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Past Featured Sites
of the Month!
June
Our home chapter Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America not only because of the Spring Book Lovers Event on March 27th, but because we want you to check out the GREAT new homepage and graphics. Great job, Jill and Kat!
April
Our home chapter Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America not only because of the Spring Book Lovers Event on March 27th, but because we want you to check out the GREAT new homepage and graphics. Great job, Jill and Kat!
March
Our home chapter Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America not only because of the Spring Book Lovers Event on March 27th, but because we want you to check out the GREAT new homepage and graphics. Great job, Jill and Kat!
February
Facebook gets the nod this month. I (Lori) have such a blast kicking back every night with my Friends! If you haven't made the plunge yet, do so now! And make sure you look us up at www.facebook.com/
toricarrington.
January
The Book Exchange in Port Clinton and Netti and Mike Fitzgerald are the go to place and people for all your book needs! We look forward to visiting on the 23rd. Come on out and see why the earn our unconditional raves!
December
The new Harlequin Blog gets the nod this month! Click here to get in on special deals and to interact with eHarlequin.com staff and authors.
November
www.Marvel.com gets the nod this month in honor of pal Jim Beard, who is not only a fan, he writes for the site. Jim will host Batman At 70, a program and exhibition scheduled from 6:30-8 p.m. on Monday, November 9 in the McMaster Center at Main Library, 325 Michigan St here in Toledo, Ohio. Check out Marvel by clicking here, give Jim a shout at The Beard - Pop Culture at its Finest by clicking here, and click here for more info on the program.
September-October
Facebook gets the nod. We've been having a blast catching up with old friends and new and generally getting into all sorts of fun trouble. Don't have a page yet? It's easy to set one up! Go to http://www.facebook.com now. Then make sure you friend us at Tori Carrington!
August
The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, Ohio and their sister store in Clyde. Check it out both on-line and in person. Tell 'em we sent you!
July
I've been having a blast going back and forth with Annette Fitzgerald who, along with her dh Mike, own The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, Ohio and a sister store in Clyde. We're signing at the Port Clinton site on August 1st (more info above). It would be nice to see you then, but if you can't make it that day, make sure you stop by the store to check it out both on-line and in person. Tell 'em we sent you!
June
Fellow author Kim Law has a fantastic Crossword Puzzle on her site. Check it out by clicking here. Then click on 3A for a special clue! (Warm congrats on the nomination for a 2009 RWA Golden Heart, Kim! We're pulling for you.)
May
This honor has to go to the newly launched BLAZE AUTHORS BLOG! Fellow TrailBlazer Tawny Weber and others have put together a hot, hot forum for all of us to let our hair down...and for you to win all sorts of fun stuff! You'll especially want to check out our contributions set to post on the 4th of each month, and our editor Brenda Chin's who posts on the 1st for GREAT giveaways!
Check it out now by going to www.BlazeAuthors.com.
March
60th Anniversary celebrations, and the contemporary debut of a Harlequin Historical author and pal, and the debut of yet another pal who's racking up rave reviews!
eHarlequin.com
Dragon's Lair - Silhouette Nocturne
Denise Lynn
A Taste of Magic
Tracy Madison
February
60th Anniversary celebrations and the contemporary debut of a Harlequin Historical author and pal who's racking up rave reviews!
eHarlequin.com
denise-lynn.com
January
Zinta Aistars is a phenomenal writer in any format, but for the purpose of this month's recommendation -- and in keeping with the theme of our pic of the month -- we're pointing you toward her Tom the Tom blog entry. Click here to read it. Oh, and you might want to have a box of tissues at the ready. You need not be a cat lover in order to appreciate the piece. You need only be human.
December
Tori Lennox's blog nabs the top spot this month. Check out her thoughts on Dirty Laundry by clicking here. And make sure you share your thoughts!
November
Check out this video review of the first book in our Sofie Metropolis series. We don't know who vernfonzndrian is, but we'd love to drive up her video views. So click on the above icon to watch the video, tell your friends to watch it, and then watch it again! This is so majorly kewl!
October
Caverns of Blood gets the timely nod this month! It is the end all site for all things Halloween. Go and see if you don't agree by clicking here.
August & September
We met Zinta Aistars and J. Conrad Guest through Facebook and are honored to call them Friends as well as neighbors. Check out their on-line magazine The Smoking Poet for something a little different and then count them as your Friends by clicking here.
July
Michelle Buonfiglio of Lifetime.com's Romance B(u)y the Book Blog earns the honor this month. She's a hoot and a half! Click here to read her post on the Get-Together and make sure you tell her we sent you.
May/June
This month, the honor has to go to pal and fellow Greek-American Kathy Andrico and her webpage Kathy's Review Corner. She has a fresh take on all of today's hottest releases. Check her out, and make sure you tell her that we sent you. Click here for more info.
April
Another month, another reason to temp you over to Myspace! The page Authors of Myspace, created and maintained by fellow author R.M. Hamilton, is a great place to check out new talent or discover old. For the first week of April, FOUL PLAY is featured, including a new interview. Post to the blog, and we'll enter you twice in this month's drawing! Click here for more info.
March
Given our current obsession with all things Myspace, this month the honor has to go to new Friend Barbara Vey and her Publisher's Weekly Beyond Her Book blog. Frequent contributor and Friend Joyce Ann recently posted a review of FOUL PLAY there. Click here for more info.
