It's a Sizzlin' Summer

 One Reckless Summer  hit the USA Today  bestseller list!

What a wild ride this summer has been for Toni!

In June, Barnes and Noble named her their Spotlight Author, which resulted in her first Destiny book, One Reckless Summer, climbing to #2 on the Nook rankings just behind Dan Brown's latest. It stayed in the top five for over a week, then hit the USA Today bestseller list—four years after it first came out! Toni was totally stunned and completely thrilled. Thanks to the book's newfound success and the great reviews for Half Moon Hill, new readers are falling in love with Destiny—and Toni could not be more grateful to everyone who has read and shared their love of her books.

This summer, Toni has gotten to reconnect and visit with lots of friends. She was delighted to welcome fellow Avon authors Cathy Maxwell, Elizabeth Boyle, and Lorraine Heath to the greater Cincinnati area for a signing at one of Toni's favorite bookstores, Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Crestview Hills, KY. 

When they weren't signing books, they took some time out to play:  Toni took them on a quick tour of Cincinnati and out for a fun dinner.

Only a couple of weeks later, Toni's dear friend, author Lori Armstrong/Lorelei James came to stay with Toni – but they didn’t stay home! Among their stops was the famous (or infamous?) town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky--where the locals routinely elect a dog for mayor.

But Lori didn't just come to play with Toni. Together, they met readers and signed books at one of Toni's favorite annual events--the Reader & Author Get Together sponsored by Lori Foster.

Even though the Get Together has blossomed from 50 attendees to over 500 in the last eight years, Toni still finds it warm, friendly, and a great time and place to catch up with friends and fans. Lori Foster pulled off the event with her usual grace--even though she had a broken arm!

Toni with Lori Armstrong/Lorelei James

Toni with Lori Foster

When she’s not working or visiting with friends, Toni has been enjoying some home decorating and landscaping.  Check out her daisies, which remind her of Whisper Falls.  

To get an idea of what Toni’s personal style and decorating inspirations are, join her on Instagram and Pinterest.  For readers who like to get in touch by postal mail, her new address is P.O. Box 1053, Union, KY 41091.  If you stick a SASE in your envelope, you just might find some Toni Blake bookmarks in your mailbox one day!

Toni's updated her digital home as well. Her website has a new host and a new look, so stop by and let her know what you think. She loves hearing from readers in person, by mail, by email and on Facebook. She reads all of her comments and responds as often as she can.

The biggest event of Toni’s summer is almost upon her:  The annual conference of the Romance Writers of America (RWA).  Thousands of writers, readers, and publishing professionals will converge on Atlanta, Georgia next week for workshops, meetings, awards ceremonies…and parties!  If you’re in the greater Atlanta area, you can attend the HUGE RWA booksigning, open to the public, and meet Toni and hundreds of other fabulous authors.  Join them all at the Atlanta Marriott on Wednesday July 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. For a more intimate signing, you can also meet up with Toni at the Eagle Eye Bookstore in Decatur, Georgia on Saturday July 20, from 2 to 3:30 PM.

As busy as she has been, Toni’s been working feverishly on her next book, Coral Cove. Avon artists have already shared the beautiful cover art with herand Toni looks forward to sharing a sneak peek of the artwork with her readers soon.  Also coming soon on Facebook and at www.toniblake.com:  the gorgeous cover for Wildest Dreams, which comes out this December.

But in the meantime, if you love having great narrators read you great stories, you can get Half Moon Hill on audiobook – the audio version just became available on July 10. 

What a Wonderful Year!

Happy new year from Toni Blake! Hard to believe 2012 is behind us already, but it definitely turned out to be a banner year for Toni and the Destiny series.

Toni's 2012 started out quietly enough, a welcome respite on the heels of her first ever Christmas release, Holly Lane, As always, she peeked out of her winter writing hole for the February Romancing the Holidays booksigning, where she signed alongside Lori Foster, Jules Bennett, and other local writing friends.

In May, Toni was thrilled to make a sale to her publisher, Avon, for two more books to follow the Destiny series, as well as two of her out-of-print backlist titles to be re-released in both ebook and print. This kicked off a busy summer for Toni that was full of great news.

Toni signs posters at a Willow Springs event.

Willow Springs released to much fanfare, including a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, which said, "it's impossible not to empathize with and cheer for Amy in this charming tale." Toni hosted a number of local booksignings to celebrate Willow Springs' release, where she met with longtime fans as well as some old friends from her own small-town upbringing.

