Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 246

#NYCStrong… Marathon day and every day

I had an emotional Sunday and the tears still swell up from time to time, but I want to write today about being a mother. Just as an FYI, I’m going to be waxing rhapsodic about my fabulous daughter, so if you were expecting something about writing or NaNo related,…sorry. Maybe tomorrow.

My lovely daughter ran her first full 26.2 mile marathon on Sunday in NYC. She’s run half marathons but never a full 26-er and one so grueling as the 5 borough trek. The marathon came on the heels of the terror attack that hit lower Manhattan last week and as a mama bear, my gut reaction was to tell her not to run it. I didn’t. I knew it would do no good if I did.

Let me ‘esplain.

My daughter is brave, brilliant, and beautiful. She’s also kind and considerate to all she meets and all she knows. She is civic minded, opinionated but fair, and is able to express her views in an articulate, sensible, opinion-swaying manner. Saying that, the girl has a backbone forged in titanium and is no body’s fool, doormat, or patsy. If I tried to get her not to run it would have been an effort in utter futility.

When she decided to run the NYC marathon as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood I was several things. Proud was the first and most overwhelming. But I was also a nervous mama. My husband ran the NYC marathon 150 years ago ( heehee! Not quite, but it feels like it sometimes) so I knew how arduous the race course was. Add in that the weather in NYC on Sunday was horrendous – a chilly drizzly mist ALL DAY LONG accompanied by some spells of torrential rain, and I was worried about her health and well being. My nerves got the better of me on several occasions and I had to talk myself off a ledge or wind up in the medical tent myself – and I wasn’t running! My concerns about her health are not just nervous Nelly ones. This is the child who was born with an initial Apgar of 0, then 2 because she’d been laying on her umbilical cord and no one knew. This is the tween who was involved in a horrific car crash with me when she was 11 and had flashbacks for years about it and her injuries. And this is the young woman who lost more than half her blood when she suffered 2 arterial tears from a routine tonsillectomy.

I had my concerns for her health and safety, and baby, they were valid.

When she crossed the finish line and her friends and I all found our way to one another I completely lost it. I’m not the crier in my family – I’m the one who stays strong and focused when all others around me a  bawling. Not this time. I actually think strangers thought I was having a nervous breakdown when they passed us. All of the emotions I’d been holding in for the days leading up to the marathon – worry about another terror attack, concern about would she be able to finish the race, would she have any physical problems  or injuries( 26 miles, folks!), how was she feeling mentally while she did this challenging thing…All of the worry, concern, dread, and yes, terror, leached out in full-blown cry fest.

It was a release. A real release. Was I embarrassed? No. Was I afraid of being made fun of by strangers? Hell, no. What I was was relieved and so stratospherically proud of my little girl ( who, btw does not like being called that!) that I simply couldn’t contain myself. She didn’t mind the tears. It was a release for her too! She finished in the time she’d predicted, upright, and had done it for a cause that is near and dear to her soul. Without any undue or long-lasting injuries.

I’ve made many child-rearing mistakes during my daughter’s life. Said things I could cut my tongue out today for. Put undue and sometimes insurmountable expectations on her for achievement. Mistakes that, when I think about them today, should have forced this lovely creation to the dark side.

And still, with all those mistakes,  she managed to grow toward the light, into the most wonderful person I know, and my daily inspiration in how to live a good, caring, open-minded life.

Sunday, I was reminded why I wanted so badly to be a mom in the years before I was one, why I wished every night to be a good one, and prayed for a child of my heart.

And boy, wasn’t I the lucky one to get my wish…

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If you need me, I’ll be here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

#NaNoWriMo 2017…progress?

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Well, we’re almost a week into NaNoWriMo 2017. I’m doing well and so are most of my Nano Buddies. For a writer, I’ve always felt this event is a great way to either kick-start the writing process if you’ve been stalled, or a motivator to get you writing. Just committing to the continuous 30 days of writing makes anyone a winner in my book. I’ve had all four of the books I’ve written during NaNo go on to be published. Not too bad, right? My 2016 winner Can’t Stand The Heat will be released from Kensington/Lyrical Shine on April 4, 2018,

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and my 2015 win, Passion’s Palette 

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is available now for purchase.

