The holiday season is in full swing, and Toni is making the most of it. On December 3rd, she was part of a multi-author holiday signing at the Barnes & Noble in West Chester, Ohio, along with Lori Foster. Toni signed stacks of books, and there should still be some left in the store if anyone in the area is looking for a signed copy (Toni’s books make great stocking stuffers!). For other stores that might still have signed copies available from the Fall…in Love book tour, check out Toni’s events page.

After the signing, Toni made it out to the Cincinnati Zoo’s Festival of Lights (pictured below). Between enjoying the light displays, animals, and general atmosphere, Toni managed to snap a picture of the reindeer Sophie saw in Holly Lane. You can keep up with Toni’s other winter adventures on her Facebook page.

Of course, the biggest adventure of the season has been having her first Christmas book! Holly Lane released October 25th and has already gone back for a second printing. Christmas has always been a special holiday for Toni, and she’s thrilled to be able to share some of her favorite holiday traditions along with another heartwarming Destiny tale. Holly Lane contains a Christmas cookie recipe that has been in her family for generations, and this and other recipes from the Destiny series are also available on Toni’s web site. Her site has also recently been updated with all-new lists of the songs used in her books – including some of her holiday favorites from Holly Lane – as playlists from Amazon.

2011 has been a banner year for Toni and the Destiny series – a USA Today review, Doubleday Bookclub feature, National Reader’s Choice Award, FIRST Magazine mention, and book tour, to name just a few of the highlights – so it’s hard to believe it’s already drawing to a close. But 2012 is set to bring more great things, including the release of Destiny book five, Willow Springs (July), which will bring long-awaited romance into Amy’s life.

Toni sends huge thanks to her readers for all their support this year and sends all best wishes to everyone for a delightful holiday season and a wonderful new year!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support Toni for the Fall…in Love Book Tour. Toni was thrilled to be able to celebrate the release of Holly Lane by meeting so many wonderful readers and having some really fun adventures with fellow tour authors Kerrylyn Sparks and Beverly Jenkins. You can read more about the tour on Toni’s Facebook page or check out photos in either her Facebook photo album or as part of the slideshow on her events page.

Toni is also excited to share that she’s mentioned in Robyn Carr’s newest Virgin River book, Bring Me Home for Christmas, as a favorite author of the book’s heroine. What a fun honor! Bring Me Home for Christmas recently hit the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List, so huge congratulations to Robyn for her achievement and many thanks for the shout out! If you haven’t checked out Robyn’s wonderful Virgin River series, you should.

Toni was recently interviewed on camera by Morgan of RT Book Reviews. Check out the video interview for more information on  Toni’s writing background, Holly Lane, the Destiny series, and what’s coming next summer in Destiny Book 5, Willow Springs.

Finally, thanks to everyone who participated in the 12 Days of Holly Lane by joining in the fun on Toni’s Facebook page or sending an entry for the sweepstakes. We’re excited to announce that Sue P. is the winner of a set of signed Destiny books plus a Holly Lane T-shirt. Plus we drew two additional winners to receive a signed copy of Holly Lane: Debbie H. and Melanie A. Congrats and hope you enjoy the books! Thanks to everyone else who’s supported Toni and contributed to a successful release for Holly Lane!

On the twelfth day of Holly Lane, Toni Blake gave to me… A peek at her upcoming release! That’s right, it’s less than two week till the release of the fourth book in the Destiny series, Holly Lane, and we’re celebrating by hosting the 12 Days of Holly Lane on Toni’s Facebook page. Toni will help you count down the days – and survive the wait – by posting a little tidbit each day on some of the fun, Christmasy things you can expect from the book.

As part of the celebration we’re also having a 12 Days of Holly Lane sweepstakes, in which we’ll offer a set of all four signed Destiny books and a Holly Lane T-shirt. To enter, just email your  name, mailing address and what you’re most looking forward to this holiday season to toniblakecontests@gmail.com. The sweepstakes will close Tuesday, October 25 at midnight EST, so remember to get your entries in before then!

Toni is thrilled to announce that Sugar Creek won the 2010 National Readers’ Choice Award in the Single Title category. The award was presented by the Oklahoma RWA and presented at the RWA National Conference in New York City at the end of June.

Toni had a fun and busy RWA conference this year, signing at multiple book signings (thanks to all the readers who stopped by to say hello), participating in a workshop panel, and enjoying New York City in style, including attending Avon’s party at the Central Park boathouse. You can hear more about Toni’s conference experiences and view pictures at her Facebook page.

Another conference highlight for Toni was presenting the award for Best Romance Novella at the RITA ceremony – the Oscars of the romance world. You can see Toni’s presentation of the award to Virgina Kantra in this video:

Also enjoy this video Toni made at conference with some of her small-town author friends:

Now that conference is over, Toni is back writing Destiny book five. Holly Lane, book four, is right around the corner, so watch for more information on it coming soon.