Happily Ever After Thursday

We are so excited for our first annual 

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

Many book characters seem to become a part of our lives.

Sometimes we really want to get to know them better

and enjoy their romance for just a little bit longer.

Each Thursday, we will be spotlighting 

one of our swoony Christmas couples.

This week, we'll be getting to know

Charlee & Ryan 

from More Trouble in Loveland by Jennifer Peel.

1. What do you like to do on a romantic date?

We love to head up to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Estes Park to have dinner and then walk the Riverwalk.

2. What do you like most about each other?

Our fierce loyalty and how we support each other’s goals and dreams.

3. What is your favorite way to spend time together?

Hanging out with our son, shooting hoops, or cuddling on the couch together watching a movie. And of course, jumping on the trampoline.

4. What are three things on your bucket list?

Run the Boston Marathon (that’s more Ryan, but since I love him so much, I’ll play along or basically die with him doing it.)

Attend the NBA Championship Series games.

Go to Northern Wales and bounce on the world’s largest underground trampoline.

5. What is “your song”? 

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran (It was the first song we ever danced to.)

6. What is the craziest date you’ve been on?

For Ryan’s 34th birthday I made him a scavenger hunt complete with a map and clues leading to his buried birthday present. My favorite part of the night was watching him sing karaoke to My Girl to get one of his clues.

7. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Sleeping under the Christmas Tree. No children allowed.

8. How would you describe each other to someone else in three words?

Ryan would describe Charlee as annoyingly-charming, spontaneous, beautiful-heart.

Charlee would describe Ryan as all-mine, the-best-of-the-best, thoughtful.

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Whispering Wednesday

We are so excited for our first annual 

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

We're so excited about Whispering Wednesday!

Each Wednesday, we will be having a different author

answering some of our burning questions.

Next up, we have one of our favorite swoony clean authors,

Jennifer Peel!

Let's get to know her a little bit better: 

1. What gives you inspiration for your characters and story lines? 

Life experiences, stories on the news, my children and husband, friends, people watching, my dreams.

2. Which are your top five favorite kissing scenes from your books?

Meg and Zander’s first kiss in Statistically Improbable.

Sam and Paige’s first kiss on the beach in Paige’s Turn.

Cole and Jillian’s first kiss as strangers on a plane in the Pianos and Promises series.

Charlee and Ryan’s first kiss after the One Republic concert in Trouble in Loveland.

Cheyenne and Aidan’s first kiss in Cheyenne. There is something about two people hating each other, but they really don’t and the fireworks that happen when they kiss.

3. What has been your favorite book to write?

This is a tough one. It would be a toss-up between More Trouble in Loveland, Trouble in Loveland, and Statistically Improbable.

4. Which of your heroes and heroines would you most like to meet in person?

All of them! But some of my top ones would be Ryan and Charlee, Meg and Zander, and Beck and Call.

5. What three words would you use to describe your books? 

Character-driven, emotional, real-romance.

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Tradition Tuesday

We are so excited for our first annual

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

Traditions are what really make the holidays memorable!

Each Tuesday we will be posting about some of our

favorite Christmas traditions.

KJ will be posting about one of her family's

favorite traditions for Week 2.

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We used to have a lot of traditions growing up. But over the years, with my siblings getting married, having kids of their own and moving out of state, the majority of those traditions have fallen to the wayside.

But there is one tradition that I refuse to stop and that is Christmas breakfast! Whether it's just my dad and I or a few of my siblings and their families, I will ALWAYS have Christmas breakfast! Depending on who's here will determine the menu. Sometimes it's just eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and a big glass of milk (or in my case a Pepsi!). But other times it's eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, pancakes, toast, biscuits and gravy, orange juice, milk.. you name it and we probably have it! It's the BEST!

Over the last few years I have taken over the majority of the cooking and I love it! I've inherited my dad and grandpa's breakfast making genes! And if you ask me it's one of the greatest things I could have inherited from them! 😊

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Sweet Morsels Monday

We are so excited for our first annual 

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

Welcome to Sweet Morsels Monday!

Mondays can be rough, but nothing can make it better than something sweet.

Each Monday, we'll be sharing a Christmas treat recipe.

Aren't Christmas treats the best?!

For the second week,

KJ will be sharing one of the newest additions to her Christmas treats.

**I am a HUGE peanut cluster fan and a HUGE Rocky Road ice cream fan! So imagine my surprise when I discovered a Rocky Road Peanut Clusters! I just HAD to try them! So I went out the very next day and got all the ingredients. One word... AMAZING! Not only are the super yummy but they are super easy! I hope you guys love them!**

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Rocky Road Peanut Clusters

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 tbsp vegetable oil OR shortening

1½ cups roasted, lightly salted peanuts

1½ cups miniature marshmallows

Instructions:

1. Line a large baking sheet with waxed paper.

2. Melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and vegetable oil together in a large microwave-safe container. I used a Pyrex glass bowl.

