For me, I am grateful that the year is progressing so far without any major life catastrophes! Lol
#Fridayfive 3.29.24
Today, I’m going to share 5 reasons I think you will love my newest release, RETRIBUTION. (I’m not too conceited, lol)
- Two kick-ass heroines. Kella O’Brien Calloway and FBI Agent Anna Langdon are two very dissimilar women, but they both are strong, smart, and articulate. And both shoot ambidextrously. ( A fact you need to know when you read the book!)
- A really good backstory about the serial killer. No spoilers here, but there’s a lot of depth to the killer’s character arc.
- Two Swoon-worthy heroes – Sean Calloway and Ticker Petrie. Two men who couldn’t be more unalike, but they both love Kella in their own way and would die for her.
- A fast-paced story ala Criminal Minds. The SPCD ( Sexual Predators of Children) Division of the FBI are a group of dedicated G-men who fight for kids every day of their lives.
- It’s like nothing else I’ve ever written. If you aren’t a fan of romance ( shame on you!) but like gritty, psychological crime dramas, this book has your name on it!
YOu can preorder an autographed print copy from me, here PRINT
or get the ecopy from Amazon, here. KINDLE
The book will also be available in KU for a limited time.
Filed under #fridayfive, #retribution
#TBT
All year long I’m taking a look back on some of the blogs I wrote when I first started this writing project. It’s fun to see how far I’ve come in my writing and in my philosophizing, lol! This one is from September 2017
I’ve mentioned before that I’m blessed and lucky to be retired so I can write whenever I want, for how ever long at a stretch I want. This usually adds up to 5-9 hours daily, depending on everything else in life that needs to be taken care of: laundry, grocery shopping, exercise.
But….there was a time not too long ago when that wasn’t the case. I worked outside my home at a job I detested, so writing was relegated to the back burner. During that time I’d sneak a few minutes before getting ready for the day to jot down a few lines of dialogue. Or I’d bring my laptop to work with me and take a solitary lunch so I could finish a scene. My menopause insomnia ( don’t laugh. It’s a real thing!) was good for one thing and one thing only: I used my inability to sleep to write in the middle of the night when everyone else was dreaming. My first book, SKATER’S WALTZ, was completely written between the hours of 1 and 3 am.
My husband worked, my daughter was out of the house, so it should have been easy to eek time out of the day to write. But it wasn’t because, you know….life.
Balance is a hard job for some people and for me it’s one of the most difficult concepts to accomplish. I never felt like I was giving my all to anyone or anything when I was working and writing. I am in awe of writers who have small children, volunteer at their school, plus work and have husbands/wives they need to care, in addition to homes that need to be tended. And by tended, I mean cleaned! Those writers truly have superpowers that I do not possess. They can write a book, bake cookies for the school fundraiser, prepare nutritious meals for dinner, and everyone has clothes to wear, even on laundry day.
These writers have found their inner balance between writing and life.
I never did. It was only when I retired from that despised job that I was able to finally devote the time necessary to each part of my day and not feel as if I was cheating some aspect of it along the way.
So the title of this piece is Managing my writing time. I’m doing pretty well now that I don’t have any place to be during the daylight hours – and by that I mean I don’t have to go to a job location. All my friends still work, so there is no one I can get into Thelma and Louise trouble with during the day and the last time I went out to lunch on a weekday was way back in the beginning of the summer. I have no life, really, and I think I’m doing just fine!
Filed under #throwbackthursday
#WednesdayWIsdom 3.27.24
THink about this for a moment.
You have a roof over your head, food on your table, the bills are paid, you have luxuries like a cellphone, vacations, a laptop. You drive a car you own. You can buy clothes whenever you want; go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Go to the movies.
Do you ever think you’re blessed because you have all that? Or do you just accept it? Take it for granted because it’s always been that way?
Here are some statistics that might surprise you – or may not.
9.2% of the global population live in extreme poverty with half the world’s poor children under the age of 18.
In this country, 37 million Americans with 1 in 6 being children, live below the poverty line, don’t have enough to eat, don’t have adequate access to health care, clean water, even a roof over their heads.
Now, tell me: are you still taking the things you do have for granted?
Filed under #wednesdaywisdom
#mondaymusings #musings on a Monday 3.25.24
Filed under #mondayMusings
#fridayfive 3.22.24
Today, I want to tell you about 5 books that impacted my life. A few of them I read years and years ago, a few, recently. But all of them left a mark on me and made my life, and my insights into life, a little bit better.
UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN by Jan Krakour. I knew nothing about the Mormon faith until I read this book. It is an encyclopedia of info and deals with a modern-day murder involving the belief system. Very powerful.
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt. The most fascinating look into a society murder. The book was much better than the movie, but the movie wasn’t bad.
SHANNA by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. The very first grown-up ( read SEX ON THE PAGE) romance I ever read when I was 16.
THE 7 HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book truly impacted me and gave me a great deal of insight into the issues with being gay in this country. I adored this story, the characters, and the phenomenal ending.
7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen R. Covey. Insights into how the mind works and what makes habits turn into success, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to get ahead int he word be it financially, socially, or academically.
Filed under #fridayfive
RETRIBUTION
So I’m doing something different for my next release. I’m going to be selling print copies of RETRIBUTION directly from my website. The link is on the menu on the home page, but I’ll provide it here, too. The cost is $15.00 per book and that includes shipping and handling. Now, this offer is only available to US residents because shipping costs overseas are prohibitive. In that case, if you want the print book Amazon is the best place to get it.
One advantage of getting it from me is that it’s autographed!
Here’s the direct link to getting the book: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjUQmo2awwfvrFZtf-2Ix7U-Gt6vFFLm4KDVOtBx0xvO2cbQ/viewform?usp=sharing
Filed under Uncategorized
#tbt 3.21.24
So this year, on Thursdays, I’m taking a look at some of my older blogs to see if they have any relevance today. Here’s one about reviews.
Published July 3, 2020.
title: WORDS HURT and REVIEWS can be Crushing…
I really have had some weird – but exact – blog titles lately, haven’t I? Hee Hee
I’ve talked about book reviews here many times – the good, the bad, the mean. Today I’m going to add confusing to that short list.
WOKE released the other day to good (mostly – 95%) to excellent reviews. I’ve come to realize that the people whom I know personally are always kind even if they don’t like one book more than another, they always say kind words in their reviews. But I know a book is good if reviewers I don’t know from Adam ( or Eve) say something wonderful.
For an example, this review was put up on Bookbub and Amazon by a reader I don’t know:
Drugged at her 21st birthday party, Aurora nearly died, then spent 10 years in a coma. She moves forward after waking, thanks to her devoted mother and their housekeeper, to the point of training to run the NYC marathon, and meeting and dating someone she met at a fundraiser. AJ, as she’s now known, wants to know what happened, and goes in search of someone who can help her. I’ve read two other books from this author, both very nice romances. But holy crapoly – I had no idea that Ms. Jaeger could write such a captivating and suspenseful romance. This story roped me in at the beginning, and never let up. The romance is wonderful. Cade and AJ are just perfect together, until he omits something that she might think to be important. Her mother is a bit overprotective at times, but considering all that AJ went through, fairly understandable, and Mom is supportive. Maeve, their housekeeper, has worked for the family since she came to the US, and she’s so much more than just “the help” – she gave up her chance at forever to take care of AJ when she was comatose. Nick, the detective who worked her case, is a really great guy, and I love AJ’s matchmaking attempt. Best quote in the book: “Forgiveness is a gift, according to Maeve, that should be doled out often, and without incurring interest.” She gave it 5 stars
Great review, right? I think so and it made me feel I’d done my job as a writer well.
Then there are the confusing ones. The reviews that makes no sense to me, like this one, for example:
The plot had its engaging moments, the characters were interesting and their secrets were gradually relieved throughout the story.
It had mystery and twists, single pov, nicely paced.
Regarding the solution of how and why was Aurora poisoned, it was neither brilliant nor mind-blowing. It was far-fetched and spoiled whatever my mood was.
Is there a part two??? Where was the epilogue???? Where was the hea???? There was a hea, but for a secondary character!!! I was left dumbfounded, looking for an epilogue that never appeared and I could not believe how abrupt the story ended!!! 😲She gave it 2.5 stars.
I didn’t promote this book as a romance because, to me, it really wasn’t one. It was more a woman coming to grips with the hand of cards she was dealt in life and trying to learn how to grow from it. The book ended when it was appropriate to end. It didn’t need an epilogue and why does this reader think it does??? See? Confusing.
There certainly are days when I wonder why I ever wanted to be a professional, published writer, that’s for sure…
Oh well. Today I start writing Book 2 in my Pride of Brothers series. Different genre, different voices. I’d better just concentrate on that and forget about the confusing world of reviews for the moment.
Happy 4th, American peeps. Until next time ~ Peg
Filed under #throwbackthursday
