Welcome Peggy Jaeger to our garden interviews

Hi Peggy

thanks for being here. tell us everything :)

Do you plot or let the story unfold as you write?

Before I became a full-time writer, I was a Registered Nurse for about 175 years. As such, my life was steeped in the Scientific method, devising patient care plans, and scheduling a patient’s daily life. In my own life, I am a planner. I like to know where I’m going, how I’m getting there and when I will arrive, and subsequently leave.

Yeah, I know. A little anal to be sure.

So that’s why I am a huge plotter. Before I ever write a word in a story – be it a full length novel, a novella, or even a short story, I plan/plot everything out on paper. I know all my characters intimately; the setting is described in detail; the goal, conflict and motivation are outlined.

I tried writing a story on the fly once and had such anxiety I deleted every word from my laptop because it was so….awful.

Have you ever cried while writing a book?

Several times, and not only with the scenes of people or pets dying. I cry when I laugh in real life. My husband is always asking me “what’s wrong?” if I’m watching something on TV and crying. 9 times out of 10 I am watching a comedy that is just making my belly shake and my eyes leak. When I write a scene and I cry, I know my reader will be moved as well and that’s a wonderful thing for a writer: to know they elicited an emotion in a reader.

Do you have set times during the day that you write?

I have chronic menopause induced insomnia so I am awake most of the day and night. I typically get the majority of my new writing done between the hours of midnight and four am. After that I do all my daily marketing, answer emails, and read blog posts, etc. for about 2 hours. Then, from 8-11 am I write /revise what I wrote from midnight, have lunch and exercise, and then write until about 2-4 pm. Check out the time stamp in the upper right hand corner on this picture. It says 4:36 am. That’s the time I was writing for this interview!

How much time do you spend writing every day?

Between 8 and 10 hours total. If I have received edits from my editor, it can be anywhere up to 12 hours depending on how much I need to edit/change/revise.

What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

The marketing that has to be done to get your book “out there” and into reader hands.

I am not a salesperson. I have friends who could sell sand to desert-dwellers. Not me. I deplore having to convince someone to buy my books. It’s really hard for me to do it in person, too. I feel so…conceited, saying, “Buy my book! You’ll love it!!”

In the good old days of publishing, the company gave writers publicists who did all that work. How I long for those days….

Do you have a favorite quote?

Many, but the ones I live by daily are two:

“When you know better, you do better.”

And

“People may forget what you said, people may forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Both by the amazeballs Maya Angelu.

If you came with a warning label, what would it say?

Contents may explode under pressure.

This is true. I rarely get mad, but when I do, I blow big, loud, and scary.

What is the one question you wish an interviewer would ask you?

Was it everything you thought it would be?

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?

I love this question because my WRP novella 3 WISHES asked this same question!

1.        to have enough money to make the lives of everyone I know secure. No bills, no mortgage payments, no healthcare payments.

2.        To eradicate hunger. Everywhere.

3.        (this is the selfish one!) to be on a major bestseller list for every book I write.

Where can we find out more?

Website: http://peggyjaeger.com/

Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-jaeger

      YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR8RRIlssIyS0FYZWeGqsg/videos?view_as=subscriber

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peggyjaeger_author/Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-jaeger-296ab878/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0

Authors database: https://authorsdb.com/community/15814-peggy-jaeger

Triberr: https://triberr.com/tribe/strong-women--loving-men

Download A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081G7WDP4

and other online retailers

And pre-order  VANILLA WITH A TWIST 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0868XXYQC