How excited am I to tell you that ONE RECKLESS SUMMER is now on sale?  Answer:  very!   This is the first book in the Destiny series, a collection of stories all set in the same small town of Destiny, and I personally think it's my best book to date.  And if that's not enough to entice you, check out the BEAUTIFUL cover!  (This is the kind of cover that you dream of when you decide you want to be a romance novelist, and I finally got it!) 



You can also read an excerpt at my website:  www.ToniBlake.com , but meanwhile, here's the book's back blurb:

The perfect daughter. The perfect prom queen. The perfect wife. Jenny Tolliver’s been the good girl all her life, and it’s gotten her nowhere. Now that her marriage has been busted up by her cheating ex, she’s decided it’s time to regroup and rediscover herself. This summer she’s headed back to her hometown of Destiny, Ohio, to the very lakeshore cottage where she grew up, to figure out what life holds in store for her next.

She never dreamed the answer would be Mick Brody, Destiny’s #1 hellraiser. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks (or in his case, the lake), and he’s landed in hot water more times than he can count. He’s exactly the kind of guy Jenny’s always kept her distance from … but soon the good girl and the bad boy are caught in a raw heat that’s out of control. Too bad Mick’s got a secret that threatens to tear them apart and ruin Jenny’s perfectly, passionately reckless summer …

~ ~ ~

And here's what people are saying about it:

“Toni Blake's One Reckless Summer is one wild ride! This is just the book you want in your beach bag--it's sexy, emotional and filled with twists and turns that will keep the pages turning.” ~New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Wiggs

“I’ve found the perfect 2009 romantic beach read. Toni Blake’s latest is well-written, fast paced and puts the reader smack in the middle of a long, hot Destiny summer. One Reckless Summer is a bookshelf must. This is one you definitely don’t want to miss.” ~Donna, Bookishly Attentive

“A great plot. The way it ends will linger in your mind. You’ll look forward to more out-of-the-ordinary stories set in Blake’s small town.” ~Susan Mobley, Romantic Times, 4 STARS

“Emotionally charged, deeply sensual and wonderfully realistic, One Reckless Summer gives romance readers everything they could ever want in a romance. Every word she writes flows beautifully, forming a flawless plot. Bravo, Ms. Blake for another job well done.” ~Priscilla, Night Owl Reviews, 5/5 A REVIEWER TOP PICK

“With very spicy sex scenes, a very hot but very bad boy who just oozes sensuality, and a woman determined to get rid of her good girl persona, how could I not love this story?” ~Danielle, Coffee Time Romance & More, 5 CUPS

~ ~ ~

If you're a fan of my work, you won't want to miss this one - since it will introduce you many characters who you'll meet in future books, AND because I think Mick Brody is my ultimate bad boy hero (and, again, if you've read my past work, you know I've created a lot of bad boys, but Mick's the baddest of them all - at least in ways ; ) )  

Oh, and I recently returned from the Big Island of Hawaii, so there's a new photo album on my page as well!

As always, thanks for your support, and for being one of my MySpace friends!

Toni

Winter is usually a peaceful time for me – the holidays are over and snow starts to fall here in the Midwest, and I spend very content days in comfy clothes writing my next novel.  This winter isn’t stacking up quite that way, though. 

To begin with, on the day after Christmas, my computer crashed.  The really BAD kind of crash.  I won’t go on about it, but let’s just say it was ugly.

And then my husband and I went to Miami over New Year’s – going to the Orange Bowl and then spending several fabulous sunny eighty-degree days on South Beach.  Ah – it was just the beachy break I needed to recover from the loss of the computer. (And look for fun pictures from the trip on my website soon.)

But then, of course, we came home and had to set up a whole NEW computer, which took a lot of time and came with its fair share of frustration.  And just last week I found out one of my e-mail addresses hasn’t been working since November 10^th and that the mail that was addressed to it for the last two months is forever lost!  (So if you sent anything to toni@toniblake.com over the last couple of months and I didn’t answer, that’s why.  Sorry!) 

