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/
Category Archives: Strong Women
Taking risks
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women
Something new…
You all know I loathe self-promotion and marketing. I like the end results of it, but I’m still very uncomfortable trying to convince people to buy my books. Because of that basic insecurity, I’ve tried to find other ways to engage readers to purchase my work.
One of those ways is a giveaway on Goodreads. So, from May 19 ( my birthday!) until June 3, if you click on the following link you can enter to win a signed copy of my newest book THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. It doesn’t cost anything to enter and hey, you may win!!
Please support this humble writer!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/138470-there-s-no-place-like-home
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME< book 2 in The MacQuire Women Series
Blurb:
Symphony pianist Moira Cleary comes home after four years of touring, exhausted, sick, and spiritually broken. Emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of someone she trusted has left her gaunt, anxious, and at a crossroads both professionally and personally.
Moira’s best friend, veterinarian Quentin Stapleton, wants nothing more than to help Moira get well. Can his natural healing skills make it possible for her to open her heart again? And can he convince her she’s meant to stay home now with the family that loves her – and with him – forever?
Excerpt:
“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.”
Barnes and Noble ;http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/theres-no-place-like-home-peggy-jaeger/1121798145?ean=2940151238489
The WIld Rose Press:http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=6237
Promoting literacy
I read at an early age and so did my daughter. In truth, I think the best gift I ever gave her was the gift of being able to read. Being carried away by a good story and getting lost in a fabulous book have provided me with innumerable hours of pleasure and escape. The ability to read, to lose oneself in a story, to imagine a world dictated by descriptions, is an amazing joy.
I discovered an absolutely appalling statistic today: the number of adults in the US who can’t read is estimated at 32,000,ooo. Over 70 % of inmates are illiterate and 19% of high school grads can’t read at a functional level.
This is in the United States of America! That number should be as close to zero as possible, but unfortunately, it isn’t.
I’m sure any sociologist or anthropologist worth their salt could tell you why this is so, but I don’t care about the reasons. I just want that number to be zero.
What kind of a society are we that accepts our people can’t read? What does it say about our educational system that allows 1 in 4 of its children to grow to maturity without the ability to read? I will admit to being totally floored by these stats. Perhaps it is because I live in a moderately affluent community where school is valued. Maybe its because of my color and race and the fact that I have access to good schools, good teachers, libraries, and book stores. It could be because I value reading so much, I naively assume everyone else does.
Again, the reasons seem irrelevant when you consider the facts.
This is my soapbox request for the day: If you’re reading this blog – congratulations, you can read! Now, pass that gift along. Read to your children, encourage them to read back to you, aloud. Take a kid to a library and show him the wonders to be found there. Get lost with a kid in a bookstore for hours. Make sure that reading is part of their core curricula in school. Give a child the gift of your favorite book when you were a kid, and then discuss it!
My wish for the future: 100% literacy in the greatest nation on earth. That would be us, kids, the United States of America.
Reading: it’s a good thing.
More statistics about illiteracy in America:
http://literacyprojectfoundation.org/
http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women
The end result of the challenge….
I have hung up my dancing shoes for the year…my feet unanimously thank me…and I am now reflecting on how I feel about the entire experience.
I can sum it up in one word: WORTHWHILE!
I stretched – both physically,emotionally and intellectually; I overcame a slight fear of being seen in public at a weight I do not like; I met new and wonderful people who have since turned into new and exciting friends, and most of all I learned something very valuable: I can do whatever I put my mind to, no matter how scared I am or how far out of my normal comfort zone I have come.
Life lessons are wonderful little things to learn. No matter what age I am lucky enough to live to, I hope I always continue to learn and grow as a person, a woman, a writer. There is nothing more rewarding to me to know I have achieved a goal I have worked arduously towards. Blood, sweat ( a lot of sweat!!) and tears aside, I would do this again in a heartbeat. In fact, I volunteered already for next year. Hopefully, they’ll want me back.
Here’s a snippet of my dancing debut at Keene projectGrad’s Dancing with the Keene Stars: I am # 9 to dance so hang thru the video until the end!)
