About Toni ...

Italian heritage

My mother was born in a small village near Cassino, in southern Italy. The story she told of being hidden with her siblings inside wine barrels in an old pigsty during the German occupation of Italy, was the inspiration behind the original draft of The Cause Of All Fear.

‘Viola’ was my Italian grandmother’s maiden name.

Independent Crime Writer

I am an 'Indie' crime thriller author and a proud member of The Alliance Of Independent Authors (Alli) and the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA).

Legacy

My writing career began when I responded to an advert for a horse racing magazine. I contributed articles for several years and had a book published. This formative writing experience resulted in two novels for younger readers. That was then ...

AI Statement

AI Policy

I am an independent author. A proud ‘indie’ and a ‘human’ author. The following sets out my use of artificial intelligence (AI) in my creative work. All my books are products of my imagination. I do not use AI to produce my stories, including plot, character, or scenes, and my use of AI is consistent with the Alliance of Independent Authors and Amazon guidelines.

"I declare use of AI and other tools where appropriate. I edit and curate the output of any generative text tool I use to ensure the text is not discriminatory, libelous, an infringement of copyright, or otherwise illegal or illicit. I recognize that it is my job, not the job of the AI tool or service I use, to ensure I am legally compliant."

Amazon Guidelines

AI-assisted: If you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content (whether text or images), then it is considered “AI-assisted” and not “AI-generated.” Similarly, if you used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text or images yourself, this is also considered “AI-assisted” and not “AI-generated.” It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes.

Resources

Microsoft Word Editor - grammar, spelling, and syntax checks.

ProWritingAid - grammar checker, style editor, and consistency checks.

Canva - online graphic design tool, used to create social media posts, videos, book covers etc.

Microsoft Copilot / Chat GPT / Google Gemini - AI tools to produce character / scene images etc.

ElevenLabs - AI voice narration. Download the audiobooks at ElevenLabs reader and Spotify