Sunday, September 22, 2024

Spotlight on Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

Odd Things You Might Not Know About Me


At a Newcomer welcome meeting recently (we’re newcomers of 22 years lol) we gave a fact about ourselves that no one might know. One of our most diminutive members was a champion javelin thrower in college and another one of our quieter members was a runner-up in a Tammy Faye Baker look-alike contest. It was fascinating hearing all the stories.  We're like the characters in our books--full of secrets and unknown experiences although mostly harmless in our case!

But then I had to think of something. Many people already know I write books so I didn’t think that would fly. But I’m so dull, the small voice in my head said. If only I lived the life of one of my protagonists, solving crimes, running businesses, saving people.


 


So, I settled on the fact that I’ve been in three television commercials. The company I worked for (in marketing communications) wanted to advertise their hospice services and I volunteered to be the “patient.” The make-up artist touched up my make-up, but in the end all you saw of me in the first two ads was my hands! Finally, in the third ad, I was visible from a distance…for about two seconds.

Later I thought of something else that might have been fun. I lived in NYC and many times I walked down Fifth Avenue to my office. It turned out the timing coincided with the routine of actor Roy Scheider who was on his way back to his apartment after a run. I was quite thrilled to spot him and after several weeks of passing each other every day, he began to wave to me!

I once walked out of the subway in the middle of a sweltering summer day to be surrounded by people dressed in coats, hats and gloves. I thought I’d fallen down the rabbit hole until someone yelled “get her off he set” and I spotted Al Pacino. Alas, my walk-on was scrapped in the cutting room.


While I’ve never followed the clues to unmask a murderer or tangled with a killer in real life, I’ve still had a few fun experiences! And who knows? One of these days, they might find their way into one of my plots.  What about you? Is there something about you that no one might know?

I'd love to give away an e-book of book #9, the latest in my Cranberry Cove Series
--A Berry Suspicious Death--to someone who leaves a comment on my post! (US Only, please include your email so I can contact you.)

 A Berry Suspicious Death is now out!

 

    AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE    

 

Weddings are murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

The cranberry bogs at Sassamanash Farms have never looked more festive than when Monica’s half-brother celebrates his wedding there. It’s a genuinely joyous occasion, and even greeting a strange assortment of guests and witnessing a heated argument can’t spoil Monica’s mood. But that all changes when one of the guests is found murdered at the reception—and then one of Monica’s employees is accused of doing the deed to get his hands on the dead woman’s money.

It doesn’t take long for Monica to discover that the victim had amassed her fortune by marrying a very wealthy—and very ill—older man. What’s more, the old man’s daughters despised the scheming, gold-digging woman, and thought the inheritance money should have been theirs. That seems like motive enough for murder, but Monica suspects there’s more to this case than simple greed. With her employee in hot water and time running out, Monica will have to act fast to catch the killer, before a case that started with a family wedding ends with her own funeral . ..


AMAZON

                BARNES & NOBLE

 
 

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Peg Cochran is the author of the Open Book Series (writing as Margaret Loudon), the Cranberry Cove Series, the Murder, She Repored series, the Farmer's Daughter Series, the Lucille series and the Sweet Nothings Lingerie Series (writing as Meg London.)


13 comments:

  1. I love your secret stories Peg, especially "get her off the set!" We're glad to have you writing characters and cooking right here on MLK. xo

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  2. I love your story about walking out of a subway station and on to the set of an Al Pacino film. Thanks for sharing you "rabbit hole" experience.

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  3. I took a class in Improvisation at Second City in Chicago. Thank you your book looks fun. Deborah deborahortega229@yahoo.com

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  4. What fun stories you have! I just can't think of anything interesting about me that people don't know so I'll just say that I have been to Australia. Thanks so much for the chance to win this book. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  5. Great stories, Peg! I've seen two celebrities in NYC: John Waters (whom I would have approached and talked to, but it started to pour rain right as I saw him and he darted across the street) and Barbara Walters, whom I watched walk around the women's clothing section of a department store checking out the wares.

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  6. Some years back I was at a workshop where we were asked to introduce ourselves and tell about something unique. This was over 20 years ago (How did that happen?!) and I mentioned that I had a tatoo on my shoulder. Tatts on average, middle aged people were not the norm back then. The next day I was wearing something where some of the tatt showed and a guy in the group exclaimed. because he'd assumed I had a little butterfly or something when it's actually a large-ish batch of flowers that covers most of one shoulder blade.
    I got the tatt to celebrate turning 50. I haven't been tempted to get another, although many people have more than one.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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  7. Peg, I love the Roy Scheider story. Isn't it funny how you can keep running into the same person and you feel you "know" them? Love it.

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  8. Isn't it fun to see famous people unexpectedly? We got on an elevator in a hotel as Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon were getting off. Just smiled at them. Arrived back at a hotel at the same time the Monkees were coming back from their concert. And got to chat with Efrem Zimbalist Jr when I met him at a business where he narrated security films. Lovely man. patdupuy@yahoo.com

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  9. What a fun post, Peg. Cheers for making us stop and think what we might learn from others around us (including those little interesting stories) that we might never have guessed. On your question to us regarding little known facts, I once worked (for two summers during my college years) at a century-old amusement park in the Pittsburgh, PA, area called Kennywood (a National Historic Landmark that was also used as the setting for the Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Jesse Eisenberg film Adventureland). I was on the "rides" crew of the Bayern Kurve, Ferris wheel, Pirate Ship, and a truly scream-and-laughter-inducing piece of machinery called the rockets. It was grueling work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, all summer long. But my co-workers were the best, the park food was amazing, and we had the best time giving thrills (and joy) to thousands of kids.

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  10. A few years ago my husband and I went to a Horrorcon in Tampa and I wanted to meet Alice Cooper. Stood in line for quite a while and when it was finally my turn, I started singing "Smoking in the Boys Room" to him and told him my story of how I was caught smoking in the girls room in high school when his song was a big hit. I got a laugh out of him. Also went to a talk he gave later on and he is an amazing guy. Really turned his life around and keeping his stage persona. Thank you so much for this chance at your giveaway. pgenest57 at aol dot com

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  11. I don’t think there is much secret in my life. I enjoy the Cranberry Cove mysteries. Thanks for your stories. awanstrom(at)yahoo.com

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  12. I sold popcorn to Danny Glover
    Wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

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