Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 31

#SaturdayShare

Meet my cast of characters from RETRIBUTION. This is how I pictured them when I was writing the book…

6 teenage girls have been kidnapped, brutalized, and murdered in the Washington DC area and the FBI’s SPCD Unit – the Sexual Predators of Children Profilers – are nowhere close to finding the monster responsible. How are the victims chosen? How does the killer find them, contact them, lure them into his sick web? Questions the team has no answers for.

When a high-ranking US Senator’s daughter is the next victim, SPCD team leader, Tucker Petrie, is forced to call upon retired profiler — and his last partner — Kella O’Brien for help. Kella’s been out of the game for 10 years, but her expertise and insights into a serial killer’s mind are unparalleled. If anyone can discover who this madman is, it’s Kella.

But as the team rushes to prevent another young girl’s death, clues the killer leaves behind have Kella wondering if his endgame is all about…her.

Purchase it from my website: Retribution

Amazon links + KU: RETRIBUTION

Add it to your GOODREADS WANT TO READ PAGE: Goodreads

#fridayfive 4.12.24

RETRIBUTION releases in just 11 days, so, today I want to share with you five tropes in the book

The ANTAGONIST trope -in this book, the SERIAL KILLER is the antagonist. This person is the bane of the SPCD’s existence. I had such a good time writing the killer – their backstory, their road to what led them to kill. The KINDNAPPED trope – 6 girls have been kidnapped in the Washington DC Area – one every 21 days for 6 months. This also leads to the RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK trope in order to save them.The WOMAN IN PERIL trope. Not only the 6 girls, but the other two women in the story fall into this category as well. No spoilers here as to how, why, or even when, lol!The ORPHAN trope – if I told you why this one is in the book you would know too much before you read it. So…read it! The LOVE TRIANGLE trope. Again, this one will play itself out in the book, but if I told you about it now, it would spoil some of the discovery.

There are a few more I’ve added, such as the SCAR ( physical or emotion) trope, best friends, the protector trope, the red herring trope, and the hidden identity one as well.

It’ll be fun when you read the book to see if you can find any more!

You can order your copy from me, directly, here: RETRIBUTION

Or preorder it through Amazon, here: Retribution

Release date is APRIL 23 but if you order directly from me, you’ll get an autographed copy earlier than that!

#WednesdayWisdom 4.10.24

Don’t be an emotional hoarder ( or a physical one, if we’re going to be serious about it! LOL)

We all hang on to things; emotions; grudges. Those are toxic to your ability to move forward and really serve no purpose but to keep you stuck.

We also hang on to ideas or ideologies that prevent us from becoming who we are meant to be and from propelling us into the future we want. SELF DOUBT is the major one, in my opinion.

Just like you should let go of negative things, you should do the same with people. People are either for you or against you. Don’t stick with the against-you ones in the hope they will change.

Here’s a horrible but true fact: they won’t.

One of my favorite mantras is let go and let God. Leave those negative Nellies to God to deal with as you move forward to be the best you, you can be.

I believe in you. Now…learn to believe in yourself.

Cover Reveal and a whole lotta puppies!

I am so excited to finally be able to reveal that I have joined in with a fabulous cast of writers to benefit a more-than-worthy cause! And today is the cover reveal for the anthology.

Ta-da….

Wednesday, Coffee, & Books presents:
Love, Lattes, & Holiday Tales a collection of brand-new unique short stories for the festive season. Snuggle up with some sweet and spicy romance from multi-genre authors, including New York Times and USA Today Bestselling.

These amazing multi-genre holiday stories featuring Hounds & Grounds and a loving pet will leave you believing in love and a happily ever after.

All the proceeds go toward 4 Paws for Ability, a non-for-profit organization matching service dogs with Veterans.

