Author Archives: Peggy Jaeger

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About Peggy Jaeger

I've been many things in my life,but the most consistent is WRITER.
November 24, 2021 · 4:23 am

A #99centsale, a Book signing, and a tired writer!

It is so hard for me to believe Thanksgiving ( in the US) is tomorrow! Where the heck did this month go? Or for that matter, this year?! With the birth of my first grandchild in September, the loss of my father-in-law two weeks ago, and the marriage of my nephew last weekend, I am one tired chickie! And just for giggles, let’s throw in the fact I’m doing NaNoWriMo again this year.

Yikes. I guess I’ll sleep in….well, I really don’t know because next month is pretty filled, too.

While I am decorating for the Christmas holidays starting tomorrow, I wanted to let you know about two events going on concurrently this week.

First, FIXING CHRISTMAS – A Dickens Holiday Romance ( Dorrit’s Diner) is on sale for only #99cents for one week. Amazon jumped the gun and started the sale yesterday, but for every other venue, it begins on Thanksgiving day. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, now is the perfect time to order it!

On Black Friday I will be signing books at the TOADSTOOL BOOKSHOP in Keene, NH from noon until 2 pm signing FIXING CHRISTMAS and all my other Holiday books:

So get your Holiday reading started – or buy some books as gifts for the romance lovers on your holiday gift list!

Books are a great gift anytime of year, but especially during the Holiday Season!

Happy Thanksgiving, peeps and hope to see many of you on Black Friday – also called Plaid Friday for those who shop local – at the TOADSTOOL! ~ peg

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November 18, 2021 · 12:05 am

Author Liz Flaherty looks out of the Window Over the Desk…

“Some of the joys in being a septuagenarian are unexpected. Google is one—how else did you think I knew how to spell septuagenarian? Dressing however you want is another. It’s especially fun to wear what a blonde twenty-something on Facebook assures you is completely wrong for you.” – Liz Flaherty, Window Over the Desk

Getting romance novels published is hard for me these days—not so much because I’m the age I am, I guess, or because I look the age I am, but because I sound the age I am. The editors I’ve worked with in past years are kind in their assessments, but they either say no or they edit my work to the point that it really doesn’t look so much like my work anymore.

That’s hard. I won’t deny that. But publishing a book of essays that have previously appeared in newspapers and blog posts and magazines—that’s “dressing how you want.” And the age you are. No one who reads the Window books ever mentions that I sound old.

Let me know. Do I?

In 2020, I released the first collection of Window Over the Sink columns. It was for my family, really, and to give my own ego a boost. (Any writer who says she doesn’t need that now and then is lying, by the way.)

It was so much fun.

Which is why I decided to open the Window Over the Desk. My view out this particular window is a favorite—even today, when I’m drying…things…on the clothesline. Also today, the hay bales in the field that have given me pleasure for several weeks have been gathered and stored for the long winter.

I hope the essays in this book give you some pleasant reading time over that winter. I hope they make you remember things, laugh sometimes, and refill your cup and sit down and read “just one more.”

As I mention way more often than is necessary, I’m kind of old. The years have dimmed some reflections through the window, brightened others, and changed a whole bunch of them. What a trip it’s been.

Thanks—again—for joining me on the journey.

The Woman in the Mirror

Do you ever feel as if you lost yourself somewhere along the way? If you’ve had a bad time or an extraordinarily good one, do you ever look in the mirror and wonder exactly who’s looking back at you? Because you’ve changed, and you’re not sure what to do with the person who’s there.

I’m feeling thoughty here—can you tell? I’m always, always whining about how much I hate change, yet when I look back—over bad times and extraordinarily good ones, it’s an ongoing cycle, isn’t it? It’s what keeps life new and interesting. And, yeah, sometimes awful.

But if it weren’t for change, and my kicking-and-screaming caving to it, I would:

Never have changed jobs and I’d have been stuck with working one I hated.

Never have married the man I did because he wasn’t the first person I loved.

I’d never have had a third child.

I’d have given up the first time a publisher said Nope.

Or maybe the second.

For sure by the twenty-third.

I’d have kept my hair short.

And let it go gray.

I’d still be writing longhand on lined paper and thinking I wasn’t good enough.

For anything,

So, no, I don’t always know the woman in the mirror, or, for that matter, the man I’m married to. I don’t always like either of us. There are days when I do feel like I’ve lost the person I was. Because I have. Because every re-invention in every time of life is change, it’s often hard, and it’s always necessary. I think maybe I like it.

