1. What was the first book you remember reading? Can you describe the cover of the book and did you like the cover?

To skip past thin kids’ books, I’ll go straight to the first book I remember which had a real effect on me – the classic Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.

I can’t remember much about the cover except that it had a blond girl on it and I think there was some lavender in the background. I don’t remember really liking the cover much at all, but I think the title caught my eye. And a love affair with the book was born. (Incidentally, I stopped to research this and I must be remembering it totally wrong – since THIS is the cover that looks most familiar to me.)

2. When did you first know you were destined to be a writer?

One day when I was ten, I woke up and told my mother I was going to be a writer when I grew up. Then I proceeded to write my first novel, nineteen notebook pages long.

3. Have you ever purchased a book because of the cover alone? If yes, which one and why?

I have, actually, and it’s called 203 Ways To Drive A Man Wild In Bed . The cover has no print on it whatsoever and is simply a gorgeous little red hardcover book. The cover of that book helped inspire my book, The Red Diary – I bought it because it’s exactly what I envisioned Lauren’s racy diary looking like.

4. What trends do you see in book covers currently and in the future?

Well, the bucolic, small-town cover has certainly come back into vogue and that really works both for my current books and my personal taste. It also seems to me to be a time when we’re seeing less super-erotic feeling covers, sometimes even on very erotic books – like we’re in a period of “less is more.”

5. Who gave you your first break in publishing?

Hilary Sares at Kensington bought my first three books for the Precious Gems line in 1998.

6. What was your first published book and what did the cover look like? Did you love it or hate it and why?

The Cinderella Scheme, and actually, I loved the cover. It’s a typical category romance cover, but it fits the story perfectly and both the hero and heroine were portrayed almost exactly as I imagined them.

7. What has been your least favorite cover from all of your releases and why?

Wow, that’s a toughie. Guess I’ll have to go with Mad About Mindy…And Mandy. I love a lot of cartoon covers, but this one just didn’t float my boat much.

8. What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

Wow, another tricky one because cover gods have frequently blessed me. But I guess I’d have to go with One Reckless Summer, the first book in my Destiny series. Besides the gorgeous peaceful lake setting on the cover and the fact that it suits the book so well, it’s sort of … the cover I first imagined having when I started writing romance. So when I finally got that cover, it felt like coming full circle.

9. Do you believe a cover can increase or decrease the sales of a book? Have any covers affected the sales of your books?

Absolutely – a cover not only needs to be appealing, but it should also give an accurate “sense” of what the reader can expect. And I feel that the One Reckless Summer packaging ultimately played a big role in leading that book to success. (And getting a nod from Eloisa James didn’t hurt, either.)

10. Do you have a current or upcoming release to share with Cover Cafe? Please give us the details and a peek at the cover, too!

I’m right in between releases right now, so I hope you’ll indulge me in sharing both the most recent and the upcoming one. Whisper Falls, Book 3 in the Destiny series came out in January, 2011 and I really love this cover! It’s simply pretty and friendly and the colors are gorgeous. And book 4 in the series, Holly Lane, my first Christmas book, comes out in November, 2011. And this is the first time I’ve shared the cover anywhere, so consider it a scoop.

Toni Blake's website

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