This year’s signing will take place next Wednesday, July 28, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort, Pacific Exhibit Hall, in Orlando, Florida. The event is free an open to the public. If you’re in the area or in town for the RWA conference, be sure to stop by, say hello, and get a book signed. You can read more about the event and get a complete list of attending authors on RWA’s website.

At the RWA conference, Toni will be attending a reception for the Bookseller’s Best Award, for which One Reckless Summer is a finalist. One Reckless Summer was also recently given an Award of Merit in the prestigious Holt Medallion contest.

For those of you eagerly anticipating the next book in the Destiny series, Whisper Falls’s release is just around the corner. It’s already available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The discussion was followed by a signing, where Toni autographed piles of books and got to chat more personally with some of the readers. One group of fans even put together a surprise present for Toni – a fabulous basket of apple-themed gifts, in honor of the Farris Apple Orchard in Sugar Creek, of course. Everyone also got to enjoy some Sugar Creek Cake, a delicious concoction of white cake, apples, and chocolate.

This – the discussion and the cake – was all put together by Joseph-Beth’s fabulous Gina Scalera, romance bookseller and huge Toni Blake supporter. Gina is a delightful person and runs a fantastic romance section, so if you’re anywhere near the Lexington area, you should definitely stop in. Humongous thanks to Gina for such a wonderful event.

The final highlight? Seeing the giant Sugar Creek cover on the banner advertising the event. Joseph-Beth was kind enough to let Toni keep it, so there may be some upcoming redecorating in the Blake household…

Looking to meet Toni at an upcoming event? Her next appearance will be at the 2010 “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing at the RWA National Conference in Orlando, Florida, Wednesday, July 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

See more pictures from this and other recent events on Toni’s Facebook page.

Toni is also pleased to announce that One Reckless Summer is a finalist in the Single-Title category for the Greater Detroit RWA Bookseller’s Best Award. The winner will be announced at a reception at the RWA National Conference in Orlando, Florida this July.

Sugar Creek is available at numerous booksellers and retail outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Don’t see it at your local store? Be sure to ask someone to help you find or order it.

Reviewers are loving Sugar Creek so far! Romantic Times gave it 4 stars and called it “An entertaining return to Destiny with a Romeo and Juliet romance” and “a fun, sometimes humorous, journey.” Sugar Creek also received a Top Pick from Romance Reader at Heart, where they said, “Toni Blake’s smooth storytelling style is almost hypnotizing, and her realistic characters jump off the pages. I enjoyed SUGAR CREEK from beginning to end, and look forward to reading the next installment in this charming series.” Read more of the early praise for Sugar Creek.

Don’t forget to explore ToniBlake.com for extra tidbits about the book. Learn about the inspiration Toni took from her grandmother – to whom the book is dedicated – in the Notes section, search out new Fun Finds for some behind-the-scenes info on hero Mike Romo, and keep checking back for news on the third book in the Destiny series, Whisper Falls, due out January 2011.

Nine Rules for Visiting the Quaint Small Town of Destiny, Ohio
by Toni Blake

1. Be sure to stop by the Under the Covers bookstore on the town square and share a cup of coffee with Amy and Tessa. If there’s good girl talk or gossip to be had, this is where it will be going on and you don’t want to miss it. There’s usually a cat-in-residence, too, who will be happy to rub up against your ankles or sit in your lap.
2. Don’t speed in Destiny. Hunky cop, Mike Romo is a stickler about that sort of thing and will give you tickets repeatedly – just ask Rachel Farris.
3. Take a canoe ride across idyllic Blue Valley Lake. Besides being quite scenic, this quaint body of water has seen a lot of Destiny drama over the years, most specifically between good girl Jenny Tolliver and the bad boy of her dreams.
4. But never, never visit the old Brody cabin in the woods across the lake. It’s SUPER creepy – especially when you think you see lights on even when no one has lived there in years!
5. Buy some apples from Edna at the Farris Family Apple Orchard on Sugar Creek and ask her to tell you the story of her tragic first love over a piece of her award-winning apple pie.
6. Stay away from Mick Brody! His brother is in prison, after all, and he was always a bad seed. No, it doesn’t matter how hot he is – beware!
7. In case of trouble, remember that the Destiny Police and Fire Departments are right next door to each other, just across the square from Under the Covers. And both come complete with lots of sexy men in uniform, which has the potential to make any emergency more enjoyable.
8. Hang out at Creekside Park. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to watch hot, sweaty guys playing softball, or you might even be invited into a touch football game with Mike Romo, Logan Whitaker, and Adam Becker – “touch” being the key word here.
9. Plan to stay awhile and soak up everything Destiny has to offer, from the quaint garden parties to nights at the Dew Drop Inn, from hot and sexy encounters to deliciously sweet romance.

Hope you’re all ready – the release of Sugar Creek is just four days away!

