Category Archives: Uncategorized

and why I am stingy with them.

So I was watching a tiktok video the other day from a book creator who said she is disgusted with her arc readers because they haven’t been keeping up their end of the bargain.

What bargain, you ask? Well, this one: When you make an arc signup list, send it out into the cyber ether and people sign up to read your book prior to publication, there is an unwritten rule ( shall we say) that you will read the book in a timely fashion and post a review to any of the review sites. Now, Goodreads, Bookbub and a few others will let you post a review of an advanced reader copy ( ARC) prior to publication while amazon will not until after the publication date and then a verified purchase of the said book, in most cases.

This author was disgusted because she approved and sent out 200 arcs of her newest book and only 2 people have posted reviews.

Let’s unpack that…

First: 200 arcs???!!! I don’t even sell a quarter of that amount of books when I publish a new book, much less give that many away, because that is what an arc book is: a gift. You will make no money from it as an author. In fact, you lose money because you have to pay for the physical copy ( an author’s proof), then pay for shipping. Now some places and people only do e-copies as arcs, Netgalley comes to mind and some indie authors. But the majority do physical copies. So…loss, loss, loss. I am not in this business to lose money, kids.

Second: Unless stated in the sign- up form explicitly stating that the arc reader MUST post to certain sites on such and such a date, the author can’t complain that things weren’t done in a timely manner.

Third: If such dates and sites were listed as a requirement to getting the arc copy, and again, it’s FREE to the reader, the only recourse the author has is to never give another book to that reader again. You can’t sue them, or publicly out them for not doing what they agreed to because that’s slander and could open you up to a litigious situation. Having said that I’ve seen tiktoks where authors have done this and they have been censured, vilified, and canceled for “outing” their arc readers in a poor light.

This is why I choose not to give out public arcs. I barely have time to do my media marketing, much less chase down people who aren’t posting reviews for my books.

I use Booksprout exclusively for my arcs from people I don’t know because Booksprout has a verified and true system for making sure their readers do what they are supposed to, namely, read and review in a timely fashion. I have a selected few readers of my own whom I will always send a new book to for review prior to publication because I trust them to be honest ( even if they don’t like the book) and post their reviews in the time frame I ask. I trust them which is more than I can say for stangers. I will continue to use these readers as long as they want to read my words, which, hopefully, is forever.

I have been told by other authors that I am missing out on reviews by not sending out multiple arcs to people, especially book influencers. To that I say, bologne! First of all, I don’t have a big name in the industry (yet!) and big name book influencers don’t have reputations for reading authors who aren’t big names. They want to get traction for their videos and reviews and big name authors give them that. Second, I don’t have the money to be sending out books to people all over the world. Paying for author copies and then postage is cost prohibitive to me. I had one author say to me, well, that is a way for you to get your work seen. Sure, but at what cost? I am paying for the book, then the cost to mail it, and with no real guarantee spending that money will get me anywhere, career and publicity-wise. The response I got to that was “it pays to take a chance.” Not when you don’t have the money to begin with and I am not putting myself in debt on the odd chance I’ll get a 5 star review that will not garner me any new real organic readers.

Do I sound bitter? I don’t mean to. It’s just that with the advent of AI – where people are shoving out books by the ton daily that are computer written – and tiktok influencers, it is harder than ever for an author to gain any traction and find new readers.

Okay, so maybe I do sound a little bitter….

Now, more than any time in recent memory, we as women need to stand up, fight, protest, be heard and be our own advocates because it’s obvious there are powers that are trying to silence us, strip us of our freedoms, and tell us what we can do with our bodies.

Today is International Women’s Day. D something today to celebrate the day with your daughters, nieces, gal friends, mothers and co-horts. Call your local representatives and make sure they are supporting women’s rights. If not, vote them out.

We need to lift one another up, back each other up, and show up for one another in every way possible so that we can protect our rights as human beings. We are half the population of this earth. We deserve a place at the table – a prominent place – and it is our right as human beings to be seen, respected, revered, and heard.

