First Cup of Coffee - September 20, 2022

I'm ruminating on characterization today, especially of beautiful/privileged women, with a particular focus on Nic from DARK WIZARD and how she changes over the series. Thus, there may be spoilers.

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

Preorder SHADOW WIZARD, Book One in Renegades of Magic, continuing the epic tale begun in DARK WIZARD. https://jeffekennedy.com/shadow-wizard

ROGUE'S PARADISE is out today! (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).

ORIA'S GAMBIT now available in audio on Scribd here! https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/571010481/Oria-s-Gambit LONEN'S WAR - now in audio! - is available wide. Buy links here https://jeffekennedy.com/lonen-s-war and in audio on Scribd here https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/558914129/Lonen-s-War

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/UtzEGRyZ73Q

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

Transcript

00:00.14
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I'm here with my first cup of coffee.

00:13.11
jeffekennedy
Ah, that's good today is Tuesday September Twentieth beautiful September and are there better things in the world than having a cup of coffee. And the grape arbor in the morning maybe not better but equivalent. Ah, perhaps we should just sit here quietly. But.

00:54.42
jeffekennedy
Yeah, I'm feeling a little tired brains are leaking out of my head at this point revision process is coming along. Um, it's not blazing along. I Could wish that it was going faster. Um, but it is what it is right?

01:22.30
jeffekennedy
Um, I might be screaming it under the wire more than I thought I was going to on this one but well I'm halfway I'm halfway so actually i've. Been doing two days out of four days of revision right? or have I been doing see I can't remember if I've been doing oh no. So I've been doing three days so far and I'm halfway. But yeah. Um, one thing I'm concerned about is I think I talked about this that I have included povs from Nic and Gabriel in this book as well and they're kind of um. Meanwhile back at the ranch type pov bits and I think what i' am going to have to do I'm not having a problem with the revision of smoothing Jadren and Selly's povs and everything that's going on with them I can. Hold that in my head but I think what I'm going to have to do is read Nic and Gabriel's chapters or portions in sequence to get those right because I feel like um I'm repeating on those.

02:50.68
jeffekennedy
I'm also concerned that I oh very beautiful bird must be passing through on migration because that's not a bird that we normally have here. Oh and it's a pair very beautiful yellow orange with a yellow beak. Not sure what they are. They're here for the grapes I didn't harvest all of the grapes. so anyway ah so yeah I'm I'm worried also that I have something. Nic say and think something that's out of character and I'm going to have to contemplate that and ah a little bit worried about the overall arc and whether I have all the details in there. Um, yeah. Carien says it's fine I should probably trust that but I I suspect that my obsessing is part of the process where I'm just worried about those details right now I keep thinking about asking somebody for who's like read the series a few times to do an intense beta read. An intense overnight beta read to tell me if flake. There's any plot points I've forgotten and actually I just thought of a way to um deal with that. Maybe Nic being out of character. The thing is is Nic has changed right? She's a very different person than she was.

04:23.70
jeffekennedy
At the beginning of the books and she thinks differently now than she did Gabriel has changed some He's learned to embrace himself in many ways though, he still struggles. Ah, but. You know Nic has mellowed considerably when I saw some review did I tell you all about this? Um, oh that actually this is different but when I was checking I think when I was setting things free.

05:00.49
jeffekennedy
And I went to the Apple platform and there's this review on Apple and there's only like 5 reviews on Apple and just one is highlighted and for dark wizard and it's a two star review and it says um, "it was okay I guess. Um I had a hard time keeping track of all of the different villains and I got confused" and that was like I'm not even sure who all the villains would be in this scenario. Ah, which may explain why the reader had a hard time keeping track of them.

05:35.34
jeffekennedy
But ah, it's kind of funny because there's 1 review site that keeps tagging me with a review of dark wizard. So like when dark wizard was free. You know they kept popping it into like my Twitter feed you know saying oh we reviewed this book and it's free I'm like. I'm not gonna share this review people because even though it's a 4 star review. It's nice. The reviewer did not like Nic and thought that Nic um, you know everybody's like oh I love Gabriel he's a cinnamon roll hero. And yeah, yeah, we love Gabriel but they're like I got frustrated with Nic because she you know. For all that she's supposed to be really savvy. She made stupid decisions and I get I've ranted about this before on here I get tired of people being so judgmental of female protagonists. Um.

06:30.84
jeffekennedy
There's just these really different expectations for them and I feel like maybe maybe I didn't do my job as a writer but I feel like people don't really understand you know that Nic fully expected to become her father that had Nic remained on her same trajectory that. If she had become a wizard. She would have become exactly like him that she would have been um, a horrible meglomaniacal ah uncaring obsessed with power wizard. Ah. You know Gabriel believes that she wouldn't have been that she had that soft heart and that would have come through and I think Nic knows and I know that you know Gabriel is maybe giving her too much credit I don't know if I often delve into characters like this. Ah, probably should have warned you that spoilery I'll put it in the show notes is it spoilery though. Is it really? Um, so anyway that that's how I feel about the inside of Nic's head and that this is something that she really knows about herself that she could. Very easily have gone down that path and and probably been happy that you know that was what she expected to become perhaps her gentle Maman's influence would have had some effect on her.

