The Smurthwaites w/ BOOK GIVEAWAYS

HOW FUN IS THIS?

I was at work the other day and in walked 

Shannon and Donald Smurthwaite!

How fun to have both husband AND wife as authors! 

They are both very delightful and fun to chat with.
Make sure to read to the very end to find out 10 FUN THINGS ABOUT THEM!

I LOVE both of their books!

Shannon Smurthwaite just wrote a cookbook...Mormon Mama Italian Cookbook: From my Nona Rosa's Table to Yours. 

Filled with wonderful Italian dishes (minus the alcohol :) hence the Mormon in the title. She has everything from meatballs to focaccia breads to truffles. 

She also has some really fun Italian facts and jokes with each recipe.

A couple of my favorites are:

You know you're Italian when you've been tapped with a wooden spoon or had a shoe thrown at you.

What do you call an Italian with his hands in his pocket? ~ A mute.

The average Italian is 43 years old. My great aunt has claimed this age for the last 30 years. 

Watch for my full review coming next month...

Donald S. Smurthwaite has written many novels.

Some you might recognize are: The Boxmaker's Son, Fine Old High Priest and Suprising Marcus.

His latest novel is Road to Bountiful...

A WONDERFUL, tender book filled with humorous moments and an AMAZING road trip between a nephew and his great-uncle.

Along the way lessons are learned...
Hearts are softened...
And life seems to slow down...

Read my full review HERE.

Shannon and Donald have graciously agreed to do an eBOOK/BOOK GIVEAWAY 
for MY readers :)

Enter this one for an eBOOK of Momon Mama Italian Cookbook

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter this one for a paperback copy of Road to Bountiful

(US Address only please)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YES YOU CAN ENTER BOTH!

About the Authors
Shannon McClary Smurthwaite grew up in Los Angeles, California. The oldest of three daughters, Shannon loved spending time at her Italian grandmother’s side. She attended Cal State Northridge and BYU, studying art and design. She is married to Donald Smurthwaite, and they are the parents of four wonderful children. Shannon’s family happily serve as her official food taste testers and share their mother’s love for cooking and creating in the kitchen. She resides in Meridian, Idaho, and serves as her stake’s Young Women president.

Donald Smurthwaite is a native of Portland, Oregon. He and his wife, Shannon, are the parents of four children, whom he always will consider his best works. He has written eight novels, a couple dozen short stories, and lots of magazine stories, some of which were actually pretty good. He writes splendidly about golf, although he has grown ambivalent about the game in his middle-aged years. He runs ten miles a week and makes killer chocolate chip cookies, and yes, there is a connection between the two. He answers every fan letter or e-mail he receives. Lately, that hasn’t been much of a workload.

TEN FUN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT 

THE SMURTHWAITES

1. The Smurthwaites met at a BYU student ward open house soon after Donald returned from his mission to the Gulf States. Shannon’s first words to him (“I’m from New York,”) were a boldfaced lie. She’s from California, he’s from Oregon. There’s more to the story, but that’s for another time.

2.They are proof that opposites attract, that oil and water can mix. Shannon is the Type A personality, outgoing, comfortable in groups, making friends everywhere she goes, and organized to a fault. Donald tends to be more reserved and reflective, “although once you get to know him, he’s really funny,” Shannon says.

3. She’s Italian and Scottish, which is a good mix for a writer and compiler of cookbooks; he’s a bit of everything, which probably has no bearing on his writing.

4. They dated, briefly, each other’s roommates until they got things sorted out and decided they were the best combination for each other.

5. Their first date was to a revival of the Disney film “Ol’ Yeller” in Murray, Utah. Somehow, their courtship survived this early test. “Ol’ Yeller” was Donald’s idea. His taste has improved through the years.

6. They both are comfortable in the kitchen. As you would guess, Shannon loves to prepare anything Italian, while Donald’s sweet tooth drives his culinary creations. His chocolate-chip cookies are so good that his High Priests’ group leader wrote a poem about them.

7. Donald’s favorite writers include Wendell Berry, Wallace Stegner, Ivan Doig, William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway and several others you’ve never heard of. Shannon, as you might guess, loves to pore through cookbooks.

8. They both love music. Shannon prefers anything from Beach Boys to classical music and everything in between. Donald’s tastes run toward the blues, jazz and rock from the 1970s, which he thinks is the last time good rock music was produced. Shannon plays the guitar a little; Donald is hoping to take up the bongo drums someday.

9. They have been married 36 years and lived in Oregon, Idaho and Montana. They’re the parents of four children, and their first grandchild (who certainly is destined to be spoiled beyond belief) is due in the spring. Shannon prefers Idaho; Donald still considers himself a Montanan.

10. The best times are when all of their children are around and everyone is talking, laughing, eating and being silly together.