Support International Women’s Day. Support Women.

Today’s #Firstlinefriday comes from my addition to the ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID series, SABLE.

Sable groaned as she spotted her oldest aunt, Teresa, moving like a heat-seeking missile across the ballroom straight for her.

ALWAYS BEING A BRIDESMAID IS GETTING OLD…

Pediatrician Sable Miller is sick and tired of being the go-to, dependable bridesmaid in all her family and friends’ weddings. But her demanding job, the ridiculous hours, and endless family commitments keep her from finding the perfect man. A matchmaking service? Sounds like too much work. Swipe right dating? Not her thing. The bar scene? When was the last time she even had an evening free to go to a bar?

And forget about dating the myriad of on-the-make doctors and residents in her hospital. Besides, workplace romances never work out.

Sable’s options to meet the man of her dreams and start a family are dwindling and time is running out, because she promised herself the next wedding she would attend would be her own.

Kristopher Lee, the Physician’s Assistant assigned to Sable has a crush on his new mentor. But she’s got a hands-off rule when it comes to dating someone she works with. Kris is nothing if not persistent, though. After all, he didn’t survive three tours in the Army without focusing on a goal. And making Sable Miller fall in love with him is his best goal yet.

releasing on 3.31.26

By now you’ve guessed I’m in the middle of a media marketing blitz to make sure I can let as many people as possible know about my upcoming crime drama, Vendetta.

Today, I want to tell you 5 things about the book to hopefully whet your appetite and get you to preorder it.

1. It’s a revenge plot – something I love to read and write!
2. It has a backstory of grooming. Nothing is actually shown on the page with this, but the implication is all in the backstory, so if this is a mental issue for you, you shouldn’t be triggered.
3. It concerns a family annihilator and the aftereffects on the people involved in his life.
4. There’s a high-speed car crash, a car bombing, and another dramatic car chase, all resulting in injuries to the protagonists.
5. The book is told in 3 time capsules: before, now, and the in-between.

Book Blurb:

A high-speed car accident and the bombing of his wife’s car convince FBI SSA Tucker Petrie that he is the target of a killer. Discovering who the person is before another attempt is made becomes the focus of Tucker’s life. With his former partner and best friend, Kella Calloway, by his side, Tucker and his team form a shadow investigation into a series of FBI agent killings no one in power has connected the dots to yet.

With the clock ticking and another agent killed, Tucker, Kella, and the team do everything in their power to put an end to the killer’s plan of revenge.

Amazon preorder link: Vendetta

Universal preorder link: Vendetta

I hope I’ve convinced you to preorder the book. It’s available in print ( hardback and paperback) and ecopy and the ecopy is only #99cents now and for the first week after the publication. On April 7, 2026, the price returns to its regular sum of 3.99 for ecopy.

If you like CSI, Criminal Minds, and SVU and are a true crime netflix junkie, this book is for you.

Reviews:

Goodreads:

5 stars “I was hooked from page one until the end.”

5 stars: “Reading this story is like being in an episode of Criminal Minds, which is one of my favorite shows.”

5 stars: “The tension is brilliantly built and with everything happening in the story, I kept turning page after page!”

Add it to you GOODREADS WANT TO READ LIST: VENDETTA

today’s first line comes from my addition to the LAST MAN STANDING series, CHANCE.

“I swear, if one more aunt corners me and says she’s got the perfect girl for me, I’m gonna pull a Usain and Bolt outta here,” Chance Miller said as he plopped into his assigned seat at his cousin’s wedding reception.

Chance ( Last Man Standing)

Chance Miller, divorce lawyer extraordinaire, knows the whole happily ever after dream is an urban myth. He deals with miserable and wedded warring couples every day and swears staying single keeps him sane and happy. His friends and family consider him the last single man standing and fear he’ll never find someone and settle down. But Chance relishes his carefree status and unencumbered lifestyle and has no plans to change anything.

