Hands down, penning a bio is always the most
difficult writing challenge we take on. What do we say? What
do we keep a secret? Considering we've been writing together
for over twenty-one years...well, that reveals more about
us than anything you'll likely read here. We're fiction writers
simply because we enjoy escaping into an exciting, colorful,
fictional world of our own making. Take great, shameless pleasure
in delving into the lives of others. Revel in living vicariously
through our characters, trying on career hats we'd never otherwise
put on, stretching muscles we'd probably be better off excercising
in reality. We won't even discuss how our writing allows us
to voice opinions on society, romance and human sexuality
that aren't subject to public ridicule but rather presented
as entertainment. To go there, well, we'd be revealing a little
too much, now, wouldn't we?
So we'll stick to just the facts, ma'am -- or sir, depending
on your preference, which may or may not have anything to
do with your sex. Should you desire more information, feel
free to e-mail us and we'll provide you
with our phone number, or -- our preference -- arrange to
meet with you one-on-one where we can learn as much, or perhaps
more, about you as you will about us. Depending on our mood,
we may spill everything we'd prefer to keep a secret, like
which traits we would change about the other if given half
a chance. Likewise, we may wisecrack our way through the interview,
sprinkle our responses with what we find exciting about our
latest book, and blissfully skate over personal details that
might bare a little too much.
Trust us, this is not an attempt to create an aura of mystery.
We're not quite that saavy. No, we're just very protective
of our evolving selves and consider ourselves open-minded,
known to change an opinion the moment we voice it or are presented
with further information, so we're hesitant to commit any
to writing. Guess we're very Socrates-like (as opposed to
Socratic) in that way, which isn't altogether a bad thing..
So rather than dictate to you here, we'll lay out the basic
facts, then provide a number of links to others who have interviewed
us.
I'm (Lori Schlachter Karayianni) a Holy Toledo, Ohio, native,
having attended Central Catholic but ultimately graduating
from Macomber-Whitney with certification in computer science.
After working in the computer industry for a number of years
-- and after Tony and I endeavored to write our first novel
-- I switched to temp work which ultimately led to a four-year
stint as a secretary/sales clerk in the engineering and international
sales departments of Owens-Illinois, the international container
company that put the "glass" into The Glass City.
I put the brakes on before I reached the five-year mark, however,
the point of no return for most dreamers who get caught in
the corporate trap (more vacation time? Better benefits? Probably
I should stay until retirement).
Tony's background couldn't be more different from mine, but
thankfully it led him to me. Born in Smila, a small hillside
village in the area of Ancient Olympia outside Pyrgos, Greece,
(where his family has deep roots and an older brother still
maintains the family olive groves) he was raised in Athens
during a time of political and cultural upheaval, although
neither stopped him from becoming a drummer in a successful
pop band that often played with Greek singer Teris Chrysos.
He immigrated to the U.S. in late 1976 and with the help of
the Greek community achieved the American Dream. Only the
hunger for something more, the restless searching that originally
compelled him to turn his back on his successful music career
and brought him here, remained. It wasn't until after we'd
become a couple, and he turned to me and suggested that we
try our hand at writing, that both of us discovered the true
meaning of the word "dream." And we like to say
that we've been living it ever since.
We began writing in June of 1984. Always as a collaborative
team, meaning that when Tony suggested we try our hand at
writing, we did so: together. We began with romance, simply
because that's what our first book evolved into. But mystery
has always held a special appeal for us, and while all our
books contain a measure of the same, we were thrilled when
our our agent Robert Gottlieb contracted with Forge/Tor
for us to write our own comedy-mystery series for the hardcover
market. SOFIE
METROPOLIS was released in June of 2005, with
the mass market paperback edition due out in April 2006, and
the next hardcover title in the series DIRTY LAUNDRY
scheduled for May 2006 release.
Aside from the Writing to Sell Fiction Diploma
Tony earned from Writer's Digest School, we consider ourselves
proud graduates of HKU (The University of Hard Knocks), with
Bachelors in Humility, Masters in Commercial Hooks and Ph.D.'s
in Trial and Error. Beyond the countless writers conferences,
seminars, workshops and symposiums we've attended over the
years, our ever-changing handle on craft and voice stems directly
from writing, re-writing, and writing again. And from working
with the great team of agents at Trident Media Group, and
our extraordinary editors Brenda Chin of Harlequin and Melissa
Ann Singer of Forge/Tor. Our route was a circuitous one to
be sure, but one that has afforded a treasure trove of experiences
we otherwise might not have enjoyed.
After
countless years, and a mountain of rejection letters, we sold our first book
in January 1998. Our next Forge hardcover DIRTY LAUNDRY in
April 2006 will mark our 33rd original published title. Click
here for a full bibliography.
We count our adult sons Tony, Jr. and Tim as our own personal
heroes. Along with cats Ari(stotle), Patch, and another female
named Spike, we call Toledo, Ohio home base, but also travel
to Athens, Greece -- Tony’s hometown -- as often as
we can to breathe in all things Greek.
(Click here
to browse through our personal and professional photo album,
including entries from our two-month, crosscountry 2005
Baklava Express Tour.)
Television appearances include: FOX 6's Good
Day Alabama in Birmingham (live); WBIR-TV NBC's Style with
Moira Kaye, Knoxville; Knoxville’s CBS's Volunteer TV
Cooking with Uncle Walt during noon news (live); and ICN6's
Northern Kentucky Magazine (live).
Radio includes: Cincinnati’s WRRS-FM's
Cover to Cover; Toledo’s 92.5 FM (live); Tampa’s
WXYB 1520 AM (live); Philadelphia’s B101.1 FM Women's
File; NY's Aktina at 91.5 FM (live).
Audiences include:
Featured luncheon speakers at the Ohio
Library Council's annual convention 10/12/07.
Featured luncheon speakers at Medina County's Writers
Live 19/11/07.
For more info on our many speaking engagements, please refer
to our Travel Blog by clicking here.
The authors’ motto is “have aprons, will cook.”
They also frequently speak to writing and reading and library
groups on myriad topics.
