Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 39

#throwbackthursday 1.11.2024

So I’ve been re-reading some of my earlier in my career posts and thought it would be fun to put a few up to see how different things are now.

This one is from September 2019 ( and why does that seem like sososososos long ago?? Lol)

I posed the question: What are the 5 things you couldn’t live without?

My answers remain the same to this very day…

We’ve all played the game if you were stranded on a deserted island, what would you have to have with you in order to survive?

The routine answers are fresh water, toilet paper, shelter.

I think if you ask millennials, they’d say their iPhones and electronic devices before anything else.

But, assuming you have the things you need ( water, shelter, etc). what would be the 5 things other than the necessities you could not live without?

For me, the answers are easy.

#1 Diet Mountain Dew.  I’d need to have my daily fix

#2 My skin care products. I’m not going anywhere without my RetinA, sunblock, body moisturizers, and eye cremes

#3 Unlimited paper and pens. I can’t be stranded without something to write the tale of my deserted island experience about on.

#4 Flashlights with long-lasting batteries. I don’t like the dark. Or things that crawl and creep in the dark, like on a deserted island.

#5 My Kindle, loaded with 5000 books. Hey, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be bored, so books are the best friends that you can take anywhere!

What are the 5 things you couldn’t live without??

Until next time ~ Peg

#wednesdaywisdom 1.10.2924

Getting there is what it’s all about, not the end product. The growth and change you experience along the way are what make the journey worthwhile.

~ Peg

#teasertuesday #tuesdaytease 1.9.2024

Can you stand another first draft, unedited look at LOVE MATCH ( HEaven’s Matchmaker, book 2)?

Hee hee.

here ya go…

Her skin was warm under his touch and he could sense the slight thrum of her pulse against his fingers. Was it his imagination, or did it speed up a bit while she sat there, just staring at him?

“Hey, you two. This is a surprise.”

Layla’s rapid blinking pulled him out of a vision of taking her hand, bringing it to his lips, and nibbling on her fingers, one by one.

“Liv.” He glanced up at his cousin, gingerly slipped his hand off Layla’s wrist, then nodded. “What brings you out on this cold day.”

Her eyes tracked his motion. “I’m meeting someone for lunch.”

Then she smiled at him and slid her eyes to Layla.

“How are you doing?”

He let the two of them chat for a moment, observing that his cousin’s eyes flicked from him to Layla several times, her expression thoughtful.

Oh, no, cousin, forget whatever your little matchmaking mind is conjuring.

He could hear the gears turning and squeaking in her brain. She wanted so badly to fix him up with one of her eligible and marriage-seeking clients. She couldn’t believe he was actually happy in his divorced/single state, dating as much as he wanted, hooking up when he could. For Liv, everyone had a someone and she thought it was her mission in life to make sure all in her sphere found their person.

Not gonna happen.

He’d already found his person. Unfortunately, after a while, she hadn’t felt the same. End of story.

“What do you think, Cody?”

He pulled out of musings to find two pairs of eyes focused on him.

“Sorry, what? Thinking of fifty things at once up here.” He pointed to himself.

“I asked,” Liv said, drawing out the word, “If you thought you’d have Layla’s place ready by Christmas?”

He turned his attention to the woman across the table. “I don’t know since we haven’t had a chance to talk about what she wants done yet.”

“We were just about to discuss it,” Layla told Olivia.

“Oh, well, don’t let me stop you. I see my client, anyway.” She lifted a hand and waved to someone.

Almost immediately they were joined by a familiar face.

“Hey, doc,” Cody, stood and shook the man’s hand. “How’s the new addition?

“Perfect,” Hunter Reinhart told him. “Having a home office is so much more convenient. Thanks for all your help and the great work.”

“Glad it panned it.”

Hunter zeroed in on Layla.

Liv made the introductions while Cody sat back down. For some reason, he didn’t like the way the man was staring so intently at Layla.

“Nice to meet you,” Hunter said.

“Likewise.”

“Layla and I are old friends,” Liv told him.

“Are you in town visiting?” Hunter asked.

“For a while, at least. I’m seeing to my grandmother’s house.”

“Effie Mason,” Liv offered.

Hunter’s smile grew. “Effie’s one of my favorite patients. Always smiling, always in a good mood. She’s a doll.”

When Layla returned the smile, Cody’s back shot straight. She’d never smiled like that at him. He rolled his eyes internally at how juvenile he sounded.

“Thank you for saying that,” Layla said. “I think so, too.”

“Everyone loves your grandmother,” Cody said.

