Categories
Fiction Author

Long Time No Talk with Sheila Deeth

LongTimeGreetings humans, half-breeds, and everything in between. Today I’m sharing a very special update from one of my dearest author friends, a trend I hope to develop more. It’s been a while since I’ve interviewed/hosted this special author or reviewed something of hers, but that’s just me being disorganized and frazzled as usual. Sheila is lively Christian author who I always enjoy having here at The ToiBox of Words.

So here’s an update on what she’s been doing.

Toi: So Sheila, how’s the family? Anything new happening?

Sheila: We’ve been enjoying an early spring while I’ve heard you’re struggling with an extended winter. Ironically, having moved thousands of miles away from our parents when we left England to come to the US, we now have two sons living in the same town as us. We invited them to lunch recently. I confessed we’d have to eat at our house rather than meeting downtown, since it’s the day we always phone “home” to talk with our parents. Middle son promptly replied that he enjoys eating lunch at our house – he made my day!

Toi: I cherish moments like that. If my parents lived closer, they’d surely be part of our monthly family dinners.

How’s your blog going? Anything interesting or standout posts go up recently?

Sheila: I think I try too hard and run too many blogs, but what’s new is a series of “Love in the Bible” posts that I’ve been creating for February on http://refracted-muse.blogspot.com/. I’m still posting book reviews, author interviews, and guest posts from authors on my main blog at http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/ and I’m working my way through Acts with questions for our Coffee Break Bible Study group on http://sheiladeethstudies.blogspot.com/

Toi: Keeping busy; I like it, though I can relate to taking on too much.

And did I hear that you have a new book coming out?

Sheila: The second in my, as yet unnamed, series of novels should come out soon from Second Wind Publishing. The title is Infinite Sum, and it tells the story of Sylvia from Divide by Zero – after letting past mistakes and sorrows wear her down with their infinite burden, she learns it’s the steps we take today that define us after all.

f8edd-bethlehem2527sbabycvrToi: I like the sound of this follow-up to Divided by Zero. I wish you all best with your release.

Any other ideas or goals you plan to manifest this year or in the near future?

Sheila: My future plans include turning those questions from Acts into more children’s stories for my Five-Minute Bible Story Series. They’re published with Cape Arago Press, and my publisher has even suggested he might bring out the Old Testament stories in print form soon – with illustrations! I’m working on the third novel in that series for Second Wind too. It’s called Subtraction, to be followed by Imaginary Numbers.

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Well, wasn’t that a nice little update. Now don’t you want to take some time to visit her blogs and check out some of her books? You’ll be glad you did. Plus, you can head over to the Sheila Deeth blog right now to see an update from me.

If you like this update of my dear friend Sheila and are wondering about some of my other past guests, don’t worry; their updates are in the works. So, humans, half-breeds, and everything in between, that’s all I have for today.

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
IWSG

#IWSG March 2015: Interviews & Anticipation #bloggerswanted

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

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I don’t know how encouraging this will be to anyone who happens to be reading it, but I’d like to have a conversation with you. Really, whoever you are, I want to get to know you. It seems that no matter how hard I try I just can’t seem to really connect to those around me and in the blogosphere it’s even harder. I’m not sure if people, or other authors, think I have something up my sleeve, but no one seems to believe me when I say I want to get to know them.

I’m not going to lie and pretend that I’m the perfect pen pal or virtual friend you’re ever going to find, but I do like connecting with people, even if I’m not that good at staying connected. Being an introvert is only a small part of it. What can I say, I have issues, but that doesn’t make me a bad person. I want to get know people, especially other bloggers so I can learn from them, but my problem may be that I don’t have much to offer in return.

While I love to interview people, they may not want to be bothered with the whole process knowing that my post isn’t likely going to garner them a 1000 new followers or fans. I’m small time, but I like it here at The ToiBox of Words and think others would too if they simply gave it a chance.

I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of video interviewing authors and bloggers. I guess I missed the memo that said talking in front of a web cam was a mortal sin. What kind of introvert am I anyway? Why would an introvert have a You Tube channel? I guess deep down, I know it doesn’t bother me because my following is so small and filled with people, to which, I feel pretty confident in calling friends.

In any case, I’m making efforts to reach out and interview some new authors and even some book bloggers just because I’d like to get to know them. We’ll see if any of them say yes.

On a completely different note, I’m trying to walk by faith and believe that I’ll be able to release my sequel, Eternal Curse: Battleground by May of this year, but I feel like I’m battling a giant in the process. We’ll see what happens.

Would any of you like to be interviewed?
Why are people so camera-shy?
Are you working on a book or other release? I’d love to hear about it.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Chemist Ken,
Suzanne Sapseed,
Shannon Lawrence!

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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 #121).

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
Fiction Author

Long Time No Talk with Eileen Clemens Granfors

LongTimeGreetings humans, half-breeds, and everything in between. Today I’m sharing a very special update from one of my dearest author friends, a trend I hope to develop more. It’s been a while since I’ve interviewed/hosted this special author or reviewed something of hers, but that’s just me being disorganized and frazzled as usual. Eileen Clemens Granfors is a writer of strong female characters and an all-around sweet person.

So here’s an update on what she’s been doing.

Toi: So Eileen, I heard you moved to the Midwest. What’s that all about?

Eileen: We’ve been in our Missouri house for a year! We can’t believe our retirement dreams are being realized. At the same time, I need a frequent fix of California friends and family. And I’ve gotten back to sewing and doing embroidery, which I love.

Toi: I need to get back into sewing; just need to find the time.

How’s your blog going? Anything interesting or standout posts go up recently?

Eileen: I review new books, many from self-pub, authors. I am trying to up my non-fiction reading and have a good start with WILD SEA and SURFING THE BORDER, two works by Serge Dedina. He is now the mayor of Imperial Beach, CA (my hometown) and makes sense of the way to free the ocean of pollution along the Mexico-California border and the Tijuana River mouth where the waves are fierce, but the pollution is dangerous after rains. A second new feature is a list of each featured author’s ten most inspirational books. That way I can add to my own TBR!

Toi: I love that feature idea. I really should find a way to organize my TBR list.

How’s the third Marisol book coming?

Eileen: At last I am back to finishing SO YOU, SOLIMAR, the 3rd book in the Marisol trilogy. I have started and stopped this book for three years, trying to get the voice right. My cataract surgery in November and December slowed me down, but surgery was successful, and I’m glad I had it done. Now back to the book!

Toi: So, you have any cool or grand plans for the year to come?

Eileen: I am trying this year, not New Year’s Resolutions, but just a more common sense approach to fitness. My husband bought me an adult trike for Christmas that I love. We’ll be in California and are hoping to get up the East Coast for a fall cruise in 2016. Mostly, I want to see SOLIMAR published, which means nose to the grindstone!

Also, there’s a special gmail for review requests on my blog, Word Joy; the guidelines of what I do ziggybedand do not read are there.

We are also working like crazy on Dog Obedience 101 for our third dog, a Labrador –Schnauzer mix. He was dropped at the shelter with his sisters in a box on a cold December night. They named him Christmas Future. We brought him home and named him Ziggy. He’s a wild man, but he makes us laugh so much.

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Well, wasn’t that a nice little update. Now don’t you want to take some time to visit her blog and check out some of her books? You’ll be glad you did. Plus, you can head over to Word Joy right now to see an update from me.

If you like this update of my dear friend Eileen and are wondering about some of my other past guests, don’t worry; their updates are in the works. So, humans, half-breeds, and everything in between, that’s all I have for today.

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