Featuring authors:
CJ Warrant & Rochelle Bradley CJ Barlowe Rochelle K Bradley Sharon Hamilton NYT & USAT Bestselling

Phoebe Alexander USAT Bestselling Monica DiSmone USAT Bestselling Marie Hall USAT Bestselling

LC Taylor USAT Bestselling Miranda Lynn USAT Bestselling Faith Alexander C.J. Baty Sutton Bishop Cynthia Carver C. J. Corbin Aliya DalRae Hope Daniels Anna Hague Miski Harris
Sara Hurst Juliette Hyland Peggy Jaeger ( THAT’S ME!!) Margaret Kay Tessa McFionn Sharon Michalove Charli Rahe AJ Renee Tori Ross Aurelia Yates

https://books2read.com/llht24

My little story is called MY PUPPY MATCHMAKER. Here’s the cover:

Dog Trainer Celia Mills has better relationships with dogs than men.  She’s got a track record of dating self-centered, narcissistic, alphaholes and her therapist thinks it’s because she’s got a fix’em complex. Celia’s methods for changing behavior works with errant dogs, so why shouldn’t it with men?

Is it any wonder she’s still single?

When new client Ben Masters hires her to train his aunt’s dog, Celia’s lust-ometer goes into hyperdrive. But there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him that needs fixing.

Could that be a sign she’s finally found her for-a-lifetime guy?

Preorders are up now!!!

#TuesdayTease #TeaserTuesday #teasemetuesday

Because RETRIBUTION releases in just 14 days, I figured today would be appropriate for another little snippet from the book.

Brainstorming is the best way for the SPCD team to come to a meeting of the minds about who the killer might be. Here’s a quick little scene after they find the most recent dead girl.

“The cause of death in all the victims, including Brittany Chasen, was massive blood loss from surgical trauma, namely the removal of the girls’ reproductive organs. From the preliminary drug result data, no systemic anesthetics were used, and I couldn’t locate any topical applications either.”

Anna inhaled sharply.

“This sick creep opened these girls without providing any kind of pain relief. I can only hope they were unconscious, or already half dead when he did it.”

“Any physical findings?” Tucker asked.

“There was substantial muscle decay, indicating they were starved for the length of their captivity. You know about the ritual cutting of the arms and legs. Nothing that was deep enough to kill, but some of the open wounds were topically infected. Each girl had evidence of sodomy, vaginal rape, and swollen pharynx indicative of oral rape. Microscopic investigations showed no fibers, no DNA, no blood, nothing. Their bodies were scrubbed clean inside and out with bleach, probably postmortem, before they were dumped.”

Tucker nodded. “Anna?”

Referring to the device at her fingertips, she said, “Interviews with the parents of each victim have proved fruitless so far. All were somewhere other than they were supposed to be when they disappeared. Brittany was thought to be at soccer practice and instead was seen at a music store. Emily Johannson was due at school play practice but was last seen going into a CVS. Margaret Pearl had a piano lesson she skipped and went to a local mall instead. Erin Heuser missed a guitar lesson to go to a Quick-Mart. Paula Killarney dodged basketball practice for a coffee shop. And Magdala Profinsky was due to babysit for her cousin and wasn’t seen anywhere after her last class of the day. There’s no common link between them. All six attended different schools, lived in very different neighborhoods and came from widespread financial and social backgrounds. They didn’t know each other and there are no friends that link them. They were, for all intents and purposes, total strangers.”

“What’s the common thread?” Tucker asked, removing his glasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief.

“Physically, they resembled one another in basic makeup,” she said. “Each was approximately five feet three to five feet five inches tall. Each was a blonde with shoulder-length or longer hair, blue eyes, and trim physiques. White. None of them weighed more than a hundred and ten pounds. Two were vegans. Four played a sport, and two played instruments. Nothing stands out.”

#mondaymusing #Questionoftheday 4.8.24

We all have at least 1. Mine is that I can make the sound of a horse whinnying.

So, what’s yours?

Have you entered the NHRWA BLURB CONTEST YET?

My local RWA chapter, the New Hampshire group, is sponsoring a ROMANCE BLURB contest this month. Here are all the details for you romance writers out there. First, you don’t have to have a finished manuscript – this is for the blurb only! So don’t panic if you aren’t finished with your book.

Okay, here are the deets:

NHRWA’s 2024 Romance Novel Blurb* Contest

Win a Consultation with a Professional Editor

—and Attract Your Ideal Readers—

in 200 words or less!