Buy Links

https://books2read.com/u/m2lDzo

Retired from the post office, Liz Flaherty spends non-writing time sewing, quilting, and wanting to travel. The author of 20-some books and her husband Duane share an old farmhouse in North Central Indiana that they talk about leaving. However, that would require clearing baseball trophies from the attic and dusting the pictures of the Magnificent Seven, their grandchildren, so they’ll probably stay where they are. Liz can be reached at lizkflaherty@gmail.com or found at http://lizflaherty.net

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November 16, 2021 · 4:32 am

Does anyone do BOOK CLUB anymore?

I know COVID destroyed a lot of things. Being isolated and quarantined for so long has to have a negative effect on socialization, so I’m wondering if one those social things that got shoved to the wayside were BOOK CLUB meetings.

Now, I know many people ( read: men) think book clubs are nothing more than an excuse for women to gather, drink wine and complain about their…men. While the drinking wine and gathering may be true ( and let’s just say the complaining is too,) most book clubs really do exist for a reason – to read and discuss a chosen book.

Sounds kinda obvious, doesn’t it men??! ( Add the sarcasm.)

So I’m wondering with COVID were book clubs able to keep on keeping on? Zoom could have helped, but there’s nothing like gathering in person to discuss your club’s chosen copy of the month is there?

And here’s a shameless plug: the reason I wonder about book clubs is because I’d like to have one of my books featured in one.

Told you it was shameless.

When I lived in Wisconsin I belonged to a book club that met once per month. The book was decided by the club manager and I never read a book that I liked or could relate to when I was a member. Part of the problem may have been because I was the youngest member at 30 and the mean average of the group was 70.

After we moved I was so busy with my family I never bothered to find a club in my new town.

But now that I write, I’d really like to get one of my books in front of a book club and get their reactions to my written words.

So ( here’s another shameless thing, this one is an ask!) if you have a book club with your friends, would you consider me for a featured author spot? I love zoom and I could pop in after you’ve all read the book to discuss it. Connections to people with similar tastes and likes in books is a great way to foster relationships, so if you’ve got a book club, please consider me!

Shameless blog post done!

Until next time, peeps ~ Peg

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November 12, 2021 · 3:32 am

‘Tis the season for Holiday Romance books

I know it’s only November, but a writer’s actual holiday preparation starts in the Spring and early Summer. That’s when the new crop of holiday romance books must be completed so they can be put on sale from October through December. Some authors even have Christmas in July events to promote their new and upcoming holiday romances.

I simply adore a good holiday love story no matter what time of the year it is. I don’t get my fix of holiday romcoms and smalltown stories from the Hallmark or Lifetimes channels on TV,  though, but through reading. I can count on several authors each year releasing a new book for the season and like clockwork, I buy them all.

I adore slipping away for a few hours with the newest Nancy Naigle holiday story, or Jill Shalvis’ most recent holiday romcom. Brenda Novak and Debbie Macomber never disappoint in the holiday fiction department, either.

My love affair with holiday romances began when I read Nora Robert’s ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS when it was released in 1994. This lovely story of twin boys who ask Santa to bring a new mommy for them and their daddy pulled at every heartstring in my chest. Since then, reading these kinds of stories has become my happy place around the holiday season.When shopping, decorating, cooking, baking, office parties, and relatives-you-could-do-without-seeing alloccur within a ten-week period of time, hiding out for an hour or two with a good holiday-centered-romance is my way of staying sane. In fact, now that I write my own romance books, holiday love stories have become a thing for me to release into the world too!

This year’s addition is FIXING CHRISTMAS – A DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE ( Dorrit’s Diner), which released on 11.9.2021. Last year I was honored to be part of a group of authors who penned the CHRISTMAS COMES TO DICKENS stories about a small fictional New England town during the holidays. Several of the authors – including myself – loved telling the stories so much we teamed up for another season. Each book is a standalone romance but from book to book you meet some of the same townsfolk. It’s a truly charming town and the stories are all heartwarming.

Here’s a little about FIXING CHRISTMAS:

She’s a neurotic, snarky, chatty writer trying to get her professional and personal life back on track.

He’s a quiet, widowed, ex-military handyman.

When her rental house starts falling down around her ears, he’s charged with fixing the issues – and just might be exactly what she needs to fix her own ones as well.

You can get your copy here: FIXING CHRISTMAS

Who are your favorite holiday romance writers? 

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November 11, 2021 · 12:12 am

Being overwhelmed can be a good thing…

So for the first time EVAH this week I had 2 books release into the book-reading world within 1 day of one another.

This was not my choice, but…

The first book was with my brand new publisher Magnolia Blossom. They surprised me and put up MERRY’S GHOST, my first paranormal love story, on Amazon. I found out it was released after the fact so I had no time to do any promotion for the book.

