Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 288
December 23, 2015
Christmas reading List...
There are so many wonderful Christmas/Holiday themed romance books on the market right now and I’m plowing through all my favorites.
But romantic Christmas books aren’t the only holiday filled tomes we can read and revel in. Here are a few of my all time favs:
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
The Gift of The Magi, by O Henry
The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Anderson
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, byL. Frank Baum
So… knew this was coming…what ar eyour favorite holiday themed books? Let’s discuss
But romantic Christmas books aren’t the only holiday filled tomes we can read and revel in. Here are a few of my all time favs:
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
The Gift of The Magi, by O Henry
The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Anderson
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, byL. Frank Baum
So… knew this was coming…what ar eyour favorite holiday themed books? Let’s discuss
December 21, 2015
4 More days....
Christmas is this week and, as usual, I am in a moody funk. Growing up, most of my Christmas days were spent being shuffled from one parent to another and then on to my Irish grandmother’s house for what came to be known to me as the twelfth circle of hell. My mother was the middle of three girls, the oldest had died when I was a baby and the youngest was grandma’s absolute favorite. As was her daughter, my cousin. My mother and I were barely tolerated. We were only invited to her home simply because Irish Catholic guilt won over my grandmother each year and she didn’t want to be seen by the neighbors and those who knew her as “neglectful” of her family.
crazyfamily
So dumb.
The yearly torture would start on Christmas Eve when we would trek to my stepfather’s large Italian family for La Vigil. As the baby in his family, my stepfather was warmly welcomed and much loved. Not so much my mother and I. We were the ultimate interlopers, despised by his mother who never spoke in English when we were around so we wouldn’t know what she was saying about us. After taking 7 years of Italian in middle school and high, she stopped doing that when I translated then repeated everything she’d just said about my mother’s outfit to the dinner table.
Score one for the fat Irish kid.
We’d sit through the seven courses of various fish prepared by my stepfather’s sister and mother and then we’d open gifts. My mother and I were routinely forgotten even though we’d brought presents for all of them – the dozens of children included. As a child I’d watch kid after kid open a cool toy or get a great outfit to wear while I just sat there ignored, jealous, sad, presentless.
They were not the nicest people on the planet. Not even close.
crazy3
On Christmas day I’d wake up and after a morning shipped off to my father and stepmother,( who by the way was a lovely person – my father so did not deserve her) I was brought back to my mother and stepfather and then – because neither one of them drove a car, we’d run to the bus stop so we wouldn’t miss it ( buses only ran every hour on the holiday), get to the ferry and wait to take that ( ferries also only ran every hour and somehow they were never timed with buses.) Off the ferry and then two long subway rides and a half mile walk to grandma’s fourth-floor walkup apartment. And when I say walk up, I mean it. No elevator.
By now it would be about three-thirty and the drinking would be in full swing, having started at the noon hour. Something would always cause an argument between my mother and hers, which many times ensued in the three of us leaving before dinner was served, or in the police being summoned by a neighbor who’d heard the shouting. Sometimes, we’d actually make it to dinner and presents before a blow-up would start.
I’m telling you this because I’m trying to explain why the holiday season has never been fun for me and why, when I write about families now, I always depict them as being loving, accepting, and actually liking one another.
It was the opposite way I grew up, you see. Every year I asked Santa for siblings to share with, parents who loved me, grandparents who spoiled me and a socio-economic situation that did not include the cops knowing our phone number by sight when it was dialed into the police station. When these things didn’t materialize under the tree – or in my life – I imagined them. The families in my imagination were warm, funny, sweet and sober. Tables didn’t get flipped in anger, food didn’t get tossed at a crying child and the police dealt with real criminals.
These families lingered in my mind until I started committing them to paper and into my novels, where they bring me joy.
So.
carzyfamily2
My grandmothers – Irish and Step-Italian – are long dead, and I have no contact with their families any longer. It was a mutual divorce on both our counts. I have my own wonderful family to spend the holiday with now, and am finally able to spend Christmas the way I’ve always wanted: with a happy, warm, loving and accepting group of people.
I hope your holidays are spent this way as well.
Peace. Love. Joy, and A Very Merry Christmas from me to you.
And here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ coming on the next major holiday : VALENTINE’S DAY: The CandyHearts Series. Click and see all the covers starting on January 4, 2016. And here’s a little hint – mine is releasing on 2/8/16. Enjoy.
to enjoy the pictures and the link, click to my blog page: http://peggyjaeger.com
crazyfamily
So dumb.