February
The honor has to go to The Soapbox Queens
On Monday, February 4th, we visited with buds Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jennifer LeBreque and Rhonda Nelson. Click here for more info.
January
Okay, we'll begin with the serious sites first, then move on to the fun ones:
Start out the New Year on a giving. Go to www.makeitrightnola.org to check out Brad Pitt and others efforts to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. And go to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital to donate to this very worthy cause.
The New Year means a new astrological outlook. The following are a few of our favs:
Susan Miller's Astrology Zone
Jonathon Cainer's Zodiac Forecasts
WOW Monthly Forecasts
Hope all three are chock full of exactly what you're hoping for this year!
December
The honor goes to three sites this month. The first is the Plotmonkeys, and not just because pal Julie Leto invited us to guest blog on the 8th. Aside from being a fellow Bad Girl, we go way back with her, Leslie Kelly and Karen Drogin/Carly Phillips. Click here to check out their daily posts and all sorts of other fun stuff! Then come out on the 8th to chat with us.
The next two have to do with giving back. Go to www.makeitrightnola.org to check out Brad Pitt and others efforts to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. And go to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital to donate to this very worthy cause.
November
The honor has to go to Romance Reader at Heart this month, and just because Mad invited us to guest blog on the 10th. We go way back with her and the site and just love, love, love what they're doing with the place. Click here to check out great guest bloggers and all sorts of other fun stuff!
October
Photos from the September 22nd Grand Opening Celebration of The Stately Raven Bookstore in Findlay, Ohio, are posted on our Blog. Click here for a great piece on the store, then click here to visit the store's new site to order autographed copies of FOUL PLAY, DIRTY LAUNDRY, and SOFIE METROPOLIS.
August
Even as we celebrate our younger son Tim's birthday this month, this honor has to go to our older son Tony and his MySpace page. Warning: site has twilight zone overtones. ;> Just to balance things out a bit, here's a pic of him in younger days:
Click here to visit his page and say hello. Tell him we sent you.
July
Another Anniversary!
Can you believe a year has passed since DeNita officially started AuthorIsland.com? Help us help her celebrate by visiting her site today. All sorts of fun stuff is scheduled, including a Book a Day Giveaway. Make sure you tell her we sent you!
Click here to go there now.
June
Kathy's Review Corner earns the top spot this month. We met Kathy...oh, eons ago, and she's just now claiming her own little bit of the www. She's still getting things up and running, but we love what we see so far. Click here to go there now.
May
This honor must go to our SofieMetro.com site where you can find info on all three titles in the series, try our favorite Greek recipes and view pics from our '05 Baklava Express Tour as well as browse through shots of Sofie's hometown Astoria, Queens, NY. Click here to go there now.
April
For the second month in a row, our publisher Tor-Forge earns the honor. They recently launched their new website and, in a word, WOW! Check out their new digs and join their mailing list -- and make sure you factor in plenty of time to browse through great titles -- by clicking here. Don't forget to enter our girl Sofie Metropolis in the search box!
March
Our publisher Tor-Forge has just launched their new website. In a word WOW! Check out their new digs and join their mailing list -- and make sure you factor in plenty of time to browse through great titles -- by clicking here. Don't forget to enter our girl Sofie Metropolis in the search box!
February
Ah, yes. Guilty pleasures. One of mine that fits perfectly with Valentine's Day is ballroom dancing. Long before there was Dancing with the Stars, PBS was broadcasting the national and international ballroom dance competitions. The latest is America's Ballroom Challenge and the first episode aired January 31st, with four more episodes to follow every Wednesday night at 8:00. Have you ever seen anything more romantic than the waltz danced by professionals? Or a sizzling tango? Click here to check out the schedule at PBS.org now and sigh along with me this month.
January
Okay, just as New Year's Day is about making resolutions, so should it be about confessions. One of my guilty pleasures :::raising right hand::: is that I check Susan Miller's AstrologyZone.com a minute after midnight every month for my free horoscope. Click here to visit her site now. Here's hoping she has nothing but glowing things to say about your month and year ahead!
December
We haven't featured eHarlequin.com in awhile so we happily make them this month's pick. In addition to having all sorts of fun discounts, they're also hosting a Holiday Open House on Wednesday, December 13th from 7-10:00 p.m. We also hope to get over to post to their active boards (look for us in the Blaze folder). Click here to visit them now.
November
We met fellow writer DeNita Tuttle at the Columbus Fiction Writers Conference last month. She is also involved in the great newer site AuthorIsland.com. This month they're giving away a copy of the hardcover of DIRTY LAUNDRY along with other fun stuff. Click here to check out AuthorIsland.com now!
October
Friends from Down Under! Check out Rendezvous Books in Melbourne, Australia by clicking here. Manager Petra Abbam contacted us recently to say 'hi.' They have a wonderful collection and a great site. Be prepared to stay a while!
September
Plotmonkeys.com would be a great place to hang out even if it weren't hosted by buds Karen Drogin aka Carly Phillips, Leslie Kelly, Julie Leto and Janelle Denison. Go check out the fun goings on by clicking here. Oh, and make sure you have time to stay awhile!
August
Old friend Sara Reyes, along with Mindy Ewing and pals, have a brand-spanking new place for readers to visit. You'll want to make sure you have plenty of browsing time when you go to FreshFiction.com!
