Peggy Jaeger's Blog - Posts Tagged "amwriting"

here's the link to see it on her blogsite.
http://www.norahbennett.com/blog/auth...

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING PROFESSIONALLY?
Since 2014.

WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
Contemporary Romance, but I am dipping my writing fingers (and toes!) into Romantic Suspense.

IF YOU COULD GIVE NEW WRITERS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I love this question. If you are a new writer and are consumed with the need to get words down on the page, or just have to write down the stories drifting around in your brain, then, like NIKE says, JUST DO IT!! Don’t give up. Don’t listen to naysayers, critics, or people who don’t believe in you. Just keep writing. I heard Nora Roberts once equate writing with a muscle. If you don’t pay attention to it, exercise it constantly, you start to loose tone, mass, and strength. I think that’s very profound!

IF YOU COULD RECOMMEND ONE BOOK FOR ALL WRITERS TO READ WHAT WOULD IT BE?
This may just be the hardest question I’ve ever been asked, because there are so many great reference and tool books out there. I guess the best book for any writer – whether pro or not, is, THE BLUE BOOK OF GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION. Writers need to write WELL! This book teaches you how to avoid common pitfalls that will send an editor or literary agent to toss your work into the delete pile.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTIONS FROM PUBLISHERS AND EDITORS?
Badly. I usually have a Pepperidge Farm Layer cake and a bottle of soda after I get one. Then I go walk for two hours to burn all those wasted calories off! And then…I just get back to writing.

MANY WRITERS ALSO WORK OTHER JOBS, DO YOU?
I’m living my dream. I retired in 2015 and have been able to write full time since then. Please don’t hate me!!

HOW DO YOU MAKE TIME TO WRITE?
I have a set goal of 2500 words per day. I have to get that done before I do anything else. When that count is achieved I then do the stuff I need to do: grocery shopping, laundry, exercise (see how I put that one last!) Then if I have any more time left over, I write again. I’m lucky to be retired, but my husband still works full time so he is gone all day, affording me the privacy to write.

WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE?
I write in an attic loft in my house that overlooks my property. This winter, though, I am refurbishing another room where I’m going to set myself up.

TELL US WHAT YOU LIKE TO READ AND WHO?
So of course, my all time favorite author is Nora Roberts and her twin sister JD Robb. Any of the JD Robb IN DEATH books are fabulous, but if you haven’t read them then start with the first, NAKED IN DEATH.

Jill Shalvis is always a winner in my house, and her LUCKY HARBOR books and her newest series HEARTBREAKER BAY are wonderful.

WHAT OR WHO INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE?
Really, it’s just something I’ve always loved doing. I read at a very young age – I finished all the kids books in the local library by the time I was 7. The librarian was a little leery about letting me read the older, teen books at that time, but I did it anyway! I think when you love reading as much as I did—and do—you just kind of naturally fall into wanting to be a writer. At least that’s how it worked for me. And since I LOVELOVELOVE to read romance, that’s what I write. My website tagline is WRITING IS MY OXYGEN. Can’t say it any plainer than that.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SNACK WHEN YOU WRITE?
Oh, God!! What isn’t???! Hahahaha.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR WRITING HABITS. WHEN DO YOU WRITE, HOW OFTEN? GIVE ADVICE TO NEW WRITERS ON HOW TO ORGANIZE THEIR DAY AND WRITING HABITS.
Again, I’m a lucky one because I get to write full time. But like I said above, I write 2500 words, 5 days per week, before I do anything else. I suffer from chronic insomnia, so most of those words are usually written between the hours of 3 am and noon. After that, I do the life stuff. Many afternoons I plot out my books, or make my vision boards for each story I’m doing. Pinterest has been a God-send for this.
Most writers also have a day job. So if you do, the best thing to do is find that one hour or two a day that is just yours. Write when you get up before you go to work. Or if you get home before your spouse/children/significant other, type a few pages. If you can spend an hour watching the mindless junk on television these days, you can devote an hour to your writing by eliminating that tv hour. And just think how much happier you will be!

DO YOU HAVE A GREAT WEBSITE, SOFTWARE, BOOKS…SECRETS THAT HELP YOU WITH YOUR WRITING?I have a full library of REAL books I use for reference/secrets. I’m not a mean girl though, so I’ll share!
THINKING LIKE A ROMANCE WRITER by Dahlia Evans
MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS by Bryn Donovan
THE ROMANCE WRITERS’ PHRASE BOOK by Jean Kent and Candace Shelton
THE EMOTION THESAURUS by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER EMOTION by Sherry Soule
NAUGHTY WORDS FOR NICE WRITERS by Cara Bristol
And the above mentioned Grammar Blue book


DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR? HOW DO THEY AFFECT YOUR WRITING?
I do not.

WHAT'S THE FIRST BOOK YOU HAVE WRITTEN?
SKATER’S WALTZ published by The Wild Rose Press in 2015
Wild Rose Press: http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/a...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Skaters-Waltz-...

