Release Day Double for @JeffeKennedy

It's our first Big Release Day on our new ship The SFF Seven!  ~swings the champagne~ Join us in celebrating not one but TWO books hitting the market today for our Sunday Captain, Jeffe Kennedy.

First up, a new fantasy romance series in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms:

PAGES OF THE MIND (THE UNCHARTED REALMS) 

An Orphan's Throne

Magic has broken free over the Twelve Kingdoms. The population is beset by shapeshifters and portents, landscapes that migrate, uncanny allies who are not quite human…and enemies eager to take advantage of the chaos.

Dafne Mailloux is no adventurer--she's a librarian. But the High Queen trusts Dafne's ability with languages, her way of winnowing the useful facts from a dusty scroll, and even more important, the subtlety and guile that three decades under the thumb of a tyrant taught her.

Dafne never thought to need those skills again. But she accepts her duty. Until her journey drops her into the arms of a barbarian king. He speaks no tongue she knows but that of power, yet he recognizes his captive as a valuable pawn. Dafne must submit to a wedding of alliance, becoming a prisoner-queen in a court she does not understand. If she is to save herself and her country, she will have to learn to read the heart of a wild stranger. And there are more secrets written there than even Dafne could suspect…

BUY IT NOW

Amazon   |  Kobo   |   BAM!   |   iTunes   |  IndieBound

Then, because she's shooting for the stars, Jeffe is releasing a second book--a short story that takes place in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms--in a fantasy romance double shot with author Grace Draven. Think of this novella as a bridging story between TALON OF THE HAWK and PAGES OF THE MIND.


FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM

The Crown of the Queen: a novella of the Twelve Kingdoms by Jeffe Kennedy

It's been a lifetime since librarian Dafne Mailloux saw the coronation of the tyrant who destroyed her family. She did her part to pull him off the High Throne. But his daughter, the would-be Queen, and her sisters must still tame their conquest. If her victory is to last, Dafne must forge peace with the subtle, ruthless methods of a diplomat--and the worst memories of her life...

The Undying King by Grace Draven

The stories are told in whispers, even after so long: of a man whose fair rule soured when he attained eternal youth. Imprisoned by a sorceress wife in a city out of time and place, he has passed into legend. Few believe in him, and fewer would set their hopes on his mercy. But Imogen has no choice. To break the curse that's isolated her since birth, she'll find the Undying King--and answer his secrets with her own...

BUY IT NOW on Amazon

How to Write Through the Bad Times

Hi all!!

I'm back online after about ten days away and look what I returned to! The fantabulous Grace Draven shared the cover for her story in our duology FOR CROWN AND KINGDOM. Her story is THE UNDYING KING and, wow - I dunno about you guys, but I'd take him for my forever king anytime!

I like how her story cover works with mine, her hero and my heroine gazing out at the reader with an implicit call to adventure. Both individual covers will be included inside the digital versions, which should be very cool!

The duology technically releases on Tuesday, May 31, the same day as THE PAGES OF THE MIND. That said, I believe buy links will be going up very soon. In fact, it's up on Amazon now!

Our topic of the week is: Writers in the Storm - handling adversity, stress, and generally terrible shit while still producing.

There's a lot to say on this topic, but for me it comes down to this: writing is my job. It's my chosen profession for a lot of really good reasons, but none of them are because it would be easy.

I see two pieces to this question - one is the fundamental dilemma that every human being faces, which is how to go on with the business of living when our hearts are torn asunder. Because, the thing is, everyone has to handle adversity, stress and generally terrible shit while still putting food on the table and keeping the heat on. Some people don't manage to do this, which is why we have a homeless problem. Those are people who get so torn up that they can no longer handle the business of living - for whatever reason. Other people are wounded enough to require institutionalization, temporarily or permanently, in which case they have others to take care of things like protection from the elements and basic needs.

But, above that sometimes tenuously drawn line, we all have to find ways to weather the storms of life while still keeping ourselves and our loved ones alive.

The second piece - and the reason this comes up for artists in particular - is that our creative selves tend to be tied into our emotional lives. For all that I call writing a job, it IS really different than a more intellectual or physical job. I could do day job tasks of data crunching or editing government documents even while emotionally stressed. For me, physical labor is great for when I need to deal with the storms of life. But writing while my emotional life is shot to hell... well, it's harder.

