Peggy Jaeger's Blog, page 68
February 14, 2023
February 13, 2023
#TuesdayTease SABLE: ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID #preorder
So last year a group of authors got together and penned the LAST MAN STANDING SERIES, of which my guy was CHANCE. This year we’re taking on the ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID gals.
My addition is SABLE, Chance’s little sister.
Pediatrician Sable Miller is sick and tired of being the go-to, dependable bridesmaid in all her family and friends’ weddings. But her demanding job, the ridiculous hours, and endless family commitments keep her from finding the perfect man. A matchmaking service? Sounds like too much work. Swipe right dating? Not her thing. The bar scene? When was the last time she even had an evening free to go to a bar?
And forget about dating the myriad of on-the-make doctors and residents in her hospital. Besides, workplace romances never work out.
Sable’s options to meet the man of her dreams and start a family are dwindling and time is running out, because she promised herself the next wedding she would attend would be her own.
Kristopher Lee, the Physician’s Assistant assigned to Sable has a crush on his new mentor. But she’s got a hands-off rule when it comes to dating someone she works with. Kris is nothing if not persistent, though. After all, he didn’t survive three tours in the Army without focusing on a goal. And making Sable Miller fall in love with him is his best goal yet.
“I tried to introduce her to a guy from my office last month,” Sable’s cousin Moira said. “Single and a stockbroker. I invited him to dinner, Sable too. She called me at the last minute and canceled, saying she had to cover at the hospital. I swear all she does is work.”
“This is the sixth family wedding in a row where she’s been a bridesmaid,” Aunt Mary declared. “Goodness knows how many times she’s stood up for her friends.”
“Does she even have friends?” Teresa asked. “If all she ever does is work, how can she?”
That hurt.
Sable had a score of college and medical school friends she got together with whenever she could. And yes, she’d been an attendant at all their weddings. So what?
Come to think of it, they were all married now, too. She was the lone single on not only the family front, but in the friendship ring as well.
A sudden burst of sadness overtook her.
“That old saw always a bridesmaid never a bride fits our girl to a tee,” Aunt Mary said. She blew out a breath. “I’m worried for her. You know if her mother were still alive she’d be trying to find someone for Sable just as we are. It’s our duty as her sisters to make sure her daughter is happy and settled down.”
“I just can’t understand why some worthy man hasn’t already swept her off her feet. Our girl is beautiful. Stunning, even. Smart and savvy. And so kind heart hearted and warm,” Teresa said. “You’d think a dedicated pediatrician who looks like she does would be snatched up in a heartbeat. What’s wrong with men?”
A question Sable had asked herself numerous times over the years. She’d had two long-term relationships since graduating college and dated when she could. She’d thought she’d be married by now with kids, a dog, and that house in the suburbs that fulfilled the American dream. Unfortunately, the men she’d been involved with hadn’t liked coming in second to her career. With so much time spent studying, then her on-call rotations while in residency, the relationships had fizzled out due to lack of available time to spend together. One guy had even accused her of being married to her job.
Sable had to consider he wasn’t wrong.
“Maybe it’s not the men,” Moira offered. “Maybe Sable’s too picky and no one can live up to her expectations.”
Well that’s wrong, Cuz.
The only expectations Sable had at this point were the man not be abusive, have a pulse, and tolerated her crazy work schedule without an argument.
“Maybe,” Teresa said. “At this rate, Mary’s right and Sable’s always going to be a bridesmaid and never a bride. I’d hate to see her turn into an old maid with nothing to show for her life but a career.” Sable could hear the swish of her hair as the woman shook her head.
“And sitting alone in an apartment every night with just a herd of cats for company.”
Sable blanched at the picture forming in her head.
The trio left a moment later.
Sable blinked back the tears swirling in her eyes. Her aunt’s words hurt—more because they were true.