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN?
To date, 39. 6 have been published, 3 more are due out next year. The other 30 are just too horrible to let the book buying public read!!!

WHICH BOOK DID YOU ENJOY WRITING THE MOST?
That’s like asking which child is your favorite!! The book I have coming out this November, A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, I wrote in 2 week and laughed the whole time I was writing it, so I guess that was the most enjoyable writing experience.


WHICH WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT?
The next one….


TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR WIP.
A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS is a mistaken identity story. My heroine, Gia, thinks the hero, Tim is something he’s not. I won’t spoil the plotline with telling you what she thinks he is, but believe me, you’ll think the same thing as Gia until all is revealed.
This story was a complete labor of love for me because it is the sequel to my 2016 Candy Hearts Romance, 3 WISHES. That book told Chloe’s story, and this one tells her younger sisters’, Gia’s. I LOVELOVELOVE this family, the San Valentinos. They are a large, loud, and loving Italian/American clan who live big, and love bigger.


OPEN COMMENT: TELL YOUR FELLOW AUTHORS, NEW AUTHORS, AND INTERESTED READERS ANYTHING YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT I DIDN’T ASK YOU.
​
Wow! This could be a loaded question! I’m taking this directly from my website – the 10 things you need to know about me:
10. My favorite book is THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD
9. I lovelovelove scary movies — the scarier, the better.
8. My favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz, because there really is no place like home.
7. My left eye is smaller than my right eye.
6. The best decision I ever made was to marry my husband — a man who can’t live without a strong woman!
5. The best gift I ever received was my daughter, who’s now 27 but whom I will always refer to as “my baby”.
4.My favorite song is Secret Agent Man by Jonny Rivers.
3. I’ve been on a diet in some form for the past 45 years.
2. I’m very direct and don’t suffer fools, false prophets, or suck ups.
1. Writing is my oxygen!


Norah- thank you so much for letting me visit with you and your readers today! I am so happy I met you at the NJRWA conference!!! You are, truly, a gifted writer and an amazeballs woman!

It’s hard to think that November is almost gone already and with it, NaNoWriMo. On November 30th at midnight, not only will the month end – giving us 25 days until Christmas, but for the millions of writers around the world who are participating in this year’s annual event, it means we can all breathe a little easier, take a little break from the laptop ( a very little break!) and see where we are in our current works in progress ( WIP). Hopefully, many of us will have reached that brass ring of 50,000 words ( or more!) and be declared a WINNER by the NaNo team. Many of us will not have reached it, but that doesn’t make us any less a winner. Just devoting yourself to writing something any day is winning in my book.

I happened to make it to the golden number a while ago. Don’t hate me. I knew what I wanted to write, and my life is such that I can devote it to writing for long stretches if I so desire. I did. I realize I am one of the lucky ones who can do this.

But even if I hadn’t reached my goal I would still have considered my efforts winning-worthy. There’s an old saying that it’s not the destination of a journey that is important, it’s the journey itself. I sosososo agree.

Just attempting to do the NaNoWriMo challenge is empowering. Getting in the habit of committing your words to your laptop everyday fosters that continual need to do so, so that, long after November is a memory, you are still devoting yourself to the thing that gives you such joy, namely, writing.

Take these last 4 days of the challenge and pour your heart and soul into it. Get those emotions, those worlds, those characters, settings, and plots from the depths of your imagination to the confines of the page.

The world needs your book.

And you need to give it to them.

When I’m not participating in NaNoWrimo, you can find me here:

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+

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for images click on this link:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2016/12/30/wh...

I don’t do reflections. Not normally, anyway.

I’m the person who could care less about my Ancestry.com findings; the one who doesn’t subscribe to Classmates.com even when they email me that “someone wants to reconnect with you.” If I wanted to stay in touch with the people I went to High School with ( the admittedly WORST 4 years of my life) I would have done so without the help of Facebook or any other nosy Internet company. I don’t like looking at old yearbooks ( especially my own) and I never watch Oprah’s Where Are They Now series.

I’m just not into all that. I’m the type of person who likes to look FORWARD, not reminisce on the past. If you need a reason why I’m so bitchy about this, just look at 2016 for an answer and a little insight into why I feel this way.

We lost TRUE HEROS like Mohammad Ali and John Glenn and ElieWiesle

We lost MUSICAL ICONS like Prince, George Michael, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen

We lost BRILLIANT ACTORS/ACTRESSES like Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Florence Henderson, Robert Vaughn, Carrie Fisher and a day later her mother, Debbie Reynolds.

We lost LITERARY ICONS Harper Lee and Richard Adams

Because of INSANE HATRED we lost 49 LOVED and CHERISHED Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles and Fathers in a horrific nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida

We suffered through terror bombings in Brussels, Nice, Turkey, Korea, Germany. Political scandals in almost every country. Olympic scandals from athletes doping to one American swimmer acting like a dope!

We watched on the news the attempted annihilation of an entire country and people in Aleppo.

