Please join me in welcoming sister Romvet and Scottish Historical Author Diana Cosby to our holiday celebration today! Diana is a Navy veteran and we bonded years ago when we met through Romvets. As you’ll read, Diana has a strong military family and her generosity towards the military knows no bounds.

What do you make, bake, create or buy for the holidays?

 I bake an assortment of Christmas Cookies that I box up and send to each of my children. One of my favorites, that started out as an accident of too much butter in the recipe, are my Chocolate Covered Hazelnut-Shortbread Balls. (*The next to last treat in the photo.)

Please tell us about your special military connections, Diana.

I’m a military brat, a retired Navy Chief, AGC(AW), wife of a former military member, and mom of three kids who have served and/or are serving. (2 Marines and 1 Army.)

Thanks for spending time with us, Diana!

You can find Diana at the usual places:

Website: www.dianacosby.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author/150109024636?ref=ts
Diana’s latest book is An Oath Taken. Read about it here: www.dianacosby.com/anoathtaken.html

Remember, you can do your part in supporting the military for the holidays. Harlequin will send one book for every new subscriber the Geri Krotow Newsletter gets. Sign up here.

Today we welcome Romance Blogger, US Air Force veteran and Air Force Spouse Kim Adams to our holiday celebration. Kim and I met through Romvets, and struck up a fast comaraderie as we were both military spouse moving every few years.  Kim is one of the most generous souls I know, and she matches her goodwill with action. Kim supports the military in so many ways, but is perhaps most recognized for her SOS (Support Our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines) efforts at the annual Romantic Times Book Lovers Conventions.

What do you make, bake, create or purchase for the holidays, Kim?

 I am the best gift wrapper in my family. When we lived on base, I volunteered to wrap gifts at the BX to raise funds for the Boy Scouts. I’ve wrapped everything. But now I use gift bags! Last year, we moved from Hawaii to Maryland, so almost everyone, from friends to teachers, received Hawaiian gifts from a stash I moved in my household goods. That stash is now exhausted so I will giveaway gift cards to teachers. For friends who already have everything, we are making a donation on their behalf to military charities such as the Wounded Warrior Project.

Kim, do you have a military connection?

 I am an AF veteran of 12 years and an AF spouse for 18 years! My husband is retiring next year and our oldest son will be heading off to college. So it will be a double transition to civilian life and one less child at home. We enjoy Maryland but my heart is still in Hawaii. Mahalo.

Thanks for joining us, Kim!

Kim can be found on her blog and Facebook:

SOS Aloha Book Blog, sosaloha.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SosAlohaBookBlog?ref=hl  and https://www.facebook.com/sos.aloha?fref=ts

Remember, you can do your part in supporting the military for the holidays. Harlequin will send one book for every new subscriber the Geri Krotow Newsletter gets. Sign up here.

Today we welcome New York Times and USA Today best selling author Elle James! Elle and I met through Romvets, and Elle never fails to motivate me to be the very best author I can.  A proud Air Force and Army veteran, Elle is a heroine beyond measure.

What do you make, bake, create or buy for the holidays, Elle?

I like to bake trays of goodies for my neighbors. My favorite goodies on the tray are mini loaves of banana bread, no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and divinity. I love to bake and rarely do it the rest of the year. At the holidays I’m non-stop! Nothing says family and friends like a tray of homemade treats baked with love and thankfulness.
Do you have a military connection, Elle?

I love everything military. My father spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, my sister spent 14 years active duty in the U.S. Army and finished her 20 years in the Army National Guard. My brother spent 20 years in the U. S. Air Force, I spent 11 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and 9 years in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and my daugther spent 4 years in the U.S. Air Force. It’s in the family! I appreciate all the sacrifices of our military personnel and their families. It’s a tough life and sacrifice so much, some more than others. These are the men and women who help to protect our freedoms. Nothing makes me more proud than to see a man or woman in uniform and to hear the Star Spangled Banner.