3. Heat on high for 30 seconds, stir, repeat, until chips are melted and smooth.

4. Quickly stir in the peanuts and marshmallows.

5. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the waxed paper. You can make them as large or as small as you like.

6. Let set up in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before packing. Store leftovers (ha!) in an airtight container.

Don't these look and sound amazing?! Let me know what you think if you try them!

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Tradition Tuesday!

We are so excited for our first annual 

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

Traditions are what really make the holidays memorable!
Each Tuesday we will be posting about some of our

favorite Christmas traditions.

Katie will be posting about one of her family's

favorite traditions for Week 1.

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I don't watch a lot of TV because I'd rather be reading, but one of my

favorite Christmas traditions is watching Christmas movies and TV shows.

Every few days, we sit down as a family, grab some popcorn and treats,

and watch some of our favorite shows by the twinkling lights of the tree.

Our Top Ten family favorites are:

Elf

The Polar Express

White Christmas

A Christmas Carol

A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's a Wonderful Life

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Home Alone

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Frosty the Snowman

Of course, I also LOVE many Hallmark Christmas movies as well,

but my husband and kids aren't really into those. 😊

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Sweet Morsels Mondays!

We are so excited for our first annual 

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas event,

hosted by KJ's Book Nook, Bookworm Nation, and Katie's Clean Book Collection.

Welcome to Sweet Morsels Monday!

Mondays can be rough, but nothing can make it better than something sweet.

Each Monday, we'll be sharing a Christmas treat recipe.

Aren't Christmas treats the best?!

For the first week,

Katie will be sharing one of her family's favorites.

**I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but it was about 10-15 years ago.

Not only do we love to eat it, but we love to deliver it to neighbors as well.**

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Christmas Chex Mix

9 cups rice Chex cereal

9 cups corn Chex cereal

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups Christmas colored M&M's

Direction:

Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Spray roasting pan with cooking spray. Put cereals in pan. In medium saucepan, mix brown sugar, karo syrup, and butter. Cook and stir for 8-9 minutes over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Boil for 1 minute, constantly stirring. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Pour over cereal and gentle mix until coated. Bake 40-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then stir in M&M's. Spread mixture onto waxed paper and let cool for 10 minutes. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

*Makes 18 cups

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Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas - Reading List

Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas 2017

hosted by KJ's Book Nook and Katie's Clean Book Collection

and Bookworm Nation, starts in just a few more days!

If you didn't know already, I love making lists! Below are the books I really hope to get through during the challenge. Here's a link to others I would like to read as well if I have the time. 

Contemporary Romance

1.    Hot Cocoa Christmas by Christene Houston

2.    The Christmas Boyfriend by Taylor Hart

3.    Honeymoon for One in Christmas Falls by Jennifer Peel

4.    Operation: Married by Christmas by Debra Clopton

5.    One Enchanted Christmas by Melissa Tagg

6.    The Chef, the Holiadys & the Husband by Erica Penrod

7.    The Lumberjack’s Yuletide Bride by Kimberly Krey

8.    A Princess by Christmas by Jennifer Faye

9.    Chimney Sweep Charm by Marcia McClure

10.  Oh Come On Be Faithful by Cami Checketts

Historical Romance

1.    Christmas Secrets by Donna Hatch

2.    The Spinster’s Christmas

3.    12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep

4.    Christmas Belles by Susan Carroll

5.    A Gerrard Family Christmas by Rebecca Connolly

6.    The Christmas Charm by Lynn Collum

7.    Lady Crenshaw’s Christmas by Heidi Ashworth

8.    Silver Bells Collection – Anthology

9.    A Christmas Seduction – Anthology

10.   Object of His Affection by Marcia McClure

What's on your Christmas reading list?

The 411 On Our Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas!

Hey party people! Since we have finalized what we'll be doing for our Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas we thought we would share the details with you! It is going to be SO much fun! We cannot WAIT for it to start!

So... without further adieu... here's all the fun stuff we have in store for you!

Sweet Morsels Monday - What are holidays without yummy treats?! This is a post sharing the recipes to some of our favorite treats we love to make during the holidays!

Tradition Tuesday - No holiday would be complete without traditions! We all have them! This is a post sharing some of ours with you!

Whispering Wednesday - Are you like us and love getting to know your favorite authors? Without amazing authors writing books we wouldn't even have a Swoon Fest! This post is a Q&A with 4 of our favorite authors!

