Join Terri in Cupid’s Corner – Feb 10th~
It’s true – February and especially Valentine’s Day and its celebration belong to ROMANCE AUTHORS and READERS! So, to mark our special time of the year, Terri will be joining authors Tara Conrad, Stephanie Julian, Lydia Michaels, AK Landow, Lucia Catherine and Raven Storm at Cupid’s Corner — aka the Barnes & Noble in Wilkes Barre PA – on Saturday, February 10 from Noon till 5pm!
So, please stop in the Barnes & Noble on the Arena Hub in Wilkes-Barre – we’ll be signing our latest releases and chatting and having fun next weekend. It’s open to the public, no cost except for the books you buy and should be fun!
It’s the Holiday Historical Cookie/Sweets Hop 2023! Grab your biscotti!
Italian cookies that originated in medieval Tuscany – sigh! Cookies that are twice-baked (which is what biscotti means in Italian) and hold up to dunking in tea or milk or chocolate or wine or Prosecco. Another bonus in addition to the wide range possible flavors is that being twice-baked gives them a longer shelf life – so more time to enjoy them! Yes, it’s true – I love biscotti!
My favorite flavors tend to be plain – vanilla (or a touch of almond flavor) is my usual one but I do like chocolate chip, too. Oh, and gingerbread, too. Or one called a Snicker-cookie biscotti that turns out like a sugar cookie with a hint of cinnamon. Mmmmmm. They are easy to make and simply delicious. And although they don’t have a specific link to the Holiday season, I find I make them more near Christmas than other times of year.
I should admit that I turned to trying them because of my cookie-baking failures. It’s true – I can successfully make most other baked goods – gosh, my pound cake is always in demand at family gatherings and events. But cookies? They defeat me. Too flat. Too hard (often compared to small hockey pucks!). Not right. Not enough. So, when I made my first batch of biscotti and they turned out hard and crumbly, I realized they were perfect — LOL!
There are lots of biscotti recipes all over, online and in cookbooks and in family recipes so it’s not difficult to find one to try. I’ve found a great basic recipe along with more recipes that turn them into so many flavors on the Kristine’s Kitchen Blog. I’ve also had some success with recipes from an online site (BiscottiRecipes.org) but it seems to be gone now. Luckily I have print and digital copies of those recipes!
Have you tried making biscottis or other holiday cookies? Are you a Pizzelle maker? Those were my younger sister Mar’s favorites and she made them every year…so good! Or is your Holiday superpower eating them? Hey, bakers need people to enjoy their creations!
Since I’m part of the Historical Authors Holiday Cookie (and Treats) Hop, here’s the list of all the participating authors (many of whom are doing giveaways on their pages so don’t miss them!):
Historical Romance Authors Cookie Hop Link List 2023
(look below for directions if you haven’t seen them)
After you collect the names of all 30 recipes, e-mail the list of authors with their treats to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com with the subject line: Historical Romance Authors are Sweet. One winner will be chosen on Wednesday, 13 December and announced on the FB event page and on Heather’s website: https://www.heathermccollum.com/ .
For my giveaway, I’m giving one winner who makes a comment below a lovely 2024 Scottish calendar along with a wee Scottish giftie, too! So just tell me if you bake or make Holiday treats or just like to eat them or what your favorites are and I’ll choose a winner TWO WINNERS who will be announced on December 13. Could be one of these calendars below or another of the ones I’ve collected for the New Year! Good luck!
Historical Romance Holiday Cookie Hop
It’s coming soon!! More authors, more recipes, more holiday fun! Mark your calendars now….
Weekly Scottish Calendar Winners
I’m a bit behind due to my usual Hermit Week but I’ve picked winners of the first 3 weekly drawing for a special 2024 Scottish calendar – congrats to Kris K, Jane S and Ellie W! This time I picked a winner from each way that people can enter the contest – at in-person events, on my website and by being a subscriber to my newsletter. There are still at least 2 more weekly winners and then the two ‘grand prizes’ will be drawn by December 7th.
Make sure to enter for the rest of the prizes over on my website – or subscribe to my newsletter for a chance at that special grand prize!
Get Ready for the Halloween Historical Hop – Oct 27-31!
It’s begun!! The 2023 Historical Trick-or-Treat Hop is underway! So many authors – so many treats – and a great grand prize, too.
There’s a FB group here that has all the info but I’m listing all the authors you want to visit below – no need to follow in order — just visit each one, find the Halloween treat and make a list to send to Heather McCollum to be in the drawing. You don’t have to do them all at once — just from the time it opens (NOW!) until October 31….