HAVE AN UNPUBLISHED ROMANCE NOVEL?

IS YOUR BOOK BLURB STRONG ENOUGH TO HOOK READERS TO BUY?

* What’s a blurb? It’s “…a short description of a book that is usually found on its back cover. Its purpose is to entice readers into buying the book by revealing details about its plot, setting, or subject. Blurbs are often 150-200 words long, though this may vary between genres and publishers.” (Reedsy.com)

A select group of romance readers will score your blurb on characters, intrigue, goal, motivation, conflict, and grammar.  The top 10 scored blurbs will be reviewed and scored by three industry professionals – a book publisher, a librarian, and an indie Romance bookstore owner.

The three highest-scoring entrants (from a maximum of 100 entries) will win a short copy review and follow-up consultation ($100 value) with one of these renowned editors:

·         Anna J. Stewart Services for Writers – Anna J. Stewart (authorannastewart.com)

·         Robin Baskerville robin.baskerville.23104 – Editorial Freelancers Association (the-efa.org)

·         Rona Gofstein Certified Book Coach & Manuscript Muse (ronagofstein.com)

Winners also receive a digital certificate plus a digital contest sticker/badge advertising their accomplishment that can be featured on websites, Facebook, emails, etc.

How and When to Enter:

On or after March 15, 2024, submit an application that includes a PDF of your blurb and a fee of $20 per contest submission (maximum of two; fee is $15 for New Hampshire Romance Writers of America members) See https://nhrwa.wordpress.com/special-events/2024-blurb-contest/

1.     Submissions will close on April 30 or earlier if 100 qualified submissions have been received.  If submissions close, it will be clearly stated on the contest webpage.

Don’t delay! Polish your blurb and submit your contest application before our submission maximum is reached!

For more information, see https://nhrwa.wordpress.com/special-events/2024-blurb-contest/

Reminder: My Goodreads Giveaway is live.

Just hopping in today to make sure you all know that I’ve got a GOODREADS GIVEAWAY running for book 1 in the HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER series, MIX & MATCH (Jasmine & Donovan). It’s live right now and goes until April 15.

The reason I’m doing a giveaway on a book that released a while ago is in anticipation of book 2’s release on May 21. LOVE MATCH (Layla & Cody) is currently up for preorder, but I wanted to give everyone a chance who hadn’t read book 1 to do so now so that they’d be caught up when book 2 releases.

Just as an FYI – you don’t have to read the books in order. They are standalone books with similar characters in each. If you’re anything like me, though, you like to start a series at the beginning! That’s the Taurus in me, I guess.

I lovelovelove my tiny New England town of Heaven, and Olivia Joyner, the local matchmaker, is the featured “star” of each book.

Here are the blurbs for each:

MIX & MATCH (JASMINE & DONOVAN)

Divorced and lonely, nurse Jasmine Green retains the services of Heaven, NH’s very own successful matchmaker, Olivia Joyner. The bar scene and dating apps give Jasmine hives and Liv’s reputation is stellar. If anyone can help guide her through the quagmire that dating has become, Olivia can.

Architect Donovan Boyd is ready to settle down. He wants the kind of marriage his parents have; long -lasting, filled with love, children, and joy. But even after a year of living and working in Heaven, he’s still considered an outsider by many. Finding the type of woman he’s looking for is hard in the tight-knit community. Retaining Olivia Joyner to help him find his forever love is one of the smartest things he’s done, especially after she sets him up with Jasmine Green.

But the red-haired, green-eyed beauty wants a different kind of marriage from the one Donovan considers ideal.

Can these two strong-willed people learn to compromise so they can both find their happily ever after? Or will their relationship forever be relegated to the friend zone?

LOVE MATCH ( Layla & Cody)

Running away from a public scandal may be cowardly, but to Layla Warton, it’s her best option.

After her politically connected fiancé is indicted for a laundry list of crimes, Layla wants to put the public ridicule and shame of her guilty-by-association status behind her. Not easy to do when all her supposed friends and supporters lose her number and the taint of scandal-adjacent destroys the successful design business and life she’s built for herself.