So, if you’re participating in NaNo this month, Yay! Keep on writing and plugging away. Remember – it takes just 7 days for something to become a habit. Buy the end of this week you’ll be in the mindset of writing every single day and that will take you onward into the next months.

I can usually be found writing my NaNo stuff and interacting here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

Inspiration is close by….

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So, after missing last week because I had nothing to contribute to the topic, I thought long and hard about this week’s prompt. Originally, I had an entirely different posting planned. Then the terrorist attack in NYC happened. I tell you this because of the person I’m going to highlight as my inspiration.

My beautiful daughter lives in Manhattan. Now, she lives nowhere near where the attack took place. But she was four blocks from it at a conference during the time it occurred. Sitting in my little cocoon of an office in New Hampshire, writing away, I knew nothing about the event until she texted. Once she did, I was all over the news wires like white on rice.

The text said If you hear about a shooting on the West Side, just know that *** ( her boyfriend’s name) and I are okay. Can you just imagine the ice water that sluiced through my veins when I read that? As I said, I immediately turned the news on and watched the entire event unfold — as most of America did — in real time. What in the world did we ever do before we had cell phone cameras?

My instinctual reaction was to tell my daughter to come home. Move from her apartment, give up her job, come home where it’s safe and sound and I know you are okay.

That, as I said, was my first reaction. I did no such thing, of course, because we’re talking about my daughter here. She’d already lived through the Boston Marathon bombings when she resided in that town. She’d sheltered in place with one of my nieces who was attending MIT at the same time,  and survived the ordeal a stronger, more determined person.

When I’d asked her to move home then so I could be assured she’d be safe, her response had been, “Then that lets the terrorists win because I’d be running away from my lifestyle and the life I’ve made.  Their goal is to instill terror so we bow down to them. I’m not moving. I’m not giving in. Aren’t you the one who taught me the Tao of NGU NGI?” ( Never Give Up Never Give In).

Well, yes. I was. It’s very humbling having your words tossed back at you, especially when they’re used to prove a point.

So.

This time, when terror struck, I knew better than to state my case for her coming home again. My daughter, who was born in a tiny town in Wisconsin, is a true New Yorker. She’s got the grit, the determination, the steadfastness I so admire in anyone. She will go about her living her life — as all New Yorkers do — more determined, more focused, more kick-ass.

Oh, and just to walk the walk and talk the talk? She’s running the NYC marathon this weekend. No crazed lunatic of a terrorist is going to make her change her life.

I guess it’s pretty obvious now that my lovely daughter is the person who inspires me the most. She inspires me to be strong, determined, steadfast, daring. She’s encouraged me to live outside my little box, explore the beautiful world we live in, and to make each day a testament to freedom and love. By living her life as she does, she’s setting an example to people everywhere, especially her mother.

Now, the other authors in this blog hop all have people who inspire them that they want you to know about, too. Click on the links below and visit them. Leave some love and pass it on. And be an inspiration to someone if you can.

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1.
Kenzie Michaels – Apologies. . . . .




2.
She Inspired Me to Write Romance






3.
People Who Inspire Me – Robin Michaela




4.
Meka James – Awe Inspiring






5.
Ed Hoornaert – Still, Al, Rob & Sergei




6.
People Who Inspire Me






7.
Sherry Lewis – The Woman Who Inspires Me Most




8.
An Inspiring Person






9.
Ancestry Inspires




10.
Inspiration is close by. . . .






11.
She Inspires Me To Be A Better Person

#NaNoWriMo2017

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Yes, it’s November. You know what that means.

No, not colder days (Brrr), daylight savings time ( a stupid idea), or Thanksgiving.

It’s time for NaNoWriMo.

For the next 30 days, millions of writers around the globe will attempt to bang out 50,000 words in a new novel. Some will succeed. Some will…not.

I hope to succeed. More to come on that.

I can still be found here daily, despite being locked in a cave, typing:

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

#Goodreads #giveaway

T’is the season. Well, the shopping season. If you want to get a quick jump start on your holiday gift getting and you feel lucky, enter my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY for my Holiday book A  KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. From 11.1-11.10 You can enter to win one of 5 signed copies ( USA residents only because, you know…shipping!) of the printed book and I’m including some special Holiday presents along with the books. SHHHHHH! only the winners will know what those are.

