Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Peggy
Jaeger and her new book, “Christmas & Cannolis”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of
this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Peggy
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous
giveaway!
Christmas & Cannolis
by Peggy Jaeger
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GENRE: Contemporary Romantic Comedy
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BLURB:
With
Christmas season in full swing, baker Regina San Valentino is up to her elbows
in cake batter and cookie dough. Between running her own business, filling her
bursting holiday order book, and managing her crazy Italian family, she’s got
no time to relax, no room for more custom cake orders, and no desire to find
love. A failed marriage and a personal tragedy have convinced her she’s better
off alone. Then a handsome stranger enters her bakery begging for help. Regina
can’t find it in her heart to refuse him.
Connor
Gilhooly is in a bind. He needs a specialty cake for an upcoming fundraiser and
puts himself—and his company’s reputation—in Regina’s capable hands. What he
doesn’t plan on is falling for a woman with heartbreak in her eyes or dealing
with a wise-guy father and a disapproving family.
Can Regina lay her past to rest and trust the man who’s awoken
her heart?
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EXCERPT TWO:
I
spotted my customer in the seat my mother indicated. His back was toward me,
but I could tell he was tall from how much of him shot up from the chair. Since
I didn’t know how to address him, I simply said, “Excuse me?” when I finally
arrived at the table. I was all set to introduce myself and ask how I could
help him, but before the words could form in my throat I was struck mute.
Truly. I stopped short, my mouth falling open like unfilled cannoli shells, and
no sound came out.
He
turned to me at the exact moment a slice of midday November sunlight streamed
through the window, landing right on him and surrounding his head in a halo of
bright, brilliant light. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a choir of angels
started belting out celestial high notes because the guy could have been a
charter member of the Messenger of God club.
Facially,
he looked a little older than my thirty-two, but not over the forty-year mark
yet. Where my hair is the color of wet ink, his was a shock of silver threaded
with faint stripes of peppery black above his ears. It looked so thick and
touch-worthy, the tips of my fingers were actually tingling to clutch the ends
and grab on. Eyes the color of threatening storm clouds—gray and tinged with
pale shards of blue—peered up at me, a question pulling at their corners.
Eyelashes most women had to pay for framed his lids naturally. His jaw was
square, his cheekbones carved from marble by a master sculptor.
But
his mouth—Madre di Dio, his mouth. It was about as perfect as two lips meeting
in the center of a face could be. Full and thick with that natural rimmed
outline women were forced to create with a liner pencil, it was the most
kissable mouth I’d ever seen. Tinted the color of aged Barolo—my father’s
favorite wine—ripe and smooth, full-bodied and intense, it simply stopped me in
my tracks.
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GUEST POST:
Who Inspired Your Love for Books?
Growing
up in the seventies, I was a latchkey kid.
I don’t know if that term is used a great deal nowadays, but what it
signified back when I was younger was that after school let out for the day I
let myself into my own home while my parents were still out working. They would
arrive hours later after a long commute home from the city. I was made to be in
charge of myself without a babysitter or anyone to look in on me from the time
I left school until my parents returned home.
I was 8 years old when I became a latchkey kid.
Remembering
what my own daughter was like at 8, I can’t believe my mother left me alone to
fend for myself for up to 5 hours every day after school. But those were
different times, I guess, and money was very tight, so sitters weren’t an
option.
In an
attempt to not be alone for so many hours every afternoon, instead of going
right home when school released for the day, I made my way to my local library.
The library was warm, quiet (so I could do my homework in peace), and welcoming
to everyone. After those first few weeks of seeing me every afternoon, the
librarians started to take notice of the quiet, shy girl who came in and sat at
the same table everyday. They asked me questions about myself and if I liked
reading, and then they introduced me to some of my very best and first friends:
Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon.
If
those names are familiar (or even if they’re not) you can Google them. When I
finished my homework, I would routinely grab one of the multiple series books
from the shelf that the librarians recommended and spend the remainder of my
time reading. When I finished both entire series, they moved me on to another.
And then another. By the time I was ten years old I’d read my way through the
entire young adult section. Since this was the 1970’s many of the YA authors of
today weren’t yet born. But I did meet Judy Blume, Madeline L’Engle, Frances
Hodgson Burnett, and Betty Smith, just to name a few, and spent hours living in
their worlds with their delightful characters.
Those wonderful librarians became my
unofficial reading godmothers. Each year they moved me on to new authors, new
genres, new places. They inspired me to read about people and places different
from me, and to explore worlds and times I hadn’t known existed. Through those
lovely, nurturing, smart, and savvy women, I became a vast reader of all
genres, something I still am today.
If I
could go back to the those days I would make sure to thank them for instilling
the beauty of literature, the grace of the written word, in me. Reading is
infused into my soul and my DNA, and a day without reading – just like a day
without writing – is something I can’t fathom for myself. Ever. To this day I
am a great supporter of my local library. I donate books yearly to their book
sales, purchase even more when those sales come around, and I am an official FRIEND OF THE LIBRARY, a title I hold
dearly.
Have
you visited your local library lately? Or have you taken a child to one? Our local libraries are national treasures
and should be supported and used. There is nothing like holding a book in your
hands and letting it transport you some place else.
Every
night I remember those wonderful librarians in my prayers, and I thank God for
sending me to them. They truly inspired and instilled a love of reading in my
soul.
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AUTHOR BIO:
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 was a finalist in the 2017 STILETTO contest for
the same title.
In
2018, Peggy was a finalist in the HOLT MEDALLION Award and once again in the
2018 Stiletto Contest.
A
lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her
local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.
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CONNECT WITH PEGGY:
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BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
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Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
The Wild Rose Press Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Kobo Ebook:
Apple iBooks Ebook:
Google Play Ebook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
The Wild Rose Press Ebook:
The Wild Rose Press Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Peggy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Ally - thank you so much for hosting me today, for letting me tell your fans and followers of my love of libraries and for introducing me and the San Valentinos to your followers.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJames - I appreciate readers like you and Ally who promote romance authors!!! Happy holidays and Happy reading.
ReplyDeletePeggy congratulations, the book sounds great!
ReplyDeleteDebby - thank you and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteHey Kim - thanks for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteDid you major in writing in college? Congrats on the release. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteJoseph - no, I didn't.
DeleteGreat excerpt, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeletethank you ,Victoria, for stopping by today
DeleteI was a latch-key kid too back in the 50's and yes, it was a different time. I wouldn't think of doing that with my kids when they were youngsters. But I discovered my love of reading and today, I have this huge library of books waiting their turn to be read. Soon, my dears, soon!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing, this sounds great
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting
ReplyDeleteI like romance in this story.
ReplyDelete