Can I just tell you how happy I am to be in a new year?? Not that some great things didn't happen to and for me in 2021, but, honestly, it felt like the year was never going to end!
2022 is offering me a bunch of new opportunities and experiences and I am super excited to get the year rolling.
First, I've joined a wonderful team of sweet romance writers for a new series titled LAST MAN STANDING. It's a collection of romances centering on that guy we all know - the one who vows never to get married and is - literally - the last single guy in his group. MY guy's name is Chance Miller and he's a - wait for it - divorce lawyer. So, you can imagine all his reasons for never taking a walk down the aisle, hee hee. Here's the cover and the book will be available in September 2022.
In March I have a brand new series starting titled HEAVEN'S MATCHMAKER. I am revisiting the tiny town of Heaven, NH made famous in my A Match Made in Heaven series. The first book, MIX & MATCH, centers around a lonely, divorced nurse named Jasmine Green and architect Donovan Boyd - whom the world met in BAKED WITH LOVE. There are currently 4 books in the series, but you know me....there are more in my head! The book is up for preorder right now.
For Magnolia Blossom Publishing I have two books coming out this year in their Paranormal Romance division. The first, THE HAUNTING OF WILTON JUNE is the sequel to last year's MERRY'S GHOST where Merry's brother Will finds his HEA with a botanist who has a secret - a pretty great one for Will. Details on the release date will be forthcoming. The second will be about a contemporary witch who's also a realtor. Can you think of any spells to get someone to buy a house, LOL! Details will come soon.
And I'm returning to the tiny town of DICKENS for another DICKENS HOLIDAY ROMANCE during the holiday season. SASHA'S SECRET SANTA will continue the Dorrit's Diner series I started last year, featuring Amy Dorrit and her adopted children. I'll also be releasing my very first Dickens Romance ANGEL KISSES AND HOLIDAY WISHES as a standalone book in the summer.
Finally, I've got a hush-hush project with three of my favorite authors. I can't say too much but I can give you a few hints: pirates, ghosts, and a popular tavern. Intrigued? Hee hee.
That's all the new stuff I've already got on the docket for 2022 and I am sure more will pop up!!
What a great way to begin a year.
Until next month, kids ~ Peg
Peggy Jaeger writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can't live without them. Follow her blog, Writing is my oxygen.
This month's topic is FREEDOM, a word by its very definition that can be a lightning rod for heated debate. Because of this, I chose to write about what freedom -- in my eyes-- means to me - and should mean to all of us.
1. The right to make my own decisions about my body, my finances, and my political party.
I was born in the century where women first were granted the right to vote, given access to medical and safe birth control, and allowed to possess credits cards. That last one may sound weird, but up until 1974, married women were not allowed to possess credit cards since they were still considered by major companies as property of their husbands, and thereby fell under their husbands' reign. The EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT of 1974 granted married women the right to obtain credit cards separately from their husbands. This, in turn, granted them reign over their own finances.
2. The right to read what I want, watch what I want on television and in the movie theatre, and listen to the kind of music I want.
I also grew up in an era that saw many states ban certain books from schools and libraries because they were considered salacious and potentially damaging to school-age children ( and some adults!) The list of the most banned books of the 20th century can be found here: banned books. I am proud to say I have read every single one of them.
In 1968, a voluntary movie rating system was instituted to help parents decide if a movie was appropriate for their children to see. I was 8 at the time.
In 1975, the television academy began programming shows geared toward families, called the Family hour. This one hour of programming each night was meant for television shows to refrain from violence, foul language, and sexual content. I was 15 at the time.
In 1985 warning labels began appearing on records ( the vinyl kind!) indicating that the lyrics or subject matter of the songs within the album may not be appropriate for children. I was 25 at the time.
I am 61 years old now and thankfully, none of those restrictions apply to me any longer. I have grown into an age where I can read, watch, and listen to whatever I want without any governmental or parental interference. I am free to explore the artistic side of nature without restrictions.
