First Cup of Coffee – November 27, 2023

TWISTED MAGIC is done and coming tomorrow! Also, the ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is free on YouTube. I’m also talking gratitude for being alive and about my writing/publishing plans for the next year.

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - November 27, 2023

November 27, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

TWISTED MAGIC is done and coming tomorrow! Also, the ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is free on YouTube. I'm also talking gratitude for being alive and about my writing/publishing plans for the next year.

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

You can always buy print copies of my books from my local indie, Beastly Books! https://www.beastlybooks.com/

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

Sign up for my newsletter here! (https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2y4b9)

You can watch this podcast on YouTube here https://youtu.be/TgGYYexa2i8

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 23, 2023

A great sci-fi movie you’ve never heard of (at least, I hadn’t), why I’m shipping Alex and Paul on The Morning Show, ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is now wide, a fabulous giveaway, & giving my books as gifts.

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - October 23, 2023

October 23, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

A great sci-fi movie you've never heard of (at least, I hadn't), why I'm shipping Alex and Paul on The Morning Show, ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is now wide, a fabulous giveaway, & giving my books as gifts.

The Faroween giveaway is here https://farofeb.com/giveaway/

The shows I mention are:
Edge of Tomorrow https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631867/
Spy https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3079380/
The Morning Show https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7203552/

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

You can always buy print copies of my books from my local indie, Beastly Books! https://www.beastlybooks.com/

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

Sign up for my newsletter here! (https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2y4b9)

You can watch this podcast on YouTube here https://youtu.be/GLSsdYnkBxc

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 – July 10, 2023

The ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is out now! I’m talking about Jacqueline Carey’s CASSIEL’S SERVANT, how it compares to KUSHIEL’S DART, and on making choices about where to begin a story.

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - July 10, 2023

July 10, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

The ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is out now! I'm talking about Jacqueline Carey's CASSIEL'S SERVANT, how it compares to KUSHIEL'S DART, and on making choices about where to begin a story.

ROGUE FAMILIAR out now! https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-familiar The Audiobook is also out here https://www.audible.com/pd/Rogue-Familiar-Audiobook/B0CB1Y9B7Q?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-357495&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_357495_rh_us

Read the Falling Under books  in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1ZMDW1Y

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

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

Sign up for my newsletter here! (https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2y4b9)

You can watch this podcast on YouTube here https://youtu.be/RVQ8690v0c8

Support the show

Contact Jeffe!

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!



Self-Care & Refilling the Well When Things Are on Fire

Exciting news!!! For all of you who have been waiting waiting waiting for the audiobook of ROGUE FAMILIAR, it is liiiivvveeee! Just on Audible for the next 3 months, then it will be wide. If you’d like to review, I do have some free downloads available. Comment here or email Assistant Carien via the website contact form.   

Amusingly enough, our topic at the SFF Seven this week is self-care and burnout. I say amusing because this has been a topic of discussion in Jeffe’s Closet, my Patreon and Discord, these last couple of weeks. One thing I love about that space is that people can ask me questions and it gives me the opportunity to mull answers I hadn’t previously given thought to.

One gal asked me about advice on getting through when you’re faced with deadlines and your well is empty. I talked about this on Monday’s podcast, too, but I’m going to reiterate here because I think our group mind hit on something really important.

We often think of refilling the creative well as something lovely, peaceful, and largely passive. Self-care often carries the sense of similar calm. We think of leisurely strolls, hot bubble baths, a glass of wine, gazing at the sunset with friends, lingering over moving art at museums and galleries. All of these things are lovely… And not terribly useful when you’re facing deadlines, dealing with crises, and you’re already short on time with a well so empty you’ve got nothing left to put out the fires, much less create something to meet those deadlines with.

So, what do we do then?

The thing is, burnout is something we must take very, very seriously. I’ve been there – and once you hit full burnout, the bottom of the well is dry as a bone, then it can takes months or years to recover. It’s easy to put off our mental health, to decide that refilling the well can wait until this family member is doing better, or this deadline is met, or after some future date when we have time to deal with it. Except that mental health and burnout don’t obey our schedules. Taking this approach is like deciding that an infection can wait until we’ve finished some other projects – by the time we’re ready to deal with it, we could have blood poisoning or lose a limb.

