Toni Lo Tempio - Bound By Blood and Ebony

My guest author is Toni Lo Tempio

Born in New York City, Toni 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 she 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. She has written over 200 articles for this magazine in the space of 10 years. Toni currently has two novels out from Whiskey Creek Press: BOUND BY BLOOD and EBONY.

Mary: Welcome, Toni. Could you tell us a little about your latest book?

Tony: It's called EBONY, from Whiskey Creek Press. Up until this week is was #2 in sales on the Fictionwise site for horror e-books, which I found kinda exciting! Below is a summary:

Reporter Jess McCall seems to have it all – a great career, money, fame - but what the intrepid reporter really desires is to finally mend fences with her younger, wild-child sister Amanda. When Amanda suddenly disappears, Jess reluctantly returns to her hometown of Ebony to investigate. There her efforts are stymied by the uncooperative Chief of Police and Amanda’s employer, a respected pillar of the community. Undaunted and unconvinced by their blasé attitude, Jess delves deeper into the circumstances behind Amanda’s disappearance, an action that partners her with Frankie Marshall, a reporter with secrets of his own.
A series of other odd disappearances prompts them to wonder if Amanda’s might not be linked as well, and they begin an inquiry that soon uncovers, among other things, their attraction to one another, a realization complicated by the appearance of Jess’s ex-boyfriend. Old passions take second place to the drama unfolding around them, and they find themselves drawn deeper into an investigation that leads them to an abandoned factory in the woods just outside Ebony. There, they find they must confront undead horrors and the insane madman behind them in order to save Ebony…and themselves.
Mary: It sounds intriguing, Toni! Do you have a mentor? Someone who has inspired your writing?

Toni: I'd have to say Stephen King and John Saul. I love the horror genre and consider them to be two of the people who have inspired my style. Also J.D. Robb.(note I said J.D. Robb, and not Nora Roberts. While I don't care for Nora Roberts books, I absolutely love her alter-ego's!)

Mary: You mentioned that you "started writing to prove a point." What point?

Toni: The point that yes, even without a BA or a Master's degree in English, if you have talent and determination you can make something of yourself.

Mary: Do you have a current project?

Toni: I'm currently finishing up a satire on soap operas, and I'm shopping a paranormal mystery about a soap opera writer to some agents.

Mary: Can't wait to read that one! Finally, is there something funny you can share about yourself that your readers might not know?

Toni: Yeah, my fingers are double jointed. I can twist them like a pretzel! (However, I wouldn't' recommend it!)

Thank you, Mary. Readers are all invited to visit my website, www.freewebs.com/toni1953, for more news on my books and current happenings.