Happily Ever After Thursday - We are all suckers for a Happily Ever After! When we shared our lists with each other we discovered that we all wanted to read the same books written by the authors for Wednesday's post. We thought it would be perfect to interview the characters from each of these books! We just HAVE to know how their HEA is going!

Festivity Friday - You cannot have a Swoon Fest without winners! Each Friday we will be announcing the winners for the week. We will also be posting the links to the various reviews that come in.

For the prizes that will be mailed out, it will be open to US Residents only. 

There will be several ways for you to win! *Post a review for any Swoony Christmas book on Amazon or Goodreads, post a review of any of the books we highlight on Thursdays, leave a comment on any of our blog posts, share the giveaway on social media, follow each of us and the authors we highlight on Wednesdays.

*For the reviews, they will need to be at least 100 words and MUST be read during Swoon Fest.

And there you have it folks! All the 411 for our very first Christmas Swoon Fest! We hope everyone is as excited about it as we are! Make your lists... check them twice... and HAVE YOURSELF A VERY SWOONY CHRISTMAS! It all starts on Sunday!

Who's Ready for Another Swoon Fest?!?!

It 'twas the month before Christmas and all through the net not a reader was stirring not even a bit. 

The books were all placed on the shelves with care, in hopes that the bookworms would soon have time to spare. 

The readers were nestled all snug in their chairs while visions of reading time danced in the air.

When what to their wondering eyes should appear a notification from their bloggers so dear. 

With excitement and squeals and dreamy sighs, they just couldn't believe their eyes! 

Swoony reads, treats and prizes galore, we hope this is something y'all will adore! 

A Christmas Swoon Fest is just what you need, and these three bloggers hope you'll agree! 

So come on over and join in the fun, our Christmas Swoon Fest has almost begun!

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We are extremely excited to announce our very first Christmas Swoon Fest! 

Who's invited?

Why YOU... and YOU... and YOU... and YES! Even the little old lady down the street dancing around in her bathrobe! ;)

What are we doing?

We're going to HAVE OURSELVES A VERY SWOONY CHRISTMAS of course!

Where can you find this FANTABULOUS event?

On our blogs of course!

KJ's Blog: KJ's Book Nook
Kathy's Blog: Bookworm Nation
Katie's Blog: Katie's Clean Book Collection

When are we doing it?

It starts on November 19th and goes through December 16th.

Why are we doing this?

Because we LOVE all things Christmas! And what better way to get into the holiday spirit then to read Swoony Christmas books!

So what do we have in store for you?

We are still working on finalizing everything. Stay tuned for more details! 

How many prizes are there and how do you win?

We will have one winner each week and then have one "Grand Prize" winner at the very end. We'll be using Rafflecopter to keep track of the entries. In order to win, you will need to participate in Swoon Fest. 

Reading and reviewing books during this time period is going to be the main way to enter. You're review will need to be at least 100 words. But there will be other ways to enter. Like I said before, we're still working to finalize everything. 

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We hope that you'll join us! We always have a blast during Swoon Fest! 

Stay turned for my Have Yourself a Very Swoony Christmas reading list! I can't wait to start reading! 

Winners & Final Poll

I can’t believe Swoon Fest is over! This month has flown by and reading all these awesome McClure books made it so much more fun! I am so grateful for everyone who participated! We had over 850 entries throughout the month! That is awesome! Now I’m sure all of you are wondering who our final winners are, so here you go:

 

1st Place: Autographed Hardcopy McClure Book

(signed and provided for by Marcia)

Heidi Jensen

 

2nd Place: $15 Amazon Gift Card

Tiffany Odell

 

3rd Place: $10 Amazon Gift Card

Jennifer H

I'll send the prizes to the email addresses provided, let me know if you don't receive it. Heidi, I'll be contacting you in regard to which book you'd like, etc. Thanks again to everyone who participated, you all made it so much more fun!

Poll

Happy Halloween! Which paranormal hero would you like Marcia to write about...

Vampire Werewolf

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Top Ten Favorite McClure Books

I thought it’d be fun to compile a list of everyone’s favorite McClure books. It was actually a little harder than I thought it would be. I ended up with four different versions and used those to make a master list. The first version is based on Amazon reviews (average customer review), the next based on Goodreads (average ratings), next is based on the Goodreads Listopia and lastly one based on all the different lists that were submitted to me directly. So, I give you the master list of favorites (I’ll post the other lists in the comments, if you’re curious like me). And I should add, this is probably always changing, the more votes that come in can tweak things a bit.