I have more winter busy-ness coming up, too, but the good news is - I’m still finding the time I need to write that next book, which happens to be Book 2 in the Destiny Series.  Which gives me the chance to tell you again how excited I am about it!  Book 1 – ONE RECKLESS SUMMER – comes out in June and I hope you’ll all love it and want to return with me to Destiny, Ohio over and over again.

This weekend, my husband is off on a ski trip to Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia.  And despite my schedule these days, I’d love to be skiing with him – except that a nasty ski injury ended my life as a snow bunny back in 2001.  So what am *I* doing this weekend instead?  Watching the Winter X Games, of course – which is not exactly the same as feeling the powder beneath your skis on a nice, smooth blue run, but possibly the next best thing.  And thus I thought it was time I reprise my Winter X Fashion Report.  So here goes:

Bold solids and color block type ski wear seems to be all the rage this year, and frankly, I don’t love it.  It’s not there’s anything *wrong* with it – but I don’t see much that stands out in the crowd and says “stylish snow athlete.”  That said, I’ve still found some noteworthy snow-wear and I salute those who remain bold enough to wear a pattern!

Best Jacket Overall:  Danny Davis for his fabu multi-color print of gold, orange, black, and green, accented with some orangy gloves.  Nice coat, dude, and sorry you didn’t make the half-pipe finals.  Honorable Mentions go to Kevin Rolland (not sure what was on the jacket – camouflage, fish bones, antlers? – but it was fun and I dug it,) and to Andreas Wiig, who wore a nice turquoise and purple plaid coat.

Best Solid or Color Block Jacket:  Antii Autti who combined purple and black with a huge splash of butter yellow that really caught my eye.  (I ADORE butter yellow, by the by.)
Best Goggles:  Hands down, this goes to Torah Bright (who took gold in the half-pipe) for the feminine white vinyl (I think) flower on the side of her goggles.  That rocked!  Honorable Mentions to Kelly Clark for the gold embroidered design on her goggle strap and to Hannah Teter for the rainbow goggles with little peace signs on them.  She’s a hippie chick and they suited her.

Best Hat:  This goes to announcer and past snowboarding champion Todd Richards, a very handsome guy who’s bold enough to wear a fluffy pink hat with a pink ball on top.  Not every dude could pull that off, but Todd did.  And an Honorable Mention to host and announcer Sal Masekela for his black hat with the bright blue ball on top.  I’m all about fun with hats.

Most Stylish Skis:  How could this not go to international jet-setter Jon Ollson, who shows up every year with specially designed skis that have his gorgeous girlfirend’s picture stretching down them?

Most Colorful Outfit:  Again, this goes to stylish extreme skier Jon Ollson who combined orange pants with a jacket of neon yellow, lavender, white, and a splash or warm orange that pulled it all together.

Most Improved Hair:  Tanner Hall, THANK YOU for cutting your hair!!!  You are a caveman no more.  Mad respect, dude!

Cutest Skier:  As always, for me, this is Simon Dumont.  I miss the days of his blond hair, but he’s still adorable.  And, just like the last time I did this report, yes, I realize being cute isn’t EXACTLY about fashion, but this is for any girl who considers a hot guy the best accessory. ; ) 

Cutest Snowboarder:  Andy Finch.  I haven’t actually seen him yet this year, but I know he’s there and that he’s always cute.  I just hope he hasn’t let himself go or anything. ; )

And finally, Best Outfit Overall – but first, a couple of Honorable Mentions in this category:  To madman Travis Rice who paired a cool and colorful jacket of lime, purple, and other colors with black pants featuring lime zippers.  And also to Peetu Puroinen of Finland for a very nicely coordinated look:  he wore a fun checkerboard patterned jacket of aqua, black, and gray with matching aqua pants.  Nice!

And my pick for Best Overall Winter X Outfit:  none other than Shaun White, whose look I often find fairly bland.  But this year Shaun wore a funky multi-colored jacket with patterned stripes of red, green, black, and white, with black pants, blue gloves (which didn’t match but looked surprisingly good with the other colors) and black-and-white striped goggles (which he threw out into the crowed after taking the gold in Slopestyle.)  Without giving the impression that he worked very hard to assemble this outfit, Shawn looked cool, confident, and well put-together.