We heard words that sent our minds into panic-mode. Words like Zika Virus, Ebola, Suicide bomber, Refugee crisis, Brexit, Pokeman-Go (!)

Yahoo was hacked. The DNC was hacked. Hillary was called a hack. Trump acts like one.

Earthquakes, floods, plague and pestilence. War, famine, poverty and murder.

No, 2016 is not a year I will remember fondly. I’ll be very happy at midnight on 1/1/17.

to see images click on the link:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/04/of...

Yesterday was a disaster waiting to happen and it didn’t disappoint!

After a killer workout at Planet Fitness, I was all set to come home and start plotting out the next three books in my Will Cook For Love Series – even though book #1 ( Cooking With Kandy) won’t be released until April 4.

But I digress….

I left the gym, sipping water from a Poland Springs bottle and checking my phone for email messages when I slipped on a patch of black ice and…wait for it….dropped my phone. You thought I was gonna say something like I broke a leg or an arm, weren’t’cha??!! hee hee. Anyway. I retrieved the phone from under my car – yes, it bounced all the friggin’ way under – and pressed the screen button so I could check and make sure it was okay.

It wasn’t.

The screen lit up and then started flickering like a light bulb does when it’s starting to blow. I watched as it had a full-fledged Samsung seizure and then just… winked out.

So. Okay. I figured the lightbulb inside it had blown. No worries. I hightailed it over to USCellular, a mere three minutes’ drive and told the lovely tech lady there what happened, describing the light blowing.

“Um, No,” she said. She took the phone from my hand and ran her finger along the screen. “There’s no light bulb inside this, so what I think is that you have a broken connection underneath the LED.” I have no idea what that means – didn’t then and still don’t.

Okay, so go ahead and fix it, I said, expansively.

“Do you have insurance?” she asked.

“What, like life? Car?”
She shook her head. “Phone.”
And there, my friends, is where the second part of this disaster occurred. The answer to the question was a resounding no, I did not.

After a few moments of typing on her USCellular computer, she said, “Well. The phone is for all intents and purposes, broken and non functional, so it will cost about **** ( insert astronomical figure of your choice here) to try and fix the problem, but I don’t see that happening, so you might as well just get a new phone.”

“Okay.” I figured, why not? Even though the phone was only a year and month old, I could always stand a new one.

Here’s the corker…are you ready for it?
“You owe **** ( a little less than astronomical amount -but not much!) on the old phone, so you need to pay that off in full first before I can give you a new one.”

Truly? Could this day get any worse?
Well, yes. It could.

I need my phone. I do. I always say I don’t know how we survived before cell phones ( I know we did!) but I am just so dependent on that damn thing, that I have to have one. So…. I paid the balance on the old (13 months!) broken one and then was lucky enough to get the same model back as a new one.

But….

The lovely tech lady suggested I now get insurance on the phone AND get a case whereby if I dropped it again, I wouldn’t break it. Okay, that didn’t sound too bad. The insurance is only 8 bucks a month – I can live with that. They case? Yeah, not so lucky with the price there. Another large chunk of change passed hands and I now had a case, insurance, and new phone.

You might think this is the end of the story, but it’s not.

Because I’m so tech illiterate – and there really should be an actual word for that – I said, “so can you transfer the stuff from my old phone to the new one?”
The Lovely Tech lady stared at me, speechless, but I just know she was thinking, “What part of the phone is for all intents and purposes broken and nonfunctional did you not understand?”

She blinked and said, “Well, we can tryyyyyyyyyyy ( yes she did elongate the word), but..” She shrugged and that told me everything I needed to know. “Do you back your data up? ”

Um, no because I didn’t even know you could!!

All my photos, all my text messages, my settings, my apps, my entire workoad, was on the old, now broken and non-functional phone.

“So,” I said, fighting the tears I felt stinging my eyes, “can you try? Please?”

She nodded, but I knew, deep down, she thought it was a waste of time.

She got some weird looking connector and attached the new phone to the old one and then pressed a few buttons.

And….nothing happened.

The threatening tears swelled a little bigger and I said a quick, silent Novena.

Then, the old phone, well chugged, is the best word, beeped once, and then the new phone lit up. “I think I can get something,” the Lovely Tech Lady said. “What can you absolutely not live without that’s on this old phone?”
I didn’t even think. “My photo gallery. If you can get that back, I’ll march right over to Church and give thanks! Everything else, the apps, and the programs, I can try and re-do when I have time, but the pictures are important. I don’t have copies of them anywhere – hard or digital.”
She nodded and pressed a bunch of buttons. Just when it looked like the connection would hold, it broke. Not once, but twice.

Her sigh was heavy and long. “Just try one more time, please,” I begged. Hey, I’m not proud. I wanted those pictures.

She did, and after about 15 minutes, my photos uploaded just in time for the old phone to chug and fritz out again.

But I had my precious photos, so I was happy. Well, happy may not be the right word for all this aggravation, but hey, I had my pictures.

Several hundred dollars and almost an hour and a half later, I left USCellular and went directly to church where I said a quick prayer of thanks, and a long one that my new phone stay in working and functional order for another 24 months – the time it would take to pay it off!

