Join Long and Short Reviews for their 8th anniversary party. Click on the link and you could…win a prize…find your next favorite author…just answer a question on the link about my debut novel SKATER’S WALTZ, which, btw, in on sale now for #99cents until 9/3. So if you haven’t read it, now’s your chance to for less than a dollar!
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
Whew! This is some week. Who calls these the dog days of August?? Not for me.
Monday I had a piece published on Contemporary Romance that you might have seen ( or not!) Here’s the link. It’s about literary rejection, but the lesson in it could be applied to almost anything in life worth wanting and striving for.
Friday I’m being featured on The Roses of Proses Fearless Friday blog talking about my Dancing with the Stars experience earlier this year. Again, the lessons I learned during that time will suit me for a lifetime. I’ll post the link when it’s live.
Saturday 8/22/15 is my biggie day though. Three monumental things going down for this little author:
2.I’m also featured on the Long and Short Reviews 8th Anniversary blog party: here’s the link but it won’t go live until the 22nd so don’t email me if you can’t get on!! You need to answer a question you’re given and you could win a prize.
3. Starting on 8/21/15 my debut novel SKATER’S WALTZ will be on sale for 2 weeks for 99cents for the ebook. If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, now is the best time todo it because the book will never be priced lower. Just go to amazon or Wild Rose Press starting on the 21st to upload your copy. I mean, really, 99cents?? What a fabulous deal.
One last bit of exciting news. On August 20 [ which is tomorrow ) I’ll be a guest author on the EXQUISITE QUILLS author takeover extravaganza. I’ll be LIVE from 6-7pm East coast time and there’ll be prize giveaways, fun trivia and questions for people participating. Click on the above link to get an idea of what’s to come and I hope I see you there!
Whew! That’s enough for this insomniac. More later…..
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Life challenges, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, MacQuire Women, Romance, Skater's Waltz
Okay, so book 3 in the MacQuire Women, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, is in final production right now and I’m hoping it will be released in September, since it’s a fall themed book. This is the cover.
I know!
Gorgeous, isn’t it? I love my artist at the Wild Rose Press, Rae Monet. She’s done all three covers for me so far and – please, Jesus – she will do the rest.
But I digress.
It isn’t enough just to write the story any longer. Along with the story a writer must also pen the dreaded SYNOPSIS and (gulp!) the official BOOK BLURB. The synopsis is a detailed (or not) outline of the plot of the book. For most authors, writing a synopsis is tantamount to being tossed into the ninth circle of hell for all eternity. And that’s not an exaggeration. The blurb is that little mini description the publisher places on the back of the book or for hardcover books, on the inside jacket cover. It’s supposed to be the tease that lures the reader into wanting to purchase and read your book.
Until I had my first book published I never knew the author was responsible for writing this. You’d think it would be easy. Just sum-up the book’s main theme, right?
Ha!
It’s about as easy as putting together a car from scratch without directions, diagrams, or pictures. Or any outside help, mechanical or human.
Not kidding.
First of all there are word count restrictions of between 100 and 150, maximum. I am a verbose writer. And by verbose I mean I write A LOT of words. The task of paring down the storyline into what amounts to about 10-15 sentences is torture. Add that you must hit the high points of the story, identify the hero and heroine, describe them and the conflict resounding around their relationship ever coming to fruition, PLUS make it sound exciting and buy-worthy, well…this is why I’m sweating right now as I write this piece. Writing a blurb gives me more indigestion than Crispy Crème donuts – and I had to have my gall bladder removed after eating just one of those suckers. I really did.
But I digress. Again.
Back to the blurb. I have been told by manymanymany people in the publishing realm that a blurb can make or break a sale. Pressure, much? When I wrote my first one for SKATER’S WALTZ I thought I really did a great job. I was proud of it and the hours it took to do, so I sent it in and just knew it was perfect.
Not so much.
It took three back and forth trials between me and the burb committee (yes, there is one, and it is made up of WONDERFUL and SMART PEOPLE!) before the blurb was deemed publishing-worthy.
For THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, I took everything I learned from the first blurb debacle and did my best not to make the same mistakes. I must have done something right this time because it only came back to me once.
For book 3, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, I let myself get cocky and knew – knew! – there was no way the blurb I wrote was coming back this time.
Yeah, no.
