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Sci-Fi Encounters: An interview with Jeffe Kennedy

Veronica Scott
Special for USA TODAY
The Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy.

Today I'm interviewing Jeffe Kennedy about her epic fantasy romance The Talon of the Hawk, the final volume in The Twelve Kingdoms trilogy, wrapping up the intertwining stories of the three sisters with plot twists and the hottest mercenary swordsman in the Twelve Kingdoms. I was thrilled to have a minor character named for me in the second book, and I'm lobbying for her to be assigned her own mercenary!

A little about Jeffe (courtesy of the author):

She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She writes fantasy romance, contemporary BDSM and erotic romance.

And she has the most wonderful collection of hats!

About The Talon of the Hawk (courtesy of Kensington):

Three daughters were born to High King Uorsin, in place of the son he wanted. The youngest, lovely and sweet. The middle, pretty and subtle, with an air of magic. And the eldest, the Heir. A girl grudgingly honed to leadership, not beauty, to bear the sword and honor of the king.

Ursula's loyalty is as ingrained as her straight warrior's spine. She protects the peace of the Twelve Kingdoms with sweat and blood, her sisters from threats far and near. And she protects her father to prove her worth. But she never imagined her loyalty would become an open question on palace grounds. That her father would receive her with a foreign witch at one side and a hireling captain at the other—that soldiers would look on her as a woman, not as a warrior. She also never expected to decide the destiny of her sisters, of her people, of the Twelve Kingdoms and the Thirteenth. Not with her father still on the throne and war in the air. But the choice is before her. And the Heir must lead…

Veronica: What was the biggest influence on writing this book?

Jeffe: I'm not sure ... At this point in the series, with this being the third book, in many ways the characters and world are their own thing now. They live and breathe on their own, rather than springing from another source of inspiration. So really the most profound influence is the previous two books and how they story arose from them. That said, I could point to the book By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey as being a longtime favorite and one of the few with a female, sword-swinging warrior heroine. I wanted to do something as delicious as that. I'd also say that T.S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral, about the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket. There's a lot of hearkening back to the blood of the ruler and the connection to the land. I can't say more without being spoilery!

Veronica: Can you tell us more about the sword forms and exercises Ursula does? What inspired them?

Jeffe: Ooh, thank you for noticing! So, a little-known fact about me is that I studied with a kung fu school for 15 years. I learned Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, Hsing I, Shaolin Temple Boxing and a scattering of other things, like knife-throwing. Among those are long forms, short forms, linear, circular and using a staff, sword, knife or even a fan. As I began writing Ursula's story, I realized that she would need a martial system. I knew going in that physical training would be a big part of her daily life, but it wasn't until I hit that scene (I write from beginning to end), where Ursula decides to have a workout to bleed off the tension of court, that it became clear to me that I'd have to make one up for her. It was one of those joyous moments as a writer where the words just poured out. Her martial system is part of Danu's teaching and closely parallels the way that the martial arts I learned are a physical expression of an internal philosophy and discipline — and is an amalgamation of the various arts I know.

Veronica: Who or what inspired the character of Harlan, the Dasnarian mercenary?

Jeffe: Ah, delicious Harlan! For Ursula's hero, I knew she'd need someone who could both stand up to her, equal or best her physically and yet also bring softness into her life. I also knew, from when I first proposed the series, that he would be a foreign mercenary. I wanted someone who came in from totally outside her world, who she couldn't predict and who would also be able to challenge her ideas of loyalty. Harlan grew from there in amazing ways. He's a fascinating combination of a hardened warrior, accustomed to command and yet also a beta male in the ways he's nurturing and perfectly willing to follow Ursula's higher rank. It would be spoilery to give too much detail, but his training and the vows he's taken are also Taoist in some senses. He is able to yield, to take the lower path, without giving up any of himself.

Veronica: Which character in the book (or the Tala series) do you feel is most like you?

Jeffe: All three heroines — or four, if you count Dafne, whose book I'm writing now — are aspects of me. I identify closely with all of them. It would be difficult for me to write them if I didn't! But Ursula might be the most like me. I'm not the eldest, but I am an only child, which comes with the same baggage. I tend to think I need to take responsibility for everyone else, I'm not good at asking for help, I'll clam up and shut down when I'm hurting. And I have a wonderful man who challenges me, won't take my s*** and also is a nurturer. He doesn't have the bulk and great big muscles that Harlan does, but that's why I write. : )

Veronica: Which character in the book (or series) was the most challenging to write and why?

Jeffe: Absolutely it was Ursula. Her book came out 100 pages longer than the others for a reason. She's stubborn and hardheaded — and took forever to come around to the changes she needed to make. Her story also gutted me to tell. I think it was because she has so much emotion that she'd bottled up so tightly. The whole process of writing her story tore me up emotionally.

Veronica: Can you share the background for the wonderful armored gown in this novel?

Jeffe: Sure! You know a bit about this, Veronica, and I noted that in the acknowledgments. I think you shared the photo on Twitter of the suit of armor fashioned like a woman's gown. We were all fascinated by it. It lit up our imaginations, even as we agreed that it would be totally impractical to fight in. I commented that I really wanted to use it for Ursula somehow, but it was something she would *never* wear. You and Susan Doerr suggested using it in dream symbolism. Brilliant! And I think it really crystallizes the story in many ways.

Veronica: Is there a bit of dialogue from the book you'd like to share?

Jeffe:

"Are you trying to seduce me, Captain?"

He smiled, sensual and slow, then pressed a longer, lingering kiss to my palm. "How am I doing?"

"I—I have no idea. I don't think anyone's ever tried before." I'd never let anyone get this far. Why him? Why now? And with so much else tearing at me.

"And you scoffed at the Dasnarian women. What are your men thinking?"

A dozen overheard jokes and bawdy songs flew through my head. None that I cared to repeat, though surely he'd heard them. Harlan's hot mouth traveled up my index finger, pressing a kiss to the tip, and the words melted away.

Veronica: What's next for you?

Jeffe: Dafne's book! I'm writing her story, The Pages of the Mind, and then book five will be about Jepp, one of Ursula's Hawks and her best scout. The story picks up in the aftermath of Talon, in which there is a Whole New Set of Problems. Dafne, Jepp and Zynda — one of the Tala cousins we meet in Talon — go on a quest.

Veronica: Having been one of the many who pleaded for Dafne to have her own book, I'm excited! What's on your TBR list?

Jeffe: Besides about 300 books? LOL! At this moment I'm reading Megan Hart's Broken, which is an incredible, heart-breaking erotic romance. Then I plan to read Eleri Stone's The Shape of Temptation — I've been looking forward to that one! I also want to read Amanda Palmer's The Art of Asking.

You can find out more about Jeffe and her books at www.jeffekennedy.com.

Amazon best-seller Veronica Scott is a three-time recipient of the SFR Galaxy Award and has written a number of science-fiction and paranormal romances. Her latest is Ghost of the Nile. You can find out more about her and her books at veronicascott.wordpress.com. Please e-mail Veronica at scifiencounters@gmail.com about content related to this column. Due to the volume of mail, e-mails may not be answered personally, but all will be read.

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