2023 Historical Romance Authors Trick-or-Treat Hop Link List
Email your completed list of author names, with their treat names, to Heather@HeatherMcCollum.com with the heading: “Historical Romance Authors are Sweet” to be entered into the $150 gift card grand prize random drawing.
So, good luck and get hopping! Oh, costumes are optional!
Terri B!
Terri’s Silver Anniversary of her FIRST BOOK!
Long ago, in a land far far away…. oh wait! It wasn’t far away at all – it was in NYC – when my first book, A LOVE THROUGH TIME, was published by Berkley/Jove in their then- Time Passages line of time travel romances. The year was 1998 and I was thrilled to see my story out in the world.
25 years later – I’ve written 53 more books and have more in the planning. From Berkley/Jove, I moved to Harlequin’s Historical line and to Kensington Books and PenguinRandomHouse’s NAL line and Oliver Heber Books and Dragonblade Publishing – and I’m still with Harlequin Historicals, too! In addition to working with publishers, I republished my older books as well as self-publishing a number of shorter projects with other authors. And there are still more stories to come!
So, I think that I should be celebrating both the Silver/25th Anniversary and the stories I’ve written. And you, my readers who make this all possible should join in!!
I’ve got signed books, 2024 Scottish calendars (weekly giveaways!), Terri’s branded tchotchkes, Scottish goodies and even a Hebridean Baker’s cookbook! And more. And all you have to do is enter on my CONTEST page. If you’re already a newsletter subscriber, there’s a special giveaway for you that will be in the upcoming issue early next week – don’t miss your special drawing!
Go to my website – and click on the banner on the opening page:
Hie thee hence to enter!
The weekly giveaways are opening next week and will include all entries received that week and continue until November 30 when the giveaway winners will be chosen. There will be one (1) grand prize awarded to a website/in-person entrant, one (1) grand prize awarded to a newsletter subscriber entered via email and one Scottish calendar given out weekly during the celebration to one person from among all the entrants that week. Although an entrant may only win one of the 2 grand prizes, winners of the weekly calendars are still eligible to win a grand prize.
I hope you’ll join me in celebrating this milestone!
Terri
Chocolate Town Book Festival – SATURDAY!!
Booklovers descend on Chocolate Town (aka Hershey PA) this weekend for the annual Book Festival and I’ll be part of it! Held at the Hershey Public Library, dozens of authors on fiction/non-fiction, genres and more will be there to meet readers, sell and sign their books and more.
I’ll be signing my newest releases along with my backlist of fantasy, paranormal, and good old plain historical romances from 11am until 3pm. I’m also beginning the 25 day countdown to my 25th anniversary of my first book – A LOVE THROUGH TIME – being published.
Please come on over or stop in and say hello! For all the info – addresses, etc. take a look at this event page!
Bookstore Romance Weekend – August 18-20!
It’s that time of year – when bookstores celebrate Romance and authors gather to sign their books and chat with readers and generally have fun! Some have panel discussions and parties, too. I’m joining other authors at Cupboard Maker Books in Enola PA this year – on Saturday, August 19th and I hope you can stop in to see me!
Here’s the schedule for the whole weekend’s events:
If you’re a Historical Romance fan, then Saturday from Noon until 2 is the perfect time for you! I’m excited that NJ author Anabelle Bryant is making her first visit to Cupboard Maker Books and I’ll be signing along with her.
For more info about the event or the authors, please stop by Cupboard Maker Books on FB. See you there!
Christmas in July – Really!
I’ve celebrated Christmas in July a number of times and in different ways through my life.
One of my favorites was in Wildwood NJ when we rented a house for a week in July. Most/all of the residents/owners had lived in a neighborhood/area in South Philly and had retired/moved down the shore, so they decided to celebrate Christmas together in the summer. And it was a huge block party with food (mostly Italian!), music, games for young and old and Santa arrived on the firetruck, too. So much fun and it was great that they included visitors and friends – making us part of their families.
It’s been years since my family did that but I’m not above looking for ways to celebrate and this year, I’m doing it with. . . BOOKS! (I told you all it was BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS week!). As the holiday weekend continues and the summer kicks into gear, you might be looking for some books to read on the beach or at the pool or while traveling? Well, it just so happens, here’s a way to win some – and an ereader, too! Just sign up for this Christmas in July Booksweeps for your chance!
And Happy Christmas in July! (Giveaway ends July 12 so enter soon!)