First Cup of Coffee - July 17, 2023

For lovers of The Mark of the Tala, I'm asking a question.  Otherwise I'm talking about POV choices, how to decide, and rewriting from different POVs. Also, I'm teaching a Worldbuilding class in Portland August 4!

You can find the Willamette Writers Conference here https://web.cvent.com/event/b8485532-15eb-4073-87ee-d07920fac5c3/summary

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

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Transcript

00:01.82
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I'm here with my first cup of coffee.

00:13.98
jeffekennedy
Delicious today is Monday July seventeenth and I'm a little little frazzled today. Um, for no good reason running behind. Um we decided not to go on our road trip. So I am here all week and the non-comedian sense um but I had scheduled to have my nails done at noon today. Very important things before the trip or we were going to leave this afternoon. Um so I wanted to start writing by 8 so I could get all of my words in. Before I went for my manicure and ah, not only that I'm like not even going to get started by 9 because I'm just now getting to the podcast. It's been a busy morning I have a couple of big birthday shoutouts 2 of my best friends. We're born on this very day I think it's interesting that they share this birthday. Ah the fantabulous Grace Draven we are celebrating her continued existence upon this earth hooray and also Kelly Robson also celebrating her continued existence though. Hers was less in question. So happy birthday Grace and Kelly I have been messaging with both of them this morning so and should get to talk to grace this evening so that'll be lovely. Um, ah a little bit of a scare. My stepdad went into the.

01:49.40
jeffekennedy
Hospital last night with stomach pains were waiting to find out if he's gonna be okay so I've been messaging with my mom this morning and ah and then if you follow me then you know that last week I was in Tucson all week came back Friday afternoon. My mom's medical procedure went great. So she's doing really well that's always something right? So I did get writing done while I was in Tucson I did go off. Every morning and wrote at the Starbucks for several hours on a couple of different occasions and so that was great. It's nice to be um, you know there on pacific time because Arizona doesn't do daylight savings so I would wake up early and just go. Right? to get to work. So um, ONEIRA is almost done. It's at over eighty thousand words I bit the bullet and sent what I have so far to assistant Carien will hear what she has to say about it.

03:06.28
jeffekennedy
I'm oddly nervous about showing this book to anybody that she hasn't said anything yet. She may not have started reading it yet to be fair. So anyway, um I think I will have it done in the next couple of days and revised. Um.

03:25.36
jeffekennedy
And would love to have it revised by the end of the week I and I have it scheduled to have it done by the end of next week so but yeah I stayed on track I didn't get 3000 words a day but I did do quite well. Um.

03:44.29
jeffekennedy
Let's see I think we can see what I got to to to to to do well on Monday I got my 3000 and then Tuesday and Wednesday I got 2000 words and Thursday I only got fifteen fifty and Friday I got seven ninety seven that was um in the Lyft car on the way to the airport. So I mean I was happy to get anything at all right on Friday morning. Um, um, and Thursday I'm not sure why I slowed down so much trying to find a.

04:21.69
jeffekennedy
Less dappled spot if you're on video and this is what I get for being behind. Ah the sun comes through the grape leaves and makes me look like some sort of weird forest creature which to be fair, Maybe I am so.

04:45.37
jeffekennedy
Um, so yeah, I'm I'm not my feelings are not hurt to have this extra time to get this book finished then I'm going to turn around and start working on twisted magic I believe is my plan. Um. And I wont be able to set up a preorder date for that soon. I would love to have it out in september I don't think that's gonna happen I don't see it actually I so it was sort of looking at ways I could try to get it out by the end of September and it would just be so super tight. So I think I will um. Once I get a better sense of things I will set in October release state um, on nearra I've got to decide what I'm gonna do. There's a chance I'm just gonna self publish it and put it out in August and see what you all think and I'm sort I don't know why I'm so nervous about this book. Um. But I'm also gonna show it to agent Sarah to see what she thinks. Ah, but I'm gonna ask her how fast she can turn around reading it. Um because because I do want to release it in August if she. And um, sorry I'm I'm not being articulate this morning. My my thoughts are scattered just um, for no good reason. Um, so yeah, this is what I want cause Sarah she has a reading queue she has other clients I know besides me, but if.

