First Cup of Coffee - March 7, 2025

How being a career creative is an ongoing process of discovering how we work and create, and why - if you're an intuitive writer like I am - you might need to write from a character's POV to understand them. 

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Transcript

00:01.46
Jeffe Kennedy
Good morning, everyone. This is Jeffe Kennedy, author of Epic Fantasy Romance. I'm here with my first cup of coffee.

00:12.74
Jeffe Kennedy
Ah, delicious. As delicious as may be, given that my very favorite flavor we are out of, because David has been drinking it. And...

00:24.22
Jeffe Kennedy
um You know, we've been together for 34 years and this this could be the end of us because I don't have my chocolate, you know. Just saying. Today is, say with me people, it is Friday. Woohoo!

00:39.00
Jeffe Kennedy
Thank goodness, right?

00:42.82
Jeffe Kennedy
I'm feeling like this has been a long week. I've been working on this book so intensely. oh Book two of the tour deal. People are mostly calling it NTR two, uh, never the roses to a rose in the mirror.

01:00.12
Jeffe Kennedy
Jennifer Estep wants us to call it always the thorns. Uh, who knows, who knows what the actual title will be? oh geez. Almost bobbled my coffee there.

01:12.41
Jeffe Kennedy
But, um, yeah. But as the kids say, this book is my entire personality right now. That and the Casita book and Casita. Um, uh,

01:24.28
Jeffe Kennedy
i I'm feeling cranky and I know some of this is my intensely working cranky, but also like yesterday I was working and I was sitting down like this and so as opposed to walking. And when I'm walking, I'm turning the other direction.

01:40.64
Jeffe Kennedy
And a guy came up on the portal, which they do, they cross all the time and I've gotten pretty good at ignoring them. And any wraps on the window right next to my head like this, because break blue, but people scared the shit out of me. I like jumped out of my seat and I was like, Oh, I never before have I wanted to go fold diva where it's like, don't interrupt when working.

02:10.55
Jeffe Kennedy
here we are.

02:15.06
Jeffe Kennedy
so oh here we are um I'm doing pretty well. I'm over halfway.

02:26.18
Jeffe Kennedy
ah

02:29.18
Jeffe Kennedy
I'm at... fifty one percent 51%, 183 pages out of 357. Of course, it's a movable feast. The overall goes up and down just depending.

02:41.01
Jeffe Kennedy
um I had a very good day yesterday, writing all new stuff and i got almost 2,500 words and I got through 18 pages.

02:53.11
Jeffe Kennedy
So I'm definitely steaming along, um But my caveat about this being Friday, i mean, it is Friday, no matter what. And Friday has a special magic, I believe, that we can all agree.

03:07.22
Jeffe Kennedy
But um I may work all weekend. We'll see. i'm I predicted that this would take me about four weeks to do And I was really counting on speeding up towards the end.

03:24.77
Jeffe Kennedy
And right now i am at... Oh, wait, I was looking at the wrong week. That's what it always hurts.

03:35.79
Jeffe Kennedy
um Yeah, this is the end of the third week-ish. Well, it is not entirely because I only had three days of the first one. Anyway, anyway i might work this weekend. We'll see. I'm feeling a little bit tired, but I'm also feeling like I might have hit that marathon speed.

03:56.52
Jeffe Kennedy
oh So we'll see. We'll see how things go.

04:01.92
Jeffe Kennedy
because i also need to get strange familiar written by the end of the month. I know I say these things every podcast, but this is the endless cycle of my figuring.

04:12.20
Jeffe Kennedy
I was kind of considering, um going through today on the book on, on the book, on A Rose in the Mirror, book two, um and then switching to Strange Familiar next week because I have a little bit more room deadline-wise on book two than I do on Strange Familiar.

04:40.08
Jeffe Kennedy
Strange Familiar, i have an upload deadline of I have to send it for formatting on March 26th, whereas A Rose in the Mirror is due on April 4th.

