1 may be the loneliest number, but 9 is my favorite! by Peggy Jaeger

******The Generistas are celebrating this month!

Happy 12th Anniversary, Generistas! Sign up for our Newsletters so you can be eligible to win books, gift cards, and other fun stuff. Drawing May 30th! CLICK HERE

So... that title. Do you have the classic Three Dog Night song stuck in your head now? LOL

This month's topic, in honor of the Anniversary of the group, is paying homage to our own personal special or favorite number, and mine is 9.

Ever since I was a kid, 9 has always been in the foreground of my life.

My mother was born on the 9th.

I was born on the nineteenth of May.

I was nine years old when I got my first recognition as a writer.

Every lottery ticket ( and this isn't a lie!) that I've ever won any money on, be it $1.00 or $100.00 has had a 9 as a winning number.

My daughter was born in September, the 9th month.

My grandson was born in September, ditto.

My son-in-law was born in September, ditto!

I won my first romance writing award in the 9th month.

Fun facts about #9

~ As the final numeral in base 10, the number nine holds a special ranking. According to numerologists, nine is associated with forgiveness, compassion, and success. On the negative side it is associated with arrogance and self-righteousness. 

~ The sum of the digits of any multiple of 9 is 9

18: 1+8=9 5112: 5+1+1+2=9 99,112,041: 9+9+1+1+2+0+4+1=27

27: 2+7=9

~There are 9 major planets in the Solar System

~Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies

~We dress "to the nines" when we want to look good to others.

On the whole, 9 is a great number!!

What's your favorite/special number? Tell me in the comments section. Let's share.

Peggy Jaeger writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can't live without them. Visit her on all her social media sites, here: Peggy Jaeger

Ghosts and Pirates and Hauntings, Oh my!!! BY Peggy Jaeger

 Do you love a good rip-roaring pirate story, complete with ghosts, hauntings, and all things paranormal? I've got a great book for you, then.

Today, the anthology GHOSTS OF NEW ENGLAND: LAST LIGHT POINT releases into the book reading world.

4 authors...4 different stories...for centuries and all concerning 1 haunted tavern.

Don’t look at the gibbet... Legend has it that disaster will strike all those who do. The townspeople of Last Light Point have come to respect the centuries-old advice. Those that didn’t, paid the price.

The Pirate’s Promise by Lisa A. Olech

Autumn 1728
The Crowe’s Nest Tavern was located in a fortuitous place. If you were condemned to hang in Execution Square, they were your last stop.

Everly Crowe along with her father and two sisters ran The Crowe’s Nest that was rumored to be slightly haunted, although Everly never believed in such foolishness….until she did.

John Beckett was a pirate, or not. Forced upon the account, he’d lost his belief in many things before he caught the eye of a bonny serving lass who was fierce enough to go toe to boot with his captor and captain, Bartholomew Jacques.

Jacques held a note on the tavern and tormented Everly and her family as he terrorized all the small towns up and down the coast. But even his threats couldn’t keep Everly and John from promising themselves to each other, “‘till death do us part.” After Jacques and his crew are captured and sent to the gallows, Everly learns those fateful words have little meaning when love is forever.


Smoke and Mirrors by Kathryn Hills

Autumn 1867
Sometimes when you knock on heaven’s door. . .the dead answer back.

Willow Pinch lives life on a razor’s edge in world of deception and disguise. By day she hides in plain sight as Will, a servant boy. Nights are spent as a table knocker, aiding so-called spiritualists in duping townsfolk into believing loved ones speak from the grave.

That is until the ghosts of Last Light Point unmask her before the only man she’s ever cared for. Dare she trust Morgan Blackwell with her secrets?

Morgan invests every hard-earned penny in The Crowe’s Nest. He doesn’t trust strangers. Yet the last thing he expects are charlatans hell-bent on destroying his reputation with so-called séances. Not to mention there are ghosts in his tavern now! Be damned, must he turn his back on the infuriating woman he longs to protect?

Will the dead of Last Light Point guide Willow and Morgan to lasting love? Or will the dark forces they’ve unleashed lead to ruin?


For the Love of Grace by Nancy Fraser

Fall, 1941
Grace O’Hearn has lived in Last Light Point since long before the ’29 stock market crash took so much from so many. Ten years later, things are looking up. When Grace’s father is murdered, Grace becomes the sole owner of the Crowe's Nest Tavern--an establishment that dates back centuries, and comes with its own resident ghosts.

FBI agent, Max Stewart, is sent to Last Light Point to investigate racketeering and police corruption. Could it be connected to man’s murder? When he first meets Grace, he’s convinced she’s hiding something. Yet, her keen insight about the town, and everyone in it, may be the best lead he has.

Can they work together to bring down the guilty? Or, will an attraction neither of them wants keep getting in the way?


A Promise Fulfilled by Peggy Jaeger

Late October, Present Day
After winning millions in a national lottery, local librarian Daisy Morgan sets out to revitalize the infamous Crowe’s Nest Tavern. After saving the historic inn from the auction block, Daisy begins a major renovation only to discover some hidden secrets – and a few unearthly spirits – tied to the tavern’s history.

Writer Keegan Warren arrives to do a story on the tavern weeks before the grand re-opening. Keegan’s got a few secrets of his own about why he wanted the assignment – secrets that unfold no matter how diligently he tries to keep them hidden. With Daisy’s help, he unearths a centuries old murder tied to his family’s past.

As they investigate, their mutual attraction grows. But will their budding relationship suffer when the truth is discovered?

Starting over...with a little wisdom

 One of my favorite quotes of all time is from the amazeballs Maya Angelou, and I repeat it to myself often. 

Never has this thought been so profound in my writing life as it is right now.

When I started writing as a child I wrote like a, well, child. My short stories were a series of "and then his happened-s,"  run on sentences, and prose packed with adverbs, flowery descriptions and analogies that had no real comparatory basis behind them. My fiction read more like a diary entry than actual crafted story telling. But I found great joy in the writing.

My graduate thesis was written from a scientific methodology viewpoint, and reads like the driest medical tome ever penned. Facts, figures, graphs, statistics. Boring with a capital BORING. But I loved writing it.

As I began writing non-fiction articles on motherhood and the life of a 30-something for magazines after I had my daughter, I wrote with an easy, I'm-just-talking-to-you-over-coffee style. Nothing craft-heavy at all, no real plot or story structure, just a simple imparting of info laced with humor and self deprecating insights. Writing these articles was a labor of love that made me feel lighter and more confident with myself as a new mother and a woman trying to navigate through a crazy world.

Even blog writing, which is more of a conversation with me in the driver's seat brings me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. I can pop a blog post out in less than a half hour most days, never have to edit it for content - only spelling mistakes - and then hit post without worry. Love that!

When I first began writing fiction in my 50's I knew nothing about plot, structure, conflict, subplot, sub-text, or character motivation. I simply had a story in my head and wanted to get it on paper. I look at my debut romance novel, SKATER'S WALTZ from The Wild Rose Press, now and think, yeah, it was a decent story...but really could have been better. But I wrote that book with such joy in my heart during a time in my life that was very challenging. The sense of accomplishment and utter jubilation that it was actually published was a top ten event in my life.

Now that I write romantic fiction in a few sub-genres - RomCom, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense lite - I have to write in a way that brings the reader into the story, gets them hooked on the characters, and that leaves them at the end of the book satisfied and wanting more from me. I have an obligation to the reader to present a satisfying product to them.

No easy feat, this, and one which - daily - gives me agita! I've gotten too worried  this past year about selling books, marketing, and learning new digital ways to publish just to get my books in front of people that I've lost my way a little in the writing from my heart department. The joy just hasn't been there and I think it's shown in my writing.

So, after close to 30 books published, I've decided to do something that sounds a bit crazy, and, in all honesty, probably is.

I'm starting over. 

See? Crazy.

What it really means is that I'm going back to basics, armed with the wisdom I've managed to gather these past 5 years since I was first published. Readers want a story that they can tell the author just loved writing. They want to fall in love with the hero and heroine much the same way the characters fell in love with one another, and that the writer did as well as she was bringing them to life.

I want that, too.

Those are the books I want to read, the stories I want to fill my soul. 

They are also the stories I want to write.

So, with age and experience, comes wisdom and I am taking that wisdom into 2021 and writing my heart out. I've got a list of books that will be written and released this year, some traditionally published and several new indie releases as well. I'm not worrying about marketing, sales, getting on bestseller lists, or even winning any awards this year.

What I am going to do is simply write my heart out because that's what makes me happy. And I know when I'm happy, my readers are, too.

See? I know better now...so I'm going to do better.

Looking for me? Here I am: 

Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Amazon Author  // Website/blog