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Think you might want to enter for a chance? Well, here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to whet your appetites:

With Christmas just a few weeks away, Gia San Valentino, the baby in her large, loud, and loving Italian family, yearns for a life and home of her own with a husband and bambini she can love and spoil. The single scene doesn’t interest her, and the men her well-meaning family introduce her to aren’t exactly the happily-ever-after kind.

Tim Santini believes he’s finally found the woman for him, but Gia will take some convincing she’s that girl. A misunderstanding has her thinking he’s something he’s not.

Can a kiss stolen under the Christmas lights persuade her to spend the rest of her life with him?

Excerpt:

He came toward me and I could see every ripple of muscle, every action and reaction of his gait, every blink of his eyes, as it happened. Detailed, distinct, delicious.

The bright sun shone low due to the hour, but it haloed around his form, bathing him in light.

He looked like an angel.

A dressed-all-in-black angel, but an angel, nonetheless.

“Need some help?” he asked when he was within a foot of me.

I still hadn’t moved, my fingers cemented around the ladder rungs. I couldn’t feel them anymore. Merda, I couldn’t feel anything I was so numb from just looking at him.

But I could hear. My blood, as it river rafted crazily through my temples; my heart drumming like a heavy metal band in my chest.

And his voice. Mio Dio, his voice.

When I was six I had a terrible chest cold. Wheezing, choking on phlegm, unable to cough anything up. The doctor told mama to keep me warm and hydrated and the cold would ride itself out in time. Nonna Constanza, ancient even when I was a kid, scoffed and prescribed her own old world remedy. She sat me in her lap, cooing to me with her singsong voice and held a tiny shot glass up to my lips coaxing, “Tu bevi, Gia bambina. Tu Bevi.”

Drink, Gia baby. Drink.

She tilted the glass back into my mouth and I did. I drank every drop.

I don’t remember much after. Daddy told me later I slipped into a mini-coma for about sixty-two hours, bombed out of my head from the anisette nonna had dosed me with.

But this is what I do remember. The amber colored liquor slipped down the inside of my mouth to the back of my throat and onward into my belly, tasting of melted marshmallows and warming each place it touched like a million little hits of heat popping everywhere inside me. When it reached my tummy it settled and dug in, filling my senses with the sweet flavor of mama’s Sunday morning caramel rolls and sugar.

That’s what his voice sounded like: warm and sweet, thick, delicious, and soothing.

My entire body relaxed when I heard it. My paralysis flew and my frozen-in-place digits melted.

He’d held my stare the entire time, never wavering, never becoming distracted by something else. He looked straight at me; just me. Like a missile dead-eye-aimed for a target.

“Here,” he said, moving in closer, so close I could make out the actual color of his eyes now. I’d thought they were dark and from far away and they were. But seeing them now, face-to-face, I spotted little flecks of yellow and slivery shards of gold mixed into the center and surrounded by a ring of deep, rich, mink.

If his voice was warm and soothing, his eyes were hot enough to singe, and mama mia, I wanted to be burned.

Or if you don’t want to enter the giveaway but would like the book to gift to yourself, a friend, SEVERAL FRIENDS (HeeHee), here are the buy links for the places you can find the book:

Amazon // Wild Rose Press // Kobo // Nook //

And if you need to find me, I’m usually here:  Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

 

#October: A Month of Pink

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If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that most of my picture postings in October were filtered in pink. I did that intentionally because October is National Breast Cancer awareness month.

I don’t usually use any of my social media sites as a platform. That’s not my intention when I’m on Face book or Twitter. It’s to entertain. But this is a topic too important for too many reasons not to use my voice for empowerment and education.

So all through October, I’ve been subconsciously getting you to see pink every time you looked at one of my photos. Why the subterfuge? Because it’s a lot easier to get your point across to someone when they don’t know you’re trying to make one! Sneaky? Yes. Manipulative? Oh yeah. Shrewd and cunning? Hell to the yes!

