My name is Peggy Jaeger and I am so thrilled to be here. I write contemporary romance and have had my first 2 books released this year by the Wild Rose Press. In a former life I was Nurse with a Master’s Degree in Geriatric Psychology and Nursing Management. But I’ve always been a writer.

When I was in New York City recently I went to a bookstore just to browse. I love the smell of ink-printed papers and the atmosphere of expectation of a real bookstore. You don’t get that with an e-reader.

But I digress.

At this bookstore I found a diary, of sorts. A paperback book, roughly 200+ pages, its title, 300 Writing Prompts.

This baby was calling out my name! I struggle –struggle!- sometimes to find writing topics to blog about on my website,  PeggyJaeger.com so finding a book like this was manna from heaven for me.

I thumbed through the first few pages and took it up to the cashier without another thought.

I’ve gone through each page during the past week and chosen a few broad –and some specific – prompts that got me thinking, the old creative juices flowing.

Today’s prompt was: Do you prefer taking risks or having a safety net?

Kids, I could write a 500+ page book on this topic!

But I won’t. I ‘ll keep it short and blogreader-worthy.

In the sense of disclosure, I am NOT a risk taker. I’m that kid who hated roller-coasters and amusement park rides because I always thought I would be the one on it if it broke down or crashed. I’ve never done an illegal drug in my life – including pot – because I always knew if I did, I would be that one in a million who would have the wicked adverse reaction to it and die from just one use. I’ve never smoked a cigarette because I knew I would be the one who’d come down with bronchitis or lung cancer.

I became a nurse not a doctor (which I could have, and had the opportunity to) because I knew in my heart I would have been sued for something negligent.

See? Cautious.

I didn’t sleep for the first year of my daughter’s life, not because she didn’t – she did. Straight through the night from 8 weeks on. No, I didn’t dare close my eyes because I knew if I wasn’t constantly watching over her something bad would happen – she would be kidnapped, the boogey man would eat her, she’d run away ( when she couldn’t even walk upright!)

See? Cautious AND crazy.

For most of my adult life I was the same way about my romance writing. I wrote as much as I could, whenever I could, cranking out to what today is 27 books on my laptop.

And I never – ever – showed them to anyone.

Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you: because I was nervous, cautious and scared I would be:

laughed at

            scorned

            derided

            ridiculed

            made fun of…

you get the message.

I never once took a risk and thought SOMEONE would like what I wrote.

I was quite simply paralyzed with fear.

And then, one day, something changed.

I was reading a book about someone I admire greatly, Eleanor Roosevelt, and found these two quotes attributed to her:

1. You must do the thing you think you can not do, and
2. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.

So, I asked myself, what was I really afraid of, and why? What was the absolute worst thing that would happen if I showed my writing to someone? I knew they wouldn’t kill me, or maim me. They might find it laughable, so okay. I’d been laughed at before.

I realized there really wasn’t anything that would ultimately and physically harm me if I took a risk and put my work out there.

Heady stuff.

I decided to do something I’d never done before: take a risk.

I started small. I entered a few pages in a romance writing contest. This, I figured, was benign because I wouldn’t know the people judging the work, so their negative opinions wouldn’t really hurt me.

Know what happened?
I won my division and the person who judged it – the person who wound up being my publisher (and don’t I love saying that!) –emailed me and requested the complete manuscript. The rest, as the pundits say, is history.

All because of those two quotes I read attributed to a women who was forced into the public eye and really wanted nothing more in life than to just be with her husband and family. A woman who initially feared being judged for her looks, her family name, her sex and her opinions. A woman who fought valiantly through her fears and became one of the most beloved individuals in our country’s history. A woman whose words changed me forever.

I still hate roller-coasters, won’t even consider smoking pot – even if it’s legalized – and still worry about my daughter, who is now 25.

But I have learned to conquer my fear of being judged for my writing and I willingly take a new risk every time I type “Chapter One.”

Skater’s Waltz Blurb:

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.

Skater’s Waltz Excerpt:

One delicate auburn eyebrow rose almost to her hairline. “Cocky self assurance has always been one of your greatest assets,” she commented dryly.

Cole laughed again and pulled her down into a headlock.

“Snot nosed princess,” he said, knuckle-rubbing her head.

He’d been wrestling with her since she was a child. He’d taught her every subtle move to get the high ground, and in that moment she used the knowledge to her advantage. In one slick move, her arm came out across his neck, forcing his hold to loosen. When it did, she pulled her hand back and pushed forward, expertly flipping him in the seat.

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 backward along the length of the couch with him spread out on top of her.

Both were laughing and wriggling, each trying to get the upper hand.

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 do this. 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 was 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 narrowed 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 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. 

Social Media Links:

Website: http://peggyjaeger.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger

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

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

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

Buy Links for SKATER’S WALTZ

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Skaters-Waltz-MacQuire-Women-Jaeger-ebook/dp/B00TBUK4XS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423442958&sr=8-1&keywords=skater%27s+waltz+by+peggy+jaeger

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Skater-s-Waltz-by-Peggy-Jaeger?store=ebook&keyword=Skater%27s+Waltz+by+Peggy+Jaeger

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6116

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/skater-s-waltz

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/skaters-waltz

Also available on I-Books. Searchword: SKATER’S WALTZ by Peggy Jaeger

• About the Author
• Posts in the Past

Peggyjaeger

Peggy Jaeger’s love of writing began in the third grade when she won her first writing contest with a short story titled THE CLOWN. After that, there was no stopping her. Throughout college and after she became a Registered Nurse, she had several Nursing Journal articles published, in addition to many mystery short stories in Literary Magazines. When her daughter was born, Peggy had an article titled THE VOICES OF ANGELS published and reprinted in several parenting magazines, detailing the birth and the accident that almost turned this wonderful event into a tragedy. She had two children’s books published in 1995 titled THE KINDNESS TALES and EMILY AND THE EASTER EGGS, which was illustrated by her artist Mother-in-Law. While her daughter grew, Peggy would write age appropriate stories for her to read along with, and finally, to read on her own. Her YA stories are usually mysteries involving smart and funny 12-13 year old girls and an unusual collection of friends and relatives. They all take place in the 1980’s.

In 2005 she was thrilled to have an article on motherhood placed in the CHICKEN SOUP FOR VERY MOTHER’S SOUL edition. She has won several awards in various Writer’s Digest short story and personal article categories over the years. Recently, she has placed first in the Dixie Kane 2013 Memorial Contest in the Short/Long Contemporary romance Category, and in the Single Title Contemporary Category, and third place in the ICO Romance Contest for 2013.

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

Peggy has embraced the techno age and writes for three blogs, all detailing events in her life. One titled, 50 pounds for 50 years is a personal blog about weight loss, one about her life as an EMPTY NESTER and her most recent one MOMENTS FROM MENOPAUSE, a humorous and informative guide through this time in a woman’s life.

Her first romance novel, SKATER’S WALTZ, book 1 in the MacQuire Women Series, was released on March 4, 2015 from the Wild Rose Press. The second book in the MacQuire Women Series, There’s No Place Like Home will be released on May 6.

peggyjaeger.com

• Reflections on attending RWA16
• A kiss is just a kiss...
• Taking risks…in writing and in life