Author: Toi Thomas

Author and illustrator of children's books, as well as clean adult fiction and nonfiction. Toi is a geek-girl blogger, vlogger, reviewer, and advocate for a healthy reading lifestyle. She finds comfort in faith, family, and creative expression. Toi believes in the dream of world harmony and hopes all your dreams come true.

Categories
Full Moon WIP Updates

Unstuck :D

Ok so, I was stuck for a lot longer than I thought I would be. That eleventh chapter of “It’s Like a Full Moon” was haunting and taunting me for days. I couldn’t figure out what to do to mix up the story and move forward. Finally I had a break through.

I have been reading like a mad woman lately trying to finish stories for enjoyment as well as for review. Plus I’ve been fairly busy interviewing other authors, but think it was the interviews that made the light bulb go off in my head. One of the authors I was interviewing answered a question by providing a very unexpected answer. It was clear that there was a misunderstanding about the nature of the question. Once all things were cleared up, the answer made much or sense.

Later as I sat in front of my laptop, staring into to the abyss of white, while my cursor blinked mockingly at me, the words began to rattle around in brain. I started writing and didn’t stop until chapter 12 was completed and my story was ready to take a whole new exciting direction.

What I think I failed to realize before was that even if I came up with a great angle to spin my story on, I couldn’t just have it happen out of the blue.  That’s when I thought about the funny misunderstanding with that interview.  Well after that, it didn’t take long for me to come up with a great misunderstanding for two of my other characters to get caught up in, which just so happen to pull my heroine, Rebecca, right into the middle of.

So now my little romance is making its slow descent from its climatic plateau towards the conclusion of this tale. Hopefully I’ll be able to fill up another ten or so chapters working out a way for Rebecca, Teddy, Lisa, Paul, and even the quirky parents to all find love or at least lifelong companionship. (see article Stuck! For reference)

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I’ve been interviewing authors over at the Eternal Curse Series Blog, check it out to see what author Jimi Akanbi has been up to.

Interview: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/12/interview-06.html

Guest Post: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/12/guest-post-03-jimi-akanbi.html

Categories
Reviews

Reading Reviews

I ask and ask and then finally I asked the right question to the right people. What did I ask? Well simply, who wouldn’t mind reviewing my book…and no I didn’t pay anyone to do it. I just wanted to know what someone outside of my family really thought of my book. I was connected with a few people to see if there was interest and ‘tada!’ I got reviews… and honest ones at that.

I’m thrilled to know that though my book may not be the next great American novel, it hasn’t brought anyone into fits of rage with complete disgust. I’m also pleased to see that downloads of my free ebook have picked-up and will hopefully result in an increase of book sales.

In all I find that writing is still the one thing that keeps me going in the midst of all the chaos of life. Even though I desperately want my book to be widely popular and continue to take measures to help that along, I find that it’s not a bother to me or a worry. I guess I know that deep down in the back of my mind that no matter what happens I’m going to keep writing. I’m sure I’ll come across some highly opinionated person, eventually, who will tell me that my book is crap, but all long as I know I like it and at least five other people like it, I’m good.

Here are a few links to some of my reviews. Some are repetitive, but not all. There’s a good mixture of praise and criticism here, which I’m more than satisfied not to argue with. As a first time self-published author, I’m pleased with this achievement.

GoodReads-book description and reviews.

Amazon– book description and reviews.

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I’ve been interviewing authors over at the Eternal Curse Series Blog, check it out to see what author Bridget Straub has been up to.

Interview: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/11/interview-05.html

Guest Post: http://ecsuniverse.blogspot.com/2012/11/guest-post-02-bridget-straub.html

Categories
Full Moon WIP Updates

Stuck!

Well I’ve written two more chapters of my new romance, but now I’m stuck. Excuse the expression if it offends, but praise Jesus I don’t have writer’s block. I’ve been steadily writing and working on this and other stories, but I’ve come to a part in my romance where I’m just not sure which way to take it. In my attempt to take a not so new or original idea and mix it up a bit, I’ve mixed it up so much I can’t seem to settle it down.

Rebecca’s character has evolved in the story, but all the rest of the characters have remained much the same. I guess the problem I’m having is trying to figure out what else I can do to mix things up without turning this into a comedy. I think I’m ready to bring out the other characters to put a spin on things, but I’m afraid I’ll end up making the others more interesting than my main character Rebecca.

So here’s what I’m dealing with. Lisa is Rebecca’s best friend. Teddy is Becca’s brother. Paul is Teddy’s new best friend. Mr. Thornton is Paul’s father. Ms. Rapture is Teddy and Becca’s mother, Lucy is their aunt, and Virgil is Becca’s fiancé. There are a few more minor characters, but I think I’ve got my hands full with these.

Lisa is a mess to begin with so I don’t think it will be hard to stir up her character; all she needs is a fling or the experience of true love and that could be enough to turn the story around entirely. Rebecca could come to her friend’s aid in either getting over her fling or helping her understand how to be in love, while inadvertently answering some of her own tough questions about her relationship.

Teddy and Paul are both young virile men who have no trouble getting the attention of women, but they are opposites in their approaches. Teddy never takes women seriously while Paul is always looking for the one. I know there’s something here, I just have to figure out what.

The parents are hysterical already. Ms. Rapture, Lucy, and Mr. Thornton have been comically supportive up to this point, but I’m thinking of adding some kind of twist involving them. In any case, I have too many options that could work, but I have to choose just one. Or do I?

Next week at the Eternal Curse Series blog, I will be hosting author Bridget Straub. It’s sure to be a good time. Stop by and check it out.