Unlocking a Summer Romance

We've reached those lazy days of summer where many people are taking time off for vacation and of course that means needing some great reading material.  I'm always looking for something exciting and new to read and often that means I go looking for the latest releases by some of my favorite authors -- writers like Peggy Jaegar. She is a romance writer who says she loves writing about strong women, the families who support them and the men who can't live without them.

According to Peg's biography, family and food play huge roles in her stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal or two or more. Her stories are filled with humor and great characters. She says she likes to write romance because she wants everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she says she longed for a family and that she now enjoys creating that sort of family through her books.

Her latest work is Passion's Palette. 

Talented and witty portrait artist Serena MacQuire is successful in everything but love. Her gift for capturing people on canvas is rivaled only by her fiery and legendary temper. A tragedy from the past keeps her heart securely locked away, preventing any man from getting close enough to claim it.

But Seamus Cleary isn't just any man. After he left his professional football career to become a veterinarian, his bitter wife ended their marriage. Now, as he starts his life over in a new town, love is the last thing he's looking for. The more he tends to Serena's horses, though, the more he realizes her own heart needs tender care and healing as well. 

Will he be the man who finally unlocks and claims her heart?

Let's get an excerpt:

            With a hip resting against the tabletop, he browsed through her paints and brushes, lifting one color pot, then another. "So. You’re an artist."

            She nodded.

            "What do you paint?"

            As he opened and closed the pots, Serena observed his hands, silently assessing the length and width of his fingers. Her mind registered the dexterous movements of each action, the deliberate, studied way his hands performed each task.

            "Portraits, mostly."

            His eyebrows rose. "This is pretty big equipment for a portrait. Where do your pictures hang? In castles?"

             "Three do,” she told him, charmed when his neck reddened. “But this stuff will be for a mural I've been commissioned to do for a hospital."

            His eyebrows lifted. "Impressive. You must be good."

            Allowing a smidgeon of playfulness to creep into her voice, Serena gave him a shrug that rivaled his own. "Better than some. Not as good as others."

            He returned her smile with one of his own.

            Serena’s heart giddyapped. 
Sounds like good reading for the summer!  Here are the buy links and info to contact Peg.

Amazon: 

Wild Rose Press 
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Thanks Peg for being my guest. Any comments or questions for Peg?