Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 290
November 9, 2015
Am I the only one who thinks this is funny?
I had a little epiphany the other day when I was banging away at my NaNoWriMo word count goal. I was in a particularly lighthearted scene and the descriptions the first person character narrator were giving had me laughing out loud in my attic. Truly, this was some fine comedic, descriptive writing. The epiphany came when I asked myself, “Am I the only one who might think this is funny?”
I admit freely my humor is a little skewered and all over the board at times. I laugh at the slapstick of Benny Hill, the snarkiness of Jerry Seinfeld, the crude bathroom jokes of the Red Neck Comics. I can laugh at my own witticisms as well, but I never know if what I am writing is as funny to the reader as it is to me. After all, we all think our children are the brightest, most intelligent and most beautiful kids in the world ( mine is, actually) so I think it’s the same with our words and humor.
I can’t really get a gauge for the funny to others, so I’m going to put a few lines I’ve written here and hope if you read it, you will let me know if it is funny, falls flat, or makes you have to pee with glee.
Here goes:
#1 “Don’t worry, Frankie,” my Aunt Ursula said. “Joey’s a bull. He’ll make it.”“Yeah,” Aunt Gracie chimed in. “Remember when Uncle Vito had his coronary at the racetrack? Doc’s had to shock him four times, but he pulled through. Joey will, too. Our family’s made of strong stock.”
I kept my mouth shut because Uncle Vito was currently confined to a nursing home, an after effect of his massive coronary. He was pretty much brain fried, drooled constantly and had an annoying habit of playing flash the sausage with any female who entered his room, family members included.
#2 When my brother Gianni pointed out she was carrying Daddy’s baby, Mama went ballistic. It took the aunts, Gia and me to finally calm her down. Still fuming, we managed to get her upstairs, into her cotton nightgown and then with a large shot glass filled with Sambucca, into bed and settled. Aunt Gracie was going to spend the night and watch over her to make sure she didn’t go crazy and drive to Delphina’s condo and do something.
And by do something, I mean gut her like a fish.
# 3 My Uncle Sonny knew a guy, who knew a guy, who ran a talent agency, though. Unfortunately, all the out of work actors employed at Skippy Goldstein’s Star Emporium were booked for live appearances. Cupids poised to deliver candy grams; Little Devils set to bring naughty lingerie gifts and boxes of confections to wives, girlfriends and mistresses. Skippy told Uncle Sonny he should have booked way in advance to which, the family story goes, Uncle Sonny lifted Skippy out of his chair by his ugly skinny necktie and told him he’d better come up with a genie—and fast—or his relatives were going to have to dig through the Meadowlands marshes to recover his body.
Uncle Sonny’s an intense guy.
So….Laughing? Cringing? Peeing? What?…….Let’s discuss…..
I admit freely my humor is a little skewered and all over the board at times. I laugh at the slapstick of Benny Hill, the snarkiness of Jerry Seinfeld, the crude bathroom jokes of the Red Neck Comics. I can laugh at my own witticisms as well, but I never know if what I am writing is as funny to the reader as it is to me. After all, we all think our children are the brightest, most intelligent and most beautiful kids in the world ( mine is, actually) so I think it’s the same with our words and humor.
I can’t really get a gauge for the funny to others, so I’m going to put a few lines I’ve written here and hope if you read it, you will let me know if it is funny, falls flat, or makes you have to pee with glee.
Here goes:
#1 “Don’t worry, Frankie,” my Aunt Ursula said. “Joey’s a bull. He’ll make it.”“Yeah,” Aunt Gracie chimed in. “Remember when Uncle Vito had his coronary at the racetrack? Doc’s had to shock him four times, but he pulled through. Joey will, too. Our family’s made of strong stock.”
I kept my mouth shut because Uncle Vito was currently confined to a nursing home, an after effect of his massive coronary. He was pretty much brain fried, drooled constantly and had an annoying habit of playing flash the sausage with any female who entered his room, family members included.