Hunter nodded, never looking at him, but keeping his eyes focused on Layla. “It was a shame she couldn’t go back to her home after she broke her hip, but it really was just too dangerous for her to live alone.”

“She loves the Arms, so at least she’s happy there.”

He nodded. “Well, I expect I’ll be seeing you when you visit. I make rounds two to three times a week on all my patients there, both in assisted living and higher care.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Cody wanted to gag. How many times could the guy insinuate his profession into the conversation?

Okay, you’re a doctor. We all get it.

“Well, enjoy your lunch, you two.” Liv took Hunter’s arm and, thankfully, guided him toward a table on the opposite side of the room.

It didn’t get past Cody the man glanced over his shoulder a few times, his attention on Layla.

“Are Liv and him…?” Layla asked, leaving the question dangling.

“No. He’s one of her clients.”

Her brows shot up. “Clients?” She turned to look at them. “I wouldn’t think someone like him would need a matchmaker.”

The hairs on his neck stood at attention. “Someone like him?”

She shrugged and took another sip of her drink. “He’s a doctor.”

He nodded.

“So. Successful, probably has money, and is good-looking. Seems like he wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone to marry him.”

Cody’s eyes slatted. “You in the market? I’m sure Liv would set you two up if you asked.”

The sarcasm and anger in his tone drifted right over her. Instead, she shuddered, knocking him back a few paces.

“No thanks. I’m not looking to get married. Or even be in a relationship. Not now, anyway. Maybe never.” Her face went crimson again as her gaze dropped to the table.

#musingonaMonday 1.8.2024

Such a philosophical question, hee hee.

For me, it has to be to believe in yourself when no one else does. Many moons ago, when I told people in my realm I was going to be a published author, I was met with laughter, a few quizzical, tolerant, sure-you-are-smiles, and one outright “you have to have talent to be a published writer. Are you sure you have it?”

I was sure. And I think I’ve proven it over these past years.

So, believe in yourself, kids. Believe you have the power to change your life, direct its course, and be what you want to be, no matter what other people say, think, or do.

It’s said that writers should write for themselves first. We should be our own first readers and fans and write stories to please ourselves.

In my case, this is true, all because I loved my characters and stories, each and every one, and I believed others would too. Plus, I believed in myself and what I wanted to do.

Never let anyone talk you out of a daydream, kids. Believe it will come true. That’s the first step in changing your life forever. ~ Peg

#sharingSaturday 1.6.2024

So I wanted to share something today that’s been bringing me a great deal of peace and calm this past week.

About a week before Christmas, I saw an ad on Facebook for something called KIND NOTES. It was a website where you could purchase jars with different, enveloped sayings for many different things. For example, one was all about birthdays, one was about anniversaries, one was self-motivation and another was about inspiration.

I chose a jar called THERE’S ALWAYS A REASON TO SMILE because 2023 wasn’t a smiling year for me. In point of fact, I cried more than I smiled.

There are 31 inspiration envelopes with notes inside, one for every day of the month. So far this month, I’ve chosen these:

And a few others.

You chose one from the jar each day.

I’m smiling more so far this year…I think this may be part of the reason.

If you’re interested, here’s the website: KIND NOTES

#fridayfive 5 Must-haves in a Romance book… 1.5.2024

For my first Friday five of 2024, I give you…the 5 MUST-HAVES in a romance book. And I struggle sometimes to get them all in my books, lol!

the meet-cute . Whether they bump into one another, literally (!), suffer from mistaken identity, get introduced as new co-workers after having a one-night anonymous stand, the meet-cute is vital in setting up the conflict for the romance to thrive and reach its conclusion with everyone happy ( reader and characters)

2. Strong characters. No one is going to root for boring, flat, or negative characters who defy growth and change. That, after all, is the premise of the romance novel. Take two people who would never have gotten together if left to their own devices, throw them together, and then allow them to grow and change into a couple we all, as readers, adore. I’ve read too many books ( and DNF’d most of them) where the main characters were just…wrong.

3. Believable tropes. Just like we need to root for the hero and heroine, romance readers need to know the basic premise, or the tropes used, to get them to their HEA. Forced proximity, best friend’s brother, secret baby, mistaken identity and scores more, all help define the road these two people will take in order to have them find love in the end. And all romance readers have their favorite tropes to read, and writers to write. My personal fav to read and write is friends-to-lovers because I am always on the edge of my seat to see who lets the other person know their feelings first.

