Author Archives: Peggy Jaeger

So, today’s the day. First, it’s the release of the last book in the MacQuire Women Series, FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

For giggles, and comparisons, here’s the original book cover when it was pubbed by Wild Rose Press.

(I have to admit that I like my rebranded cover better!!!)

If you’ve been reading along with the series, this is Pat Cleary, Serena and Seamus’s l son’s love story.

Family Practice Doctor Clarissa Rogers’ first impression of Padric Cleary is biased and based on gossip. The handsome, charming veterinarian is considered a serial dater and commitment-phobe by his family and most of the town. Relationship shy, Clarissa refuses to lose her heart to a man who can’t pledge himself to her forever.

Pat Cleary, despite his reputation, is actually looking for The One. When he does give his heart away, he wants it to be for life. With his parent’s marriage as his guidebook, he wants a woman who will be his equal and soul mate in every way.

Can Pat convince everyone – including Clarissa – she’s the only woman for him?

So, that’s the first great thing today.

The second is…it’s my 65th Birthday. YAY. Medicare. Social Security. AARP.

Did you hear the sarcasm and horror in those last three things? LOL

Hey – wanna help me celebrate? Get FIRST IMPRESSIONS! ( Shameless ask, I know. But, hey! I’m old now and have more privileges! Hee hee.

Brought to you by RWA.

Are you new to the world, and business, of romance writing? Want to learn more about this billion+ dollar a year industry – the largest genre of books read in the world?

Well, if you do, I’ve got a workshop for you.

Join me and three fabulous, award-winning, bestselling romance authors as we immerse you into the love of writing romance books.

I’ll be discussing TROPES used in romance books – the common ones, the uncommon ones, and why you’d use them in your storytelling. Here’s a little about what my topic is about, and what I’ll be discussing:

TITLE: TRIPPING THE TROPES FANTASTIC

Some things are as familiar as the taste of a peanut butter sandwich, or the aroma of fresh crayons right out of that big 64 count Crayola box. We know exactly what we’re going to get when we bite into that deliciousness or inhale all that waxy perfection.

Tropes work the same way. When we see a book feature a secret baby plotline, or a fake dating one, or even a marriage of convenience, we know exactly what to expect from that story. Our hearts start to race, our anticipation ramps up and we can’t wait to dive into the story. In its truest form, a trope is a promise from the author to the reader to deliver exactly what you want to read.

In this workshop we’ll explore the use of tropes in our writing, the kinds used, the most popular ones readers are buying today, and examine why tropes can enhance our stories and take them to the next level.

Intrigued? you can register for this virtual seminar on the RWA website, here: RWA

Hope I see you there!! ~ Peg

especially since I’m doing a workshop!!!

So this Friday and Saturday, May 16 & 17, I will be up in Maine at the Maire Romance Writers Retreat 2025. Here’s the schedule of events: ( and registration is still open in case you want to attend!)

May Retreat

May 16-17, 2025

Embassy Suites, Portland, Maine

Registration is open!

Registration: https://forms.gle/yAseykb6KE4dFaT76

Payment: https://www.maineromancewriters.com/p/retreat-payment-page.html

Registration

Members: $115

Non-Members $125

The Schedule, Presenters, and Workshop Descriptions

Friday

9:00 am  – 2:00 pm 

Writing sprints in the conference room

2:00pm – 3:00pm

Self-publishing Roundtable

Come with questions and your best practices to help each other out!

3:15pm – 4:15pm

What Fanfic can teach you about appealing to GenZ

Marguerite Carrithers started reviewing YA in middle school on her blog “Nerd and a Lemon”. She graduated with a BFA in writing from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently she is a graduate student in Library Sciences at UI Urbana-Champaign with an interest in curation and rare books. She also has a fascination with archaic forms of communication and teaches print making at Skueomorph Press on the UI-UC campus. 