#2 When my brother Gianni pointed out she was carrying Daddy’s baby, Mama went ballistic. It took the aunts, Gia and me to finally calm her down. Still fuming, we managed to get her upstairs, into her cotton nightgown and then with a large shot glass filled with Sambucca, into bed and settled. Aunt Gracie was going to spend the night and watch over her to make sure she didn’t go crazy and drive to Delphina’s condo and do something.
And by do something, I mean gut her like a fish.
# 3 My Uncle Sonny knew a guy, who knew a guy, who ran a talent agency, though. Unfortunately, all the out of work actors employed at Skippy Goldstein’s Star Emporium were booked for live appearances. Cupids poised to deliver candy grams; Little Devils set to bring naughty lingerie gifts and boxes of confections to wives, girlfriends and mistresses. Skippy told Uncle Sonny he should have booked way in advance to which, the family story goes, Uncle Sonny lifted Skippy out of his chair by his ugly skinny necktie and told him he’d better come up with a genie—and fast—or his relatives were going to have to dig through the Meadowlands marshes to recover his body.
Uncle Sonny’s an intense guy.
So….Laughing? Cringing? Peeing? What?…….Let’s discuss…..
November 7, 2015
MY Sexy Saturday # 117
While you were sexy.....This week’s theme is a take on the movie, While You Were Sleeping, and can be fun, quirky or not. So many things can happen while you were sexy…things like falling in love with someone other than your boyfriend/girlfriend…or maybe taking a risk you wouldn’t normally take. That’s what the movie is all about…having a dream and risking for that dream…only to find it wasn’t what you really wanted or needed anyway. Our stories have lots of those type themes.
Love is a dream for some, a risk for others. Sometimes it’s fulfilled or sometimes it just isn’t what the characters imagined. Remember Scarlett O’Hara at the end of Gone With The Wind…she realized she never really loved Ashley to begin with…it was Rhett all along. We think you get the drift of what this week’s theme is. But we want more and we definitely want it hotter than ever before. So show us those sexy, hot characters in those sexy, hot stories.
Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.
Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.
click on this link to read the other authors in this weeks MSSBlogHop.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Here’s a little thought process from Pat Cleary. He’s beginning to realize Clarissa Rogers may just be what he’s needed in his hectic busy like.
He grabbed his cell phone from where it rested on his desk, and pressed the screen. He’d programmed one of the pictures he’d taken of him and Clarissa in the apple orchard as his screen display. He’d stared at it so many times since that day. Just seeing how happy and relaxed they both looked made him feel better no matter how busy or tiring his day was. He wanted to see her smile like that every day.
And at him.
Buy LInks:
Amazon Wild Rose Press B&N
Tweet Me Read Me Visit Me
Pin Me Friend Me Picture Me
Love is a dream for some, a risk for others. Sometimes it’s fulfilled or sometimes it just isn’t what the characters imagined. Remember Scarlett O’Hara at the end of Gone With The Wind…she realized she never really loved Ashley to begin with…it was Rhett all along. We think you get the drift of what this week’s theme is. But we want more and we definitely want it hotter than ever before. So show us those sexy, hot characters in those sexy, hot stories.
Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.
Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.
click on this link to read the other authors in this weeks MSSBlogHop.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Here’s a little thought process from Pat Cleary. He’s beginning to realize Clarissa Rogers may just be what he’s needed in his hectic busy like.
He grabbed his cell phone from where it rested on his desk, and pressed the screen. He’d programmed one of the pictures he’d taken of him and Clarissa in the apple orchard as his screen display. He’d stared at it so many times since that day. Just seeing how happy and relaxed they both looked made him feel better no matter how busy or tiring his day was. He wanted to see her smile like that every day.
And at him.
Buy LInks:
Amazon Wild Rose Press B&N
Tweet Me Read Me Visit Me
Pin Me Friend Me Picture Me
November 5, 2015
Still NaNoWriMo-ing
Day 5 of NaNoWriMo and I’m way into my current WIP ( work in progress). Yes, I love a personal challenge. Yes, I adore a writing challenge. And yes yes yes I love to combine them both.
But I do have a life away from the laptop.
