If you’re drawn to stories of second chances, redemption, small-town friendships, and the kind of love that quietly changes lives, I think you’ll feel right at home in Mistletoe Falls.

We kicked off Christmas in July with Holly, which was just 99¢ for one week only. That’s the part I’m sorry you missed if you didn’t grab your copy. But all is not lost. You can still get her this week for $1.99.

Holly is about discovering that sometimes the greatest gift waiting under the tree isn’t wrapped in ribbon. It’s the courage to trust again, to open your heart, and to believe that it’s never too late for a new beginning.

Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or this is your first visit to Mistletoe Falls, I hope you’ll come meet our characters, and spend a few hours in our favorite little Christmas towns.

Happy reading and enjoy the magic of Christmas,

Holly-Mistletoe Falls Christmas Bride

Stay cool!

Peggy

Myself, Sylvia McDaniel, and Lily Graison are continuing the Mistletoe Falls Christmas Brides stories this year! New releases are coming this fall, but as celebration of Christmas in July, Holly, Book One, in the series is on sale now! Check it out! This $.99 sale last one week only!

Christmas in July Sale!

Your Copy of Rosie-FREE!

If you know someone who would like to read Rosie, but doesn’t want to join our fun or is not ready to commit giving up their email, I get it. And here’s a link for them.

Buy Rosie Now!

After you’ve reader her story, please comment in the Substack chat and tell me what you think of her. I hope she’ll leave a lasting impression on you as well.

Peggy

Rosie has reached the final stage before publication.

The professional editing is finished. My revisions are done. The spelling and technical checks are complete. At this point, I’m no longer looking for grammar corrections or punctuation fixes. I’m looking for beta readers.

If you’ve never heard the term beta reader, it’s someone who reads a book before it’s published and gives the author feedback from a reader’s point of view.

These are the kinds of things I’m looking for. Questions like:

• Was there anything in the book that wasn’t clear?

• Did you find yourself wanting more explanation somewhere?

• Was there a timeline issue or something that didn’t quite add up?

• Or, did you reach the end and simply think, I loved every minute of it. (This one is my personal favorite). :)

PLEASE NOTE: Because Rosie releases on July 4, this is a quick assignment. If you’re one of the five beta readers chosen, I’ll send you the manuscript immediately, and I’ll need any comments, questions, or concerns emailed back to me no later than Thursday, July 2. To give you an idea of how much reading is involved, Rosie is 46K words which translates to about 160 pages give or take a page or two. A quick afternoon read for most of you!

Rosie has been part of the Brides of the Rio Grande family from the very beginning. She’s been the woman behind the scenes, the one holding her girls together through heartache and hope and happy ever afters.

Now you get to discover how her story began.

If you love being among the first to read a new release, and know you can finish the book by this coming Thursday, send me an email at peggy@peggymckenzie.com. I’ll select five readers this afternoon by…let’s say 7:00pm Central Time. (Give folks a chance to get home from work and check their emails).

If chosen, you’ll get the manuscript by 7:30pm today.

I can’t wait to hear what you think.

Peggy

If you’ve read my Brides of the Rio Grande series, you’ve already met Rosie O’Malley. But you’ve only known the woman she became. Now, you’ll get to meet the young woman at the beginning of her adventure of coming to America.

Next Saturday seems like the perfect time to tell her story.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, let’s spend a little time remembering the people who crossed an ocean with hope, determination, and a willingness to work, never knowing what waited for them here in America.

Rosie was one of those immigrants. She didn’t arrive with money or influence. She stepped off a ship with a worn-out satchel and very few possessions, but countered that lack with a strong work ethic, and a ton of courage.

Through the Brides of the Rio Grande series, you’ve watched young women with nowhere else to go find their way to her door.

Rosie gave them work, dignity, and the opportunity to build respectable lives.

You’ve seen the life she built.

Now it’s time to discover how she built it.

Where did she find the strength to leave Ireland?

What happened after she stepped off the ship?

How did a young immigrant woman become someone so many others would depend on?

Did she ever fall in love?

Did she have children of her own?

Next Saturday, you’ll have those answers.

On July 4th, I’ll send an email to all my followers with a link to download Rosie O’Malley for free. You can share this news with your friends. They too can get their free copy of Rosie by signing up for my newsletter. Rosie can also be purchased in paperback and ebook versions on Amazon and other leading booksellers across this great nation.

It seems like a fitting way to celebrate America’s 250th birthday by honoring one immigrant’s journey and the lives she touched.

Happy Birthday, America!

Peggy

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been wondering something lately.

Why is everyone in such a hurry? And why do they seem so angry?

Not just in traffic.

Everywhere.

People rush into stores. They rush through conversations. They rush through meals. They rush through life.

And goodness, don’t even get me started on driving.

It seems like people are angry before they even turn the key. They’re weaving through traffic, tailgating, honking, and glaring at complete strangers they will never see again who are doing their best not to die that day.

Yesterday, I had a chiropractor appointment. I really wanted to cancel. Something told me to cancel, but I finally convinced myself to go. I had second thoughts by the end of that drive.

I drive a pretty quick car and I’m very aware that slow traffic stays in the right lane. It’s a law in Oklahoma and trust me, that’s not usually where I hang out, but yesterday, drivers were so close to my rear bumper, I couldn’t even see the hood of their car. Just a few miles down the road, another driver took offense to a slower than normal car who was merging into traffic under the speed of sound. I couldn’t believe the aggression that followed.

I did make it to my appointment and I thankfully made it home safe, but since then, I’ve caught myself wondering, “Why are these people in such a hurry and why are they so angry?

Maybe it isn’t really about the traffic.

Maybe it’s something deeper.

Maybe they’re worried about money, family, aging parents, grown children, loneliness, health, or simply trying to keep up with a world that seems to move faster every year.