It took two tries, but I think they did a fabulous job guiding me in the right direction. Read for yourselves, this is the official blurb:
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-phobic 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 truly can not wait until the book is released. It’s my favorite so far – and I know every writer says that when they’ve got something new coming out, but this one really is. Pat and Clarissa’s story was an absolute pleasure to write and I’m thrilled I get to share it.
I’m currently editing the 4th book, The Voices of Angels, and I am putting off the blurb until I absolutely need to submit it. Trying to come up with something that will wow the reader is much too exhausting right now. Better I write the story down and get that good and right. Then and only then will I tackle the blurb.
I’ll also have to make sure I have a couple bottles of Rolaids handy as well when I do.
I’m featured on COFFEE TIME ROMANCE today talking about risk taking in life and writing. Here’s the link: Drop on by and leave some of your own wisdom
http://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/taking-risksin-writing-and-in-life/
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
So, tomorrow my newest addition to the MacQuire Women Series, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME is released. It is a scant two months since book 1, SKATER’S WALTZ went out into the book reading universe and you might think I am still basking in the wonderful-ness of the first release and that this new one is sort of taking a back burner to it.
Yeah, NO!
I feel as excited and giddy today as I did on March 3. ANY book, any work, any story I have sent into the world for public consumption has thrilled me. To know that tomorrow people will be reading about Quentin and Moira and how they fell in love is beyond exciting for me. The personal responses I have received from people who have read the first book is humbling and mind blowing. Even my father in law read it and I know he did because he was able to discuss things that happened in the book!!!
I remember my mother in law once told me she loved my husband ( her firstborn) so much she didn’t know if she had any love left over for another child. But when her first daughter was born, she realized a mother’s love knows no bounds or limits. She loved each child equally and thoroughly.
That’s the way I feel about my new release. I love the story and the people in it as much as I loved the first one.
So, I hope if you read There’s No Place like Home you will feel the same way I do.
Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:
“Remember when your cousin Tiffany got married in the backyard here?”
Confused, Moira nodded.
Quentin rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “When the Reverend told Cole ‘you can kiss your bride,’ and he swooped her off the ground, spun her around and kissed her silly? Remember what you said?”
“I think I said it was the most romantic thing I’d ever seen.”
He nodded. “The exact quote was, ‘I hope someone kisses me like that some day.’”
Her grin was quick at the memory. “Pat snorted and said I’d better be satisfied with licks from the horses and Rob Roy because no guy was ever gonna kiss me.”
“He wasn’t known for tact back then.” He rubbed a hand down her back as he held her. “Remember what happened later on behind the barn?”
Because she did, she couldn’t stop the heat from spreading up her face like wildfire. When she nodded again, he said, “You wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed like that and since I was your best friend, you thought I should be the one to do it, because you – quote – felt safe with me – unquote.”
“What was I? Eleven?”
“Thirteen. And I was more than willing. Almost broke my heart in two when you said afterward, ‘I don’t see what all the fuss is about.’”
“Q—”
“Hush.” He kissed her forehead. “Ever since that day, all I’ve wanted is a second chance. Now,” he pulled her body closer, wrapped both arms around her small waist, his hands resting just above the dent in her spine. “We’re both a little older, a little more mature. Some of us are much more experienced—”
“And conceited.”
“Experienced,” he said, the laugh in his voice quiet and seductive, “and things can be so much better.”
Get your copy here or order it at your local bookstore:
Buy Links for THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1J1f3OZ
The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/1GmM1Je
Barnes and Noble Nook : http://bit.ly/1JjMUG7
Just a reminder: I’ve doing a GOODREADS giveaway this month of paperback copies of SKATER’S WALTZ in celebration of my May 6 release of THERE’S NO PLAC LIKE HOME, Here’s the link and remember: you gotta be in it to win it! Good luck. More on There’s no Place Like home to come!’
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24872836-skater-s-waltz-the-macquire-women-1
Yesterday I was a guest blogger on writer Brenna Zinn’s blog. I talked about my love of figure skating and how I used this in my first romance novel Skater’s Waltz. I mentioned Dorothy Hamill’s name several times and each time I spelled it incorrectly. So dumb! I know how to spell her name as well as my own and mine is much harder! Spell check doesn’t do names and I just glazed over it every time I read it in proofing. My Dartmouth grad English major daughter was the one who clued me into this mistake. Thank God for her.
