One Reckless Blog with Toni Blake
Okay, so it's not really reckless, but the title sounded good.
Back by popular demand, The Romance Writer’s Revenge is happy to announce the return of Contemporary Author, Toni Blake, back to the ship. *loud cheers fill the air* Toni is celebrating the release of ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, the first novel in her first ever series. Without further delay, it’s on with the show…..
Toni: Thanks so much for inviting me! And it’s not every interview that takes place on a pirate ship, so how could I resist?
Jack: *popping up out of nowhere* What a lovely. Why did no one tell me we had a beautiful blonde on the ship today?
Toni: *blushes sweetly* Why, why … thank you, Captain Jack. You’re not bad to look at yourself.
Bo'sun: Did you not get the email, Jack? I could have sworn you were on there.
Jack: *making eyes at Toni then turning a confused look to Bo'sun* Did you say female? You sent me a female?
Bo'sun: *rolls eyes* I’m trying to do an interview here, Jack.
Jack: Why don't I do the interview? I do love me a blonde lass.
Toni: *winking* And I do love me a sexy pirate captain, so it’s okay with me.
Bo'sun: *looking a bit put out*
Hellie: *yelling from the helm* JACK! Did you just say something about a blonde?
Bo'sun: *whispering to Jack* She's armed, Jack. You might want to go make amends.
Jack: *grins and kisses Toni's hand* It would never have worked between us, darling.
Toni: *now the one looking put out* Wait, where's he going? This was just starting to get fun.
Toni: *clearing throat and smoothing hair, clearly trying to get her professional wits back about her after the Jack encounter* Ah, yes – thanks for asking about ONE RECKLESS SUMMER – I’m very excited about its release. It’s the classic story of the ultimate good girl coming back to her hometown after a nasty divorce, where she collides with the ultimate bad boy she knew as a young girl. Jenny needs to regain her independence and her developing relationship with Mick helps her do that in ways she never imagined. But Mick has a very big secret – the life and death kind – and by trusting Jenny to keep it, he’s literally putting his freedom on the line.
I will also mention that I’m completely in love with the cover of ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, and excited to share that the book peaked at #8 at BN.com and was the #1 romance there last weekend. And Eloisa James featured the book in her B&N column too, so it’s been a fun couple of weeks since the book came out!
Bo'sun: The cover is gorgeous and with all the life and death stuff AND the freedom on the line, that #1 spot doesn’t surprise me at all. (BTW – click on the cover to go straight to B&N and order!) Was it your idea to write a series or did your publisher suggest it?
Toni: Avon asked me to write a series, and at first, I was resistant because I so enjoy setting my books in different places and developing that place as a large part of the book’s “personality.” But now that I’ve created the Destiny series, I’m completely wrapped up in it and very excited about it.
Bo'sun: Destiny is such a great name for a small town setting. What's up next in the series and how far ahead do you have planned?
Toni: The next book is called TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT and will be released next year. The book features two characters readers will become familiar with in ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, brusque cop Mike Romo and city-girl-forced-to-come-home Rachel Farris. Mike and Rachel are both used to having firm control over everything in their lives, and they totally meet their match in each other, knocking heads a lot before – and even after – they begin exploring their unwitting attraction to one another. The book also revolves around Rachel trying to help her grandmother save the family apple orchard even as Mike is trying to buy it away, and an old family secret that changes everything. My hope is to continue the series for a while – right now I have five books firmly in mind, with possibilities for more.
Bo'sun: I grew up in Ohio with an apple orchard in my back yard. It’s like Destiny for me to read this book. LOL! You and I talked a bit about this on another blog so I know the answer, but with five planned and possibly more, I know everyone wants to know how exactly you keep all the details of a series like this together?
Toni: Well, it’s a challenge, so I’ve put together what I refer to as my “Destiny Bible,” a three-ring binder where I have detailed pages on each character, including secondary characters, and notes on all businesses or homes in the town of Destiny, along with pages about pets, community events, you name it. When you know literally anything you put on the page could come up in a later book, it’s a lot to keep track of.
Bo'sun: I’m reminded of why I only write stand aloneS. *g* You've won many awards in your career, but you can now always be referred to as a RITA nominated author. How did it feel to get that nomination? Did it change your career at all?
