Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 6

Treat Mom to something romantic for Mother’s Day this year…

I’m so excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Mothers Bookish Event. Check out all books in time for Mother’s Day and enter the giveaway to win a $10 Amazon gift card: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-mothers-bookish-event  

PERFECT MATCH (Book 3) Olivia and Hunter…

Third-generation matchmaker, Olivia Joyner, enjoys a 99% success rate when it comes to helping people find their happily ever afters. But her newest client is proving to be part of the 0.1 percent.

All the women Olivia have matched geriatrician Hunter Reinhart with have been perfect on paper. None of them, though, have resulted in a second request for a date, and all the women say the same thing: Hunter, although handsome and successful is just…dull. And boring. And too reserved.

Olivia can’t understand it, because to her? Hunter is none of those things. In fact, he’s the exact opposite of dull, boring, and reserved. He’s a man she would consider worthy of marrying herself – if she was in the market for a spouse.

Which she isn’t.

Olivia needs to figure out why she can’t find Hunter Reinhart the perfect match, and it just may require her to do something she’s never done before: go on a “date” with a client.

Purely for research and educational purposes, that is.

An author’s nightmare…

Why I am no longer doing big book signing events.

If you’re on TikTok/Booktok, your feed’s probably been inundated for the past few days with a plethora of posts about the debacle that was A MILLION LIVES BOOK FESTIVAL this past weekend in Baltimore, Maryland.

I haven’t seen one good post and I’ve watched about 100 different readers and authors comment on the horribleness of the event. Few readers, a large outlay of cash for the authors, no help, no water, no directions to anything. Even the tables for the authors weren’t what was promised.

There were advertised PANELS with authors and readers that never occurred, and one that did, a Narrator discussion panel, took place in a small room with no chairs or tables or microphone, so the narrators and readers sat on the floor – on the floor!!!!- and listened to the narrators speak for a few minutes.

There were(expensive) tiered admission fees that included a FANTASY BALL on Saturday night for $250. It took place in an open room, no food, and a cash bar. I don’t know about you, but I think a BALL should have food and drink and music. No to the food and music. Cash bar. I can’t get over that one because what was the $250.00 for? From all the videos of the event, it looked like maybe a total of 40 people attended, and from what I’ve heard, most of those were authors.

The event was poorly attended by readers, most likely because there was no advertising done for it. The authors stated there were no signs directing readers to the hall where the signing occurred, no information about panels and where they were happening. Basically, no information at all. No swag bags, no name tags or lanyards. No information.

For people who don’t know this, attending a booksigning is a huge expense for most authors. We have to pay table fees ( the cost of renting a table to display our books), travel expenses, hotel room fees, we have to pay for our books in order to have stock to sell them. Add in swag, table decorations, anything and everything you pay for so that you can draw readers to your table, and the ROI (return on investment) is mostly never what the outlay of cash was. I’ve written several times on this blog that I’ve gone to events and spent $1000 and didn’t sell one book.

You can’t sustain a career on that.

So this is the reason I have stopped doing big book signings. In the past year I have heard about events that have gotten too big for their britches ( Apollycon, Getting Witchy with it, and Readers take Denver just to name a few I’ve heard spoken poorly of) and subsequently have had author and reader complaints abound.

I’m done complaining.

The events I choose to attend now are somewhat smaller ( some really small) and I am happy with that. I don’t have thousands of dollars to lay out for travel, rooms, table fees, etc, and not make any money in return. That’s a horrible business model because you don’t go into business to actually lose money.

The ones I attend now, and that I know treat the authors and readers respectfully are BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS, RomanceinCNY, and Romanticonn.

My favorite signings, though, are the small, library ones, with The Bigelow Library Event in Clinton, MA being my favorite.

It’s a shame these big events turn out so poorly. Poor attendance, poor communication, poor ROI for authors and readers.

If you know of any tried and true events, where things turn out well and the authors and readers leave happy, please comment with their names and maybe even links so others can learn about them. I stick mainly to the East Coast now because of travel concerns, and money issues, but I know there are other events that do well.