Filed under Strong Women
A simple message…
When I started this blog I had a few rules that I swore I wouldn’t break. Among them were not to use this forum as a platform for prostelatyzing my opinions, trying to drum up political support for people I want to lead, or for airing my views on what is happening in the world.
Today I am going to draw a line in the sand and gently break one of those rules.
The past few months have been rife with news reports of killings, beheadings, beatings, and shootings of our people, in this country and abroad. I’m not naive, but seriously, this has to stop. When did it become okay to pull a gun or a knife on someone who looks different from you? When did we start hating one another so much? And when did it become acceptable to submit to mob mentality and hurt one another? Where does it end and how?
Psychology tells us that the only way for behavior to change is, simply to change the behavior.
I have always believed that if people do the right thing, and show that they are, the bad behaviors of others will change. Again, naive? Maybe. But what if it’s not?
I challenge everyone and any one who reads this to simply be kind to others today and everyday. If someone cuts you off in traffic, realize they need to be someplace fast and don’t submit to road rage. If someone is rude to you, simply smile and tell them you hope they have a better day. Don’t curse out the telemarketers- it’s simply their job. Don’t be rude to your waitress if your food is late – there’s probably a good reason and you won’t die of starvation if you have to wait a few minutes more for your meal.
I truly believe that change for the better starts with each one of us knowing that a change is needed and taking small steps towards that end. The old song, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” is an anthem for change.
So, my simple message of the day is… be kind to one another. I have always found when I smile at someone else, they usually can’t help but smile back. It’s like a reflex. If you’re kind to someone, that reflexive kindness will come back at you as well.
Practice kindness. Make it a reflex. Incorporate it into your soul. And as Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
And that’s the last time I’ll go off the writing purpose of this blog. Promise.
Filed under Strong Women
My challenge….
Here’s the video promo to my recent life challenge DANCING WITH THE KEENE STARS.
Filed under Strong Women
Challenges…
I love a writing challenge. That’s why I participate in NANOWRIMO every year, and whenever my local chapter of RWA holds a writing challenge, I am raring to go.
Personal challenges are another thing entirely.
Backstory. Last Spring I attended a fund raiser for Project Graduation titled DANCING WITH THE KEENE STARS. It was exactly like it sounds – the television show DWTS, just a local edition with people in my community as the “celebrities” or Stars. Everyone with me, including me, had an absolute blast. It was such a fun evening, that I volunteered to be a contestant the following year if they held it again.
Yeah, so. Be careful what you ask for.
I was asked, I said “Yes,” and I was thrilled.
Then the real work started. I am not a dancer. I barely have enough rhythm to keep upright when I walk (as evidenced by the fact I fall a lot. A lot.) It looks so easy SO EASY on television. The dancers get up, do a few steps, and there you have it.
Yeah, NO! I haven’t sweated, thought, or worked so hard at something in a very long time. I actually think the last thing I did that was as mentally and physically challenging was childbirth. And my daughter is 25!
Anyway, the real purpose of this entry was to say that challenges come in all forms, and in order to grow and thrive as humans, we need to take them up from time to time. Learning how to dance the cha-cha has been an enervating and exhausting thing for someone as sedentary (both in mind and body) as myself. I have to think logically, count ( not my strong suit!) and concentrate on so many aspects – head up, don’t look down, keep your shoulders square, smile. It’s a lot for someone like me who basically hibernates in a solitary writing room.
But having said all that, it is a challenge that I willing took on and I don’t have ANY regrets. I have learned a great deal about myself these past two months and wouldn’t change anything I’ve gone through. Well, maybe I’d lose a little more weight before starting, but that’s it! By challenging myself personally, I feel I’ve grown more as a person and a writer, because I have a million story ideas now concerning dancing. Ooo, baby!
If you’re in the neighborhood, here’s the link to get tix. Maybe I’ll see you there. Just don’t throw any tomatoes at me!!
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Life challenges, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women
The Power of Friends
I don’t have many friends, but the ones I do have are keepers for life.