Toni: The nomination was very important to me personally, and very special, because it meant my peers, other authors, found my work worthy. And as a girl who enjoys dressing up, I will admit I enjoyed and really made the most of all the fanfare surrounding the awards night. It was also very fun to get to share it with the friends who were with me that night. As for changing my career, no, not really. But it’s still nice, as you say, to have that designation as a RITA-nominated author.
Bo'sun: That was a beautiful dress you wore. Lavendar is definitely your color. Time to put you on the spot. What is your absolute favorite thing about this new book? And no "I love everything about it." LOL! Pick one best part about it.
Toni: Well, I’ll have to go with the book’s hero, Mick Brody. I think he’s the baddest bad boy I’ve ever written, and from the responses I’ve gotten from readers so far, they seem to love Mick as much as I do.
And by the way, readers who’d like to learn more about the book or read an excerpt can do so at my website. And in the meantime, I, uh, think I see Jack waving at me. Oh, and he’s holding up umbrella drinks! How nice – much better than that yo ho ho and a bottle of rum thing, and I love nothing in life more than umbrella drinks and pirates who look astonishingly like Johnny Depp, so … do you mind if we make that the last question for now?
Bo’sun: I think it will have to be as I’m still reeling from the idea that Mick is more of a bad boy than Joe Ramsey. Seriously? Wow! But do be careful, Jack can be very distracting and we’d hate to lose you for the rest of the day.
Toni: Don’t worry, I’ll be back to take comments and any other questions a little later, but it would just be rude to turn down a tasty tropical drink after he went to all that trouble.
Alright wenches and our English matey, grab your own drink, umbrellas optional, and fire away. Does the idea of the baddest of the bad boys have you hooked yet? Or is it more the life and death stuff that has you diving in? Don’t forget, One lucky commenter will win their very own copy of ONE RECKLESS SUMMER.
Books by the Crew
37 comments:
Welcome Toni,
I love reading your books and would love win a copy of "One Reckless Summer". Glad to hear this is a new series and can't wait for Mike's book to come out.
I love the idea of the baddest bad boy but I also into the life and death stuff since I know I won't have the guts to do it in real life.
Thanks for a chance to win a book.
Hey! Jack-o! Don't ya be takin' credit fer mixin' the drinks, ya scaberous dog! I be the bartender on this ship!
*grumble, grumble
Damned pirate...
Toni! Welcome ta the Revenge! I admits ta bein' intrigued at the idea of a' bad boy wit' a life and death situation...
I be workin' on a series and know the practicalities a' havin' a bible ta keep facts straight... I did well, then slacked off and ain't lookin' forward ta updating the thing. Ya do it as ya go along? Or all a' this planned out afore ya gets there?
JACK! GET YER HANDS OFFA ME KEG A' RUM! Damn man has the capacity a' the Caribbean!
Hi Toni....Its great to see you aboard!
A while back while browsing a second hand book shop here in England, I found a book called 'The red diary' selling for a few pence. I had vaguely heard that the author was quite good so I added it to the TBRP and forgot about it.
Then I read your blog on the vagabonds a few days ago and tried to download 'One reckless summer' only to discover that none of your ebooks are available outside the US and Canada.
Slightly perturbed ... Never mind the rest of the world, why doesn't your publisher like English readers .... I dug out 'The red diary' and began to read.
It was a revelation. I was immediately sucked into the story, especially as my house was being painted at the time *grin*, and finished it in two days (I normally take at least a week). It was a fabulous reading experience and you devised a perfect ending, with Nick and Lauren on the island surrounded by Lauren's fantasies. An unforgettable HEA!
When you write these books,you are in a way revealing your own fantasies for the reader to enjoy. Does that feel at all uncomfortable, like Lauren with her diary? I can't wait to discover more of them though .... if you don't mind!
Lovely to meet you again.....do visit often.
I think there is a special celebrity cabin, if Jack hasn't hijacked it. 8)
Baddest bad boy---not only do I love the concept, but I love the alliteration. The series sounds fabulous!
Welcome aboard, Toni! ONE RECKLESS SUMMER is one terrific book. I love Destiny and what can I say about Mick? I adored him! I'll be looking forward to many more summer visits to Destiny!
~PJ
Good morning, ladies ... and pirates ; ) And thanks for the warm welcome back to the ship! And the great interview, which was lots of fun!
Terri, thanks so much for the nice comment about my books : ) And thanks for stopping by to chat.
