A New Love(s) @sloanebcollins #PlottingPrincesses #amwriting #Yellowstone #GrandTetons #MFRWorg

Last month, I fell in love.

With bears and moose, mountain bluebirds and coyotes, owls and bison.
To clarify, I fell in love with Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park. While it was my husband’s third trip there, it was my first.

The above-mentioned wildlife were just a few of what we saw on our adventures in Wyoming. It ranks now as one of my top favorite vacations of all time (and I think I’ve mentioned a time or twelve how much I love Maine, right?). I’d move to Wyoming or Montana in a heartbeat.

It was a vacation that fed my soul. I got to be creative with photography, relax and look at beautiful countryside, and get inspiration for the Cowboy series I’m writing, which is set in Montana. (YES! We saw a real live cowboy rounding up cattle!)

I grew up surrounded by the Franklin mountains in El Paso, and have taken other vacations in and around mountains. The Grand Tetons are now my favorite of all. And I came up with an idea for a series set in that area! I think it has a bit of a unique twist. But I can’t say anything yet…

Under the Princess Crown: Jennie Marts & her new book Romancing the Ranger #ContemporaryRomance #newbook #MFRWorg

USA TODAY Best-selling author Jennie Marts writes for Entangled Publishing and is addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends. Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small town romantic comedies in the Cotton Creek Romances.  Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.

Speed Round:

Favorite movie: My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Favorite book: Harry Potter
Last book read: Girl On A Train
Favorite color: pink
Stilettos or flipflops: flip-flops
Coffee or tea: coffee
Ebook or paperback: paperback

What is Love? @sloanebcollins #plottingprincesses #amwriting #marriage #love #MFRWorg

What is Love?

Merriam Webster’s definition of love:

a (1):  strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child> (2):  attraction based on sexual desire :  affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3):  affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates>

The definition just doesn’t seem to encompass the feeling of an all-consuming romantic love, does it?  I write Romance, about two people falling in love, and encountering pitfalls along the way, things they have to overcome to profess their love to each other and end up happily ever after. So that’s romantic love, with the hero sweeping the heroine off her feet, seducing her with the best sex ever, and proposing in a unique and romantic way.

But that’s not always real life. Love goes so much deeper than what’s in the pages of a book. Yes, my husband completely surprised me with the proposal. We’d already been talking about getting married, even had the rings picked out, but had talked about doing it at back at home (I was in college, he was in the army). So one weekend he drove up to Mizzou, and wanted to walk around the campus. He had asked me what my favorite spot was, so I took him to the columns on the quadrangle. It was night time, the spotlights were shining, and he took me to the middle column and pulled the ring out of his pocket. He couldn’t kneel because it had been raining that day, but it was still so romantic.

And almost twenty-eight years later, he’s still showing me how much he loves me.

Time for the Princess Last Tuesday Book Review -

We all have our favorite tropes. Story themes that grab you at first sight. One of mine is marriage of convenience. So how could I resist Cora Seton's The Navy SEAL's Email Order Bride.

Mason Hall, Navy SEAL, knows all about difficult assignments, but his current mission is one for the record books. Not only must he find a wife—and get her pregnant—or forfeit the ranch his family has prized for generations, he must also convince his three brothers to marry, too—before the year is up. Who knew one city girl and three wayward brothers could put up such a fight?

Cora takes a tried and true trope and successfully weaves an interesting heart-warming modern day read.  I love it when a book has me falling in love with a character in the first paragraphs. Ms. Seton does exactly that. She had me in love with all four brothers before I turned the first page. Honorable men with a strong sense of loyalty and family. How could I not love these brothers?

Add in the cutest drunken online matchmaking scene for our heroine and I was hooked. I loved how Ms. Seton took us on a well-traveled and often predictable road but instead gave us a real and believable love story.  Every turn kept my interest and the last page had me wanting more. Fortunately, there are three more brothers!

Do you have a story theme you love best?

Reviewed by Chris Keniston 

@SloaneBCollins - How Do You Indulge? #notagirliegirl #indulgingmynails #plottingprincesses

Hi, everyone.  This is my first official post as a Plotting Princess, and I’m thrilled to be here.  I’ve been trying to decide what to write about instead of just talking about who I am, what I write (Contemporary Romance), etc. I came up with a subject that might be near and dear to many hearts. 

I’m not much of a girlie-girl, but I like to indulge every so often.  I love shoes, but due to a knee injury, I’ve had to give up all my gorgeous heels and wear flats.  I adore handbags, but I pretty much use a tote bag. For my job, it’s all business clothes.  So how can I indulge in something that feels extravagant and not go broke? 

Nail polish!  A few months ago I joined a “club” in which I get 3 nail polishes every month.  I adore trying the gorgeous new colors, and have stepped WAY outside my box with blues, silvers, purples, greens, metallics, glitters(!), and of course, my favorite: red. 

I decided to get organized, and make a swatch sheet with all the colors, so now it’s easy to decide which to use.  I can go elegant, romantic, funky, sedate, or wild. 

When I was through, the drawer looked like a treasure chest dripping with jewels.  Aren’t they pretty?  And the fact they’re in identical bottles makes my heart go pitty-pat.