Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 29

#mondaymusings 5.6.2024

A Netgalley arc of BAD LIAR by TAMI HOAG

Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past?
 
A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police.

As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

Now…what are you reading?? Share, because I’m always looking for new author and book recommendations. ~ Peg

Turning a bad day into a great one!

I was having a particularly bad day, emotionally, yesterday. No details, but believe me…I wasn’t in the best mood.

Then, I got an email from the Virginia Romance Writers group telling me my book INFLUENCE was a finalist in the mid-length contemporary category for the HOLD MEDALLION.

Kids…this is a PRESTIGIOUS award! I’ve had honorable mention twice for the award and was a finalist one other time with other books, so I am really, really stoked about this!!

I’ll let you now if I make it all the way sometime after June 1.

Wish me luck, and if you haven’t read INFLUENCE, now is a good time to! It’s available in print, Kindle, and KU, all through Amazon and from me ( autographed copies) here, from my webstore

10 years…and still counting!

To celebrate my upcoming 10 years in the biz, I give you… my life in a timeline. My writing life, that is, lol.

It’s been a heck of a ride so far. 4 publishers; indie publishing; professional speaking gigs on writing.

Sometimes my head whirls.
Sometimes I pinch myself.
Sometimes I’m tired ( who am I kidding? I’m tired all the time!)

Would I do things differently? A few
Would I change one moment of the feeling I get when a new book is in my hands after publication? Not even a little bit.

I chose this life and I embrace it wholeheartedly.

here’s to the next 10 years…20…(gulp) 30.

And thank you for all the love and support and words of encouragement along the way… ~Peg

#fridayfive 5.3.2024

Today, I’m going to talk about 5 authors who inspire me.

Inspire me to read. Inspire me to be a better writer. Inspire me to use my talent.

Nora Roberts/JD Robb. You had to know this would be the first one, lol. From the moment I read my first SIhoulette Nora in the early 1990’s until this very day, she is the author I love most to read, emulate, and wish I knew personally. I’ve met her at a signing event, but I’d really just like to spend one day with her and watch her writing process. She is my ultimate inspiration for writing, career, and just plain talent.Lisa Kleypas. Everything she writes, from lusty historicals to modern-day steamy love stories makes me want to be a better writer. She is so talented at conveying emotions through her words. Love that.Lorraine Heath. From the moment I read her first book I was hooked as a reader. And as a writer. The way she weaves backstory without ever making it boring or dull is more than a talent – it is a miracle!Lauren Layne. A modern-day writer, she takes contemporary topics and women and makes them so relatable. I love her sassy, quirky and always positive heroines. She was the one who made me think I could write series romances.Janet Evanovich. I know some people say this 30+ book series about Stephanie Plum and the two men in her life is getting stale- and that she needs to make a choice between them. What these people don’t realize is that it takes true, true talent as a storyteller to keep that amount and quality emotion and WANT up for 30+ books and have the reader keep coming back. Truly, inspiring talent.

#throwbackthursday 5.2.24

The second blog I ever wrote from February 4, 2014

The Origin of TAWK TO ME…

Those of you who know me personally and have heard me speak, know there is little doubt that I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. My diction, the way I can’t pronounce the letters “er ” at the end of words ( I say “mutha” for “mother”) and my oftentimes nasal twang all give my birthplace a shout-out.  So instead of calling part of this site “Talk to Me,” I wanted you to really hear my voice when I said it, so “Tawk to me” is how it would sound if we were face to face.

This got me to thinking about my writing and writing in general when you want to bring your characters to life. The United States language is a huge mix of accents, colloquialisms, and cliched metaphors all melded together to form our wonderful country.  No one speaks the same way as someone else, and neither should your characters. They can share phrases, accents, and even diction, but each character should “sound” different even if they are from the same place.

I lived in Wisconsin for seven years and the natives called a water fountain a “bubbler,” and soda, “pop.”   In Brooklyn, my aunt called “Oil”, “Earl,” as in “They delivered some earl to the burna ( Burner!) yesterday and now I’ve got to pay for it.”

Wouldn’t you recognize someone who was from Ireland, if they said, “aye” and ‘Tis?” Or our neighbors to the north when they end every sentence with “eh?” Valley girls in California spew “Oh, m’Gawd! and “Fer sures!” to this day. In the U.K. the words “Brilliant” and “bloody” are descriptive staples. Australians call each other “Sheila” and “Mate.”

Southerners say “Hey,” while Northerners say “Hi.” Highly educated people wouldn’t think of saying “Gotta” or “lotta,” and my cousins would never end a sentence with “Don’t you agree?” They’d be more likely to say, “ya know?”

I live in New Hampshire now. Wicked weather, eh? (Get it?!)

So, “TAWK TO ME.” Tell me something, ask me a question, give me some needed guidance.  Just “TAWK TO ME.”