Elle’s latest is Christmas at Thunder Horse Ranch, available at:  Amazon  Nook Kobo

Find Elle at any of the usual places! ELLE JAMES:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Newsletter | Amazon Author Page

Remember that you can do your part to support our military during the holidays. Harlequin is donating 1 book for every 20 new subscribers to the Geri Krotow Newsletter/Loyal Reader Program. Sign up for my newsletter here.

Today we welcome award-winning author Roz Denny Fox! Roz and I shared the same editor for years, which how we first met. Roz is a true romance veteran and we could all do well by emulating her dedication to her vocation. Roz supports all and any organizations that help the military, to include  AmVets, Paralyzed Vets, and the VFW.

Do you have a military connection, Roz?

Denny was a Marine and once a marine, always one.

What do you make, bake, create or purchase for the holidays, Roz?

I used to bake and make a lot of candy at the holidays. Took plates full to my work and Denny’s. Now my sugar numbers are too high, so I’ve given that up. I’ve gone to sending more gift cards at Christmas, too.

You will find Roz at the usual, plus a wonderful blog:

Website: www.korynna.com/RozFox
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rozdf

Heartwarming Authors: heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/

Remember that you can do your part to support our military during the holidays. Harlequin is donating 1 book for every 20 new subscribers to the Geri Krotow Newsletter/Loyal Reader Program. Sign up for my newsletter here.

Please join me in welcoming New York Times Bestselling author Lindsay McKenna. Lindsay and I are Romvet sisters–we’ve both served in the U.S. Navy. Along with sister Romvet Delores Fossen, we’re celebrating the release of Coming Home for Christmas, our anthology from Harlequin Books.

Lindsay was a Weather Forecaster, AG3, from 1964-1967. You’ll meet no one more proud of her service than Lindsay. She also happens to be a wonderful writer who is credited with pioneering the military romance genre.

Lindsay and her husband Dave (and their dog Cody) enjoy New Year’s Day in Arizona. One of Lindsay’s favorites is her Pina Colada Cake, which looks like a winner!

Pina Colada Cake

by Lindsay McKenna

1 box Betty Crocker®SuperMoist®yellow cake mix (I use their white cake but it’s up to you)

 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

 1/2 cup water

 1/3 cup “light”olive oil

 3 eggs

 2 teaspoons rum extract

 1 container Betty Crocker®Whipped white frosting

 1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted

 Combine water, eggs, rum extract and olive oil. Open box of cake mix. Combine. Add pineapple and coconut. Bake per instructions on Betty Crocker cake box mix.

Do you still have a military connection, Lindsay?

I work with Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit charity, that sends boxes overseas to military personnel and donate to them monthly.

You’ll find Lindsay at the usual places. Her photos are worth the extra clicks!

www.lindsaymckenna.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsay-McKenna/504139729714132

https://twitter.com/eileennauman

Thank you so much for joining us today, Lindsay, and for helping me to send books to the military for the holidays.

Remember, we are doing this to send holiday love to military families and Active Duty who are away from home for the holidays. Harlequin is donating one book (while supplies last) for every 20 new newsletter subscriptions to the Geri Krotow Newsletter, which gets you free membership into the Geri Krotow Loyal Reader Program. Sign up here.  get the latest Geri Krotow Newsletter, sign up here. 

Today we welcome the divinely talented Linda Cardillo! Linda is the author of several novels and also the co-founder, with Ann DeFee, of Bellastoria Press. Linda and I met almost a decade ago when we both were winners of Harlequin’s Everlasting Love contest, which resulted in the first sale for both of us. It’s a unique bond and I’ve treasured our friendship as it’s grown.

What do you make, bake, create or buy for the holidays, Linda?