4. Believable conflict. Again, you want to lose yourself in the story and not be reading and then think, this is just too dumb and no one would ever do/say this. I heard a great definition of a true conflict in a romance story at a conference once. Here’s the set-up: a fire marshall is called to investigate a scene of obvious arson with a death associated with it. The supposed arsonist? His girlfriend, a girl whose family died in a fire and the person responsible was the one found in the above fire.

Conflict to a T!

5. HEA. Or happily ever after for those not in the anacronym-know. In recent years, the HFN (Happily for now ) ending has also been used to define the end of the story. Whichever you choose to read or write, the end goal is for the hero and heroine to be together, have a defined love relationship, and be committed to one another.

#throwbackthursday 1.4.2025

So I’ve been re-reading some of my earlier in my career posts, and thought it would be fun to put a few up to see how different things are now.

This one is from 12/2015. My, how things have changed…

POST HOLIDAY THOUGHTS…

I’ve been silent on my multiple social media sites since Christmas Eve because I was traveling to spend time with family for the holiday. I got home today to over 600 emails, 300 Twitter feeds I had to view, and too many Facebook announcements to cover. To say I was in a bit of Social Media withdrawal is the understatement of the season.

I recently read…somewhere, I forget exactly where…that people really do have addictions to their social media, or more accurately, their smartphones, which basically rule their lives. I can so, so believe this is true. NOMOPHOBIA is an actual psychiatric term given to the fear of being without your cell phone. I found a cool article that explains the condition, and you can click on it here.  To summarize, people fear being away from their phones to shower; they sleep with the phones under their pillows; and they experience high states and levels of measurable anxiety when they can’t readily locate their phones.

I will tell you honestly, I feel I suffer from this. Before my first book was published, I checked my sites on my phone maybe once a day. Since SKATER’S WALTZ hit the market I have increased that checking behavior to almost every half hour. It has gotten worse with each subsequent book release. I feel a constant need to be in touch with what is going on on my sites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest the most. Honestly, I think I need to go to a support group and say, “hi. My name is Peggy and I’m addicted to my smartphone.” I have a recurrent nightmare as soon as I say that, all the other addicts in the room will whip out their own phones and start “searching” me.

Ridiculous.

So, after I spent a total of 6 hours going through everything, every site, every announcement, tweet and email, I was ready to do some serious writing work.

And then my phone beeped with incoming messages.

Speaking of social media sites, here’s a treat ( like that segue?!) Here’s a trailer for all the Candy Hearts books coming for Valentine’s Day, with the dates of their releases. Keep an eye on the 2/8/16 segment and you’ll see my cover, 3 Wishes. Click here:

#wordsofwisdomwednesday 1.3.20234

We can’t change what’s happened in the past, but we can learn from it to make today a better day.

#Tuesdaytease 1.2.2024

So the next book I’m releasing into the romance reading world will be book 2 in my Heaven’s Matchmaker series, LOVE MATCH, Layla and Cody’s story.

Right now, this is gearing up to be a sweet-with-heat book ( not my typical sensual/steamy). We will see where it winds up in the end.

Here’s a brief snippet – and remember: this is a rough draft, so it’s still pretty raw and unedited:

As she drove through town her stomach growled. The only thing she’d eaten all day was one cookie from the box she’d brought Effie, and now she was feeling peckish. Her gaze caught the sign for the Love Shack as she passed it, and she turned the car around and pulled into the lot. Liv had mentioned the night before it was a great place to get take-out food and they had the best burgers in three states. A loaded hamburger sounded perfect right now.

For three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, the lot was packed. She found a spot and then ran against the cold through the doors. The noise was deafening as she made her way through the jammed entranceway to the bar. Three big screen televisions covered the walls broadcasting simultaneous football games. Every table was filled with men and women in striking blue football jerseys with the Patriots distinct logo and team member names across them.

Football season was in full swing.

With cheers and catcalls from the throng aimed toward the screens, Layla made her way up to the crowded bar.

The bartender spotted her right away.

“What can I get you, sweetheart?” he asked.

Layla craned her neck to look the guy in the face. He had to be six-six if he was an inch with shoulders and arms that regularly saw the inside of a gym. A shaggy mass of black waves drifted down to those colossal shoulders.

“Kick Loomis?”

One bushy eyebrow crawled up his forehead. “Who’s asking?”

Years of ingrained business etiquette had her extending her hand as she lifted up on her toes so he could hear her. “Olivia Joyner mentioned your name to me. I’m Kalya Warton. I—”

“Effie Mason’s granddaughter.” He nodded as he took her hand and cocooned it between both of his. Her own was swallowed up in its mass. “Yeah, Liv said you were visiting. And yes, I’m Kick. Your grannie’s a doll.”

