Today I have a double whammy! Two great interviews on my Goddess Fish Virtual Book tour. COme check them and find out somethings you didn’t know about me….really – you didn’t!
Rogues Angels is up first. Come meet me and the lovely Angels – but there’s no Bosley.
It’s Raining Books is next and you all now I love the rain!
Stop by and enter for rafflecopter prizes. It’ll be fun.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, First Impressions, Friends, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Strong Women
My baby was home this past weekend to attend the wedding of a high school friend and that got me to thinking about weddings and the months in which they occur.
Of course, a couple can be married any month, that goes without saying. While June and July have typically been the most preferred months for weddings – something I’ve never really understood – I wonder why a couple pick the month they do to tie the knot, jump the broom, get hitched, walk down the aisle…you get the idea. Hey, can’t help it…I’m a writer.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
I got married the day after Christmas. I know. There’s nothing you can say I haven’t already been witness to from all my friends and family. But…it was the only time he could come home from his job in Wisconsin to do it, so. I loved getting married on the 26th of December. Everyone – everyone! – was still in such a good and joyous mood from the holiday and more importantly, our families were still all together and didn’t have to travel again to celebrate the day. It was a cold, crisp day, about 27 degrees in NYC, a scant amount of fresh snow covered the ground and streets so everything looked pretty and my colors were – surprise, surprise – red and green. Beautiful. It really was.
Now, I lovedlovedloved my winter wedding, but autumn is my favorite time of year. There is something so rich and spectacular, so grand and breathtaking about the kaleidoscope of the changing colors. The harvest is bountiful and the food amazing. An autumn wedding would be a delight to plan just from the color spectrum choices for me.
A Spring wedding brings with it the beauty of rebirth and the threat of rain. I always feel anxious when I attend a wedding during the spring months because I don’t want rain to mar such a memorable day. Isn’t there an old saw that goes, “Happy is the bride the sun shines upon?” Now I personally happen to love rain. A rainy day is a gift to me for a number of reasons, but a beautiful bride bedecked in pure white with….rain spots on the back of her dress, is not a happy thought!
In my second novel THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, Moira Cleary and Quentin Stapleton marry on an august day in her parent’s garden. Instead of it being an uncomfortable hot and humid day, like any august day in Connecticut could be and often is, I flubbed the weather and made it a glorious, sunny, just-warm-enough afternoon for them to say their nuptials. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the day:
As the guests all stood and turned to watch the procession, Seamus leaned down to his daughter and said, “I married your mother in this garden twenty-nine years ago. It was the best day of my life.”
Moira squeezed the arm she held, touched.
“Until the day you two were born,” he added. “And now today. Baby, if you know a tenth the love and joy with Quentin your mother and I have had, then I’ll be a happy man the rest of my life.”
“I love you, Daddy. So much.”
He turned to her, his eyes shimmering in the afternoon glow of the sun.
So… you know what’s coming! What month did you marry in? Why that month? Was your wedding all you hoped and dreamed? Come on and share…we’re all friends here. Let’s discuss….
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME buy links
amazon The Wild Rose Press Nook
I love hearing from people, so…..
Welcome to the 113th week of My Sexy Saturday.
This week’s theme: All About Sexy
Sexy can be an anniversary date, a hot first meeting, love in the morning, love in the afternoon, sexy on a beach, sexy on a spaceship and the list goes on and on. Well, we want your best sexy and more sexy. We did mention sexy…and hot and sizzling…right?
Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.
Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.
We know that everyone has their own idea of sexy and we all love sexy!
Here’s a sexy little snippet – a moment in time – from my new release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Clarissa and Pat are trying, really trying, to just be friends, but, damn, it’s hard!
She tried to pull away. Pat’s arms tightened. “No. Don’t. This feels too good. You feel too good.”
Their gazes stayed locked. Pat’s hands wound around her waist, settling above the dent in her spine. She was pressed fully against him and he knew without doubt she could feel how hard he was.
“Pat. You promised. Friends.”
His grin was quick. “I’m sticking to my promise, Clarissa, but I can’t help it if my body doesn’t listen.” He tightened his grip, making a soft gasp push out through her lips.
“I can’t tell you how much I love that little breath,” he said, barely above a whisper. With no will to fight his mounting desire, he dipped his head and skimmed his mouth along her jaw. “It’s sounds so hot and bothered, it makes me hot whenever I hear it.”