Workshop Description: Younger readers are coming to Romance from fanfic of their 

television shows and movies. That doesn’t mean fanfic is a new phenomenon. Over the course of this talk we will explore a short history of fanfic, how readers interact with it, and the lessons we can take away for marketing our own work.

4:30pm – 5:30pm 

Making It on to the Shelf: A Bookseller’s Advice

Sydney Macias is a writer, editor and romance bookseller. She has a BFA in Writing. Her experience includes development and copy editing for independent authors and publishers; she also pedals romance at The Last Chapter Bookshop in Chicago. She is published in the Latino Horror anthology: A Night of Screams. 

Workshop Description: Sydney will outline how to research independent bookstores and suggest outreach methods that can help get your work sold in stores. Sydney will also go over event inquires and social marketing to help build up your author profile.

5:45pm – Dinner

Saturday

10:15am – 11:15am

Perceived Tier of Success

Susan Stoker-New York Times, USA Today, #1 Amazon Bestseller, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has spent the last twenty-three years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, Indiana, Texas, and Tennessee and is currently living in the wilds of Maine. She’s married to her own retired Army man (and current firefighter/EMT). 

Workshop Description: There’s a double-edged sword to social media and talking with your friends and hearing about the successes others around you are having in their writing. It changes your perception of what’s normal and what’s not in this industry. Regularly, you might feel inadequate in your own success because of what others are accomplishing around you. No one makes you feel that way by their actions, it’s all in your head. Comparison is the thief of joy. A truer statement has never been said. This workshop will talk about the perceived tier of success and how to combat comparing your success to others.

11:30am – 12:30pm 

Your Writing Voice: A Key to Success

Gail Eastwood is an award-winning, hybrid-published author of 11 “sweet/low heat” Regency romance novels, currently writing Book 5 in her “Tales of Little Macclow” series, featuring an assortment of lovable gentry, working class and aristocratic characters and set in a tiny Derbyshire village where the cause of True Love may be getting some extra help! 

Workshop Description: Are you confused when we talk about “voice” in writing? Editors say it’s what they’re looking for, and agents say it can make the difference between a mid-list and a best-selling career. It’s often defined as “a writer’s personality on the page,” but how do we put it there? Is it something natural, organic, or something related to our writing craft? This workshop will explore the integrated writing elements that make up voice, such as style, tone, and content (each with its own sub-elements) and what choices we make that affect our voices. We’ll analyze recognizable samples of strong writing voices, and through discussion and exercises, map out some ways to strengthen our own voices for greater writing success.

12:45pm – 1:45pm 

Lunch and Business meeting

2:00pm – 3:00pm 

World-building Isn’t Just for Fantasy Writers

Mickey Flagg – Mickey Flagg’s imaginative world is full of mystical warriors, witches and the not-so-normal vampires. With five novels in the paranormal romance genre, spinning tales about the paradox of love is a passion. She is a contributor in a book on urban music education and has published a piece in Still Standing, a web-magazine about loss and healing. M. Flagg is a life-long New Jersey resident, a member of Liberty States Fiction Writers, NJ Author’s Network, and NJRW. 

Workshop Description: Whether your world is fantasy or reality, the way an author creates the setting draws a reader in. This workshop will discuss aspects of building the world within your novel. Beginning with the germ of an idea, world building is a journey into imagination. Will you use one sentence or a paragraph? What roles do our senses play? The what, where, why, how and who will explore boundaries and rules set (and broken) by an author. 

3:15pm – 4:15pm

The Making of a Damn Good Villain

Shirley Hailstock began writing as a lover of reading. She likes nothing better than to get lost in a book and explore new worlds. As an author, she can visit those places, and be the heroine of her own stories. A past president Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America, Shirley is working on her 51st novel. 

Workshop Description: The character of the villain is often blurry. We don’t think of that character as we do the hero or heroine. This workshop will give you insights to the other character and allow you to add depth to your book, but pitting the villain equally with the other two characters.