04:52.13
Jeffe Kennedy
So, you know, like that's an entire one, two, three, four, five, six days. Well, five days, oh so depending on if I work on the weekends.

05:03.45
Jeffe Kennedy
So I'm seriously considering... doing what I almost never do, which is, i think I might just start working every day for the rest of the month and get both these things done and then take like a week off.

05:20.42
Jeffe Kennedy
Um, Those of you who are long-time listeners will know how unusual this is for me. But I caught myself saying the other day, can be useful to listen to ourselves sometimes.

05:32.46
Jeffe Kennedy
And i was someone one was asking me if I was writing on the weekend. And I said, no, my standard line. I typically don't write on the weekends. I write only on weekdays unless it's really unusual circumstances.

05:46.87
Jeffe Kennedy
And I thought, oh, oh wait. I think I'm in really unusual circumstances.

05:55.22
Jeffe Kennedy
Um, and I'm feeling up to it. So, so we'll see. I'm, I'm really thinking this might be what I'll do. And then maybe I'll just go take a little time off and maybe go run away.

06:08.54
Jeffe Kennedy
so something was scary outside. Killian was looking out the window and then jumped down. Oh, there's water.

06:22.86
Jeffe Kennedy
Someone was washing something and the water was like sideways spraying up against my office window. ah You know, that is one thing about having the construction site next to your home. And I don't know how you people deal like who've done renovations, but I think because construction people get used to it like being their thing.

06:44.04
Jeffe Kennedy
Captain, enough!

06:48.16
Jeffe Kennedy
Yeah. Sorry. I probably shouldn't have yelled that in your ear.

06:55.02
Jeffe Kennedy
Welcome to my life. Welcome to my life. Um, I think the ownership thing is interesting because I think hotels run into this with staff and they have to work against it because like, have you ever been in a hotel and had someone who works there like cut you off, cut you off at the elevator or walk ahead of you or act like you were intruding on their space?

07:24.90
Jeffe Kennedy
which is like an actual human thing, right? But what hap, because what happens is, is when people work in a place, when they're there every day, like our construction workers are here,

07:36.37
Jeffe Kennedy
you know, they, you, you take over the space and you think of it as your space and you need to do this work and you need to do these things. And so other people need to stay out of your way.

07:47.40
Jeffe Kennedy
Same as like at a hotel. It's like this elevator is for me to get my laundry cart up to the top and you are in my way, but it's a problem because like for me, actually, this is my house.

08:00.37
Jeffe Kennedy
and That's my water. You're spraying against my office window again.

08:06.89
Jeffe Kennedy
You know, they are guests here, even though they're performing a service.

08:18.49
Jeffe Kennedy
I was going to say something to her about but it's like the hoses are on Titan now. So it's sideways spring. deep cleansing breaths. Maybe it's not that important unless it happens 57 times in a row, which, Oh, look here. or She's coming back to clean something. What do we want to bet? It happens again.

08:39.01
Jeffe Kennedy
Good thing. i am such a mellow personality. Um, so like hotels, uh, the problem is, is that you want your paying guests to feel like it is their home, that they belong there.

08:52.90
Jeffe Kennedy
And so I notice at very good hotels, very nice resorts, the staff will always defer to non-staff. They will always defer to guests. Like if you're both walking in the same direction, they will always step back and gesture for you to go ahead.

09:11.41
Jeffe Kennedy
And, that might seem like a minor thing. And I don't know if anyone else notices it besides me. I'm sure there's some, but it's very important for whether or not you feel comfortable in a space.

09:24.11
Jeffe Kennedy
um Hostessing is an interesting thing. You know, like making people feel comfortable in a space is not always a simple thing, especially when they're new to the space.

09:39.36
Jeffe Kennedy
Anyway, this is all off topic. Our topic actually being the enduring question of will Jeffe finish this book in time?

