Welcome to Authors Dish – a time to connect with your favorite authors or discover new ones as they share a little bit about themselves. I’m always so appreciative when they take the time to c hat and hang out a bit while writing the adventures we crave. I’ll be sharing their links and bio so you can check them out.
If you’re an author and interested in dishin’ comment below or hit me up on any of my social media platforms
Today I’ve got New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Samantha Chase ready to dish!
Rae: What’s your favorite winter holiday recipe? (If you’re willing to share)?
Samantha: Fun fact about me: I don’t do recipes. Lol! I definitely have recipes, but they are just basically a list of ingredients and no measurements. I learned from a long line of cooks in my Italian family how to be comfortable in the kitchen and I honestly just know what to add to things. But I tend to stay away from anything overly elaborate.
The one main recipe that we use every year are out Christmas morning omelets. They’re pepperoni omelets and the first time I made them for my husband he thought I was insane. Now they’re his favorite. You need to buy the stick pepperoni (Boars Head is my favorite) and you slice them a little on the thicker side. Each omelet is 3 eggs scrambled with one heaping spoonful (I want to say heaping tablespoon, but I can’t be too sure!) of ricotta cheese, and 12 pieces of pepperoni. You melt some butter in a non-stick pan (and I use cooking spray too), heat the pepperoni first just for like a minute, then add your eggs that are scrambled with the ricotta.
See? I’m terrible with recipes!
Rae: What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Jeanne: Going together as a family to get a Christmas Tree, then decorating while having snacks and telling stories and laughing a lot!
Samantha: Decorating the tree with my family – we’re empty nesters now so it’s just down to hubby and myself – while watching some of our favorite holiday movies/specials from our childhood.
Rae: Is your home all “dressed up” for the winter season?
Jeanne: Yes indeed! Lots of outdoor lights (colors and white lights!) Lots of indoor decor. It looks like Christmas flung itself all over the house!
Samantha: A little? I don’t go overboard so we’ll just say it’s sprinkled for the winter season 😉
Rae: Do you put up lights? If so…bright festive colors or classic white?
Jeanne: We sure do and we do both – colors and white lights.
Samantha: Yes! We do white icicle lights on the exterior trim of the house and then we have some colored lights wrapped around the columns. And on the tree, they are festive colors and they blink!
Rae: What is your planning process for 2026? A single planner, multiple planners, sticky notes on a wall…or do you just know?
Jeanne: My planner process is undergoing a change for 2026. Going to try and go back to a pre-printed calendar as opposed to a BuJo – we’ll see how long I last! Plus I’ll have a production planner for my writing and promo.
Samantha: All of the above! I have an old school monthly/yearly planner on my desk, then I have a weekly dry erase one (also on my desk), there are random sticky notes all around, but they’re all in my head too. And in my phone. With so many deadlines and events and travel, I need to make sure there are reminders everywhere.
Rae: If I were to visit your hometown, what sights should I see to experience the holiday season?
Jeanne: My hometown of Asheville, NC (not where I live now…) has so many awesome Christmas Traditions! But the “don’t Miss it” event is the Gingerbread House Competition at the famous Grove Park Inn. Seeing it decorated for the holidays is a treat in and of itself – They have villages and ox-roasting fireplaces and cozy nooks to sit in and drink hot chocolate! – but the gingerbread….oh, my goodness!! You can see photos on the website
Samantha: Our town is pretty small – the main downtown strip is only three blocks long – so other than some festive lights, there really isn’t a whole lot to see. If you want to experience some fun holiday stuff, you’d have to go into Raleigh (which is about 30 minutes away). On New Year’s Eve, they have First Night Raleigh and instead of dropping a ball at midnight like they do in Times Square, they drop a giant lighted acorn!
Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than ninety titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017 and WEDDING SEASON which was a Hallmark June Wedding movie in 2023! She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire online, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 35 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
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Jeanne Adams has written more than 20 award-winning romantic suspense, paranormal romantic suspense, and urban fantasy titles, as well as space adventure that’s been compared to the works of Robert Heinlein and Jack McDevitt. She’s a sought-after speaker, teaching classes on body disposal for writers, worldbuilding and collaboration, plotting for pantzers and how to write a fight scene that works!
Both traditionally and self-published, you can find Jeanne’s work on most digital platforms. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two growing sons, as well as three dogs – two Labs and an Irish Water Spaniel. Don’t tell, but she’s prone to adopting more dogs when her husband isn’t looking.