Biggest fashion faux pas:  Colby West, who wore black and red plaid on top and some sort of striped camouflage print on the bottom.  Even if you were going hunting, dude, this is not a good look.  Unfortunately, Hannah Teter did something similar, as well.

And hiss, boo, on the “bibs” the competitors have started wearing the last couple of years.  This makes it much harder for me to see their ensemble – it’s sort of like making ladies on the red carpet wear t-shirts over their gowns.  And sadly, it seems like one more way in which the X Games have lost their friendly, ski-slope-next-door vibe over the last few years.  Sigh.

Okay, that’s it – another year’s fashion picks from the Winter X Games.  Which means it’s time for me to put my nose back to the grindstone and get back to writing more books for you all to read.  HUGE thanks in advance for supporting The Destiny Series – I’m so excited to watch this community of strong, likable women and hot alpha guys unfold, and I hope you will be, too : )

'Tis the season to deck halls, trim trees, bake cookies, and shop 'til you drop.  This year, however, I'm taking a slightly more laid back approach to Christmas.  Sure, I still trimmed the tree and wrapped the gifts ; ) but for the past few years I find I enjoy the holidays more if I just slow down a little and go with the flow - and I've discovered that's what really makes me most merry this time of year. 

So what else is making me merry these days?

Well, if you've been following along here or at my website (www.ToniBlake.com), you know that in 2009, I'm starting a new series for  Avon in which all the stories will take place in the same small town of Destiny, Ohio.  So a lot of my merriment continues to be about that.  I simply cannot tell you how excited I am about these books!  And I recently got a GORGEOUS cover for the first Destiny book, ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, which comes out in June.  (I can't post it yet because finishing touches are still in the works, but check back here or at my website soon since I can't wait to share it!)

And just a couple of days ago, I got THE most lovely endorsement from New York Times Bestselling Author SUSAN WIGGS!  After reading the book, she said, "Toni Blake's ONE RECKLESS SUMMER is one wild ride!  This is just the book you want in your beach bag - it's sexy, emotional, and filled with twists and turns that will keep the pages turning."  Talk about a nice early Christmas present!  Wow - thanks, Susan!

Another merry thought for me is that I will soon be starting the follow-up book to ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, probably right around January 1.  I'm just as excited about this next story, and winter is my favorite time to write (nothing luring me outdoors away from my computer ; ) ) so I'm looking forward to diving in and revisiting Destiny.

One more bit of merriment is visiting with my reader group every day - the group is growing a little more all the time and what a lovely gathering of truly nice, funny, friendly women.  We have various fun activities and prizes, lots of book talk, and even the occasional guest author.  (My friend Julie Anne Long visited with us just this week.)  So if you haven't yet joined us there, please do:  www.yahoogroups.com/groups/toniblakefans .

I could come up with lots more stuff that's making me merry:  falling snow, good books, sitting next to my glowing Christmas tree with a fire in the hearth beside it ... the list goes on.  But I'd rather stop and give you a chance to post a comment about what's making you merry these days.

Mostly, though, I wanted to take a few minutes to wish you all a very happy holiday season with lots of great books in your stocking : ) 

With my warmest holiday wishes,

Toni

P.S.  And if you're still doing your holiday shopping, consider buying books as gifts this year.  Like every other sector of the economy, the book business is hurting right now and every book you buy will help keep the industry afloat.  Plus they're small and easy to wrap and they provide hours and hours of enjoyment. ; )

Hello dear friends!  Just popping in on this sunny Saturday morning to tell you I have some exciting book news.  I sort of mentioned this is my last blog post, but I didn't have any details then, and now I do ; )

So I'm thrilled to officially announce that starting with my next book, to be released in June '09, I will begin The Destiny Series, a group of books all set in the same quaint small town of Destiny, Ohio. 

The first book will be called ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, a title which I just adore, and I hope it will pique your interest in the book.  When good girl Jenny Tolliver runs into bad boy Mick Brody in the woods one night, two worlds literally collide and what happens next will change both of them forever.

Right now I'm putting the final polishing touches on ONE RECKLESS SUMMER.  And I'm happy to report I've recently gotten back to quilting after having to take some time off this summer due to a shoulder injury, physical therapy, and all that sort of thing. 