 

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I have found throughout my long, long life that it’s easier to persuade, educate, and influence someone else by speaking softly and being consistent with a message. I could write a blog every single day about why mammograms are important; why self breast exams are necessary; why genetic screening for family histories of breast cancer are imperative.

But you would read one, maybe 2 or 3 three blogs, and then tune me out. Fact of life, peeps.

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By subliminally having you see the color pink every single day in October you would start to question ( as many of you have, evidenced by the emails I’ve gotten!) why all my posts are filtered in that color. Even the memes in this blog piece are all pink, another subliminal message and reminder.

Now you know why.

Are you pissed at me? Maybe. Probably. Because who wants to be manipulated, right?

But will you remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, now? Yuppers. Will you schedule your mammogram soon? Hopefully. Did I do some good being such a cunning little writer-girl? That’s to be seen….

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When I’m not being calculating, wily, and devious, you can usually find me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

An #interview with author Peggy Chambers

[image error] I’ve recently met a new author to me and thought I’d introduce her to all of you as well. Say hello to writer Peggy Chambers. Peggy’s got a new release out and she “stopped by”the other day to be grilled by yours truly. Sit back and find out more about this lovely author.

Peggy Chambers: The Writer

What drives you to write? I began to write when my parents became ill. It was a way to get thoughts and feelings down on paper. Now, I feel compelled to write to get the stories out of my head and on paper. I think I’ll write until I can no longer hold a pencil or open a lap top.
What genre(s) of Romance do you write, and why? I write romantic suspense. I am not attracted to romance only books. I need an underlying mystery or suspense to hold my attention.
What genre(s) of Romance do you read, and why? I read romantic suspense and historical romance (Outlander series). I need an underlying mystery or suspense to hold my attention. I am a former romantic – and then life got in the way.
What’s your writing schedule? Do you write every day ? I normally write every day. Some days I write longer than others. I find that if I can carve out about 4 hours and close myself off from the world, I accomplish more. Short snippets of time are better for editing than creating the original story.
Give us a glimpse of the surroundings where you write. Separate room? In the kitchen? At the dining room table?

I inherited the old recliner that belonged to my father-in-law. It is well-worn burgundy leather that still smells like him when it warms up. It is cozy and comfy and it sits in the spare bedroom with my grandmother’s antique bedroom set. I sit with my laptop in my lap and fall into a different world. Recently I received a rare gift from an immensely talented artist, Pauline Jones. Pauline and I worked together. She loved my books and one day we traded our art. Her beautiful picture now hangs above my father-in-law’s recliner as a muse over my shoulder as I write.

I find this mostly unused bedroom suits me well. Here I am surrounded by my past, my family, and my friends. My mother-in-law’s roll-top desk holds the computer when it is charging, the small table that my father loved to eat ice cream on as a child is in the corner. I have a bench and quilt rack that I created when I took some woodworking classes, and of course, there is a bookcase for my grandson’s books when he was young.

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 tunnel vision? I need quiet to compose – I need to immerse myself in my characters and their lives.
Do you listen to music while you write, and if so, what kind? If not, why not? Sometimes, but only instrumentals, no lyrics. They mess with my creative side.   I try to sing along. I love classical music.
How did you come up with the plotline/idea for your current WIP ? I took three short stories with strong characters and put them together. The hardest part was trying to decide what their purpose was – what did they need to accomplish together. I finally found that thing and the WIP is coming together even though slowly.

9.Which comes first for you – character or plot? And why? I think my characters play the main part. Strong characters make a strong plot.

What 3 words describe you, the writer? Creative, driven, conflicted. (I’m conflicted because I write more than one genre)

Peggy, The Person

Tell us one unusual thing about yourself – not related to writing! I once ate Wart Hog pizza for lunch on an African safari.
Who was your first love and what age were you? My husband, we were high school sweethearts.
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…. A day spent with my children when they were young and the fun we had as a family playing with the dog or on vacation.
Do you like a guy in boxers, briefs, or commando? Briefs.
If you had to give up one necessary-can’t-live-without-it beauty item, what would it be? Hairspray .
What three words describe you, the person? Kind, worker, organized
If you could sing a song with Jimmy Fallon, what would it be? You are the Sunshine of my Life
If you could hang out with any literary character from any book penned at any timeline, who would it by, why, and what would you do together? Claire Frazer