Byt the time I got home I was hungry, tired, pissed off, and behind on my writing schedule.

Yeah, A disaster is exactly what the damn day was!

to see images, click on this link:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/06/to...

My heritage- as some of you know – is Irish. Born and bred in the good ol’ US of A, but a DNA history that dates from the Celts. With that go many things: a fierce temper, a bawdy wit, a love of poetry, music, and debate, curly hair, light eyes, and a mercurial disposition.

Oh, and fair, freckled, and spotted skin–the reason for this blog.

Today was my six month mole check with my dermatologist. I go every six months ( down from every 3!) because of the numerous basal cell cancers and one ridiculous melanoma I’ve had to have treated in the past 3 years. At my last check up I was what is called in the derm world, clean, which meant I didn’t need to have anything cryogenically removed, or biopsied because all looked well.

Not so much today. At this morning’s check, my wonderful derm guy ( who also happens to be a neighbor and friend) found 2 spots that needed attention. Two. One on my ear he froze with sprayed liquid nitrogen. For those of you who know how this works, he literally freezes the s**t off the area. Like minus 100 degrees or some ridiculous temperature. Six hours later and my ear is still cold to the touch! Spot number 2 was on my forehead. He had to numb me first with lidocaine and epinephrine ( which immediately sent my heart racing and my hands shaking like it always does) and then shave – yes, you read that correctly SHAVE the area with a scalpel/razor blade thingie like he was filleting fish skin.

Needless to say, I was upset. Well, pissed, if I’m really being honest.

The last time I was in the sun was over 10 years ago. And when I say “in the sun” I mean it just that way – laying out, trying to get tanned, slathered with lotion. For the past decade I have not sun worshiped once. I always wear a hat and sunglasses when I am outdoors – even if it is not blazingly sunny. My moisturizer has a 45 spf block built into it and I douse my skin in 100spf block during the spring and summer months when I tend to wear less clothing. I do no outside sports. I don’t go to the beach. And even if you’d put a gun to my head I wouldn’t be caught dead at a pool in a bathing suit.

I tell you this because my skin damage was incurred long before I quit being a sun worshiper.

As a kid I was extremely fair. My mother – as all mothers did back in the stone age – thought a little color would “health” me up. Meaning, a little sun on my cheeks would make me healthier. A good premise, but, yeah, in the long run, not so much. Before I was 10 I’d already had about 20 bad sun burns. The blistering, peeling, turning to tan kind of sun burns that fair people are famous ( or is it infamous?) for. The rule of thumb dermatologically these days is that the more you burn before the age of 18, the higher your incidence of some kind of skin cancer will be as you age.

Perfect. Instead of “healthing” me up, my mother’s intervention has made my skin a veritable boiling pot and harbor of insidiously growing disease. Not her fault. She only did what she and everyone else thought was good.

But….

When you know better you do better, so here’s the PSA portion of today’s rant: DON’T-

sun worship at the beach, at the pool, in your backyard
go to tanning booths – the urban myth here is that tanning booths won’t give you skin cancer because, hello, it’s not the “real” sun. Bulls**t! You can get just as much skin damage and skin cancers from a tanning booth as you can from the natural, “real” sun
ever go outside without some kind of SPF on your face and exposed skin. Most facial moisturizers have spf built in, but they need to be at least 30 or above. None of this 2spf crap. That’s like going out naked – actually, it IS going out naked!
ever go outside without head protection. This includes ears and neck. I had a spot on my ear today that I never even noticed. Guess where I’ll be applying that moisturizer from now on? Wear a hat. I love hats. Ever since Princess Diana made them fashionable I’ve loved wearing hats.
reapply that sun tan lotion frequently. Don’t just slab it on at 6 am and think after a day of sweating and swimming you’ll have the same protection at 2pm. Freuqently and a lot – I use 100 spf in the summer and yes, it goes on like Desatin, but I never EVER get any color so you know it works! If it keeps the color from leeching, it’ll keep the cancerous rays from leeching.
Please, if you have babies or young children or even kids up to 18, protect them NOW from the damage they will incur in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. My daughter is 27 and when she was an infant I kept her covered when outdoors, and then after 6 months of age had a 60 block on her ( that’s the highest number they made back when she was little.) If I put a 45 on her, she burned.

Hats, sunglasses, sun block. Preventative measures so you – and your loved ones – will never know the heartbreaking agony of a melanoma diagnosis or its treatment ( which isn’t pretty! I know firsthand)

Enough ranting for today. Take care of yourself. Your skin is your biggest organ and the one people looking at you notice first. Treat it with respect. Treat it with love.

‘Nuff said.

The 2016 Predators and Editors Voting polls are open and I’ve got 2 books nominated in the ROMANCE category. L ast year I came in third and I’d really like to elevate that status this year because something like this is a great way for writers to get their names out to people who otherwise wouldn’t know them.