4:30pm – 5:30pm

Entering Contests as a Marketing Tool

Peggy Jaeger writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. 

Workshop Description: As writers, we know finding new readers can be difficult. The advent of the pandemic shutdown made it next to impossible for writers to meet new readers face-to-face at places like book signings, library events, conferences. Social media only gets you so far and let’s be honest: wouldn’t we all rather be writing than marketing our books? Have you ever considered entering a contest to find new readers? It’s a unique mindset because most people enter contests to, well, win them! Come hear why I believe entering writing contests is an effect marketing strategy and tool for getting your books into the hands of new-to-you readers. This workshop explores the ins and outs of contest submissions, the ones that are right for you, where to find them, and the things you should consider before entering one.

I am so stoked to be speaking at this retreat because it is always fabulously attended and the Maine Romance Writers are one of the most welcoming groups on the planet!!! Looking for something creative to do this weekend? Come join us!

~ Peg

It’s hard to believe, but next Monday, the final book in the MacQuire Women Series will release on Amazon/Kindle/and in KU.

In January of this year I re-released book 1, THE VOICES OF ANGELS. IN February, book 2, PASSION’S PALETTE. In March, book 3, SKATER’S WALTZ, and last month the fourth book, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS completes the 5 book series about the strong women of the MacQuire family and the men who love them. This was my very first series and holds such a special place in my heart. This final book was a joy to write and – fun fact – it was the first and only time a fully formed male character came to me before I even had a plot thought! Padric Cleary is my book boyfriend, my hall pass, and my dream lover, all rolled into one fully fledged and complicated man. His reputation is something he has to live with, but he is truly looking for THE ONE – the woman he can pledge his life to.

Finding him that woman was such a pleasure. The fact that she’s smarter than he is, better adjusted, and not looking for a love connection, made telling this tale all the more fun.

You can preorder FIRST IMPRESSIONS now so you’ll get it when it goes livelivelive on May 19 ( which just so happens to be my 65th birthday!) Want to get me a present? No need – just read the book and love it!! LOL

Family Practice Doctor Clarissa Rogers’ first impression of Padric Cleary is biased and based on gossip. The handsome, charming veterinarian is considered a serial dater and commitment-phobe by his family and most of the town. Relationship shy, Clarissa refuses to lose her heart to a man who can’t pledge himself to her forever.

Pat Cleary, despite his reputation, is actually looking for The One. When he does give his heart away, he wants it to be for life. With his parent’s marriage as his guidebook, he wants a woman who will be his equal and soul mate in every way.

Can Pat convince everyone – including Clarissa – she’s the only woman for him?

I don’t write posts like this often. I try – valiantly try – to use my so-called platform to bring a little joy and happiness into people’s lives each day.

But every now and then, something happens, and I have to rant. Today is one of those now and thens.

Writers are told – often – not to read their reviews. Reviews are for the reader, not the author of the book. I call bullshit on that and always have. I actually enjoy reading my reviews – even the ones from people who didn’t like the book, because I always think I can learn something from them that may improve my writing. Does that happen? Truthfully, it has. Often? Nope. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still get a feel for what readers want or what they don’t.

So, I checked into my account this morning to see if any new reviews were put up for my newest Heaven’s Matchmaker book, PERFECT MATCH. I also checked the other books in the series, MIX and MATCH and LOVE MATCH, just in case anyone had read them recently.

This is one of those days I wish I could listen to that sage advice of not reading your reviews.

Nothing bad was written about the books – which I wish had been because it would explain something to me. What I found was a 1 star on Mix and Match, no written review, just a rating. Same thing on Love Match and Perfect Match. I went into the metadata and found the 1 stars were from the same person for all three and all posted on the same day. I clicked on the name of the reviewer. Don’t know her from Adam, but apparently she doesn’t like what I write. Okay. I get that. But if you gave the first book a 1 star, why bother reading the second and then the third??

