April Showers as art, by Peggy Jaeger

Weird title for a post, right?
Hee hee.

This month's theme, APRIL SHOWERS, hits home for me in a big way.

First, I love the rain. In any form. The more torrential the rain, the louder the thunder, the blacker the sky gets, and the brighter the lightning, and I am a happy camper. I know...weird. Maybe I was a meteorologist in a former life. Who knows. But rain, simply, does it for me.

I adore cozying up in one of my big comfy chairs during a rainy day with a book, a pot of tea, and cookies. Lots of cookies. With a blanket I've crocheted over my lap, and sometimes even a fire roaring if I can convince hubby to make one, and I am hard-pressed to find a more relaxing, joyful way to spend a few hours.

So what's this all got to do with the title of my post? Let me 'esplain.

Several years ago, I wrote the fourth book in my MacQuire Women series, THE VOICES OF ANGELS. The book was a prequel to my first romance, SKATER'S WALTZ. When it came time to let the art designer at Wild Rose Press know what I was looking for in a book cover, I had something tangible to show her for the first time. I'd once spied a very famous photograph in an art museum devoted to photography that I fell in love with. I always remembered the picture because I knew, someday, I was going to write a story based on it. And I did, hee hee!

I sent the cover artist a copy of the picture and told her the theme and vibe I was going for was something like it:

This is the book cover she came up with:






Isn't that divine!!!

It's exactly what I wanted. We didn't even tweak it. The moment she sent it to me I said YES! That's the one.

On a funny side note, my friend Jill found a mug for me right after the book was published and sent it to me because it reminded her of the cover:






There's an important storyline in THE VOICES OF ANGELS concerning severe Spring storms. My heroine, Carly Lennox, is terrified of storms due to a child trauma concerning one. When she and my hero Mike Woodard, are engulfed in a severe storm on the way to her farm, all Mike wants to do is comfort Carly. He comes to the realization that he wants to comfort her for the rest of his life, if she'll only let him into her heart.

I detailed the storm and Carly's reaction to it over several pages. Unlike me, she is paralyzed with fear when the rain and thunder start. And, luckily, she lets Mike soothe away her fear.

So that's where the title for the blog came from. Art karma led to cover karma that led to a tea cup karma! Heehee

If you're interested in learning about the VOICES OF ANGELS and all the MacQuire Women books, check out my Amazon page. Here's a little about TVOA:
Love is the last thing Carly Lennox is looking for when she sets out on her new book tour. The independent, widowed author is content with a life spent writing and in raising her daughter. When newscaster Mike Woodard suggests they work on a television magazine profile based on her book, Carly’s thrilled, but guarded. His obvious desire to turn their relationship into something other than just a working one is more than she bargained for.

Mike Woodard is ambitious, and not only in his chosen profession. He wants Carly, maybe more than he’s ever wanted anything or anyone else. As he tells her, he’s a patient man. But the more they’re together, Mike realizes it isn’t simply desire beating within him. Carly Lennox is the missing piece in his life. Getting her to accept it-and him-may just be the toughest assignment he’s ever taken on.


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Until next time, Kids ~ enjoy your month ~Peg