The yearly torture would start on Christmas Eve when we would trek to my stepfather’s large Italian family for La Vigil. As the baby in his family, my stepfather was warmly welcomed and much loved. Not so much my mother and I. We were the ultimate interlopers, despised by his mother who never spoke in English when we were around so we wouldn’t know what she was saying about us. After taking 7 years of Italian in middle school and high, she stopped doing that when I translated then repeated everything she’d just said about my mother’s outfit to the dinner table.
Score one for the fat Irish kid.
We’d sit through the seven courses of various fish prepared by my stepfather’s sister and mother and then we’d open gifts. My mother and I were routinely forgotten even though we’d brought presents for all of them – the dozens of children included. As a child I’d watch kid after kid open a cool toy or get a great outfit to wear while I just sat there ignored, jealous, sad, presentless.
They were not the nicest people on the planet. Not even close.
crazy3
On Christmas day I’d wake up and after a morning shipped off to my father and stepmother,( who by the way was a lovely person – my father so did not deserve her) I was brought back to my mother and stepfather and then – because neither one of them drove a car, we’d run to the bus stop so we wouldn’t miss it ( buses only ran every hour on the holiday), get to the ferry and wait to take that ( ferries also only ran every hour and somehow they were never timed with buses.) Off the ferry and then two long subway rides and a half mile walk to grandma’s fourth-floor walkup apartment. And when I say walk up, I mean it. No elevator.
By now it would be about three-thirty and the drinking would be in full swing, having started at the noon hour. Something would always cause an argument between my mother and hers, which many times ensued in the three of us leaving before dinner was served, or in the police being summoned by a neighbor who’d heard the shouting. Sometimes, we’d actually make it to dinner and presents before a blow-up would start.
I’m telling you this because I’m trying to explain why the holiday season has never been fun for me and why, when I write about families now, I always depict them as being loving, accepting, and actually liking one another.
It was the opposite way I grew up, you see. Every year I asked Santa for siblings to share with, parents who loved me, grandparents who spoiled me and a socio-economic situation that did not include the cops knowing our phone number by sight when it was dialed into the police station. When these things didn’t materialize under the tree – or in my life – I imagined them. The families in my imagination were warm, funny, sweet and sober. Tables didn’t get flipped in anger, food didn’t get tossed at a crying child and the police dealt with real criminals.
These families lingered in my mind until I started committing them to paper and into my novels, where they bring me joy.
So.
carzyfamily2
My grandmothers – Irish and Step-Italian – are long dead, and I have no contact with their families any longer. It was a mutual divorce on both our counts. I have my own wonderful family to spend the holiday with now, and am finally able to spend Christmas the way I’ve always wanted: with a happy, warm, loving and accepting group of people.
I hope your holidays are spent this way as well.
Peace. Love. Joy, and A Very Merry Christmas from me to you.
And here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ coming on the next major holiday : VALENTINE’S DAY: The CandyHearts Series. Click and see all the covers starting on January 4, 2016. And here’s a little hint – mine is releasing on 2/8/16. Enjoy.
to enjoy the pictures and the link, click to my blog page: http://peggyjaeger.com
December 14, 2015
New Year’s Coming Soon…
promojpg
You will be seeing the above banner every Monday and Wednesday on my blog beginning in January and going ’til February. I will be highlighting each of the 40 CANDY HEARTS SERIES books that the Wild Rose Press is issuing, including their purchase links, author bios, book covers, blurbs and excerpts.
This is a huge undertaking not only for WRP but me as well, since there are so many books and variety of authors. I will have a range of Sweet romance authors all the way up to hot and spicy. All excerpts, tho, will be no hotter than PG-13.
My addition doesn’t release until 2/8/16, but that’s close to Valentine’s day for me, and the book is all about the V-day love. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to whet your reading appetites:
3 Wishesperf5.000x8.000.indd
Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.
About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
Buy links” Coming soon ( like next week!! for pre-order. Yippie)
Tweet Me Read me Visit Me
Friend Me Pin Me Picture Me
Google + me
You will be seeing the above banner every Monday and Wednesday on my blog beginning in January and going ’til February. I will be highlighting each of the 40 CANDY HEARTS SERIES books that the Wild Rose Press is issuing, including their purchase links, author bios, book covers, blurbs and excerpts.