This got me to thinking about why it is so imperative that we have editors.
Spell check was one of the best inventions ever and one of the worst. It has made us a writing nation of people who don’t bother to learn how to spell correctly and who don’t truly check our work, thinking our laptop programs will do it all and we will look like geniuses.
Na-ah. Doesn’t work that way.
I recently read a novel by a very famous and much published author who I happen to love. She mentioned colored contact lenses in the narrative of her story and even named the manufacturer. The only problem was that manufacturer doesn’t make colored contacts and never has. I know this because this is what I do for a paying job right now: I am a contact lens technician, so when I say I walk the walk and talk the talk of lenses, you can bank on it. Her editors and fact checkers paid her a huge disservice by not validating her statement and I think more people than just me noticed it.
So, back to editing. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. When I write something I need to read it very very very slowly to make sure I have all the names correct, the i’s doted and the facts perfect. I don’t want to look like an idiot in print ( or in real life).
Lesson learned. Thank you, wise and learned daughter. And my sincere apologies to the fabulous Dorothy Hamill.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Editors, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
It’s been almost a week since my book Skater’s Waltz went live into the reading stratosphere. And what a week it’s been.
I’m new to this whole world of publishing and marketing, and I’ve never been on social media so much. I can truly see how being on Twitter, FB and the rest can be an addictive process. I hear the “tweet” sound on my phone signaling another twitter message I’m mentioned in and I automatically grab my phone. I get “pinged” whenever a new email arrives and “whistled at” when Facebook updates. All this audio is doing a number on my ears and my ego.
One thing I remember other authors saying at numerous conferences and during chats is that you can get carried away by your media sites if you don’t keep a lid on it, and believe me, this week I’ve found that to be true. As nice as it is to interact with folks on social media, it’s nicer still just to sit and write. That is, after all, what got me started on this path.
So, as I enter the second week of my book’s marketing plan – complete with interviews, a Twitter-purge, blog posts, and GoodReads questions- I’m turning my phone down when I’m writing. I’ll check it periodically because there are some emails and texts I can’t ignore – like those from family – but for the rest, I’ll let the Twitter-verse and Facebook bloggers have their say and then respond at a later time.
Who new being social was so exhausting??!! But really uplifting as well.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
Tomorrow, Skater’s Waltz is released into the world. Last week I admitted how fretful – well, terrified really – I am about this for a number of reasons. I’ve had a few days to sit back and, while biting my nails, reflect on this. So here goes.
I am a truly private person. I know that sounds ridiculous since I have this blog, Facebook account, Twitter handle, am a Pinterest follower, am LinkedIn, and Google plus-ed, but it’s true. As much as is “out there” in the cyber-verse about me, I keep a great deal of my emotions, thoughts ( yes, believe it!), and musings locked in my head. So when I tell you I’m terrified of this book failing, it is a huge admission for me to give a voice to.
I fail all the time. It’s true. I fail at weight loss, I fail to keep up with my exercise regimen, I fail people…enough about that one. So, you can see, failure is familiar to me and I usually don’t dwell on it, just get back on my proverbial horse and push on.
But this… this is soooooo different in every aspect. This book represents everything about me. My hopes, my dreams, my thoughts, my words, my loves. To have it fail – and by fail I mean, no one likes it, derides it, and makes fun of it – would, quite simply, be devastating.
I know I shouldn’t dwell on failure, because it can be a self fulfilling prophecy. Obviously, someone liked it because it’s being published. So there’s that. People will say “don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.” And that’s nice to hear. But it’s so easy for someone else to say. Unless you have been in this position, as any writer has, it is impossible to empathize with what this feels like in your heart, soul and mind. As a writer, you put yourself out there on a ledge by asking people to read what you have to say. You love what you’ve written. It represents something that came from deep inside you, something that you gave your all to in order to bring forth. Discovering that people don’t like it, or worse – think it’s silly or stupid, or (the ultimate worst) badly written, is heartstoppingly traumatizing. I can hear how dramatic this sounds but believe me, from a writer’s viewpoint, it’s true.
As for the rest, I guess tomorrow will tell. I’ve done everything I could to promote it, market it, spread the word, and try to drum up some excitement from the people I know. I guess, as always, time will tell.
For now though, I’m going to go have a cookie…or several. And then try to exercise.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
Peggy Jaeger, Author 