2nd Chance - you have an admirable pirate voice going there! I'm impressed! As for my bible, it sounds a bit like yours ; ) I was updating it religiously for a while, but toward the end of Book 2, I got more lax about it. It's hard when you're in the flow of writing and you've just mentioned an arbitrary fact like the color of someone's car to make yourself stop and find the right page in the bible and make a note of it. So I hope I haven't missed too much and that it won't come back to haunt me, and I hope to find a more reliable way to keep up with it as time goes on ; )
And hey, if you're the bartender, I'm hanging with YOU : )
Hello, Quantum. I believe we've chatted before at blogs, but I don't believe I knew you were in England. Anyhoo, terribly sorry to hear about the lack of e-book availability there - I had no idea. Really, I'm not kept too informed on the e-book side of my career - there's SO much going on these days, it's hard ot keep up. But I do hope the e-book thing will expand becuase I hate to think of anyone wanting to read my books and not being able to get them in the way they want them.
As for THE RED DIARY, thank you so much! That book was my very first single title (had written shorter category books up to that time) and it's near and dear to my heart, and really was a ground-breaking project for me in terms of craft and creativity.
Great question about revealing parts of myself through my stories. Mostly, I'd say no, I don't feel any discomfort over that - because sure, part of it is revealing myself, but part of it is also about craft, about shaping a good story that I think will keep readers turning pages, and also about creating compelling characters. Which is to say, I'm not nearly as interesting as my characters are - that's why there are books about THEM and not about ME ; )
But yeah, I think any creative writing (outside of non-fiction) requires the author to put themselves on the page in some fashion. And maybe I'd be less comfortable if I was, say, the only person in the world doing this ; ) But since I'm not, it's all good ; )
Oh, and on that cabin - it's okay if Jack's in there - I'm not adverse to sharing. All in the name of cooperation, of course ; )
Hey Maggie - glad my "baddest bad boy" intrigues you. That said, I've noticed in some disccussions about ONE RECKLESS SUMMER that a few readers have said that though they loved Mick, they didn't really think he was all that "bad." Which brings up the question of just how bad does a bad boy have to be to be a bad boy? ; ) (How do you like THAT alliteration? And it's almost a tongue twister,too, kind of like selling seashells at the seashore ; ) ) To ME, I think he's pretty bad - he's definitely done some regrettable things, and illegal things. And he can be pretty scary at moments. But I guess it's all for the reader to judge ; ) (And I'd ask those of you who've read the book to weigh in on this, but then we'd end up giving away important points of the book, so we probably shouldn't ; ) )
PJ - thanks so much for visiting, and for all your kind words about the book, as well as your online review, which I've seen and sincerely appreciate! I adore that you adored Mick : ) And thank you so much for looking forward to more Destiny books! I'm totally excited about writing them : ) : )
*squee* It's Toni! Congrats on your newest release!
I love *love* love the thought of the baddest bad boy! And I love the life and death stuff in books too. Hm, this has me espeically intrigued. I've been off books for a couple of months now, maybe I could give myself a treat and read about this bad boy.
Hello, Sin! And thanks for the squee! : )
But ... off books??? Say it ain't so!
I myself think this sounds like a perfectly good time for you to treat yourself to a nice bad boy like Mick : ) And, of course, if you do, you will have my sincere appreciation for picking up a copy : )
Toni, It was great seeing you at the Lori Foster event. I was so happy to get my copy of One Reckless Summer and can't wait to read it.
Your books are always fabulous reads!
Good morning and welcome once again to Toni!!! I'm here, but I have to get some stuff churned out at work before I can play. Silly day job.....
Baddest bad boy? *clapping* Those are always the best!
Toni, congratulations on your new release and welcome aboard the ship...I hope everyone--including Jack--makes you feel at home.
Toni,
Congratulations on what looks to be one of the best summer reads around! I'm so excited that it's creating a bit of a stir... or is that Jack? :) Thanks for posting, I need a little bit of a Reckless Summer in my life today!
Oh, and welcome to all our new visitors today! So happy you could join us. And it's always nice to see our regulars too. :)
Really? Not bad enough? Goodness, how bad does a guy have to be?!
Anyone?
Hey Deb - thanks so much for stopping by! And thanks for getting a copy of ORS! As always, it was great to see you, too! And I hope you're loving your new librarian job : )
Hi Toni! So glad you are aboard:)The crew has been looking forward to your visit.
