Antoinette, called Toni by family and friends since her early childhood, uses real life experiences in her writing which helps to give her novels a true depth of feeling and believability unable to be captured by imagination alone. Both humorous and dramatic events have been gleaned from her own life, as well as the lives of her close knit family, and woven into the tapestry of her stories, imparting a fullness and richness to her tales.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Antoinette is a third generation American of Italian heritage.
Her family is originally from the Abruzzi Region of Italy, as so many other families are who went on to populate areas up and down the Eastern coast of our country. Antoinette has an older sister and three younger brothers and grew up surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins in a neighborhood that was just a short walk from the famed Philly Outdoor Italian Market.

Antoinette has been married to Dominic, who works in Finance, for more than 12 years and, although she was the first in her family to attend college and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Antoinette was employed in a variety of different jobs until she was able to become a stay at home mom.

The couple has three children: Dom Jr., Lucia, and Vincent. They now live in one of the City’s many outlying suburbs, but still close enough so that the extended family is able get together frequently.

Antoinette’s main creative outlet is found in writing inspirational poems, essays, short stories, and Christian Romance novels, as well as Mysteries and Suspense. But she also does Pen and Ink illustrations and enjoys gardening, tending to both a Butterfly Garden that surrounds their modest English Tudor style home and a Kitchen Garden where she gets the fresh herbs and vegetables used for family meals.