This is a huge undertaking not only for WRP but me as well, since there are so many books and variety of authors. I will have a range of Sweet romance authors all the way up to hot and spicy. All excerpts, tho, will be no hotter than PG-13.
My addition doesn’t release until 2/8/16, but that’s close to Valentine’s day for me, and the book is all about the V-day love. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to whet your reading appetites:
3 Wishesperf5.000x8.000.indd
Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.
About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
Buy links” Coming soon ( like next week!! for pre-order. Yippie)
Tweet Me Read me Visit Me
Friend Me Pin Me Picture Me
Google + me
December 12, 2015
A little fantasy…
Welcome to the 121st week of My Sexy Saturday. Click on this link to tour all the fabulous authors participating in this weeks’ hop. Who knows? You just may find you next favorite author.
This week’s theme: Her Sexy Fantasy.
3 Wishes is being released on 2/8/16 just in time for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a little fantasy time in Chloe’s head:
Chocolate, like death, waits for no man.
Habit had me in my shop kitchen at four a.m. despite never getting to sleep at all. I fell into bed the moment I came back from the hospital but couldn’t shut my mind off.
The image of Matt’s face wouldn’t leave me alone.
I could still taste him on my lips despite the salt of saline laden tears cascading down my cheeks. I could still feel his plush, luxuriant, thick hair between my fingers. And, Dio mio, there was no way I could tear my mind from how rock hard with desire he’d been, pressing against the most private part of me.
A cold shower, two cups of espresso, and a thick layer of cold cream to stave off the puffiness around my eyes prepared me to start my day.
Available on 2/8/16 from the Wild Rose Press
This week’s theme: Her Sexy Fantasy.
3 Wishes is being released on 2/8/16 just in time for Valentine’s Day. Here’s a little fantasy time in Chloe’s head:
Chocolate, like death, waits for no man.
Habit had me in my shop kitchen at four a.m. despite never getting to sleep at all. I fell into bed the moment I came back from the hospital but couldn’t shut my mind off.
The image of Matt’s face wouldn’t leave me alone.
I could still taste him on my lips despite the salt of saline laden tears cascading down my cheeks. I could still feel his plush, luxuriant, thick hair between my fingers. And, Dio mio, there was no way I could tear my mind from how rock hard with desire he’d been, pressing against the most private part of me.
A cold shower, two cups of espresso, and a thick layer of cold cream to stave off the puffiness around my eyes prepared me to start my day.
Available on 2/8/16 from the Wild Rose Press
December 10, 2015
Why we love Christmas romance books.
I was in Target the other day doing a little Christmas shopping and I found myself – surprise surprise – in the Book department. There were no fewer than 15 brand-new Christmas romance novels from 15 different authors. Was I surprised? Not really. We all know romance sells… And a Christmas romance sells even better.
This got me to thinking: Why is it that romance readers love a Christmas romance?
In the purest sense, Christmas is a joyous time. We all want to be happy, in love, be loved, and give love. The basic Christmas romance novel uses that universal desire for love and amplifies it. How you ask? Well, I’m going to tell you.
Typically, a romance novel set during the Christmas season will involve a heroine who is just not feeling the love. The love of the season, or the love of a good man. Enter our hero. He, too, may not be feeling the love of the season. He isn’t looking for his soul-mate; doesn’t think Santa is going to hand deliver a girl for him down the chimney and leave her under the tree. BUT. It’s Christmas after all. The time of miracles; the time of wishes being fulfilled.
When our hero and our heroine do meet, it may not be love at first sight, or even second. Possibly not third, either. Some intangible thing, though, will bring them together and when they do find their love ( usually on Christmas morning or under the mistletoe) then the story gets resolved, because Christmas is the time for love to wash away all the evil, all the hurt, all the pain of the year before it.
I will admit freely and unabashedly I am a total sap for a Christmas romance story. The Hallmark channel and Lifetime Movie Network were made especially for me ( or so I tell myself). Their 24 hour a day holiday movies and specials – all about some sort of love/romance as the theme surrounding the Christmas season are favorites with romance novel readers from every walk of life. Happily ever afters abound, and Santa comes on Christmas morning, bringing you exactly what you wanted and wished for (usually a hunky guy in Christmas boxers…but I digress and that’s for another blog post).
