AN INSPIRATIONAL author and mother from Overton used her love of writing to quit drinking during lockdown and complete her dream of publishing a series of books.

Mother of four Toni Wingrove is the author behind The Rossi Mafia Trilogy series, which she started writing during the Covid lockdown in an attempt to turn her life around.

Although lockdown was a dark time for many people Toni used the time to focus on herself, she stopped drinking and spent time figuring out what she wanted out of life.

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She said: “I was reading and reading and I used to find I would get bored of Mafia novels and the women were always depicted as being weak and mild and men were always the dominant ones. In a lot of Mafia books, women were always depicted as a tool for them to use. They were not respected for who they were and I just sat down one day and I thought I am going to write.”

However, this was not her only inspiration.

She continued: “Everyone I have spoken to has told me I have been a massive inspiration to them because I made some major changes in my life and I ended up feeling self-satisfied. During Covid I gave up alcohol and this is coming from somebody who would come home from the school run and soon as I started cooking dinner I would open a bottle of wine.

“Lockdown was a time to look after me for a change because being a mum your life just resolves around them. During Covid it was the time for me to just centre on who I was and what I wanted out of life. It was an eye-opener for me.”

There are three books in the exciting series. In the first book Lilies for Alex readers are introduced to married couple Kate and Alex. Alex is killed in a car crash but Kate soon discovers the world that he then kept hidden from her.

The second book in the series, Roses for Benni is based on the story of Alex’s middle brother called Benny, who Toni said readers fall in love with in the first book. While the third book is entitled Orchids for Dante.

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Toni added: “Dante is the eldest brother and the Rossi Don in book three. As a quiet yet domineering person it took a woman with an iron backbone to secure his attention."

Writing also become a tool to help Toni grieve after her daughter’s death and she is immensely proud of her achievements.