Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author with a writing career that spans decades. Her fantasy BDSM romance, Petals and Thorns, originally published under the pen name Jennifer Paris, has won several reader awards. Sapphire, the first book in Facets of Passion has placed first in multiple romance contests and the follow-up, Platinum, is climbing the charts. Her most recent works include three fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns, the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion, and the post-apocalyptic vampire erotica of the Blood Currency.
Jeffe lives in Santa Fe, with two Maine coon cats, a border collie, plentiful free-range lizards and a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com or every Sunday at the popular Word Whores blog.
She is represented by Pam van Hylckama Vlieg of Foreword Literary.
Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?
I discover the story as I write. One of my Critique Partners (CP) actually explained my method back to me. She said it’s like I know that I’m driving from Seattle to New Orleans and I know my general route and how many days I have to get there, but what happens in all the little towns along the way is my story. That’s exactly how it feels.
Do your characters ever want to take over the story?
I don’t have that feeling, necessarily, but I am a character-driven writer. For me the story is always about the characters, what they do and how they feel. Maybe I just expect them to run the story?
What is your favourite food?
Wine.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
A night owl by nature, a morning person by training.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
I really love beaches and snorkeling, so Lord Howe Island and the Great Barrier Reef are at the top of my list, along with the Maldives and Bali. There are also about twenty other “Must See’s” on my list.
Do distant places feature in your books?
No, mainly because I usually write about places I’ve been and I haven’t been to all that many distant places yet. Unless you count Faerie – which is VERY distant!
Do you listen to music while writing?
I used to. Now I’m better with total silence.
Platinum is a fun and sexy contemporary romance. It follows one of my favorite themes – a woman shedding social and familial expectations by breaking sexual taboos. My repressed artist heroine finds hidden passions in herself, both for sex and life, when she falls for a bad boy metal sculptor. It also takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, which a gracious, lovely and historic city. One of the places I love to visit!
What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?
That persistence and serendipity play an even greater role than I thought. And that their roles don’t end with publication. If anything, those two things determine most everything. You can’t have one without the other, either.
Is there anything you would do differently?
That’s an interesting question. I’d like to say I would have gotten serious about putting more words on the page, more consistently and sooner – but I’m not sure I was capable of doing that when I did. I think if I had any advice for my earlier self, it would be to worry about the rejections less and trust more that things will happen the way they should, when they should.
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?
Every author and story since my mother started reading to me. :D There are so many authors I could list, but I’d say I owe the greatest debt to those female fantasy authors who wrote strong heroines. They taught me to see the world another way.
Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?
The standard advice: read and write as much as you possibly can. Don’t sacrifice either of those things to other demands: they’re crucial. If you can get in the habit of writing every day, even just a little, you’ll be glad you did.
What are three words that describe you?
Tenacious (which is a lovely way of saying stubborn)
Enthusiastic
Hopeful
What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?
I usually go back to Ann Patchett as my favorite writer, because I’ll read anything she writes – I don’t care what the story is. Possession by A.S. Byatt goes down as one of my favorite books, because I think it’s brilliant and perfect. I wish I’d written Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel trilogy.
Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book
Althea Grant is doing fine. Sure, her Charleston gallery is suffering from the bad economy, and her artistic aspirations have gone nowhere. But she’s happy enough. When rugged metal sculptor Steel rides up on his motorcycle looking to rent studio space, his infusion of cash is more than welcome. But his art is raw, visceral, sexual-and completely inappropriate for her pastel world of watercolor landscapes. Steel, fascinated by Althea’s rare albino coloring, sees in her the key to his next piece: a metal satyr that can be used for bondage games. Moving into her gallery basement is the first step; seducing the coolly polite lady into modeling for him is the second. As Steel peels away her careful manners and tasteful outfits, Althea begins to realize her life isn’t just fine at all-it’s as pale and washed-out as the watercolor paintings she’s failing to sell. Can she transform her life and accept her most secret desires?
And, as a special bonus, here’s the blurb for the upcoming Ruby (Facets of Passion #3):
Danielle Sosna has no problem denying herself in order to achieve her goals—after all, that attitude landed her a dream job at Vogue Paris. But in New Orleans for one last assignment before heading overseas, she’s faced with the most decadent of temptations. Seductive Cajun chef Bobby Prejean takes Dani’s strength of will as a challenge, and offers her a night of wild indulgence—if she will agree to obey his every command.
Dani can’t resist Prejean’s invitation to join him in a world of carnal desire, complete with fetish costumes and masks. Determined to keep her emotional distance, she gives Prejean everything but her name. A night becomes a week, as she spends Mardi Gras suspended in the delicious space where pleasure meets pain.
Too late, she realizes the cloak of anonymity has not protected her—and that chasing her dream might come at the expense of her heart.
List of previous books if any
Petals and Thorns
Rogue’s Pawn (A Covenant of Thorns #1)
Feeding the Vampire (Blood Currency #1)
Hunting the Siren (Blood Currency #2)
Any websites/places readers can find you on the web.
http://www.jeffekennedy.com/
http://word-whores.blogspot.com/
http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/jeffekennedy
https://www.facebook.com/jeffe.kennedy
https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jeffe.Kennedy
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