Yeah, I know it’s kinda sappy and syrupy and maybe even schmaltzy, but I don’t care. Neither do the millions of others who support ( read: spend their money on!) this cottage holiday industry.
So, while I settle down in front of my roaring fireplace where I’m all warm and comfy with new Nora Roberts’ CHRISTMAS WIH YOU book, after just finishing Jill Shalvis’ MERRY CHIRTSMAS BABY , I hope you can take an hour or two this week and read a new holiday romance or watch the Hallmark Channel and/or Lifetime Movie Network. After all, we deserve a break from shopping, wrapping, cooking and decorating, don’t we?
Yeah…we do!
Christmas is coming and so is VALENTINE’S DAY!!!! Comingperf5.000x8.000.indd soon:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story from the Wild Rose Press 2/8/16 release. Buy Links available soon!
Blurb: Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
This got me to thinking: Why is it that romance readers love a Christmas romance?
In the purest sense, Christmas is a joyous time. We all want to be happy, in love, be loved, and give love. The basic Christmas romance novel uses that universal desire for love and amplifies it. How you ask? Well, I’m going to tell you.
Typically, a romance novel set during the Christmas season will involve a heroine who is just not feeling the love. The love of the season, or the love of a good man. Enter our hero. He, too, may not be feeling the love of the season. He isn’t looking for his soul-mate; doesn’t think Santa is going to hand deliver a girl for him down the chimney and leave her under the tree. BUT. It’s Christmas after all. The time of miracles; the time of wishes being fulfilled.
When our hero and our heroine do meet, it may not be love at first sight, or even second. Possibly not third, either. Some intangible thing, though, will bring them together and when they do find their love ( usually on Christmas morning or under the mistletoe) then the story gets resolved, because Christmas is the time for love to wash away all the evil, all the hurt, all the pain of the year before it.
I will admit freely and unabashedly I am a total sap for a Christmas romance story. The Hallmark channel and Lifetime Movie Network were made especially for me ( or so I tell myself). Their 24 hour a day holiday movies and specials – all about some sort of love/romance as the theme surrounding the Christmas season are favorites with romance novel readers from every walk of life. Happily ever afters abound, and Santa comes on Christmas morning, bringing you exactly what you wanted and wished for (usually a hunky guy in Christmas boxers…but I digress and that’s for another blog post).
Yeah, I know it’s kinda sappy and syrupy and maybe even schmaltzy, but I don’t care. Neither do the millions of others who support ( read: spend their money on!) this cottage holiday industry.
So, while I settle down in front of my roaring fireplace where I’m all warm and comfy with new Nora Roberts’ CHRISTMAS WIH YOU book, after just finishing Jill Shalvis’ MERRY CHIRTSMAS BABY , I hope you can take an hour or two this week and read a new holiday romance or watch the Hallmark Channel and/or Lifetime Movie Network. After all, we deserve a break from shopping, wrapping, cooking and decorating, don’t we?
Yeah…we do!
Christmas is coming and so is VALENTINE’S DAY!!!! Comingperf5.000x8.000.indd soon:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story from the Wild Rose Press 2/8/16 release. Buy Links available soon!
Blurb: Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
December 9, 2015
#MFRWBookHooks Valentine’s Day is just around the corner…
This is the weekly #MFRWBookHooksBlogStop. Click on this link and visit other fabulous authors who are part of this worthwhile BlogHop. You just may find your next favorite author!
I know Christmas is still 3 weeks away and I’m already on to Valentine’s day, but I’ve got a new release dropping 2/8/16 called 3 Wishes and I can’t wait for you all to meet Chole San Valentino and her family.This family is as near and dear to me as my own! Enjoy a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the book.
Blurb: Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
As I slipped the broken lock open, an errant page fell out and drifted down to the tabletop. I grabbed it and saw the date: my fifteenth birthday. As I had for every birthday since my eighth, I’d written down three wishes. All of them had to do with a guy. My dream guy. I’d wished he’d have one blue eye and one green, just like I had so I wouldn’t be the only freak I knew, he’d be a healer (I was big on watching reruns of old television shows like Marcus Welby, M.D. and E.R. at this age) and he’d fall in love with me in an instant.
Hey, I was fifteen.
Buy Links: Coming soon! Check back – Often!!