3. The right to think the way I want to think and to say what's on my mind without threat of punishment.
Again, until recently, women were expected to think and vote the same way their husbands did. In the past, if a woman's opinion differed from her husband's - or society in general - her husband could have her arrested, prosecuted, and jailed.
The advent of the Women's Movement of the 1960s proved women had thinking, functioning, logical minds and could make their own decisions without the need for a man to oversee or man-splain issues to them. Women began speaking out on topics historically only vetted by men. Our voices grew louder and stronger and today there are more women representing others in government than at any other time. While shouting FIRE in a crowded space is still illegal ( and should be) we are now afforded the right to speak our minds, protest peacefully, and engage in verbal discourse without the threat of being incarcerated for having an opinion.
4. The freedom to be who I am and live the life I want to without censure, threat of violence, or death.
If we've learned anything since this country was founded, it's that all people ARE NOT created equally in the eyes of society. The disenfranchised among us continues to grow daily; children are mistreated and abused; the elderly are warehoused; people of color are killed in the streets for no other reason than they are not caucasian. The indigenous people of this country are treated as non-entities. Veterans are forgotten.
To be a truly free nation, none of the above would occur.
Freedom, through my eyes and in my mind, means we are all truly EQUAL in society, government, and everyday life. No matter what color our skin is, what our religious beliefs are, where we fall in the voting spectrum, and how much money we have.
Our government sends our military all over the world to fight for the rights of people to experience freedom.
Wouldnt it be wonderful if that fight began here, on our home soil, and with our own citizens, first?
Peggy Jaeger writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can't live without them.
I've always espoused the thought that change is good. It may not seem like it at the time the change is occurring, but hindsight having perfect vision, inevitably I realize whatever changed in my little universe was for the better.
I do wish, sometimes, though, the things that change wouldn't do so in such a concurrent and fast manner, but take a little time and allow me to settle into everything.
Case in point: September 2021.
I'd missed a six month check up for my routine biannual dermatology appointment due to Covid, so I'd gone an entire year without getting checked out. To the average person in my age group, this wouldn't have been a problem. For me, it is - and proved to be. I have a history of melanoma. I've already been treated five times for it in the last three years and my derm guy had me on a three month, then six month return just to ensure all was well.
The September appointment proved all was not.
After three biopsies, two of which came back with recurring melanoma, I am now due for surgery this week to -hopefully - correct the issue. The change in my status from thinking I was cured, to finding out I was not was a bit...disconcerting, to say the least.
The day after my biopsies I received a call from my mother that my stepfather was being taken to the emergency room with severe stomach pain. Long story short - he had to have an emergency cholecystectomy ( gall bladder removal) and required a 3 day post op stay due to his age and cardiac status. My mother, who is now wheelchair bound due to her recent hip fracture, needed to be cared for in her home, so, as the only child, I drove back and forth daily to the state they live in and made sure she was fed, bathed, and okay.
Once he was discharged, the change in his physical status was profound. He is slower, less sure of himself walking, and if I had to put money on it, a little less quick mentally, as well. The change in their lifestyle one year ago, prior to Covid, has been profound for them - and not in a good way.
Two bright spots of change also occurred, simultaneously with everything else.
September brought forth the birth of my first grandson - two weeks early. He came into the world at 2 am on a Thursday and none of our lives - especially my daughter's and her husband's -- will ever be the same.
And I signed a book deal with a new publisher for me for 5 books to be put into the world in the next 2 years. This is my first new publisher in three years and I am trying to adapt to all the change not being an indie author at the moment brings with it.
The world around me had suffered through a ridiculous amount of change this past month as well. The removal of troops from Afghanistan; the rising spread of the delta variant; the number of deaths from Covid; the lingering issues with the economy; hurricanes, fires, and tornados. It's been a momentous month - and not in all good ways.
Do I still think change is good? Yes, in the long run, I do. But as I said, I just wish it would take a little slower to happen at times so I could catch up and not feel as if I am always chasing my tail to do so.
I love this topic/theme this month because I am a HUGE fan of movie partnerships - be they male/female, male/male, or female/female. The dictionary defines a partnership as a relationship of two or more people. For my purposes today, it's a duo.