July
Two sites share that honor in July! Deborah Anne MacGillivray for the release of her first published novel A Restless Knight (check out the cover on her site! Yum!) and Teresa Medeiros, who has revamped her home environs. Click here to visit Deborah Anne's site and here for Terri's.
June
The Romance Diva's own Kristen Painter invited us for a featured interview this month. Check it out by clicking here!
Also, All About Romance's Laurie Gold has written a piece on the male point of view, including some of what Tony and I had to say on the subject. Click here to check the article out. Then make sure you post your thoughts At the Back Fence.
May
The incomparable Brenda Novak, author and dear pal, is hosting her 2nd Annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Auction. We've donated a basket chock full of Greek goodies. Find more info in the next column. Then click here to bid!
April
Lovely Angie of LoveRomances.com interviewed us on our upcoming releases. Click here to check it out!
March
Romance Divas will make you want to dust off your tiara and flip your feather boa over your shoulder. During your visit, make sure you check out their extensive BB section. You might see a post or two from us. Click here to visit now.
January & February
Greekshops.com
Need a 2006 calendar of the Greek isles? Want a t-shirt to work out in? Your own Opa! music to dance to? Check out http://greekshops.com/ today!
DEC SITE OF THE MONTH
Toledo's own Danny Thomas helped establish St. Jude's Research Hospital in 1962, which provides free catastrophic pediatric care and conducts phenomenal research in the same area. Click here for more info on the organization and what you can to help make a difference.
SEPT/OCT/NOV SITE
OF THE MONTH!
Help us help others rebuild their lives and their homes by going to www.habitat.org.
JUNE SITE OF
THE MONTH!
Okay, that honor HAS to go to www.SofieMetro.com...again! Make sure you check out the latest quotes, yummy Greek recipes, and much, much more!
APRIL SITE OF THE MONTH!
The honor has to go to bud and talented author Brenda Novak this month. In May she's holding an on-line auction to raise funds for juvenile diabetes. Check out more info on all the phenomenal stuff up for grabs at http://www.brendanovak.com/.
MARCH SITE OF THE MONTH!
Fellow Toledoan and firefighter Tony Comes was featured in an Academy Award nominated documetary A Twist of Faith. We're all fond of saying "not in our own backyard," yet if we look closer, that's exactly where this is happening. We commend Tony for pointing that out to us in a poignant and painful way and wish him well in his evolving recovery. Click here for more info on the film, here to check out our local ABC affiliate's coverage.
We're going to have to go with the launch of our new site SOFIEMETRO.COM again this month! While it's still in rough draft stage, stay tuned for all sorts of kewl and interesting stuff designed to make everyone say Opa!
Yes, we're going to go with local talent Michael Regnier,"The Boss" of 4R, Inc., and creator of Mythmatical Battles the multiplication game for the third month running. Why? Because we can't say enough about this set. It's THE perfect holiday gift for any hard-to-please munchkins on your list! Ceck out MYTHMATICAL BATTLES - THE MULTIPLICATION DUELING CARD GAME The game has been awarded Best Vacation Children's Product for 2004 by Doctor Toy! WTG, Michael!
We became acquainted with Sheila Clover and Isaac Hirotsu Woofter of Circle of Seven Productions through Christine Feehan, and again in NYC where we viewed their latest production for Heather Graham's latest Dead on the Dance Floor. The more we see of them and their company, the more we like! Check them out at http://www.cosproductions.com/
We don't normally feature fellow authors (::sniff:: the competition<vbg's>), but we're making a special exception this month for Cami Dalton because, well, she's so very special to us. Make sure you check out her new site and her first Harlequin Temptation Her Private Dancer by clicking here!
Romance at Heart is a site after own hearts. Special thanks to Rose for her fantastic reviews! Carve out a little time -- okay, a lot! -- to browse through all they've got going on over there.
Lilith's Lair is not a place easily forgotten. Take a walk on the dark side by going to http://www.lilithslair.net/
If you haven't already, you just have to check out RBL Romantica. Subscribe to their newswletters, post to their bulletin board. You won't regret it! Read our interview with Beaty by clicking here.
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Past Pictures
of the Month!
June
The Romantic Times Convention in Columbus absolutely ROCKED! Pics are up on our Facebook album. Check 'em out by clicking here.
April
Our home chapter Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America hosted the mega-succesful Spring Book Lovers Event on March 27th,
March
Dinner at Tony Packo's with my brother Carl, his beautiful wife Sabrina, their precious kids Charles and Jaelynn and Sabrina's parents Diane and Gene.
February
We had the opportunity to catch up with great friends last month. Here we are with Annette and Michael Fitzgerald of The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, Ohio. Good times!
December
A Rosary Cathedral Class Mini-Reunion was held at Tony Packo's the night before Thanksgiving. Here I'm pictured with Cris Gaytan Beck, Jim Beard and Rea DellaFlora McAninch. Check us all out at www.Facebook.com or drop me an email at to be put on the list for the next multi-class event, possibly next year!
Click here to check out all the pics!
September-November
Reconnecting with old Rosary Cathedral classmates at the Toledo Greek Fest! Gawd, I hadn't seen grade school best friend Cris (Gaytan) Beck in nearly 30 years. And she hasn't changed a wink! (Her dh Arni sits to her left.) I was lucky enough to cross paths with Jim Beard (left), about ten years ago, and then again at Facebook. We're hoping to arrange a full class reunion for later this year!
