Categories
Awards

Creative Blogger Award

Thank you so much to, The Armchair Squid, for nominating me for the Creative Blogger Award. Humbled is the only word I can think to describe how I feel about this. To receive this award from the Squid means so much because I respect and admire his role as blogger, book and movie reviewer, group leader and friend. I’m glad to accept this award and be in his company…

Of course I should have done this about a week ago, but being on vacation has affected my blogging schedule. The rules are listed below, but I’m breaking them a little.

The rules:

  1. Thank and post the link of the person who nominated you. Done.
  2. Share 5 facts about yourself to your readers. Below.
  3. Nominate 10-20 blogs and notify them. I only did one. 🙁
  4. Pass on the rules. <-Hello.

Five Facts:

  1. I love to bake, from the box and from scratch. I’m mastered cakes and biscotti and now I’m taking on pies and other pastries.
  2. I’m a bit of a Batman fan, just a little (no really a whole lot :D).
  3. I love dog, but don’t currently have one, which is why I dog sit.
  4. I thorough enjoy watching Hockey and Opera live, not on TV.
  5. I have just enough knowledge of computer graphics to be either dangerous or annoying, but I did manage to design the covers of my paranormal book series.

My nominee:

Toya’s Tales – I nominate Toya for several reasons and the fact that I love her name isn’t one of them. Toya writes a fashion blog and packs a lot of punch into her short and visually stimulating posts. I love how she interacts with her readers and reaches out to other bloggers. I also love how she features a piece of art work each week. Most blogs I read are author or book blogs, but I like stepping outside my comfort zone from time to time to see what Toya is sharing.

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

Categories
Awards

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Sorry I’m a little late to the party, but hopefully I’m making a good entrance. I am so thrilled and honored to be nominated for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award by Tricia Drammeh, a blogger and genuine person I admire. Thank you Tricia so much for this nomination. Please take some time to visit Tricia and see all the wonderful things she does to help promote and support others, while also being a blogger and author of high standards…Now it’s time to commence with the ceremony.

So here’s how it all works:
Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.
Answer the 10 questions given to you.
Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.
Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog.

When did you begin writing?

I begin writing when I was very young, but I never realized it was part of who I am until I stopped writing in college. After almost ten years of neglecting a part of me, words started flowing from me. In 2009 I completed the first draft of my first novel, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.

What writing project are you most proud of?

If feel like I should say my first novel, but the truth is something else entirely. I self-published a collection of short stories, some ideas I played around with to which some are more developed than others. That collection, In the Window, was my first real understanding of the desire I had to write stories in many genres and a realization of just how much I need to continue honing my skills.

What are you working on right now?

I’m trying to drive myself crazy writing the third installment in my Eternal Curse Series, rewrite a standalone contemporary (my first attempt at romance), and complete outlines for two other stories I’ve been nibbling at for the past two years.

What is your ideal writing retreat?

A quiet ranch out in the Midwest during spring. You get up each morning and do yoga or go jogging before gathering in a grand hall for breakfast with other writers. Then we all break out into classes and or critique sessions before gathering again for lunch. After lunch, everyone goes back to their small yet comfortable rooms to writer or not write (doodle, brainstorm, sleep, etc…). Everyone gathers for a big meal and then either plays trivia games, charades, or watches movies based on books.

What is your favorite dessert?

It used to be any kind of ice cream, which that’s still high up there, but lately I’ve been drawn to very rich tiramisu.

What is your favorite animal?

I adore animals, but admit that unwanted rodents in my home my not feel that love. If I had to pick one animal to keep as a pet for all time, I’d say a dog…I hope my pet turtle isn’t reading this.

Favorite song?

These arms of mine by Otis Redding…Next.

Favorite color?

Most hues of blue will do.

Favorite beverage?

This is tough for me; I get really attached to beverages at different periods in my life. For now I’d have to say organic apple juice.

If you could make any law you wanted, what would it be?

I’d make rape a capital offense. Sorry if that’s too dark and uncomfortable to some.