So, the little detective in me went into a deeper dive.I swear if I wasn’t a writer I’d be a private investigator. For Amazon to post reviews, you have to meet some criteria- $50.00 in purchases in a few months, and actually buy the book to leave a confirmed purchase review. I don’t know how this got past the Zon algorithm, but the one-star reviewer didn’t purchase the books. Did she get them in KU? Maybe, but the first two haven’t been in KU for a bit of time now, so the only one she really could have was PERFECT MATCH. So she didn’t buy them, didn’t get them in KU. I didn’t sell them to her on my website and I know I haven’t met her at a book signing because I would have recognized her picture and/or name.

So. What does this tell us, my peeps? What conclusions can be drawn from this data?
This girl has not read my books, but knows me or knows of me and doesn’t like me, so she has tried to review bomb my series to bring my rating scale down. While this may not seem important to the average writer, to a writer, it is. Because reviews – good ones – get the book noticed. If you have 50 reviews or more on Zon, they push your book out to people who ordinarily might not see it.

Now, review bombing is done for several reasons. Is the reviewer working solo or on behalf of a rival author? I sincerely hope not, even though I know someone – personally!- that happened to. Usually, when this happens, it is someone from a street team or a friend of another writer whom the person perceives is competing with you. We’ve heard stories about this happening for years – last year a trad author had her publishing deal stripped and her book pulled from release because she went on other author sites, review bombed them with 1 stars and then set up fake accounts to give her book all 5 star reviews.

Ridiculous? You bet. Nasty? Yup. Illegal? Unfortunately, no. Which is why I decided to do a little detecting with the above reviews because I smelled a smelly fish, so to speak.

I just want to ask this person, “B**ch! What did I ever do to you???” Or the author you are working for ( and I sincerely hope this is not the case!) Common sense would tell anyone with a brain that if you didn’t like the first book, you won’t like the second. Or the third. So why waste your time reading and then 1-starring them?

Ah, the wonderful, joy filled life of a writer in these trying times.

Tomorrow I leave for my first book event of 2025 – ROMANCE in CNY taking place in Utica, NY.

Today I need to pack up all my stuff. I’ve got a list ( I’ve always got a list!) of things I need to bring: chargers, SQUARE, books, banner. Stuff like that for the event itself.

Yesterday, I went shopping for clothes because I wanted something new to wear. Having lost almost 70 pounds over the past year, my clothes no longer look decent. I look like I’m wearing another person’s clothing – someone, well, 70 pounds heavier. I went to five stores in my town and found NOTHING for me.

Kids, when did stores stop selling pantyhose? Doesn’t anyone wear them anymore? I’m gonna be 65 next month and have almost 65-year-old legs: creepy, veiny, lily white. I want pantyhose covering them up if I wear a dress. I found a store that carried a very limited supply, and the cost almost shut me down for the day: $10.00 for one pair. Not even control top or anything! Just nude hose. God forbid I get a run, that’s $10.00 down the tube. Back in the day, I wore L’EGGS exclusively. Never ran, always fit, came in a cute little egg container I saved and used as easter decorations. Remember those? Fab hose.

And when did it become fashionable for women to show their nipples and hoo-haas in public?

Everything I found had a collar that dropped down to the middle of my chest ( potential nip-slip territory) or was so short, the bottom edge of my underwear showed. I have trouble showing my bare arms in public, never mind other body parts!!

I was so discouraged. I haven’t been clothing shopping since before COVID, and had no idea fashion had changed so drastically. I’ll mention my age again: at almost 65 I do not want to be dressing 40 years my junior. I want age-appropriate, body-part-covering clothing that looks nice, fits well, and doesn’t cost a mortgage payment. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

I came home with a $10.00 pair of pantyhose and soul-crushing defeat in my stance.

Today, I’ll need to try on everything I still own to find something I can jury-rig to fit and look appropriate for the book signing.

The life of a writer is never dull, kids, despite what you’ve heard.

Le sigh.