If you have a few minutes please consider voting for either A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS or THE VOICES OF ANGELS, both in the ROMANCE category. I’ve included the links here:

A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

THE VOICES OF ANGELS

Thanks for any and all support. Keep a writer working!!!

click this link to see the photos:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/10/ne...
I’ve mentioned here, ad nauseum(!), that I write in my attic overlooking my property. It’s private, spacious, and quiet most of the time. I put that last part in because of late it has become almost impossible to work in.

Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

The window overlooks the woods and the property next to mine. A property occupied by an elderly couple and their two very ….loud and obnoxious dogs. The dogs are put into a pen several times a day for hours at a time and the pen is directly in line with my window. In fact, they’re out there right now, barking away. When the window is open in good weather I am treated to hours upon hours of continual barking. It’s just as loud in the winter because the trees are bare and can’t buffer the sound. And it’s not just a few woofs and then a doggie nap. It’s like Dino Flintstone barking. Just click this link and you’ll get an idea of what I mean. This is all day, every day, no matter what the weather. Dead of winter or heat of summer. After a day it’s annoying. After a year it’s soul sucking.

So…this year I am moving to the other side of the attic into a room we’ve used as a storage/craft/sewing/painting room for me for the past 24 years. This is a sample of what was stored in the room until this weekend when I did a massive clean out! ( click link for photo)

This is what the room looks like right now:

Hubby taped the window, door and closet frames and now we are all set to paint. As you can see it’s a very light, pale blue. I’m going green on this…more pictures to follow once the process begins. I can’t wait to have my own REAL office.

And I can’t wait to get away from the Dino twins next door!

Here’s a quick video on my FaceBook Author, author page to “see” the renovations.

When I’m not redecorating or being annoyed by barking dogs, you can find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

to see images click on the link:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/11/au...

I’ve got the pleasure of introducing you to an author I know you’ll be hearing a great deal about, Norah Bennett. I met Norah in 2015 at the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference and almost immediately felt as if we’d been friends forevah! Her fitst book, R.I.L.Y Forever k was released last year and her newest, Everything I’ve Dreamed of, came out just last week. She’s giving you a little snippet of it below, and when you’re done reading that, there’s a link to a giveaway which I highly recommend you enter!

Blurb:

Kate Willowbrook dreams of a life filled with beauty –– a man who loves her, friends, and a home. At eighteen, Kate’s dreams are replaced by nightmares when she witnesses a crime. Kate runs, never settling down or trusting anyone. Ten years later Kate discovers the small town of Lakes Crossing and Noah Reed.

When Noah’s wife is killed in an accident, he buries himself in work and family obligations, believing he will never find love again until he meets Kate. The more he learns about her, the more he is drawn to her and his protective instincts kick into overdrive.

Noah is everything Kate has ever dreamed of, but his take-charge attitude is scaring up old demons she fought hard to bury. If they can’t find a way to strike a balance that satisfies both their deepest needs, they could lose their second chance at love.

Excerpt

Kate pierced him with her green eyes. “I’m certain there’s no shortage of women who would be happy to go out with you. Why me?”

Noah’s cocky grin faded into a soft smile that stole her breath. His eyes darkened as he focused on her. She could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks again, and she couldn’t believe she asked him that question. She didn’t even know why she did, except that she wanted to hear his answer. If she let herself fall for this beautiful man, with a killer smile and the softest brown eyes in the world, she’d fall hard and fast. If she were just a toy to him, one that he got bored of and discarded after a while, she’d be devastated. She had lost so much already and survived, but Kate wasn’t sure she could survive his games. If she allowed herself to hope and dream of a life with Noah but then lost it all, she’d crumble, and no amount of superglue would put her back together.

Kate waited for his answer, her eyes locked with his and he didn’t let her down.

“Yes, I won’t deny that I’ve dated other women and there are those who wouldn’t turn me down for a date, but they’re not you.”

Noah reached for her hand, and she let him feel the tremble that ran through her as he engulfed her small hand in his. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers, never taking his gaze off her.

“You say you’re not special to anyone, but that’s not true. I see something special, someone special. I know we don’t know each other very well, but if you give us a chance to change that, together, we may be something special. We won’t know unless we try.”

Kate’s breath hitched, and her heart squeezed. Jesus, the man had a way with words. How did he know what she needed to hear? Now she understood what Roberta Flack meant when she sang, Killing me Softly. He was clawing at the door to her heart, and she didn’t think she was strong enough to resist him, even knowing that she may get shredded if she let him in.

Kate dropped her gaze again as they began to fill. Her breathing was ragged, and her heart broke its confines and was on the run. Whether it wanted to be caught by Noah or not, Kate wasn’t certain.

Special.

Kate had waited thirty-one years to hear someone call her special. She struggled to rein in her emotions and push back the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. She wanted to go out with Noah so badly it hurt. She wanted to get to know him and to be a part of his world, but she was terrified. Good visited her very few times in her life. The instant it arrived, she began preparing for its departure. Good was a temporary visitor and a fickle one at that.

