Writers are Readers: Pegg Thomas

I had this really cool intro planned for my author interview with historical romance author Pegg Thomas, but she wrote one at the beginning of her interview, so here you go…

Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Karin. It’s always fun to chat with you. Let me tell you about my books. Oh! You might have heard, my two 2021 historical romance releases were BOTH chosen as finalists in the Selah Awards. That was a little bit exciting.

But looking forward, I have book three in my Forts of Refuge series, Abigail’s Peace, coming out in June. This was originally supposed to be the final book in the series. But wait—there’s more! I have plans for not one, but two, more books in this series. No dates yet, but be watching.

In August, book one of my new series, A More Perfect Union, which is set post-Civil War, will release. This series is hero-driven and each hero is a Civil War vet who must put his life back together after the war. Each is changed or challenged in a different way. Emerald Fields, book one, is set on a sheep farm in Michigan. My great-great-grandfather makes a cameo appearance in it. He served in the Michigan 7^th Cavalry, as did my fictional hero. It was fun to slip a little family history into a story again.

On to your questions. You asked me some tough ones, but I’ll do my best!

What was the first novel that you read?

Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard is the first one I can remember. Hey, that was a looong time ago! It was a tattered old paperback that had been my dad’s. Grandma kept it on the nightstand by his old bed. Since I slept there often, it was easy for me to pick up and read. I loved it. I’ve read it many times since, and I still have that same old tattered book. It’s too fragile to be read anymore, but I’ll never part with it.

What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

It’s a book coming out on April 19^th by Robin Patchen, Inheritance of Secrets. Robin and I have been critique partners for years – more than I should admit to, probably. I really enjoy her writing and, in this book, she kept me guess the third person in the who-done-its until the very end.

Have you ever had a book recommended to you that you didn’t like?

Yes! It was a nonfiction book on the craft of writing. I not only didn’t finish it, I burned it. Literally. Chucked it in the burn barrel in our backyard. Once the writer referred to God as “she,” I was done.

Yikes! If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?

Gandalf, probably. After all, how many chances would I have to dine with a wizard? A good wizard, at that. He’d likely know all the best stories on the hobbits and all things Middle-Earth.

If you could turn any of your books into a movie, which would you pick?

Maggie’s Strength because I think it sets itself up best for a movie. There’s a lot of action in that one, and I could picture Maggie’s escape while I wrote it like I was watching it on a screen. The setting would be rugged and beautiful too.

Share five books from your TBR (to be read) pile.

In no particular order:
Moondrop Miracle – Jennifer Lamont Leo
Boulevard of Confusion – Spies of the Civil War Book Two – by Sandra Merville Hart
Between Two Shores – Jocelyn Green
Under the Tulip Tree – Michelle Shocklee
An Uncommon Woman – Laura Frantz

What book are you most looking forward to reading next?

Season of My Enemy – Naomi Musch

This comes out in June and I can’t wait! I love Naomi’s books. WWI and WWII books are never my go-to eras to read, but Naomi does such a wonderful job writing those eras that even I can’t wait to pick them up.

Thank you so much for chatting with me today!

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. They raise chickens, keep a few barn cats, and Murphy the spoiled rotten dog. Pegg is published in six Barbour historical romance collections, won the 2019 FHL Readers’ Choice Award, was a double-finalist for the 2019 ACFW Carol Award for novellas, and a finalist for the 2019 ACFW Editor of the Year. She was a finalist in the 2021 FHL Readers’ Choice Award. And she is also a double-finalist for the 2022 Selah Awards. Pegg spent 3 ½ years as the managing editor of Smitten Historical Romance. When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls. https://PeggThomas.com