August 27 - I'm back from a wild weekend in St. Louis. Friday Frank and I blew (literally) into town with a busload of other Redbird fans to watch a Cardinal baseball game. As we checked into the hotel, the storm hit--high winds, lightning, thunder. We were thankful to be inside. Later we managed to dodge the rain until we got to Bush Stadium where an enormous clap of thunder petrified everybody and put out the lights. After more than an hour rain delay while we sat in our dry seats, the game started and the Cardinals lost. The storm had chased away some of the hot, humid air and we had a lovely Saturday at Grants Farm communing with nature and marveling at the size of the hoofs on those Clydesdales, even the babies.

Don't think this blog is just about the weather. My book club had a great discussion on The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth. Very thought provoking! It's based on the premise that Charles Lindbergh was elected President in 1940 instead of Franklin Roosevelt. The story is narrated by a seven year old Jewish boy with his adult commentaries added. A very interesting book.

I hope you are all ready for our next interview with an author. Here it is.


Interview with Toni LoTempio

GRACE: Welcome, Toni, and thank you for taking the time to be with us today. Tell us about yourself.

TONI: I began writing at an early age, and reading even earlier. As a child I would rework the endings of stories when they did not suit me. In 1995 I joined the staff of a pulp magazine, SUSABELLA PASSENGERS AND FRIENDS, as a feature reporter, winning their Margaret Sutton Award for Distinguished Reporting in 1998. I've written over 200 articles for this magazine in the space of 10 years. I live in Clifton, New Jersey, with my three "babies," Misty, Trixie, and Phyllis, and, while still employed full-time, am at work on a paranormal suspense, a chick-lit thriller, and a screenplay. You may visit my website at www.freewebs.com/toni1953.

GRACE: We'd like to know a little more about you. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

TONI: A tigress—I want to be "Queen of the Jungle."

GRACE: When did you begin writing and what prompted you to write?

TONI: I was eight years old, and I didn't like the way my comic book stories ended, so I made up my own.

GRACE: Which writer or writers do you most admire, and why?

TONI: Stephen King—for his gustiness and sheer creativity. The man single-handedly rescued the horror genre and kept it alive for King wannabees like me. It was a real thrill for my novel to pass his up on Fictionwise in e-sales. My favorite authors are Stephen King, John Saul, Mary Higgins Clark, Rita Mae Brown, Lawrence Block, and Sidney Sheldon. My favorite novel of all time? Gone with the Wind. I can relate to the independent character of Scarlett O'Hara.

GRACE: What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

TONI: Getting rejected and then seeing total crap getting published. You just wonder sometimes what it takes to get a break in this business.

GRACE: Tell us a little about your writing now—published and in progress.

TONI: Bound by Blood and Ebony are out right now from Whiskey Creek Press. In 2009 I have Witch's Pawn coming out from Echelon Press, and I have two other novels I'm shopping to agents. In a few weeks I start work on a romantic suspense.

GRACE: Thank you, Toni, for being with us today. We wish you all the best, and we'll check out your website www.freewebs.com/toni1953 to learn more about you.