Thoughts on a booksigning…

This past weekend, I attended the debut author/reader event, ROMANCE in CNY, in Utica, New York.

And I have a few thoughts…

For a debut event – and let me repeat that for those in the back of the room – DEBUT EVENT, the entire day was perfect. The event was extremely well attended by readers of all romance reading ilks; the authors were varied in their writing genres within romance, and plentiful – I think over 60 were in attendance. Two of the hotel’s ballrooms were used, so the authors were able to spread out and not feel like sardines in a can. This made it a more enjoyable experience for the readers as well as they were not pushing and shoving around one another to get to their fav’s table. If you’ve never been to an author booksigning, you can’t imagine what carnage ensues when rooms and tables are packed to the hilt and you can’t get to your fav author. As an author, I never want to disappoint a reader who is looking to speak to me or buy a book, and at some events, this happens due to cramping the room.

There were multiple vendors who were in attendance as well, selling everything from sweet treats to tote bags. I gained weight just passing one of the tables featuring cupcakes, cake pops, and other delicious baked treats!

The Podcast SEX. LOVE. Literature was in attendance for the day and hosted two author panel discussions on romance tropes, one of which I was honored to participate in as a guest.

The event organizers provided a light breakfast/snack fare for the authors – which was so thoughtful – and the myriad of volunteers were constantly walking around asking if the authors needed anything. You have no idea how wonderful that is unless you’ve spent 5 hours on your feet without a bathroom break or a bottle of water in a hot, overstuffed room filled with too many authors and readers and all cramped together because the event organizer oversold the event. I have, and do know what that feels like. It’s not pleasant in the least!

The volunteers were all wonderful and truly wanted to be there – another plus!

A local tattoo artist was in attendance and I saw many readers walking around with seran wrap on their arms to protect their new – bookish themed – tatoos from NEVERMORE TATTOOS

One of the highlights of the day were the puppies. Yes, I said Puppies! A local pet adoption group, ROVER’S SO OVER RESCUE AND RETREAT had 4 puppies come in and love on everyone. The pups were up for adoption and if I could have – I would have taken all 4!! Here’s one of the little darlings, Enzo:

Many of you may know that I was using this booksigning as an attempt to raise money for a dear friend of mine whose house burned to the ground on Easter Sunday. There is a Gofund me page set up for her and her family and I wanted to use the proceeds from the sale of my books to help her. Unfortuntately, I didn’t sell as many books as I wanted, but I am going to continue using my book sales this month to help, so if you want to offer assistance in any way, you can donate to the GoFund me page, or order books directly from me on this website and I will donate the proceeds.

All in all, the event was a top five author signing for me – maybe even top 3! I have already filled out and submitted a request form to come back to next year’s signing!

Brava Chrissy Kullman and all the wonderful people who made this event happen. Thank you for an amazeballs day!

Getting ready day…

Tomorrow I leave for my first book event of 2025 – ROMANCE in CNY taking place in Utica, NY.

Today I need to pack up all my stuff. I’ve got a list ( I’ve always got a list!) of things I need to bring: chargers, SQUARE, books, banner. Stuff like that for the event itself.

Yesterday, I went shopping for clothes because I wanted something new to wear. Having lost almost 70 pounds over the past year, my clothes no longer look decent. I look like I’m wearing another person’s clothing – someone, well, 70 pounds heavier. I went to five stores in my town and found NOTHING for me.

Kids, when did stores stop selling pantyhose? Doesn’t anyone wear them anymore? I’m gonna be 65 next month and have almost 65-year-old legs: creepy, veiny, lily white. I want pantyhose covering them up if I wear a dress. I found a store that carried a very limited supply, and the cost almost shut me down for the day: $10.00 for one pair. Not even control top or anything! Just nude hose. God forbid I get a run, that’s $10.00 down the tube. Back in the day, I wore L’EGGS exclusively. Never ran, always fit, came in a cute little egg container I saved and used as easter decorations. Remember those? Fab hose.

And when did it become fashionable for women to show their nipples and hoo-haas in public?