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I know Christmas is still 3 weeks away and I’m already on to Valentine’s day, but I’ve got a new release dropping 2/8/16 called 3 Wishes and I can’t wait for you all to meet Chole San Valentino and her family.This family is as near and dear to me as my own! Enjoy a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the book.
Blurb: Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
As I slipped the broken lock open, an errant page fell out and drifted down to the tabletop. I grabbed it and saw the date: my fifteenth birthday. As I had for every birthday since my eighth, I’d written down three wishes. All of them had to do with a guy. My dream guy. I’d wished he’d have one blue eye and one green, just like I had so I wouldn’t be the only freak I knew, he’d be a healer (I was big on watching reruns of old television shows like Marcus Welby, M.D. and E.R. at this age) and he’d fall in love with me in an instant.
Hey, I was fifteen.
Buy Links: Coming soon! Check back – Often!!
Tweet Me Visit me Read Me
Friend Me Pin Me Picture Me
Google+ Me
December 8, 2015
A picture is worth….?
What my characters look like is important to me. I’m one of the most visual people you will ever meet. Yes, I’m nosy, and will ask 1 million questions when I meet you, but…
I will also be looking you over from head to toe. Not blatantly; not rudely; but very, very intensely. The color of your hair, eyes, the way you carry yourself, the clothes you wear, if you wear flats or high heels… all those things are important to me. And the reason they are is because when I think about you, the person, I get a mental picture of what you actually look like. One of the greatest things about smart phones is when you’re receiving a call from somebody now you can actually have their picture show up on the display as the phone is ringing so you know exactly who it is calling. Love that.
But I digress.
Whenever I start a new book and I get to meet my characters, I always look for pictures online or in magazines of people I think they will resemble. For instance, in my most recent novel, First Impressions, Clarissa Rogers in my mind was a young looking Julia Roberts. Think Steel Magnolias. Mid back length curly cinnamon colored hair, flashing chocolate colored eyes. Padrick Cleary is a dead ringer for Matt Bomer. A simply gorgeous, delicious man.
When I was writing the book and creating dialogue between the two I actually had their pictures on my desk so that I could refer to them while I was writing dialogue tags and visceral descriptions. I do this with all my stories. I need to know what my people look like when they are smiling, frowning, crying, and even eating. It shouldn’t surprise you to discover you can find pictures of just about anyone well known doing anything from sleeping to running, online. And yes I will admit, I feel a little voyeuristic when I do this, but for the creative processes of description and narration it really is beneficial for me to have an actual photograph of what I think my character looks like.
We live in a very visual society. How we look to others is way more important than it should be, but is a very telling fact. When someone reads my novels I really want them to get a feel for what the characters look like. I do this when I read other people’s books. I have a picture in my mind based on the author’s description of the character and I try to liken it to someone well known to me, be it an actress, actor or even a personal friend. This really gets me invested in the story. I simply love knowing what people look like, characters as well. I’ve read some stories that will describe the character as, “a young Julie Andrews” or “Marlon Brando –ish.” That’s all well and good and it does bring a picture of what the character looks like to your mind. But for my purposes I would rather describe the young Julie Andrews, denoting her short cropped golden blonde hair and centered, angular chin to my reader than to let them fill in the blanks. This may have something to do with my sense of wanting to be in control of what the reader thinks when they read my words. I’ll have to ponder on that and get back to you…
So, when you write your character descriptions, do you have someone in mind they resemble? Do you, like I do, go online or research through magazines looking for someone who can depict your character to perfection? And if you don’t, then how do you come up with a description? Does it come out of your head? Do you base it on someone you’ve seen on a corner? In the Mall? How does this person jump to life for you so you can make the character jump to life for me?
You knew this was coming… Let’s discuss…
Coming soon:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story 2/8/16 from The Wild Rose Press. Buy Links available soon
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Buy Links for First Impressions:
Amazon Wild Rose Press Nook
I will also be looking you over from head to toe. Not blatantly; not rudely; but very, very intensely. The color of your hair, eyes, the way you carry yourself, the clothes you wear, if you wear flats or high heels… all those things are important to me. And the reason they are is because when I think about you, the person, I get a mental picture of what you actually look like. One of the greatest things about smart phones is when you’re receiving a call from somebody now you can actually have their picture show up on the display as the phone is ringing so you know exactly who it is calling. Love that.
But I digress.