Then Toni traveled to Los Angeles for the annual Romance Writers of America conference, where Whisper Falls was honored as the winner the prestigious Bookseller's Best Award - and where she took every opportunity to celebrate including at RWA's formal awards event with author Julie Anne Long and Samhain Publishing's Lindsey Faber (pictured below).

Toni celebrating at RWA Awards night with author Julie Anne Long and Samhain Publishing's Lindsey Faber

Fall brought the digital re-release of Toni's first single-title contemporary, The Red Diary, which her publisher has been offering on a special sale of 99 cents in recent weeks. Toni is pleased that the bargain price has helped so many new readers discover her books, and hopes fans of the Destiny series will also take advantage of this special price while it lasts. For print readers, The Red Diary will release in mass market paperback at the end of this month and is already available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Toni's holiday season started out with a bang: Holly Lane hit the USA Today bestsellers list! Toni is so grateful to readers new and old who bought the book during the holiday promotion, and she hopes its heartwarming look at a small-town Christmas gives everyone as much holiday cheer as its list appearance gave her. It was truly the ultimate holiday gift. Holly Lane remains priced at $1.99 in ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a limited time.

Toni's professional year wrapped up with yet a little more holiday cheer, as she celebrated another great year with local authors (including Lori Foster and young adult author Jennifer McGowan, pictured below) and readers at a holiday party.

Lori Foster, Toni and Jennifer McGowan celebrating a great year for romance readers and books!

2013 promises to be just as busy for Toni and will offer even more great books for her readers. She'll have several releases to celebrate when she's not busy writing her next small-town romance. In addition to the print re-release of The Red Diary at the end of January, Destiny book 6, Half Moon Hill, will release in May, bringing love to one more unexpected member of the Romo family. The book is already available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 2013 will also bring back another of Toni's early - and currently out-of-print - contemporaries: In Your Wildest Dreams, releasing under the title Wildest Dreams, will return to print and ebook this year.

Stay tuned for updates on the re-release or generally get the latest from Toni by following her on Facebook and Twitter. Also be sure to check out her Pinterest boards, which now include images to help readers see how she envisions characters, settings, and scenes from the Destiny books.

Wishing you a wonderful 2013! Thank you for reading and sharing Toni's books.

Toni's Summer Report

Toni may write about the simple pleasures and leisurely pace of small-town life, but her own summer was action packed, and it's hard to believe that Fall is here already. Toni's summer kicked off in June with one of her favorite annual events--Lori Foster's Reader-Author Get Together. In addition to the usual fun of catching up with readers, Toni was pleased to sign alongside friends and fellow contemporary romance authors Carly Phillips and Jill Shalvis. Toni also met up with readers old and new--including many a friend from her hometown-- as part of her signing tour for the release of Willow Springs, Destiny Book 5. If you missed the tour but are still interested in an autographed copy of the book, there may still be signed copies available at the stores that participated in the tour.

July brought a different kind of tour--Toni saw all the sites of Los Angeles, including stars' homes, the Hollywood sign, and the walk of fame. She was in L.A. for the annual conference of the Romance Writers of America, where she signed at the Readers for Life Literacy Autographing, saw industry friends including Julie Anne Long, Robyn Carr, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and partied with the best of them. Toni had plenty to celebrate because Whisper Falls was named the winner of the 2012 Bookseller's Best Award for Single-Title Contemporary Romance. Toni also lived out her dream of playing DJ by setting the playlist for Samhain Publishing's post-awards dance party. You can see more photos of these and other events by checking out Toni's albums on Facebook.

In August, Toni was thrilled to see the rerelease of her first single-title contemporary romance, The Red Diary, in digital format. The book is currently available from all major digital retailers and will also be back in print--with a gorgeous new cover--in February 2013. Toni is also excited to share that another of her early, out-of-print titles, In Your Wildest Dreams, will also be rereleased in digital and print format very soon.

Toni's also spent her summer creating a fabulous selections of boards and pins on Pinterest--including some inspired by her books. If you're on Pinterest, be sure to follow her there.

In the midst of all this summer excitement, Toni's still been hard at work. She can be found most sunny days in a nearby park, writing Half Moon Hill, Book Six in the Destiny series, and only breaking to admire the butterflies.

Now that Fall is here, Toni hopes readers will enjoy the crisp weather by curling up with a good book (maybe one set in Fall like Sugar Creek). Readers interested in getting the latest information on Toni's books--and her Fall activities--can follow Toni on Facebook. Happy Fall to everyone!