First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

I'm deep into finishing BEYOND THE BRIARS (Never the Roses 3) and have serious book brain. Random thoughts on small worlds, the stood-up-for-dinner trope, and doing work with the subconscious in #therapy. Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit Love, Lies, and Le...

My so-far revision of BEYOND THE BRIARS (Never the Roses 3) is almost done! Otherwise I'm mostly delving into my rant about a much disliked trope: where man is stood up by powerful woman partner and it hurts his feels. Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit Love...

An unboxing of... *drumroll* A SPECIAL EDITION OF AMONG THE THORNS! I'm also telling you all about my weekend at FanX Salt Lake City and the fab authors I was privileged to hang out with.  Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit Love, Lies, and Ley Lines MAGIC RE...

A correction to last week's podcast (Aidan Quinn, *not* Liam Neeson!), along with a story about how my weird brain scrambles names. Also, on officially cancelling/postponing the release of PRINCES, POTIONS, AND PIXIE DUST. And thoughts on envious techbros and how their longing to be real creatives and disdain for genre led to them being genuinely evil in training their "AI" monsters...

My mixed (and spoilery) review of Practical Magic 2. Also thoughts on Ed Sheeran (TLDR: sigh). Otherwise I'm working away on Never the Roses 3 and happy for rain in Santa Fe! Special Cats and New Mexico weather episode :D  Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit...

How changing the name of New Mexico to New America is absurd on every level. (When did Monty Python start writing the script???) Also the Southern New Mexico Book Festival and a childhood story about why I learned it was bad to be a sensitive person - and how we affect people in our lives. Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request...

 How to read Publisher's Marketplace Deal Reports and other arcania of how traditional publishing finances work. Also my very cool appearances at Fan X Phoenix and people who do and don't (and why it isn't shocking at all).  Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades,...

The utter nonsense of people claiming to be "thought leaders" and how they feed into an incestuous cycle of creating more nonsense with Generative "AI." Also, the basic common sense of being an author, especially an indie author, and why craft and financial competence matter. And: wine sleeves. Why? Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direc...

I'm counting down the last few days of my 50s! Also, advice on not having the chops (yet) to execute an idea, thoughts (and history) on men taking up all the air in women-dominated spaces - especially during Romance events - and why it's an increasing problem that authors paying into events is the business model for so many of them. Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can...

Ego, really bad writing advice, and what I think Jeff Bezos has in common with creators who believe they're successful because they are just that special. Also, an interesting story about "AI" tags and Bramble - another reason to love them! Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Re...

I'm addressing a listener question today about HM Wolfe's DAGGERMOUTH and the discourse around it regarding generative "AI" and other, similar situations and what I think about community policing. Basically I come down to listen to the experts and professionals. (Also, you can pry my em-dashes from my cold, dead keyboarding fingers.) Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Bookseller...

Very exciting new gate installation today! Otherwise, I'm talking about drafting Never the Roses 3, how to identify the root cause of "writer's block," and approaches to resolving it. Also, choosing the worldbuilding elements that are relevant to your story. Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request f...

I'm back from book tour for AMONG THE THORNS and telling you all about it! Also ruminations on seeing old friends (both in age and longevity - ha!) and the experience of going back to my childhood and teenage haunts in Denver. Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books,...

AMONG THE THORNS is out in the world!! I'm burbling about the launch party, the lovely gifts and thank-yous from readers, and talking a bit about the book and writing a "love triangle with teeth." Also about the difference between my Jeffe Kennedy voice and the Jennifer K. Lambert one, and my evolving understanding of the happy-ever-after.  Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksell...

We are less than a week away from the release of AMONG THE THORNS! Amazing, really. I'm also talking about "easy" writing advice that really isn't useful because it's too pat. And what kinds of scenes and details truly are gratuitous. Preorder ~ Among The Thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here Ne...

 Why everyone should read CONSENT by Vanessa Springora about her affair with pedophile Gabriel Matzneff when he was 49 and she was 14. Also, how very much I loved The Devil Wears Prada 2, with observations on how the writing was done really well. And there may be a bit of a bookish opportunity embedded here!  The Romancing the Vote Auction is live! You can bid on my items here:  Writing Retreat in...

Weird self-publishing takes that appear to be positive, but are truly toxic. What truly works to build a career as an author, having solid goals, and knowing that achieving them will be great, but won't make you happy forever because external validation never does. Also, appreciating the book deal that doesn't seem glam because it furthers those goals. Indie Booksellers! You can buy my i...

NEVER THE ROSES in ebook is on sale for $1.99! All of my other news is life-based: getting in-home care for David, setting up trusts, taxes, purging my bathroom, and generally feeling lighter getting over these big hurdles. Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit Love, Lies, and Ley L...

I'm getting weepy about Jane Yolen's passing on the podcast today, talking about how kind she was to me. Also about my hijinks attempting to use my new espresso machine , changes to the podcast schedule (yet again, but for the last time now, I think), and the future of "AI." Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order...

Some tough love on losing sight of the joy of storytelling and the great privilege of being able to make a living doing this wonderful, creative effort and instead getting lost in a swamp of comparisonitis and striving for status. Especially on why bigger advances aren't necessarily better. Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an orde...

I'm back from retreat and pleasantly relaxed. Looking forward to the weekend events ahead - especially the RomCon at Books on the Bosque in Albuquerque tomorrow, June 6, 10am-3pm! Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and the Bandit Love, Lies, and Ley Lines MAGIC REBORN Never The Roses Preor...

The (absolutely gorgeous) trade paperback edition of NEVER THE ROSES releases tomorrow!! Otherwise, I'm talking about friendships - working on them, forgiving what we can, drawing boundaries, and mulling the difficulty of having a relationship with someone who doesn't share your ethics about other people. Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a...

On doing hard things - and recognizing that we're going to feel what we feel and that pretending otherwise is stressful. And a bit more on reading and how it can go from being an escape to being a source of pressure, like monetizing creative pursuits. Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request for an order here New Releases ~ Blades, Books, and...

On making time for reading, even though we don't all have the same 24 hours in a day, and other thoughts on tracking books read and that 📀🐎, competition, scheduling our lives, and why audiobooks rock. This is Michael Ulloa, Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach , who I follow on Instagram and really like for his practical advice and scathing debunking of "wellness" influencers. h...

The Battle of the Roses and Gophers commences! Also, my weekend at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival and what I learned about writing from listening to Susan Orlean.  Goodreads Giveaway for AMONG THE THORNS goes May 4-25. Enter here. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/431710-among-the-thorns Indie Booksellers! You can buy my indie books direct from me at discount!! Submit a Request...