Tag Archives: Award winner

May 2, 2021 · 4:59 am

VANILLA WITH A TWIST is a winner!

Last week started off horribly for me.

I won’t go into details, but every day there was a new issue or problem either with my family or my career. I wondered if things could get worse. But then, yesterday, they got immeasurably better!

Last night I was informed that my sweet romance VANILLA WITH A TWIST won the Sweet category in the Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild Awards!

Gobsmacked is too tame a word for how I felt when I watched the You0tube virtual event and heard my name called!

So, it really was the perfect ending to a week I want to forget!

If you haven’t read the book, here’s a little something about it:

VANILLA WITH A TWIST

Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenage son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.
Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.
Can the budding friendship that follows lead to something everlasting?

Intrigued? I hope so.

I’m off to do Sunday chores. Hope your day is as happy as mine.

Until next time, peeps ~ Peg

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Filed under Vanilla with a twist, WIld Rose Press AUthor

Tagged as #amreading #readromance Contemporary romance, #icecreamlovers, #readromance #readroses The Wild Rose press, #TBRlist, #Vanillawithatwist #OneScooporTwo, Award winner, beach read, digital first publishing, SUmmer reading list

November 11, 2019 · 12:30 am

#WInnerWinnerChickenDinner …or, I’m trying to be humble, but it’s hard!

Sometimes I can come up with a blog post title that just needs nothing else – no post at all, just the title. Today, that’s true. hee hee.

Okay, well, maybe a little explanation.

I was notified this past Thursday that two of my books had finaled in the OKRWA International Digital Awards. One book had won, the other placed fifth!

Yowza.

The winner was CHRISTMAS & CANNOLIS in the Contemporary Novel category and the 5th winner place was DEARLY BELOVED In the same category.

This is the second year in a row I’ve won this category. Last year the winner was COOKING WITH KANDY.

To say I’m humbled wouldn’t be sufficient. In all honesty, no writer writes a story alone. My editor at WRP, Eilidh Mackenzie edited both of these novels, so I consider this win hers as much as mine! And of course, I wouldn’t be winning anything if Rhonda Penders and RJ Morris hadn’t taken a chance on a 55 year old menopausal chickita who had a dream to have a romance book published traditionally.

Yeah, it’s turning out to be a good year…what there is left of it. Heehee

Until next time ~ Peg

2 Comments

Filed under Dearly Beloved, Romance, WIld Rose Press AUthor

Tagged as #authorlife #writinglife, #books #ebooks, #Kindlereads, #OKRWADigitalAwards, #romancewriterscommunity, #theWIldRosePress, #TWRP #WRPBks, #writersonwriting #writingcommunity, Award winner, Digital books, KIndle Unlimited, OKRWA

September 9, 2019 · 12:42 am

Just when I think it’s over…..

I don’t usually post full face pictures of myself on this page for a number of reasons, but the biggest one being I hate full face pictures of myself!!!

Cindy Crawford I am not.

I’m not even Helen Mirren and she’s in the same age group as me.

But when I received this award over the weekend, I also received a letter from FCRW that asked the winners to take a picture with the award and their winning book to post on the FCRW Facebook and Twitter pages. Since it was going to be so publicly displayed anyway, I figured, why not blog about it, too, and post the picture.

So…

I am still rehabbing from my surgery, so you can see a tiny speck of the immobilizer covering my right hand as I hold the beautiful award. Yes, I’m in my nightgown, there’s nothing on my face except Retin A, I’m wearing my daytime glasses and my hair isn’t combed because I can’t do that yet ( due to dominant arm surgery!) But it would have taken too much time, effort, and energy – none of which I have, to look camera ready.

But..all that aside, this award truly touched my heart.

The past two months have been filled with self doubt, feelings of inadequacy, and frustration over my writing career. After being dropped by two publishers and receiving some horrible reviews for my books, in addition to still not seeing my sales and readers increase, I’ve been struggling with the concept that writing for publication is something I’m not cut out for. There’s so much more involved than just writing stories of my heart. The time and cash spent on marketing, the query letters, the waiting to hear back, the time delays between book publications – it’s all starting to take a toll on my psyche.

The endless questions: have I peaked out? Is this all worth the time and expense? What am I killing myself for?

Dramatic? Yeah, maybe, but hey: this is me we’re talking about. Drama in my confirmation name.

And then this happens.

I think sometimes the universe, and/or God knows just what to do to make me realize my decisions and my life are worthwhile.

So…no more moping, overthinking, doubting, bitching or complaining.

Now if I could just brush my hair…..

Oh, and because the marketing aspect NEVER ends, here’s the book that won the award, available in ecopy, print and audio.

CHRISTMAS AND CANNOLIS

Amazon ///B&N // AppleBooks //GooglePlay// Kobo // AmazonUK

With Christmas season in full swing, baker Regina San Valentino is up to her elbows in cake batter and cookie dough. Between running her own business, filling her bursting holiday order book, and managing her crazy Italian family, she’s got no time to relax, no room for more custom cake orders, and no desire to find love. A failed marriage and a personal tragedy have convinced her she’s better off alone. Then a handsome stranger enters her bakery begging for help. Regina can’t find it in her heart to refuse him. Connor Gilhooly is in a bind. He needs a specialty cake for an upcoming fundraiser and puts himself and his company’s reputation in Regina’s capable hands. What he doesn’t plan on is falling for a woman with heartbreak in her eyes or dealing with a wise-guy father and a disapproving family. Can Regina lay her past to rest and trust the man who’s awoken her heart?

Until next time ~ Peg