Some of the best movie partnerships ever made were released prior to the 1960's. You can debate this point with me all you like, but just know - I bring receipts to the table on this topic, hee hee.
Who can forget all the wonderful romantic and screwball comedies of movie partners Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn?
The studios knew what they were doing when they put these two megastars together. Both stars had class, wit, beauty, and a wry intelligence that let the audience in on every joke - even when it was about them! Although they only appeared together in 4 movies, they are all gems. Rapid-fire banter, comedic timing that's simply perfect, and two actors who could take a zany script and breath life into it while acting as foils for one another have made this duo my number one screen partnership ever!
Katherine Hepburn was also paired with a man who would become the love of her life in real life, Spencer Tracy.
Together, these two stars defined the on-screen romantic comedy partnership movies of the 1940s and beyond. They made a total of 9 movies together and their sizzling chemistry onscreen was lived out off-screen as they had an affair for over 30 years, ending only with Tracy's death.
Six movies from 1934-1947 pitted Nick and Nora Charles and their dog Asta against gangsters and murdering socialites and had them doing it all wearing evening gowns and tuxedos. A fast, witty back and forth banter, coupled with class and comedic timing, this married partnership was - and still is - a favorite among old movie buffs.
And just so you don't think I only watch old black and white movies from almost a hundred years ago ( LOL) I do have some favorite partnerships from a more recent time.
Who can forget the original Girls Gone Wild weekend movie, Thelma and Louise?
Gina Davis and Susan Sarandon epitomize the girls-who-love-each-other-as-besties and ride-or-die chicks. Their relationship is forged in friendship, moves into a deep and respecting love for one another that ends in the ultimate sacrifice. This movie proved girls can be partnered with girls, onscreen, in an unsexual way and bring in revenue for the studios. No men required.
The original Lethal Weapon movie centered around a suicidal cop ( Mel Gibson) and the man ordered to partner with him to keep him from doing something stupid ( Danny Glover).
Over the span of four blockbuster movies, these two formed a professional partnership where they truly covered the other's back in every way, and a personal friendship that also defines the ride-or-die buddy movie theme. Life and death plays a huge role in each of these movies and the two bffs and partners-for-life navigate through them with angst, wit, charm, and...guns.(LOL)
Bad Boys takes wisecracking, uber-talented Will Smith and partners him with out-of-control Martin Lawrence, to form one of the big screen's favorite and loudest(!) associations.
These two play like an old married couple, finishing the other's thoughts and sentences and being able to predict just what the other will say or do. Perfectly written and excellently acted, you get the feel Smith and Lawrence hang out together after the movie is done, shoot the breeze, and share a bottle of Cuervo Gold.
So...what makes a great movie partnership and how does it relate to social partnerships, marriage, and relationships in general, you ask? Well, I'm gonna tell ya my thoughts on that.
Every partnership above is based on mutual respect, humor, caring about the well-being of the other, having the other's back in every conceivable way, and a deep, abiding friendship and love that can't be broken.
Isn't that what we want in our own personal relationships?
Don't we want someone who can make us laugh, have our six( Jethro Gibbs reference, there), protect us, respect us, and care for us, all the while letting us be who and what we are and supporting that?
Emotional give and take, clear-cut communication techniques, and an overwhelming sense of rightness at wanting to be together, cap the list.
If you want to take a master class in writing witty banter, learning the yin and yang that makes a great couple, or merely want to be entertained for a few hours, check out the movie partnerships above. You won't be disappointed.
I've tried to incorporate all the characteristics I love in movie partnerships in my own romance books and I think I've been fairly successful. One place where a successful pairing is key is in the romantic suspense department. My upcoming ROM/Suspense A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: AIDEN is a story built on mutual respect and trust between Private Eye Aiden Keane and Librarian Alexis Buckley.
Look for this book to be released in the Fall of 2021. Book one in the series, A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK is available now.
Want to connect? Here's where to find me most days ( when I'm not watching old movies! LOL)
