First Cup of Coffee with Jeffe Kennedy

Reflections on how Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jayne Ann Krentz modeled author friendships for me, the old people's website, and the perils of hand-drawn maps.

You can see the Susan and Jayne shows h…

Some thoughts on my epic reread of Jacqueline Carey's KUSHIEL'S DART, how literary styles change over time and wrestling worldbuilding and character backstory. Also maps!

First Cup of Coffee is part o…

On finding balance and controlling what you can, buying digital versions of print books I already own and thoughts on my personal theme music.

Sasha, who made the earrings I show, let me know that the…

My viralish tweet - why I said snake instead of scorpion - making time to play, updates on revisions, and how it's a small world.

You can see my viralish tweet here.

You can preorder THE GOLDEN GRYPHO…

Some hints on upcoming surprises in the newsletter, insights into Astar's appearance on the cover of THE GOLDEN GRYPHON AND THE BEAR PRINCE, and my 2021 calendar fiasco.

You can preorder THE GOLDEN GR…

A shoutout today to Saranna DeWylde's FAIRY GODMOTHERS, INC., a new para-rom-com. Also how my cover reveal got pre-empted by a failed coup attempt and why this is not a civil war.

You can find out mor…

Little bells for today's #earringplan2021 - and why they remind me of a fantasy story that give me an epiphany. Maybe you know who wrote it? Also why there's no such thing as too much sleep.

First Cup…

A tour of my new jewelry cabinet! And renovated master bath! Plus my #earringplan2021 and thoughts on taking critique even when it's truly painful.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic Podcast Ne…

A Very Special New Year's Day episode! Okay, not really - but it sounded good. Thoughts on prologues and the place of the Bridgerton books (and awesome Netflix series!) in the Romance canon.

You can f…

How to know where to start a story and why this can be such a struggle even for experienced authors, how to take critique and make decisions on what to fix and how to go about it - and beginnings and…

Creating the shape of your life on a daily basis, how THE PROMISED QUEEN was my pandemic year book, tips on writing Dedications and Acknowledgments and the upcoming @farofeb event!

You can find the Fa…

I'm sideways! (Only on video though.) And back from holiday, talking about rest and recovery, lessons of the pandemic year, and how writing must always take priority.

First Cup of Coffee is part of th…

CW for writing about sexual assault and how we do and don't handle those issues when writing fiction. Also discussion on some cool stuff I've been reading and watching.

The books I mention are Alice S…

On nurturing inspiration, taking care of new, shiny ideas so that you avoid shaken baby syndrome, and not giving your fire away too soon.

The quote I mention is correctly "Be careful how quickly you g…

I'm breaking down how I track revising - both how to avoid the negative wordcount blues and tracking pages revised to predict how long a revision will take.

First Cup of Coffee is part of the Frolic P…

Talking today about balance, focus, building a foundation for productive creativity - and what to do if someone knocks you off your pillow.

You can read up on #DisneyMustPay here (https://www.sfwa.org…

A bit more on what "not making it in trad publishing" does and doesn't mean, along with some inside information on what's not always clear to the reading public. Also adventures in trying to buy book…

Why it's important to learn what YOUR process is and own it, plus a bit on keeping sane in an insane world, using pennames, and updates on new books!

The books I mention are:
Petals & Thorns
Sapphire
The…

Geeking out over structure today - of a book and a series - and extending the analogy of being an architect or a gardener. All spurred by being nearly done with THE GOLDEN GRYPHON AND THE BEAR PRINCE…

Sharing my news on DARK WIZARD today, along with a frank discussion of how even established career authors may suffer from Disappointed Hopes - but how sweet grapes is really a thing.

Jennifer Udden's…