When his tongue traced along the skin he’d kissed, he could feel her push in closer to him. She tilted her head, giving him more access. And he took it.
Her satin skin was smooth and so seductively soft. Pat lost himself in the feel of it. He wet his lips and kissed the sweet spot behind her ear. Her pulse pounded against his mouth and the jolt of knowledge he was the cause filled him with an emotion he couldn’t name, but felt so damn good.
Buy Links
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, First Impressions, Friends, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Strong Women
My dear writing friend and multi-published author, Susan A. Wall is celebrating 20 years of togetherness with her man ( which is wicked awesome, isn’t it??!) and that got me to thinking about relationships and first dates.
I’ve been very open about my first date with hubman because it set the tone for our relationship and marriage. For those of you who don’t know the story – and there can’t be many because I talk about it ad nauseam! – for our very first date we flew to Boston for the day from NYC. I’d never been on a plane before so it was uber exciting from that standpoint alone, but we toured the city and then wound up in the North End for a delicious, multi-course dinner. Believe me, I was not watching the calories at that meal! A quick flight back to NYC because he had to work the next morning, and I had knew I was in love forever.
When I write about first dates, I always try to give the couple something memorable to do. In my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS, Pat and Clarissa’s official first date out and about is when they go to a Boston Red Sox game. It’s her first professional ballgame and it signifies a big change in their relationship when the game ends. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the day:
When Quentin handed her the huge chocolate ice cream laden with rainbow colored sprinkles, stuffed into a plastic baseball cap with the team’s logo on the side, Moira grabbed him with her free arm and kissed him soundly.
Pat snuck a glance at Clarissa, and, while he handed her a soda and sat down, whispered, “I’d like to think I’d get the same kind of thank-you from you if those two weren’t around.”
Without even thinking about the consequences, Clarissa snaked a hand around his neck and pulled him in for her own kiss.
When her lips spread over his warm and full mouth, she didn’t care who saw them or knew what they were doing. He felt so damn good and tasted even better.
“Oh. My. God!” she heard Moira cry.
“Don’t look now,” Quentin said, a laugh flowing out of him, “but you two are on live television.”
Clarissa pulled back when the words registered. She quickly found the jumbotron across the backfield wall and sure enough, she and Pat were front and center. The entire stadium shouted catcalls and cheers. Before she could take a breath, Pat grinned and pulled her in for another kiss, this one heart-stoppingly hot. She could hear the cheers reaching a fever roar, and the irony of the situation pushed through her mind.
When Pat pulled back, grinning, her hand still around his neck, she took a moment to catch her breath.
Clarissa experiences many firsts with Pat throughout the book that set the tone for their relationship….much the way that first date flight to Boston did for my hubby and me.
So, what was your first date with your significant other? Memorable? Laughable? Regrettable or unforgettable? Details, please, so let’s discuss….
FIRST IMPRESSIONS Buy Links:
Amazon The WIld Rose Press Nook
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, First Impressions, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women
Hey, Peeps – I’m starting my Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour today on Reading Romances. Click on the link to read my interview and if you leave a comment you will be entered into a rafflecopter drawing! Sweet- visit me, maybe win a prize.
I’m talking about my new release FIRST IMPRESSIONS, book 3 in the MacQuire Women. This is Padric Cleary and Clarissa Rogers’ story.
Enjoy!
Tweet Me Read Me Picture Me
This tuesday I will embark on my very first VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR through Goddess Fish and I can’t wait!! 8 exciting weeks of visiting blogs and answering questions related to writing and life to promote my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. I’ll be live blogging about the events on the days they occur, but here’s a list of my planned stops.
I hope you can join me on my very first BOOK TOUR!!! And don’t I lovelovelovesaying that.
October 6: Reading Romances
October 13: Rogues Angels
October 13: It’s Raining Books
October 20: Romance Novel Giveaways
October 27: BooksChatter
November 3: Booklover Sue
November 10: Jbiggarblog
November 17: The Reading Addict
November 24: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
FIRST IMPRESSIONS from the WILD ROSE PRESS
amazon the Wild Rose Press Nook
Welcome to the 112th week of My Sexy Saturday.
