Monday, February 28, 2022

My Book Is Coming Out!

 Leave it to me to have a new book coming out a few days before we leave on vacation. Actually, if you think about it, the timing shouldn’t be a surprise. I’ve had books release the day after my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, and right around the time of the Passover seder, which I host. So a few days prior to vacation should be neither a surprise nor a big deal.

 

Except that it is. I have a new book coming out! That event is always exciting, whether or not it’s my first. I just looked, and it’s actually my fourteenth! Wow. 

 

Releasing a book is a lot of work. It involves much more than just writing it. After the entire process of writing, editing, cover design, formatting, etc. is complete, comes the marketing. And that starts prior to the launch date. 

 

From the moment I received my release date—March 2—I’ve been working on my marketing plan. I contacted other authors to see if I could be a guest on their blogs. Being a guest blogger gives me the chance to talk about something related to my book, or introduce myself, to their audience. It means a lot of content writing, since I don’t want to say the same thing on everyone’s blogs.

 

I revealed my cover on my Instagram account—and on other Instagrammers' accounts who were kind enough to share. Some of those Instagrammers even created cool graphics about my book, which was awesome!

 

Thank you to Mommy's Book Escape!

I contacted people to read the book in advance and provide me with reviews on release day. I also provided my books to review sites, in the hopes that they’ll write a positive review and people will buy it. Hopefully, they did and will remember to post it on Wednesday or soon after.

 

My website has been, and will be, updated to include the new book and buy links. Same with my Facebook page, my Facebook reader’s group, my Twitter, and all my other social media accounts. I’ve stretched my graphics ability about as far as I can, creating them to announce my cover, the preorder links, and soon, the release of the book. 

 

I mailed postcards announcing my upcoming book to almost everyone for whom I have a mailing address—sorry/not sorry for the junk mail. 

 

I even put the previous book on sale for 99 cents to encourage readers and hopefully gain follow through. And of course, I've kept my newsletter mailing list up to date with my latest news.

 

All of those things take time. It’s part of the whole “being an author” thing, and it’s fun but exhausting. And scary. Because the part I love about being an author is creating the story. The part I love less is trying to convince people to buy my book or get it from their library. But it’s a necessary part of the process, so I do it. 

 

Now, all that’s left is for me to finish up a few blog posts, and then sit and wait and hope all of you buy my book

 

I hope you will. And if you do buy it and read it, I hope you’ll post a review to Goodreads, Amazon, or social media. Or tell your friends about it. That’s the best way for you to help me. Thank you!




Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Welcome Back, Peggy Jaeger

 Jennifer, as always, thank you so much for hosting me today to talk about my newest book release, MIX & MATCH. I love being here with you, your fans, and your followers!

 

Today I want to talk about book covers, namely, the one for MIX & MATCH.

As an indie author I could hire someone to make my book covers for me – and have in the past. For this newest book and the entire Heaven’s Matchmaker series, I decided to do my own. The reason? Money is part of it, but I simply adore this picture so much.

 

You see, this is a picture of my daughter holding her flowers on her wedding day. When I saw the proof of this picture from her wedding photographer, the first thing out of my mouth was. “This would make a great book cover!”

 

When I decided to write the Heaven’s Matchmaker series I knew in my heart I wanted to use this photo for one of the covers. Since the first book takes place in autumn – like my daughter’s wedding – it seemed perfect to start the series with it.

 

Now since I didn’t own the copyright to the photo I couldn’t just copy it and slap it on the front of the book. I needed permission from the photographer. So, I emailed him, told him what I wanted to do, and asked if I could use the picture.

 

He said yes immediately and then quoted a price I couldn’t afford – not for a book cover. I never even thought to haggle with him, thinking he’s a professional and knows what a photo is worth. I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to use it and told my daughter.  Unbeknownst to me, she took the situation in hand. She called the photographer, negotiated a price – which she paid -  and then presented the proof to me as a birthday present.

 

I simply adore this child!

 

And she agreed to have her hands and bouquet used on the cover because you can’t see her face. I’ve always honored her privacy. She didn’t sign up to be in the public eye – that was my decision, so by just showing the torso and flowers, it’s a fabulous compromise.

 

And a pretty darn fabulous cover, too, if I do say so.

 

The book releases on March 1 and is exclusive to Amazon and KU, here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P48WPZC

 

Jennifer – again, thank you so much for letting me invade your blog today! I hope everyone who reads Mix & Match enjoys it. There are 3 more books planned for the next 12 months and I’ve got four more installments swimming around in my head! ~ Peg

 


1st in a new series

#smalltown #laterinliferomance #sweetromance #matchmaker #divorce #familyissues #friendstolovers

 

Blurb: 

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. Meeting the type of woman he’s looking for is hard in the tightknit 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?

 

Excerpt ( PG)

Jasmine scanned the bar where Olivia told her her date would be waiting.  There were three men scattered down along the rail. Two she recognized from high school and one guy whose face she couldn’t see because his back was to her. When he turned she realized immediately this was not the man she was due to have drinks with.

First, there was no way this guy was 36 years old. Her mother would have called him Gramps.

Clue number two was the wedding band on the hand holding his beer. It was so tight, the skin surrounding it swollen, his knuckle hair squeezed around it, indicating it had been there for decades.

Nope. This wasn’t her guy. A cursory glance around the place showed most of the tables were taken with couples.

Her date had yet to arrive.

“Hey, Jazz,” the bartender and owner, Kick Loomis said from his perch drying beer glasses behind the bar. 

“Kick.”

“You squattin’ or sittin’, sweetheart?”

She’d been in the place enough times in her life to know he meant was she going to sit at the bar or take a table.