When writer and paranormal investigator Chase Seacort comes to spend a few weeks at a friend’s Hampton getaway, all he wants is to be alone, finish his current book about East Coast hauntings, and try to put the horrid events of his past year behind him.

All thoughts about a quiet respite alone vanish when he meets his quirky, gorgeous neighbor. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty captivates him with her perpetual smile and free and easy personality.

Merry June lives a quiet life in her beach house, devoting herself to her two loves – art and photography. Once she discovers Chase’s identity, she can’t wait to introduce him to her great-grandaunt Davinia. But Davinia rarely shows herself to others.

You wouldn’t either if you were a ghost trapped between this world and the next.

With Chase’s help, he and Merry investigate the mystery that’s kept Davinia’s spirit prisoner in the house for over 100 years, and in so doing discover a history of infidelity, heartache, and murder.

When a face from Chase’s recent past puts Merry’s life in danger, he must fight two battles for the woman he’s come to love – one on the spiritual plane and one in the physical world.

I’ve been scrambling to get the book up on social media sites for the past three days. The publisher did get me a Bookbub new release notice, so that was helpful in getting the word out. This is my first foray into ghosts, witches, and such.

The second book to release I had plenty of time to buildup on social media because it’s my indie Holiday release FIXING CHRISTMAS- A Dickens Holiday Romance ( Dorrit’s Diner)

If you’ve been reading along on this blog you know I’ve talked about this book ad nauseum ( LOL) but I love it sosos much.

Christmas has never filled writer Abra Charles with undiluted pleasure. If you’d been left on a doorstep on Christmas Eve morning, you might have a few issues with the holiday as well.

Abra’s avoided her hometown of Dickens for the past twenty Christmas seasons, but now she’s returned in an attempt to get her writing mojo back. Twice-divorced and with her third engagement ending in heartbreak, anger, and blackmail, Abra is now six months behind on submitting her current book. She hopes renting Copperfield House and immersing herself in solitude will cure her writer’s block and get her life back on track. The house she rents isn’t helping her achieve her goal, though, as one thing after another breaks, collapses, or flood.

Colton Bree, Dickens’ very own Mr. FixIt, can’t help but wonder if the new resident of Copperfield House is cursed. After being called to repair a broken window, he’s then needed to fix an exploding coffeepot, an overrunning toilet, and a washing machine that has a mind of its own. Bree doesn’t mind all the unexpected repair jobs, though, because the sexy renter is something to look at despite being a little neurotic and a whole lot of snarky.

Can Abra get her book done with all the distractions and craziness of her life, the biggest distraction being the flannelled hunk with the bedroom eyes and scowling yet oh-so-kissable mouth? Or will Dickens’ Mr FixIt have to step in and save the day and in so doing, fix Christmas for Abra forever?

Promotion for the two books has taken up a big chunk of my life these past two days. In addition to caring for my parents, helping out with my new adorable grandson, dealing with my dog hourly (!) and then the death of my father-in-law last weekend, it’s not wrong to say this past week has been…stressful.

But… two more of my stories have made it out into the romance-loving, book-reading work, so there’s something to be said for a little stress!

Check out the reviews for FIXING CHRISTMAS here: Book bub

Here’s hoping the reviews for MERRY’S GHOST are as kind!

I’m off to take a walk and clear my head so talk soon, peeps. Happy reading ~ Peg

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November 10, 2021 · 1:00 am

So, this happened…

WOKE

Waking up each day is a gift….

On her 21st birthday, someone slipped a potent drug combination into socialite Aurora Brightwell’s champagne putting her in a coma for the next ten years. It’s been a long road back, and it’s time to reclaim the life she lost and find out exactly what happened on that fateful night.

Financier Kincade Enright has his own reason for helping Aurora discover who poisoned her, but for the time being he’s keeping that – and his true identity – to himself. What he can’t keep hidden though, are his growing feelings for the one-time paparazzi darling and party-girl.

When this prince of finance joins forces with the former sleeping beauty, nothing can stop them from finding the answers they seek…or prevent the powerful emotions developing between them as they search for the truth.

Thank you to all the readers who voted for WOKE in this year’s RAVEN AWARDS.

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November 9, 2021 · 12:23 am

Release day for FIXING CHRISTMAS – A Dickens Holiday Romance ( Dorrit’s Diner)

YAY! It’s finally here. I’ve been waiting and waiting for this day to come for months and I’m so glad I can finally introduce you to FIXING CHRISTMAS, my contribution to the second season of the CHRISTMAS COMES TO DICKENS series.

If you read SANTA BABY,

you know it’s the origin story for heroine ABRA CHARLES in FIXING CHRISTMAS.

