Sunscreen and Ice Cream by @KaraONealAuthor #RomanceGems

My mother grew up in a small town in south Texas. It's about thirty minutes from the border. My god-sister affectionately called this town "the armpit of the south". (She grew up there, too.)

It has a working drawbridge, one stoplight, and it used to have the best ice cream parlor anywhere. (They served Blue Bell.)

My great-grandfather was the owner and operator of this quaint little parlor, and his sons kept it open until the 90s.

We would visit my grandparents every summer, and fortunately, not only were they close to Mexico, they were close to South Padre Island. We went to the beach faithfully and enjoyed the white sand and the clear water. I loved every minute, despite the slather of sunscreen I had to put on.

And while I mastered riding the waves, I never could get the hang of building the perfect sandcastle. And believe me, I tried.


After we wore ourselves out, my uncle and grandparents ALWAYS took us to get ice cream. It was tradition. And a good one, too, if you ask me.

When I look back on my life, I realize everything I have and everything I am, is because of my family. They are my rocks, the heart and soul of me.

And this makes them the foundation of my books. The one thing my fans always mention after reading one of my books is their delight with the family aspect of the stories. If I don't have enough scenes that feature family moments, my editor makes sure I put them in. When a book club discusses one of my books, we talk about the family events sometimes as much as the love story.


My romances are absolutely a tribute to one of God's greatest gifts, but they are also a love story to the family. My family. It's a joy I can't describe, and I'm grateful I get to say thank you in books.

The Texas Brides of Pike's Run series is here for you to treasure! There are 19 books in the series, and I am self-publishing. The prelude, book 1 and 2 are ready! Book 3 is available for pre-order.

Prelude: Saving Sarah
When Sarah breaks their budding courtship for reasons unknown, Michael will stop at nothing to find out why.

Book 1: Welcome Home
Emma is everything Kyle has ever wanted, but she betrayed him.

Book 2: The Sheriff's Gift
Forbidden kisses with the sheriff weren't part of the schoolteacher's plans.

Book 3: The Cowboy's Charms
She's his enemy's daughter, but this cowboy can't help falling for her.

Website ~ Amazon ~ B & N ~ BookBub ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest 

Our giveaway for July is still going on! Y'all be sure to enter here!

Where did Summer go? by Peggy Jaeger

Next week it will be August already. I think every summer about this time I ask myself ( and anyone who is listening to me, which, truthfully, isn't many!!) "Where did the summer go?"
Even during this horrible pandemic, with the country in such a weird state of shut down/don't shut down, I still feel as if the world is zipping by and I don't have enough time to do everything I want, or need, to do, despite being more of a hermit than usual.

Case in point: this summer I had 4 things on my work calendar that were a priority( In addition to the 99 everyday things that weren't):
1. finish my Christmas romance and get it ready for an October release
2. Start the next book in my Pride of Brothers series and finish the first draft
3. Plot the next three indie releases I have planned in my head
4. Blog at least 3-4 times per week on my website

I figured June, July and August would be more than enough for 1-3. #4 I do anyway.

Then reality hit.

June was a crazy month in which a routine dermatology appointment knocked me out of the stratosphere with another cancer diagnosis( my fifth!) and a topical chemotherapy treatment that made me even more of hermit because it made my face look like an uncooked pizza. You'd think because I was isolating myself ( and not for Covid!) I'd get the work done.

Nope.

I was too devastated by the diagnosis and spent the better part of my hermitage (is that a word?) watching old DARK SHADOWS and CSI episodes on HULU instead of writing two books.

July rolled around and I realized I'd wasted a month wallowing, so I started on #1-3. I didn't get far with any of them because...life in general interfered. Taking care of my isolating and aging parents, getting lost in social media rabbit holes, promoting my two latest releases and doing Zoom and FB Chat events for them, even helping promote other authors on my blog, all took  up so much time, that before you know it, here we are just a few days from August.

I'm determined to do better in August.
I need to get my Christmas book edited ( it is done, thankfully!); I need to make a serious dent in Book 2 in the Pride of Brothers trilogy ( 15,000 words in so far.) ; and those next 3 indies need to be written down before I forget them.
I can do this. I know I can.

The phrase famous last words seems to be rolling around in my head, though. Hee hee

Have you heard about the  LAST CHANCE BEACH- Summer's End? It's an anthology of 14 romances from the Romance Gems. Short, sweet or sassy, you're guaranteed to find a story you love.

And don't forget my very own Summer Romance, VANILLA WITH A TWIST a One Scoop or Two novella.

"There's never a wrong time for ice cream." ~ Tandy Blakemore, owner of Vanilla with a Twist

Have you checked out the monthly Romance gems giveaway? 

Until next time, peeps. Stay cool and stay healthy ~ Peg