Peggy Jaeger's Blog - Posts Tagged "interview"
I'm visiting Norah Bennet today
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!
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!
Author Spotlight: Peggy Jaeger
to see images, click on this link:
https://anniesbookstopworcester.wordp...
Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester is happy to shine their Author Spotlight on contemporary romance author Peggy Jaeger! Peggy will be here at our 65 James Street “bigger on the inside” book store as part of our “Let your Heart’s Desire Keep You Warm” panel of romance authors on Sunday, January 29, from 3:00 – 5:00 PM.
Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them.
Peggy, a registered Nurse, holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s.
A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and the current Secretary of her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.
Thank you for joining us for an interview, Peggy! What draws you to the particular genre or style that you write? What do you think draws readers to these kinds of books?
I’ve always been a sap for the happily ever after kind of story, so romance is the perfect genre for me to read and write. My childhood wasn’t exactly the happy Brady Bunch or Father Knows Best kind of upbringing. And because of it, I found myself lost in books as a way of coping and escape more often than not. As I got older (read: impressionable teen years!), I gravitated toward books with love as the main theme, AKA romance. I adore the Regency period – all those gowns and double entendre conversations – and I simply love contemporary romances. I don’t have the patience to learn how to write Regency the correct way – too many rules! But contemporary is the here and now, and basically, life as I know it.
I think Romance readers are always drawn to the thought that anyone – including themselves – can star in and have their own happily ever after. Love is a universal emotion. We all want it, crave it, and need it to survive. I believe that with all my heart and soul. Readers want to suffer through the conflicts and problems and turmoils of the heroine and hero. Maybe they see similar facets of their own relationships in the story. Maybe they see the glimmer of hope the writer weaves into the plot that despite everything, all will be well in the end. First, you have to be dragged over and under the coals, and all may look black and lost, but the ultimate ending will be satisfying and our love interests will survive…together. Who wouldn’t want to read about ultimate happiness and everlasting love conquering all, with the state the world is in today?
How important has the New England setting been to your writing?
My first 4 books all took place in New England – Connecticut and New Hampshire, primarily. My newest series takes place, mostly, in New York City. I’m starting another series about a fictional town in New Hampshire in the new year (2017), so I would have to say the New England setting is very important to my writing!
I love New Hampshire in the spring and fall. Between the changing colors of autumn, and the beauty of blooming spring, New England is, simply, beautiful. Our own cottage industry – leaf peeping season – proves other people who don’t live around here believe that as well and want to share in seeing all our environmental natural loveliness.
Small towns are important to me. Their values, family centered morality, and sense of neighbor-liness are rampant in my writing, and New England sets the stage perfectly.
What piece of advice would you want to share with other writers?
I was an overnight success. It just took 55 years to realize it! I guess the most important piece of advice I would give anyone who is passionate about something – be it writing or anything else – is to do it for yourself first. Don’t think about your audience when you write. Write the story of your heart. The one you haven’t seen published anywhere else. Be true to yourself and that ideal. I would have been just fine if I’d never found a publisher willing to take me on. I would still have kept writing my stories because I wanted to. My characters wanted to be born on the page and I wasn’t going to stop them. Self publishing was never a thought in my mind and still isn’t. I don’t have the absolute discipline it needs to be a successful Indie author. You have to be everything – editor, cover designer, marketer, financial officer, and 50 other things that are beyond me. I just want to write and leave all those things to the people who know how to do them well, because I do not! I have many friends who self publish, and they are marvels! I don’t have the self-regulation to do it.
So, be true to yourself and your writing first and foremost. Don’t write for the market, because the market changes hourly. Don’t write for a specific genre of romance because it is viewed as the new hot commodity, the next flavor of the month. In a heartbeat, it will change again.
Write what you want, in the way you want. Be true to you.
What else can we expect from you in the near future?
I have a new series of romances coming out from Kensington/Lyrical in 2017/18, centering around a family of women who cook. The series is called WILL COOK FOR LOVE and the first book, COOKING WITH KANDY releases on April 4, 2017. I love writing about women and men who cook. To me, food is love. In all the new books there will be recipes that I have worked, re-worked, and re-imagined for years that I’m sharing with the reader.