Maybe they’re tired.

Maybe they’re scared.

Maybe they’re overwhelmed and there’s not a single thing they can control in their life except the power behind the vehicle they are driving.

I don’t know the answer. Maybe some folks are just bullies. Maybe being angry is simply who they are. We can’t change them. We can only do our best to avoid them and refuse to let them steal our sense of peace. Our safety.

That sounds harsh, but lately it feels like common courtesy has become the uncommon.

People snap at strangers.

They honk before the light turns green.

They tailgate and weave in and out of traffic.

They criticize from behind a keyboard.

They seem angry at people they’ve never even met.

Whatever happened to patience?

Whatever happened to kindness?

Whatever happened to giving people common courtesy? And don’t even get me started about respect.

I can’t help thinking that somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten that we’re all sharing this journey together.

So tell me.

Have you noticed the world moving at a frenetic pace?

Or is it just me?

❤️ Peggy

I can get up from my chair with a very specific mission in mind.

I walk into another room and suddenly stand there like I’ve never seen the place before.

Why am I here?

What was I looking for?

Did I come in here for something, or did I just wander in for the scenery?

Then I go back to where I was sitting and, without fail, remember exactly what I needed.

“Oh, that’s right. Scissors.”

Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.

And does anyone know why walking back to the original room seems to magically restore the memory?

❤️ Peggy

I’m looking at my desk right now, and there are sticky notes everywhere.

Notes on my keyboard.
Notes on my monitor.
Notes stuck to other notes.

Book ideas.
Things I need to remember.
Projects I’m working on.
Things I absolutely cannot forget... which is exactly why I wrote them down in the first place.

Some days I think I’m organized.

Other days it looks like a stationery store exploded in my office.

So tell me, how do you keep track of everything?

Are you a sticky note person?
A planner person?
A notebook person?
Do you use your phone for everything?
Or have you found some magical system the rest of us need to know about?

I’d love to hear what works for you because judging by my desk, I may be in the market for a better system

.

It’s my reading cave.

Every reader has one.

For you, maybe it’s a recliner tucked into the corner of the living room. Maybe it’s a porch swing, a favorite chair, a hammock, a sunny window seat, or even a spot in bed with three pillows arranged just right.

Life gets busy. The world gets noisy. There are always dishes to wash, errands to run, and one more thing demanding our attention.

But somehow, the moment I settle into my reading spot and open a book, the rest of the world fades away for a little while.

This is where I escape.

This is where I travel.

This is where I meet unforgettable characters and visit places I’ve never been.

Today I thought I’d share a picture of my reading cave. It’s a double egg chair with a zipper cover. Even if it’s raining, I can hide away.

Now it’s your turn.

Where do you read?

I’d love to see your favorite reading spot. Share a picture if you’d like, or simply describe it in the comments. Is it cozy? Quiet? Surrounded by books? Hidden away from the rest of the family?

Show me where the magic happens.

Peggy

Sometimes a character arrives fully formed.

Other times, she shows up unexpectedly and refuses to leave.

That’s Rosie O’Malley.

Many of my readers know the Brides of the Rio Grande series, but what they may not know is that Rosie wasn’t originally supposed to have her own story.

At first, she was simply part of the larger history behind the series. The more I thought about her life, however, the more I realized she deserved to step out of the shadows and tell her own tale.

Rosie begins her journey in Ireland. Like so many immigrants of the nineteenth century, she leaves behind everything familiar and sets out in search of a better future. What follows is a difficult road filled with hardship, uncertainty, courage, and hope.

As I researched the story, I found myself fascinated by the challenges faced by immigrant women during that time. We often think about the grand events of history, but history is really built on the lives of ordinary people who made extraordinary choices.

Women like Rosie.

Women who crossed oceans.

Women who started over with nothing.

Women who refused to give up.

Those are the stories that have always interested me most.

The Brides of the Rio Grande series began with four women searching for a new beginning in the American West. What Rosie allowed me to do was step back and explore where that journey truly started.

Before there were brides.

Before there was romance.

Before there was hope waiting at the end of the trail.

There was Rosie.

Creating her story reminded me why I fell in love with historical fiction in the first place. The clothing, the trains, the frontier towns, and the research are all wonderful. But what matters most are the people. Their dreams. Their fears. Their determination to build something better than what they left behind.

Those struggles may have taken place more than a century ago, but I think there’s something timeless about them.

After all, haven’t we all found ourselves standing at the beginning of something new and wondering if we’re brave enough to take the first step?

I’d love to hear from you.

Do you enjoy learning about the history behind my books, or are you more interested in the characters themselves?

Leave a comment and let me know. I created Rosie to be the doorway to the Brides of the Rio Grande series. And, she’s free. Release date-July 31st. Enjoy!

— Peggy

Hello, Friends,

If you’ve followed me over from Facebook or my newsletter, thank you for making the journey with me.

Over the years, social media has changed quite a bit, and lately I’ve found myself wanting a quieter, more meaningful place to connect with readers. A place where conversations matter more than algorithms and where stories have room to breathe.

Substack is where I’ll share book news, behind-the-scenes glimpses into my writing life, character conversations, historical tidbits, and the occasional reflection on life itself.

You can expect to hear from me about once a week, although I may occasionally drop in with a surprise or two.

Every subscriber here will receive a free membership that includes my regular posts, book updates, and stories from behind the scenes.

It’s possible that in the future, paid subscribers will have an abundance of benefits including early peeks at new books, bonus content, character extras, and a little more time spent behind the scenes with me and my characters.

Mostly, though, I hope this becomes a place where readers and friends can stay connected.

Pull up a chair. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or some other delicious beverage and let’s get re-aquainted.

I’m glad you’re here.

— Peggy

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I look forward to building this connected community without all the noise!