Whenever I start a new book and I get to meet my characters, I always look for pictures online or in magazines of people I think they will resemble. For instance, in my most recent novel, First Impressions, Clarissa Rogers in my mind was a young looking Julia Roberts. Think Steel Magnolias. Mid back length curly cinnamon colored hair, flashing chocolate colored eyes. Padrick Cleary is a dead ringer for Matt Bomer. A simply gorgeous, delicious man.
When I was writing the book and creating dialogue between the two I actually had their pictures on my desk so that I could refer to them while I was writing dialogue tags and visceral descriptions. I do this with all my stories. I need to know what my people look like when they are smiling, frowning, crying, and even eating. It shouldn’t surprise you to discover you can find pictures of just about anyone well known doing anything from sleeping to running, online. And yes I will admit, I feel a little voyeuristic when I do this, but for the creative processes of description and narration it really is beneficial for me to have an actual photograph of what I think my character looks like.
We live in a very visual society. How we look to others is way more important than it should be, but is a very telling fact. When someone reads my novels I really want them to get a feel for what the characters look like. I do this when I read other people’s books. I have a picture in my mind based on the author’s description of the character and I try to liken it to someone well known to me, be it an actress, actor or even a personal friend. This really gets me invested in the story. I simply love knowing what people look like, characters as well. I’ve read some stories that will describe the character as, “a young Julie Andrews” or “Marlon Brando –ish.” That’s all well and good and it does bring a picture of what the character looks like to your mind. But for my purposes I would rather describe the young Julie Andrews, denoting her short cropped golden blonde hair and centered, angular chin to my reader than to let them fill in the blanks. This may have something to do with my sense of wanting to be in control of what the reader thinks when they read my words. I’ll have to ponder on that and get back to you…
So, when you write your character descriptions, do you have someone in mind they resemble? Do you, like I do, go online or research through magazines looking for someone who can depict your character to perfection? And if you don’t, then how do you come up with a description? Does it come out of your head? Do you base it on someone you’ve seen on a corner? In the Mall? How does this person jump to life for you so you can make the character jump to life for me?
You knew this was coming… Let’s discuss…
Coming soon:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story 2/8/16 from The Wild Rose Press. Buy Links available soon
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Buy Links for First Impressions:
Amazon Wild Rose Press Nook
December 7, 2015
The little book that could
It is no secret to anyone who knows me or has ever read an interview I’ve done, THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD is hands down my favorite book of all time. Even at the age I am now ( 21++++,etc) I still feel the message in that children’s book is the most empowering one I’ve ever read. The entire book screams with the treatise of self-motivation and dedication to a goal. That little engine thought he could get over that mountain, and because he had confidence in himself and self-will and determination, he did.
littleengine
I’ve started writing a new series of books about another family ( of course!). My MacQuire Women series is almost complete, so when the idea for this new family burst in my brain, I went with it. The reason I’m telling you this is because the first thing I do after the idea pops up is to discover my characters and their motivations. Why a character acts the way she does, does the things she does, and says what she says is very important for me to know ahead of the writing. I’ve said before that using Deb Dixon’s book Goal, Motivation and Conflict (GMC) has been instrumental in helping me get inside the heads of my peeps and knowing what’s what with them. The book makes you dig deep into your characters to find out what their internal and external goals are, what’s behind their motivations for each, and then asks you to detail the conflicts that will make attaining their goals difficult.
gmc
I usually devise one wipe board per book with my major characters on it, listing the GMC’s. Here’s the current one for the new series. This is book one, as of yet untitled. You can’t really tell from this shot, but I’ve got my heroine, hero and the “villain” all plotted out here. What they want, how they can get it and what will keep them from achieving their goals.
This keeps me focused – something I have real trouble with – and will hopefully eliminate plot holes along the way. Sometimes I do discover something about the character I didn’t know in the beginning and it will be added to this board, with the concurrent problems and motivations added.
Character Motivation is important when writing, especially in writing romances because if we didn’t give our characters fully formed goals and obstacles, there wouldn’ be anything interesting to write about. It would simply be boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. The End.
Boring, no?
