Categories
Book Club

#iwsgbookclub June 2022 Check-in

It’s time for a monthly check-in. We, at the IWSG Book Club, invite you to share your thoughts and or progress on our current member spotlight books via the social media platform(s) of your choice. I’ll be sharing my thoughts below and encourage you to share in the comments below, if you’re not up for heading to social media.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Amazon.com | Bookshop.org

Just finished this and loved it. Already have the rest in the series.

Amazon.com | Bookshop.org

Just started this one today. I’ve heard good things and am looking forward to it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG June 2022- When the going gets tough.

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If you have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?

In truth, sometimes I don’t. There have been times when I’ve been able to push through a rough patch and make a story happen, but I never feel satisfied when I do that. I often would rather walk away from a story than force it. Fortunately for me, I usually end up going back to it, but that’s part of the beauty of working on multiple WIPs at once. There are those rare times when no writing is happening. Again, I’ve forced it a few times, but now I don’t. If it feels forced, that means I’m not enjoying it and it isn’t helping me in any way. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to complete a longer writing project because of this but I’ve learned that I don’t have any deadlines other than the ones I’ve put on myself.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of June are Wielder’s Prize (Wielder’s Prize #1) by Elle Cardy (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org) and The Futhark Chronicles Book One: Keepers of Sulbreth by Susan Gourley (Amazon.com). Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

 

Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

10) Another great way to make your books findable and or grow your readership, is to post articles on your blog about your books. Not just samples from the text, but articles of interest- things people might want to know or like to know that are somehow related to the content and or themes within your books. These are the types of articles that get shared organically on social media. For those who are a bit more daring than the average writer, also consider creating video content in the same fashion. When I first published, my now unpublished paranormal series- pending a rewrite, I posted a short video series explaining my geekish inspirations. Many people discovered my videos and later showed interest in the books. You can create posts about your inspirations, important themes, and even advocate for causes that line up with the content of your book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction.

Reminder: Here’s our spotlight schedule.
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry (Facebook) = Apr, Aug, Dec

Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.

Please click this hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I really like my job and love the company I work for, but some days are harder, plain and simple. Yesterday was one of those days, so I took some time to process, thus this late post. Outside of that, I’ve been hanging in there. I’ve been dealing with some pain in my shoulder that I still haven’t had any major resolve to, but I keep moving forward. Hope to find some relief soon.

I’ve been writing and illustrating a lot and have a lot to share with my YouTube and Patreon community in the coming weeks. I’ve done two live events and now need a break. I know I should probably be trying to build on this momentum, but I know my limitations. I have some ideas for events in the Fall.

I’m halfway through the process of redistributing all my ebooks wide. Once I’m all done I’ll share all my new links here. For now, as the process rolls out, I’ve been updating the links on my individual/category book pages.

Here’s the latest on my YouTube series, The Read Local Show (Hampton Roads, VA, USA) and The Read All Over Show (global). I’ve been having so much fun with this.

If you’re interested in being featured: check out the Read Local/All Over Sign-up form here.

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What do you do when the writing gets tough?
Gonna check out one of the IWSG Book Club Spotlight reads?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
SE White,
Cathrina Constantine,
Natalie Aguire,
Joylene Nowell Butler, and
Jacqui Murray!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
Books

#Bookreview: Torn from Troy #epic #myth

This is a special post I do once a month to highlight a book I reviewed some time ago, but never actually featured on my blog. Because this is an author blog and not a book blog, I don’t always feature all the books I read. Like all good and dedicated fans of the written word, I do my part and leave reviews on Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, and sometimes other places, but don’t always bring attention to what I’m reading, unless you follow me on YouTube… hint, hint, wink wink 😉 In any case, please enjoy this review of a book I read at some point in my life.

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Goodreads

Title:  Torn from Troy

Series: Odyssey of a Slave #1

Author: Patrick Bowman

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Mythology

Pages: Audio Download (199)

Reading Level: Teen

Content: PG-13 (violence, adult situations and content, oppression)

It doesn’t take long for the action of this story to pick up, none the less, I had trouble getting into it. I received a free audio version of this book from a summer reading program I signed up for and was determined the give the book a fair shot. I’m glad I did. The overall story and lasting impression was good. It’s a different spin on an ageless tale and I’m glad I finished the first installment.

After the fires of the Trojan War have burned out, Alexi, a 15-year-old Trojan is taken as a slave by the Greeks and sent abroad to serve them on their journey because he just happens to speak Greek. The typical tale of the Odyssey is there in the background of this story, but all the vantage points are skewed. The great Grecian heroes are perceived as dirty barbaric oppressors and poor Alexi is caught between doing what must be done to survive or deciding whether or not there’s any point to trying to escape.   With dangers lurking around every corner, path, and even wave, being a slave to the Greek armada might just be the safest place for him, if they don’t kill him first.

For me, this story is interesting enough to warrant me reading the next book, but then I do have a thing for finishing what I’ve started. I think this adventure will greatly appeal to the younger readers it’s targeted to, especially since many of them may not be as familiar with the original story as I am.

I’d recommend this to pre-teen and teen readers as well as anyone who likes new takes on old myths.

I give this book a 3.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link: Amazon

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords