I’m so excited to have new author Peggy Jaeger on the blog today answering some fun questions and talking about her first release, Skater’s Waltz, coming March 4th through The Wild Rose Press! I love when writers incorporate their passions, and Peggy has certainly done that. I look forward to reading. Please help Peggy feel welcome!
The worlds of ice skating and reporting overseas are very different. Did you have to do a lot of research to build them?
In all honesty, no. For most of the first 40 years of my life I ice skated. I wasn’t anywhere near as good as my heroine, Tiffany, but I loved it. When I was 45 I had a bad fall when my toe pick landed in a rough patch of ice and I broke my leg so badly I needed surgical pins it in. After that, I was leery of getting back on skates. I’ve never missed a televised skating event though. During my middle and high school years I wanted to be a journalist. My favorite biography at the time was The Adventures of Nellie Bly. I wanted to be just like her and travel the world reporting the news. When I got accepted to college, I changed my major from English to Nursing. But I still wanted to travel and write.
Any personal experiences or passions for either?
Skating, yes. In school I worked on the school newspaper. That was as close to being a “journalist” as I ever got.
I love the “he needs to see her as a woman” storylines. What drew you to write that for this couple?
As an only child of divorced parents who both remarried, I always wanted a sibling – either biological or step. Unfortunately, I never got one. I’ve always wondered how relationships change when children of blended families attain adulthood. Do they remain and act like siblings? Or do they start to see themselves as separate entities, and not as people raised in the same sphere?
What are you working on next?
Actually, book two in this series will be published this year by The Wild Rose Press. It’s titled There’s No Place Like Home and tells the story of Tiffany’s cousin Moira and veterinarian Quentin Stapleton. The two have been best friends since the womb. This story details how their relationship changes when they come back into each other’s lives after being separated. Right now I have just completed the first draft for book three, First Impressions which tell the story of Moira’s brother Padric and the local family practice doctor, Clarissa Rogers. I love writing about families, how they grow, change, and how they love each other.
Please share one random fact about you:
It’s a silly one, but my left eye is way smaller than my right one. I’ve had two retinal detachments and surgeries to fix them, plus two cataract surgeries, so my left eye wound up smaller after all that surgical manipulation. It makes getting a good picture hard, since you have to find a way to not draw attention to the difference.
5 words that describe your romance writing style?
emotional, monogamous, hot, sexy and playful
Favorite part about being an author?
Everything! But if I had to pick one thing it would be when someone tells me they liked what I wrote. Since I write for myself, not an audience, I never cease to be amazed when another human being says they like my stories. It gives me a huge ego boost.
What fictional character would you like to be? And why?
Hands down, always and I every way Elizabeth Bennett. To me she glories the romance heroine. Smart, sassy, witty, doesn’t tolerate fools, loves with no boundaries and is always willing to learn from her mistakes.
What celebrity would you want to trade places with?
I would love to have Leila Ali’s body stuck on Angelina Jolie’s face for just one day with my mind inside of them.
What’s your usual Starbucks order? (or other frequented food/drink establishment)
I only drink plain Lipton’s black tea, because I find it ridiculous to pay $5.00 for something I can make for 25 cents at home.
And now for the speed round (ala Actors Studio). One word answers to the below:
- What turns you on? Intelligence
- What turns you off? narcissism
- What is your favorite word? Yes!
- What is your least favorite word? Can’t
- What sound or noise do you love? My daughter’s laughter
- What sound or noise do you hate? hunger
- What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Chef
- What profession other than yours would you NOT like to attempt? Lawyer
- What is your favorite swear word? It’s a phrase: “Crap on a stick!”
- If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say to you as you enter the Pearly Gates? “Come on in. Some people have been waiting for you.”
SKATER’S WALTZ
Figure skater Tiffany Lennox is busy with rehearsals for an upcoming ice show when the only man she’s ever loved comes home after a two-year overseas stint. She needs him to see her for the woman she’s become and not the child he knew to ensure he stays home, this time, for good. With her.
For all his wanderlust and hunger for professional success, Cole Greer comes home wanting nothing more than to rest, relax and recover. He is delighted in being Tiffany’s hero and has a special place in his heart reserved for her. But faced with the oh-so-desirable woman she’s become, he starts questioning his determination to keep their relationship platonic.
When forced by the television network to go back on assignment, Cole – for the first time in his life – is torn between his career and his heart.
Coming this March 4th!!!
EXCERPT:
To recover his balance, Cole leaned back into the couch, grabbed what he hoped were her upper arms and shoved. In a heartbeat, she was lying backwards along the length of the couch with him lying on top of her.
Tiffany squealed, trying to twist her hips out from beneath him. “Let me go!”
“Not a chance. I know how your devious little mind works, and I taught you how to wrestle. The minute I loosen up you’ll hip check me over the back of the couch. No thanks.”
Tiffany burst out laughing. “You rat. That’s exactly what I was going to do.”
“You know retreat and surrender are inevitable, Tiff. I outweigh you and I’ve got the distinct advantage of your injury in my favor. Give?”
“Okay, you win.” She went limp beneath him.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled down at her. “You must be maturing,” he said. “You never used to give up so easily.”
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 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 gaze traveled up to his eyes 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.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Peggy Jaeger has been a lifelong lover of words. Her favorite Christmas present when she was 8? A Dictionary. She has won numerous short story, literary, and non-fiction awards, has had 2 children’s books published and has been included in the Chicken Soup For Every Mother’s Soul Anthology. She writes in her attic loft in her home in New Hampshire when she is not painting or cooking.
Abigail – I can’t thank you enough for hosting me. This truly, never gets old.
My pleasure! The books sounds wonderful. Congrats and good luck with the release! 🙂
Great interview, ladies. Peggy, the excerpt was so enjoyable. good luck with the release!
Barbara – thanks for being so supportive!