That said, it can be done. Here's a few ways to do it.

1. Use that pain

Writers often joke that a part of us stands back during terrible events, taking notes and thinking, "I'm so going to use this." Use it as it happens. Even if it's as journaling or writing something that's not to deadline, it all goes into the big well. I have a file of fragments that I go back to from time to time, for exactly that sort of thing.

2. There's more to being an author than writing

We often complain that being a writer takes all kinds of hats, particularly in this era of self-publishing and author-originated promo. Some of those hats are the equivalent of manual labor or data crunching. Catch up those book sales numbers. Check out some review sites. Do a bit of wild daydreaming, write down those ideas and think about ways to get there. Sometimes planning positive action can be the best antidote to chaos.

3. Write anyway

Many writers cite that feeling of being in the zone as one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a writer - and most acknowledge that it doesn't always feel that way. Being a career writer means writing even when it doesn't feel good, particularly for novelists. Laying down words is the foundation upon which everything else rests. Write the words anyway - you can always fix them later, and FAR more easily than you can fill all those blank pages.

Anyone else have other advice on this?

Blogging Fun

Life in the days before blogs!

I enjoy blogging. As someone else said this week, it's like a conversation and I get to talk about things that I find interesting or amusing. I don't do it to directly sell books, except of course for the straight promo posts that one does around a new release. As a reader before I was ever a published author, I enjoy getting glimpses of my favorite authors, or writing tips from their blog posts...I'm omnivorous as a reader and I like to think one of my own skills is curating content, so I'm never at a loss for topics. Well, rarely at a loss. Sometimes my fellow SFF7 here come up with a craft-related topic here that doesn't exactly ring MY bell. And I'm equally sure some of my suggested subjects don't excite them either so we're good.

I started blogging years ago, with a behind-the-fire-wall blog at the old day job. For three years I wrote a pretty much weekly post about process improvement, which of course I stretched to cover all kinds of interesting topics in business, science and technology. (The old day job was at NASA/JPL.) During that experience I learned about always keeping my eyes open for interesting content possibilities. I write really fast - novels, tweets and blog posts - so it's not a hard thing for me to do.

When Carina Press acquired my first novel Priestess of the Nile, and sent me their author guide on doing promo, having a blog was one of the (strong) suggestions. I duly created my author site and commenced the conversation.  My first post was comparing my jewelry box to King Tut's. Since then I've tried to post at least once a week, and usually two or even three times, depending on if I have fun things to talk about. I review old movies like "Attack of the Killer Shrews", take magazine quizzes, do a weekly excerpt hop, talk about favorite books, show family holiday ornaments, explain why certain things are in my books, recap TV shows on occasion....Andre Norton and the Titanic come up fairly often.

I do get quite serious every once in a while, as with my post after a near stroke, where I talked about what happened to me and what the symptoms of a stroke are. I also have guests on occasion, including a former Navy SEAL and an Army Ranger who are authors. I don't limit my topics, other than concentrating on what interests ME. And then I hope my readers will find the post interesting too, or amusing or informative. Or all three!

I also branched out over time and joined this group blog. I'm a member of Here Be Magic and I do guest posts for other groups like Kickass Chicks, Romance University, the Science Fiction Romance Brigade and more.

Every other Thursday I write about science fiction and fantasy romance for the USA Today Happily Ever After blog and that is the MOST fun. I get to interview some of my favorite authors about their books and ask fangirly questions. I just finished recapping Season 3 of "The 100" for them and I'm going to be recapping "Killjoys" and "Dark Matter" starting in July.

And on the opposite Thursdays, I write a post for Amazing Stories Magazine blog, again about science fiction romance.

Yes, I do write books in there somewhere. Just released book #12 this month, in fact. Book #13 will be out in mid-June.

One of the fun aspects of the blogging side of my life is the cool things I've gotten into as a result, like interviewing the "Killjoys" showrunner, Michelle Lovretta last year. Hoping for a repeat interview with her this year.

So yes, I love blogging (and tweeting) here, there and everywhere...

I have to stay very organized (which isn't necessarily my usual state of being, but I can be if required) and keep everything on my calendar, so I don't miss a deadline. There have been opportunities I've passed up, because I reach a limit and what would suffer is writing the books. I can't allow that to happen because as a fulltime author nowadays, the books are the most important thing.