As a little aside, I had a Valentine’s release in 2016 titled 3 WISHES, a Candy Hearts Romance. That book centered on a chocolatier, Chloe San Valentino. In almost every single review of the book, the review stated they were hungry after reading it because of all the delicious candy confections Chloe made – and I described. I’m hoping the WILL COOK FOR LOVE series does the same thing to the reader – makes them hungry for food and romance! And my books!
What is/are your passions when you’re not writing? How do you make time for your non-writing hobbies/things you love?
Going with that theme of cooking, I love to cook. I currently have over 100 cookbooks in my house that are dog-eared and well-worn-loved. My mother was a working mom and didn’t get home most nights until well after the dinner hour was over, so I had learn to cook for myself or eat sandwiches every night. And when she did cook something, it was usually a pre-made meal. Nothing was ever from scratch. I’m not judging her – please understand that. She was just too tired and too busy to worry about the food she gave us. When my daughter was growing up and still lived at home, I cooked all the time. Baked, too. I still cook a full meal 6 nights a week for my husband and myself. Most weekends we eat out once, but there have been months that we haven’t darkened a restaurant door!
The funny thing about my love of cooking is that I have a never ending list of food sensitivities. That doesn’t stop me, though, from trying new recipes and new flavor profiles, because I also love to have company (friends) come over to the house on the weekends and cook for them. To me, cooking for someone shows how much you care about them. Anyone can pick up take out, or pop in a microwave dinner. But to make something from scratch, using fresh ingredients, spices, and flavors, is a real way to show how much you care.
Where can people find your work? (Besides ABSW ;)–though they should totally check here first!)
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
How can we follow your work, share your awesomeness, or otherwise stalk you in a totally non-creepy way?
Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/
Thank you again for letting us interview you, Peggy! We look forward to having you at the store on Sunday, January 29, from 3:00-5:00 with our “Let Your Heart’s Desire Keep You Warm” panel of romance authors!
https://anniesbookstopworcester.wordp...
Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester is happy to shine their Author Spotlight on contemporary romance author Peggy Jaeger! Peggy will be here at our 65 James Street “bigger on the inside” book store as part of our “Let your Heart’s Desire Keep You Warm” panel of romance authors on Sunday, January 29, from 3:00 – 5:00 PM.
Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them.
Peggy, a registered Nurse, holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s.
A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and the current Secretary of her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.
Thank you for joining us for an interview, Peggy! What draws you to the particular genre or style that you write? What do you think draws readers to these kinds of books?
I’ve always been a sap for the happily ever after kind of story, so romance is the perfect genre for me to read and write. My childhood wasn’t exactly the happy Brady Bunch or Father Knows Best kind of upbringing. And because of it, I found myself lost in books as a way of coping and escape more often than not. As I got older (read: impressionable teen years!), I gravitated toward books with love as the main theme, AKA romance. I adore the Regency period – all those gowns and double entendre conversations – and I simply love contemporary romances. I don’t have the patience to learn how to write Regency the correct way – too many rules! But contemporary is the here and now, and basically, life as I know it.
I think Romance readers are always drawn to the thought that anyone – including themselves – can star in and have their own happily ever after. Love is a universal emotion. We all want it, crave it, and need it to survive. I believe that with all my heart and soul. Readers want to suffer through the conflicts and problems and turmoils of the heroine and hero. Maybe they see similar facets of their own relationships in the story. Maybe they see the glimmer of hope the writer weaves into the plot that despite everything, all will be well in the end. First, you have to be dragged over and under the coals, and all may look black and lost, but the ultimate ending will be satisfying and our love interests will survive…together. Who wouldn’t want to read about ultimate happiness and everlasting love conquering all, with the state the world is in today?
How important has the New England setting been to your writing?