Christmas has never filled writer Abra Charles with undiluted pleasure. If you’d been left on a doorstep on Christmas Eve morning, you might have a few issues with the holiday as well.

Abra’s avoided her hometown of Dickens for the past twenty Christmas seasons, but now she’s returned in an attempt to get her writing mojo back. Twice-divorced and with her third engagement ending in heartbreak, anger, and blackmail, Abra is now six months behind on submitting her current book. She hopes renting Copperfield House and immersing herself in solitude will cure her writer’s block and get her life back on track. The house she rents isn’t helping her achieve her goal, though, as one thing after another breaks, collapses, or floods.

Colton Bree, Dickens’ very own Mr. FixIt can’t help but wonder if the new resident of Copperfield House is cursed. After being called to repair a broken window, he’s then needed to fix an exploding coffeepot, an overrunning toilet, and a washing machine that has a mind of its own. Bree doesn’t mind all the unexpected repair jobs, though, because the sexy renter is something to look at and dream about, despite being a little neurotic and whole lot of snarky.

Can Abra get her book done with all the distractions and craziness of her life, the biggest distraction being the flannelled hunk with the bedroom eyes and scowling yet oh-so-kissable mouth? Or will Dickens’ Mr FixIt have to step in and save the day and in so doing, fix Christmas for Abra forever?

Buy links: FIXING CHRISTMAS

SANTA BABY

Christmas Comes to Dickens Anthology 2020

It’s a Dickens of a Cookie ( Free recipe book)

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November 8, 2021 · 12:00 am

Happy November and welcome back to NaNoWriMo!

Yes, it’s that time of year when authors of all ilks, walks of life, and publishing status attempt the annual NANOWRIMO ritual of penning 50,000 words ( or more ) in the 30 days of this month. For the seventh year running, I am a participant.

This can be a grueling endeavor for many writers, especially those who don’t have writing full time presently as their career choice. Writing between the office and home, at kids soccer practices, when at the dentist’s office waiting for an appointment are all the norm to most writers who still need to work at alternate jobs to keep food on the table. But even writers who work full time from home can find the prospect of writing a minimum of 1670 words a day – every day – daunting.

The first time I participated in NaNo I was still working full time. Writing that amount every day wasn’t something I’d ever done before. But I accepted the challenge and…did it! I wrote later at night, early in the morning, on lunch break, while dinner cooked. I wrote marathon sessions on the weekends. And it all paid off because at the end of the month I had the rough draft of a 75,000 word novel.

These days I’m afforded the luxury of writing all the time,but I still like the challenge of NaNo because it focuses me and makes me hone in on a specific and measurable word count goal every single day for a month.

Psychological theory tells us it takes about 21 days of consistent behavior to make a habit. Well in 30 that habit should be ingrained.

Writers write. That’s what we do. And making it a habitual part ofyour daily life is beneficial for so many reasons, not the least of which you can be more productive with product, namely, books.

Are NaNoWriMo-ing this year! Good luck if you are.

Go forth and write! ~ Peg

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November 5, 2021 · 12:00 am

Return to Dickens with author Bonnie Edwards

Another wonderful addition to the second season of the Dickens Holiday Romances, is Bonnie Edwards’ The Rumball Rumba, releasing on 11.23.2021

At Christmas, a secret baby arrives in Dickens…

Pregnant and divorced, successful artist Trix Warden returns to Dickens to raise her child surrounded by family. To do that, she needs to renovate a horse barn into a gallery/market for other artists.

At 36, her baby is an unexpected miracle that is hers alone. Determined to get everything done before Delivery Day, she hires widowed single father, Jon Carpenter to do her renovations.

As they move through the work, they spend time together enjoying the holiday season. Trix helps Jon through tricky times as a parent of teens, and he offers support throughout her pregnancy.

Their friendly business relationship blossoms into mutual attraction, and on Christmas Eve, when the baby comes early, Trix trusts Jon with her secret and her heart. But the secret Trix reveals creates a deep divide between them as Jon struggles to accept the decision Trix has made.

Trix is afraid her secret Christmas baby, and her choices, may tear their newfound love to shreds.

July 3 – Dickens

“I’m getting a divorce.” Those words had seemed like a dreadful announcement to give her family last Christmas, but she’d weathered the storm. The combined Moore and James families had rallied quickly and supported her through the whole messy business. Dale, her husband of too many years, had left her for his much younger receptionist.

It still pinched that she was the first divorcee in her family. Trix Warden, loser at marriage. Last Christmas she couldn’t imagine anything worse.

Until now, today.

