First Cup of Coffee - February 14, 2025

·24 min·2 clips

Jeffe Kennedy launches a Valentine's Day giveaway for her dark fantasy trilogy to raise money against child marriage.

Jeffe Kennedy opens the February 14th episode by wishing listeners a happy Valentine's Day and launching a giveaway for three signed print copies of her Chronicles of Dazneria trilogy. The giveaway requires a donation to Vow for Girls, a charity working to end child marriage, which she highlights by mentioning the Taliban lowering the marriage age to nine in Iran. Kennedy describes the trilogy as dark fantasy about a young woman sold into an abusive marriage, written to subvert tropes like marriage of convenience. She shows advanced reading copies of 'Never the Roses' with gold foil covers and mentions seeking ARC readers interested in her Jeffe Kennedy books. Kennedy reports a productive writing week, nearing 60,000 words on 'Strange Familiar' with 25,000 left, and plans to set it aside to revise 'A Rose in the Mirror'. She briefly complains about construction workers unplugging her fountains. Kennedy then reviews the 60th JD Robb book, noting it feels safer and less edgy than earlier installments, with fewer conflicts and a minor injury to the protagonist. She contrasts this with reading Sarah Beth Durst's 'The Enchanted Greenhouse', for which she's writing an endorsement quote. This leads to a discussion of a Guardian article about Simon & Schuster ending the practice of seeking blurbs, which Kennedy debates with her author chat. She argues that endorsement quotes do influence readers, especially those not active on social media, and defends the practice if done genuinely. Kennedy concludes by wishing listeners a good weekend and noting she'll work on President's Day.

As heard by us

A Valentine's Day coffee update that blends charity, a giveaway, and a frank look at a long-running series.

The episode starts with a Valentine's Day coffee update, then folds in a charity push for Vow for Girls and a giveaway of signed print copies from the Chronicles of Dazneria trilogy.

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Why you'd press play

For a coffee break that drifts from charity, a U.S.-only signed-book giveaway, and one long book habit.

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