But my Muse only has so many outright  creative hours in a day, so I prioritize using my best energy then for the books, and write the blog posts at other times.

The Blogging Wallflower

Why (and where) do I blog?

Let me get this right out in the open: I have to force myself to blog. It does not come at all naturally to me. Hiding in a corner (or behind a photogenic feline) and remaining invisible is my natural, introverted state.

To this day, I have no rational explanation for why I blog except for the fact that blogging is the grain of sand in my oyster - I hope to make something out of it, whether it's a little bit more facility with short essay type writing, or merely as a means of keeping me from hiding. I envy Jeffe's ease with the medium. And I am frequently annoyed with how Uneasy I am with it. :)

That said, I have been here since the doors opened. I'd lost track of the time and had no clue that I'd been here for anything approaching five years. I imagined I didn't have much to say for a group blog. Yet here I am. Still typing. And still enjoying all of the different view points and experiences of this group. Now. Do I pin a bunch of marketing hopes on blogging? Nooooooooooooo. That way lies madness. Blog because it's fun. Blog because a topic interests you. When you hire a marketing person for a book, a blog tour will undoubtedly be a part of the package - those blog posts might be a little more market-targeted and slightly less pictures of cats. Or knowing me, maybe not. But it was Jeffe who suggested I treat blogging like a conversation. I really like thinking of it that way. Even though, socially awkward as I am, I'm not that great at conversation to begin with. :D

I wish I could tell you I had mastery of any of the social media, but I don't. I do a single 'You know you're an introvert' Tweet a day, and have for the past few months. I'm having fun seeing how long it takes me to run out of introvert problems. Facebook is probably where my geeky personality comes through the strongest. Mostly, I think the only way I can survive in social media at all is to keep Jeffe's advice in mind. I must consider it a conversation - a series of jokes and shared fun with my friends - even if the circle of friends are people I haven't actually ever met.

Maybe it makes me weird(er), but it's great fun for me to make friends in the comments sections of either blogs or FB. Making friends is hard when you're a wall flower. So I blog. To make sure I don't let myself become part of the backdrop.

Yesterday's Introvert: "You know you're an introvert when even the voices in your head tell one another to shut up." #introvertproblems

Perils of the Writer: Importance of Blogging

Does one really need to blog to be a professional writer?  Well, of course not.  Does one need to maintain some kind of social media presence?  Again, of course not.

But at the same time-- it's not a terrible idea.

Now, I started my blog in 2009, but those early days involved posting in fits and spurts, that eventually dribbled down to nearly nothing, until February 2011, when I decided that the strongest course of action was to commit to a posting schedule I knew I could keep without burning myself out.  Thus: every Monday and Thursday.  It's a good bit of discipline for me, and I've now maintained it for over five years.

(Wow.  I just realized that.)

And, in general, I think it's fundamentally wise for authors to have some sort of platform to make announcements of what they're doing, what's coming out, where they'll be appearing, and so on.  Does it have to be updated with regular discipline? No.  Though it helps build readership if people can count on new content appearing regularly.  If you update once every few months, no one is going to be popping their head in to see "what's new".

Now, the other elements of social media?  I'm of the mindset that one uses them to point readership toward your main platform.  They can be handled in their own way, to each be uniquely interesting (in as much as you have the time and energy to do that*), but their primary function should be to aim toward the center of your online solar system.  Which, for me, is the blog.

That said, I might go on a bit of a blog-hiatus in July.  I haven't decided yet, but that month is going to be packed, and something is probably going to have to give.  Or, possibly, I'll re-run some blogs from the archive.  We'll see.

In the mean time, there's writing work to be done, and it isn't going to do itself.  Down to the Word Mines.

----
Also note: we've got about three weeks before the deadline to submit to the ArmadilloCon Writers' Workshop.  A great workshop that is very worth your time and money.
---
*- I really cannot Twitter. It moves so fast and consumes way too much attention, I can't possibly be active on it AND write. I'm amazed by the people who manage to be on there constantly riffing off witty bon mots AND knock out books with regularity.  Much respect to them.

Why do I blog?

I've asked myself this question many times. Good thing we have the highly organized KAK who keeps our calendar of topics working. Truth. Blogging is part of the job with a change of scenery and the potential for feedback.  The real challenge.

