"3 Wishes" is out tomorrow (8 Feb) from The Wild Rose Press. Grab a pre-order R I G H T N O W! from your favourite ebook retailer:
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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.
What's not to love about this book? It's got chocolate. It's got luurve. It's got the HEA we all crave.
I had a delightful chat with Romance author Peggy Jaeger (who's written a few other nice books) about "3 Wishes" and the value of Romance in our world today.
HWK: Many Romance heroines tend to be on their own or only have a small family. You feature a wonderfully big Italian family for your heroine Chloe. What fun aspects does family dynamics add to your story?
PJ: This is a fabulous question. I lovelovelove big families because I am an only child. I always dreamed of having brothers, sisters, and cousins galore to help navigate me through life, provide information on what to expect, advice on how to solve problems, and basically just to have a related peer to play and live with. The San Valentino family is huge! Chloe has 4 older brothers and a younger sister, all of whom she adores. And her parents are all part of large families a well. The fun thing about writing this big family was discovering all their individual personalities and quirks and then melding them together as a cohesive unit. Of course the hard part was keeping all of them separate and individual, and not sounding or acting like the other! But this is the way I imagine a big, loud, and loving family is in real life.
HWK: I hear you. I've got thirty-six cousins myself. What drew Chloe to the candy trade?
PJ: The family story goes that when Chloe was six, her Nonna Constanza was making Christmas cookies for the clan and Chloe wanted to help. At the time, she’d been watching television and a commercial for Hershey’s Kiss candy came on. Chloe asked Nonna if they could add a candy kiss to the cookie, Nonna said “Si!” and from then on, Chloe was fascinated by all things candy and chocolate related. By the time she was ten she was making her own chocolate candies using molds and recipes in her mama’s kitchen and giving them as presents to her friends and family. In college, she took business courses to help her understand how to run her own business. When she graduated, her Uncle Sonny gave her a $25,000 no-interest loan to open her own shop and she was able to repay him that first year. She’s never looked back and feels very blessed to be doing what she loves.
HWK: Ah, passion. Gotta love it. The contemporary world needs Romance stories. What values do you see Romance bringing to the world?
PJ: Another fabulous question. Love is the one universal emotion I believe all humans desire. To give love, to be loved, to share love. And romance is just a way of expressing that love. When I see a couple who have been married for 50+ years in church holding hands, that is romantic to me. When I see a new father feeding a baby so his wife can take a nap, that is romantic to me. Romance isn’t just candy and flowers ( although Chloe would say yes to the candy part of that equation!) The world today is filled with a great many negative emotions, feelings, and events. A little romance goes a long way to helping ease a burden, a sad heart, or even dry a tear. That’s why I think it is so important that we read romance, and live romantically. Romance, despite what the cruel media says, is not dead, nor a fairy tale. It is a living, breathing, fluid emotion.
HWK: I so completely agree with you. It makes the world a better place. As an author, why did you choose Romance?
PJ: I believe every person deserves a happily ever after ending in their life. You don’t need a billionaire, a castle, or to be as beautiful as Helen of Troy to find your one true soul mate and be happy. Love is work. Hard work. But when you find that one person who fulfills all your fantasies and desires, you will get your HEA.
HWK: Are there any other genres you love?
PJ: I love Regency Romances but I don’t write them. I live in the here and now and that’s what I’m comfortable writing. If I wrote a regency, I would have to learn all the little intricate things about the era so that I don’t make a mistake with the writing. I’m too busy to learn, but never too busy to read.
HWK: Bless your furry little soul; I love Regency as well. Yeah, different rules, different times, different dynamics can make things interesting. Speaking of different dynamics... Local laws in your city change. Now everyone must own a pet. A random stranger on the street doesn't know what she should get? What pet do you recommend and why?
PJ: This is probably one of the hardest questions I’ve been asked recently! Seriously. I love cats and dogs, and have had both. There’s nothing as rewarding as a dog who loves you unconditionally. Cats, because of their independence, may not be as physically loving as a dog, but there is nothing sweeter to me when I am writing than to have my kitty slumbering on the table next to my laptop, her little paws stretched out to me, indicating she is with me. Tough question. Can’t you get both??
HWK: Of course you can. One final, very important question: Preach it! If you could convince the world of ANYTHING, what would it be?
PJ: Just this: God puts dreams in our hearts and we have a responsibility to make them come true. I was 54 years old when I got my first romance novel published, At a time when many people are looking to start winding down in their careers, I made a 180 degree shift and turn from my lifelong job of nursing and retired in April 2015 to write full time. I’d always had the dream in my heart to write romance, but life intervened. Marriage, child, job, family obligations came fast and frequent and I never had the time to devote to my writing. When my hours were downsized from my job due to an organizational shift in my clinic, I decided to start doing what I’d only dreamed of. Within 6 months I won a contest and another 2 months I had a publisher for my first novel. Since then I have had 3 books in a 6 book series published, along with a novella (3 Wishes!) coming out in 2016.
Never, ever, ever give up on a dream. You are never too old to see it come true. ‘Nuff said.
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'Nuff said. Thank you for joining us at Romance Spinners.
"3 Wishes"- a Candy Hearts Romance by Peggy Jaeger, is out 8 Feb (tomorrow!!) from The Wild Rose Press. Also available where all good ebooks are sold.
If you haven't got your copy of "3 Wishes" yet, get one here:
7 comments:
Heidi - I believe you and I are true writing sistahs! Loved Marry ME! Thanks so much for hosting me today - the day before the big release day of 3 WISHES!! Your questions were fab and I believe I will be stealing a few of them for my own author questionnaire. Be well and here's to all the Candy Hearts authors - we love, well, LOVE!
I want to quit my job and write. But I can't yet, so I'll keep doing what I do!!
I had a large family, lots of cousins. I had no sisters, though, so I don't know what that experience is like. But I do know what it is like to always have enough cousins for two baseball teams! And the food and cooking and eating...my memories are all wrapped up in that!
Love this interview! Can't wait to read 3 WISHES and all the Candy Hearts!
I enjoyed your post - and yes, love does make the world go round! Best wishes on your latest release!
Thanks Ashantay - love your name! Whenever I see it I think "That's a great name." Thanks for stopping by.
Cathrine - thanks! I think you're gonna be a little busy over the next few weeks to be reading someone elses' book! I an't wait for the COUPLING to go live!. Thanks fot stopping by.
Susabelle - what's better than eating and spending time with the extended family?Nothing in my book!
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