Connor Goldsmith – Jeffe Kennedy Blog

At Last: My Big News!

Jeffe Kennedy / March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 / Blog

So, I’ve been making vague remarks about big changes in my writing career life. More than I thought, because a number of people have asked me about it! But there were Reasons I couldn’t say until today.

The NEWS:

I’m moving to a new agent and agency!

As of today I’ll be represented by Sarah Younger of the Nancy Yost Literary Agency. I’m super excited about this move. Sarah just celebrated her 80th deal (which just happened to be a fabulous one for my wonderful friend, Grace Draven). She’s also just a lovely person all around – and not just because she loves my books! Here’s us at the Harlequin Ball in San Diego last summer (2016), at the RWA annual conference, long before either of us had an inkling we might work together.

What’s funny is – and you longtime readers will particularly appreciate this – Sarah read and loved PETALS & THORNS way back when I published it under my Jennifer Paris pseudonym. Let me tell you, finding an agent who’s read your books for pleasure is a fantastic feeling. She really groks what I write and I think we’re going to make an amazing team.

So, as of today I’m bidding a fond farewell to Fuse Literary. I notified them and my previous agent, Connor Goldsmith, back at the end of February that I’d be making this change. My agency agreement with Fuse (like many), required a 30-day notice to wind up business with them. I will always appreciate what Fuse and Connor have done for me. Agency partner Laurie McLean really worked hard to find a place for me in the agency after my first agent (Pam Howell) left. (For those who don’t know, an author signs with a literary agency, not an individual agent, so if an agent leaves the agency, the author has the option of following them to the new agency or staying put and working with a new agent.) In the end, I approached Sarah about moving my work in a new direction. I liked what she had to say and was hugely gratified that she offered to represent me when I asked.

Big changes like this never seem to be easy, even for the person who initiates them. The last month of conversations and logistics have been surprisingly emotional for me. It’s kind of like filing for divorce and planning a wedding to someone new, all in the space of 30 days.

Plus there was that whole RITA finalist thing in the middle.

All good things, but – WOW! – I’ll be happy to settle into a steady, quiet routine again. ~fans self with hankie~

So, stay tuned for news. Exciting days ahead!

The Real Reason I Like Fairy Tales

Jeffe Kennedy / November 20, 2015 / Blog

Look at the pretty!!! I got a whole stack of cover flats for THE PAGES OF THE MIND. I tried and tried to get a good pic that captures the truly gorgeous green. It looks olive on my screen, but it’s truly more of a deep emerald/light forest green. I love it so hard. Fortunately Past Jeffe was wise enough to save a pristine copy of each of the cover flats from this series. I’d like to get them all framed individually and create a wall collage of them. I hear the cover for the next book, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, is another winner (according to my editor), but they’re still tweaking and I haven’t seen it yet.

[Open, open, open…]

So, I’ve started work on THE EDGE OF THE BLADE – none too soon, right? I should be on track to finish by the January 1 deadline, however. Up until now I’ve been working on a new contemporary/erotic novel that Agent Connor pronounced “wonderful” just yesterday and sent out on submission under the title FALLING STAR. (*happy dancing with crossed fingers*)

As I was writing on EDGE, a fairy tale trope blew through my mind and I considered weaving it in. Fairy tale tropes are great for that and, arguably, this entire series is essentially a fairy tale retelling, though the later books go farther and farther afield. (Books 4 and 5 are actually part of a new series called The Uncharted Realms, which reflects that.) But, because this and other stories of mine are rooted in fairy tales, I often get put on those types of panels at conventions, and a perennial question is why do I love fairy tales. I have any number of answers to this question, but the real one just occurred to me.

I was thinking about the story “The Red Shoes” – one I brought up at one of these panels, for the gruesome, punitive ending, which incited a discussion of the various endings. I was familiar with at least three that people mentioned. Then I realized that fairy tales were my first encounter with the idea that the same story could be told multiple ways. As an avid collector of fairy tale books even then, I quickly encountered the same story in different books. Finding there were various ways to tell the same story lit up something inside me.

Still does!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Taking Time to Think about the RWR Cover

Jeffe Kennedy / April 3, 2015 / Blog

As the weather warms up in Santa Fe, the sunsets get more spectacular – double the blessings!

So, I seldom wax terribly feminist in writing. I’m sure more than a little of this is due to my Texas grandmother’s voice in my head reminding me to be pleasant, soft-spoken and not to ruffle feathers. Which I totally get is part of the problem. Still I tend to avoid conflict and sometimes I don’t voice my opinions for that reason. Of course, I have other, very good reasons for not voicing my position on some subjects, at least not publicly.

But this one has been bugging me for quite a while.

As you all may or may not know, I’m a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and remain an enthusiastic supporter of the organization. RWA is the premier professional organization for romance writers, which means it’s composed primarily of women. There are no absolute numbers for this, as some men write under female pseudonyms, other writers consider themselves gender-flexible and, of course, there’s no gender-reporting requirement. Still, if looking around the room at the National Convention is any indicator, we’re probably talking over 95% female.

I frankly love that about RWA. There are very few arenas in my life where the community is so strongly female and – in the words of Cinderella from Into the Woods – it makes for a nice change. I think more people than I feel this way. Sure the male members joke about being outnumbered, but I figure, hey, welcome to the non-male experience. I embrace the overwhelming femaleness of RWA and feel that should be celebrated. Certainly that fact should be front and center in RWA’s branding.

So why isn’t it?

This is what has me riled up. (Hi Grandmother!) The cover of the April 2015 Romance Writers Report, our official magazine, looks like this:

The lead article is “Master of Your Career,” which… okay, fine. “Master” is grammatically correct and we’re all supposed to be good with the word being gender neutral. It might look silly to have “Mistress of Your Career,” because that word doesn’t denote mastery of anything at all. Which is a sad truth, right there. I probably wouldn’t even have given it (much of) a second thought, except for that image.

Men’s shoes.

I mean, decidedly masculine shoes. Not even gender-neutral shoes, like sneakers or some such, that could be seen either way. Now, I know that probably Corn Creative, who does the magazine design, likely came up with this and didn’t give it a second thought. I think that graphic designer is female, too. It looks like she does work for many publications, including the Society for Neuroscience, which I can vouch from personal experience skews the gender proportion in almost the opposite direction. Maybe she didn’t think about it and just picked a strong image.

What I’m saying is, maybe we should think about it.

I’m saying this also coming off a call with Agent Connor where he (strongly) suggested that I reconsider some of the naming in this new fantasy series I’m working on, as it can be viewed as cultural appropriation. And yes, it irritated me that he said that and I might have replied that we all belong to the human race and that the Celts came up out of India and at which point do I have to stop retracing my cultural inheritance?

(I know, I know – send him a nice note for having to deal with me.)

I’m no less irritated about that now, but… in the clear light of day I’m seeing that he’s likely right. I needed to think about it and avoid causing that offense, if I can. Which I can because it’s really not necessary. And it’s an important courtesy.

These things ARE important. Ruffled feathers or no.