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

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Favorite sound laughing
Least favorite sound Nails on a blackboard
Best song every written Halleluiah by Leonard Cohen
Worst song ever written Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer by Randy Brooks
Favorite actor and actress Harrison Ford and Charlize Theron
Who would you want to be for 1 day and why? (It can be anyone living or dead) Stephen King to see what goes on in his head.
What turns you on? kindness
What turns you off? anger
Give me the worst 5 words ever heard on a first date (here’s mine: “Is that your real hair?”) My mother has that same bikini. (sorry, that’s 6)
What’s your version of a perfect day? A road trip and picnic

Blurb: [image error]

Fourteen years ago, Ethan met Glome, the Viking ghost, and the fairies at the cottage where his father was studying the Heavener Runestone. Now Ethan was back and news traveled fast in the forest. Currently working on his Ph.D. in Archeology, Ethan soon found the forest much as he left it when he was young. Only he had changed.

While making s’mores with Glome and the energetic fairies, Ethan learned that the Vinland Maps lay hidden in a nearby cave. They were drawn by Vikings who traveled to North America long before Columbus. Every self-respecting archeologist had read about the maps in college. And he wanted them.

Warned by Trondelag, the dragon, not to go up against Loki and the draugrs for a piece of paper to make him famous, Ethan decided to go anyway. And then there was Mac – his doppelganger from when he was young. Would he be able to protect her? With his magic sword and friends to back him up, how could he lose?

Once again Ethan revisits the runestone only to face challenges and find adventure, danger, surprises, and an epic battle.

Excerpt:

The dragon’s scaly head broke the surface of the pond and burst into the ebony sky like a missile, sending cattails and sleepy dragonflies spewing from both sides of the pond. Her long neck was quickly followed by a massive body that glowed a blood red on the underside. Free from the confines of the pond and finally airborne, the front legs unfolded releasing her magnificent crimson wings edged in shining gold. She flapped once, sending the trees bending to her glory and flames belched from her mighty jaws illuminating the moonlit night. Then, pointing her nose toward the cave the draugrs guarded, she flapped once again and rocketed through the night sky like a giant ruby ready to explode.

Fafnir sat on his bat watching the spectacle, then followed at a safe distance to avoid the prop wash created by her wings and magnificent tail. The cave, a half-day’s hike from the cottage on foot, was a mere three flaps of the monstrous wings – and all eyes looked up – marveling at her arrival.

Buy Links:

Amazon

A little about Peggy Chambers

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Peggy Chambers calls Enid, Oklahoma home. She has been writing for several years and is an award-winning, published author, always working on another. There aren’t enough hours in the day. She has two children, five grandchildren, and lives with her husband and dog. She adores travel and the great outdoors, even if it is just taking the dog for a walk and once ate warthog pizza for lunch when she followed her husband across deepest, darkest Africa. She even climbed the pyramids at Chichen Itza.

She attended Phillips University, the University of Central Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.   She is a member of the Enid Writers’ Club, Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and Oklahoma Women Bloggers. There is always another story weaving itself around in her brain trying to come out.

Connect with Peggy here:

website // FaceBook // Twitter // Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

How just a few words can make all the difference in your psyche!

It’s Friday and around here that usually means an entry in the #MFRWauthor 52 week blog challenge. This week’s topic was Meet my Pets. Since I have no pets, I didn’t see the need to write anything. So that left me with a bit of a blog hole.

Until…..

You all know my newest Lyrical Shine release, A SHOT AT LOVE, dropped on 10.3.17. I’ve been involved in a busy blog tour for the past month promoting it. Well, the reviews have started to shower in an I can’t believe how amazing they’ve been. Truly. Hearing readers I DON’T PERSONALLY KNOW praise the book has been so ego inflating at a time when my fragile little psyche has been battered and bruised.[image error]

Let me ‘esplain.

I have one more book for Lyrical, CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, due to release on 4.3.18 (available for preorder right now — shameless plug).

