Not one, but two new honors for One Reckless Summer!

One Reckless Summer placed third in the Single Title/Mainstream category of Houston Bay Area RWA’s Judge a Book By Its Cover contest. Check out all the category winners here.

The book has also finaled in the Australian Romance Readers Awards for Favourite Contemporary Romance, where it’s in some very good company: http://www.australianromancereaders.com.au/awards.html. Thanks to all Toni’s readers down under!

On Friday, Toni and a number of other romance authors were part of a Valentine’s Day feature at Michelle Buonfiglio’s Romance: B(u)y the Book, talking about their own real-life romances and sharing wedding pictures. Toni posted this picture from her own wedding, along with this favorite wedding story:

Funny wedding story (although it didn’t seem funny at the time): Because I have a name more commonly given to a boy and Blair’s name is more commonly a girl’s name, the minister at our wedding got confused and said, “Toni, you may kiss the bride.” I was aghast – it was MY WEDDING, after all, and this guy had just messed it up – and I screamed, “IT’S BLAIR!!!” And Blair said, “Just shut up and kiss me,” and the whole church cracked up. So I have this fabulous picture of us kissing while our maid of honor and best man are standing on either side of us laughing.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope everyone is spending it with a great romance or hero of her own!

Blair & Toni: 20 years of romance!

We’re thrilled to be able to offer readers an exclusive first look at the cover and blurb for Sugar Creek, Book 2 in the Destiny Series and the follow-up to One Reckless Summer.

Welcome to Destiny, Ohio—where two families have been at odds as long as anyone in town can remember.

Rachel Farris returned to her childhood home with one mission in mind: get Mike Romo out of her family’s apple orchard business and out of their lives. But hard-nosed and totally hot Mike, who happens to be the law in Destiny, is convinced the Farris clan stole the land from his family fifty years ago and he’s not backing down. Even when shapely trouble shows up in a pair of designer blue jeans. However, neither the hunky cop nor the sexy prodigal hometown girl can anticipate the electricity that heats things up whenever they’re together—adding new sizzle to an ongoing feud that’s raged for generations, and soon putting both their hearts at risk.

Sugar Creek releases June 8, 2010 and is available for pre-order now at: Amazon Barnes & Noble Borders

It’s award show season, and the Golden Globes are my faves! But more than the actual awards themselves, I love the red carpet coverage. The fact is: My secret ambition in life is to be a red carpet fashion commentator. So here’s my fashion report for last night. And BTW, I am of the opinion that most official best dressed lists at these events are weighted toward the “really big stars,” but I call ‘em as I see ‘em – no special consideration based on how big a celeb you are.

Colors were all over the board last night – I saw everything from pastels to jewel tones to metallic to basic black. And there were a surprising number of dark green dresses (this must be THE color in Hollywood this season or something), which I found interesting to look at and kinda liked, but wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved. Huge ruffles were also in vogue, and though I personally adore a well-placed ruffle, on many dresses it was JUST. TOO. MUCH.

On my best dressed list (in no particular order):

Sofia Vergara from Modern Family: She looked stunningly confident and sophisticated in a strapless mermaid gown of charcoal trimmed in red.

Fergie: I’m not a huge Fergie fan, but her dress was a delight: very Lavender Grecian Goddess; simple but elegant and just quite pretty. That said, thought her hair was too dark and plain and messy, not complementing the gown at all. Since it was raining, however, I’m going to try to refrain picking on people’s hair. But wait, I just did, didn’t I?

Emily Blunt: OMG. Her peachy chiffon strapless mermaid concoction was just to die for.

Lauren Graham: This hot pink strapless mermaid dress (yes, strapless mermaid gowns were EVERYWHERE) was striking not only for detailed bodice but also for the color, and I just kinda admired the boldness involved.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: Peach, mermaid, lots of graphic angles and layers on this dress. I didn’t love it, and yet, I kept thinking it definitely had style.

Lea Michele: I don’t always find black striking on the red carpet because it can be hard to see all the details and nuances of black dress on TV. However, this black, fluffy, strapless chiffon princess gown was a pure confection, one I couldn’t resist.

Helen Mirren: Okay, another black gown. But here’s the thing. She, as always, looked absolutely stunning. The kind of stunning where, when I saw her, I said, “Wow!” Out loud.

Toni Collette: This is probably my pick of the night, and not just because her name’s Toni, either. I’m not usually drawn to metallics, but this gown done in gold glittering stripes was truly an eye-catcher. Not only was it lovely, but it looked comfortable and very easy to wear, and it just so fit her – really gorgeous. Also, I commend her for not wearing a mermaid gown.

And here’s my not-so-best-dressed list:

Patricia Arquette: Mad Max Does The Red Carpet

Kate Hudson: Was that a dress or a wedding cake?

Tina Fey: Usually, I’m a fan of Tina Fey’s simple elegance. This year, hmm … that dress was just kinda weird. Not quite an animal print, not quite a stripe, not quite a suit of armor, not quite a bell. Again … hmm.

Mariah Carey: Just … no. Too much boob. No, wait. Too much low boob. Yeah, that’s it.

And I’m trying really hard not to pick on Julia Robert’s bizarre choice of apparel – because somehow she can pull off anything, and because I’m trying to believe she was toning things down and leaving the glamour for the people who were nominated … or something like that.

And last but not least, a special award for best accessory goes to Elisabetta Canalis. This is George Clooney’s girlfriend. And her accessory was … George Clooney. Enough said.

So there you have it – my take on Golden Globes fashion. And if you happen to be throwing a red carpet event with lots of big stars and are in need of a fashion commentator, good news – I’m available! Just have your people call my people and all that ; ) Until next time, happy reading and happy fashion-watching.