Top Ten Favorite McClure Books

Visions of Ransom Lake

Kissing Cousins

Highwayman of Tanglewood

A Crimson Frost

Dusty Britches

Weathered Too Young

Saphyre Snow

Shackles of Honor

Heavenly Surrender

Touch of Sage

 

“Falling in love is an adventure--the breathless, goose-bump-rendering voyage of a real-life hero and heroine. Falling in love is simultaneously wonderful and painful -- a mingling of uncertainty and euphoria. Love stories are, after all, like people -- as individual as snowflakes. Each love story is entirely unique -- each love story should be admired, cherished, and valued!”

-Marcia Lynn McClure

 

*These results are from October 30, 2014

Character Casting Reveals

When I woke up this morning I realized I didn't have anything to post today. But, then I realized I still had a few character reveals that I forgot to put up. Personally, I think these are better than the originals. What do you think?

Untethered
Kathy and Heathro

Kissing Counsins
Kathy Jo and Swaggart

The Crimson Frost
Katie and Broderick

The Pirate Ruse
Tori and Trevon

Poll

I LOVE fairytales and I've enjoyed the few MLM retellings she's done. Which fairytale would you love for Marcia to write?

Swan Princess Cinderella

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MLM Favorites Voting

Okay, so I know I asked everyone to submit their top ten favorite lists to me, I've gotten a great response and will still post those results. But, Katie had a great idea about hosting a vote through Goodreads. I thought this would be a great and easy way for everyone to vote. I went ahead and added all of Marcia's books to the list, now you just have to go and vote for your top TEN favorites. I know doing it this way will be tempting to vote for more than ten, but try and stick with ten. :)

To vote, visit my Listopia page on Goodreads HERE. Voting is easy, if you haven't done it before you can see in the picture below. Under the title of the book there is a "vote for this book" button. Just click on that. On the right there is a My Votes field and you will be able to see your list of ten books. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll announce the final winners in a couple days.

Character Casting Reveals, Part IV

I LOVE Marcia's Westerns, so I was really excited for this casting reveal! There are a couple on here that are probably more "historical" (like Fragrance, which we didn't get finished until yesterday), but we figured it'd be okay to put them here. I really love this set, hope you do too!

The Bewitching of Amoretta Ipswich

The Haunting of Autumn Lake

The Windswept Flame

Sweet Cherry Ray

Untethered

Dusty Britches

The Heavenly Surrender

The Prairie Prince

Weathered Too Young

The Fragrance of Her Name

Desert Fire
 

Sudden Storms

Touch of Sage

The Visions of Ransom Lake

The Light of the Lovers Moon

To Echo the Past

Wednesday Winners, Part III

Congratulations to our winners this week! It is always fun pulling up Rafflecopter on Wednesday mornings and watch it select our winners. We have one last drawing next week!

 

1st Place: Autographed Hardcover Book

(signed and provided by Marcia)

Katie Krebs

 

2nd Place: $15 Amazon Gift Card

Tori Wright

 

3rd Place: $10 Amazon Gift Card

Haley Whitaker

Fall for Fluff, Part III

It's Tuesday which means we have another round of Trivia fun! I love Tuesdays! It's fun to hear from everyone and get some fun discussions going. A Big thanks to KJ for providing today's trivia quotes!

Who Said It?

"Well, you might wanna...sort of...brace for impact or something. I've been holding this back for too long, and it might come across as a little too... aggressive."

"Thus, if you wish me to be intimate in names, and careless in kisses... then I will be intimate and careless. Or rather, careless in names and intimate in kisses."

"Shhh. Don't worry about it, bootylicious bunny. You'll just have to become a kept woman... my kept woman."

"Oh don't you worry. Between the crick coolin' yer feet and me warmin' up yer mouth, tomorrow will be here before ya know it."

Who Plays It Better?
Okay, so everyone seemed pretty happy with Colin O'Donoghue as Captain Trevon Navaronne, I feard if I even attempted to change him we'd have a mutiny! We weren't 100% sure of who to cast as Cristabel though and thought it'd be fun to get your input. Who do you think makes the best Cristabel and Trevon? (Oh, and yes we did sneak in a new Trevon, I actually think he makes a pretty good fit as well!)

1                                                                   2

3                                                                        4

What's Your Favorite MLM...
I like to make things interesting and get y'all thinking so here's a fun one for everyone. What are your top FIVE favorite MLM kissing scenes? I KNOW it'll be hard to narrow it down to only five, I still haven't been able to do so...yet. :)

And, just for fun...another poll!

Poll

Who would you rather be stranded on a desert island with?

Swaggart Kissing Cousins Lochlan The Highwayman of Tanglewood

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**Oh, if you haven't already, be sure and send me your list of Top Ten favorite MLM books! I'm compiling the answers and will release the results at the end of Swoon Fest!