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After that….I have no more book contracts. I’ve been writing up a storm and trying to get the next book sold, but so far, nada. Since I started this journey in 2015 I have never NOT had a book contract coming down the pike. This is a new experience for me and one, I will admit, that has me terrified. I retired so I could write and PUBLISH full time. I’ve been doing my end of the bargain….now I need a publisher to help me along that track. The added insult is that I still haven’t been able to get an agent. If I had one, I feel, navigating this publishing quagmire would be easier. But… what can you do? This is me, shrugging with acceptance.

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Now, during this soul sucking time, my reviews have been coming in. Truly, peeps, these kind words have inspired me, strenghtened my resolve to keep writing, and put a smile in my heart. This one came in yesterday and I’m still tickled pink about it:

“Thank you for writing another great story, Peggy Jaeger!

Who remembers Alias, the TV show starring Jennifer Garner? Well, I was such a HUGE fan of Alias and Sydney Bristow. [image error]

Gemma, the heroine, in this story reminded me of her. Gemma was so kick-ass, feisty, and strong. And Ky. Ky. Sigh. So dreamy and hot!

I loved the fast pace of the story. I loved the chemistry between Gemma and Ky. Each scene was so vividly described that reading felt like watching an incredible good action-themed tv show/movie.

I couldn’t put this book down. So, so, so, so good.

If you like your romance books with action/suspense/FBI-related arcs like I do, I would definitely recommend this book.”

Warms the cockles of my fragile little ego’s soul, it does!!!

So, enough bellyaching. Back to my WIP. Maybe I’ll have a Christmas miracle this year and be offered a 5 book deal from the publisher of my dreams…. maybe.

When I’m not being depressed ( not really, heehee!) you can connect with me here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

#ProudMamaBear

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When I first started this blog I vowed I would use it only for good, as a platform for my writing. Not to insult people whose political opinion differed from mine; not to put my family on display, because they didn’t ask for the notoriety and scrutiny from the public that comes with being a published author.

Today, I’m breaking one of those rules,  but for a very valid reason.

Let me ‘esplain.

My darling daughter is running her first marathon on 11.4.17. The NYCity Marathon is brutal. My husband ran it 150 years ago ( okay, not that long ago, but close!) and it can be a killer. My little girl has been training for months. She’s already got a plethora of 1/2 marathons in her running repertoire, but a full 26-er is tough. So, in order to ensure she stuck to the training schedule and her commitment to do the marathon, she decided to run for a cause and that cause if Planned Parenthood.

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As a nurse, I am a HUGE supporter of Planned Parenthood for all the good it does for women and their health – reproductive, mental, and physical. With breast and ovarian cancers at epidemic levels, with teenage pregnancy starting to rise again, and with basic health care on the downslide, Planned Parenthood NYC (PPNYC ) has a health center in each borough and serves over 60,000 patients each year, regardless of their immigration status or income. They are a trusted provider of breast and cervical cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, birth control,  wellness exams, and more. And, they reach an additional 25,000 New Yorkers through their educational programs, which empower teens to make healthy and informed decisions.

My daughter has been one of the lucky American women who has always had access to health care when she needed it. She is running for those that don’t have the luxury that she has had, and I couldn’t be more proud to be her mother.

If you can, please support her efforts by making a small donation to the fund. I’ve included the link here. If you can’t donate, no worries…just keep her in your thoughts and prayers on 11/4/17 as she attempts the most grueling, and ultimately rewarding, endeavor of her life.

#BlessYou

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To Support my daughter’s efforts, click PPNY2017 Marathon FundRaiser 

An interview with a Vampire…and it’s not the one you think!

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It’s always a fun day on my blog when Wild Rose Press sistah Tena Stetler comes for a visit. Hey, girl!

“Good Morning Peggy. Thanks for having me on your blog today talking about my upcoming release “A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance.”

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“Glad to have you, Tena my friend. Let’s start with what inspired A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance?”

