September...God's gift to New Englanders by Peggy Jaeger

I moved to New England in 1994 by way of Wisconsin, and before that, New York City. Three very different geographic and meteorologic topographies, to be sure.

As a kid, I'd never experienced a New England fall, as it was called by people I knew. In NY, the leaves turned color for a few weeks, then died. End of story. In Wisconsin, we typically had snow fall when the grass was still in bloom, so I never saw the trees shift colors once in the seven years we lived there.

Not. Once.

All that changed when I moved to New Hampshire.

My first autumn in New England was one of the most beautiful times in my memory. We bought a house in the woods and every single day I watched the colors in the leaves go through their annual metamorphosis.

I never knew that reds could be so vibrant or oranges ( a color I typically do not like) so rich and deep. Gold, yellow, sage, browns tinged with amber. All these colors were new to me and I simply adored walking in my woods every day just to see what new color combos had erupted.

Back when we first moved to NH, I painted for pleasure. Not well, mind you, but I needed something for my creativity to come out. One year I did a painting of the same scene in each season. It was from my dining room and looked out on the back acreage of our property, which was the entrance to the woods surrounding us. Wasn't a surprise I liked the Autumn one the best.

My Match in Heaven romance series is centered in the fictional town of Heaven, NH and the first book, DEARLY BELOVED, takes place in the autumn. As you can see by the opening scene in this book trailer, the time of year is gorgeous:

It's so easy to fall in love with New England during the fall... and if that isn't the perfect segue for my next sentence, I don't know what is. Hee hee. This October ( DURING FALL IN NEW ENGLAND) I will be attending the Fall in Love With New England Readers and Writers conference in Nashua, NH.

I am one of the authors hosting the event and will be giving/leading 2 workshops. This is a reader-centric conference, that culminates in a 40+ romance author book signing on Saturday, October 19 at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Nashua. I'm one of the authors signing, and there are a good number of the ROMANCE GEMS who will be there as well. The signing is open to the public. For a list of the authors who will be present and signing their books, click here: authors.

If you've never been lucky enough to experience a new England fall, what we call LEAF PEEPING SEASON, you should really gift yourself a trip one of the years to see it first hand. Pictures only capture a moment. The season's colors should be seen in all their glory, up close and personal.

Until next time ~ Peg

Fully in Love with Fall by @SatinRussell #RomanceGems

Let's be honest, my coffee is always calling.
Especially on chilly fall mornings!

Happy September, readers!

Who is excited for Autumn? This is by far my favorite season. There are so many things to look forward to!

I’ve lived in a lot of places around the country, from Colorado to Washington State, and even as far west as Hawaii and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a region celebrate this season quite like New England.

Local farms all around the area open up their fields to crowds of eager apple pickers. My husband and I always make a point to go at least once a year and inevitably I come home with a bag full of apples and grandiose plans to make all the apple recipes on my Pinterest board (of which I am neither a baker or a cook.)

Then, there’s the apple cider donuts, pumpkins, various seasonal squashes, and buckets of colorful mums to buy up. And don’t forget the corn mazes and hayrides!

Apple tree in a field at sunrise.

I love driving on the winding roads lined with trees just beginning to change. Many of the houses in this area are decked out for the season with hay bales, pumpkins and autumnal wreaths. Everything looks so festive.

Plus, there’s fall fashion, with leggings, cozy sweaters, cardigans, scarves and boots. Don’t you love how forgiving the clothes are for this season? They can truly flatter any figure.

This year, I have another great thing to look forward to. I’ll be one of the authors participating in the Fall in Love with New England Author/ Reader conference. I love getting out and talking with readers and potential fans. Plus, I get to hang out with – and in some cases meet for the first time – a few of my fellow Romance Gems, including: Nancy Fraser, Elsa Kurt, Lucinda Race, Kari Lemor, Nora LeDuc, Kathryn Hills, and Peggy Jaeger!

I love decorating my mantle for the season!

If you’re in the Nashua, New Hampshire area on Saturday, October 19th, you should mark your calendars for the book signing from 2 – 5 PM. It’s free and open to the public.

Not only that, but I have a super big surprise for anyone attending. I’ve been diligently working on getting my Christmas novella ready to publish on November 1st, and will have the first physical copies available at the conference BEFORE it’s official release date.

Stay tuned for next month’s post when I reveal the Secret Gifts cover and blurb. In the meantime, what's your favorite thing about this time of year?

Oh! Don’t forget to enter the Romance Gems Monthly Giveaway. This month's theme is "The Kids are Back to School, Time to Get Back to YOU."

One lucky grand prize winner will get an Amazon Echo Dot. Check out our contest page for more details.