My first 4 books all took place in New England – Connecticut and New Hampshire, primarily. My newest series takes place, mostly, in New York City. I’m starting another series about a fictional town in New Hampshire in the new year (2017), so I would have to say the New England setting is very important to my writing!
I love New Hampshire in the spring and fall. Between the changing colors of autumn, and the beauty of blooming spring, New England is, simply, beautiful. Our own cottage industry – leaf peeping season – proves other people who don’t live around here believe that as well and want to share in seeing all our environmental natural loveliness.
Small towns are important to me. Their values, family centered morality, and sense of neighbor-liness are rampant in my writing, and New England sets the stage perfectly.
What piece of advice would you want to share with other writers?
I was an overnight success. It just took 55 years to realize it! I guess the most important piece of advice I would give anyone who is passionate about something – be it writing or anything else – is to do it for yourself first. Don’t think about your audience when you write. Write the story of your heart. The one you haven’t seen published anywhere else. Be true to yourself and that ideal. I would have been just fine if I’d never found a publisher willing to take me on. I would still have kept writing my stories because I wanted to. My characters wanted to be born on the page and I wasn’t going to stop them. Self publishing was never a thought in my mind and still isn’t. I don’t have the absolute discipline it needs to be a successful Indie author. You have to be everything – editor, cover designer, marketer, financial officer, and 50 other things that are beyond me. I just want to write and leave all those things to the people who know how to do them well, because I do not! I have many friends who self publish, and they are marvels! I don’t have the self-regulation to do it.
So, be true to yourself and your writing first and foremost. Don’t write for the market, because the market changes hourly. Don’t write for a specific genre of romance because it is viewed as the new hot commodity, the next flavor of the month. In a heartbeat, it will change again.
Write what you want, in the way you want. Be true to you.
What else can we expect from you in the near future?
I have a new series of romances coming out from Kensington/Lyrical in 2017/18, centering around a family of women who cook. The series is called WILL COOK FOR LOVE and the first book, COOKING WITH KANDY releases on April 4, 2017. I love writing about women and men who cook. To me, food is love. In all the new books there will be recipes that I have worked, re-worked, and re-imagined for years that I’m sharing with the reader.
As a little aside, I had a Valentine’s release in 2016 titled 3 WISHES, a Candy Hearts Romance. That book centered on a chocolatier, Chloe San Valentino. In almost every single review of the book, the review stated they were hungry after reading it because of all the delicious candy confections Chloe made – and I described. I’m hoping the WILL COOK FOR LOVE series does the same thing to the reader – makes them hungry for food and romance! And my books!
What is/are your passions when you’re not writing? How do you make time for your non-writing hobbies/things you love?
Going with that theme of cooking, I love to cook. I currently have over 100 cookbooks in my house that are dog-eared and well-worn-loved. My mother was a working mom and didn’t get home most nights until well after the dinner hour was over, so I had learn to cook for myself or eat sandwiches every night. And when she did cook something, it was usually a pre-made meal. Nothing was ever from scratch. I’m not judging her – please understand that. She was just too tired and too busy to worry about the food she gave us. When my daughter was growing up and still lived at home, I cooked all the time. Baked, too. I still cook a full meal 6 nights a week for my husband and myself. Most weekends we eat out once, but there have been months that we haven’t darkened a restaurant door!
The funny thing about my love of cooking is that I have a never ending list of food sensitivities. That doesn’t stop me, though, from trying new recipes and new flavor profiles, because I also love to have company (friends) come over to the house on the weekends and cook for them. To me, cooking for someone shows how much you care about them. Anyone can pick up take out, or pop in a microwave dinner. But to make something from scratch, using fresh ingredients, spices, and flavors, is a real way to show how much you care.
Where can people find your work? (Besides ABSW ;)–though they should totally check here first!)
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
How can we follow your work, share your awesomeness, or otherwise stalk you in a totally non-creepy way?
Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/
Thank you again for letting us interview you, Peggy! We look forward to having you at the store on Sunday, January 29, from 3:00-5:00 with our “Let Your Heart’s Desire Keep You Warm” panel of romance authors!