“Come on, Kate. I can sense you’re afraid. I swear I’m a nice guy. I’ll do my damnedest not to disappoint or hurt you. Take a chance. Take a chance on me.”

Kate heard the vulnerability in Noah’s voice. She explored his handsome face, a face she was sure she would never tire of admiring. All traces of his earlier cockiness vanished. Instead, it was replaced by a rawness, an earnestness, a tenderness she’d never seen before. That was the look Kate would remember for a lifetime. Years from now, she would say that was the exact moment she knew, if Noah Reed asked her, she would be his for a lifetime.

Kate let out a slow breath and with a soft smile, she whispered, “Okay, Noah Reed. I’ll take a chance … a chance on you. I’ll go out with you.”

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MR3847R/
Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/ev...

Giveaway: http://gvwy.io/0fg2991

A little about Norah…
Norah lives a double life. By day she is a suit-wearing, prim and proper, professor, administrator, researcher, and lecturer. By night she is a PJ wearing dreamer and writer of books that make people sigh, smile, cry, laugh, fall in love and believe in second chances.

Norah lives in Andover, New Jersey with her husband of thirty years, a cranky geriatric maltipoo, and an obnoxious cockatoo who runs the house and terrifies all its inhabitants.

Norah discovered the joy and escapism that comes from reading at the age of twelve and swears books saved her life and her sanity. Through reading, she has traveled the globe and learned all kinds of equally useful and useless skills such as the proper way to eat a pomegranate, carve a watermelon, or bathe an elephant. These are skills she has passed down to her two daughters who are incredibly supportive, but often wish she had a wider scope of hobbies.

Norah has a long publishing history in academia, but she started writing fiction recently. In July 2016 she published her first work of fiction, R.I.L.Y. Forever with Evernight Publishing and in January 2017 her second book, Everything I’ve Dreamed Of, was also published by Evernight Publishing. Currently, she is working on her third novel, Six Months. Digital and print copies of her books can be purchased at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/R-I-L-Y-Foreve...

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.norahbennett.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealNorahB?lan...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norahbennett...

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show...?

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Norah-Bennett/e...

IN order to get the full benefit of this post, please click on the link for the images:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/12/on...

I lovelovelove Pinterest. For a writer who plots ( like moi) it’s a visual dream come true. If you click on my personal link in the previous sentence, you’ll see I use it for characterization, writing tips, plotting, and info I need for books about stuff I don’t know about, but that I want to use in the plot/story.

I also troll through recipes and how-to videos. I’m a kinesthetic learner, which means I learn how to do stuff by actually doing it. My husband and daughter can read a manual and put a truck together – or take it apart. I need to be shown how to do it because trying to follow instructional steps has never been my strong suit. I tell you this because I want to explain the title of this blog: EPIC FAILS.

I don’t drink coffee in the morning. I drink decaf tea at night in a ridiculous attempt to help me sleep. It hasn’t so far, but I digress…..

I don’t drink coffee for my caffeine jolt in the morning, I drink DIET MOUNTAIN DEW. I know…don’t judge me! SO when I spotted a video how-to the other day about making Mountain Dew Ice cream, well, I simply lost my mind and knew -KNEW- I had to make it.

There were 4 ingredients: Heavy whipping cream, evaporated milk, DMD and food coloring.

Here are a few snaps of the process I took as I performed them according to the video.

After the requisite 4-6 hours in the freezer, I tried a sample:


I truly wish someone had been home with me to video my reaction when I tasted it. This is as close as I can come to thinking what I must have looked like:

No lie…..

Le sigh.

Now I know why there is an official website called PINTEREST FAILS! Think I should upload mine to their site???

When I’m not attempting to try things NOT in my purview, you can usually find me here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

To view images, click on this link:

https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/01/18/a-...

One of the nicest, most talented writers I know is releasing her debut novel, DEALING WITH THE VISCOUNT at the end of this month and I have the privilege of introducing her to you today in anticipation of that wonderful event. I met Clair Brett 3 years ago at a romance writing meeting and was instantly capitated by her quick wit, her intelligence, and her kindness. Plus, she’s a helluva good writer. So, sit back and get to know the writer I call a friend ( and I’m always so pleased to say those 2 words in the same sentence – writer and friend!)


Clair, The Writer

What drives you to write?

I have written since I can remember. As an only child, I would create stories in my head. Now, as an adult, I love the feeling of bringing my characters to life and since I am a pantser at heart, even though I do plot in my own way, I want to see how the story will end. I write the stories for me first.

What genre(s) of Romance do your write, and why?

Right now I am writing Historical Romance set in the Regency period with a spatter of suspense because that is what I love to read. When I started reading for pleasure again after college, I was teaching full time, had two babies 12 months apart and we were a typical young struggling couple. I liked the historical romance genre, because it was so far removed from my own life and let me step into a world that was glitzy and glamourous, but not familiar. I believe reading for pleasure should be an escape. I do have a couple of contemporary ideas and even a YA dystopia retelling of a childhood classic, oh and there is that Scottish Highland hero who keeps raising his hand now and then…

What genre(s) of Romance do you read, and why?