August
Part-ay! The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, Ohio held a slammin' multi-author signing on August 1st. Featured above are owners Mike and Annette Fitzgerald, along with longtime bud and author Holly Jacobs and Susan Gable. Click here to check out all the shots from our visit!
July
Our younger bird has flown south to Florida. Tony Jr. came up to make the 24-hour drive with Tim late last month. Now that both our boys are down there, I'm counting down the days until the phone and email just aren't going to do it for us anymore and we'll have to do some flying of our own...
June
cinci-a.jpg
We're not going to make this year's Reader & Author Get-Together June 5-7th (you can still register!), so we thought we'd include a pic from last year's event. Here is hostess with the mostest Lori Foster, Beyond Her Book Blog mistress Barbara Vey, and Kathy Andrico of Kathy's Review Corner. Have a great time, guys! Here's to seeing y'all next year...
May
Our older son Tony came home for a long overdue visit. And we took every op to make up for lost one-on-one family time.
Click here to check out our full Blog/Photo Album.
March
We loved catching up with Macomb Book Fair & Writers Conference Chair and phenomenal author Karen White-Owens and her dh Gary Owens.
February
"I love you! I love you!
I love you!"
Zeke aka Zombie Kitty openly expresses his affection for the furnace blower. No matter where he is in the house, once the fan kicks on he hightails it to his favorite register for a warm up session. Well, we won't have to guess who his Valentine is, will we?
January
In mid-November, one of the feral felines we feed on a regular basis decided she no longer wanted to play mother to her four kittens. These are the two survivors, doing well and thriving within the Karayianni household, much to the chagrin of our three indoor females...and of Tony, who huffs and puffs about having too many cats in the house...then gets caught in moments like this. Pepper and Zeke (aka Zombie Kitty because of his ferocious appetite) are advertising for new owners. Preferably ones who don't already have a house full of other animals and will shower them with love and affection...
December
Our annual visit to The Paperback Outlet in Warren, MI included a delish potluck where we kicked back with our favorite readers group. Click here to check out all the photos we shot, including of owners Gay and Annie -- who are celebrating their 5th years in business and their 50,000 customer! -- and the rest of the gang. Oh! And get a gander of the goodies we came away with. (Thanks, guys!) Click here to check out our full Blog/Photo Album.
November
eHarlequin.com hostie, fellow author and longtime friend Heather "Rae" Scott surprised us during our appearance at The Mystery Lovers Bookshop's 18th Birthday/Halloween Bash! Click here to check out all the places we've been in the past couple of months in what we like to call our photographic journal.
September/October
September's Pic of the Month was actually a poll for you to decide which
yummy Australian actor best represents Sofie's Man-of-Mystery Jake Porter, Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe. No surprise, Hugh won by a wide margin! So here is another pic of him for all of us to drool over. Mmm...
Thanks for voting!
October's Pic...
Fellow MVRWA chaptermates came out to support us at our B&N signing! Here's Jennie, Jim Duncan, Rita Shake, Tracy Madison (her rockin' 1st book A Taste of Magic is out in March!) and Connie Phillips.
August
We're actually going to go with two videos for this category this month. Both of which you're probably familiar, but warrant a second (or third or hundredth) look. The first is the late Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. I always feel like I just inhaled a lungful of fresh, rare air whenever I listen to/watch this magnificent piece:
The next is one featuring the majestic lion Christian and his reunion with his human family. If you haven't viewed this already, you may want to keep a box of Kleenex at the ready:
Both these videos are representative of how very precious life is...
Click here to check out our full Blog/Photo Album.
July
This shot was taken at this year's Reader & Writer Get-Together hosted by Lori Foster and Dianne Castell. Pictured above are Lori, PW Beyond Her Book blogger Barbara Vey (who posted a podcast of us at her site - click here to view it!), and Kathy Andrico. This was the first time we were able to make the conference, and are we ever so glad we did! Click here to check out some of our experiences in pictures.
May/June
(This pic is staying up both for inspiration and until the Readers 'n Writers Get-Together in Cinci 6/6.)
Sofie's 1965 Mustang named Lucille is actually my dream car. But in my hunt for just the right model, I fell in love with this 35th Anniversay edition one and, yes, she's named Lucille. Tony roused her from hibernation as soon as the last of the snow melted and we're thoroughly enjoying cruising with the top down, just listening to her engine roar under the sound of our top playlists. Ah, yes, one of our favorite summer things to do! Click here to check out our full Blog/Photo Album.
March
This is a shot of Tony with Andrew and Lauri taken at MVRWA'S Annual Valentine's Tea on Saturday, February 2nd. Click here to check out all the pics from the event.
February
This is a shot of Nia, the latest addition to the Karayianni indoor clan. Look for a Blog entry soon -- including pics -- on all our feline friends. Click here to check out recent Blog entries.
January
This shot was taken at last month's Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America's Annual Xmas Party. Click here to check out all the photos.
December
Okay, so the above photo is three years old, but it remains one of my favs that features us with our boys Tim and Tony after Thanksgiving dinner. Below, find a more recent pic of my guys (12/1). Here's wishing you a Holiday Season chock full of your favorite things!
Click here to view photos from our recent apperances.