“I agree.”

“What can I do for ya?”

“Liv claims you’ve got the best burgers in three states.”

“She’s not wrong.” His smile beamed like bright lights on a darkened highway.

Nodding, she said, “I’d like one, as rare as can be, to go.”

“Rare as in pink or mooing?”

She laughed. “Mooing is perfect.”

“Anything on it? Sides? Condiments?”

Her gaze glanced across the menu above the bar. “Provolone cheese, and an order of sweet potato fries, please.”

“Cop a squat,” he pointed to a recently emptied bar stool, “and I’ll get it for ya. Should be about fifteen minutes, tops. Want something to drink while you wait?”

“Diet Pepsi, if you’ve got it.”

He grinned. “Coming right up.”

“Thanks.”

She settled down just as a wave of shouts and cheers erupted from the crowd behind her. Grinning, she spun on the bar stool and before she realized someone was standing behind her, her knees banged into the person, forcing them to stumble backward.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see—you!”

A pair of chocolate brown eyes peered down at her from under hooded lids.

“We’ve got to stop meeting this way,” he said, shaking his head, the ghost of a wry grin sliding across his mouth.

“Are you following me?” she blurted. The idea he could be a reporter bloomed fast and furious within her.

Those dark orbs widened as genuine shock filled his face. “What? No. No, of course not. It’s just…” he shrugged, “serendipity we keep bumping into one another. Or in reality, you keep bumping in to me. Maybe you’re the one doing the following.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, and before she could protest, Kick returned with a glass in one hand, a go-bag in the other.

“Hey, Henry. Saw you come in. Got your order.” He handed him the bag, then placed the glass in front of her. “Here’s your drink, Layla.”

They both thanked him at the same time.

“Tell your folks I said hey,” Kick said.

The guy – Henry – lifted the bag and saluted. “Will do. And thanks for getting this ready so fast. My old man loves your wings.”

Kick grinned. “Music to my ears, man.” He turned his attention to Layla. “You’re order’s in.”

“Thank you.”

With a quick grin, he moved back down the bar while she took a sip of her drink for something to occupy her shaking hands. Embarrassment bounded through her and she didn’t want to confront the reason for it standing directly to her right. Three times in the span of two days she’d come close to knocking him over. Granted, she hadn’t been paying attention when she left Liv’s office so that was on her, but the time in the grocery store wasn’t her fault because of the way the aisles were constructed. And maybe she should have checked before spinning on her stool to make sure no one was close by. But still.

“I was only kidding,” she heard him say, dangerously close to her ear, the warmth of his breath shooting little tingles of awareness straight down her spine. A hint of citrus and spice hit her next and it took every ounce of will she could summon not to lean into him and sniff his neck. “I know you’re not stalking me.”

She lifted the glass in her hands, her lips firmly circling the straw as she lifted her gaze up to his face. Because she didn’t trust herself to say something inane or worse – snarky – she sucked the icy cold soda through the straw and tossed him a single nod.

His attention drifted down to her lips. She wasn’t sure because the lighting in the bar was subdued, but if pressed she would have sworn his pupils dilated when they settled on the spot, then lifted back to her eyes.

Layla knew she should swallow. The soda was so cold it was actually ice-burning her teeth. But she couldn’t. Either her body simply forgot how to, or the guy had paralyzed her ability to with the intensity of his gaze.

Whatever the reason, she sat there, not moving, just staring up at him. His eyes really were incredibly dark, the brown in them almost black. The threads of burnished red she’d noted in the natural light of day were softened in the artificial bar light, making the hair seem more like a deer’s pelt; a mix of browns, earthen tones, and lighter shades.

And again, an almost aching need to weave her fingers through it bubbled up, the tips of her fingers tingling.

Henry’s gaze stayed glued to hers as her own drifted down his cheeks to the day’s worth of stubble crossing his jaw. She’d always been a clean-shaven kind of girl when it came to her men but right now wondered why.

He tilted his head and inched closer to her, neither turning their attention from the other.

Another raucous cheer erupted from the crowd.

His eyes widened to the size of sand dollars and his entire body shook like a he’d been jolted by an electrical charge. Layla remained stone still, her lips still curved around the straw. He blinked several times before focusing in on her again.

“Well.” He shifted the bag to his opposite hand, cleared his throat. “Gotta go. See ya around. Layla.”

Publication date TBD!! Stay tuned for announcements. ~ Peg

#mondaymusings 1.1.2024

As we start a new year, I’ve got my first question of the year for you:

Mine is to focus on my overall health this year – physical and mental.

What’s yours?