What to do about it was the question. Meeting available men was difficult at best. The men she met in her practice all had children who were her patients, and wives. Picking up a man in a bar was something she would never do even if faced with that lifetime of loneliness and feline companionship. She’d tried a few dating apps but the men she’d met hadn’t been what she’d been looking for. They fell into two categories once she told them she was a physician. Half were intimidated by her brain and earning potential, the other fifty percent got naughty ideas along the let’s play doctor route.
No thank you.
The notion to succumb to her aunt’s desires and meet some of the men they had lined up for her was fast becoming something she needed to consider.
One thing she was certain of as she left the stall and glanced at her visage in the mirror over the sinks. The next time she attended a family or friend wedding it was going to be her own. She was sick of always being a bridesmaid. She wanted top billing and she was going to do whatever she had to in order to ensure it.
If only she could figure out how to do so without involving her busybody family.
Releasing into the world on Ma7 17 just in time for my birthday, lol. You can preorder your copy now, here: SABLE
February 12, 2023
#mugmonday 2.13.2023
In honor of Valentine’s day and those addictive Candy Hearts!
February 11, 2023
A #Valentinesday #romcom about #family #chocolate & #food
The book that introduced my beloved San Valentino family to the world – 3 WISHES – is a Valentine favorite. Filled with family angst ( a cheating husband), mistaken identity ( our hero) and a strong, Italian chocolatier ( our heroine) 3 WISHES is a fast, fun, and flirty read and part of the Candy Heart Series from The Wild Rose press.
Do wishes have expiration dates?
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her wish!
At about five minutes of ten, I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.
About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile-long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth, and deep. And his mouth, mother of God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
Intrigued? Get your copy just in time for Valentine’s Day, here 3 WISHES
February 10, 2023
A visit with author Jana Richards from Wild Rose Press
I adore my Wild Rose Press sisters, and Jana Richards has been a sister since the beginning of my writing journey with WRP. Today, I’m featuring her and a few of her books in the Victorian Mansion Series. Have a look….
Jana, take it away.
The Story Behind the Victorian Mansion Series
I originally wrote RESCUE ME, book 1 in my Victorian mansion series, many years ago. Like over twenty-five years ago. I submitted the story to Harlequin’s Duets, a line devoted to humorous, light-hearted love stories. Harlequin passed on RESCUE ME, and not long after, a computer crash wiped out the digital copy of the book. The last surviving copy was a printed manuscript that I’d stuffed into a box and pushed into the back of a closet.
Fast forward to 2007. I’d finally sold my first novel to a small publishing company. I’d read that offering a free book at various retailers was a good way of getting attention, but I didn’t have anything to offer. But then I remembered the completed story stuffed into a box at the back of the closet. I dug it out and wondered how I’d turn this pile of paper into an ebook.
Where there’s a will there’s a way. I took my pile of papers to my day job and fed it through a scanner. (Just to be clear, I did this after office hours.) The scanner turned the paper into a PDF, which I emailed to myself and converted into a Word document that I could revise. Because, oh boy, did it need revision. My writing had changed over the years, hopefully for the better.
I also had to come up with cover art. I couldn’t afford a cover artist, so I purchased a piece of vector art for $5 and a friend helped me put the text on it. Using software at Amazon and at Draft to Digital, I put the cover and the manuscript together and magically turned them into an ebook! I offered it free at several retailers.
That low-budget free book served me well for several years. But by 2018 I decided I needed something more. A free book isn’t terribly useful unless it leads to further sales. So I wrote a companion book to RESCUE ME called TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. Both are set in the same, somewhat shabby Victorian mansion in Toronto. This time, I commissioned a really great cover from artist Rae Monet, and it’s one of my favorites, probably because of the pug! I put the cover and buy links in the back of RESCUE ME, hoping to entice readers to buy the new book.
But I’d made a couple of fundamental flaws in my marketing. First of all, I didn’t change the cover of RESCUE ME when the new book released. It still had my homemade cover. Secondly, I wrote TAKE A CHANCE ON ME as a spicy, sexy book while RESCUE ME is a sweet romance. I reasoned that most of my other books were of the spicy variety, so it represented my writing better. Perhaps that was true, but it meant the Victorian Mansion two-book series (or duet) was uneven when it came to heat levels.