Everything I found had a collar that dropped down to the middle of my chest ( potential nip-slip territory) or was so short, the bottom edge of my underwear showed. I have trouble showing my bare arms in public, never mind other body parts!!

I was so discouraged. I haven’t been clothing shopping since before COVID, and had no idea fashion had changed so drastically. I’ll mention my age again: at almost 65 I do not want to be dressing 40 years my junior. I want age-appropriate, body-part-covering clothing that looks nice, fits well, and doesn’t cost a mortgage payment. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

I came home with a $10.00 pair of pantyhose and soul-crushing defeat in my stance.

Today, I’ll need to try on everything I still own to find something I can jury-rig to fit and look appropriate for the book signing.

The life of a writer is never dull, kids, despite what you’ve heard.

Le sigh.

A nice little surprise…

I was away all Easter weekend visiting with the grandkidlets, so I didn’t post anything to any of my socials, including here. But before I left for the holiday, I received a lovely email from the contest coordinator of the CAROLYN CONTEST, sponsored by THE NORTH TEXAS ROMANCE WRITERS. The email was to inform me that the second book in my HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER series, LOVE MATCH, was a finalist in the contemporary category of the contest in the Low Heat division.

I’m gobsmacked, kids! And so humbled and honored. THE CAROLYN is a prestigious award in the romance writing community, and to be a finalist is just jaw-dropping, and like I said, humbling.

Winners will be announced soon, so I’ll let you know the outcome, but really, just to be a finalist is such an ego boost when Imposter Syndrome rears its ugly head at me! But I will mention, I’ve got some pretty stiff competition:

LOVE MATCH ( HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER, BOOK 2, Layla and 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?

A nice little suprise…

I was away all Easter weekend visiting with the grandkidlets, so I didn’t post anything to any of my socials, including here. But before I left for the holiday, I received a lovely email from the contest coordinator of the CAROLYN CONTEST, sponsored by THE NORTH TEXAS ROMANCE WRITERS. The email was to inform me that the second book in my HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER series, LOVE MATCH, was a finalist in the contemporary category of the contest in the Low Heat division.

I’m gobsmacked, kids! And so humbled and honored. THE CAROLYN is a prestigious award in the romance writing community, and to be a finalist is just jaw-dropping, and like I said, humbling.

Winners will be announced soon, so I’ll let you know the outcome, but really, just to be a finalist is such an ego boost when Imposter Syndrome rears its ugly head at me! But I will mention, I’ve got some pretty stiff competition:

LOVE MATCH ( HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER, BOOK 2, Layla and 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?

New book release!

Well, actually, a re-release.

Today, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, the 4th book in the MacQuire Women series released into the book reading world. With everything going on – the death of our beloved POPE, Easter, and the collapse of democracy ( just to mention a few things!) I forgot about the release until Amazon sent me a “your book is available today” email.

So…

If you’ve been reading along with the series, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME is the 4th book in the series and tells the tale of Quentin Stapelton, Veterinarian, and Moira Cleary, concert pianist and their road to an HEA that is so deserving, my heart sings just thinking about it.

Oh, and there are animals galore in this one ( Veterinarian – right??! LOL) and a set of adorable twin puppies.

Symphony pianist Moira Cleary comes home after four years of touring, exhausted, sick, and spiritually broken. Emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of someone she trusted has left her gaunt, anxious, and at a crossroads both professionally and personally and she longs for the peace and love of her family around her.

Moira’s best friend, veterinarian Quentin Stapleton, wants nothing more than to help Moira get back to her old self. Can his natural healing skills make it possible for her to open her heart again?

And can he convince her she’s meant to stay home now with the family that loves her – and with him – forever?

Available in Amazon/print/kindle/KU

Happy reading, Kids!

A Friday interview that made my day…

So recently, I was interviewed by CanvasRebel magazine. Here’s the text. Have a gander…

CanvasRebelInterview

#Tbt #Throwbackthursday

Here’s a little one from March 2019 ( Pre-covid!!!)