Yesterday, I started writing a 3 am ( chronic insomnia, folks) and went strong until 9 when I realized I couldn’t feel my a**. So, I got washed up and went off to the gym for a few hours to pump and cardio myself into a clear head ( and a smaller a**).
Back home I banged out another 1200 words before I stopped for lunch, then another couple hundred more before I called it a day.
A day for writing that is. When I closed my WP program, I did three loads of laundry, ironed it all and put it way, vacuumed the four floors in my house – yes folks – 4 FLOORS – dusted, put various stuff away and a took care of paying the monthly bills.
Then I started dinner.
After dinner I worked on two courses I am taking online, wrote this blog and stashed another one away for a future release. I am reading two books on kinesthetics, so I delved into those for a while.Tomorrow the car has to go in for service, so I will bring my laptop with me and NaNo while I wait ( like the way I made the challenge a verb, there?)
For those lucky people who can sit all day long and create ( and not have their a**es grow and spread) power to you. I am jealous. I am envious. I am filled with angst.
But not really, because…I do have another life.
So, if you are NaNo-ing, are you an all day typer, or do you take breaks? Let’s discuss
But I do have a life away from the laptop.
Yesterday, I started writing a 3 am ( chronic insomnia, folks) and went strong until 9 when I realized I couldn’t feel my a**. So, I got washed up and went off to the gym for a few hours to pump and cardio myself into a clear head ( and a smaller a**).
Back home I banged out another 1200 words before I stopped for lunch, then another couple hundred more before I called it a day.
A day for writing that is. When I closed my WP program, I did three loads of laundry, ironed it all and put it way, vacuumed the four floors in my house – yes folks – 4 FLOORS – dusted, put various stuff away and a took care of paying the monthly bills.
Then I started dinner.
After dinner I worked on two courses I am taking online, wrote this blog and stashed another one away for a future release. I am reading two books on kinesthetics, so I delved into those for a while.Tomorrow the car has to go in for service, so I will bring my laptop with me and NaNo while I wait ( like the way I made the challenge a verb, there?)
For those lucky people who can sit all day long and create ( and not have their a**es grow and spread) power to you. I am jealous. I am envious. I am filled with angst.
But not really, because…I do have another life.
So, if you are NaNo-ing, are you an all day typer, or do you take breaks? Let’s discuss
November 4, 2015
What a conference can REALLY teach you
I recently attended the New Jersey Romance Conference and took a master class with Margie Lawson. Who, you ask? Well, if you don’t now who she is, you really are missing out. Margie Lawson is a woman who wears many metaphorical hats. She’s a psychotherapist, an editor, and a very smart, savvy woman, just to mention three. The master class I took was all about Empowering Character Emotion and it was the best 3 hours and the wisest money I ever spent on a day course.
Seriously.
In fact, I learned so much in that short 3 hours, I knew there had to be more to learn, and boy was there! When I clicked on her site I found she has on line instruction classes and packets and I purchased two right at the conference. I’ve been editing away ever since in my current contracted novel. You can see the efforts in the picture I’ve included. Now, Margie’s stuff is proprietary so I’m not going to tell you what she suggests doing, but I highly recommend you go to her site and click around.
I can say with all honesty my writing and editing skills have improved significantly since I started following her suggestions. She helps you hone in on places where you can add punch to character emotions and scenes where you can dial up the conflict from easy to complex with just a rephrasing of a few words, or the addition of a power word or two. She helps you see where you may have too much of one thing – like exposition, which makes readers skim the page – and not enough of another – like conflict, and we all know romance writers need conflict between their characters.
If you are determined to get that first book published or if you are a multi-published author already, Margie can literally take your writing skills to the next level and maybe even 3 or 4 more beyond that.
Just saying.
Seriously.
In fact, I learned so much in that short 3 hours, I knew there had to be more to learn, and boy was there! When I clicked on her site I found she has on line instruction classes and packets and I purchased two right at the conference. I’ve been editing away ever since in my current contracted novel. You can see the efforts in the picture I’ve included. Now, Margie’s stuff is proprietary so I’m not going to tell you what she suggests doing, but I highly recommend you go to her site and click around.