This list was first posted at Sarah MacLean’s blog as part of the release celebration for her book, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. Check out her blog for lots more entertaining lists of rules from other popular authors.

RT hosts a big banquet and/or dance party every night, which means I got to dress up a lot, and if you know me, you know this makes me happy. Both because I spend a lot of time at my computer not dressed up and because I adore clothes, dresses, shoes, purses … and yes, this is exactly why two full suitcases were required. Here, Lindsey Faber (Samhain editor and my personal assistant) and I pose in our red frocks on red dress night.

I got to hang out with a lot of author and industry friends, something there’s never enough time for since we’re all spread out all over the country. Here I am with good friend Lori Armstrong aka Lorelei James at the Saturday bookfair.

I hosted a bookseller luncheon with a group of local author friends I’ve known forever: LuAnn McLane, Dianne Castell, Patricia Sargeant, Donna MacMeans, and Shiloh Walker. Despite that we’d spent the last hour before the luncheon frantically stuffing a hundred goody bags in my room after half of us got caught in a major traffic jam on the way to the conference, the lunch came off without a hitch and it was great meeting so many enthusiastic, romance-loving booksellers.

I spoke on two panels, one for readers and another about multi-genre writing – and everyone who attended the multi-genre panel received a free copy of ONE RECKLESS SUMMER, thanks to my fabulous publicist at Avon!
And speaking of panels, I heard that Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches Trashy Books mentioned the Destiny series in her Save the Contemporary panel, which totally made my day. Thanks, Sarah!

And I got to wear cat ears. Yeah, I know, that one sounds weird, but it was kind of fun. If you know anything about the RT conference, you know each night is themed, and this year the vampire ball was coupled with a sort of animal theme – “catpersons” were mentioned in the conference literature, so I decided this was the route to take and I persuaded Lindsey and friend Keri Stevens to join me, so here we are: three crazy catgirls. You can’t tell this, but one of my cat ears was pierced, which amused me, and yes, Keri’s leopard print coat is fabulous and it was all I could do not to rip it off her run away with it.

So there you have it – my RT conference in a nutshell. The next big thing on my calendar? The release of SUGAR CREEK on May 25, only a couple of short weeks away now! Big thanks to everyone who has let me know they’re looking forward to this second installment in the Destiny series – I’m excited that the wait is almost over!

There are currently five Fun Finds hidden throughout the site. Have fun finding them all!

And for even more fun, you can find Toni in person this coming Saturday, May 1st, from 11 am – 2 pm at the Romantic Times Convention Book Fair at the Hyatt Regency Columbus in Columbus, Ohio where she’ll be signing One Reckless Summer.

JoJosBookCorner
KarLynP
Kim Bales
Stella Ex Libris

We hope you and your pets of choice will enjoy this early sneak peek.

Thanks again to all the other entrants and feel free to console yourselves by rereading the excerpt on the Sugar Creek page. Thankfully, it’s only a few more weeks until everyone will be able to enjoy the book – mark your calendars (or sign up for a book release reminder) for May 25th!

How can you (or your cat) enter? Any or all of the ways below – spread the word on multiple social networking sites to earn multiple entries and more chances to win one of the two advance copies.

1. Read the Sugar Creek excerpt, and email the answer to the following question to lindseyfaber@gmail.com: How old was Rachel the last time she was pulled over in Destiny?

2. Tweet or retweet this post on Twitter. Be sure to include “Sugar Creek” in your tweet.

3. Share this note on your Facebook profile. Just hit the Share button to add this note to your own profile, then leave a comment on Toni’s page letting us know you’ve shared it.

4. Like this post on Goodreads. All you have to do is click the “Like” link at the bottom of the post.

There you have it. Enter up to four times and increase your odds of winning. The contest closes Thursday, April 15 at 9:00 p.m. EST and winners will be announced Friday, April 16. Please keep in mind that advance copies are meant to build early buzz for the book, and it’s best if winners are able to read the book in advance of its release and post a review somewhere online – Amazon, B&N, Borders, Goodreads, a blog or messageboard, or any social networking site.

Read more about Sugar Creek, which releases May 25, 2010.

Book 2 of the Destiny series, Sugar Creek, will release May 25, 2010 and book 3, Whisper Falls, has been set for January 2011. A holiday-themed book is now planned for November 2011, with two more Destiny books to follow.

Toni’s website has been updated in preparation for Sugar Creek’s release. Check out the Sugar Creek page to learn more about the book or read an excerpt.

Early praise for the book is already coming in. New York Times Bestselling Author Robyn Carr said, “Toni Blake’s romances are so delicious, so intoxicating and addictive, a good night’s sleep isn’t even an option.”

And here’s what Sue Grimshaw, head romance buyer for Borders, said to Toni on Twitter:

Don’t miss Sugar Creek or any of the upcoming Destiny books–sign up for Toni’s book release reminders to be emailed when a new book is available.