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Author Insights Fun Hops

The “Writing Process” Blog Tour

I was introduced to this lovely tour by a very powerful writer and friend, Glynis Rankin of Imaginings . She challenges me as writing to dig deeper into my soul, but I’m saving that for another post. Be sure to visit her contribution to this tour and see what she has going on…

And now, down to me. 😉

What am I working on?

I’m currently working on two independent projects. I’m in the editorial phase of publication for the second book in my Eternal Curse Series. I’m hoping to make alternations after receiving feedback from two beta readers before submitting to an editor.

I’m also working to complete the first draft of my first work of contemporary fiction, a romance entitled It’s Like the Full Moon.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

The fact that none of my work seems to fit neatly into any specific genre is an indication of how unique it is. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m writing ground breaking material that is setting new precedents, but I am doing things in my own special way which seems to ruffle a few feathers.

I’ve been told that my tales of romance aren’t typical, that my sci-fi is daunting, that my paranormal is truly relevant, and that much of my work has strong spiritual undertones. This is all true, however I fear some will be left with a misconception of my works. Not all of my writing is deep, but a lot of it is. Some of my stories have strong religious ties, while others focus more on the human condition.  Some of my work is purely for entertainment.

I don’t know if my readers are ready for some of the works I’ll be presenting in the future, but I hope I have enough time to ease them into it.

Why do I write what I do?

I don’t know if it can be classified as OCD, but I feel compelled to tell the stories created in my head. It’s one thing to write them down, to share them with friends, but to have them published and presented to the masses is something else entirely. My works haven’t made it to any bestsellers lists yet, but I feel a sense of comfort knowing that someone may stubble upon one of my stories and connect to it in some way.

Ultimately I want to entertain people with stories that, hopefully, make them laugh, cry, swoon, and even shiver with fear…But don’t jump to conclusions; I don’t have the mindset to write horror or erotica.

How does your writing process work?

While creative is key, I go into my writing with strategic precision. I know my weak points and rely on the skills of others to clean up my work and make it presentable, but I have a unique voice that I refuse to have altered.

Typically when I write a story, this is what happens:

-Idea and notes

-More notes and outline, and outline

-Character and setting outlines and profiles

-Transition notes and plot development.

-Writing, writing, reading, editing, writing, reading, reading, editing, writing, reading, editing, editing

-Then others finally get to see it for feedback

Who’s Up Next

-L.A. Little, author of Deadblood and soon to be many more.

The Ways, The Methods, & The Tools | @LALittle12*

-Andrew Hess, author of The Phoenix Blade Project Justice:  Writer’s Revolution

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

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Author Insights Fun Hops

My Hope #50StatesOfPray

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Click here to follow this hop.

My prayer for this year and every one to follow is that people learn to love humanity. I want people to be allowed to be human, to have differences without having to be enemies, and to agree to disagree. I want to experience World Harmony…maybe peace is too hard, but harmony can be achieved if people just give it a chance. I’m tired of judgment and double standards. I want to live in a world where it is okay to be different, uncool, traditional, liberal, conservative, taboo, devout, and even weird. God bless us all.

Please, if you have any time at all, stop by some of the other stops on this blog hop; share, leave comments, and help spread some love, cheer, and hope. Thank you Mark Koopmans for putting this hop together.

This is an unofficial Author Insights post.

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

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Author Insights

Author Insights 10: There have been some changes.

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I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but I’ve been changing things here and there on this blog. I feel as if this will always be a work in progress, but I hope to reach a settling point at some time. So, here’s what’s been going on.

The merging of my Eternal Curse Series blog with this one is still going on, so I keep having to update little things here and there. I’m slowly rolling out my new interview format, but this will take some time.

I’ve added and made changes to some of My Topics. I’ve added IWSG and Adventures in blogging. While I continue my weekly recaps on Saturday, I’ve started a weekly preview each Friday, entitled “Friday Forecast”, but both of these are logged under Uncategorized. My About Me topic has been changed to Listography-Top5-MyLife to more clearly define the articles lumped under that topic. My Memes topic has been changed to WWWWednesday-Blogdom for the same reason.

My side panel has been packed with alternating buttons for different events I’ve participated in (and will continue to do so), but I’ve added one button I plan to keep around for quite a while as an FYI. I think the ALLi button and article shared there are worth visiting by anyone who will look at it.

Then there’s my tabs; so much is going on up top. My Youtube tab replaced my Listography tab. My Spotlight tab continues to update as well as others. I’ve added Pinterest Board links to many pages. My Features tab finally has content in it. And, I’ve added three new tabs, either replacing others or using empty Coming Soon tabs. I’ve added tabs for Pre-orders, Associations, and Appearances.

Lastly, my picture under the Toi Thomas tab has been enhance with a link to a touching essay I wrote to help qualify me for The AuthorShow.com contest, “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading”.

All in all, I’ve done my best to make these changes seamless and hope I’ve kept this blog reading experience enjoyable. I’m not one to make idle changes, but if you have questions, suggestions, or comments for this blog, I’d love to hear them.

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