08:07.23
jeffekennedy
But I think that would have disappeared over time I think she would have continued to grow right into the mold of her father. Oh and now I just thought of something hold on see it's helping to talk this out with all of you. This is what happens with my friends too when I. Ask them questions about my plots and they sit there and listen and then I'm like oh thank you, Thank you for helping me set this out and they're like I literally said nothing. Ah.

08:38.54
jeffekennedy
So you know does Nic make ignorant decisions in dark wizard? Yes, she and her mother both do ah but they they have been kept sheltered and ignorant. Um. They don't get to know a lot of things that only the wizards know and that's a very deliberate choice by the society. Ah you know and so readers who want a protagonist who is. Fully capable and knows all the things I mean sure. Yeah, not your cup of tea. Not your cup of coffee that's fine and I actually ah don't begrudge the um, the reviewer. Having that opinion or you know feeling that way about the book. You know none of that is ah but I'm I'm not going to gleefully like reshare it because I feel protective of Nic and um, actually it kind of hurts my feelings so that isn't that dumb? Every time somebody says well I got frustrated with Nic or I got impatient with her I'm like hey Nic is trying Nic - Nic is doing her best. She is ah Nic has had a shit deal. Um, maybe.

10:05.22
jeffekennedy
Maybe it's that same thing that and I've noticed this happens with my female protagonists who are very privileged. Um who are very beautiful or talented or popular or you know are trying to put things together and have it. Not go well for them that readers are not sympathetic towards that and it's very interesting to me because it's like there's this perception that especially if a woman has physical beauty that she um is. Got that mosquito that she um that she doesn't suffer that everything is is okay for her and it's it's absolutely not true. I have known beautiful women and while some things are easy for them. There are. Other things that are made not made but become massively difficult because and and I explored this a lot with Ami in Tears of the Rose. Um, you know a woman. Women tend to be objectified anyway in our patriarchal society and a beautiful woman is even further objectified to the point where people tend to not believe that she has humanity that she is not um.

11:38.46
jeffekennedy
A person who who can suffer who might aspire to more which is really interesting to me and and it's not just. Men who think that you know the men who want to possess her to have that beauty but the women who envy her that beauty. So um, while Nic is not classically beautiful. She did grow up with tremendous amounts of privilege and maybe. Biases people against her. Um, yeah, but yes I do feel defensive. Ah I feel protective of Nic which I think is a funny place to.

12:36.15
jeffekennedy
I feel protective of her in ways that I don't about other characters. Ah, and I don't think it's because like I think probably people would want to psychoanalyze and say well that there's a lot of me in her. Um, maybe. Ah, but not I don't know I don't feel like Nic and I have that much in common anyway, that was all sort of ah a tangent my ruminating on my characters I don't. And do things like character interviews or I don't know character sketches character art. All those kinds of things but part of that is because I don't feel the need to interview my characters they're in my head and I know them.

13:30.70
jeffekennedy
Some more than others. So anyway, yeah I think I may have to do that with this book is do a review of just Nic and Gabriel's ah povs in conversations which.

13:46.44
jeffekennedy
Feels like I don't have time to do but we're down to the wire I could move the release date I'm trying not to um yeah I really don't want to but we'll see how the next few days go otherwise

14:06.40
jeffekennedy
What else is going on this is this is all that's going on in my life.

14:14.99
jeffekennedy
Um, do I have anything interesting to tell you all long time listeners will probably recognize this as being like my limited brain space portion of the revision process where. I don't have many words for anything else. Um I haven't added I haven't added or cut much on this book. Ah so it's been a different book that way too. I wrote it all the way through and not a lot is changing. Maybe that's part of what's making me paranoid. Who knows I did go get a manicure yesterday is that exciting probably not. But if you're on video you can see that we did this deep blue color and then put this um glitter on top that has a very very so fine. Pink glitter in it. So it sort of creates like this little bit of an ultra violet look it pleases me it pleases me greatly all right I'm not going to sit here and talk about my nails. Um, guess I'll go get to work I hope you all have a wonderful tuesday. Um I hope your brains are more intact than mine and I will talk to you all on Thursday at which point I hope that you will all be crossing your fingers for me that the revision is complete and that I'm heading into out loud proofing.

15:45.96
jeffekennedy
This is what we're going for light a candle for me I appreciate it and I will talk to you all then you all take care Bye bye.