Three Reasons Why I Blog, **now with sarcasm at no extra charge

3.) I’m an author, so of course I regularly put energy into activities that are often futile…like getting lost in research for days and emerging with three perfect bits I need and two hundred neat but useless bits that led me so very far astray….

2.) Writing about the craft of writing reinforces that particular aspect of the craft of writing that I am writing about. {Read that 3 times really fast…} It’s career homework for which there is no grade given and no credit towards a degree offered. But it’s practice and its interaction with fans, which helps a poor author feel relevant in a big, big world.

1.) It’s cheaper than a therapist, who’d also ask me to talk about various aspects of my life. And it’s out there on the internet {read that as: a not always supportive anonymous support group} so if I fuck up, the suggestions of how to fix it {and various unrelated areas of my life} will be plentiful.

Blogging: Daily, Weekly, Randomly, or Ever?

Blogging as an author. Must you do it? Should you do it? Can you do it?

Five years ago, when Allison Pang and Jeffe invited me to join this blog, I did so to be more appealing to agents and editors. ~gasp~ WUT? It's true. Five years ago, all the gatekeepers expected you to have a blog. A regularly updated blog. A blog with fresh, exciting, and engaging content.

I...can't.

I have a "personal" blog--still--that is not particularly active. I usually post there if I'm on a tear about a particular topic or want to share something that requires more than 140 characters to properly convey. I never kept journals not even as a kid, so the ritual of public journaling--which blogging is--never took root as a creative or therapeutic outlet. Sure, I have lots of ideas for how to make the blog entertaining, but I'd rather spend the time and effort writing my next book.

 I should sunset the personal blog.

Thankfully, most of the gatekeepers of fiction have come 'round to understanding the Opportunity Costs of blogging and no longer pretend it's a requirement. Probably because many of them were held to the same expectation. Experience is a wonderful teacher, right?

I continue to participate in this group blog because it gives me the best of being a blogger without the burden of it. It allows me to create and maintain a presence in the book-world of readers, reviewers, and fellow authors. I have six peers who also choose topics, own their dates, and introduce me to their readers. This blog is my publishing-centric outlet on the Web. It is different from my presence on Twitter and both are different from my engagement on Facebook.

If you are going to be a blogger, here are three tips based on my successes and epic failures:

Blog Regularly: Releasing content is like having enough fiber. You need to be regular in your posting schedule. You don't have to blog daily. It can be weekly. Only on days that start with "T," or days divisible by 3. Whatever it is, pick a schedule and stick with it, because it's all about creating reader expectations. As an author, you know all about the Contract of Expectations between author and reader.

Vary the Theme of Your Blog: Don't be too narrowly focused because you'll run out of topics. You should be in this for the long-haul. There are only so many times you can talk about Toddlers Without Pants. The point of an author-blog is to let readers know you better, to know the person behind the pages. Filtered and Edited. Never post in anger or righteous indignation. Remember, there is such a thing as TMI.

Rejoice in Guest Bloggers: Invite guests to post on your blog. Be a guest on someone else's blog. You'll welcome the change of pace. Plus, cross-promotion is wonderful for you and your readers. Yes, the blogger community is weary of being abused by parasitic salesmen and trolls. Be mindful in your solicitations of guest bloggers. Similarly, when you are approached to be a guest blogger, check for strings.  Otherwise, go forth and enjoy being a member of the blogger community.

 *Note: If you want to be a guest blogger on the SFF Seven, our contact form is at the bottom of the page.

An author should have a Web presence. There is no excuse to not have a Web page with a bio and a list of all your books--barest minimum. It'd be nice if you had a social media presence on whatever platform best suits you. However, if blogging regularly ain't your thing, don't do it. Don't even get in the game. There's no need to fake the funk.

To Blog, or not to Blog.

Honestly, my answer is simple: Yes.

Return on Investment? Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Mostly I blog when I have news of a new book or an appearance. I blog to let people know what's going on. I blog when I'm annoyed by someone, like Joe the Plumber after he got pissy over his gun rights with several families after a massacre.

I blogged a fair amount after my wife passed away, because I knew myself well enough to know that I would never in a million years actually say what I was going through to anyone. It's not the way I'm programmed. But I could write it out and so I did.  Probably saved myself a fortune in therapy bills, by the way.

I blog when it strikes my fancy or when it I think it will be useful.

Right now, however, time to get back to the novel. It's due in ten or so days.

Keep smiling,

Jim