When I was a girl, the end of summer was always marked by two events—the week-long feast of the Madonna del’Arco and the canning of the bounty of my grandmother’s garden. My mother and my aunts sat at an oilcloth-covered table under the pergola that supported my grandfather’s grapevines, peeling, slicing and preserving bushels of eggplants and tomatoes that during the winter would become the basis for antipasto and Neapolitan marinara.
It was the memory of my Aunt Susie’s grape jelly that spurred my own initiation into the mysteries of turning ripe produce into preserves. When my husband and I lived in Germany, one of my husband’s colleagues with an orchard had a bumper crop of plums and shared them with us. I have a wonderful plum tart recipe from my mother-in-law, and made it that night. But I had far too many plums and had to figure out what to do with them before they turned to mush. That is when I remembered Aunt Susie’s paraffin-covered mason jars filled with Grandpa’s grapes and decided one purple fruit was as good as another.
Since that summer twenty-five years ago I’ve put up plums almost every year, sometimes sharing the weekend-long labor with friends, as my mother and aunts did. My fingers turn purple, my kitchen is sticky and fragrant, and at the end of the day my counter is covered with rows of glistening jars filled with luscious fruit. Those preserves have become my signature gift at the holidays, a special treat to sweeten winter days for friends and family.

Plum Preserves
30 lbs Italian prune plums
12-15 lbs sugar
Rinse and slice plums into quarters.
Layer plums with sugar in a crock or large plastic container, in the proportion of ½ cup sugar for every cup of plums.
Cover and allow to rest for 12-24 hours.
Bring the sugar-fruit mixture slowly to a boil and simmer until the fruit is a deep purple and translucent. It’s important to cook the fruit in small batches of 4-6 cups at a time to preserve the best flavor.
Ladle fruit into hot sterile jars.
Stir the fruit to remove air pockets.
Wipe the rim, seal and store in a dark, cool place.
Yield: approximately 24 pounds of preserves (48 8-ounce jars)

Bellastoria Press Information: Linda Cardillo is the co-founder with award-winning author Ann DeFee. Inspired by the Italian words for beautiful history, Bellastoria Press books explore women’s lives and relationships in stories told with compassion and humor. Get more info here. 

You will find LInda at the usual places:

Website:  lindacardillo.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Cardillo-Author/230625938236

Linda’s Latest, The Boat House Cafe:  lindacardillo.com/on-the-bookshelf/the-boat-house-cafe/

Remember that you can do your part to support our military during the holidays. Harlequin is donating 1 book for every 20 new subscribers to the Geri Krotow Newsletter/Loyal Reader Program. Sign up for my newsletter here.

Today we welcome author Kate James, who writes heartwarming contemporary romance–and she has her first book with Harlequin out this month– a Christmas book!

What do you like to do for the holidays, Kate?

My husband and I love to spend the holidays at our cottage in northern Ontario. I must admit that until I met my husband, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about cooking or baking. After all, there were so many more interesting, active and entertaining things to do. But now, with the snow swirling outside, a fire burning in the woodstove, Christmas music playing in the background, our dogs sleeping close by and a nice bottle of wine to share, what is there not to like about cooking for the holidays?!

We even get creative with the leftovers!

And while we feel gratitude for all that we have and are able to enjoy, we will say thanks and prayers for those serving in the military oversees and at home.

 Do you have a special military connection? 

My husband was a cadet as a teenager and a police officer for seventeen years. Two of our closest friends are stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. He’s an Apache helicopter pilot and a Vietnam veteran. She is a doctor and a high-ranking civilian at the base hospital. Both my husband and I have tremendous respect and gratitude for all the men and women who serve our countries; however, my greatest honor was when I was able to meet so many of our Canadian veterans by virtue of a position I was privileged to hold a decade ago.

To be able to shake the hands of so many amazing men and women, and be able to thank them personally for all that they have given to and done for our countries was a great honor and privilege. For our company to be able to give back in a small way by commemorating their efforts is one of the things I am most proud of in my career.

 Read about Kate’s latest two releases Silver Linings and A Child’s Christmas on her website. You can also find Kate on Facebook and Twitter.

Remember, we are doing this to send holiday love to military families and Active Duty who are away from home for the holidays. Harlequin is donating one book (while supplies last) for every 20 new newsletter subscriptions to the Geri Krotow Newsletter, which gets you free membership into the Geri Krotow Loyal Reader Program. Sign up here.