So, in 2022 I decided to do something about it. First, I commissioned a new cover for RESCUE ME. It was finally time to get a professional cover and once more Rae Monet came through. Second, and most difficult, I rewrote TAKE A CHANCE ON ME to make it a sweet romance. I found it wasn’t simply a matter of removing the sex scenes. The tone of the book had to change as well. It required a lot of work and took much longer than I’d expected.
But finally, by December of 2022, I was able to relaunch the Victorian Mansion duet with a new cover for RESCUE ME and a rewrite of TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. Both are now available on Kindle Unlimited. It’s been a long time coming!
Chelsea Andrews can’t decide who’s more dangerous—the creep on the Toronto city bus, or the handsome stranger who rescues her. Was he acting as he claimed, or is he that weird in real life? She doesn’t stick around to find out. Fate intervenes when her rescuer, out-of-work actor Matt Malone, sublets the apartment next door. Chelsea soon discovers the most dangerous thing about her charming new neighbor is the damage he’s inflicting on her heart.
Or is it? Soon after Matt moves in, strange romantic notes begin showing up at the art gallery where Chelsea works. Then she’s followed home from the bus stop late one night, and her apartment is broken into. Despite her growing feelings for Matt, all the evidence points to him as the culprit.
Matt is at a crossroads. His acting career is stalled, and all his siblings are getting married and having babies while his love life is non-existent. Something has to change. Things begin to look up for Matt when he moves next door to Chelsea. He’s totally captivated by the beautiful blonde and wants to take their relationship to the next level. But when he discovers what Chelsea suspects about him, his plans are put in jeopardy. And how can he protect her from the real stalker?
Is Matt the kind, funny, sincere man Chelsea is falling in love with, or some kind of letter-writing stalker? She must decide whether he is a dream come true or her worst nightmare.
Here are my buy links:
Rescue Me:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008WU7FEY
Teacher Darcy Ferris loves to travel almost as much as she loves her Toronto neighborhood. But no matter how far she roams, she always returns to the genteelly shabby Victorian mansion where she grew up, the last place her father lived. Darcy’s world is turned upside-down when the Victorian is slated for demolition.
Since the death of architect Nick Cummings’ mother, his father has retreated from his real estate development business, and from life. In a desperate attempt to interest him in something once more, Nick buys a beat-up Victorian mansion and draws up plans to replace it with a Victorian-inspired condo. He hopes his father’s old spark will return if he helps him build the new condo. But he doesn’t expect such opposition from his new tenant, Darcy Ferris. Nor does he expect to fall in love with her.
Nick and Darcy must come to terms with the past before they can forge a future together. And they’ll need to take the biggest chance of all – on love.
Take a Chance on Me:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length contemporary romance, paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.
When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading (which she does much better).
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and two senior cats named Layla and Leelou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.com
Jana Richards’ Social media links:
Website: https://www.janarichards.com
Blog: https://janarichards.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards
Amazon UK Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B002DEVWWG
Newsletter Signup: https://janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janarichards155/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards
February 9, 2023
#firstlinefriday 2.10.2023
This little gem came out just before Valentine’s Day 2016 and is still one of my all-time favorite books of mine because it introduced me and the book-reading world to the wonderful San Valentino family.
Here’s the first line:
“I’m culling,” my mother said.
That line made me laugh when I wrote it because if you read the entire paragraph, you get a sense that something is not exactly RIGHT about this type of culling!
Want to meet the San Valentino family? Here’s the link to 3 Wishes.
#thursdaytease MAGIC’S CHARM #kindlevella #newepisode
Episode #5 released today. Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from it:
“I know you’re preparing for tonight’s show,” he said reaching them and tossing a wary eye at the panther, “but I wanted to apologize to you for what happened last night.”
“What happened is that you lied to me,” Siobhan said.