Happy childhood memories and the blessing of a local friend push her toward the tiny New England town of Heaven where she spent summers with her loving grandparents. Hiding out in the town until the scandal dies down is the perfect plan.

With the paparazzi hot on her tail, an ancient family home she needs to get livable, and a contractor too hot for her sanity, Layla worries she’ll never be able to get her old life back.

But would that really be such a bad thing?

Good luck if you enter!! ~ Peg

#fridayFive 4.5.24

Today’s five are a few more things about RETRIBUTION that I hope enthrall you and make you want to read it. These are all little pieces of info about and concerning the book,

this was the first full-length book I’d ever written. I penned it 20 years ago, stuck it on a file on my desktop and then forgot about it. When VELLA became a thing I published it to that venue and had a great deal of positivity come back to me, so I decided to update it and publish it for real.I was serial killer obsessed back in the day. I’m that girl NETFLIX documentaries about them was invented, (LOL) and still am, to this day.there is no real-life team called the SPCD ( Sexual Predators of Children DIvision) at the FBI, but there should be. I know there are a few dedicated to child trafficking and plain ol’ serial killers, tho.shouting a gun ambidextrously ( as Kella and Anna can) is more common than you’d think.The psychology of studying the serial killer mind is relatively recent in history, starting in the past 1880’s. With the advancement of criminalists and forensics, it has become much easier to target a serial killer’s crimes, if not the actual killer.

The sun, cancer, and a warning…

Yesterday I had my 9th skin cancer surgery.

Yeah, I know. Le sigh.

A decent-sized protuberance was removed using Moh’s surgery by my dermatologist on my right temple. I’ve had removals now on my thighs, back, shoulder and face (multiple ones here). I’m starting to look like one of those dolls in a cartoon that’s stitched together. The scars are horrible and because I am so fair, they are prominent.

Thank goodness for makeup.

The types of cancer I’ve had removed have ranged from basel cell to squamous to melanoma. I’m not going to go into detail about why they are so different, but they all suck, let’s just say that, with the melanoma being the worst for me.

The reason I have all this skin cancer is because in my younger years, I was a sun worshipper. I didn’t come by it naturally. My mother would routinely rub baby oil and iodine on me as a child and tell me to go outside and get “some color” because I was so naturally pale. Being of 100% Irish heritage will do that to a person. So I did. Typically, at the start of every summer, I would burn to a crisp, first thing, then after a few weeks my skin would turn into a healthy-looking deep tan. I had tan lines that were almost comical in the difference between my covered-up skin and my exposed.

This was the norm for the first 25 years of my life. Although, as an adult, I switched from the baby oil to a sun-tanning solution. Always with an SPF that was a 2 or 4 because I wanted those rays absorbed.

I stopped tanning regularly at the age of 30 ( because I was too busy) and then in my forties I went on a few cruises and used tanning beds to start a tan so I wouldn’t burn on the trip and have it ruined.

Yeah…I know. Le sigh.

Now, I am paying for all of that ridiculousness.

So, here’s my PSA for today, garnered from a lifetime of experience: Don’t sun worship. Cover up when you are out in the sun. Wear a high SPF block ( NOT a 2!) but a 45+. And don’t listen to those people who say anything higher than a 30 isn’t worth it. If I wear a 30, within 10 minutes I am burning. The only number that keeps the sun from penetrating my skin is 100. Maybe you don’t have to go that high, but the higher you can go, the better. Wear a hat. ALWAYS! I love my hats and use them, as fashion statements. Don’t bake in the sun, even when you are on vacay. Repeat the sunblock solution often if you are swimming or doing something where you will sweat.

Here’s my truth: I hate my scars.

I hate the fact that I did this to myself and could have prevented it.

I hate that I now need to wear makeup on my face whenever I am doing a public event because I don’t want to scare people with my scars.

And I hate that, despite all the warnings against sun exposure we now have, people still don’t listen and just bake in the sun like cookies in an oven, all for the sake of beauty.

Take care of your skin, peeps. It’s your biggest organ and the first thing anyone sees.

~ Peg