First Cup of Coffee – August 20, 2021

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - August 20, 2021

August 20, 2021

Jeffe Kennedy

A shout out to L. Penelope on the release of REQUIEM OF SILENCE. Also repairing Grace Draven's rep and a discussion of process types and why pre-plotting and outlining isn't the only or even best way to write a book.

You can find Leslye Penelope's REQUIEM OF SILENCE here (https://lpenelope.com/book/requiem-of-silence/).

Check out the gorgeous cover for THE DRAGON'S DAUGHTER AND THE WINTER MAGE! You can preorder the book here (https://jeffekennedy.com/the-dragon-s-daughter-and-the-winter-mage).

Find DARK WIZARD and BRIGHT FAMILIAR here (https://jeffekennedy.com/series/bonds-of-magic), the Forgotten Empires trilogy here (https://jeffekennedy.com/series/forgotten-empires), and the Heirs of Magic books here (https://jeffekennedy.com/series/heirs-of-magic).

If you want to support me and the podcast, click on the little heart or follow this link (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jeffekennedy).

You can watch this podcast on YouTube here (https://youtu.be/Wac8cE6Wt64).

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!



Jeffe’s One Rule of Character Leveling-Up

This coming Friday, July 30, at 6pm Mountain Time, I’ll be joining these great friends and powerhouse Fantasy Romance authors for an online panel! Tickets are free for this event sponsored by Love’s Sweet Arrow bookstore in Chicago. Join me, Jennifer EstepL. Penelope, and Lexi Ryan for a chat moderated by Jen Prokop. Ask us anything!
Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is “Leveling-Up: Is it necessary for protagonists to continually gain power/ability/expertise as a series progresses?” Come on over to learn my One Rule. 

First Cup of Coffee – November 19, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - November 19, 2020

November 19, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

It's release day for UNDER A WINTER SKY! So, I'm burbling about that *and* about the #1 New Release Bestseller ribbon on Amazon!! Also news and upcoming appearances. You can buy the book here (https://jeffekennedy.com/under-a-winter-sky).

The Hampton Library event is here (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/science-fiction-fantasy-writers-live-author-panel-tickets-129325591325).

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!


Last Day for Reduced Preorder Price!

Only one more day to preorder UNDER A WINTER SKY at the lower preorder price of $5.99! The price goes up for release day tomorrow. Well, really it goes up tonight, since I’ll change the price on the retail sites before I go to bed. We’re hearing terrific things about the collection so far! My favorite is the person who instantly clicked, saying “You have no idea how much I need this in my life right now.”

I think we all could use some magic in our lives right now.

Available at these Retailers

     

International Links

   

First Cup of Coffee – November 12, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - November 12, 2020

November 12, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

I'm showing off the cover of Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun. Also talking about the downsides of blending fantasy and romance, navigating Thanksgiving during a pandemic, and a bit on fast-drafting.

The jewelry store I couldn't think of the name of is Borsheims (https://www.borsheims.com/).

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!


First Cup of Coffee – November 6, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - November 6, 2020

November 06, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

How to know when to push on wordcount and when to back off - and how to push, if you do. Also a look ahead at upcoming interviews with L. Penelope, Melissa Marr, and Nalini Singh!

You can read up on my Productivity Mastermind offerings here (https://jeffekennedy.com/mastermind).

The interview with Kelley Armstrong is here (https://blog.jeffekennedy.com/2020/11/05/first-cup-of-coffee-november-5-2020/ ).

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!


First Cup of Coffee – October 29, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - October 29, 2020

October 29, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy

A microphone death, my new hair and makeup regime, the schedule for upcoming interviews, and musings on how authors tend write toward a core image, trying over and over to get it "right."

The video I mention on Cognitive Bias and The Dunning-Kruger Effect is here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y50i1bI2uN4)

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!


First Cup of Coffee – October 22, 2020

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - October 22, 2020

October 22, 2020

Jeffe Kennedy, L. Penelope

Congrats to L. Penelope for Song of Blood & Stone appearing on Time's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time - and a shout-out to her podcast, My Imaginary Friends! Also thoughts on setting goals for your career as an author.

Here the specific podcast of Leslye Penelope's I mention, where she talks about ambition (https://lpenelope.com/2020/10/when-good-news-strikes-my-imaginary-friends-episode-90/)

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!
Find me on Instagram and TikTok!