November
Two pictures qualify for the honor this month. Above, we pose with Medina friends at Writers Live, and below we caught up -- however briefly -- with old friend Gary Branson of the London library at the Ohio Library Council's annual convention in Columbus. Click
here to view all the photos from both events.
September
2007 Toledo Greek Fest
Tony, Christos Kamilaris and our son Tim take time out to smile for the camera. Click
here to view all the photos from the event.
August
The Schlachter Family Reunion was in July. Check out shots of Lori's extended family by clicking here, then stick around to view our current photographic journal.
July
We love our annual visits up north to Paperback Outlet. Not only do we get to catch up with buds Bad Barb and Tee and their families, store owners Annie and Gay, and the entire readers group are longtime friends we thoroughly enjoy catching up with everyone. We love you guys!
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
June
Kathy's beautiful, smiling face is one of the reasons we love attending Mystery Lovers Bookshop's Annual Festival of Mystery. Again, Mary Alice and Richard and the gang have outdone themselves.
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
May
Ah, yes, another fine way to waste a few precious hours.<bg> Does the figure above look familiar to you? She should, because she's how we envision our frappe-sippin', sneaker-wearin' Greek PI Sofie Metropolis. Click on the pic to go to her site. Then go to meez.com to waste, er, spend a little time of your own.
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
April
Maumee Valley Romance Writers know how to throw a party! This pic is from this year's Valentine's Day Tea and includes local talent Denise Lynn (she also won a RIO!), Shay Lacy, and Elizabeth Vaughan, all of whom currently have new books available (check out the titles below in What We're Reading). Click on their names for more info and click here to visit MVRWA's site. You won't regret it!
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
March
Happy Birthday, Tony!
This month marks the birthday of our older son Tony. This is him featured with the latest addition to the family, our granddoggie, Chucky. Aren't they like the cutest? Click here to see our complete photographic journal. Hmm, speaking of which, maybe I should add a Blog entry that includes some recent shots of both our sons....
February
Our Maumee Valley RWA pals at last year's Valentine's Tea. Come out for this year's event on February 10th! Details in next column. Click here for more info on the group.
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
January
There's nothing quite like being home for the Holidays. Our older son Tony came up from Florida for Christmas. It was a time chock full of warm and wonderful memories. (If you're thinking you've seen this pic before, you're right. Due to technical difficulties, the photos from this year were unusable, so I pulled this, one of my favs, from the 2003 vault.) From left to right: Tim, Big Tony, not-so-lil Tony and moi.
Click here to see our complete photographic journal.
December
Don's Books manager Robert Holt and the gang, along with attending authors, strike a pose at the Grand Opening of the Harlequin Room Party in Kokomo, Indiana last month. What a great day! If you couldn't attend, you'll definitely want to drop in for autographed copies of author books, and/or stop by Don's Books site to see if they won't ship out a copy or two to you. Click here to see our complete photographic journal of the day.
November
MORE THAN WORDS author and recipient get-together in NYC. Our table at Wednesday night's dinner in a penthouse room at The Regency. From left to right: TASK founder Deb Fruend and her dh, Barry and Kathy Silverton of STITCHES FROM THE HEART (by whom our novella was inspired), Tony and me, and authors Susan Wiggs and Karen Harper. Click here to check out our full photo album, which includes more pics from the event as well as from our CoFW conference and Don's Books adventures!
October
Greek- and Cypriot- Americans Unite! We had a blast at this year's Holy Trinity Greek Fest in September. Here Tony and our younger son Tim pose with the Kamiliaris family. Click here to check out our full photo album, which includes more pics from the event as well as from our Ottawa conference adventures!
September
Cool is a state of being, not a way of acting. Isn't our younger son Tim the epitome of cool? He spends so much time hiding from the camera that it's a special gift when he let's us have our parental photog way with him. (Psst, ladies, he's single. Oh, he's going to kill me for that.<vbg>)
Click here to check out our full photo album.
August
This year's RWA Conference in Atlanta was beyond compare! Here Tony poses with RomEx buds Jo Beverly, Sr. Krissie aka Anne Stuart, Maggie Shayne and Brenda Hiatt at the Harlequin party held at the Ritz. Click here to check out the full photo album.
July
Or should we say "pics"?
Happy Birthday, Mary!
Mensch turns 80 this month!
(This pic was snapped at the 2002 RT convention in Reno.)
June was a busy travel month for us, but catching up with pals like Bad Barb and Tee (pictured here with Kadeem, Tabitha and Nataia) reminds us why we love getting out and about. Click here to check out the latest additions to our photographic journal, including visits to the OCC/RWA, Los Angeles, Columbus, Cincinnati and more.
June
The Romantic Times' 25th Anniversary Convention in
Daytona Beach, FL was important in many ways for us. First, we got a chance to spend some time with our son Tony, Jr., (pictured above). Second, we were proud to accept a Career Achievement Award. Click here to check out our full photographic journal of our visit.
May
We had an outright blast at this year's 11th Annual Festival of Mystery hosted by the lovely Mary Alice Gorman and Richard Goldman of Mystery Lovers Bookshop. Here Mary Alice is pictured with Pohla Smith of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Click here to check out our full photo album of the event.
April
The inaugural Ohio Book Lovers Festival March 10-11th was hosted by marvelous Sue Cantrell of Around About Books and we can say that it was an unequivocal success! Authors and buds Rosemary Laurey and Elizabeth Vaughan also attended, as well as Bad Barb of Writerspace.com fame and Terrific Tee. Click here to view the full photo journal of the event.