I can say with all honesty my writing and editing skills have improved significantly since I started following her suggestions. She helps you hone in on places where you can add punch to character emotions and scenes where you can dial up the conflict from easy to complex with just a rephrasing of a few words, or the addition of a power word or two. She helps you see where you may have too much of one thing – like exposition, which makes readers skim the page – and not enough of another – like conflict, and we all know romance writers need conflict between their characters.
If you are determined to get that first book published or if you are a multi-published author already, Margie can literally take your writing skills to the next level and maybe even 3 or 4 more beyond that.
Just saying.
November 1, 2015
Persevering thru Panic…with Susan A. Wall
One of my favorite things about being a writer is the other writers I meet who come to mean something more to me than simply the fact that they are writers, too. When I joined my local chapter of NHRWA, I was introduced to many talented, exceptional women who write various genres of romance. One of those writers was Susan A. Wall. This is her third visit on the blog with me and each time she’s here there’s a fun story to read, today no exception. She’s got a new release out soon and you’re lucky enough to hear about it early. So sit back as Susan discusses part of her writing process – a very necessary part!
A Lesson in Perseverance over Panic
It started early on a Sunday morning. I was the only one up, the laptop humming with anticipation as Maddie and Darren beckoned. Candles burned with a sweet fragrance to cover the offending skunk odor from an unexpected Saturday night, and the water in the kettle boiled.
I didn’t care that the kitchen was in need of a good cleaning. I didn’t even care that the laundry situation was even more desperate. I needed to write and to get the words flowing early on a Sunday morning, I needed a cup of tea.
And I needed it in my Tell Me a Story mug – my current designated writing day mug.
That’s when my plans came to a grinding halt.
The mug wasn’t in the cupboard. It wasn’t in the dishwasher. It wasn’t in the sink. It wasn’t on the counter. It wasn’t on the table. It wasn’t in my office in the basement.
IT WASN’T ANYWHERE!
I thought long and hard about the last time I used the mug. The only memory I could conjure was drinking out of it in the mini-van. So I traipsed outside in the damp morning air only to come back in empty-handed.
Now this mug is not my only mug. It’s one of many favorites (each with its own story), but it is my go to on a Sunday morning when I’m determined to spend the day writing.
I could have spent the entire day searching for and obsessing over the whereabouts of my mug, I instead engaged in some inner self-talk, encouraging myself to go for Plan B. Because I almost always have a Plan B.
So on this Sunday morning, with my hero and heroine desperate to enjoy their first kiss, I grabbed my “think happy. be happy” mug because with my “Story” mug MIA, I needed the happy message.
Fiction often imitates truth, so you can bet a missing mug and the ensuing anxiety is going to pop up in a future story. As it is, the heroine of my next release, THE SOUND OF CIRCUMSTANCE, is a bit of a tea drinker just as I am. Stacie likes different teas for different occasions, but she doesn’t obsess over what to drink it out of the way I do. What Stacie does obsess about in this new story are the results of the six pregnancy tests she takes in a single day. You’ll have to read the book, available for pre-order now, to know the results of those tests!!
So tell me, do you have a favorite mug?
By the way, the “happy” mug did get me to my word count goal and that first kiss. The “story” was found when Hero Husband cleaned the kitchen while I made dinner.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1jA1sXU
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1j5yGPa
iTunes: http://apple.co/1jA1pvo
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1O4RZ6k
Social media:
www.susanannwall.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/susanannwall.author – Contest going on until October 31
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@susanannwall
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/susanannwall
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Ann-Wall/...
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/susanannwall
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/nQ7wH
Bio:
Big dreamer and certifiable overachiever Susan Ann Wall embraces life at full speed and volume. She’s a beer and tea snob, can be bribed with dark chocolate, and the #1 thing on her bucket list is to be the center of a Bon Jovi flash mob.