I'm very anxious to read "A Reckless Summer" because I live in a small town in Ohio, and my aunt and uncle had a small apple orchard where I spent a lot of time as a child, so I'm with Bo'sun, I realy look forward to reading this book. Really, you had me at the baddest of bad boys. *swoon* Mick sounds like my new favorite hero.
Did creating the town of Destiny come to you from personal expierence of small town life?
Hi Terri O, Hellion, and Jenn : )
Terri, I hear ya. Like I said, I personally strive to write a pretty bad bad boy sometimes, but it seems like there must be even BADDER boys somewhere out there from what I'm hearing ;) That said, I think the trick with the bad boy is that he always have to have redeeming qualities and be pretty much fully redeemable in the end, for my personal taste anyway, so could be these badder bad boys would not appeal to me so much ; )
Hellion, thank you for cheering for my "baddest bad boy" : ) And yes, you guys always make me feel very welcome - and Jack has done a marvelous job of keeping me entertained ; )
Jenn - thanks about ORS! After having been in this business quite a while, it's very exciting to finally have a book out that's getting so much fun buzz : ) I hope readers will indeed *feel* that it's one of the best summer reads this year : )
Hi Lisa, and thanks for the lovely welcome : ) (You pirates are good people ; ) )
It's so fun to hear that both you and Bo'sun grew up and/or live in Ohio in a setting that sounds like it has some similarities with Destiny : )
And yes, having grown up in a small town/rural area myself really allows me to draw on the instrinsic knowledge I have of that kind of life as I write these books. Destiny is a lot different than where I grew up, and yet there are definite similarities. And I find it comes to me very easy to write small towns - again, because I'm "writing what I know" ; )
Thanks in advance for reading the book : ) I hope you enjoy it!
Hi, Toni! I'm reading ORS today, and I'm loving it. I'm a big fan of small-town settings because I find the contexts so rich. And, of course, I am also a big Toni Blake fan. So ORS is a winner on two counts.
Congrats on the success of ORS and on the lovely cover.
Hi Toni!
Bad boys....yum! Combine that with a life or death secret, and I'm sold.
Coming from a small town too, (although in VA) I always find it interesting to read books that take place in rural settings.
Do you find that when you write about life in a small town that you use past personal experiences?
I can't wait to read the book, it sounds like something that is right up my alley!
Hey Janga! How fun to hear you're reading the book right now! So glad you're loving it - hooray : ) Thanks for the congrats, and yes, I'm IN LOVE with my cover : ) : )
Hi Amanda! Thanks for stopping in. For the most parts, not many personal experiences make it into my books. Sometimes just the occasional odd little tidbit. For instance, in Destiny there's an ice cream stand called Whippy Dip, and that's taken directly from the area where I grew up. And every now and then some other odd detail will make it in, but it's not usually anything particularly small-town related. For instance, in LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER, the heroine wore a pair of shoes I actually own ; ) In TEMPT ME TONIGHT, there's a case in small claims court involving two dogs that actually happened to someone I know. And in SWEPT AWAY, there is a tattoo misspelling that came directly from a story once told to me by a girl I briefly worked with years ago. So it's never anything major - just tidbits ; )
That said, the heroine in Destiny Book 3 (which I'll start writing pretty soon) does experience a lot of things I have - but only because it fits with this particular story ; )
I hope you enjoy the book : ) : )
I'm positive I wouldn't like a bad boy who was too bad. As you say, how could I ever believe he was redeemable if he didn't have a sweet, sensitive teddy bear lurking in there somewhere? LOL!
Hey Amanda! I'm in VA too, though not a small town. I've only been in this state for a few years, but it's so interesting that you can find four or five different lifestyles depending where in the state you land.
Tis good ta hear that me screwin' 'bout wit' me bible isn't so unusual. Tho I be a fan a' the unusual, usually.
So's, ya are updatin' yer bible as ya go. I fear I'm fer havin' ta review me books and do as ya 'ave, put it in a binder rather than a tablet.
Those that 'ave these things all done afore they write intimidate me... I be a true pantser.
Now, try one a' these drinks...
*hands the guest a massive hurrican glass, all bright and loverlee
This be a glittery hooha, extra glitter. Aye, there be rum at the base, all drinks here on the Revenge feature rum. Save for Q's, 'e brings 'is own scotch. Philistine!