March
At this year's STAR conference in Cocoa Beach, Florida, we had the double pleasure of visiting with friends along with our son Tony who recently moved to Daytona. Here Tony and Tony pose with Mike Medeiros. Click here to check out the full photo album which includes great pics of Mike's gorgeous wife Teresa Medeiros, our fantastic Forge/Tor editor Melissa Ann Singer, and Leslie Kelly and her fabulous dh Bruce, along with many others.
January & February
Sofie's Astoria
In many ways, Astoria, Queens, is the next best thing to being in Athens. Except in this instance. Rather than the sparking blue Aegean and sugar beaches, you get the East River and the Manhattan skyline. Different, but just as awe-inspiring. Click here to check out the full album of our series character Sofie Metropolis' hometown! And stay tuned to find out what kind of trouble Sofie gets into on the Hellgate Bridge (foreground) in Sofie II aka Dirty Laundry. Trust us, it has nothing to do with the view!
DECEMBER
The Karayianni Family
This shot was taken last Thanksgiving. This year Lil' Tony (not so little anymore), moved to Florida where he plans to decorate a palm tree, so we spent the holiday with Tim at his place in Michigan and toasted our much missed fourth member...several times.
From our family to yours,
Happy Holidays!
NOVEMBER PICTURE OF THE MONTH!
With all due respect to our human subjects, we had to make this shot of editor and dear friend Brenda Chin's babies this month's pic. Aren't they adorable? Click here to read our BLOG entry on our visit up north, and to view more pictures.
OCTOBER PICTURE
OF THE MONTH!
The Last Chapter
bookstore in Kansas City. Make sure you check out the pics of store owner Jane Schaumburg and her fantastic crew and readers that were unfortunately left off our Baklava Express Travel BLOG because, well, we'd forgotten our digital camera.
JUNE PICTURE
OF THE MONTH!
All Aboard! The Baklava Express is probably right this minute on the road somewhere between NYC and Florida. Click here to view full tour info!
MAY PICTURE
OF THE MONTH!
The 2005 Romantic Times Convention in St. Louis was *the* slammin' party of the year so far! And, let me tell you, it's going to be plenty hard to top. In the above pic Tony poses with readers and fellow Toledoans Riley and Marty, author publicist and Rouse Romance Readers Group owner , and all-around great guy Kevin Beard. Check out the rest of the photos from our convention experiences by clicking here!
APRIL PICTURE
OF THE MONTH!
Celebrate Romance 2005 was the best CR conference ever, in our humble opinion. Held in a great complex in Baltimore, Maryland, a great time was had by all. Above we pose with Ivka Vuletic, dear fan and friend, whom we finally met face-to-face. Check out the rest of the photos from our adventures by clicking here!
MARCH PICTURE
OF THE MONTH!
Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America Valentine's Tea
MVRWA hosted a book giveaway and tea to celebrate the one day a year specifically set aside for lovers of romance. Click here to view all pics. Check out more info on the chapter and her members at http://www.mvrwa.net Read the piece that ran Sunday, February 13th in the Toledo Blade by clicking here.
Forging a future with Forge!
We paid a visit to the latest members of our professional family in NYC January 20th. From left to right: Kathleen, Melissa, moi, Melissa Ann Singer, Elena, Tony, Linda and Natasha. Thx, guys!
(Click on pic for a better view.)
Harlenic Ellas
We visited our compatriots at Harlenic Ellas during our trip to Greece last October and they sent us this fantastic shot of them wearing Tori Carrington T-shirts! From left to right is: Pericles, Guely, Marina, Vanna and Panayiotis.
Kali Chronia!
(Click on pic for a better view.)
The Karayianni Family
This shot was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2004. Here's wishing you all the happiness of the Season!
At the Romance Writers of America Conference in Dallas: Cami Dalton, Tor ed Anna Genoese, Mary F., Cathy Clamp, Morgan Leigh, C.T. Adams and Barb Hicks. Click on pic to see it full-size, click here to view entire photo album!
We trekked up to Canada for a visit June 23rd - 27th to speak to Harlequin's DTC group and to kick back at our editor Brenda Chin's new cottage. Pictured here are Eddie, Birgit Davis-Todd, Brenda, Eleanor Elliot, Marleah Stout and Katherine Orr. Click here to check out the full photo album!
Celebrate Romance 2004 in Chicago May 14-16th was a raging success! Here we're pictured with lovely Mary F. aka wimew. Click here to check out the full photo album of our conference experiences!
A view of Manhattan from the shore of Sofie's neighborhood in Astoria. Check out the rest of our Romantic Times Mini-Convention experiences by clicking here!
Here is Bewitched, live and in the flesh, along with her dh at STAR's Annual Conference in Melbourne, Florida! Check out more pics by clicking here.
Here's a snapshot of the wonderful reader's group at The Paperback Outlet in Warren, Michigan. Sofie news came down while we were visiting with them on December 5th which made the occasion doubly special! Click here to see a larger version of this photo and others.
Tony the drummer! Yes, he was very, very good last year and Santa was very, very good in response. Warm thanks to Eric Bilger, Manager of PEELER DRUM CENTER, for helping making this special wish come true. Look for more pics soon (and streaming video! Tony wasn't the only one who was very good last year<vbg>)!