Susan is a nationally bestselling, multi-genre author of racy, rule-breaking romance and women’s fiction. Her bragging rights include nine books in three different series, three perfect children, adopting an amazing rescue dog, and a happily ever after that started while serving in the U.S. Army and has spanned nearly two decades (which is crazy since she’s not a day over 29).
In her next life, Susan plans to be a 5 foot 10, size 8 rock star married to a chiropractor and will not be terrified of large bridges, spiders, or quiet people (shiver).
A Lesson in Perseverance over Panic
It started early on a Sunday morning. I was the only one up, the laptop humming with anticipation as Maddie and Darren beckoned. Candles burned with a sweet fragrance to cover the offending skunk odor from an unexpected Saturday night, and the water in the kettle boiled.
I didn’t care that the kitchen was in need of a good cleaning. I didn’t even care that the laundry situation was even more desperate. I needed to write and to get the words flowing early on a Sunday morning, I needed a cup of tea.
And I needed it in my Tell Me a Story mug – my current designated writing day mug.
That’s when my plans came to a grinding halt.
The mug wasn’t in the cupboard. It wasn’t in the dishwasher. It wasn’t in the sink. It wasn’t on the counter. It wasn’t on the table. It wasn’t in my office in the basement.
IT WASN’T ANYWHERE!
I thought long and hard about the last time I used the mug. The only memory I could conjure was drinking out of it in the mini-van. So I traipsed outside in the damp morning air only to come back in empty-handed.
Now this mug is not my only mug. It’s one of many favorites (each with its own story), but it is my go to on a Sunday morning when I’m determined to spend the day writing.
I could have spent the entire day searching for and obsessing over the whereabouts of my mug, I instead engaged in some inner self-talk, encouraging myself to go for Plan B. Because I almost always have a Plan B.
So on this Sunday morning, with my hero and heroine desperate to enjoy their first kiss, I grabbed my “think happy. be happy” mug because with my “Story” mug MIA, I needed the happy message.
Fiction often imitates truth, so you can bet a missing mug and the ensuing anxiety is going to pop up in a future story. As it is, the heroine of my next release, THE SOUND OF CIRCUMSTANCE, is a bit of a tea drinker just as I am. Stacie likes different teas for different occasions, but she doesn’t obsess over what to drink it out of the way I do. What Stacie does obsess about in this new story are the results of the six pregnancy tests she takes in a single day. You’ll have to read the book, available for pre-order now, to know the results of those tests!!
So tell me, do you have a favorite mug?
By the way, the “happy” mug did get me to my word count goal and that first kiss. The “story” was found when Hero Husband cleaned the kitchen while I made dinner.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1jA1sXU
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1j5yGPa
iTunes: http://apple.co/1jA1pvo
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1O4RZ6k
Social media:
www.susanannwall.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/susanannwall.author – Contest going on until October 31
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@susanannwall
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/susanannwall
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Ann-Wall/...
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/susanannwall
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/nQ7wH
Bio:
Big dreamer and certifiable overachiever Susan Ann Wall embraces life at full speed and volume. She’s a beer and tea snob, can be bribed with dark chocolate, and the #1 thing on her bucket list is to be the center of a Bon Jovi flash mob.
Susan is a nationally bestselling, multi-genre author of racy, rule-breaking romance and women’s fiction. Her bragging rights include nine books in three different series, three perfect children, adopting an amazing rescue dog, and a happily ever after that started while serving in the U.S. Army and has spanned nearly two decades (which is crazy since she’s not a day over 29).
In her next life, Susan plans to be a 5 foot 10, size 8 rock star married to a chiropractor and will not be terrified of large bridges, spiders, or quiet people (shiver).
October 25, 2015
Snarkology Halloween Hop – Pumpkins Everywhere!
Please hop over to my actual blog to see this - there are too many pictures and links to list all here. Thanks, PJ. here's the link to copy and paste
http://peggyjaeger.com/2015/10/25/sna...
http://peggyjaeger.com/2015/10/25/sna...
October 21, 2015
Heating up the Ice
It’s Wednesday so it must be time for MFRWBookHooks! Click on the link at the bottom and check out some of the great MFRW authors – you may find your new favorite author when you do!!
Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin/ from my first book, SKATER’S WALTZ.
Blurb:
Figure skater Tiffany Lennox is busy with rehearsals for an upcoming ice show when the only man she’s ever loved comes home after a two-year overseas stint. She needs him to see her for the woman she’s become and not the child he knew to ensure he stays home, this time, for good. With her.
For all his wanderlust and hunger for professional success, Cole Greer comes home wanting nothing more than to rest, relax and recover. He is delighted in being Tiffany’s hero and has a special place in his heart reserved for her. But faced with the oh-so-desirable woman she’s become, he starts questioning his determination to keep their relationship platonic.
When forced by the television network to go back on assignment, Cole – for the first time in his life – is torn between his career and his heart.
Cole and Tiffany generate enough heat between them to melt an ice arena…
Excerpt:
She pulled her tights off and, naked, reached for her street clothes. “Why are you so quiet?”
“Just enjoying the view,” he said. She could hear the grin in his voice.
Her head whipped up and caught his gaze in the mirror. She hadn’t realized she could be seen from that angle. A slow smile spread across her face. “Well, let me get you a better one.” She came around the screen.
Cole’s eyes darkened.
“Is that better?”
“No. Come here.”
Obeying, she moved closer until she was within arm’s distance of him.
“Closer,” he commanded, his arms crossed over his chest.
When she took another step toward him, he yanked her down on his lap, and stifled her squeal with the heat of his mouth.
All sense of time and reason flew.
Buy Links for SKATER’S WALTZ
Amazon WIld Rose Press Nook
Tweet Me Pin Me Picture Me
Visit Me Read Me Friend Me
Google+ Me
MFRWBookHooks
Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin/ from my first book, SKATER’S WALTZ.
Blurb:
Figure skater Tiffany Lennox is busy with rehearsals for an upcoming ice show when the only man she’s ever loved comes home after a two-year overseas stint. She needs him to see her for the woman she’s become and not the child he knew to ensure he stays home, this time, for good. With her.
For all his wanderlust and hunger for professional success, Cole Greer comes home wanting nothing more than to rest, relax and recover. He is delighted in being Tiffany’s hero and has a special place in his heart reserved for her. But faced with the oh-so-desirable woman she’s become, he starts questioning his determination to keep their relationship platonic.
When forced by the television network to go back on assignment, Cole – for the first time in his life – is torn between his career and his heart.
Cole and Tiffany generate enough heat between them to melt an ice arena…
Excerpt:
She pulled her tights off and, naked, reached for her street clothes. “Why are you so quiet?”
“Just enjoying the view,” he said. She could hear the grin in his voice.
Her head whipped up and caught his gaze in the mirror. She hadn’t realized she could be seen from that angle. A slow smile spread across her face. “Well, let me get you a better one.” She came around the screen.
Cole’s eyes darkened.
“Is that better?”
“No. Come here.”
Obeying, she moved closer until she was within arm’s distance of him.
“Closer,” he commanded, his arms crossed over his chest.
When she took another step toward him, he yanked her down on his lap, and stifled her squeal with the heat of his mouth.
All sense of time and reason flew.
Buy Links for SKATER’S WALTZ
Amazon WIld Rose Press Nook
Tweet Me Pin Me Picture Me
Visit Me Read Me Friend Me
Google+ Me
MFRWBookHooks
October 19, 2015
NANOWRIMO primer
As I have for the past 3 years, I will be participating in this years NANOWRIMO competition. Writers know what this stands for. If you don’t, it’s National Novel Writing Month.
As a kick-off, my Wild Rose Press Sistah, Angela Hayes is hosting me today. Come read about what NANOWRIMO means to me, personally, as a writer. Drop by and let me know if you are participating this year, Let’s discuss….
http://authorangelahayes.blogspot.com...
As a kick-off, my Wild Rose Press Sistah, Angela Hayes is hosting me today. Come read about what NANOWRIMO means to me, personally, as a writer. Drop by and let me know if you are participating this year, Let’s discuss….
http://authorangelahayes.blogspot.com...