#wednesdaywisdom 5.1.2024

#tuesdaytease 4.30.2024

So LOVE MATCH releases 5.21 and today seems like a good way to kick off a few teasers to whet your preordering appetites, LOL. You can preorder it through Amazon, or get a print copy, autographed, directly from me, here: DIRECT ORDER

Before she could answer him the overpowering aroma of a familiar cloying perfume hit him square in the face as a pair of hands slid around and covered his eyes. Incredibly close to his ear, so close the lobe got wet from the breath expressed next to it, a sultry voice, the product of too many nights drinking and too many morning hangover cures said, “Guess who, handsome?”

He didn’t need to guess. He’d know that perfume and voice anywhere. In all honesty, he’d tried to forget it as much as possible. He didn’t get a chance to reply, though, as the hands flew from his eyes and the smacking sound of wet kiss hit his jaw. He knew without the need for a mirror, his chin was covered in Cherries in the Snow red, the wearer’s favorite lipstick shade.

“Boo!” the woman said, wrapping her arms around his neck and laughing.

“Hey, Rachel.” He cast a furtive glance at a still wide-eyed Layla, then tried to extract the hands of the woman he’d dated briefly from around his neck. It was like trying to uncoil a hungry boa constrictor from a meal. “Didn’t know you were back in town.”

Ignoring Layla, the woman shifted so she was facing his side of the table and leaned an ample hip across it. “Got back yesterday.”

He nodded then said, “Meet Layla Warton. She’s Effie Mason’s granddaughter. This is Rachel Carmody. We were in school together.”

With the fakest smile he’d ever seen she barely flicked her theatrically made-up eyes toward Layla and said, “Hey.” Turning a real smile to him she asked, “I’m only in town for three days then back on the road again for another four months. Sweet running into you here. I was gonna text to see if you wanted to hook up later. Maybe grab a few drinks at the Love Shack and…whatever.”

He could tell the implications of the whatever weren’t lost on Layla. Her cheeks went beet-red and her lips blanched.

Ignoring the question, he said to Layla, “Rachel’s a backup singer in a country band.”

“Oh, how exciting,” Layla said, the tone in her voice telling him it was nothing of the kind. “What’s the band’s name?”

Rachel gave it and Layla shook her head. “Sorry. Don’t know it.”

For the first time, Rachel looked squarely at Layla. Cody thought she must have been a bit threatened by what she saw, because she stood up from her leaning position and pushed her shoulders back, forcing her more than pronounced breasts to jut forward, perfectly level with his eyes.

“Well, they’re very well known on the country circuit,” Rachel declared. With a flip of her honey-blonde hair – not her natural color, a fact he knew personally – she once again turned to him. “I’ve gotta run. I just stopped in to pick up my mother’s order. Call me later.”

It wasn’t a request.

He didn’t respond since he had no intention of meeting up with her. Rachel had been a mistake from the get-go. They were too different, had nothing of substance in common, not even to talk about, she drank too much and was much too loud for his taste.

With another brazen kiss, this time aimed for his mouth which he avoided by turning a bit to the side, she graced him with a cheeky smile and sauntered to the counter to pick up her to-go bag.

Silence covered the space between him and Layla.

He knew he should say something, but what?

Hey, sorry about that. She’s just a girl I hooked up with during a low point in my life?

Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen.

He cleared his throat and said, instead, “So. We were talking about—”

What the hell had they been talking about? Rachel’s arrival threw the conversation out of his mind.

Intrigued??? LOL. Watch the trailer …

And add it to your Goodreads WANT TO READ list.

#mondaymusing 4.29.24

I actually have several. I paint, sew, crochet and repair old steamer trunks. What’s yours??

#sundayshare

Last year I did 9 full events/book signings.

And it almost did me in.

So this year, I cut that to half – 2 big events and 2 smaller, more intimate ones. If you’re in the area, check these out…

#fridayfive

Today’s five are a little self-reveling about my writing career. I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and realize I could embarrass myself here, but hey: it wouldn’t be the first time, LOL!

Okay, here we go.

My first book was published when I was 55 years old, not the typical age. Most published writers are published waaay before this age and are hitting their pinnacles before it. I’m a late bloomer. Like, a Christmas cactus, lol.I enjoy writing sex scenes. For me it’s all about the emotion of the scene not what goes into where and who touches which body part. Although, for full disclosure, there’s some of that, too!I do the majority of my new writing between the hours of 2 and 7 a.m. because I still suffer from menopause-induced insomnia. Yeah, it’s a thing.I talk out loud when I am writing, especially when I write dialogue. Which is why I don’t go anywhere like cafes, Starbucks, or even the library when I write. People would call the police if I did and report a crazy, talking to-herself woman was disturbing the peace.When I start a new book it takes me about 2-3 weeks to write the first 10,000 words.I go slow at the beginning because I am getting to know my characters and get the feels for what they would do, how they would talk, and where I want to take them, emotionally. After that, I kinda hit my stride and can do anywhere between 2k and 5k daily if I put my mind to it and have the energy.I’m adding a 6th because I want to – I like to write in bed and can do up to 1000 words an hour when I decide to stay in bed for a morning session after my hubby goes to work. With Maple by side, snoring, I find my creative energy is high because my body is so relaxed.