Click here for full pic.
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More News!
ROMANCE IS IN THE AIR...
In August '09 we were interviewed by journalist Kim Hone-McMahan of the Akron Beacon Journal. Click here to read the piece. Thanks to our Facebook friends for sharing their thoughts on how romance novels can help readers through difficult economic times. And to Harlequin's knockout Katherine Orr for pointing Kim in our direction!
Magnificent Michelle Buonfiglio of myLifetime.com's Romance B(u)y the Book Blog has included A Few Good Men in her Hot Reads for Chilly Nights recommendation list in her January newsletter.
Check out the Astoria Gumshoe piece on our Sofie that appeared in the Astoria Times last month by clicking here. Warm thanks to April Isaacs for the great convo!
We just received the great news that two of our 2008 titles have been nominated for the Romantic Times BookReview's Reviewers' Choice Awards! RESTLESS aka Gauge's book in the Best Harlequin Blaze category, while WORKING STIFF is in the Best Amateur Sleuth category. Woohoo! Warm thanks to the entire Romantic Times crew.
The German Love Letter Magazine has included a piece on us and what our girl Sofie Metropolis would eat for Valentine's Day (2/08). (Given her recent experiences with men, we included items with lots of garlic and pork...only she probably should have listened to the male Greeks in her family who insist that both actually stimulate the sex drive!) Click here to check out more info on the mag. Our thanks to Kris Alice Hohls for her warm generosity.
Have you seen the special review piece of us and our novels -- especially our Sofie Metropolis series -- in The National Herald May 1st? If not, read it now! Our warm thanks to fellow author Aphrodite Matsakis for the wonderful experience.
Read Tony's Q&A with reporter George Kakarnias in December 9, 2006 National Herald's Periodiko.
ROMANTIC TIMES 4 1/2 TOP PICK!
Our RT Top Pick BLAZE is still available. That's right. Bad girls and great buds Leslie Kelly and Julie Elizabeth Leto and we have put our heads together to bring you three brand-spanking new members of The Bad Girls Club. Our title TAKEN kicks off everything this month, and Julie and Leslie's books STRIPPED and OVEREXPOSED follow in August and September. Check out info on all three titles, and the original Bad Girls titles released by Harlequin Temptation, by clicking here. Then place your order by clicking here.
Romantic Times' Page Traynor says in her Top Pick review, "[TAKEN] has it all -- sex, excitement, emotion and two wonderful characters."
Wonderful Patti Fischer of Romance Reviews Today interviewed us for the popular blog series Ask Five. Thanks to Patti and for everyone else for coming out! Click here to check out the posts.
We're honored to not only accept the 2006 Reviewers International Award of Excellence (RIO), we just received the fab news that DIRTY LAUNDRY has also been nominated for The National Readers Choice Award! Woohoo! An embarrassment of riches, really.
What We're Reading...
Too many great books, too little time! But we just had to make time for these titles:
Some Like It Wild
Teresa Medeiros
Dragon's Lair - Silhouette Nocturne
Denise Lynn
A Taste of Magic
Tracy Madison
Dagger-Star
Elizabeth Vaughan
This Year it Will be Different
Maeve Binchy (an annual Holiday favorite)
Walk Past the Wolf
Scrivener Minion
Commanded to His Bed
Denise Lynn
Falcon's Heart
Denise Lynn
Warlord
Elizabeth Vaughan
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
by Terry McMillan
Mating Flight
Shay Lacy
Annual Favorite:
This Year It Will Be Different
Maeve Binchy
In The Company of Ogres
A. Lee Martinez
All She Wants - Anthology
Dominique Adair & Jaid Black
The Vampire
Who Loved Me
Teresa Medeiros
The Invasion of Falgannon Isle
by Deborah MacGillivray
Playing Nice
by Kit Daniels
The Gossip Queens
Harlequin NEXT
by Kate Austin
His Best
Friend's Baby
Harlequin Superromance
by Molly O'Keefe
The Inquisitor
by Gayle Wilson
Her Better Half
Harlequin NEXT
by C.J. Carmichael
SIN
by Sharon Page
A Restless Knight by
Deborah MacGillivray
Vanished
by Karen Robards
Limitations
by Scott Turow
Cross My Heart by
Carly Phillips
Secret Society Girl by
Diana Peterfreund
No Law Against Love
Anthology
Leanne Burroughs & DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Profits go to fight breast cancer
On Being a Writer
Strickland
100 Great American Novels
Edited by Albert H. Morehead, Harold J. Blum and others
A . Lee Martinez's
Gil's All Fright Diner
Maureen Corrigan's
Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading
Marueen Dowd's
Are Men Necessary?
Teresa Medeiros's
After Midnight
Leslie Kelly's
She's Got The Look
And this month's nonfiction pick, Pamela Paul's
Pornified
Look for our ad in the special National Herald Holiday insert on December 5, 2006.
Keep your eyes peeled for a piece on us in Periodiko December 9, 2006.
NEWS ALERT! Many of you may remember us talking about the taping of a Bravo! Canada documentary on romance sometime back. Well, hold onto your socks because we just received the great news from Joanna D'Angelo and Christine Alexiou that it's set to premiere this coming Thursday, March 8th, at 8:30 p.m. ET! To view an exclusive preview clip of "Who’s Afraid of Happy Endings?" or for more information please check out http://www.gapc.com.