Oh, I have friends on Facebook, and followers on Twitter and Pinterest. People, even follow this blog ( thanks so much for doing so!) But real honest to goodness, give you a kidney if you needed it friends are few and far between.
But that’s okay. Like I said, the one’s I have are keepers.
As an only child, I grew up mostly alone. Parents at work all day and into the evening, I spent a great deal of time at the local library after school. The head librarian knew more about me than my family did. Books became my true friends. Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, even Miss Marple where the people I shared my life with. It sounds sad, but it wasn’t. I loved being in the library surrounded by words. It was so much better than being in school surrounded by bullies who taunted and tortured me verbally because I looked different, was different, had a different last name than my mother ( this was the 60′ and 70’s – not too many divorces yet among the populous). Books were my friends, their characters my peers and teachers.
Okay, so maybe it was a little sad, but believe me, I never felt like it was.
When I got older and my outer shell of protection hardened, it was easier. I was still different than most, but I started to discover people who were similar in their own differences to me. Book readers; smart kids; creative kids. Kids who didn’t care what people thought about them. Kids who would stand up for me, and me for them, against the bullies and clique’y kids. All the knowledge I’d gleaned from those books I’d been surrounded with helped me discover the person I truly was. The kid on the inside who lived on the outside and wanted nothing else but to belong.
In a word, me.
No longer did I wait until people sought me out – I started pursuing them. I started actually making friends, putting myself out there and trusting that I wouldn’t get hurt. And if I did, well, then, I’d chalk it up to life experience.
I’m still that same kid on the inside. Still know I’m different from most, think differently than the norm. But the people who are close to me now, the ones who truly are friends in every sense of the word, are the ones who are most precious to me. They share my highs and my lows, give me strength and receive it from me when they need it, and they celebrate the person I am, differences and all.
It’s been said that words have power. My power comes from within, but also from my friends. And they make me feel very powerful indeed.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, female friends, Friends, Romance, Strong Women
Freebies!!
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
Why we should support each other as Writers….
One of my lovely, talented and fun-to-be-around NHRWA member chapter-mates just found out she is a finalist in the RWA GoldenHeart Contest. For those of you who don’t know what this means, listen up. The Golden Hearts awards are given to extremely talented and deserving romance writers who have not had a book-length romance published as of yet. It’s like the Golden Globes awards are to the Oscars. In romance, the Oscars are the annual RITA awards. So when my chapter-mate’s name was announced the other day, everyone who knows her was instantly thrilled for her, including all of us who belong to the New Hampshire chapter. Prestige, honor and open doors in the publishing world all accompany this nomination and, subsequent win. She – and we – will find out the winners at the annual RWA conference in July in NYC. It proves to be a truly memorable event.
Her nomination/finalist state and our happiness for her got me to thinking. Writers of romance are truly the most convivial and supportive group of humans I have ever met. We applaud each other’s successes, understand the emotional toils the non-successes ( I don’t like the word failure) take on our souls, and we cheer each other on through the often grueling process of creating love on the page.
Romance writers are a rare breed. And I am so thankful they/we are.
Competition many times fosters a sense of isolation and removal from the group of people you are competing against. The goal is to win it all, many times at whatever cost. Friendships are lost and destroyed all just to grab that proverbial golden ring.
Not so with romance writers. Yes, we compete against one another in the basic sense because we all want to get our book published and into the hands of readers. But for every NYT bestseller and USA list out there where a romance writer makes it to the top, the rest of us know we can make it there, too. The trail blazers like Nora Roberts, Beatrice Small, and Kathleen Woodiwiss have made what we write relevant to the masses and a force to be reckoned with in the sales division. We literally stand on their writing shoulders and are lifted up by their triumphs to gain success for ourselves. The better they do, the better we do.
So. I congratulate my writing friend with all sincerity and love. She is truly deserving of the nomination AND the win. When we are all in NYC in July I will be among the other 2,000 or so attendees who will be standing and applauding her victory, for her victory is also ours and we are better for knowing her.
Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, female friends, NHRWA, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Strong Women
Peggy Jaeger, Author 