Thanks for listening!


Cover Reveal for UNDER A WINTER SKY!

In case you missed the big cover reveal on Frolic yesterday, UNDER A WINTER SKY has a cover!

Isn’t it gorgeous??

I think this midwinter holiday anthology – out November 19, 2020 – is going to be just amazing. I’m super excited about it, especially to have a story alongside amazing authors Kelley ArmstrongMelissa Marr and L. Penelope.

My story will be THE LONG NIGHT OF THE CRYSTALLINE MOON, and will kick off my new series, Heirs of Magic. This follows the “next generation” in the world of The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms, a totally new quest happening twenty-five years later. A great place for readers new to the world to jump in. Here’s my blurb:

Shapeshifter Prince Rhyian doesn’t especially want to spend the Feast of Moranu at Castle Ordnung. First of all, it’s literally freezing there, an uncomfortable change from the tropical paradise of his home. Secondly, it’s a mossback castle which means thick walls and too many rules. Thirdly, his childhood playmate and current nemesis, Lena, will be there. Not exactly a cause for celebration.
Princess Salena Nakoa KauPo nearly wriggled out of traveling to Ordnung with her parents, but her mother put her foot down declaring that, since everyone who ever mattered to her was going to be there to celebrate the 25th year of High Queen Ursula’s reign, Lena can suffer through a feast and a ball for one night. Of course, “everyone” includes the sons and daughters of her parents’ friends, and it also means that Rhyian, insufferable Prince of the Tala, will attend.
But on this special anniversary year, Moranu’s sacred feast falls on the long night of the crystalline moon—and Rhy and Lena discover there’s more than a bit of magic in the air.

Magic and mayhem will ensue!

You can preorder here! 

Here’s the rest of the stories:

Four powerhouse authors of fantasy and urban fantasy bring you a feast of romantic midwinter holiday adventures. These heartwarming and pulse-pounding tales celebrate Hanukah, Christmas, the solstice, Yule – and holidays from worlds beyond our own. With fancy-dress balls, faery bargains, time travel, blood sacrifice, and festive cocktails, these stories will delight lovers of fantasy and romance, with a dash of seasonal joy.

Ballgowns & Butterflies by Kelley Armstrong

The North Yorkshire moors are always a magical place, but they’re particularly enchanting at the holidays…especially if one gets to travel back in time to a Victorian Christmas. For Bronwyn Dale, it is the stuff of dreams. Fancy-dress balls, quirky small-town traditions, even that classic one-horse open sleigh, complete with jingle bells. There’s just the tiny problem of the Butterfly Effect. How does a time-traveler make a difference without disrupting the future forever?

The Long Night of the Crystalline Moon, a prequel novella to Heirs of Magic, by Jeffe Kennedy

Shapeshifter Prince Rhyian doesn’t especially want to spend the Feast of Moranu at Castle Ordnung. First of all, it’s literally freezing there, an uncomfortable change from the tropical paradise of his home. Secondly, it’s a mossback castle which means thick walls and too many rules. Thirdly, his childhood playmate and current nemesis, Lena, will be there. Not exactly a cause for celebration.

Princess Salena Nakoa KauPo nearly wriggled out of traveling to Ordnung with her parents, but her mother put her foot down declaring that, since everyone who ever mattered to her was going to be there to celebrate the 25th year of High Queen Ursula’s reign, Lena can suffer through a feast and a ball for one night. Of course, “everyone” includes the sons and daughters of her parents’ friends, and it also means that Rhyian, insufferable Prince of the Tala, will attend.

But on this special anniversary year, Moranu’s sacred feast falls on the long night of the crystalline moon—and Rhy and Lena discover there’s more than a bit of magic in the air.

Blood Martinis and Mistletoe by Melissa Marr

Half-dead witch Geneviève Crowe makes her living beheading the dead–and spends her free time trying not to get too attached to her business partner,  Eli Stonecroft, a faery in self-imposed exile in New Orleans. With a killer at her throat and a blood martini in her hand, Gen accepts what seems like a straight-forward faery bargain, but soon realizes that if she can’t figure out a way out of this faery bargain, she’ll be planning a wedding after the holidays.

Echoes of Ash & Tears by L. Penelope

Coming soon!