06:15.60
jeffekennedy
She's going to if she wants to read it I need her to read it and tell me if it's a go or no go for her to take on traditional submission and if she wants if if she's going to say no go I want to know soon enough that I can publish it in August. So maybe that makes sense. Um, and then I have to figure out sort of how to to market it and all of that. so um so yeah that's my life. That's where I'm at on things. Ah I'm still not quite sure. How o nera is going to end with like 6000 words to go I think I know it'll be interesting to see so anyway, it won't be a big deal today I'll get. My words in before I go get my nails done and then I'll just come back and get words after as well I just don't like doing it that way. Um, so I did make some notes notes notes notes on things to talk about? Um, oh one of them is.

07:27.92
jeffekennedy
That I promised to share ah in a few weeks ah surprisingly quite soon now I am going to be in Portland at the Willamette writers conference and I'm going to be teaching a master class on world building all day on Friday August. Fourth. So um I will show the graphic for that. Ah I'm really having a hard time with my dappling here. Maybe I'll risk a pause better. That's better changed my angle a little bit. Um.

08:06.47
jeffekennedy
Yeah, so teaching a master class on world building. You could still register for Willamette writers conference. It looks like it's a great conference. Lots of great people there I'm teaching that master class um sign up. It should be really fun and I'll show the graphic on that I think I said that. And also share the link in the show notes if I remember to do that. Um, other things I wanted to talk about today. Um, oh okay, so 1 thing. Um when I was in Tucson. Was I watched rewatched with my mom the movie the big easy and the this is a 1986 movie and we both loved it back in the day. It's streaming for free on Amazon prime. Young Dennis Quaid Ellen Barkin John Goodman is in it too. Interestingly enough. Ah so really great movie about ah a murder mystery a love affair police corruption in New Orleans

09:20.78
jeffekennedy
My mom commented as we were watching it that she didn't remember how sexy the movie was it has great great sex scenes because Ellen Barkin and Dennis Quaid embark on this love affair and it was um.

09:38.28
jeffekennedy
You know I've I've read several things about how movies have fewer sex scenes in them now that's largely part of various crusades to you know have only violence in our movies and not lovemaking not that I am of. Opinionated or bitter about this but it is striking when you watch a movie from like that era from the 80 s and you see how much they devote to the love making scenes and. They have this very passionate love affair and it's really important to the story and it's actually one of the best sex scenes. There's great things that I just love about the sex scene and I will copy out that those of you out there who are super sensitive to consent things. Um. There is a little bit of that byplay this doesn't bother me because it's like fun by play. But I know that people are much more sensitive to this than I am what can I say I know I'm totally Gen x and permissive about this but there is a moment where she says stop that. And he says stop what this or this and it's a wonderful sexy moment to me I could see that maybe it it wouldn't be if people feel like he should have listened to the stop that that said fabulous sex scene. Fabulous love affair and what's really great about this movie.

11:11.68
jeffekennedy
The New Orleans ambiance is fantastic I love all all the set pieces. It's a great story. Um, just really well put together movie but 1 of the really great things about it romance-wise. Is that the romance actually serves to transform his character that because Dennis Quade who is this New Orleans homicide detective falls in love with Ellen Barkin that he learns from her a different way of seeing the world. And he changes what he's doing he actually transforms and becomes a different person with different values by the end of the movie and it's really great because you don't often see that you don't often see particularly in movies. That portrayal of love of embracing true love of wanting the person more than you want these things that you've been cleaning to in your life that you discover our false beliefs. So really recommend the big easy. Um. Great funer watch but also really wonderful example of using the love affair for character transformation and to affect social change in the end. Ah I was also noticing I've been watching star trek strange new worlds the second season.

12:46.30
jeffekennedy
Enjoying that very very much. Um, it really is like classic star trek back to like how things were next generation. It's great stuff, great episodes and the most recent episode um features Spock and nurse chapel. Are having ah an affair. They've been sort of stumbling towards it and I really yeah, very much enjoying that this last episode which I don't recall what it was called. But it's it's you can figure it out. Um.

13:26.12
jeffekennedy
But 1 of the interesting things that the show is doing in this second season I would have to go back and see if they did it in the first season though and I don't recall but I really noticed it last I've noticed it in these last 2 episodes is there has always been the um i. A trope and I don't think it's a trope um a thematic device a storytelling device that goes all the way back to the original series that always began with the Captain's log right you know Kirk Captain's log start a bla blah blah bla blah and that gives us a little bit of our narrative structure right? You know whatever the Captain's log tells us is going on. You know we have been sent to the Armenia system to deal with blah blah blah um and it it gives you. You know that narrative structure. It also gives you some of the backstory that you need to understand the episode. It's a device. Maybe what I want to say is just a plain device storytelling device. 1 thing that um, new strange new worlds is doing is that they are changing up. Whose log it is and I the star trek purists Jim Sorensen could probably tell me I know he recently did a rewatch of all of next generation with his 10 year old son which I think sounds it was charming and delightful from the way he was talking about it.