So I was late to the party and now I’m dropping the ball on my nominees. I should have spent more time considering them, but I didn’t want to put this off any longer. As for the bloggers I am nominating, I understand that not everyone participates in these kinds of awards (so no pressure there), but for me, this is a way to show that I appreciate what these people are doing and want to encourage others to see that they are putting out there. Here is my list of nominees (only 5, sorry):

M.C.V. Egan

Puney Bones

Sally Cronin

Tori J. Jones

Krystol Diggs

Please check out these bloggers and leave them a comment if you see something you like.

And, finally, here are ten questions for my nominees to answer on their own blogs:

  1. If resources were unlimited, would you rather have every book ever written, or every movie, or every song?
  2. What’s something fictional that you wish was real or could be real someday?
  3. If you had to change identities and start over: would you be someone completely different or about the same. (I’d love to see some examples.)
  4. When watching a good movie at home, what do you eat and or drink?
  5. When reading a good book, what do you eat or drink?
  6. What’s your favorite slang term (explain it please)?
  7. What’s currently your favorite hashtag?
  8. If your life story was going to be told would you want to: publish a diary or journal, write your autobiography, or hand-pick someone to write your biography for you?
  9. What do you seek long-term: fame and or influence, wealth, or happiness?
  10. What’s one topic you don’t like to discuss with the public (you’d rather just keep it private or intimate)?

Thanks bunches, Tricia, again for nominating me.

Thank you to all my nominees for being wonderful bloggers who inspire and motivate me!

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

Categories
Awards Videos

Very Inspiring Blogger Award #gratitude

veryinspiringblogaward

My buddy, the motivator of my journey into movie reviews, The Armchair Squid has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and I am almost speechless. It took me a few days to wrap my head around this and now I’m sharing it with the world. Thank you so much Squid for nominating me and providing me with a level of encouragement I didn’t realize I needed. You have made my week! 😀

Here are three things that have inspired me recently:
1)
Lemons. To me lemons have always symbolized opportunity, ever since I understood the phrase “make lemonade”. I’ve been dealt plenty of lemons recently, but have chosen to make lemonade at every turn. I just hope I don’t end up upsetting my tummy.

2) This driving dog inspires me for three reasons.

1. This is just so cute 8D.
2. Dogs are so willing to do things above and beyond, maybe even unnatural, to please the people they care about. I want to be more like dogs in that they can be so selfless.
3. If a dog can learn to drive a car, surely I can figure out a way to write a story that reaches into people’s hearts and makes them feel good. That’s all I really want, but it may be a bit much.

3) My sister who is also one of my nominees. Tori J. Jones inspires me in more ways than I have time or space to write here, and on top of all that, she’s the physical inspiration for the main female character in my book Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel. Tori is a full-time mom, a full-time art student, a full-time cyber entrepreneur, daily –weekly blogger, and she volunteers her time at Church, the PTA, and women’s shelters. Maybe I should just write a story about her; it’s bound to me a phenomenal read.

My nominations:
I am well aware that these awards aren’t for everyone and also realize that some of the people I’d like to nominate may have already been nominated. In any case, I’m taking lemons and using them as an opportunity to honor and or promote a few bloggers who inspire me daily and weekly. Even if they wish not to participate, I’m proud to give them a shout out and say, “Thanks for inspiring me.”

M.C.V. Egan – an amazing promoter and advocate for peace; an all-around fun person
Stacy Rourke – wonderful sense of humor, wonderful promoter and author
Wiz Green – wonderful sense of humor and great promoter, makes everyone feel like a friend
Brian Feinblum – knows his stuff about the industry, excellent blogger
Tricia Drammeh – an amazing supporter of indies, all around wise and peaceful person
Derrick Ferguson – Mr. cool to me, excellent movie reviewer, blogger, and writer
John H. Byk – great entertainer providing interesting and fun audio interviews
The Geek Twins – my goto for geekess, fun stuff, but also thought-provoking
Beth – excellent book reviewer and blogger, the reason I check out many books
Bethany – a true blessing and reminder of the good things in life
Andrew Hess – another cool guy, great critiquer and promoter
Tori Jones – A renaissance woman (my sister)

The Rules for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award:
1. Thank the person who nominated you, and link to their blog.
2. Display the award logo.
3. Nominate 15 other bloggers (more or less) and provide a link where they may be found.
4. Go to their blog, leave a comment to let them know they have been nominated.
5. Mention three things that inspired you the most during the past few weeks.

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