A rambling & writerly interview with Jeffe Kennedy!

Today I thought it would be fun to interview my fabulous author galpal and blogmate Jeffe Kennedy! Jeffe's new novel, Rogue's Pawn, was released by Carina this week, a book that is risky, funny, sexy, highly entertaining, and full of shadows and light - and garnering awesome praise. Welcome Jeffe! 

Author and mischief maker
Jeffe Kennedy,  

Jeffe: Thanks for inviting me over! 

CC: So Jeffe, you had a hard time originally getting ROGUE'S PAWN published because it was too weird. (Though now it's getting awesome reviews!) And there is a sense out there that it is a "unique" book. How do you feel about that label?

Jeffe: Ha! I love it. As a reader, I was tired of what felt like the same old thing. I wanted a different take and was kind of shocked that the industry didn't. I feel really validated now that my "weird" is turning out to be delightful to someone besides me.

CC: Do you ever think the label turns readers off? I sometimes get that label, that's why I ask. Sometimes I feel proud, and other times I feel like, will readers think it's somehow too much work as opposed to a known quantity?  

Jeffe: Maybe so? But then I think that my readers are the ones looking for more, who want something different. That's who I am as a reader, so it makes sense that it's who I am as a writer.

CC: One thing I love about your book is that the fae is this weird species, with strange ways of thinking, as exemplified, for example, by their attitudes toward things like war. To me, you sort of re-imagined the fae. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Jeffe: I'm so excited that readers are getting that. I wanted the fae to feel like a totally alien race. The really old fairy stories have them like that - kind of monstrous, but mainly because their value system is so different. That's before the newer stories made them "cute" - I have a big problem with the ancient Celtic legends, like Halloween, being defused of the dark implications and made into something silly and happy

CC: Ooh, I like that. And there are humans in the midst of this world, who your heroine Gwynn instantly relates to.

Jeffe: Right - it's an instinctive thing. But then, it might turn out that she doesn't have much in common with the humans either...

CC: So, a writerly question. I know you're a morning writer. How do you get started at the beginning of your work day?

Jeffe: I get up early and go exercise, before I'm awake enough to think up reasons not to do it.

Then I sit down at my desk, write my daily blog post and hit Freedom for two hours. Hopefully. Sometimes I dink around on Twitter for a while. But that is Bad and Wrong.

CC: Oh, you use Freedom, too! I just started. Isn't it awesome?

Jeffe: I *love* it!! I confess to being weak. Freedom saves me from myself

CC:   Do you study other people's books? Do you close read?

Jeffe: Oh yes! I really do. I study how JD Robb keeps her In Death series going at 34 books. I look at other authors whose series have faltered over time. My very favorite books? I go back over them, watching the magic happen.

CC: Right. On that JD Robb! I'd like your findings on that. What is the biggest question on your mind these days?

Jeffe: Ooh. I'm thinking a lot about social media, and at what point promo becomes obnoxious awful. It's such a delicate balance

Jeffe and I both admire JD Robb's
wizardry in keeping the Roarke
and Eve relationship so fresh.

CC: You note elsewhere that you began Rogue's Pawn in 1995. What would most surprise your 1995 self about how the book ended up?

Jeffe: What an interesting question! I think that it turned out as smart as it is? Maybe that sounds awful, but by the time I finished writing and refining it, the story turned out to be so much MORE than I originally thought it would be

CC:How about the vision. Did the vision for it itself change?

Jeffe: No! Isn't that interesting? I'm amazed, looking back at those badly written, horribly crafted, faltering first fragments, that the vision stayed strong and clear.

CC: That is really interesting.

Jeffe: It makes me think that the story and the craft are two different things. Inspiration comes first and the ability to translate it takes work.

CC:When you are thick in writing a book, how does external reading affect you? Do you like to read books that evoke a feel that fits where you're at, or do you go out of your way to read oppositely? Or does it not matter?

Jeffe: Ha! You've discovered my secret. When I'm in the thick, I absolutely seek out books that feel "nutritious."

CC: LOL Aha! No, I do that, too. But I didn't know if other writers do. I have heard of writers who shy away from being influenced.

Jeffe: Yeah - I'm not sure genre matters, but I'm much more impatient with reading material if I don't feel like it's feeding me. You know - I have SO much influence in my head, I can't even think about that. All those stories and voices and characters...

CC: So, we are pals, and also CP each other on occasion (critique partner). In fact, we are both sort of CP whores with multiple CP partners. What do you have to say for yourself?

Jeffe: Um, I love you and you're not like the others? They mean nothing!

CC: LOL. Do you wonder what your CPs are getting from their other CPs?

Jeffe: OMG, yes! But I thought I was just a nutbag for wondering! What does SHE tell you that I don't??

CC: No! I wonder too!

Jeffe: But you know, everyone brings such a valuable perspective - I love hearing all the input. It helps me so much

CC: Sometimes when I talk about one CP to another, I feel weird. And I feel weird when I don't talk about that CP. I wonder if that is common.

Jeffe: It is weirdly like love relationships. But they share that closeness and vitality. It's intimate, on a certain level.

CC: Yes, and never a group activity. Unlike...er...

Jeffe: LOL

Strange, secret hand detail from the cover,
discovered by author Laura Bickle! 

CC: Okay, onto the next question!

Jeffe: ~composes self~

CC: You, my dear sir, are apparently a pantser, I was shocked to learn. I am a plotter. Okay, be honest, do you pantsers have a superior attitude toward plotters? Like, you are the creative free ones and we are the uptight orderly ones? Because, I know you do!!

Jeffe: No way! We know you pre-plotters look down on us for being all unorganized and loosey-goosey! Admit it! Because "pantser" is obviously a term created by a preplotter, to convey that sense of irresponsibility

CC: *narrows eyes* okay.

Jeffe: ~folds arms and casts meaningful glare~

CC: Okay, why do I think Rogue is so hot and attractive when he is something of a scoundrel? I really find myself burning with curiosity for his layers to be peeled back.

Jeffe: Because he is! He's that which cannot be controlled. He's like a force of nature - wild, primitive, strong, and not something you can parse by logical standards

CC: Aha! Was that part of the vision of the book? The scientist up against the wild force of nature?

Jeffe: You're so clever! This is why you're my FAVORITE CP. Yes. He is the thing she can't understand in the way she knows. He doesn't operate by the natural laws.

CC:Is that central to the series arc? Or, wait, as a pantser, do you have a sense of the series arc?

Jeffe: I *do* have a sense of the series arc. I have a general feeling for their journey, I just don't know the precise plot points until I get there.

CC: I'm looking so forward to the rest! (which I will hopefully get before everyone else. ahem.) Hey, thanks for coming over here and doing this interview!

Jeffe: Thank you! This was really fun.

Jeffe is quite delightful on social media. Her blog is here. And you can be her twitter friend  here, or her facebook friend here, and here is her website.

Rogue's Pawn

This is no fairy tale…

Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can’t control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he demands an extravagant price—my firstborn child, which he intends to sire himself…

With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils—including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to…

Find excerpts, plus review and buy links on Jeffe's site.