What’s the answer then? This was my advice to her: cut out everything that is not actually on fire and aggressively fill the well.

I was concerned that this was too vague, but it worked for her! Sometimes we need permission to ignore everything that is not a crisis – to ask ourselves “is it on fire?” and set it aside if not. As for aggressively filling the well – an image that seemed to amuse everyone – I can’t tell you how to do that. We all have to find what refills our own wells. But as for going about it aggressively, that is the key. That means you’re prioritizing those activities, going after them with gusto, rather than waiting for the water to seep in. Muster your army of brooms and aggressively fill that well!

One Piece of Advice for Aspiring Authors

Figure out what your process is and own it.
See, the point is that every single creator has the0ir own creative process. It’s as individual as retinal patterns. While it can be helpful to take classes on writing processes and techniques, to learn from other authors, in the end we all find that our process is unique to us. I’ve seen SO MANY writers struggle to change their process and try to “make it be” something or other, to no avail. The whole point of learning various techniques is to triangulate on what works for you. It can be a long and iterative process, but that’s the “magic formula.” Figure out what your process is and own it. Don’t try to make your process be something other than what it is, even if you are occasionally frustrated by it. (I often am by mine!)
Like learning to love yourself, learn to embrace your process. Own it. It’s yours.

First Cup of Coffee – April 25, 2023

How to graciously answer that invidious question: “Have I heard of you?” Also, some lovely early feedback on ROGUE FAMILIAR – just released!!! – and how we don’t always know what we’re writing.

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - April 25, 2023

April 25, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

How to graciously answer that invidious question: "Have I heard of you?" Also, some lovely early feedback on ROGUE FAMILIAR - just released!!! - and how we don't always know what we're writing.

ROGUE FAMILIAR out now! https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-familiar

The book I mention is Her Lost Words: A NOVEL OF MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT AND MARY SHELLEY By Stephanie Marie Thornton https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635204/her-lost-words-by-stephanie-marie-thornton/

Read the Falling Under books  in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1ZMDW1Y

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

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

Sign up for my newsletter here! (https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2y4b9)

You can watch this podcast on YouTube here https://youtu.be/ZVXpRTxrIPo

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!



ROGUE FAMILIAR RELEASE DAY!

He left to save her from herself… But who will save him from her?

When Lady Seliah Phel wakes from a drugged sleep to find herself abandoned by her newly bonded wizard, she vows revenge—and to hunt him down. Tracking him through the familiar wilds of the marshlands of her home is the easy part; learning to use her nascent magical skills is something else entirely. So is facing the vast, uncaring society of the Convocation in a time of brewing war.

Jadren El-Adrel is not known for doing the right thing, but getting as far away from Seliah as possible before he drains her dry will be his one noble gesture. So what if she weeps a few tears. Better than her dying in his service—or enabling him to become the ravenous beast that crawls beneath his skin. Unfortunately, in his self-imposed exile, and without the power of his familiar, Jadren quickly runs afoul of the enemy.

As her vengeful quest for recapture becomes a rescue mission, Selly faces all she still doesn’t know about the greater world of wizards and familiars. And Jadren, once determined to walk his own path and stay far, far away from the idealistic fools of House Phel, finds himself aligning with them against the house of his birth. War is coming to the Convocation, which means a clever wizard should pick the side most likely to win.

Sadly, Jadren has never been all that clever…

 

Releasing Monday: ROGUE FAMILIAR

     

It. Is. Finished.

Yes, oh my lovelies: I completed the final proofing of ROGUE FAMILIAR this morning and will have it uploaded everywhere tomorrow for release on Monday, April 24.

Cue the rejoicing!!!

And, since this is coincidentally (OR NOT???) spring promo week here at the SFF Seven, it’s actually apropos for me to be mentioning this book. I know a lot of you have been waiting for something like mumble mumble two months mumble for this book. All I can offer is….

Now you can haz!

😬

He left to save her from herself… But who will save him from her?

     

As a special treat, here’s a little excerpt:

It wasn’t as if magic made logical sense at the best of times anyway. Closing his eyes, trying to screen out the worry that he hadn’t heard Seliah’s heart beat in far too long—you wouldn’t be able to hear it from here anyway, idiot—he let his fingers drift over the gadgets. Waiting for one to speak to him. As if a metal doohickey could speak.