“Technically, it was a lie of omission.” When she began to open her mouth to dispute that, Rhys put up a hand, halting her, and said, “But it was still a lousy thing to do. I’ll admit that. I knew you didn’t want to meet with me. My publisher told me how adamant you were in your disapproval of this project. I thought if you got to know me, knew I wasn’t some horrible, miserable guy just trying to make a quick buck off your family, it may make it a little easier to cooperate.”
“What you call a project,” Siobhan said acidly, “is my family’s private business. And I don’t want it publicized, serialized, or discussed by the world.”
“I realize that. I’m Rhys McDowell, by the way,” he said moving to Riordan, his hand extended.
Siobhan bit back a nasty retort at the way her mother, as was characteristic, stood a little taller and straighter and primped her hair when Rhys noticed her. Extending her own hand, Riordan’s smile was free and open as she said, “Mr. McDowell. Our lawyer contacted us just last week to tell us of your publisher’s intention. We really haven’t had a lot of time to discuss it as a family.”
If you’re intrigued, here’s where you can read the whole story so far: MAGIC’S CHARM
February 7, 2023
The Art of Seducing a Husband releases today! #ClairBrett #Victorianromance #historicalromance
One of my favorite authors ( and humans!) CLAIR BRETT has a new release today and I’m tickled she’s allowing me to share the deets with you all. THE ART OF SEDUCING A HUSBAND, book 5 in the Improper Wives for Proper Lords series is out today.
Anthony Colcord, Earl of Wolverton, is determined to rise above the legacy his parents left him and the rumors of his legitimacy. Losing his mother to suicide at nine left him fearing his own future. He will not become a monster like his father and to make sure of it, he must keep his new bride at a distance. If he does not let his emotions engage, he will remain level-headed. However, finding the perfect English bride untainted by the Ton and assuming he would not be attracted to her was his first mistake. His second mistake was thinking his friends would let him live in a loveless marriage.
Lady Jemma Colcord, Countess of Wolverton, was twelve when her parents perished in a barn fire. Her brother, the new Baron Pontefract, at sixteen and allowed his solicitors to convince him to send his sister to the New Hall school, run by nuns. Now grown, Jemma is determined to belong and have what she remembers her parents shared. However, her new husband seems content to leave her to rot in the country while he escapes to London without consummating their union. Undeterred, Jemma must rely on her new-found friends, including Lord Wolverton’s former courtesan, to teach her that which the nuns did not.
After an encounter at a function, Anthony decides he can have the best of both worlds. In the darkened closets and alcoves of the wealthiest homes, he plans on enjoying all his new wife offers. But, during the light of day away from a potential scandal, he must keep his distance and save his sanity.
The more Jemma tastes of her new husband only fuels her determination to not only win him for a tryst in a closet, but for her days as well.
In the ballrooms and hallways of London drawing rooms, a battle will wage for the most valiant of causes—Love.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Seducing-Husband-Improper-Wives-Proper-ebook/dp/B0BRBQ61C8
Ibooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-art-of-seducing-a-husband/id6445258870
Nook : https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-seducing-a-husband-clair-brett/1142897093
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-art-of-seducing-a-husband
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75403203-the-art-of-seducing-a-husband
Books2Read, universal link: https://books2read.com/Art-of-Seducing-a-Husband :
“Is it her intent to annul?” Anthony asked, almost inaudible to his own ears.
“I don’t think so. But what I think is that you need to come up to snuff quickly, because when my wife is involved, whatever it is will be diabolical. And you will be brought to your knees.”
Max continued drinking, but never took his eyes off Anthony, clearly waiting for him to have an epiphany. What he did instead was bristle.
“Might I suggest you demand your wife return to the country and stop meddling in others’ lives?” There, Anthony felt marginally better being able to blame his friend for poor control of his own wife as the result of Anthony’s current issues.