If only his relatives would stop trying to set him up with their version of the perfect woman.

Fredrika Poole already experienced her one great love, and the widow can’t read any future romance in her tea leaves. She’s content to bake, run her business, and care for her daughter.

When Chance meets Freddie and discovers her marriage thoughts run on the same road his do, he realizes she’s the answer to his prayer for keeping the relatives at bay. But the pixie barista has a way of making Chance question everything he’s always thought about love, marriage, and wedded bliss.

Will his last man standing status go unchallenged? Or will Freddie be the one woman he wants…but can never have?

do you have your tickets?

2026 is a scaled down personal event year for me for several reasons, not the least of which is financial.

But I am doing a few, and in April this one has me so excited I can’t stand it! The New England Book Ball is a debut event at the top of one of New Hampshire’s premier vacation spots!

2 days of communing with authors, a book signing, a ball! An actual get dressed up ball! That one has me on pins and needles with excitement. I’ve got to get a dress!!!

There’s a book cover contest where the readers present will vote on their favorite author book covers.

This is a great way to get new to me readers to engage with my books and me!

On the instagram page, you have to scroll all the way down to the very first post to see this picture:

because I jumped on the bandwagon EARLY when this event was announced. I love a debut event and this one promises to be fabulous.

There are also going to be author panels with reader discussions and I’m a few of those as well, so yay!

I hope you can make it. I will surely be posting and filming from this event to let everyone know how it goes.

VENDETTA (The Fbi Profilers)

A high-speed car accident and the bombing of his wife’s car convince FBI SSA Tucker Petrie that he is the target of a killer. Discovering who the person is before another attempt is made becomes the focus of Tucker’s life. With his former partner and best friend, Kella Calloway, by his side, Tucker and his team form a shadow investigation into a series of FBI agent killings no one in power has connected the dots to yet.

With the clock ticking and another agent killed, Tucker, Kella, and the team do everything in their power to put an end to the killer’s plan of revenge.

But are they too late already?

Preorder: VENDETTA (Amazon)

Everywhere else

Barnes and Noble ( because they have to be difficult!)

how it begins….

what we can all learn from this amazing athlete.

By now you’ve all seen this picture and/or the video of Alysa Liu winning the gold at the Milan 2026 Olympics

20 years old and one of the wisest, smartest humans on the planet.

Why do I say this?

If you don’t know her story, you should Google it. After a disappointing showing at the last Olympics, she hung up her skates, stopped skating altogether, and did what a normal teenager should do. She hung out with friends, started college, and basically took a mental health break away from the grueling competition mindset because she couldn’t find the joy in skating any longer.

Alysa loved ice skating since the moment she went on skates. But that love became tarnished when the stress of always being in competitive mode took a toll on her. So, she stepped away and rediscovered her life, and eventually, her love of skating again just for the sheer joy of it.

If you watched her performance last week, you saw a confident, happy, strong – both physically and mentally – young woman who was doing what she loved and didn’t care if she won a medal or not. She is a true performer, and you could see how much she loved her sport and how much she was enjoying herself while she skated with billions of eyes on her. Throughout her program she never lost her smile; her sass; her absolute euphoria at skating.

And for the girl who didn’t care if she medaled or not, she took home the biggest prize of all ( and I don’t mean just the gold medal, which of course, she won). She took home the fact that when you take time and simply enjoy what you are doing because you love it more than anything else, you will always be a winner.

We’ve seen this attitude before.

Remember Simone Biles at the last 2 Olympics? She quit one because of the mental stressors coming at her from every angle. She lost her focus and desire to compete and began doubting herself. So she stopped competing, took a break and just took time to be Simone Biles, young woman, not Olympic gymnast. And with time, she regained her love for the sport, came back, competed, and won – both physically, mentally, and, of course, medally!

What have these two beautiful, talented, and strong women shown us?