Check your local listings or log onto http://www.bravo.ca for specific times in your viewing area (available in Canada only. We're keeping posted on when it will be available on Bravo! America). We play a very small, non-speaking, supporting roll in the piece, but we'll be watching to see friends and our favorite authors and to cheer on Joanna and Christine on a job well done. Go to http://missmakeamovie.
blogspot.com/ to post to Joanna's blog. WTG, guys!
HAPPY 25th, OCC!
That's right, the Orange County Chapter of the Romance Writers of America turns 25 this month. Amazing, isn't it? While we haven't been members for quite that long, we have belonged long enough to know that we adore these guys. Check out their website by clicking here.
REVIEWERS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION'S (RIO) 2005 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Our girl SOFIE METROPOLIS has been honored with the RIO's Award of Excellence and our November 2005 Blaze Possession came in third in the same category. Heartfelt thanks to all the reviewers. This isn't a contest you enter, but rather one for which you're nominated, which makes the experience all the sweeter. Check out the full list of winners by clicking here.
NATIONAL READERS' CHOICE
AWARD NOMINEES
 A Real McCoy was been nominated for the NRCA in the Single Title category. Congrats to our fellow nominees, two of whom happened to be great buds Leslie Kelly and Vicki Lewis Thompson. Click here to see the full list of this year's nominees and winners.
The "Dirty" World of Publishing...
Delightful Kelsey Nowakowski wrote up a piece on us to promo our Library appearance for the April 5th edition of the Toledo City Paper. Click here to read the text.
We were featured in Romantic Times BOOKClub's on-line Ask the Author section Monday, April 10th thru Sunday the 23rd. Click here to check out the bulletin board headers and to read the posts. The folder is not closed, so no new posts are being accepted.
BEN & JERRY'S
GOES GREEK?
That's right. As part of their latest Do Us a Flavor Contest, Ben & Jerry's is offering up Baklava Ice Cream, a sweet Greek treat designed to rock your Acropolis! Let's take this flavor from temporary fling to full out happily-ever-after. Click here to find a scoop shop near you.
Word has it that there's a new must-join group on the block. Join pal and talented author Jane Porter's Friends and Authors group at Yahoogroups.com by clicking here.
Squawk Radio
is a fantastic place to hang out. Just make sure you have the time to spare 'cause this place is highly addictive! Our piece entitled My Big, Fat Greek Christmas went live Saturday, December 17th and we posted to the blog throughout the day. Check it out by going to the archives of Squawk Radio now!
Patricia Rouse's
Romance Top Pick List of 2005 is out and she chose SOFIE METROPOLIS as her Favorite Debut Comedic Mystery! Thanks, Pat!
Yes! Fantabulous DeborahAnne MacGillivray has sold not just her first book, but four -- count 'em four! -- whopping titles to two different publishers. Warm congrats, sweetie!
You won't want to miss these titles coming from Kensington Zebra:
A Restless Knight - 7/2006
Ravenhawke's Lady - 10/ 2006
DeborahAnne says, "The books are Scottish Medieval Historicals set in the period of William Wallace's rising - They're loosely based on my family's life in Scotland during that time." Too hot!
And a contemporary ST we happened to judge the opening pages of in the OCC contest and loved! (Incidentally, that's how we 'met.' We told her to contact us, and she did.<vbg's>) This one -- along with another in the series -- will be out from Dorchester:
Invasion of Falgannon Isle - 2006
Riding the Thunder - TBA
We can't wait to get our hot little hands on all four of these books!
JUDGING BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS
At All About Romance Novels, they've chosen the best and worst covers of 2004. Go check out the finalists and vote on your own personal favs by clicking here before April 15th! Psst, our March 2004 Special Edition Where You Least Expect It is a finalist! ;>
2004 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominees Named!
And we've been nominated for Best Silhouette Special Edition for our March 2004 release Where You Least Expect It Our humblest thanks to RT and over 35 reviewers. You can bet we're going to be at the convention in St. Louis in April! Check out more info by clicking here.
LUCK OF THE IRISH?
Marvelous DeborahAnne MacGillivray passed on the phenomenal news in March that three -- count 'em, three! -- of our 2004 titles are recipients of the Reviewers International Organization's (RIO) Award of Excellence! And two additional titles are runners up. Our March 2004 Silhouette Special Edition Where You Least Expect It and our August Blaze Wicked ran away with first place in the Favorite Short Contemporary category. And License to Thrill in Marry Me...Maybe? was chosen for Favorite Story from an Anthology! Since this isn't a contest you enter, but one where reviewers everywhere nominate titles then choose from the final pool...well, we're doubly bowled over by the news. Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you to all the reviewers. Your vote of confidence is enough to fuel us through the next year of false starts and roadblocks so we might write even more! Click here to check out the full list of winners. And while you're there, check out their new fabulous Forum.
ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER'S ORANGE ROSE WINNER!
Our April 2003 Temptation Private Investigations won the Orange Rose in the Best Short Contemporary Category! Warmest thanks to the judges and the coordinators.
Proud recipients of:
RT Reviewers Choice Award,
Reviewers Intl Organizations Dorothy Parker Award for Excellence, Holt Medallion Award, Orange County Golden Blossom and Rose Awards and The Windy City Choice Award
Waldenbooks Top Ten Series Best-Seller!
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