09:51.84
Jeffe Kennedy
I think she will. What do you think? We think she will. But yeah, I am kind of liking this idea of just really cranking down for the rest of the month of March.

10:02.88
Jeffe Kennedy
It's my mother's birthday on Sunday. Happy birthday, mom. And she said not to come see her because she's got her friends there. So, yeah, I think I'm just going to turn into this dynamo and then take the time in April that I need to relax. I am going to a Apollycon in April.

10:23.01
Jeffe Kennedy
I know I made that sound like a question. but I am going to Apollycon in April. which unfortunately means I have to miss the Jack Williamson lectureship. That's always one of my favorites, but they're just goingnna have to muddle through without me this year somehow.

10:39.10
Jeffe Kennedy
um Yeah, but I go to Apollycon on the 9th, 9th through the 13th. So, you know, depending on how I feel, maybe I'll just take off the first two weeks of April or first, you know, like if I go through April 1st to get this book done.

10:58.43
Jeffe Kennedy
That might be just entirely the thing to do. I also have these tip-in sheets to finish, right? Those are due for pickup on the 17th. So I've been devoting more time in the afternoon and evening to sitting there and signing. ah So, you know, that's all I do these days is I write books and i sign pages.

11:23.07
Jeffe Kennedy
But that's okay, right? Into every life, ah I learned a new one the other day. I don't know if I shared it yet. Ursula Vernon said it to me, ah but she was talking about a problem she was having and she said, my this is a, my diamond shoes are are too tight problem. And I like that. I like that as opposed to like champagne problems and so forth.

11:48.40
Jeffe Kennedy
um I have been working with Darynda again in the morning. So we've gone back to our old Zoom routine. And so... that's actually been really helpful for me.

12:00.20
Jeffe Kennedy
So i tend to be a little bit better, especially about the breaks between my three one hour writing sessions. Um, okay. So what else do I have to tell you about? I felt like I had things to talk about today.

12:14.78
Jeffe Kennedy
um

12:18.46
Jeffe Kennedy
but I am not sure. That's probably all flat out of my head. um this revision is going to make this book better. I know I keep saying that, but um it's made all the difference in the world to add in this other POV.

12:37.82
Jeffe Kennedy
So one of the problems was, is that the hero and I can't remember how much I've told you all about this book. I know I was being cagey because i am, I wasn't sure how much we were going to tell ahead of time, right? How much we were going to promise.

12:57.80
Jeffe Kennedy
on the, uh, um, you know, back cover coffee and so so forth. Oh, but this, this is a total aside, but Ursula Vernon T. King Fisher. Also, i love her books.

13:10.10
Jeffe Kennedy
Gave me the nicest quote. Yeah. She gave me a great quote. Um, let me tell you what it is.

13:24.25
Jeffe Kennedy
looking, I'm looking. Oh, here it is. Never the Roses is gorgeous, heartbreaking, and kept me turning pages. Kennedy just gets better and better.

13:36.63
Jeffe Kennedy
This book made me cry in the best way. So one of the things I wondered after reading this is, has she read my other books? i don't I don't know if she has, but maybe she just said that. you know it's like it It's a nice thing to say.

13:54.11
Jeffe Kennedy
um it probably won't turn up in the final quote since this book's under Lambert, but it made me happy. It made me happy anyway. And maybe she has read my books and just hadn't mentioned. I mean, we all do that. We all read each other's books because but we love the genre, right? you know and not Readers forced first and foremost.

14:16.30
Jeffe Kennedy
So, um and I let i went off on it i file a tangent with that. What was I going to tell you about Diamond Shoes? And she gave me a nice quote.

