Tag: Anne Calhoun

Some of the Things I Learned at #RT14 – Part 1

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Deanna Raybourn, Helen Kay Dimon and Jeffe KennedyI got to sit a few minutes at Cafe Beignet with Helen Kay Dimon and Deanna Raybourn during the RT Booklovers Convention. Both such smart writers and lovely, charming women. I also scored a copy of Helen Kay’s new book, Mercy, which I’ve been gobbling up! So good.

Sunday on Word Whores, I mentioned that this conference brought me into so many great conversations about the industry. I’d like to talk a little more about that today.

First, I should mention that the amazing E and Has Bookpushers are running a seven-day Release Week Bonanza Giveaway for me, to celebrate the release of The Mark of the Tala a week from today! These gals are so awesome to me. You should run over and tell them so, even if you don’t want to win a fabulous prize or follow the Vacation Guide to The Twelve Kingdoms. 😀

I already waxed on about how grateful I am that Megan Mulry put together the group she did. A lovely and gracious person, Megan also possesses a gift for bringing together really wise, interesting people. Anne Calhoun, whose books I’ve always loved but I only had met glancingly, turned out to be as super smart and insightful as her stories. At one point she said:

“Unlike love, there’s not enough power to go around. For one group to gain power, another must lose some.”

That became a resonant theme through the week. She also talked about her Masters Thesis, which traces the changes in women finding their own agency through the roles, desires and expectations of the heroines in romance novels. I really want to read that.

Also sharing our house was Janet Webb, who reviews for Heroes and Heartbreakers. She had an amazing and insightful perspective on the romance genre – as someone with an extensive understanding of both the canon and emerging works and writers. We had a terrific conversation on the role of condoms in romance novels, how editors and publishers really insist on couples using them, which she finds artificial as a reader. She’s since sent me a fascinating article on an HIV-prevention drug that’s vastly underused. So interesting. I want to work this into a story now.

 

In a terrific stroke of serendipity, Janet was also reading The Mark of the Tala for a H&H First Look. She shared her notes and impressions about the book and gave me insight into my own story. Amazing experience. Janet’s longtime friend and avid reader, Andrea also stayed with us, bringing enthusiasm and sunshine to the week. Sasha H @caribbeanaccent

Another book blogger housemate, Sasha Harrinanan, who does Caribbean Accent Book Reviews, seemed to be out and about most of the week, gathering her prodigious pile of books. That’s her by the gate to our French Quarter home. She came and went like the went, but such a delight to get to know a little better.

Rounding out our blogger contingent was Julia Broadbooks. She also writes for Heroes and Heartbreakers. We’ve talked on Twitter many times, but this was our first to really get to know each other. Absolutely delightful person.

I’d never met Lexi Ryan before, but she’s just terrific. A savvy marketer, Lexi sat down with me and filled my head with excellent advice from her perspectives on self-publishing and marketing. She is not one of the loud, strident voices in the Indie publishing community and she’s doing very well for herself. I loved getting her perspective. Her best advice? “Be everywhere.” We talked about serials and what works and what doesn’t.

She also taught us how to play Cards Against Humanity and may have spent some time stroking her Bigger, Blacker Box. Just saying.

Historical romance author Miranda Neville was also someone I’d never read or met before. I came home with two of her books and tremendous respect for her, her body of work and Georgette Heyer. Seriously, it’s totally Miranda’s fault that I now have summer reading to improve my understanding of the canon.

Also new to me was Lisa Dunick, PhD professor of English, Romance Novel Center editor and also writer of YA as Lisa Maxwell. Another sharp, savvy woman with a terrific understanding of books and genre, Lisa contributed to my broadening view that the loudest voices in our industry don’t comprise the majority opinions.

More to come!

 

Six Geese a’Laying and a Christmas Story

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

9780425265123_large_JadedYou all might take this as a cautionary tale, but Anne Calhoun is another of my writing friends who I stalked after reading her books and forced coaxed into being nice to me. And look, she wrote this lovely story below, too. It reminds me of her novella, Breath on Embers, which is the one that made me fall in love with her. Christmas window displays figure heavily in that story, also, in an equally heart-wrenching way.

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I’m going to burst your bubble right now. There’s nothing in this blog about the following:

  • The number six
  • Geese of any sort (Silly, fat, golden, the kind herded in fairy tales, etc)
  • Laying of eggs or geese or… the other kind that’s probably still only featured in porn and hasn’t made its way into erotic romance. Yet.

 It’s just a Christmas blog, okay? Bear with me. I’m giving stuff away.

 Last night I took my son to the Midtown Crossing shopping district to look at their inaugural display of Christmas windows. The idea was that the windows would be similar to the more famous ones at luxury department stores in big cities, but while Omaha has many, many fine features, luxury department stores aren’t thick on the ground here. So, in a twist that’s really quite characteristic of a city with a strong focus on community engagement, the windows represented 21 of Omaha’s creative non-profits. The display is called Miracle on Farnam, and runs along Farnam Street’s shopping and dining district. Just to make things interesting, you can vote for your favorite window. The winner gets a $3000 donation.

 The competition got my son solidly behind in this outing. Bundled up in hats, gloves, and warm boots, we looked at all the windows. Using our open-minded, reflective communicator learner profiles, we discussed each window and pronounced some “a good example of risk-taking” while others were much more engaging, with a clear message of the9780425262900_large_Uncommon_Passion organization’s creative efforts.

 We spent rather a lot of time making funny faces in the cameras placed in one window, strategically placed to get a clear shot right up my son’s nostrils (always amusing to a nine-year-old boy). We took off our critic hats and put on our hot dog eating hats for dinner, then retraced our steps, narrowing the field to two choices. Over dark chocolate peppermint ice cream, we settled the matter of which window got our vote in the most fair manner possible: we threw for it. I lost, but really, we both won.

 This is the first time for this particular holiday outing, but it won’t be the last. During the holidays I get nostalgic for the old standbys: making my grandmother’s shortbread, driving around to look at Christmas lights, putting up the tree. I also like finding new traditions, blending a bit of our pre-kid history in Manhattan and San Francisco with our settled suburban life. 

 Do you have any new traditions, something you’ve blended as a family has come together, or something you’ve happened upon that’s just new to you? Comment for a chance to win books and some Ghiradelli chocolate!