First and foremost, your mental health is everything. In any part of life, be it competition, your job, your marriage, anything, if you are struggling with stress, depression, fear, you will not be the best person you can be or experience happiness.

Second, it’s okay to step away. Ignore the critics who say you are copping out. They don’t live in your head. Ignore the nay-sayers. Get over the disappointment on the faces of people. They don’t get to shame you for something you are struggling with. Surround yourself with the people who truly believe in you- you the person, not the athlete, or writer, or any other profession.

I have struggled often in the past 11 years with my writing career. No sales, poor reviews, not feeling motivated to put myself out there to do all the social media crap and publicity authors need to do to get their work in front of readers. Lost revenue from events where I paid out thousands and didn’t sell one book. I struggle daily with anxiety that I am not good enough, my writing sucks, and there’s a monumental reason no one is reading what I write.

But I haven’t stepped away. I’ve barreled through because that’s what I was always told to do. My generation ( gen Jones) were pushed by parents, teachers, bosses, and told to “buck up” and “get over it,” and all that has done is increase my anxiety.

This is why I say Alysa Liu is one of the smartest people on the planet. She walked away from something she loved when her joy abated and her spirit was stressed. I don’t consider what she did a fault at all. I am proud of her and anyone who makes this decision. The world right now is a dark, sad, frightening place. I struggle daily with trying to write light and fluffy romance to help bring a few hours of happiness to readers, a few hours of escape from the issues surrounding us all when I am in constant fear of my rights being torn away and my granddaughter havinga future where she doesn’t have autonomy over herself and her body. I never thought I would need to escape those issues, too, but Alysa and Simone, although they are generations and decades younger than I am, have taught me it’s okay to stop; to say no to more pressure; to take care of yourself when no one else will. And in doing so, you can come back on your own terms, hopefully with your joy restored and your focus sharp once again.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog – or a post menopausal romance writer – something new?

~ peg

and I’m not talking about the weather.

Living in the northeast, where the winters are long, cold, dreary, and snowy, can cause lots of mental health issues, not to mention work ennui. Since I work from home, writing, this can hit hard. One way to stay motivated for me is to have writing challenges.

This March, typically the worst month for depression and weather where I hang my hat, the New Hampshire Romance Writers of America is sponsoring a month-long 31,000 word writing challenge that I am not only participating in, but co-chairing as well, called the MARCH WINDS WRITING CHALLENGE.

From March 1 until the 31st, you will have the opportunity to write 31,000 words. This mean if you are starting a new book, or finishing one up, editing, or revising, you can dedicate the entire month to the challenge. There will be daily motivational memes to tickle your funny bones and get you started on your writing day, and also daily cheering from our writing volunteers, MOI included!

If you’re looking to get motivated on your writing journey, or stay on course, this challenge has your name all over it. Click on this link to join us: ENTRY FORM

I hope to ‘see’ you in March!

I hate winter.

This is no secret to anyone who knows me. Why I elect to live in one of the snowiest, coldest states in America is a question I ask my husband every single year when cabin fever starts to take over my soul.

I have ways to help me get through it, though that don’t require me to get dressed in 15 layers of clothing or do ridiculous outdoor sports I will never do with any kind of mastery. I mean, I DID break my ankle ice skating in my 40s if that tells you anything about how poor of an athlete I am. Alysa Liu has nothing to worry about from me.

During these long, cold, dreary ( you get the picture) months of deep winter, I usually hibernate and write almost nonstop during the day. But after a while, this gets old too. So I need motivation to get those words on the page.

This year and this month, that motivation has come from the New Jersey Romance Writers in the form of their 30,000-word writing challenge. The premise is simple: write/edit 30k in the month of February 2026. And just the other day, I achieved my goal, going over the 30k line in 19 days.

I’m proud of myself because I really dedicated myself to finishing up one of the books I’ve got slated for publication later this year. I am still writing it, but the end is so close that I am celebrating early!

So, thank you NJRW for the motivation! And to everyone else doing the challenge: Way to go! You can do this!

~Peg