Over the weekend I spotted this on my twitter feed:
To say I was gobsmacked is an understatement!!! The entire list of winners is here but can I just tell you how amazing it feels to have won my devision in such a prestigious contest??!! There really aren’t words strong enough to let you know how I needed to hear and see something like this lately.
You see, I’ve been a bit down in the doldrums for a bit. I have no books scheduled to be released in 2019 ( after the 4 I had in 2018). And while I have two books up for consideration with my Wild Rose Press editor, and I’ve sent out a query to another publisher about a different work, by the time I hear if they are approved or not, and then all the publishing stuff that needs to be done to them gets started, I don’t foresee a book release this calendar year, and that has left me feeling just a bit more than depressed of late.
Hearing I won my division in this contest has gone a long way to pulling me out of that depression.
You all may have heard about what I’ve been calling #COPYGATE this week, or as romancelandia has titled it #COPYPASTECRIS about the insane plagiarism scandal befalling the romance publishing world right now. I won’t go into details because I don’t want to give this horrible human being one more ounce of attention, but if you follow Nora Roberts’s or Courtney Milan’s blogs, you’ve been hearing about it for the past week. At a time when I – and all the legitimate writers I know – are struggling to make a buck, having something this egregious happens wants to make you hang up your writing togs and say “F**k it!”
And I did, for about 24 hours.
Then, the reason I started writing romance to begin with came back to me. I never intended to get anything I’d written published, either traditionally or independently. I simply wrote because I loved doing so. I wrote for me – and still do. Not for sales, not for publishing houses, not for the book reading world. The fact that those entities have deemed me worthy and read my stuff is like whipped cream and a bottle of maraschinos on top of your favorite cupcake. But the real reason I still do what I do is because I love it and can’t stop doing it. I’ve said before that if I’d never gotten published I would have been okay with that – and it’s still true.
So, I am now back to my normal ( Am I normal?) self and am writing away. Do I have the dates my editor is supposed to get back to me on my proposals listed on my calendar? You betcha. Am I obsessing about the outcome? Nah. I’m just writing away and making myself smile.
While I’m smiling and writing you can find me here:
Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me
Here’s the link to my TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK podcast interview, just in case you missed it: TMAYDB
and the link to my recent interview on NewHampshirePublicRadio
And, BTW, if you want to read the book that won the OKRWA IDA Contemporary novel division for 2018, you can grab your copy here:
Amazon // i-tunes // Google Play // Kobo // B&N //
Sugar and spice and everything sexy make the perfect recipe for romance in this brand-new series by Peggy Jaeger. Look for exclusive recipes in each book!
Kandy Laine built her wildly popular food empire the old-fashioned way—starting with the basic ingredients of her grandmother’s recipes and flavoring it all with her particular brand of sweet spice. From her cookbooks to her hit TV show, Kandy is a kitchen queen—and suddenly someone is determined to poison her cup. With odd accidents and threatening messages piling up, strong-willed Kandy can’t protest when her team hires someone to keep her safe—but she can’t deny that the man for the job looks delicious. . .
Josh Keane is a private investigator, not a bodyguard. But with one eyeful of Kandy’s ebony curls and dimpled smile, he’s signing on to uncover who’s cooking up trouble for the gorgeous chef. As the attraction between them starts to simmer, it’s not easy to keep his mind on the job, but when the strange distractions turn to true danger, he’ll stop at nothing to keep Kandy safe—and show her that a future together is on the menu. . .
Peggy Jaeger, Author 