This week’s theme: Our Sexy Date
A sexy date could be anything: the day they first went out, the day they first kissed, the day they got married. It could be a couple’s sexy anniversary date or maybe a date they met for the very first time. It could be a date in space, a foreign country or just around the corner. Now matter the particulars, just make it sexy, sexy and sexy. We did mention sexy…right?
Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.
Readers want to see those characters, the ones who can’t get enough of each other as well as ones who are fighting their way back to being part of the world once again. These are the types of characters they can’t forget, the one they want to take home and keep forever. Readers love the kisses, the looks or touch of each and every one of our characters.
Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.
We know that everyone has their own idea of sexy and we all love sexy! CLick on the link down below and hop to other sexy blogs.
But first, here’s a SEXY DATE between Clarissa and Pat from my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Who knew picking apples could be so much fun…or so sexy?
“Come on. Let’s pick.”
They strolled along row after row of apple-laden trees, looking for the perfect additions to put in their pail. The fresh, pungent smell of the fruit ripening on the trees, the cool, subtle fall breeze billowing about them, even the riot of changing colors in the panorama of hills surrounding them, all had Clarissa thinking this was a perfect day. She wanted to memorize every part of it.
At one point, Pat pulled out his phone and said, “Let’s get a picture of your first time.” He pulled her in close and with the orchard framed behind them, held up the phone.
“A selfie? Really?” She laughed out loud. “How old are you?”
“Sixteen. Smile like you’re having fun and enjoying this.”
“I am,” she said, facing the camera and doing as he asked.
She heard the shutter click several times before he lowered the phone. “How many did you take?”
“A couple.” He played with the phone for a few seconds, then stuck it into his back pocket. “You need a few to get the perfect shot.”
Buy links:
I’ve never kept it a secret I am technically backward. I truly believe I am not made to live in the digital age. I don’t find technology intuitive, user-easy, or even logical. Plus, I’m a kinesthetic learner, so I need to do something innumerable times before I understand it and can be left on my own without the fear of wiping an entire hard drive clean, or blowing up a PC or emptying a bookmarked library.
This brings me to my newest need-to-learn item. I’ve already suffered through learning how to program an Ipod, Ipad, Smart phone (ever wonder why they are called that? Because they are waaaaaaay smarter than me!), and my MAC laptop. And by suffered I mean it in the literal-ist sense of the word. It seems whenever I actually master a device, it becomes obsolete and I need to upgrade and shatter the learning curve again.
But I digress…I was talking about my newest techno-need.
At my book signing last weekend, I accepted cash or check for payment. A few lovely people wanted to know if I accepted credit cards. Good Lord, how could I, I thought? I’m not a business, not in retail or sales. Well, yes, apparently I am. So, how does one who does not own a store or a credit card machine accept credit cards you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Square.
That’s right, you heard me. SQUARE. S-Q-U-A-R-E. Never heard of it? I hadn’t either until last weekend and today I bought one. Square is this little teeny device that looks like…well… a square, like this:
See? It’s shaped like a square. It attaches to your smart phone ( told you they were!) like this:
and you can do credit card transactions with a swish.
Now, there was an app I had to download onto my phone ( a friggin’ nightmare, but I did it!) and then a series of commands you had to follow to attach your “sales” to an actual money account ( another friggin’ nightmare!) but I did it and when the app did a test transaction, everything seemed to go okay. The whole process took me waaaaaaay longer than it would have taken someone from the age of birth to 35, but the end result was I DID IT and now when I go to my next book signing at the NJRWA conference this month, I can actually offer a credit card transaction to anyone who ( please, GOD!) wants to buy one of my books.
And just when I think I’ve got a handle on this, I heard the other day on the news there is a new Iphone out. ***** le sigh****
Listen, support an author through the normal channels: Amazon or directly from The Wild Rose Press! My newest book FIRST IMPRESSIONS is out and here are the official buy links. Use them….you’ll be happier and I’ll be…well, less techno challenged.
Buy Links:
Amazon The WIld Rose Press Nook
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, First Impressions, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Strong Women
Welcome to MFRWBookHookBlogHop. Click the link down below to join the hop…maybe you’ll discover you next favorite author.
Before you do, here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Baseball is America’s sport and when Pat takes Clarissa to her first professional game, well, more than just the balls fly…sparks do as well. Here’s a taste of the day….