Anything Christie and Lisa recommend I am all over it - and when it contains a bad boy, I'm never disappointed (as long as they have hearts of gold). I'm going to take advantage of the babysitter right now and head on out to the bookstore. The premise sounds intriguing - I'm looking forward to reading it.
Hi Toni,
I just stopped by the ship for a moment just in time to catch your interview. A great one at that...
It looks as if you have one book out and another hero taking on his own book a little later on. Wow!
Enjoy those drinks I've got to get back to shore but have fun and say a howdy do to Jack for me...
Ruth
Hi Toni!
Welcome aboard! I'm sorry I'm late to the party!
I love bad boys and I love reunion-ish stories. I think Mick sounds wonderful. :) One Reckless Summer sound great. I'll add to my TBR pile.
Terri, I feel the same way - we have to eventually find out the guy has a soul and at least a little bit of sensitivity to him ; ) Or he's just a brute ; ) Or at least not a guy worthy of having a book written about him ; )
2nd Chance, you crack me up with your pirate talk, and the drink is dee-lish! Thanks for making it for me! (And I won't tell Jack that yours is better than his were ; ) )
Karen - thanks for visiting, and thanks a ton for running out to grab the book : ) Now I hope you were able to find it, depending upon where you shop ; ) Barnes & Noble originally didn't stock many - but then they saw the error of their ways, and I happen to know shipments are en route as I type this ; ) Anyhoo, hope you were able to get it, and I sincerely hope you enjoy Mick's story.
Ruth, it's lovely to see you here. Thanks so much for stopping by! (and coming all the way out to the ship, too!) So glad you enjoyed the interview - I thought Jack really made it an extra lively one ; ) And I will gladly give him your regards : )
Marnee Jo - thanks for the welcome, and I'm glad to hear you think the book sounds like a good one : ) Thanks in advance for adding it to your TBR pile : ) : ) I do hope you will enjoy Mick : )
I reckon a relaxing drink with Toni is in order now.
Toni, I have a Real Authors drink for you here.
Vintage Scotch with ice made from English mineral water ..... It'll put hairs on yer chest lass!
Some really fascinating comments today and thanks so much for blogging here.
I may have only read one of your books but it glittered like pirate gold. Tomorrow I shall search the high seas ... er streets, for more booty.
As the only English pirate aboard I claim the pleasure and honour to toast our illustrious guest.
Pirates please raise your glasses .... Oh all right Chance, use rum if you must!
Here's to a wonderful writer. Her blogs, like her books, glitter with charm and humour.
Long may the winds of fame and fortune favour her sails and may her books give pleasure across the globe and throughout galaxy beyond.
Bottoms up and down the hatch. :D
Golly, I feel so special! Thanks for the nice toast, Quantum! Although I'm a little afraid of the drink - not WANTING hair on my chest and all ; ) So I'll take just a little sip ...
Seriously, though, thanks for the nice words : ) I do enjoy hanging out with you guys (even if I SHOULD be polishing the next Destiny book ; ) ) And may that toast come true ; )
And incidentally - as I AM polishing TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT today, I came across an actual real life incident that made it into the book, which really IS fairly rare. Alas, it had nothing to do with small town life, but just an event in my youth that worked too well with the story not to use it. And so as not to seem like I'm purposely not telling you what it is - when I was very small, 4 or 5, I almost drowned in a lake. And the same thing happened to Mike in TMHT - it happened the exact same way - because, again, it really fit what's taking place in the story. So those real life things do sneak in, but they're usually so organic to the story that I think I forget about them until I come across them later in the work ; )
Hey pirate crew - just wanted to let you know the time has come for me to head back to shore. (Jack has offered to row me to the beach, and after that, who knows where the evening may lead?) But before I go, just wanted to thank you guys for inviting me back, and thank Bo'sun for the great interview. Thanks, too, for your interest in ONE RECKLESS SUMMER - I hope those of you who haven't read it might feel inspired to check it out now ; ) And I truly appreciate your support : ) : ) Bon voyage!
Hi Toni,
The baddest bad boy already has me hooked! Can't wait to find out more!
I like bad boys...I am dating a reformed one!);
Those are the best kind...he has a Harley and everything!
I do like bad boys...I think that they definitely have appeal and they can pull me into a story pretty darn quickly.
Toni~ One Reckless Summer sounds great!
Thanks again for being with us, Toni! And for doing the interview, even though you were stuck with me instead of Jack. :)
I'll announce the winner of the book tomorrow in the Hottie blog!
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