COMING SOON:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story…check back soon for buy links! 2/8/16 release from The Wild Rose Press
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littleengine
I’ve started writing a new series of books about another family ( of course!). My MacQuire Women series is almost complete, so when the idea for this new family burst in my brain, I went with it. The reason I’m telling you this is because the first thing I do after the idea pops up is to discover my characters and their motivations. Why a character acts the way she does, does the things she does, and says what she says is very important for me to know ahead of the writing. I’ve said before that using Deb Dixon’s book Goal, Motivation and Conflict (GMC) has been instrumental in helping me get inside the heads of my peeps and knowing what’s what with them. The book makes you dig deep into your characters to find out what their internal and external goals are, what’s behind their motivations for each, and then asks you to detail the conflicts that will make attaining their goals difficult.
gmc
I usually devise one wipe board per book with my major characters on it, listing the GMC’s. Here’s the current one for the new series. This is book one, as of yet untitled. You can’t really tell from this shot, but I’ve got my heroine, hero and the “villain” all plotted out here. What they want, how they can get it and what will keep them from achieving their goals.
This keeps me focused – something I have real trouble with – and will hopefully eliminate plot holes along the way. Sometimes I do discover something about the character I didn’t know in the beginning and it will be added to this board, with the concurrent problems and motivations added.
Character Motivation is important when writing, especially in writing romances because if we didn’t give our characters fully formed goals and obstacles, there wouldn’ be anything interesting to write about. It would simply be boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. The End.
Boring, no?
COMING SOON:: 3 Wishes, A Candy Hearts Story…check back soon for buy links! 2/8/16 release from The Wild Rose Press
Tweet Me Read me Visit Me
Friend Me Pin Me Picture Me
Google+Me
December 3, 2015
Do the clothes really make the man?
Mark Twain anyone? HeeHee
quote-Mark-Twain-clothes-make-the-man-naked-people-have-100590
Keeping in tune with the character mannerisms, quirks, tricks, etc. theme, clothing is a very important part of your character’s persona. Unless, of course, you’re writing about a nudist colony.
How you dress the people of your creativity is important for a number of reasons. Clothing can and will:
1. express the socio-economic situation of the character. ( homeless vs billionaire)
2. show the character’ s taste level ( slutty vs Princess Di)
3. show the character’s profession ( rock star vs surgeon)
4. show the heroine’s feelings about herself ( a put together outfit vs a pair of old tattered sweat pants and wifebeater tee)
I’m sure you can think of several other reasons as well it is important to have your character wear the right clothes.
magnumpi
It can also give you a great deal of insight into their minds and how they operate.
Take one of my favorite TV characters, Magnum P.I. ( Le sigh**) Magnum always gave you the impression he was a little laid back, maybe not too savvy, and more flash than substance. He was dressed perpetually in a loud Hawaiian flowered shirt and his favorited Dodgers ballcap was always covering his badly in need of a trim curly hair. Bad guys were always fooled by his laissez-faire demeanor. What they never got was his style of dress was meant to give that impression. If you’ve watched the shows ( and my God, why haven’t you??!) you’ll know that lackadaisical attitude was a front for one helluva smart and astute Private Investigator…who just happened to look uber-hot when he drove that red Ferrari around the island. Magnum’s wardrobe spoke volumes.
angelalansburgy
Another favorite sleuth of mine is the original Murder She Wrote character, Jessica Fletcher, portrayed by the remarkable and talented Angela Lansbury. Jessica Fletcher looked like exactly what she was: a retired English teacher, living in a cottage in Maine, penning murder novels on her old beat up manual typewriter. She looked and dressed like everyone’s favorite maiden aunt. Comfortable slacks, sneakers, a sweatshirt covering a white blouse. Boring and typical. Again, this was an illusion for the quick witted, smart brained, fascinating character she really was. Jessica was frequently the smartest person in any room she was in, and the most perceptive. Like Agatha Christie’s Jane Marble, Jessica ( in the early seasons of the show) rarely left her little village, but she had the uncanny knack of being about to rout out evil just by thinking like a murderer. Fascinating stuff.
I’ve mentioned before how Columbo would never have been Columbo without that tattered trench coat he always had on.
A final one, if you’ll let me. Gone with The Wind, my personal favorite war book and movie has a fantastic scene in it affectionately called ‘The curtain scene.” Scarlett, left destitute from the ravages of the civil war needs to present herself as a woman who is not a downtrodden war survivor, but exactly what she has always been, a spoiled, petted Southern belle. She has Mammie make a magnificent gown from the tapestry drapes in Tara’s Parlor so she can perpetuate the image she wants. Here’s one of the funniest parodies I’ve ever seen of this scene. Enjoy.
