Author Interview: Peggy Jaeger – A Shot At Love

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Peggy Jaeger will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

Author Interview

  1. Woohoo! You are a published author. Describe a strong character trait you possess, good or bad, and how it helped you become a published author.

This is a great question. I am very very VERY nosy. Strongly nosy. I am always upfront with people and say this before I start speaking with them: “Just fyi, I’m nosy. If you don’t want to answer or talk to me, I understand.” I’ve never had anyone say they didn’t!!! What’s that old saw? Honesty is the best policy? It has been for me.

Being nosy has helped me so much as a writer because hand-in-hand with the nosiness goes eavesdrop-pery. I lovelovelove to listen to people talk and interact when they don’t know I am listening. On line in Panera; at the movies waiting for the film to start; at the bank listening to how people speak to the Tellers. This trait has made me a very good dialogue writer. Every writing contest I’ve ever entered and every editor I’ve ever worked with have consistently mentioned my strong, dead-on, perfect dialogue skills.

2. Sometimes an author begins writing a story before they are aware of its genre. Did you choose your genre, or did it choose you?

I chose romance. Pure and simple. The HEA (Happily Ever After) story is my favorite to read, so I knew it was going to be the one I wanted to tell. If a little mystery, or a little suspense eeks in, well, that’s okay. But at its heart and core, my books are all pure romance stories.

3. The plot thickens, or does it? Which one are you, a pantser or a plotter?

Before I answer that, I have to tell you I have a scientific background. I’ve been a Registered Nurse for 150 years ( kidding, but close. Really close!) and I was trained in the scientific method. I’ve found with most decisions in my life, and how I approach events and circumstance, the scientific approach is what works best for me. Analyze, gather information, formulate a hypothesis, experiment. Make changes along the way if need be. That’s been how I live my life and have worked my career.

I told you all that to tell you the reason I am a plotter first, last and always. I need to know what direction I am in going in and where I plan to end up before I ever type “CHAPTER ONE.” Before I begin to type a word I have all my characters planned out, the setting is precise, I know my GMC ( Goal Motivation Conflict) for each and every character. I could never write a book flying by the seat of my pants. Well..I probably could. But I’d be a wreck doing it!

4. Fear 101: As writers it is our duty to make our characters face their fears. Have you ever included one of your own fears in a storyline?

Not yet, but in a book I’m currently planning out I am having the heroine do just that. I don’t like to talk about stuff during the planning stages, though, so….

5. Fear 102: Yes, deadlines are terrifying. Have you conquered the juggling act between writing and the rest of your life? What do you do when it feels like the balls are dropping all around you?

I will start this off by saying I am blessed. I retired in 2015 when I got my first publishing contract. I always told my husband I planned on quitting when I became a published author. I don’t know which of us was more surprised when I did!

Just because I’m retired now it doesn’t mean I sit around and watch reruns of I love Lucy all day. I have a very strict writing routine. I’m at my desk in my home office at 4 am everyday. 2 hours of social media postings and promos later, I go to the gym for an hour because, you know….I sit all day and… backsides spread. Just saying. After the gym I write from3-4 hours then have lunch and do the life things like laundry, grocery shop, etc. Afternoon brings another 3-4 hours of writing and then I start thinking about dinner for hubby. On weekends I don’t work on my WIP (Writing in progress) but I do write  my blog posts for the week and schedule them to upload on their assigned days.

Luckily, my daughter is grown and out of the house and my husband still works 14 hours a day so I have a great deal of alone time in which to write and get the life stuff taken care without interruptions or annoyances.

Like I said: I’m blessed.

6. Switch positions with one of your main characters in a scene. What is the outcome, disaster or divine intervention?

In my current release A SHOT AT LOVE, Gemma is 28. If I switch with her and DON’T get to be her age, the scene I am envisioning would need a divine intervention for me to survive!!! There is a great deal of physical stuff I can no longer do at 57 that I could do at 28!!! ‘Nuff said.

7. Where is your favorite place to write? Add that one comfort food that you can’t do without. The only place I write is in my office. It’s on the third floor of my home, overlooking our back forest property. I watch the seasons change outside my window daily! I love that. Although it’s not exactly a comfort food, I couldn’t do without my daily hit of Diet Mountain Dew. The caffeine kick keeps me focused and awake because I don’t routinely drink coffee or tea.

8. Writing inspirations?

SO many to list  and I don’t want to run out of space! First and foremost NORA ROBERTS/JD ROBB. The first time I met her I burst into tears because, you know…it was HER! She took my hand, told me in no uncertain terms to quit crying and asked me about my writing. Love her. Love the way she writes. Love the way she turns every emotional key in my body.