All Max did was chuckle while swirling his whiskey in his glass. “You are correct. I am well within my legal right to make such demands on my wife. She would be legally bound to obey my demands or suffer my wrath. However, I have plans to be blissfully happy for the next thirty-odd years and to do that, I must have my wife blissfully in love with me. So, at the expense of sounding like I repeat myself as I have told you many times already, now that you are married, you must throw out whatever mixed up, deranged ideas about women and weddings that your father filled your head with and just love your wife.”
Anthony sat in the middle of the club he had been a patron of from the time he was old enough to order a port, and watched as the room shrunk around him as the noise rose to the level of an orchestral crescendo.
“So, you will not aid your truest of friends by holding your wife to task in this matter?” The anger he’d earlier put on himself found a home, settling its sights on the man he trusted most in life. He was being abandoned.
Not flinching in the least, Max raised his glass to Anthony. “What is it you always say? Bet on the horse you think will win, not the one who prances the most?”
Fur baby wrangler and historical romance author of 7 published novels, Clair Brett lives in NH with her hard-working husband of 23 years.
Her office staff during the day consists of Cinta, a black cat and the matriarch of the fur babies, Mojo, a yellow kitten who spends his day holding Clair down in her seat to get her word count in, a boxer/beagle mix puppy named Willow, who sleeps next to her chair to make it hard to do an Oreo run without doing a pee run as well, Sanibel, a lab mix, who is the HR dept. keeping morale up, and sometimes her “grand dog”, Bailey, an 80 pound shepherd mix who is always up for a good time. When not writing, she tries to keep tabs on her newly minted adult daughters who are working on figuring it all out.
A former middle and high school English teacher, Clair has had a lifetime love affair with reading. Once she read Pride and Prejudice as an extra read in high school, she was hooked. Clair began her pursuit of publication when she was a new mother in need of a hobby. Her oldest daughter graduated high school in 2017, so you do the math. Clair is a firm believer that a reader finds a piece of who they are or learns something about the world with every book they read. She wants her readers to be empowered and to have a refreshed belief in the goodness of people and the power of love after reading her work.
Visit Clair on the web at: http://www.clairbrett.com or hang out with her on Facebook: @authorclairbrett or Twitter at: @clairbrett.
February 6, 2023
#kindlevella MAGIC’S CHARM #episode 4
Episode 4 dropped today in my new KindleVella story MAGIC’S CHARM. Here’s a taste for those following ( and those that should be, LOL!) This is the delicate balance between mothers and daughters when mom decides to date again….
“I went out to dinner with Ted after the show.”
“Oh.” She bit the inside of her bottom lip, the quartet of balls still jostling in the air. “I didn’t realize he’d come to the show. I didn’t see him.”
“He called early last night before we went on and said he was coming over after. He wanted to talk about…some things.”
“Pretty late dinner,” Siobhan said.
“We went dancing afterward, Siobhan, at the Crystal room.”
“Oh.”
Riordan’s lips twisted into a droll line. “I am an adult, Honey. I don’t have a curfew anymore, and haven’t for quite some time.”
Siobhan stared up into her mother’s laughing eyes, grabbed all four balls as they fell down into her hands, and gave her mother a sheepish grin. “Sorry, mom. I guess I’m still, well, not used to seeing you with uncle Ted and not daddy. You know, in that way.”
Riordan laughed, grabbed her daughter’s blushing cheeks between her fingers, and said, ” And what way would that be?”
The heat on Siobhan’s face deepened. “Dating. I’m not used to seeing you with anybody but Daddy. It’s, well, it’s just different that’s all.”
When her mother’s arms came around her shoulders to pull her into a hug, Siobhan confessed, “I miss him so much. Every day. I wish he was here, right now, helping us set up.”
“I miss him too, Honey. Every hour of every day. And especially at night.” She pulled back, her bright blue eyes staring into her daughter’s beautiful green ones. “I know it’s weird seeing me with Ted, but I really think Lucius would be fine with this. He loved me and he loved Ted. And we both loved him. I think he would be happy that we’re together.”
