A promise from author Peggy Jaeger

Happy Monday readers. 

Join with me in welcoming back my friend, author Peggy Jaeger. Peggy is here to bring us her new book, 

There's No Place Like Home 

and a promise we can take to the bank.

A promise to the reader…

 One thing I keep in mind whenever I start a new story – be it a novel or a shorter version story – is the implicit promise I make to the potential reader of my tale. Namely, the story will end as it should.

 Cryptic sounding? Not so much.

Here’s why.

Every story has, as we were all taught in school, a beginning, middle, and end. It’s my job as a writer to take you through the first two parts and then settle you into an ending that not only satisfies all the story elements, but you – the reader- as well.

I’m sure you’ve read a mystery novel at one time and, when the ending was revealed you went, “Huh? Where did that come from?”  The denouement (the final part of a story in which the elements and facets of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved) should always be satisfying to the reader and the story. There is nothing more infuriating than coming the end of a well-crafted and entertaining tale and having the ending be… meh.

Since I write romantic fiction, my implicit promise to the reader is that I will bring the hero and heroine to a happily ever after ending. I can rake them over the coals, shoot them through proverbial canons, and give the appearance every obstacle that could bar them from being together will take place AS LONG AS in the end, despite everything, they wind up together.

I have read some romance novels, I will admit, where I wasn’t too fond of the hero and thought the heroine deserved to be alone at the end. But, they ended the story in one another’s arms and hearts, which is the ending the author promised the reader.

I recently re-watched a romantic comedy movie titled THE BREAKUP with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. ***Spoiler alert here*** They didn’t windup together in the end of the film, but you were really kind of happy they didn’t. Neither of them belonged together and you wished them both happiness in finding the perfect partner. Now, if this had been the ending in romance novel, I would venture to say that author would have had a very short romance writing/publishing life. The reader of romance WANTS, DEMANDS and EXPECTS the hero and heroine to windup together  in one another’s hearts and arms on the last page. It’s one of the main definitions and cornerstones of a romance novel.

So, here’s my promise to the reader who likes what I write: I will never disappoint you with an ending that doesn’t,  a. make sense, or b. doesn’t end in an HEA for our main characters.

That’s my promise from me to you.

Enough said.

Blurb:

Symphony pianist Moira Cleary comes home after four years of touring, exhausted, sick, and spiritually broken. Emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of someone she trusted has left her gaunt, anxious, and at a crossroads both professionally and personally.

Moira’s best friend, veterinarian Quentin Stapleton, wants nothing more than to help Moira get well. Can his natural healing skills make it possible for her to open her heart again? And can he convince her she’s meant to stay home now with the family that loves her - and with him - forever?

                                                              Excerpt:

“Remember when your cousin Tiffany got married in the backyard here?”

Confused, Moira nodded.

Quentin rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “When the Reverend told Cole ‘you can kiss your bride,’ and he swooped her off the ground, spun her around and kissed her silly? Remember what you said?”

 “I think I said it was the most romantic thing I’d ever seen.”

He nodded. “The exact quote was, ‘I hope someone kisses me like that some day.’”

Her grin was quick at the memory. “Pat snorted and said I’d better be satisfied with licks from the horses and Rob Roy because no guy was ever gonna kiss me.”

“He wasn’t known for tact back then.” He rubbed a hand down her back as he held her. “Remember what happened later on behind the barn?”

Because she did, she couldn’t stop the heat from spreading up her face like wildfire. When she nodded again, he said, “You wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed like that and since I was your best friend, you thought I should be the one to do it, because you – quote - felt safe with me – unquote.”

“What was I? Eleven?”

“Thirteen. And I was more than willing. Almost broke my heart in two when you said afterward, ‘I don’t see what all the fuss is about.’”

 “Q—”

“Hush.” He kissed her forehead. “Ever since that day, all I’ve wanted is a second chance. Now,” he pulled her body closer, wrapped both arms around her small waist, his hands resting just above the dent in her spine. “We’re both a little older, a little more mature. Some of us are much more experienced—”

“And conceited.”

“Experienced,” he said, the laugh in his voice quiet and seductive, “and things can be so much better.”

                                            Buy Links 

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1J1f3OZ

The Wild Rose Press:  http://bit.ly/1GmM1Je

Barnes and Noble Nook :  http://bit.ly/1JjMUG7

Author bio:

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 were 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 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.

She has a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration and had several articles published on Alzheimer’s Disease when she ran an Alzheimer’s In Patient care unit during the 1990’s

In 2005 she was thrilled to have an article on motherhood placed in the CHICKEN SOUP FOR EVERY 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, and in 2014 she was a finalist in the Put Your heart in a Book contest.

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.

She also has her own website http://peggyjaeger.com where she writes about everyday life and how it relates to writing. Twitter is her current obsession, but she is never far from her Facebook pages.

In 2015 she will have her first three contemporary romance novels published by The Wild Rose Press: Skater’s Waltz, book 1 in the MaQuire Women Series, and There’s No Place Like Home, book 2. Book 3 is titled First Impression. Three more are in the works for this series, in addition to her Cooking with Kandy series.

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