Obviously, I love Historical romance, but find when I am writing a new book, I can’t have another historical writer banging around in my head. I also love a good romantic suspense. I am also fortunate enough to edit for some writers so I get to read a variety of genres then as well. One of my goals for 2017 is to read more. As a writer I find I have less and less time to just read, not to mention I feel guilty when I sit down to “just” read. I am starting my list of books for 2017 on goodreads and I am trying to branch out.

What’s your writing schedule? Do you write every day?

Ha, funny. Seriously, I am still working on that. It depends on the day and my workload from the day job. My goal is to write or edit every day, but I haven’t gotten there yet. I try to get emails and some marketing out of the way when I first sit down, because my brain is too scattered with everything that I have to do that day, but once I have been able to settle my mind, I usually open the MS mid-morning and I will set a timer to make sure I don’t get distracted. Once I begin writing, I already know where that scene has to go and I can bang out 2000 words fairly quickly. I work away from home two days a week, and don’t usually get much writing done on those days. My goal is to get to the point where I can write in the morning, earlier than I do now, and then work on edits in the afternoon, with the other business stuff stuck in between.

Give us a glimpse of the surroundings where you write. Separate room? In the kitchen? At the dining room table?

When I got done teaching 5 years ago now I had a wish for an office. For a while I moved into what I thought of as our dining room, but was not being used as that, at the time. Two years ago, my contractor husband finally agreed to move forward with some major remodels on our house and we closed in the middle part of our wrap around porch and created a very cozy office for me. I will eventually have sliding pocket doors for more privacy, but it has a bank of windows to let in the sun and warm breeze in the summer, and it is just big enough to fit my desk, an over-stuffed chair for editing and reading, and my two bookcases. It is by far my favorite spot in our house now! Before we put up the drywall, my daughters and I went around on the studs and wrote inspirational messages, one of which above the doorway says “bestsellers are written here”, so I feel like I am surrounded by positive thoughts.

Are you the kind of writer who needs total quiet to compose, or are you able to filter out the typical sounds of the day and use your tunnelvision?

I am fine with normal “noise”, but when people are talking, or yelling as teenaged girls are prone to do, I can’t get into the scene. That is why I can’t wait for my sliding doors. I did find recently at a writers’ meeting when we did a write in for NaNoWrimo that I also am calmed by the sound of clicking keyboards. Yes, I am letting my geek flag fly. I went home and I now have a download of clicking keyboards that I can play when I don’t want to listen to music.

Do you listen to music while you write, and if so, what kind? If not, why not?

I usually play instrumental music. I choose classical most days because I am not familiar with any lyrics, because if it is a song I know I have caught myself singing it in my head. I have a writing and editing playlist I listen to on Spotify and it helps me settle into the mood of writing, since I only listen to it when I am writing or editing.

How did you come up with the plotline/idea for your current WIP?

My current WIP is the second book in my debut series Improper Wives for Proper Lords. The hero, Lord Breakerton was meant to be a secondary character in Dealing with the Viscount, which debut’s on January 31. Instead he tried to take over every scene he was in. I knew he needed his own book and was trying to figure out his story. At a writers’ meeting we learned how to use tarot cards to help plot a story. During that workshop I kept getting cards with swords and like a lightening bolt I got a scene of my hero having a sword fight with the heroine and just like that I knew she was a highwaywoman dressed as a man, and he was sent to apprehend, or kill the highwayman, and a story idea was born.

Which comes first for you – character or plot? And why?

That is a hard question. My first reaction would be to say character, but usually I get a full scene, which may or may not end up in the book, but it is the main character, sometimes hero, sometimes heroine doing something, from there I start asking questions and might just sit and journal freestyle for a bit to try and get a handle on what I saw. Then, I will have to find the romantic interest. Sometimes as I am writing one story I have a character, like Lord Breakerton, who screams for their own story, then I will try to learn about them as they evolve throughout that story. My stories are, as most romances, character based and so I would guess I have my characters and try to figure out their stories, instead of coming up with a plot and sticking a character in to fit it.

What 3 words describe you, the writer? Determined. Scared. Perfectionist.

Clair, The Person :

Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing!

My nickname growing up was Charlie. I didn’t always like it and the first day of first grade I hit an older boy in the chin with my metal “Sigmund the Sea Monster” lunchbox for calling me by it. (he still has a little scar). I grew into it however, and there are still people in my little town, and family that only call me Charlie. (My dad used to call me Charlie Brown and it got shortened)

Who was your first love and what age were you?

Donny Osmond, and I was 6 or 7 maybe younger. (Peggy here – I lovedlovedloved Donny Osmond!!!)

If you could relive one day, which one would it be? Think GROUNDHOG DAY, the movie for this one – you’ll have to live it over and over and….

Ooo, this is tough… I would have to say the second day of my honeymoon. We were officially married and unpacked at the hotel. We had two weeks of vacation ahead of us, with no worries and plenty of money for tropical drinks. No worries, oh and his snoring didn’t yet drive me nuts. lol

Do you like a guy in boxers, briefs, or commando?