“Several years ago I took a creative writing class to brush up my skills. Vampires had always intrigued me. Dark Shadows a 1966 TV show was a favorite of mine and Barnabas Collins was my dream. Yeah, I was a strange kid. Anyway, the assignment was to write about anything you wanted. Stefan, assassin to the Vampire Council was born. That summer we vacationed in Glacier National Park, I was struck by its beauty and possibilities as a setting for my vampire tale. I completed two-thirds of his story before I discovered another’s story, A Demon’s Witch, had to be told before I could finish Stefan’s. As it turned out there would be one more tale, A Warlock’s Secrets, before Stefan’s tale would be told. He became a secondary character in two of my paranormal romances before I finished his story. But it had to be an extraordinary vampire tale, so my vampire assassin transitioned to a midnight DJ in the small town of Whitefish, Montana.”

A solid knock on the door took me by surprise. “I’m not expecting anyone,”

“I invited Stefan to join us – I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, I’ve always wanted to meet a tall, dark and dangerous vampire – up close.” Absently rubbing my neck, I sucked in a breath and swallowed hard. “Come in Stefan.”

He sticks his head in the door. “I’m not intruding, am I? Tena asked that I come by if I had a couple minutes. As luck would have it, I’ve got a bit of time before I meet Brandy for lunch.”

I  blew out a breath drinking the tall, handsome vampire standing before me. “Of Course not. Stefan, have a seat and tell us about yourself.”

He eased down into the chair between us. “I became a vampire because I fell in love with the wrong woman. She was only toying with me, turned me and left on me on own. Unable to control my blood lust, I was a danger to myself and my tribe. My grandfather who raised me was the tribe’s shaman. Though it broke his heart, he asked me to leave the tribe, but not before he conjured a gold chain around my neck that allowed me to walk in the sunlight.”

“That’s powerful magic.”

“Yes, it was but didn’t keep me out of trouble. I was alone, rogue vampire who wandered into Lady Rose’s territory. Without a responsible sire, I was lucky Lady Rose didn’t terminate me immediately. After hearing my tale of being turned, she arranged for me to be mentored by one of her vampires, who happened to be the Vampire Council’s assassin.”

“So she offered you a vocation.”

“I guess so. I learned to live within the vampire rules and became proficient at my craft. When the kill orders became political, I was caught in the middle. To survive, I had to play both sides, but my allegiance remained with Lady Rose. A faction of the vampires broke off and tried a coup. Lady Rose quashed it and terminated those responsible. At that point I asked to be released from her service, something that a vampire rarely survives, but she allowed me to leave.”

“So what did you do next?”

I drifted around a while, careful not to interlope into another vampire’s territory. Settled in Whitefish, Montana, a little town located outside Glacier National Park. As it turned out the man I rented a cabin from was the manager of a local radio station. One of those over-friendly sorts. You know that type?

“I do.”

“He offered me the midnight DJ position and from there things got interesting. I met Brandy who had secrets of her own. A fated trip to Ireland reveals more than a family reunion at Christmas.” He glances at his watch. “Unfortunately, that’s all the time I have.” He stood bowed slightly, reached out and brought my (Peggy) hand to his lips. “It was a pleasure talking with you.”

I  fan my her face with the useless interview script. “The pleasure was all mine.” In a whisper of movement, he was gone – the door closed quietly. It took a couple of beats for me to gather my thoughts.

“Tell us a little more about A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance.”

Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unraveling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?

A sneak peek between the pages of A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance.

It was nearly midnight when he cut across the Sun Road to another trailhead, so intent on his goal that he nearly collided with an attractive young woman. He skidded to a stop, spraying gravel, rocks, and small twigs down the road in front of him. A pinecone dislodged and bounced along the road past her. Tall and slender, she had miles of fiery-red hair that hung down her back in a cascade of curls. Intense emerald eyes stared back at him as he attempted to regain his composure, not to mention balance. What the hell was she doing here at this time of night?

“Whoa.” She stepped lightly to the side to avoid the flying debris. “You really should watch where you’re going, especially at that speed.” Her voice scolded, but the smile on her lips teased. “Someone could get hurt.”

A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance is available for pre-order at Amazon , itunes and  Barnes & Noble . Release date November 29, 2017. Just in time for Christmas.  Reserve your copy today!

About the Author: [image error]

Tena Stetler is a best-selling paranormal romance author with an over-active imagination. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. Her books spin the adventures of magical kick-ass women and the mystical alpha males that dare to love them.

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