The curious affair of Jeffe Kennedy's desk...

Hey everybody! I've invited my lovely author pal Jeffe to guest post for me, not just because I'm in deadline hell, but because she is funny and an awesome writer, even though I'll have you know I have never been a cheerleader as she implies, and in fact, was soundly rejected from both cheerleading and pom-pom girls. Sending me on a sad downward spiral that ended here. At the league. And now, allow me to hand it over to Jeffe, who has agreed to join us in our writerly abyss. 

Hi and welcome Jeffe Kennedy!

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When fabulous author, friend and CP, Carolyn Crane, invited me to guest post here today, I confess I got all a-dither about it. It’s like the head cheerleader, who’s a really nice person and is willing to talk to me in English class, invited me to come sit with the Popular Kids at lunch.

What do I wear? What do I say??

I mean, I’m not a shlep. I blog quite a bit. But I wanted to say something interesting, relevant and, above all, important. So I looked at past posts from all these amazing authors, hoping I could riff off of the interesting, relevant and important things they were saying.

People – they’re talking about SOAP. And bookshelves. And the gew-gaws on their desks.

Yes. You know what I was thinking.

I have found my tribe!

(I always suspected those Popular Kids were just nerds with better outfits.)

So, I can play “What Gew-Gaws Are on My Desk?”

I keep my desk pretty clear, with the desperate hope that my mind will be that way, too. This stuff is all to the left of the writing laptop. (That monitor is for doing the Evil Day Job. We try not to turn that on, Precious.) To the right of my writing laptop is my coffee mug.

This is absolutely required or they kick you out of the writer’s club – even if you’re social rank is below the chess club. Take Heed! I got this one in St. Thomas. If you can’t read it, the cursive says “A little paradise is good for the soul.” My little piece of paradise. Out the window, you can catch a glimpse of my non-Caribbean view – gorgeous and peaceful all the same.

As for the gew-gaws?

Yes, I have a shurikin on my desk. I may or may not toy with it during annoying conference calls. If you don’t know, it’s a kind of throwing knife – just a very sleek variety. Why do I know how to throw knives? It’s a long story which, sadly, does not include the circus. But, did you know you only get one of those sparkly outfits if the knives are thrown AT you? Total gyp.

Little fairy and dragonfly charms. I’ve kept these since my very first RT convention, when I was prez of the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFP) chapter, and everyone was so welcoming to me. I roomed with Leaguer Allison Pang way back then and I bet she remembers ordering these party favors with me.

My guy made this clay jaguar for me. It’s kind of a totem animal for me. He was annoyed that I let my cat chew the tail off (which I’ve reglued a few times). Ha! I’m so amused he thinks I can control my cats…

Exhibit A. This creature is frequently on my desk. Look at that face. Tell me you wouldn’t give him anything he wants.

This is a token from Sullivan McPig (http://mcpigpearls.blogspot.com/) , who I know reviews a lot of the books here. It’s for review good luck.

I try to keep fresh flowers on my desk, to remind me to breathe, to stop and smell the flowers, as it were.

Finally, this trio is about my fantasy novel, Rogue’s Pawn. The magic wand is for my heroine’s sorcery. The ring I found after the FFP party at RWA in Orlando, after an agent told me my books fell through the cracks between genres. And the rock is a piece of unpolished obsidian I found up in Wyoming, when I first started shopping Rogue’s Pawn – which I called Obsidian back then.

All of these totems remind me of my path to get here, my visit with the cool kids. Thanks for putting up with me, guys!

I’ll try not to snort milk through my nose… 

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Thanks, Jeffe!! Now stop snorting milk through your nose! And because she's picturing everything but her latest novel, allow me:   

Rogue's Pawn! Which, to me, was a fabulously risky, funny, sexy, highly entertaining book, full of shadows and light. It's a tale about an academic heroine who falls through a kind of rabbit hole to Faerie, a strange and dangerous place—dangerous mostly because her every wish materializes.

And then there’s the hero, Rogue, who is her savior and captor, and who may be good or evil, and might help her…or he might kill her.

Sometimes things are quirky and funny, but an odd savagery bubbles just below the surface. An awesome twist on the fae mythos!

More about the book here. Jeffe's  blog is here. And you can be her twitter friend  here, or her facebook friend here, and here is her website.

Thanks for stopping by, Jeffe! I want flowers and a shirikin now, too! *runs back to deadline cave*