And just because I like this to be interactive…what are some outfits you’ve decked your characters in?….Let’s discuss.
quote-Mark-Twain-clothes-make-the-man-naked-people-have-100590
Keeping in tune with the character mannerisms, quirks, tricks, etc. theme, clothing is a very important part of your character’s persona. Unless, of course, you’re writing about a nudist colony.
How you dress the people of your creativity is important for a number of reasons. Clothing can and will:
1. express the socio-economic situation of the character. ( homeless vs billionaire)
2. show the character’ s taste level ( slutty vs Princess Di)
3. show the character’s profession ( rock star vs surgeon)
4. show the heroine’s feelings about herself ( a put together outfit vs a pair of old tattered sweat pants and wifebeater tee)
I’m sure you can think of several other reasons as well it is important to have your character wear the right clothes.
magnumpi
It can also give you a great deal of insight into their minds and how they operate.
Take one of my favorite TV characters, Magnum P.I. ( Le sigh**) Magnum always gave you the impression he was a little laid back, maybe not too savvy, and more flash than substance. He was dressed perpetually in a loud Hawaiian flowered shirt and his favorited Dodgers ballcap was always covering his badly in need of a trim curly hair. Bad guys were always fooled by his laissez-faire demeanor. What they never got was his style of dress was meant to give that impression. If you’ve watched the shows ( and my God, why haven’t you??!) you’ll know that lackadaisical attitude was a front for one helluva smart and astute Private Investigator…who just happened to look uber-hot when he drove that red Ferrari around the island. Magnum’s wardrobe spoke volumes.
angelalansburgy
Another favorite sleuth of mine is the original Murder She Wrote character, Jessica Fletcher, portrayed by the remarkable and talented Angela Lansbury. Jessica Fletcher looked like exactly what she was: a retired English teacher, living in a cottage in Maine, penning murder novels on her old beat up manual typewriter. She looked and dressed like everyone’s favorite maiden aunt. Comfortable slacks, sneakers, a sweatshirt covering a white blouse. Boring and typical. Again, this was an illusion for the quick witted, smart brained, fascinating character she really was. Jessica was frequently the smartest person in any room she was in, and the most perceptive. Like Agatha Christie’s Jane Marble, Jessica ( in the early seasons of the show) rarely left her little village, but she had the uncanny knack of being about to rout out evil just by thinking like a murderer. Fascinating stuff.
I’ve mentioned before how Columbo would never have been Columbo without that tattered trench coat he always had on.
A final one, if you’ll let me. Gone with The Wind, my personal favorite war book and movie has a fantastic scene in it affectionately called ‘The curtain scene.” Scarlett, left destitute from the ravages of the civil war needs to present herself as a woman who is not a downtrodden war survivor, but exactly what she has always been, a spoiled, petted Southern belle. She has Mammie make a magnificent gown from the tapestry drapes in Tara’s Parlor so she can perpetuate the image she wants. Here’s one of the funniest parodies I’ve ever seen of this scene. Enjoy.
And just because I like this to be interactive…what are some outfits you’ve decked your characters in?….Let’s discuss.
December 2, 2015
#MFRWBookHooks Wednesday
#MFRWBookHooks Wednesday
If it’s Wednesday, it’s MFRWBook Hooks day! Click on this link to discover your next favorite author and take a blog tour through their listed websites. You’ll be glad you did!
Starting in January 2016, my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, is beginning a two-month series titled CANDY HEARTS to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the lover in all of us, and those little delicious candies we never can seem to eat enough of.
My Candy Hearts title is 3 Wishes, releases on 2/8/16, and here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ about it
Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.
About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
Buylinks: Coming soon! Check back OFTEN!!
Tweet Me Read Me Visit Me
Pin Me Friend Me Picture Me
Google+ Me Link Me
If it’s Wednesday, it’s MFRWBook Hooks day! Click on this link to discover your next favorite author and take a blog tour through their listed websites. You’ll be glad you did!
Starting in January 2016, my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, is beginning a two-month series titled CANDY HEARTS to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the lover in all of us, and those little delicious candies we never can seem to eat enough of.
My Candy Hearts title is 3 Wishes, releases on 2/8/16, and here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ about it
Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.
About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
Buylinks: Coming soon! Check back OFTEN!!
Tweet Me Read Me Visit Me
Pin Me Friend Me Picture Me
Google+ Me Link Me
