Tag: The Twelve Kingdoms

Oops. When a Deleted Scene Becomes a Novella

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

For Crown and Kingdom coverThis month’s theme at one of my group blogs is The Cutting Room floor, where everyone will share deleted scenes or talk about the revision process.

It’s apropos timing for me – and I thought I’d share here, too – because just this week I released a novella that’s essentially one big deleted scene.

*cough*

And, really – I almost never do this. I save pretty much everything I cut from manuscripts, which typically isn’t much. The revision process for me almost always consists of adding, not deleting. However, I’m usually of the opinion that I cut them for a reason and they don’t need to ever see the light of day.Crown-of-the-Queen-Final-Type small

This novella, The Crown of the Queen, is with Grace Draven’s The Undying King in our brand new duology FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM. And it’s obviously seeing the light of day in a big way.

pagescover397See, what happened was that I wrote THE PAGES OF THE MIND, which is technically book one in The Uncharted Realms, but chronologically follows book three in The Twelve Kingdoms, THE TALON OF THE HAWK. The way my story brain works, and because I moved to a new point of view (POV), I picked up the tale with the heroine of the new book, Dafne, who’d been left behind in Annfwn for safety and wasn’t there for the climax of the ultimate events in TALON. This was important to me for a number of reasons. One is that it’s key to Dafne’s character – and her journey – that she’s always sidelined. She’s been forever on the fringes of everyone else’s adventures. So, she needed to start from that place. Another reason is that she discovers things in the Annfwn library that become relevant much later.

There was one huge problem with this – by the time I finished THE PAGES OF THE MIND, it was 1) too long, and 2) took way too long to get to the heart of the story. My editor asked me to decapitate the book (his actual words), which meant cutting about 17,000 words. I wasn’t surprised, as I’d worried the story would be too top-heavy, but I also felt that part of the story formed a critical bridge and needed to be told. My editor, frankly relieved that I didn’t have a fit over the “suggestion,” suggested that I self-publish the story as a novella.The Undying King cover

Serendipitously enough, Grace Draven had asked me to do a duology with her around the same time, so woo hoo!! I revised and expanded Dafne’s interim story to 26K and called it THE CROWN OF THE QUEEN. Amusingly, Grace also expanded her story considerably and it’s as lovely as all of her work.

Two epic tales of Fantasy romance from Jeffe Kennedy and Grace Draven.

FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM

The Crown of the Queen: a novella of the Twelve Kingdoms

It’s been a lifetime since librarian Dafne Mailloux saw the coronation of the tyrant who destroyed her family. She did her part to pull him off the High Throne. But his daughter, the would-be Queen, and her sisters must still tame their conquest. If her victory is to last, Dafne must forge peace with the subtle, ruthless methods of a diplomat—and the worst memories of her life . . .

The Undying King

The stories are told in whispers, even after so long:  of a man whose fair rule soured when he attained eternal youth.  Imprisoned by a sorceress wife in a city out of time and place, he has passed into legend.  Few believe in him, and fewer would set their hopes on his mercy.  But Imogen has no choice.  To break the curse that’s isolated her since birth, she’ll find the Undying King—and answer his secrets with her own…

Buy the Book

KindleNookiBooksKobo

On Career-Ruining Books and Moments of Panic

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

CjVEzFzW0AAwjEOAt long last, THE PAGES OF THE MIND is out in the world!!

That was a long stretch, huh?

Sometimes it works out that way. Because this book and the next, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, were part of the second contract I signed with my publisher, this series got bumped out a full year from the previous novel, THE TALON OF THE HAWK. 

I hope the long wait was worth it!

So far, it seems like yes. This book is selling gangbusters and you’ve all been *awesome* about posting those reviews thick and fast. I love that you all embrace Dafne’s story like family. It’s one of the best parts of writing these stories. 

Plus I’m amused by the debates over whose story should come next. I’m contemplating what direction to take after Jepp & Kral’s story in THE EDGE OF THE BLADE, so now is a good time to chime in with your wishlist! I’m totally taking notes, as there’s several paths open in the overall arc to my mind.

Another cool aspect of having you all *finally* get to read this book, is hearing the reactions. I’m fascinated by who chooses which book, which hero and which heroine as their favorite. There’s so much variety! And each book is difficult in its own way to write. I don’t blog regularly about my process because it’s so up and down. One day I’ll be thrilled with how well it’s going and the next I’ll be convinced THIS is the book that will ruin my career. My close friends and critique partners (CPs) have gotten quite good at weathering my despair moments – which can last a week or two, quite frankly. They’ve learned to tell me, “Jeffe, you always do this. Just keep writing.”

With PAGES, I got all the way to the second volcano scene – if you’ve read, you know the one I mean – when I abruptly panicked, quite sure that the book was All Wrong and I needed to go back and… I dunno. Start from the beginning? Scrap it entirely?? I even briefly entertained that Kral was meant to be Dafne’s true love, until my editor gently but firmly informed me that I was Not Allowed To Do That.

And in retrospect… yeah.

So I made my CPs read it at that point and tell me if it sucked. Instead they all said, “how dare you stop there – keep going, dammit!” 

Which really helped.

At any rate, this story was a big departure for me. The title of the next phase of this series, The Uncharted Realms (my editor’s idea), turned out to be strangely prescient. I’m not usually much into fated mates, but this story insisted. I worried to death that all the gesturing would be too much. I fretted that Nakoa was too impenetrable. 