October 14, 2015
Food for Thought
here’s a little snippet from my newest release FIRST IMPRESSIONS. A simple dinner between friends is never as simple as it seems…
In the next instant, Pat’s stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard above the kitten’s deafening purrs.
Clarissa tried to contain her giggle so she wouldn’t startle the animal, but when Pat’s neck heated with a ruddy flare and he thrust his hands into his pockets, she couldn’t hold it in.
He squinted at her, and, with a menacing glare, pushed nearer to her. “You’re always quietly laughing at me,” he said, stopping so close she could feel his hot, moist breath on her face. “I can’t figure out why I want to be around someone who always laughs at me.”
“I know why,” she said, kissing the kitten again.
When his left eyebrow shot up his forehead, she answered. “It’s easy. Whenever we’re together, we’re usually eating. You’re hungry, so you want me to cook for you.”
His face went blank, and she couldn’t for the life of her discern what he was thinking. She could hear him breathing now, not only feel it, the air pushing out of him a tad faster than it had moments before. The flushed heat on his neck spread up his jaw. She could have melted to the floor when his eyes turned hot too, the lids hooded, so much so, Clarissa finally understood the meaning of a smoldering look.
Buy Links:
amazon The WIld Rose Press Nook
Tweet Me Pin Me Visit Me
Read Me Picture Me Friend Me
Google+ Me
In the next instant, Pat’s stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard above the kitten’s deafening purrs.
Clarissa tried to contain her giggle so she wouldn’t startle the animal, but when Pat’s neck heated with a ruddy flare and he thrust his hands into his pockets, she couldn’t hold it in.
He squinted at her, and, with a menacing glare, pushed nearer to her. “You’re always quietly laughing at me,” he said, stopping so close she could feel his hot, moist breath on her face. “I can’t figure out why I want to be around someone who always laughs at me.”
“I know why,” she said, kissing the kitten again.
When his left eyebrow shot up his forehead, she answered. “It’s easy. Whenever we’re together, we’re usually eating. You’re hungry, so you want me to cook for you.”
His face went blank, and she couldn’t for the life of her discern what he was thinking. She could hear him breathing now, not only feel it, the air pushing out of him a tad faster than it had moments before. The flushed heat on his neck spread up his jaw. She could have melted to the floor when his eyes turned hot too, the lids hooded, so much so, Clarissa finally understood the meaning of a smoldering look.
Buy Links:
amazon The WIld Rose Press Nook
Tweet Me Pin Me Visit Me
Read Me Picture Me Friend Me
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October 12, 2015
WeddingsRUs
My baby was home this past weekend to attend the wedding of a high school friend and that got me to thinking about weddings and the months in which they occur.
Of course, a couple can be married any month, that goes without saying. While June and July have typically been the most preferred months for weddings – something I’ve never really understood – I wonder why a couple pick the month they do to tie the knot, jump the broom, get hitched, walk down the aisle…you get the idea. Hey, can’t help it…I’m a writer.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
I got married the day after Christmas. I know. There’s nothing you can say I haven’t already been witness to from all my friends and family. But…it was the only time he could come home from his job in Wisconsin to do it, so. I loved getting married on the 26th of December. Everyone – everyone! – was still in such a good and joyous mood from the holiday and more importantly, our families were still all together and didn’t have to travel again to celebrate the day. It was a cold, crisp day, about 27 degrees in NYC, a scant amount of fresh snow covered the ground and streets so everything looked pretty and my colors were – surprise, surprise – red and green. Beautiful. It really was.
Now, I lovedlovedloved my winter wedding, but autumn is my favorite time of year. There is something so rich and spectacular, so grand and breathtaking about the kaleidoscope of the changing colors. The harvest is bountiful and the food amazing. An autumn wedding would be a delight to plan just from the color spectrum choices for me.