When Quentin handed Moira the huge chocolate ice cream laden with rainbow colored sprinkles, stuffed into a plastic baseball cap with the team’s logo on the side, Moira grabbed him with her free arm and kissed him soundly.
Pat snuck a glance at Clarissa, and, while he handed her a soda and sat down, whispered, “I’d like to think I’d get the same kind of thank-you from you if those two weren’t around.”
Without even thinking about the consequences, Clarissa snaked a hand around his neck and pulled him in for her own kiss. When her lips spread over his warm and full mouth, she didn’t care who saw them or knew what they were doing. He felt so damn good and tasted even better.
“Oh. My. God!” she heard Moira cry.
“Don’t look now,” Quentin said, a laugh flowing out of him, “but you two are on live television.”
Clarissa pulled back when the words registered. She quickly found the jumbotron across the backfield wall and sure enough, she and Pat were front and center. The entire stadium shouted catcalls and cheers. Before she could take a breath, Pat grinned and pulled her in for another kiss, this one heart-stoppingly hot. She could hear the cheers reaching a fever roar, and the irony of the situation pushed through her mind.
On Saturday, Sept. 26th I had my very first official book signing event. I know! 
It was wonderful seeing so many friends and a whole bunch of people I hadn’t connected with in a while. My heart was overflowing with the love and support that came my way for those 3 hours. It was hosted at Kristin’s Bistro and Bakery in downtown Keene on one of the most beautiful Autumn days we’ve had so far. You all know I lovelovelove the Fall and New England is without doubt the best place to be on the planet during the time of year. While I was able to visit with friends – new and old – Marsha (Kristin’s lovely mom) kept the chocolate chip and cranberry scones and cider coming and I swear I gained 5 pounds just from inhaling the delicious aromas wafting through the establishment.
Sales were amazeballs, but aside from that, it was wonderful the amount of people who came out to support a local writer. After the radio interview I did on WKBK with Dan Mitchell on Thursday, I really did hope I’d get a good turnout, and I did. Never let anyone ever discount the power of the radio or word of mouth. It works.
So what did I learn from my first official signing I can take with me for the next one?
First and foremost, don’t be so nervous! I woke up that morning with a pain in my stomach like I was in labor again. I couldn’t eat, my hands were shaking and all I could feel was a sense of doom – no one would show up, or people would and would laugh at me. Why? I have no idea, but it was running through my head the whole time. When I saw the first few people who came in were dear friends I hadn’t seen in a while, I started to feel a little less nauseous. The gig started at 11 and by 11:30 I was able to breathe again normally.
Second, thank everyone, even those people who just stop and take a free scone and don’t buy a book! Manners matter and the perception of how you conduct yourself, even with people who aren’t fans, is important.
Third, be gracious. I heard from several woman this phrase, “I’m so proud of you!” I kept thinking, “Why? I haven’t cured cancer or done anything noble.” The declaration was usually followed by another statement like this: “You took something you had a passion for and made it happen. Not many women take a chance like that.” This surprised me because most of the gals saying it, I consider movers and shakers and risk takers.
Fourth, have food and drink available for your guests. The scones were – no surprise – a big hit, but I heard so many people say how nice it was to have apple cider on a Fall day. Thank you again, Marsha, for your foresight!
Fifth, make sure you have all your media stuff like bookmarks, postcards, business cards, available. A few people came in to Kristin’s just to get their daily baked goods, coffee, et al. They weren’t there to see me ( silly fools!),but several did stop and listen to me talk to someone I was signing for, then took a few business cards, or post cards with them, so perhaps they’ll get home and look me up on one of my media sites, and decide to give one of my books a try. ‘Nuff said.
Last, learn that it’s okay to promote yourself. I truly do not like talking about myself. It makes me feel…conceited somehow. But if I’ve learned anything these past 6 months, it’s that as a writer in this present time, you need to self promote as much as you can. How you do it -graciously and without being obnoxious – is as important as the need to do it. Writing is a crowded society right now. To stand out you have to write something good and be willing to put yourself out there to sell it.
All in all it was a wonderful day. Next one is the New Jersey chapter of RWA conference in October, where – Yippie – I’ll be signing again. Hopefully, my nerves will be much less then. We’ll see….
FIRST IMPRESSIONS available now!!
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, Life challenges, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Strong Women
Peggy Jaeger, Author 