Confronting Failure – and Learning from It!

Did you see the cover for THE LOST PRINCESS RETURNS yet? I’m so in love with it for so many reasons, but mainly because it so perfectly captures Jenna/Ivariel in my mind. Especially everything she’s feeling about returning to Dasnaria after all this time.

I’m glad everyone nagged me to write this story! The novella turned out to be a short novel, and releases June 29. You can preorder at the links below at a special sale price or here. Yes, there will be a print version; it should be available for preorder later this week.

Our actual topic at the SFF Seven this week is confronting failure. Not just the occasional downturns of fortune which is the lot of every writer, but also being able to take an honest look at what is just not working. Come on over for my take!

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  Or Buy the ebook Direct from Jeffe

More than two decades have gone by since Imperial Princess Jenna, broken in heart and body, fled her brutal marriage—and the land of her birth. She’s since become Ivariel: warrior, priestess of Danu, trainer of elephants, wife and mother. Wiser, stronger, happier, Ivariel has been content to live in her new country, to rest her battered self, and to recover from the trauma of what happened to her when she was barely more than a girl.

But magic has returned to the world—abruptly and with frightening force—and Ivariel takes that profound change as a sign that it’s time to keep a promise she made to the sisters she left behind. Ivariel must leave the safety she’s found and return to face the horrors she fled.

As Ivariel emerges from hiding, she discovers that her vicious brother is now Emperor of Dasnaria, and her much-hated mother, the Dowager Empress Hulda, is aiding him in his reign of terror. Worse, it seems that Hulda’s resurrection of the tainted god Deyrr came about as a direct result of Jenna’s flight long ago.

It’s up to Ivariel—and the girl she stopped being long ago—to defeat the people who cruelly betrayed her, and to finally liberate her sisters. Determined to cleanse her homeland of the evil that nearly destroyed her, Ivariel at last returns to face the past.

But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms.

First Cup of Coffee – June 19, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 19, 2020

June 19, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy, Kathy Kennedy Beck

My mom is here! And she's visiting the podcast today, reminiscing about the Civil Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama. We also discuss cats, forest fires, and drinking too much wine.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

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First Cup of Coffee – June 18, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 18, 2020

June 18, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

Finishing up THE LOST PRINCESS RETURNS, so I have book brain. My mom and stepdad arrive today, too! So random thoughts today and a plug for Frolic Podcast Network sister, Boobies & Noobies!

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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Coming Soon! THE LOST PRINCESS RETURNS

Yes, there’s an elephant on the cover! Tune into Frolic on Friday to see the full cover of THE LOST PRINCESS RETURNS. It gives me chills, I love it so much.

Meanwhile, the book – it’s become a short novel – is available for preorder. It releases June 29, 2020, and the preorder price is $3.99 (on my website and Amazon). Release day the price goes up to $4.99. Yes, there will be a print version! It’s just not available for preorder.

This book follows THE FATE OF THE TALA, but also winds up the story told in the CHRONICLES OF DASNARIA.

More than two decades have gone by since Imperial Princess Jenna, broken in heart and body, fled her brutal marriage—and the land of her birth. She’s since become Ivariel: warrior, priestess of Danu, trainer of elephants, wife and mother. Wiser, stronger, happier, Ivariel has been content to live in her new country, to rest her battered self, and to recover from the trauma of what happened to her when she was barely more than a girl.

But magic has returned to the world—abruptly and with frightening force—and Ivariel takes that profound change as a sign that it’s time to keep a promise she made to the sisters she left behind. Ivariel must leave the safety she’s found and return to face the horrors she fled.

As Ivariel emerges from hiding, she discovers that her vicious brother is now Emperor of Dasnaria, and her much-hated mother, the Dowager Empress Hulda, is aiding him in his reign of terror. Worse, it seems that Hulda’s resurrection of the tainted god Deyrr came about as a direct result of Jenna’s flight long ago.

It’s up to Ivariel—and the girl she stopped being long ago—to defeat the people who cruelly betrayed her, and to finally liberate her sisters. Determined to cleanse her homeland of the evil that nearly destroyed her, Ivariel at last returns to face the past.

But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms.

First Cup of Coffee – June 16, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 16, 2020

June 16, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

An amusing, if frivolous story about my latte frother, a surprise guest appearance by the usually taciturn Mr. Kennedy, a lovely review comparing my work to Anne McCaffrey, and foreshadowing the ending.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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Sign up for my Newsletter!
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Thanks for listening!


First Cup of Coffee – June 15, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 15, 2020

June 15, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy, Marcella Burnard

I'm interviewing longtime friend, crit partner, and writer of top notch science fiction romance, Marcella Burnard. She discusses the ups and downs of her career, and what surgery she refused to have to be a professional actress.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

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Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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First Cup of Coffee – June 12, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 12, 2020

June 12, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

Looking forward to seeing my mom, thoughts on online events, and also about axe-murderers and whether we really need the police. A bit about morality and ethics, too.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
Follow me on Amazon or BookBub
Sign up for my Newsletter!
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Thanks for listening!


First Cup of Coffee – June 11, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - June 11, 2020

June 11, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

About Good Fiction™ and why I don't think we need to read sad books. Also an outing! Margaritas with Megan Mulry. And I'm nearly done drafting THE LOST PRINCESS RETURNS.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts!

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

Find me on Threads
Visit my website https://jeffekennedy.com
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Sign up for my Newsletter!
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Thanks for listening!


A Spoilery Story About the Ending of THE FIERY CROWN

A reminder that tomorrow night is my rescheduled event at Mysterious Galaxy. Come on by and hang out!

For those of you who listened to the Beastly Books interview with Melinda Snodgrass for the release of THE FIERY CROWN – and if you didn’t, you can watch it here – you’ll know that we discussed the ending. (Also, Beastly Books is a great Indie Bookstore where you can buy signed books from me.) Melinda asked me why I ended the book where I did, instead of where she thought I would. I explained that I did waffle on the ending, and my editor ultimately weighed in and I went with her suggestion. After we stopped recording, I asked Melinda where she thought I would end it – and it was an even worse point than I’d contemplated! Then she told me how she’d frame the closing shot in the screenplay. (Melinda started out writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation and still writes a lot for Hollywood, along with her excellent novels.) And, damn people – I want this woman to write the treatment for the miniseries! Because it’s such a cool idea, I wanted to share it.

But, obviously, this spoils the ending. Read on forewarned and so forth.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS

.

..

….

…..

Okay, so!

What I waffled on was, I very nearly had Con go back to the citadel after delivering Lia’s corpse to the boat. He’d go on his suicide mission and Lia would awaken on The Last Resort thinking him dead. Very Romeo and Juliet – which, tragedy, I know – and because I had book three to fix it all again, right? But Editor Jennie said, weeeeellllll…. since it’s a Romance, we need a happy ending in this book, too. Since I wasn’t committed to my tragic R&J ending, I agreed.

But Melinda!

SHE thought I would’ve ended it when Lia dies! That’s where she’d end the season, she said, with a closing shot of the orchid ring on Lia’s finger withering away as she dies on the wizard’s slab.

There’s a reason this woman is besties with George RR Martin!

Also, I can totally picture this closing shot and how I’d be bouncing out of my chair about the ending of Season 2 and how I had to wait forever for Season 3. Clearly she also knows her business.

What do you all think of these alternate endings? Would you have come after me for either of those? 😀