Because today she got to say the words, “I’m pregnant. I’m a pregnant divorcee.” She winced because that wasn’t the worst of it.

She smoothed her flowy white blouse and denim shorts as she walked the hall in Gram’s house.

Everyone had gathered for the Fourth of July weekend. From the kitchen she saw them on the patio, sitting on chairs in a semi-circle, cold drinks in hand. Her cousins Kayley and Brenna sat beside Brenna’s husband, Jett. He wore his usual expression; besotted. Not only did he love her cousin he was wealthy and generous. Kind, too. They’d only been married a few months having met right here in Dickens last Christmas.

She’d overshadowed their budding romance with her horrid divorce announcement, but that couldn’t be helped.

She sucked in her belly and plastered on a smile. Her Egyptian cotton top was long and roomy. It was perfect for July heat. This morning, without warning, she’d been unable to zip up her best pair of shorts, so she’d dug through her ‘big’ clothes and cut off her pre-divorce jeans above the knee. She needed to give her blossoming tummy more room.

Trix drew in a breath and slid open the screen slider. “Hi everyone. I finally made it. Getting out of Brooklyn was a bear.”

Buy Links:

Amazon

Bonnie Edwards

has been writing all her life, starting with a poem about Santa suffering with gout. She was seven, Santa was a thousandteen years old. Delighted with writing, she went on to write family sagas, humorous contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic paranormal ghost romances and more.

She may jump around within romance, but all her stories come with a tear, a laugh, and a happy ending. Published by Kensington Books, Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Robinson (UK) Bonnie’s stories stretch from short stories to novellas and novels. Now, she’s happy to be publishing her work herself.

With over 35 titles to her credit, she has been translated into several languages and sold books worldwide. Aside from standalone romances, she has 4 ongoing romance series, Tales of Perdition, The Brantons, and Love at Christmas. Contemporary family sagas find a home in Return to Welcome. She’s hard at work on a new series releasing in August 2021. Learn about more exciting releases and get a free romance by subscribing to her newsletter, Bonnie’s Newsy Bits

Follow her online:

Welcome

BookBub

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November 4, 2021 · 12:00 am

Return to DICKENS for the holidays with author Maddie James…

Another of my favorite Dickens’s authors, MADDIE JAMES, has just released her newest addition to the second season of the DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE BOOKS, THE LAST CHRISTMAS AT HOLLY HILL INN. This is actually the third book in the HOLLY HILL INN stories.

The newest story, THE LAST CHRISTMAS AT HOLLY HILL INN is available now.

Can a couple on the verge of divorce find romance again during their last Christmas holiday at Holly Hill Inn?

“I can’t do this, Will. I can’t fake my way through the holidays just to make our families happy. We both know our happily-ever-after is a farce.”
“You could if you tried, Ava. It’s not that difficult to be nice to each other. We used to do it all the time.”
“We used to be in love, Will.”
“We still could be.”
Ava stared at him. “What are you saying? You want to call off the divorce?”
“I’m saying that I don’t think we are through, Ava. Not yet.”

Will and Ava Cohen were wildly in love—five years ago. Today, they are ships passing in the night, two professionals driven to reach the pinnacle of their professions. When Will steps in the door of their restored brownstone in Brooklyn each evening, Ava is already on stage at the Gershwin, playing the role of Glinda in Wicked.

They are calling their marriage quits—but not until they spend one more Christmas holiday together with their families at Holly Hill Inn. Traditionally, the family arrives in New York, and they all take the Christmas train to Dickens together. Will and Ava plan to share their news on the train ride back home.

That was the plan, anyway.

As the Christmas spirit of Dickens and Holly Hill Inn spins around them, Ava and Will begin to look at each other differently, and both wonder if they’ve been too hasty in deciding to divorce. Have they really thought this separation through? But the train is about to leave the station, and they are unsure if they can halt it—or if they should.

Will this really be their last Christmas at Holly Hill Inn?

Available here: LCAHHI

Maddie James writes to silence the people in her head. If only they wouldn’t all talk at once….

From flirty contemporary romance to darker erotic titles—often mixed with a dash of suspense or a hint of paranormal—James pens stories that frequently blend a variety of romantic sub-genres. The happily-ever-after, of course, is non-negotiable.

Affaire de Coeur says, “James shows a special talent for traditional romance,” and RT Book Reviews claims, “James deftly combines romance and suspense.” Maddie is the award-winning author of over fifty titles of fiction—from short stories to novels.

Learn more at http://www.maddiejames.org.

Add the book to your GOODREADS want to read list

Reviews of The Last Christmas at Holly Hill Inn

Follow Maddie on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

MaddieJames.net

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