Toni Blake

Toni Blair grew up in rural Kentucky. She has wanted to be a writer since she was 10 years old. She fondly recalls the morning she announced this to her mother over breakfast, then proceeded to pen her first novel — 19 notebook pages long. When not doing farm work, spent her time writing short stories and dreaming of being a novelist. Upon entering high school, she joined the yearbook and newspaper staffs, and by her sophomore year, shared co-editorship of the yearbook and had been promoted to editor-in-chief of the newspaper. After a year of college revealed that Composition 101 was the only class that interested her, Toni moved to Cincinnati and embarked upon the business world. There, Toni worked as a secretary and a mutual funds accountant before returning to her first love — writing. In the years that followed, Toni tried her hand at literary fiction and penned numerous short stories, one of which garnered her a nomination for the prestigious Pushcart Prize in 1996. In that same year, she was the recipient of the Kentucky Women Writers’ Fellowship. Around this time, a good friend and fellow writer suggested that Toni consider writing romance novels. She had not read a romance in many years, but after reading one was instantly hooked. Joining her local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Toni committed herself to learning as much about the romance industry as possible and began to pen her first romance novels, targeting them toward Harlequin Temptation. In 1998, after completing 12 romances, Toni sold three of them to Kensington’s Precious Gems. Not long after, in January of 2000, Toni made her first sale to Harlequin Temptation. Toni lives with her husband in northern Kentucky and loves being a full-time writer. When not writing, she enjoys traveling, swimming, and skiing.