Last Friday I exhausted all my books’ first lines, so I thought I’d try something new: #1stkissfriday.

I’m going to take an excerpt of the first kiss from all my characters and each week spotlight one.

Today, of course it has to be the kiss from my first book SKATER’S WALTZ which recently had its 4th book birthday.

When he removed one hand from her arm, she reached up to trace the outline of one of his eyes. Her finger moved from the outer canthus to his cheek, smoothing the skin she touched. “You didn’t have these little lines when you left.”

Cole stared down at her face.

Her finger roamed down to the corners of his mouth, outlining them, then on to the small dent in the middle of his chin. An impish grin fanned across her face. “I remember being little and wondering if I smoothed this line away would I be able to see inside you, like it was a door or some kind of opening to your insides. Dumb, huh?”

“Sweet,” he said, softly. “Little girl sweet. Never dumb.”

Her eyes traveled up to his and locked there.

“When I got older I wondered what it would be like to kiss it.”

His breath hitched.

“Would it taste like soap, left over from shaving, or would it be all spiky and nubby because you missed a few hairs. Or would it taste uniquely like you do. I still wonder about that.”

“Tiffany.”

Knowing what he was about to do, and to whom, should have sent him jumping off the couch, running in the other direction. Instead, when his head came down to hers all Cole could think about was how much he wanted to taste her again, how he wanted to lose himself in her, and how both those feelings somehow seemed right, even though he knew they shouldn’t.

Her body tensed as he inched closer. When his lips finally captured hers, she turned fluid under his hands.

Her smooth, small body slackened beneath him as his lips gently moved across hers, tasting them, savoring them. Releasing his grip on her arms, he leaned on his elbows and ran his fingers into her hair, cupping her face while holding fistfuls of the glorious mane.

New, strange emotions jumped about in his body, heightening the sensation of every touch, every caress. She had a mouth made for kissing, for being pleasured and for giving pleasure in return. When he parted her lips with his tongue and edged into the inner treasures of her mouth, taking every inch of it captive, Cole felt as if he was falling to an abyss of pure and total joy.

A moan escaped from somewhere within her, so raw, so seductively feminine, it made Cole’s heart jump, thrilling him with the knowledge that he was the cause.

Tiffany’s hands fisted in his hair, moved down to his neck, his shoulders, massaging, kneading the tight muscles.

His lips traced down over her perfect jaw to the small hollow just behind her ear, and she shivered against his mouth.

A hot burst of sanity blew through his mind.

With a suddenness that left him breathless, Cole pulled back and gazed down into green eyes that were cloudy and drowsy and utterly sexual.

“Tiffany—”

“If you say you’re sorry, I’ll kill you.”

Taken aback, he flinched.

“I mean it,” she said, eyes now wide open and glaring straight at him.

“Tiff, I, I don’t know what to say.”

“The truth would be a good place to start,” she told him.
Cole pulled back to a sitting position and avoided her eyes.
When he hung his head into his hands, and swiped his hair behind his ears, Tiffany sat up.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, with the two of us,” Cole said. “I can’t seem to keep my hands off you. All I think about is—God, I’m sorry.”

“You’re a dead man,” she said flatly.

Intrigued? If you want to read Tiffany and Cole’s story, SKATER’S WALTZ is available in print and ebook, here:

Read a preview of SKATER’S WALTZ

Goodreads Reviews

Looking for me? I’m usually here:

Here’s the link to my TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK podcast interview, just in case you missed it: TMAYDB

and the link to my recent interview on NewHampshirePublicRadio

Spotlight on Romance…

It’s always a kick for me to be a guest on a webinar or podcast. My little ego gets nervous, but elevated at the same time, lol!

Recently, I was asked to be a guest on SPOTLIGHT ON ROMANCE with Paula Judith Johnson. I talked about why I consider entering contests a good marketing strategy, especially when you are a new author and how they have helped me find new readers.

Of course, winning doesn’t hurt, either, lol.

Here’s the broadcast if you want to watch it… https://youtu.be/DkHBiaXmlxk?si=9-3JNeDvO1oid1uS