People Underestimate the Value of a Good Ramble

All About Toni

My name is Toni Rankin, but pretty much everywhere online, I'm BuffyGroupie.  I'm kind of a geek, to the dismay of my husband, who was captain of his football team, but then it takes all kinds.  I love fantasy, sci-fi and horror, especially vampires, but I don't like it to take itself too seriously.  I'm also a bit of a history buff.

Television/Movies:
My greatest love is for the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (hence my name) and all other things related to its amazing creator, Joss Whedon, which also includes Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Buffy Season 8 comic books, and whatever else he chooses to do.  I started watching Buffy when the first season was in repeats and I've been hooked ever since.  I've seen each and every episode probably 20 times. 

I also love Doctor Who and Torchwood.  My Doctor Who love began back in the 70's, when the fabulous Tom Baker was playing the fourth doctor and the series made its way to American TV via public television.  When our local station dropped the show in the 80's, I was heartbroken.  Its reincarnation in the new series was very welcome, as was the spinoff, Torchwood. 

Books/Writing:
I can't remember when I didn't read, but I'm not sure who taught me.  I do remember when I entered Kindergarten, they tried to teach us diphthongs, those weird little hybrid letters, and it was just confusing cause I could already read.  I love books, even just being around them, so that libraries and book stores, especially those little out of the way places full of used books, are among my favorite places to be.  I was probably around 11 or 12 when my brother-in-law introduced me to the worlds of fantasy, sci-fi and horror, through novels and comic books.  I remember he had thousands of comic books in boxes in his basement - my sister didn't understand and wouldn't allow them to take up space in her house - so I would grab big handfuls and sit and read them by the hour in her sun room. 

I grew up wanting to be a writer.  I used to fill notebooks by the dozens with short stories and unfinished novels.  Although life and circumstances have not yet allowed me to make my living as a writer, or made me a millionaire by writing the great American novel, blogging has allowed me the opportunity to write stuff that people actually read.  Of course, if you're interested in seeing any of those notebooks, I'm pretty sure something can be arranged.