14:32.01
Jeffe Kennedy
Oh, like how much I was going to say about this book. But anyway, I had a hard time with the hero. I may have mentioned that. I wasn't quite... getting him to resonate on the page that I, the way I wanted him to, the way that he needed to, uh, because, my editor confirmed that it did not work. He's, I almost never write a golden retriever type hero, which is kind of, um,

15:01.25
Jeffe Kennedy
in book parlance, trope parlance, the golden retriever hero is not super smart, but he is the, um the loyal one, the happy one, the one who will go to the ends of the earth for you.

15:20.07
Jeffe Kennedy
um And not my standard type of hero, right? Usually my men are pretty smart oh reflecting the fact that I myself am a sapiosexual.

15:37.82
Jeffe Kennedy
ah But in this case, it was important that he be this kind of person. But he was too much. He was too empty-headed. um And so one of the things we talked about in the editorial meeting, to oh damn it. That's what get for doing my nails.

15:58.95
Jeffe Kennedy
My nail polish has been popping off. Um, you all know the trauma of my nail polish ongoing, definitely a champagne problem. Uh, I really want to go back to Joe.

16:12.83
Jeffe Kennedy
I'm, I'm talking my nail gal into letting me go back to Joe. We'll see if she lets me, she will, which she just doesn't think it's a good idea.

16:25.28
Jeffe Kennedy
Anyway, heroes, golden retrievers. Sorry. I'm book brain, right? I have no brain left. Um, so one of the things we talked about in editorial meeting as a solution for this was to, write some scenes in his POV. And my editor had even picked out saying, I would like to see this, this, and this from his POV.

16:51.16
Jeffe Kennedy
Point of view for the uninitiated. ah and, um,

16:58.29
Jeffe Kennedy
Son of a gun. of a gun. It's working. So that's something that, especially if you're a writer like me, which is to say, i don't, like, I don't know what the story is until I've written it.

17:12.75
Jeffe Kennedy
Right. um And sometimes i don't really understand characters until I write from their point of view, which I know this about myself.

17:25.36
Jeffe Kennedy
Right. I mean, this is, I guess, um one of the things that I'm always talking about on here is how

17:35.91
Jeffe Kennedy
this is, and want to say iterative, and that makes it sound a little too data driven, but that being a creative is ah process of constantly revisiting things.

17:49.23
Jeffe Kennedy
your process, revisiting what you know, what you understand about how you work, which is partly what makes it great. Right? I know I always use like the grocery store checker as an analogy. It's like, you know, where you could have, I don't know, an adequately paying job. Maybe it's a terrible paying job. I don't know.

18:08.91
Jeffe Kennedy
For some reason I got it in my head at some point that grocery store checkers got paid a decent wage. And my little local grocery store is forever advertising for checkers. And they have one up there now, like must be able to do any shift. And I say, yeah, I could do that.

18:26.24
Jeffe Kennedy
I don't know why that's always enticing to me. It's like, I could go check groceries. ah Don't mind me, but that's what makes being a creative, a great career though, is because you're always learning and growing and changing up what you're doing and discovering new things.

18:45.02
Jeffe Kennedy
And so, I am.

18:49.88
Jeffe Kennedy
Yeah. It's like, I should know this by now that if I'm not getting a character, i need to write it from there, write stuff from their point of view, which always feels like make work to me.

19:00.91
Jeffe Kennedy
you know, like a lot of writers love doing interviews and doing all this. I hate writing extra stuff for this book. I'm going to have written a whole bunch of extra stuff, which is, I suppose at least I'll have material for bonus content.

19:17.03
Jeffe Kennedy
except some of it's not going to apply anymore. and i to I'd have to revise it anyway. Anyway. um Yeah, it's made all the difference too to write from his point of view and get these scenes. And I just keep working and reworking it. And will she get it done?

19:36.69
Jeffe Kennedy
Should she work all weekend? It's supposed to be very snowy here. So snow supposed to come in tonight. supposed to be snowy tomorrow. I think I might just. So on that note, I hope things are going well for all of you.

19:49.29
Jeffe Kennedy
And i will um talk to you all on Monday. You all take care. Bye-bye.