Monday, October 16, 2017

Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for A Shot At Love by PeggyJaeger

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for A Shot At Love by Peggy Jaeger.  Please leave a comment or question for Peggy to let her know you stopped by. You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.  Good Luck!


"Why Food and Romance Go Hand in Hand - How Food Is the Way to a Person's Heart"  by Peggy Jaeger



Intimacy can be defined and shown in so many ways. For a romance writer, intimacy is the glue that binds our characters together, makes them fall in love with one another, and that brings joy to our readers.

One of my favorite ways for a couple to “be intimate,” is by sharing a meal.

You can learn so much about a person over a bowl of spaghetti and a bottle of good red.

Think about it. Sitting across from one another, maybe in a candlelit restaurant, or even in a tiny apartment. Soft music piping in from the stereo. The glow of the candles reflecting the natural moisture in the other person’s eyes.  The table may be a tad small, forcing your knees to bump under it, adding a subtle physical closeness that stimulates all your nerve endings.

Over a sweet red wine you take turns talking, eating a little, getting to know one another through your conversation…and watching the other person eat. The movement of his strong, hard jaw as he chews; the way she swipes her full, plump mouth after each bite; the shift and bobble of his throat as he swallows.

All those actions - and the viewing of them across the table - are extremely arousing. to the one doing the watching. Arousing and intimate.

As humans, we don’t eat only to satisfy our hunger, as animals in the wild do. We eat for pleasure, reveling in the hot, vibrant bite of spices against our tongues. We eat for comfort, the soothing, warmth of winter soups filled with herbs calming our souls. We eat for nourishment, the fragrant and succulent aroma of grilling meats and poultry making our taste buds water. All the pleasure endorphins released from your brain while you eat a scrumptious meal go hand in hand with those same endorphins that are released when you are falling in love, or aroused.

Hence, food, and the action of eating together, imbues a couple with feelings of pleasure, arousal, and intimacy. All emotions that foster a good romance!

Now, a few years ago there was this “thing” going around the Internet about a roasted chicken. Supposedly, if the recipe was followed to the T, a girl could get a guy to fall in love with her if she cooked it for him. The recipe was billed as having magical romance powers that made the guy (or the person eating the meal) fall in love with the cook and prompt a wedding proposal right then and there.

Yeah, they’re called fairy tales for a reason, folks! It wasn’t that the chicken had any magical powers. It was more – I think – that it was excellently prepared, tasted amazing and released a flood of endorphins from the brain, causing that arousal/pleasure response. If the couple was already a little on the way to love, this stimulation might have pushed it ahead a smidge.

But in reality, there are no magic chickens, or proposal inducing recipes. It’s simply a matter of food and romance going hand in hand.

Thanks so much for hosting me today. I love this topic!

 A Shot at Love
By Peggy Jaeger
Will Cook for Love, Book 2

Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 256 Pages


Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Indiebound






About the book:

Nothing’s impossible when love is on the menu. In Peggy Jaeger’s luscious series, the only thing more tempting than a delicious meal is a truly delectable romance . . .
Look for exclusive recipes in each book! 


Photographer Gemma Laine is looking for arresting faces on the streets of Manhattan when her camera captures something shocking—a triple murder. In that moment, she becomes a target for the mob—and a top priority for a very determined, breathtakingly handsome, FBI special agent. With deadlines to meet and photo shoots on her calendar, Gemma chafes at the idea of protection, but every moment she spends under his watchful eye is a temptation to lose herself in his muscular arms . . .



With two of his men and one crucial witness dead, Special Agent Kyros Pappandreos can’t afford to be distracted. But Gemma is dazzling—and her connection to Kandy Laine’s high-profile cooking empire makes her an especially easy mark for some very bad people. Keeping her safe is much more pleasure than business, but as the heat between them starts to sizzle, Ky is set to investigate whether they have a shot at love . . .





EXCERPT

Dressed in similar sweats to what he’d worn the morning before, his body bathed in gleaming sweat, Ky pummeled one of the suspended bags. His hands were wrapped with white gauze, his arms toned and taunt as he executed each strike with perfect precision and technique.
         
Gemma stopped on the final riser and watched him batter the bag, fists moving with swift, defined actions, the jabs fast and hard, the recoils even faster.

Shoulders raised, elbows tight, hands balled and up blocking his cheeks and jaw line, he threw a right jab, left, then two rights, all aimed high, and a final forward thrust left, lower on the bag, his knees bending to give him balance.
         
Gemma wanted to race back to her room, grab her camera and capture the scene before her.

Kyros Pappandreos was the epitome, the very definition of a natural born fighter. Distinctly male, uniquely the warrior, his body moved with the grace of a panther, the stealth of a tiger stalking its prey, and the accuracy of a cobra striking. There was something so sensual, so primal, so animalistic about him, she knew she had to photograph him just this way.
         
She’d capture him in slow motion first, his tight fist connecting with his target, the sweat of exertion flying from his forehead. Then, she’d move to rapid fire, the image blurring with the speed of his hits. A pugilist, enigmatic, tough, and hard bodied, the bulging muscles and corded sinew in his arms distended with his action, outlined and bathed in the shiny moisture pouring from him.
         
Ky repeated the moves in the same series of strikes three more times before dropping his hands to his thighs.
         
He swiped at his forehead with the back of his hand, his breathing hard, but not labored, and turned.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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 is a finalist in the 2017 STILETTO contest for the same title.

A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.









a Rafflecopter giveaway

17 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for hosting me today and introducing me to your readers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on your terrific new release and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I enjoyed reading your excerpt to get to know your story; congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa - you're welcome. Thanks for being such a loyal tour follower. Good luck with the giveaway

      Delete
  4. Great guest post today. And only a master of words can paint such a beautiful a picture of good food, good love, good times! Love it....seriously, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww Karen. Sniff Sniff. Thanks! And thanks for taking the time to stop by

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Kim, of course I'm biased, but it is!! thanks for stopping by today.

      Delete
  6. I am really enjoying following this tour, thank you for all the great blog posts and excerpts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nikolina - you are more than welcome. Thanks so much for following and good luck with the raflecopter!

      Delete
  7. Happy Monday! Thanks for sharing the great post, I enjoyed reading it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victoria - happy monday to you too! Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  8. Victoria - Happy Monday to you, too! thanks for stopping by today. Be well and happy reading

    ReplyDelete