As usual, all that angsting turned out for the best and my CPs were right, as always. It seems I did okay by Dafne, which was hugely important to me. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, here’s all the current buy links!

Thanks ever so much for your love and support. 

~twirls~

Buy the Book

AmazonKindleBarnes & NobleNookBooks-A-MillioniBooksKoboThe Book Depository

Best Fantasy Romance of 2015!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

tumblr_o43ln6XpAO1un3364o3_500
Harlan's Dossier

 

So much happening all at once!

~dances around in the downpour~ 

the talon of the hawkScreenshot 2016-03-16 09.41.56First of all, yesterday I *FINALLY* got to share that THE TALON OF THE HAWK won Best Fantasy Romance of 2015 in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards!!! I’ve known for about seven weeks, but was allowed to share the great good news only with family and friends. One of the first people I told was sister nominee Grace Draven, whose amazing book RADIANCE I thought was sure to win. I have to tell you – I think she was more excited than I was! With competition like C.S. Pacat, Sharon Shinn and Robin Owens, the odds were scary! I’m really just beyond thrilled. The outpouring of love and congratulations has floored me. 

Which leads to the next thing: In a serendipitous coincidence, the hero of TALON, everyone’s favorite mercenary Harlan is in Kensington’s Ultimate Hero Showdown today. You can vote here as often as you like, until 11:59 PM (EDT). 

Also, SF Signal did a really terrific interview with me – excellent questions – and you can read that here. 

Cc4oKSVUUAAarUjFinally, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, I’ve been participating in a Lucky in Love giveaway with four of my sister writers in the Land of Enchantment Romance Authors (LERA) chapter here in New Mexico. Today you can enter to win a digital copy of the highly anticipated upcoming erotic anthology, THE DEVIL’S DOORBELL.

Be one of the first to read it! Enter here to win one of three copies and to enter the grand prize giveaway of a brand new, loaded Kindle Voyager!

A woman’s pleasure is a dangerous thing. A primal appetite that, once awakened, can never be sated. A secret that gives power to those who know it. A magic that, once unleashed, can never be contained.

Some say the clitoris is the devil’s doorbell, set to summon him forth at the merest touch…

It’s time to ring the bell.

Here are seven tales of sexual empowerment and erotic defiance, featuring the hottest storytellers of erotic fiction.

Anne Calhoun
Christine d’Abo
Delphine Dryden
Megan Hart
Jeffe Kennedy
Megan Mulry
M. O’Keefe

Whew! That’s a lot of dancing!

Cover Reveal!!

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

Jeffe-Kennedy-Hearts-Blood-(Type)Look at this gorgeous cover the amazingly talented Louisa Gallie made for HEART’S BLOOD! She’s the artist who did Grace Draven’s gorgeous MASTER OF CROWS cover. I love, love, love that cover. So this is a big treat for me, to have a Gallie cover of my very own!

What’s super cool is you can get the image on various things and support the artist, too! 🙂 

This is my Goose Girl retelling, set in the world of The Twelve Kingdoms, previously available in the Dark Secrets Paranormal Noir Anthology, which no longer exists. The story stands alone, but intertwines with the other stories. 

A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank, husband and even her name.

Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal who she really is, Natilde won’t carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future queen—for the sake of both their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.

With broken vows, anguish and dark secrets between them, Cavan and Nix struggle to find the magic to restore what’s gone terribly wrong… if it ever can be.

As soon as it’s available, I’ll add the buy links!

Now available in Kobo!

And at Smashwords!

And on Amazon!

“On Second Thought…”

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

cover flat cropI know I haven’t posted here as much, but I’m immersed in writing Jepp’s book, THE EDGE OF THE BLADE. So much Dasnarian Empire … I won’t say “goodness, but wow – this is an interesting story to write!

I’m also finishing copy edits on THE PAGES OF THE MIND. (Aren’t the cover flats pretty?? Just wait until you see this green in real life!) At rate, I was reviewing this scene snippet and it made me laugh. That book is Dafne’s and so from her point of view, but Jepp always cracks me up, so I thought I’d share. 🙂

***

Jepp didn’t reply to that, just watched, then cursed under her breath. “Put your things away. Have your big dagger in your hand. Be ready to run. Or jump overboard. Which means lose the cloak.”

I heard it then, as I hastened to do as she instructed, a beast roaring over the screams of men, along with shouting in a jumble of Dasnarian. A large bird, white, with a long, swooping neck, spiraled over me and landed on the deck, flashing into Zynda, who ranged herself next to Jepp, also in a fighting stance. “Trouble,” she said.

“What is that thing?” Jepp asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but it just swallowed a man whole.”

Normally I’d be perfectly happy to cower behind them—and had been thus far—but curiosity got the better of me and I edged around Zynda to peek down the barge at what they watched. A violet haze rippled through the sky and water, as if emanating from some glowing thing. Then a man flew through the air, landing in the water with a splash. He began to swim for the barge, but a violet tentacle rose from the water, wrapped around his waist, and dragged him under.

“On second thought,” Jepp said, “don’t jump overboard.”

***

Happy weekend, everyone!

The Real Reason I Like Fairy Tales

Jeffe Kennedy / / Blog

File Nov 20, 7 35 01 AMLook 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!