Jasmine was self-conscious enough she didn’t want to be seated on a bar stool, sitting alone while waiting for her date, especially when one of the guys she’d gone to school with tossed her an inquiring eye and a raised eyebrow. She didn’t want to get into a how-you-doing-what-you-been-up-to-since-high school chat. If her memory served, and it always did, the guy had been one of the football heroes of Heaven High back in the day. Those glory days were long gone and she had no desire to listen to him dredge them up.

She spotted an empty table in the corner and nodded toward it. 

“I’ll send Raylynn over with a menu.”

She nodded and as she was about to head for it felt a tap on her arm.

“Excuse me. Jasmine?”

She turned at the sound of her name, spoken in a deep, soft voice blessed with a charming accent and found herself face to face with the gorgeous guy she’d spotted in her mom’s office. The one Sharmaine had been sucked on to like a tick.

Good Lord, he was even better looking up close and personal than he’d been, seated, and ten feet away from her. Stunning blue eyes, the color of freshly laid Robin’s eggs topped a face with high cut cheeks and a jaw forged from granite. Midnight hair curled around his ears and caressed the nape of his neck. Layered waves fell across his head in a chaos of perfection.

She’d been right about his height. Most men she could stare straight in the eyes due to her own long legs. But she had to tilt her head back a bit to look into this man’s striking ones.

“You are Jasmine, aye?” 

Even his voice was gorgeous, the song of Ireland singing through it.

She nodded, her own voice deciding now would be a good time to leave on vacation. And when his smile took a slow stroll from one corner of his full, thick lips to the other, showing perfect, straight white teeth, the tips of her fingertips began to tingle like she’d fallen asleep on them and spent the night with them cuddled beneath the weight of her body.

He-of-the-handsome-face stuck out his hand and declared, “Good. Olivia said to meet you here. Donovan Boyd, but everyone calls me Van. Lovely to meet you.”

Jasmine knew she should shake his hand. It was the polite thing to do, wasn’t it? For some reason, her brain wasn’t sending any signals down her arm to lift it up to his outstretched one. 

Donovan, or Van, kept his hand out, his smile in place, and ticked his head to the left a hair. A clap of booming laughter rang out from somewhere behind her and finally propelled the gears in her brain to start turning again.

After a headshake where she actually heard her brains rattle, she extended her hand and slipped it into his.

Warmth, like she’d just stepped into a bubbling hot tub, spread along her fingers, shot across her palm, then jumped all the way up to her neck.  A feeling of familiarity bolted through her. With a shock, she recognized it for what it was – desire. Pure and simple. Something she hadn’t felt in almost forever.

She swallowed, said,  “It’s nice to meet you,” then shook her head again as she slid her hand back.

“Would you like to sit at the bar or would ya prefer a table?” he asked.

At the bar she’d have to sit next to him, shoulder to shoulder. That seemed a bit too intimate right now, especially when the nerves she’d thought to quell had started bounding through her again. Better to be across from him, keep them at a bit of a physical distance.

Van thrust his chin toward the empty table she’d been aiming for, extended his hand and said, “Shall we?”

He got points for good manners, that was for sure.

 

Exclusive to Amazon and KU : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P48WPZC


Bio:

Peggy Jaeger writes contemporary romances and rom coms about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them.

Family and food play huge roles in Peggy’s stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal…or two…or ten. Dotted with humor and characters that are as real as they are loving, Peggy brings all aspects of life into her stories: life, death, sibling rivalry, illness, and the desire for everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she longed for sisters, brothers and a family that vowed to stick together no matter what came their way. Through her books, she has created the families she wanted as that lonely child.

As a lifelong diarist, she caught the blogging bug early on, and you can visit her at peggyjaeger.com where she blogs daily about life, writing, and stuff that makes her go "What??!"

 

Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger

 

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks

 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peggyjaeger_author/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-jaeger

 

You-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR8RRIlssIyS0FYZWeGqsg/videos?view_as=subscriber



 

 

 

Monday, February 14, 2022

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's the most romantic day of the year for romance writers, and I'd be remiss in letting it pass by, even if it is a Hallmark holiday (according to my husband, as well as the heroine of Better Together in Boston). Despite his feelings, he knows me well, and he knows what to give me on this "kiss on command" holiday:

I, in turn, will take any chance I can get to dress my daughter's puppy. I mean, come on, how cute is she in a dress:

Before I get back to writing and editing (I have a book coming out in two weeks, and a manuscript to get to my agent, and a 30K writing challenge I'm determined to conquer), I wanted to let you know that one of my books, A Reckless Heart, is on sale for 99 cents. The next book in the series is the one that comes out in two weeks, so now is a great time to read the first one if you haven't already.

Happy Valentine's Day!



Monday, February 7, 2022

VALENTINE’S DAY CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY



Feb 1st-14th


Goodies Given Away Every Day Totalling Over $150


https://ellenmint.blog/valentines-day-countdown-giveaway/


Cupid‘s brought you a magical box of chocolates. Every day, the heart-shaped box reveals a new treat. Take a bite to discover both what flavor is lurking inside the tempting chocolate shell and a new giveaway.


Each day, return to the site to click on the box of chocolates and discover another fantastic prize. Be swept away this holiday season by gripping romance, pampering treats, cozy gifts, and an amazing offer hidden inside the box of chocolates.


The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:


Ellen Mint • AE Lister • Tanith Davenport • N.J. Adel • Jordyn Kross • Aurora Russell • Kara Kendrick • Megan Slayer • January Bain • Jennifer Wilck • Sue London • Seelie Kay • Angela Addams • Kerry Blaisdell