HILTON, Joni 1956-

PERSONAL: Born 1956, in San Diego, CA; married Bob Hilton (a television news anchor), August 22, 1986; children: Richie, Brandon, Cassidy, Nicole. Education: California State University—Northridge, B.A. (journalism; summa cum laude), 1978; University of Southern California, M.F.A. (summa cum laude), 1981. Hobbies and other interests: Recipe and cooking contests.

ADDRESSES: Home—831 Morris Way, Sacramento, CA 95864; fax: 916-485-5678. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Journalist and broadcaster. Hour Family (syndicated television specials), cohost; host of daily television program in Los Angeles, CA, for four years; guest on radio programs; national spokesperson for various corporations.

WRITINGS:

Braces, Gym Suits, and Early-Morning Seminary: A Youthquake Survival Manual, Covenant Communications (Salt Lake City, UT), 1985.

Five-Minute Miracles: 373 Quick Daily Projects for You and Your Kids to Share, Running Press, 1992.

Guilt-free Motherhood: How to Raise Great Kids and Have Fun Doing It, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1996.

Honey on Hot Bread and Other Heartfelt Wishes, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1997.

Family Fun Book: More than 400 Amazing, Amusing, and All-around Awesome Activities for the Entire Family!, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1998.

The Once-a-Week Cooking Plan: Th Incredible Cooking Program That Will Save You Twenty Hours a Week (and Have Your Family Begging for More!), Prima Publishing (Rocklin, CA), 1999.

Housekeeping Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me, Prima Publishing (Roseville, CA), 2001.

Cooking Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me, Prima Publishing (Roseville, CA), 2001.

Author of screenplays, television episodes, film treatments, adaptations, and stage plays. Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Family Circle, Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, Family Fun, Ladies' Home Journal, and Woman's Day.

novels

Dating: No Guts, No Glory (for teens), Covenant Communications (Salt Lake City, UT), 1989.

As the Ward Turns, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1991.

Around the Ward in Eighty Days, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1993.

Scrambled Home Evenings, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1994.

That's What Friends Are For (for teens), Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1997.

Stop the Ward: I Want to Get Off!, Covenant Communications (American Fork, UT), 1999.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Art of Prayer, for Covenant Communications; a novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Joni Hilton told CA: "My writing process consists of snatching a few minutes here and there as I raise four active children. I cannot afford the luxury of waiting for inspiration; I just sit down and 'force-write.' Luckily, this seems to work.

"Most of my writing is humorous, although some have argued. I write for two audiences: mainstream and Mormon. In both cases, I try to help us laugh at ourselves and thus retain sanity. Many of my magazine pieces reflect this same goal."