I'm also hoping to enjoy the autumn weather since it's always been my favorite season - and also happens to be the time of my birthday, wedding anniversary, and the anniversary of the day my husband and I met, so there's also lots of potential for celebration for me in the fall. : )  In fact, on October 8, my husband and I will be celebrating the 20TH anniversary of when we met.  20 YEARS.  Wow, that's hard to believe!  We don't FEEL that old, and we hopefully don't ACT that old, either ; )  Anyway, it's quite a milestone, so I'm hoping we'll be able to do something fun to commemorate it : )

I also love autumn because as the weather changes, I find myself more inclined to work ; )  I LOVE to write, of course - I pretty much live and breathe for it - but summer is so busy, and as it turns to fall and then winter, things often slow down, the outdoors doesn't beckon so much, and though I hate putting up the top on my convertible, I DO get a lot more work done as the weather grows "less desirable."  So I'm settling in for a long fall and winter of productivity here.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank you all for your wonderful support.  To every person who bought a copy of LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER this summer, bless you!  To every person who took the time to e-mail me about it or send a comment to my page here, bless you, as well!  You all rock!

And I'll also use this space to tell you about a couple of other things going on right now:

First, if you saw the book video for LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER, you know it's fabulous, right? ; )  And if you haven't, you MUST go to my page and check it out (it's only a minute long, so not much of a time investment ; ) )  Anyway, right now, it's up for an award, and if you are so inclined to vote, here's where:  http://thenewcoveytrailerawards.blogspot.com/  Feel free to watch all the entries and pick your favorite, but of course, I hope mine wins ; )  The contest runs through the end of September.

Also, I've mentioned in some bulletins lately that some of my most devoted readers have started on online reader group - to discuss my books and romance books in general.  The group has grown quickly and we're having a great time - and besides talking books, we talk about most anything anyone feels like chatting about.  We also give away prizes on a regular basis! ; )  We're having a great time and we've got a truly friendly group of very nice people, so we'd love for more of you to join us!  To join, go to:  www.yahoogroups.com/groups/ToniBlakeFans .  And what I love about Yahoogroups is - if you don't want a lot of messages in your inbox, when you join, you can choose the "digest" feature, and this lumps messages together in groups of 20 or so, which will come to your mailbox all together in one message for easy reading and replying : )  So I hope to see you there!

That's all for now!  But as always, thanks so much for being my MySpace friend, and thanks, too, for your great support!!

Just a quick post to say that I'm home from RWA National in San Francisco.  I'm sorry to report that I did not win the RITA Award, but I still had a FABULOUS conference and totally enjoyed all the fanfare of being a RITA nominee!

I'm also thrilled to tell you that I've recently agreed to a new contract with Avon Books and my next book - out sometime next summer - will be the first in a series of connected stories, so I'm totally excited about that.

I've just posted some conference pictures in a new album here, so please feel free to check them out : )

And as always, thanks to you all for all your friendship and support!!

Okay, so I reported back in late March that my book, TEMPT ME TONIGHT is a finalist for the coveted RITA Award. Well, among the many fun things this has resulted in is the following video, put together by many of the authors in my RITA category. I hope you will find it as amusing as we do ; )

For the past ten days, I have been in Italy, and what can I say except that it was WONDERFUL!  From the quaint, pastel, seaside towns of the Cinque Terre to the Medeival hill towns of Tuscany to the ancient ruins in Rome, I am officially in love with Italia!  Of course, all this means that I totally missed the release of my own book, but so be it ; )

However, now I'm back and I can tell you that LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER went on sale yesterday and I hope you'll pick up a copy.    I'm especially proud of this book - I'm in love with the setting (which, although in Montana, was inspired by a trip to the Canadian Rockies a couple of summers ago), and the characters and their dilemmas really came alive for me as I wrote.  I will also be bold enough to say that I think it's a pretty darn funny book, too, on top of everything else - and will just say that the bear scene is among my favorite and hope that makes you curious.

Here's the official blurb from the back of the book:

The last thing she needs right now is a man

Lindsey Brooks had it all—an awesome job doling out advice to the lovelorn, a fabulous high-rise apartment, and a to-die-for fiance. But then she got dumped—wearing nothing but a Kiss the Cook apron—and desperate to escape, she retreats to a tiny Montana town to reclaim a family treasure. She never dreamed anyone would try to stop her – or that he'd be sexy as sin.