I like a little mystery, so I’m going to say boxers. They have a tendency to be a bit more fun with the patterns lending to a laid back feel, and I am not a fan of commando. A girls like a little mystery. Wink, wink.

If you had to give up one necessary-can’t-live-without-it beauty item, what would it be?

Hair dryer. Without it my hair is curly, and not the “oh, look at her beautiful curls” curly, more like “Is she trying to create dreads?” curly.

What three words describes you, the person? Loyal..Reserved (some would say repressed. =) ).Focused

If you could sing a song with Jimmy Fallon, what would it be?

“My Fight Song” is my current favorite song. But I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, so I hope I never have to do that!

If you could hang out with any literary character from any book penned at any time line, who would it by, why, and what would you do together?

It is no secret that I have an unhealthy love of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, so I would pick Elizabeth Bennett, because she really was very modern for her time and out spoken. To have a woman that self-possessed during that time period was unique. I would like to sit with her, have tea, and talk about the topics of the day to see how they affected her and her sisters, and also to get her thoughts on how life should be.

Bonus round

I love the Actor’s Studio show on Bravo, so this is my version of it:

Favorite sound; Rain, or ocean waves, but water definitely!

Least favorite sound: An alarm clock

Best song every written: “Light My Fire” by the doors (love all Jim Morrison’s lyrics):

Worst song ever written: Any of the “screaming music” if it sounds like you need a laxative or an ambulance, it isn’t music.

Favorite actor/actress Gerard Butler// Kate Hudson

Who would you want to be for 1 day and why? ( It can be anyone living or dead)

I would like to be Eloisa James, Historical romance writer extraordinaire, for a day. She is wildly talented, and she is married to Italian aristocracy. She gets to travel all over the world, and she just always looks so elegant and composed. I would love to be her and then take what I learn to get myself to where she is.

What turns you on? Humor and thoughtfulness

What turns you off? Cockiness or conceit

Give me the worst 5 words ever heard on a first date ( here’s mine: “Is that your real hair?”) “You remind me of my ex.” Ok, it is 6 words, but you get the idea. =)

What’s your version of a perfect day?

Summer, a warm breeze comes off the ocean and floats into my bedroom waking me with the sounds of ocean waves and birds chirping. My hardworking husband brings me a cup of tea and we sit and talk enjoying the sunrise and the warm weather. Then I get dressed and go to my obscenely opulent patio and have the entire day to write, with no marketing, advertising, or “business stuff” to do because my assistant has that under control. In the afternoon, after my massage and a snorkeling session, I would stroll into town and sit at a café eating something rich, but non- caloric. I would end the evening with my hardworking husband, and a dinner of lobster and steak with champagne, and maybe a chance to curl up in the moonlight and read a good book, before we go to bed…

Have you ever thought of going into intelligence gathering, Peggy? What a list of questions. Lol!

Love ya! Clair!

Peggy here: Love ya, back!!!



And now……

DEALING WITH THE VISCOUNT

Blurb:

After making a wager of marriage to settle her father’s gambling debts, Ella Bowen-Thorn Renwick escaped the husband she foolishly began to fall for and disappeared into the Scottish countryside carrying a secret. Four years later, and the owner of her own bakery, she is still not free of the demands of men when a violent and anonymous blackmailer threatens her, her livelihood…and her daughter. And then, there is him…

Viscount Renwick still mourns the wife he began to love before her untimely death–that is until he discovers her alive and well living in Scotland. Now, Devon’s face to face with the wife he thought he’d buried and the daughter he never knew existed. He’d like nothing more than to welcome Ella back into his arms, but mysterious and troubling incidents and a history with an unloving father have Ella trusting no one.

But, if Renwick convinces his wife he’s the husband she always dreamed of and the father their daughter deserves, will the scandalous secret the blackmailer is holding threaten their future together once more?

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle: Nook: Kobo: Apple:



A Little about the author:

Dragon keeper and historical romance author, Clair Brett lives in NH with her hard working husband and two teenaged daughters. Her office staff during the day consists of Cinta, a black cat and the matriarch of the fur babies, Mojo, a yellow kitten who spends his day holding Clair down in her seat to get her word count in, a boxer/beagle mix puppy named Willow, who sleeps next to her chair to make it hard to do an Oreo run without doing a pee run as well, a hermit crab who keeps to himself, and a bearded dragon, who is kind of upper management.

A former middle and high school English teacher, Clair has had a lifetime love affair with reading. Once she read Pride and Prejudice as an extra read in high school, she was hooked. Clair began pursuit of publication when she was a new mother in need of a hobby. Her oldest daughter will be graduating in 2017, so you do the math. Clair is a firm believer that a reader finds a piece of who they are or learns something about the world with every book they read. She wants her readers to be empowered and to have a refreshed belief in the goodness of people and the power of love after reading her work.

Visit Clair on the web

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