You’re wasting time, his inner voice observed. Wasting what little life Seliah has left.

I’m not. She wouldn’t survive a trip to find a healer. She might not survive the next few minutes.

At least finding a healer has a chance of working.

An infinitesimally small chance.

Still a non-zero chance, whereas this… What are you even thinking? You might as well dance around the bed beseeching the spirits of our ancestors to intervene.

He paused. Is that something people do?

You’re asking me? I am you. I don’t know anything more than you do.

I’m not asking you. I’m wanting you to shut up.

Then shut up.

You shut up! Cursing in frustration, Jadren took his own advice and attempted to quiet his mind. If this had any chance of working—It doesn’t. Shh.—then he needed to give it his all. Quiet mind. Trust his wizard’s intuition. Seliah deserved his best effort.

 

     

First Cup of Coffee – April 17, 2023

Sharing insights I gained from being a guest author at the Jack Williamson Lectureship, including thoughts on emotion in stories and the critical importance of endings – and why you HAVE to finish that book!

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - April 17, 2023

April 17, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

Sharing insights I gained from being a guest author at the Jack Williamson Lectureship, including thoughts on emotion in stories and the critical importance of endings - and why you HAVE to finish that book!

Read the Falling Under books  in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1ZMDW1Y

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

Preorder ROGUE FAMILIAR here https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-familiar

RUBY is out now! https://jeffekennedy.com/ruby FIVE GOLDEN RINGS is now available here: https://jeffekennedy.com/five-golden-rings SAPPHIRE is available here: https://jeffekennedy.com/sapphire and PLATINUM is available here https://jeffekennedy.com/platinum.

THE LONG NIGHT OF THE RADIANT STAR, a midwinter holiday fantasy romance in the Heirs of Magic series, now available!! https://jeffekennedy.com/the-long-night-of-the-radiant-star

SHADOW WIZARD, Book One in Renegades of Magic, continuing the epic tale begun in DARK WIZARD. https://jeffekennedy.com/shadow-wizard is out now! Including in audiobook!

Interested in Author Coaching from me? Information here: https://jeffekennedy.com/author-coaching

ROGUE'S PARADISE is out (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-paradise). Buy book 1, ROGUE'S PAWN, here! (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-pawn) and book 2, ROGUE'S POSSESSION, here! (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-possession).

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/3CyMMK0WYyM

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 – April 10, 2023

Should you throw out the first 30 pages of your manuscript? Um, no. Bad advice. BUT, figuring out where to start a story is an ongoing challenge, craftwise, and also because the marketplace changes rapidly.

First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

First Cup of Coffee - April 10, 2023

April 10, 2023

Jeffe Kennedy

Should you throw out the first 30 pages of your manuscript? Um, no.  Bad advice. BUT, figuring out where to start a story is an ongoing challenge, craftwise, and also because the marketplace changes rapidly.

Read the Falling Under books  in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1ZMDW1Y

Join my Patreon and Discord for mentoring, coaching, and conversation with me! Find it at https://www.patreon.com/JeffesCloset

Preorder ROGUE FAMILIAR here https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-familiar

RUBY is out now! https://jeffekennedy.com/ruby FIVE GOLDEN RINGS is now available here: https://jeffekennedy.com/five-golden-rings SAPPHIRE is available here: https://jeffekennedy.com/sapphire and PLATINUM is available here https://jeffekennedy.com/platinum.

THE LONG NIGHT OF THE RADIANT STAR, a midwinter holiday fantasy romance in the Heirs of Magic series, now available!! https://jeffekennedy.com/the-long-night-of-the-radiant-star

SHADOW WIZARD, Book One in Renegades of Magic, continuing the epic tale begun in DARK WIZARD. https://jeffekennedy.com/shadow-wizard is out now! Including in audiobook!

Interested in Author Coaching from me? Information here: https://jeffekennedy.com/author-coaching

ROGUE'S PARADISE is out (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-paradise). Buy book 1, ROGUE'S PAWN, here! (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-pawn) and book 2, ROGUE'S POSSESSION, here! (https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-s-possession).

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/wfEzHcdo0P0

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!