Too bad she finds such a hot one …

Rob Colter isn't into relationships—but Lindsey sees Rob as the perfect guy to help her "get back on the horse." The sex horse, that is. Unfortunately, he comes complete with a mysterious past, which gets even more mysterious when she finds his passionate letters to another woman – whose name happens to be tattooed on his chest.

And too bad he has so many secrets …

Now Rob's dangerous past is about to catch up with them both. And if that's not horrible enough, Lindsey is falling for him – hard. For a girl who usually has all the answers, Lindsey is up to her neck in trouble.

And here are a couple of reviews:

"Toni Blake has succeeded in becoming one of my all-time favorite writers. When you read LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER, you will laugh out loud, get butterflies, and shed tears. The ultimate love story!! I loved it!" ~Mandy Burns, Fresh Fiction

"Sexy and emotional - Toni Blake gives readers a 1-2 punch! Everything you want in a romance and MORE!" ~Carly Phillips, NYT Bestselling Author

"With each new release, Toni Blake's writing talent impresses me more and more. LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER can only build both her reputation and her fan base. A story as inspiring as it is sexy!" ~Jennifer Ray, CK2S Kwips and Kritiques, 5 CLOVERS

To wrap it up, I'll conclude by telling you that Sue Grimshaw, the head romance buyer at Borders, e-mailed me personally after reading the book, to say:  "LOVED – really, LOVED, Letters to a Secret Lover!!  This was awesome!  Congrats – you've got a winner!"  That was a real thrill for me, as you can imagine!

In other news, I returned home from Italy to find out that a few of my most loyal reader friends have started a discussion group about my books, so if you'd like to join, just go here:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ToniBlakeFans/   This will be a fun, friendly place to chit chat about Toni Blake books or whatever floats your boat, and I'll be hanging out there some, too, so I'd love to see you there.

And if you love the cover of LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER as much as I do, check out the new items in my Cafe Press store - I just ordered a bunch for my own use : ) http://www.cafepress.com/toniblake

Now, I'm signing off with hopes of recovering from my jetlag, with fingers crossed my lost luggage will make its way to me this afternoon.    But as always, I thank you all for your wonderful support, and I hope you'll enjoy reading LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Hey friends - I'm pleased to tell you that YOU SEND ME is officially on sale as of today!  You won't see it plastered all over my MySpace page because it's a smaller, more specialized project than my other books, but here's the scoop:

YOU SEND ME is a special short story e-book from me being released by Avon and it's a prequel to LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER, which comes out in 2 weeks. In LETTERS, you'll meet Aunt Millie, great aunt of the heroine, Lindsey, and a key character in the story. YOU SEND ME is set in the 50s and it's the story of how Millie met her husband, so it was really fun to write : )

FYI, you don't have to read YOU SEND ME to enjoy LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER – it's just kind of a fun perk ; ) – but I hope you will : )

Here's the blurb:

The daughter of an over-protective father, Millicent Anderson has never been permitted an ounce of freedom – her father has kept her completely sheltered from boys, and even quashed her dream of being a teacher. But when a family trip leads her to tiny Moose Falls, Montana and she catches sight of bad boy Johnny Pickett, her heart flips – and before Millie knows it, she's breaking all the rules to be near him. In Johnny's arms, Millie discovers passion, and Millie is just what Johnny needs to heal after war. When Millie's father tries to separate them by dangling her old dreams before her, however, she's forced to make a choice: Will she choose the love of her family and the opportunity to build a career – or will she leave everything behind for the hot guy she's fallen for?

In this short story prequel to Letters to a Secret Lover, travel back to 1957 to experience Millie's first taste of love, desire, and sex, and see the first glimpses of the adventurous soul inside her.

You can read an excerpt at my website:  www.ToniBlake.com

And here's a link to buy:

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com/06F002F6-F010-4F1D-85ED-434A7D9AA284/10/125/en/eBookDetails.htm?ID=0E643CDE-3EE1-4484-9C41-024C2CB8DE5D