um, wonderfully relaxing and good. So um. Yeah, storm princess is out. Thank you all for the ratings and reviews kind comments really happy that you all love it that it satisfied expectations and did the cover reveal on the covenant of Thorn’s books I will be sharing those. The coming week and those will be releasing through the summer the preorder is up I’ll add that to the show notes I ended up for those of you who have been following for a while I did not delete that scene that I was considering deleting. Um. I think I did the work on this on Monday. So yeah, oh that’s right I didn’t do a podcast Tuesday so I ultimately decided not to take it out I did change a couple of things I changed a line about rape that I decided was. Way too flip for today’s sensitivities a change of ten years Yeah, but I read to that scene and it was a not as bad as I remembered it. The same thing that Carien found when she went through and and read it that it was. Not as long, not as terrible not as sexual as she had remembered it. So again I do think this is a migration of what is shocking to us over time. It was no longer as much as I thought it was and also. If I had taken it out. It would have required a lot of work to the book and I decided to leave it so that was an interesting discovery so preorders are up for those books and thank you all for preordering i’m.

39:17.46
jeffekennedy
Amused by how many people have preordered the first one some people have preordered all 3 um but it’s something like um I don’t know 4 times as many have I have 4 times as many preorders for book one as for 2 and 3 which totally fair. I mean I would do that too was like no I want to read book one and see if I want the rest. So just interesting to see. Yeah, so um, we’ve got July and August for those three books releasing. And then Shadow Wizard out in September I think and I think book two will be wild familiar. We’ll see so that’s all my excitement happy to be back in the saddle refreshed rejuvenated Thank you again. Meghan. And I will talk to you all tomorrow you all take care bye-bye.