Jill Shalvis and Sarah Morgan. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they  make me wish I was a better writer!

Sandra Brown. I would read a book about the alphabet if she wrote it!

Jennifer Probst  A very different writing style than the others, but again, she makes me laugh while she’s breaking and then repairing my heart and that’s not an easy thing for a writer to do!

9. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? Already happened. Nora Roberts, one of the most prolific writers EVER! I met her in 2015, burst out in tears, and when they stopped I was finally able to ask her this: “Do you ever sleep?” She burst out laughing, hugged me, and said, “Like a baby, every night!”

10. I’ve gone mad – why don’t you come with me? Some people just don’t understand us writers. Name a quirky, writer-thing you do that friends wish you didn’t.

I carry a notebook with me everywhere and I will stop talking with someone or cease whatever we are doing  if an idea pops into my head or if I hear a line of dialogue I want to remember for a future book or character trait. Drives my girl friends crazy because I will stop in the middle of the mall while we are walking to another store, or I will walk out on a movie if inspiration hits me just so I can write the idea down and not forget it. I don’t think I ‘ve seen a movie or a theatrical show all the way through in 15 years.

 

Danita- these were great questions! I may steal one or two for my own blog interviews!!! Thanks for hosting me today.

 

A Shot At Love

by Peggy Jaeger

 

GENRE:   Contemporary Romance

 

BLURB:

Nothing’s impossible when love is on the menu. In Peggy Jaeger’s luscious series, the only thing more tempting than a delicious meal is a truly delectable romance . . . Look for exclusive recipes in each book! Photographer Gemma Laine is looking for arresting faces on the streets of Manhattan when her camera captures something shocking—a triple murder. In that moment, she becomes a target for the mob—and a top priority for a very determined, breathtakingly handsome, FBI special agent. With deadlines to meet and photo shoots on her calendar, Gemma chafes at the idea of protection, but every moment she spends under his watchful eye is a temptation to lose herself in his muscular arms . . . With two of his men and one crucial witness dead, Special Agent Kyros Pappandreos can’t afford to be distracted. But Gemma is dazzling—and her connection to Kandy Laine’s high-profile cooking empire makes her an especially easy mark for some very bad people. Keeping her safe is much more pleasure than business, but as the heat between them starts to sizzle, Ky is set to investigate whether they have a shot at love . . .

 

Excerpt:

A woman stood next to the vehicle, a cell phone at her ear, her back to him. Tall, maybe as tall as him, and slender, her back tapered down to a miniscule waist, her legs clad in tight, faded jeans. When she turned Ky almost stopped midstride, the questions he intended to grill her with jumping out of his head. His breath caught as he simply stared at the loveliest woman he’d ever seen.

Hair the color of midnight, straight as a board, fell to just below her shoulders, blowing back from her face in the gentle afternoon breeze. Blunt, chopped bangs, fringed a pair of large, bright blue eyes. Plump, coral colored lips moved as she spoke into the phone and for a brief, hot second, Ky wondered if they’d taste as delicious as they looked.

Her gaze stayed on him as she spoke.

“I’ve gotta go,” she said into the phone. “Yeah. I’ll call when I’m done. Love you, too.”

“Miss Laine?”

She tucked the phone into her back pocket.

“I’m Special Agent Pappandreos. I need to speak with you about what you saw.”

“Special Agent?” Those delicate brows furrowed under her bangs. “Like, FBI?”

Jesus, where does a woman get a voice like that? Whiskey laced with honey and rolled into one smooth pitch.

 

Author Bio and Links:

Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance writer who writes 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 topics of daily 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.

Tying into her love of families, her children’s book, THE KINDNESS TALES, was illustrated by her artist mother-in-law.

Peggy holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s.

In 2013, she placed first in two categories in the Dixie Kane Memorial Contest: Single Title Contemporary Romance and Short/Long Contemporary Romance.

In 2017 she came in 3rd in the New England Reader’s Choice contest for A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS and is a finalist in the 2017 STILETTO contest for the same title.

A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.

 

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://instagram.com/mmj122687/

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In The Key Of Love

I should have known I would end up here... Give me a good book and I'm in heaven. Especially romance, mystery, mayhem, the fantastic and the fey. Give me a laptop and I'm writing any one of these, and not in any particular order.

15 thoughts on “Author Interview: Peggy Jaeger – A Shot At Love”

  1. What a fun interview! I was lucky enough to win an advance copy of A Shot at Love, and it is FABULOUS! Best wishes for oodles of sales–you deserve it!

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