A Spring wedding brings with it the beauty of rebirth and the threat of rain. I always feel anxious when I attend a wedding during the spring months because I don’t want rain to mar such a memorable day. Isn’t there an old saw that goes, “Happy is the bride the sun shines upon?” Now I personally happen to love rain. A rainy day is a gift to me for a number of reasons, but a beautiful bride bedecked in pure white with….rain spots on the back of her dress, is not a happy thought!
In my second novel THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, Moira Cleary and Quentin Stapleton marry on an august day in her parent’s garden. Instead of it being an uncomfortable hot and humid day, like any august day in Connecticut could be and often is, I flubbed the weather and made it a glorious, sunny, just-warm-enough afternoon for them to say their nuptials. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the day:
As the guests all stood and turned to watch the procession, Seamus leaned down to his daughter and said, “I married your mother in this garden twenty-nine years ago. It was the best day of my life.”
Moira squeezed the arm she held, touched.
“Until the day you two were born,” he added. “And now today. Baby, if you know a tenth the love and joy with Quentin your mother and I have had, then I’ll be a happy man the rest of my life.”
“I love you, Daddy. So much.”
He turned to her, his eyes shimmering in the afternoon glow of the sun.
So… you know what’s coming! What month did you marry in? Why that month? Was your wedding all you hoped and dreamed? Come on and share…we’re all friends here. Let’s discuss….
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME buy links
amazon The Wild Rose Press Nook
I love hearing from people, so…..
Tweet Me Pin Me Friend Me
Read Me Visit Me Picture Me
Google+ Me
Of course, a couple can be married any month, that goes without saying. While June and July have typically been the most preferred months for weddings – something I’ve never really understood – I wonder why a couple pick the month they do to tie the knot, jump the broom, get hitched, walk down the aisle…you get the idea. Hey, can’t help it…I’m a writer.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
I got married the day after Christmas. I know. There’s nothing you can say I haven’t already been witness to from all my friends and family. But…it was the only time he could come home from his job in Wisconsin to do it, so. I loved getting married on the 26th of December. Everyone – everyone! – was still in such a good and joyous mood from the holiday and more importantly, our families were still all together and didn’t have to travel again to celebrate the day. It was a cold, crisp day, about 27 degrees in NYC, a scant amount of fresh snow covered the ground and streets so everything looked pretty and my colors were – surprise, surprise – red and green. Beautiful. It really was.
Now, I lovedlovedloved my winter wedding, but autumn is my favorite time of year. There is something so rich and spectacular, so grand and breathtaking about the kaleidoscope of the changing colors. The harvest is bountiful and the food amazing. An autumn wedding would be a delight to plan just from the color spectrum choices for me.
A Spring wedding brings with it the beauty of rebirth and the threat of rain. I always feel anxious when I attend a wedding during the spring months because I don’t want rain to mar such a memorable day. Isn’t there an old saw that goes, “Happy is the bride the sun shines upon?” Now I personally happen to love rain. A rainy day is a gift to me for a number of reasons, but a beautiful bride bedecked in pure white with….rain spots on the back of her dress, is not a happy thought!
In my second novel THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, Moira Cleary and Quentin Stapleton marry on an august day in her parent’s garden. Instead of it being an uncomfortable hot and humid day, like any august day in Connecticut could be and often is, I flubbed the weather and made it a glorious, sunny, just-warm-enough afternoon for them to say their nuptials. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from the day:
As the guests all stood and turned to watch the procession, Seamus leaned down to his daughter and said, “I married your mother in this garden twenty-nine years ago. It was the best day of my life.”
Moira squeezed the arm she held, touched.
“Until the day you two were born,” he added. “And now today. Baby, if you know a tenth the love and joy with Quentin your mother and I have had, then I’ll be a happy man the rest of my life.”
“I love you, Daddy. So much.”
He turned to her, his eyes shimmering in the afternoon glow of the sun.
So… you know what’s coming! What month did you marry in? Why that month? Was your wedding all you hoped and dreamed? Come on and share…we’re all friends here. Let’s discuss….
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME buy links
amazon The Wild Rose Press Nook
I love hearing from people, so…..
Tweet Me Pin Me Friend Me
Read Me Visit Me Picture Me
Google+ Me
