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EC: Giovanni's Angel Fun Hops

Wined, Dined, and Read Blog Tour and #FreeBook Giveaway!

I was invited to this, pretty cool, blog tour by the lovely M.C.V. Egan, author of the powerful novel, The Bridge of Deaths. She knew this food themed tour would be right up my alley. I actually have an intimate relationship with food and always find ways to slip it into my stories. So, without further ado, here I go comparing my book, Eternal Curse to food…Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end.


About the book:

1) If your main character were a glass of wine, which one would they be?

I think that if Giovanni was to be compared to a glass of wine, it would have to be something rare and exotic, perhaps something made from a very small and exclusive vineyard. He’d definitely be a dry red. The wine would have undertones of currant, sage, and perhaps even Rosewood (or some other strong wood). He’d be a drink to take with caution, not something to sip daily, but something to savor in desperate moments or in celebration of great triumphs.

2) Describe your book in one meal:

This is the question I’d hope to be asked. I believe meal time is important to the human condition. The way people cook their food, prepare their plates, and then gather or commune around a table or a circle on the floor says a lot about the character of the people and the relationships they develop. In Eternal Curse, I describe a few meals that my characters partake in as they develop their “family unit”. The one that I feel embodies the overall tone and message of the story, goes like this:

Three Green Pea Soup (an original recipe written for this book), Grilled turkey and mozzarella Panini’s with sun-dried tomatoes, and a pear tart for dessert. A great deal of planning, time, and love went into this meal and it was shared by my characters at a time when their bonds were just beginning to form.

3) What candy would your book be?

I know it sounds cliché, especially if you’ve read the book, but I’d say semi-sweet dark chocolate. It’s a great representation of the light and dark elements of this story.

4) What does your book smell like?

This is another easy question to answer considering the abundance of smells that appear in my book. In the olfactory sense, I’d describe this book as: a cup of green tea-coco (a drink designed for this story) being sipped in a garden just after dawn when the morning dew is still fresh.

5) Your book’s snack would be:

I actually had to think about this one or a while. I don’t think my characters do a lot of snacking in this story and I’m not a big snacker myself, so this required some extra thought. Then I considered a very small but important part of my story’s setting and then thought of one of the few things I do actually like to snack on. In the book, Giovanni’s home, Sinclair Manor, has apple trees leading up to his house and I adore eating apples. So, there you have it. It’s a healthy snack.

About the author:

1) Describe your most memorable meal:

I could go on for days describing countless meals that have stayed with me for positive reasons, but there is one that reminds me of home and family. My mother isn’t a bad cook; she just never cooked a lot. It’s not her thing, but she did make this one thing on a regular basis during my childhood. It’s a vegetable stew infused with rice and southern cornbread. Just thinking about it, doesn’t necessarily make me hungry, but it does make me long to be with my family. I may have to call my mother when I finish writing this.

2) One food word to describe your writing style:

Filling: I pack quite a bit into a relatively small portion.

3) What will someone find you eating/drinking when you’re really into a good book?

I’m probably drinking tea unless it’s really cold outside and then I switch to coco. I don’t usually eat while reading, but when I do it’s usually some kind of fruit or toast.

4) Sweet or Salty?

Both: homemade trail mix with sesame sticks, peanuts, crasins, and banana chips


For next week, I’ve passed the baton to two wonderful authors you’ll definitely want to check out.

Be sure to see what Glynis Rankin, Bridget Straub,  and Andrew Hess will be sharing, next Friday, September 12th.

Win a Free paperback copy of Eternal Curse.

Share this post with one of the options listed below and then leave a comment letting me know how you shared. Please also, tell me why you’re interest in a copy of this book.

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 Videos

It’s a brand new day on You Tube!

So, last year I launched my You Tube channel unsure of what I was going to do with it. I knew I wanted to interview authors and help support their books, but it’s crazy how many authors are afraid of video interviews. Not that I love being in front of a camera myself, but I’m not exactly camera-shy either. I really wanted my channel to be a way to connect with people, but it seemed to just be a little lacking.

I’ve been working hard all summer trying to find a solution to this problem and I think I have some ideas that could really work, if only I can find an audience to embrace them. I will continue my efforts to interview authors whenever I can find some brave enough, but I’ll also be adding in some purely entertainment content that I find interesting. I will continue my book snippets “Toi Reads” whenever the mood strikes and will continue to promote my own works whenever an opportunity is appropriate, but I’d like this channel to be less about me and more about everything around me.

I’ll be making efforts to reach out to friends, family, colleagues, and strangers to both guest host and sponsor videos. Guest hosting is a free endeavor that helps me and whoever participates. It provides my audience with some variety and keeps them from having to stare at me constantly. For the guest hosts, it’s just like being on TV. People get a chance to know you a little better and you get to promote yourself in a passive manner. Sponsorship is whole other issue; click here to learn more about both.

So here’s what I’m planning. I’ll be sharing movie and book reviews, discussing writing, creative, and other working techniques and methods, talking about music and vinyl records, and even sharing some silly opinions on greeting cards. (This one you’ll just have to see to understand.)

So there you have it. I’m putting myself out there in yet another way. I can’t wait to see what comes of this.

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

Categories
Fun Hops Reblogs

ღ ☼ WINED ~ ღ ☼ ~ DINED ~ღ ☼ ~ AND READ ღ ☼ by M.C.V.Egan

For me and so many others books, food, and drink (wine) go hand-in-hand. There a lovely little blog tour making its way around the blogosphere at moment, and next week I’ll make my contribution. For now, let’s see what author, M.C.V. Egan is sharing.

“It is about pairing books with food and drink. As an avid home cook and a huge Foodie I could not resist.

Some of my answers are just too obvious!

The characters in The Bridge Of Deaths do indulge from time to time on a particular wine, others answers did have to simmer a while.” ~M.C.V.Egan.

See the rest of her post here: http://4covert2overt.blogspot.com/2014/08/wined-dined-and-read.html

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