Candy Hearts Romance- 3 Wishes- Peggy Jaeger

Title: 3 Wishes

Author: Peggy Jaeger

Publisher: The Wild Rose press

Line: Champagne

Blurb:

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Excerpt:

            At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.

            If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.

            About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.

            “We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”

            It was at that moment he looked over at me.

            His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.

            “Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”

            So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.

Buy links:

Amazon 

http://amzn.to/1NUT6m6

The Wild Rose Press

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6627

Author Bio:

Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can't live without them. 

Her current titles, available now, include SKATER'S WALTZ and THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, and FIRST IMPRESSIONS books 1 through 3 in her 6-book The MacQuire Women Series, published by The Wild Rose Press.

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. 

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/

And now it's time for a little Q &A

Tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C.

 Anxious, Ballsy, Cooperative

What are your three favorite things? 

Reading, writing and cooking ( in that order)

Are you self- published or with a publishing company (if so, which one?)? 

Traditional Publisher, The Wild Rose press

 What for you is the best part of writing? What is the worst? 

Best is that I get to play God on the page. I lovlovelove creating people, eking out their personalities and then dropping them into weird and wonderful situations, which of course I help them get out of.  Worst is the feeling that I'm never a good enough writer for other people to read.

Is there a process you stick to, or do you just write as it hits you? 

I write everyday - everyday! - for between 6 and 10 hours depending on what I need to do in my real life ( life grocery shop,etc.) Everyday!

Was there any particular inspiration for your characters or story?

I am the child of divorce and my mother's second marriage was to a man of Sicilian descent who had a very loud, very raucous, very tight knit family. I took that prototype and built the San Valentino family around it.

How much is your character like you? 

She's chubby, likes candy and is very devoted to her family - so am I!

Music is a big influence on my writing. I have certain songs that inspire each chapter, or the whole book. What helps to inspire you? 

Really, just watching people. I am the consummate voyeur when I am out in public. People, what they do and how they say it, fascinate me.

What’s the one thing you would do if you could be your character for a day? 

Eat candy! Heaven on earth!!!

What is the ultimate goal you have for your career? 

It sound self aggrandizing but I would love to be on one best seller list before I die. I really just want to keep on writing until the day comes when I can't any more.

Describe your perfect day? 

Wake up, open the laptop, write. In the afternoon grab a book and sit in my 3-seasons room and just read. Cook dinner for hubby and read some more. I know: boring!!!

Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books? 

I've just sent the second book to my WRP editor. It's a Christmas story and tells Chloe's sister, Gia's, story. I just can't put this family down  and away!!

When not writing, what can you be found doing? 

Cooking. I have over 100 cook books, many of them dogeared and written in.

If you could spend the day with any celebrity, who would it be? 

Hands down, Nora Roberts. I don't even care if she talks to me. I just want to bask in her presence.

Favorite writer, book? 

Favorite writer, Nora Roberts, but my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice

When writing, which do you prefer to write with, computer or paper and pen? 

Laptop always. I have arthritis and my penmanship is from hunger! I just realized many people might not know what that means: it means by writing is illegible on a good day!

I'd love to know where your idea for 3 wishes came from.

This one is easy. I am the child of divorce and my mother’s second husband married a man of Sicilian extraction. His family was loud, raucous and tight knit. I took this basic prototype and built the San Valentino family around it. When I came up with Chloe’s character, and since this was a Candy Hearts romance, I knew she had to do something in the candy field, so -BINGO!- Chocolatier. Made sense.

How you decided on the title?   

Chloe is approaching her 30^th birthday and so far, has no man to call her own. I needed a way for her wish of the perfect guy to come true, so the candy heart I chose was 3 Wishes, and there you have it!

What was the inspiration behind your awesome characters?

Again, family is the most important thing to me, and I knew the San Valentino’s were going to be a little quirky. I know many,many,many quirky people in my extended family – aunts who pull chin hairs at the dinner table, uncles who always walk around in their underwear – so I just incorporated a few of those into my characters. Honestly, if my extended family ever reads the book, I’m sure they will see snippets of themselves on every page.

Did you have to taste test any goodies during your research?  

YOWZA, did I ever. I gained three pounds the first week I was writing the book. I even experimented with making my own candy. I didn’t get any outside opinions because I ate it all!