14:59.60
jeffekennedy
Explaining things to his son ah of what is now a fairly old show right? Ah, but um, so I don't recall if they rotated it around but I really noticed these last couple episodes in strange New worlds. Ah, the last one started out with ah ortegas the pilot who I think is great I Really enjoy her. Um her log and then this one started out with Nurse Chapel's log and. It's an interesting way of playing with point of view. Um that they are bringing in these other points of view from the various people's logs of not just giving us the backstory. And some insight into the narrative structure of the episode but also insight into those characters and informing us of which characters are going to have a stake in this episode and I think this is something strange. New Worlds is doing really well is that it is. Maybe more deliberately than in the past focusing on different characters in each episode and exploring their arcs and I think previous series have done that to some extent. But.

16:25.65
jeffekennedy
Dis feel and and I did fall off of intermediate series. So you know this is the first one I've really come back to and followed closely. But it's um, yeah, it's a really interesting way of telling the story instead of it just being an ensemble cast where it's you know like the original series was. You know, like mainly about Kirk or mainly about Kirkensburg and it would be other people sometimes but you know it tended to focus very much on the primary protagonists and strange new worlds is really taking the ensemble field into the next level. Which makes sense because there's been a lot of change in storytelling in the ensuing years and I know a lot of shows really did delve into that you know like going into different character arcs. But it's a fun way to do things. Ah in Sifwa we have the.

17:23.17
jeffekennedy
Romance steering committee has been doing a monthly town hall and we have a different speaker each month and we had the town hall on Saturday and Leslye Penelope who also writes as L. Penelope came and talked to us about point of view and having multiple points of view in a story. And long time listeners of the podcast know that ah Leslie and I go way back. We used to listen to each other's podcasts a lot and have like non simultaneousous conversations. But then we both fell off of listening to each other alas um, but we are. Still friends but it was nice to see her on Saturday and hear her take and then to have the discussion about point of view after I am almost done with Cassiel's servant if you listen regularly you know that I've been reading the advance reading copy of Jacqueline Carey's Cassiel's servant which is essentially Kushiel's Dart rewritten from Joscelin's point of view and finally towards this towards the end now she's getting more into the emotional angst of of Joscelin's feelings I wish there had been more throughout. Ah she is giving the meat that I was looking for all this time. Ah, but I do think it's an interesting question because.

18:54.73
jeffekennedy
We talk about and and we were discussing this on Saturday making choices about po ov and Leslye brought out the pretty well establishished rule of thumb that you want to put a scene in the point of view of whichever character has the greatest stakes in what's going on and. Kushiel's dart was written in the first person point of view of Phedre and that was absolutely the correct choice that was her story. It needed to be told from her point of view I'm not sure that Joscelin's point of view is as powerful. It's been a fun read and definitely a terrific fan service but I don't think it's added to the story now I'm going to send this book to assistant Carien who has not read any of the Kushiel series and we will see what her take is on reading the book. from from that point of view I'm very interested in her take on it. Ah yeah, so and I did put out a poll on social media. Please feel free to answer here too. But. I am considering rewriting the mark of the tala from Rayfe's point of view people have asked me for a Rayfe's point of view over the years and I'm feeling kind of inspired I mean when would I do this. We don't know but ah I would like to do this and so I'm asking.

20:31.70
jeffekennedy
Would you if you loved the mark of the tala would you be interested in reading that book from Rayfe's point of view First person point of view and then yes I would probably go on to do the other books. Although it occurred to me that means I would have to rewrite the pages of the mind from Nakoa's point of view. And I really don't know how I would do that He's almost a Joscelin character right? We come up with these stoic heroes and then what's we get in their heads. It's like is there really anything going on in their heads. Ah is that awful to say.

21:09.28
jeffekennedy
Anyway, let me know what you think I'm gonna go get to work I hope you all have a fabulous Monday I hope things are going well for you and I will talk to you all on Friday you all take care of right by bye.