Tag: celebrate

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About Toi AdventuresNBlogging Holiday

Happy 3rd Blog Anniversary!

anniversay

It still blows my mind that I’ve been here at the ToiBox for only three years, especially since I know my blogging history goes further back than that. Still, the ToiBox is my home on the web and all those other adventures are just memories now.

Speaking of memories, it’s time to take a look a back. But first I need to recognize someone special to me. On August 21st I forgot to recognize Abraham, the main supporting character of my novel Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.

Abraham-bk

Happy Belated Birthday Abraham!

This past blogging year has been interesting to say the least.

I participated in some really cool blog hops.

I stopped participating in a few memes.

I participated in the 31 days challenge, but not this year. I’m holding out for the A-Z.

I did a better job of recognizing holidays.

Tried some new things that worked and bunch that didn’t (this blog has been restructured way too many times and I’m not done yet.)

I got a little personal talking about the transition of leaving be a publisher and embracing complete indie status.

I caught up with a few previous guests to this blog.

I received a few blog recognition awards, the most I ever have (You like me, you really really like me 🙂 )

I started hosting for virtual book tours to fill in blog gaps and boy am I glad I did.

I started writing and posting short fiction.

I revamped my newsletter and am still struggling to truly connect with my subscribers; but hey, like everything else, it’s a work in progress.

And I posted my first piece of fan mail.

The last thing I’ll leave you with isn’t about this blog at all but about me, the author of this blog. A few months back I received a quote in my local newspaper after attending a mini-Con. I never shared it them, but just felt like it today.

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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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Promotion Videos

Happy Indie Pride Day 2015! #IndieBooksBeSeen -Check out my ebooks #bargain.

ForBlog

While I think this could be a special day for all indie artists such as musicians and filmmakers, here at The ToiBox I’m focusing on the author portion. So today I’m going to be posting a lot on social media, but not because I’m full of myself. Today is the day for authors like me to shine and that’s what I plan to do. Plus, I put out an invite to post other indies too, but that all hinges on whether or not they take up my offer… and they did. See video below.

I missed this movement last year, but I’m on board this year. Apparently this was almost a trending topic last year, so I’m hoping to do my part at making it trend this year. You can help too and here’s how:

  1. Share a post or image of an indie book (with or without its author) and use the hashtag #IndieBooksBeSeen (Like this one 😉 ).
  2. Search the hashtag #IndieBooksBeSeen on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and then share, like, and plus + anything you like. (Retweets are good too. Visit me on twitter to get started @toithomas.)
  3. Post book reviews and interviews of indie books and authors- don’t forget the hashtag.
  4. Purchase indie books and share your haul on Facebook, Twitter, and or Google+ with the hashtag #IndieBooksBeSeen.
  5. Tell a friend (or 2 or 10) and get them to do the same thing. Go ahead and be biased about it. Promote a particular book or author to your heart’s desire. As long as you use the hashtag #IndieBooksBeSeen it all helps the cause and is a reason to celebrate.

So there you have it. Five simple things you can do today to help make the world take notice of Indie Authors. I hope you will consider at least one or two of them and have some fun with this day. Speaking of fun, there’s a Facebook event you may want to check out (as well as some other stuff)…

#IndieBooksBeSeen Facebook Event

#IndieBooksBeSeen Google+ Event

#IndieBooksBeSeen Facebook Page

#IndieBooksBeSeen Facebook Group

#IndieBooksBeSeen Website

#IndieBooksBeSeen Blog

And last, but definitely not least, I’ve put together a special promotion for my ebooks, through Author Direct purchase and Amazon.com.

OfPastAndFutureCover

I’ll be giving away 4 ebook copies of, Of Past and Future and a chance to purchase a bundle of my ebooks for $2.99  (see images below)
Legend-Window-front40Day coverSurviveFront-jpg

 

Go ahead and check out the Rafflecopter below
Both Eternal Curse ebooks are 99₵.

It only takes 1 entry for a chance to win and there are 4 chances to win. Be sure to review the Terms & Condition…Oh and check out the cool video below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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
Author Insights

The Celebratory Trifecta!

The year 2025 is a long time to wait for a missed opportunity, but what else can I do? Life and circumstances had me so busy and tired that earlier this month I missed out on truly embracing two geek holidays and one vastly underrated U.S. observance that I feel needs more attention.

Saturday, May 3, 2014 was Free Comic Book Day. While I did download a free comic that day, I didn’t have a chance to get out and mingle with my  peers and help spread the word and importance of comic books in our culture, society, and literacy.

Sunday, May 4, 2014 was May the 4th Be With You. I have no idea how this day in honor of the influences of Star Wars went over. Being sick, I slept through most of it. Don’t let me paint a wrong picture for you; this is basically a commercial ploy to increase retail sales, but I still like it.

Wikipedia

Finally, Monday, May 5, 2014 was Cinco de Mayo. Being from Texas and having a bit of Hispanic ancestry, this has always been a day of celebration for my family. This year we all had too much going on to get together for a family dinner. Sadly for most, this day is simply another opportunity to go out and over indulge on cheap alcoholic beverages (True Irish descendants can relate to this as well with the “celebration” of St. Patrick’s Day). Unfortunately, Cinco de Mayo is still not considered a U.S. national holiday, though if you ask me, without the Battle of Puebla, to which it commemorates, Texas and much of southwestern U.S. could be in the hands of the French today (but that’s a history lesson for another day).

So I guess from here, I’ll simply be waiting. I’ll be waiting for the rare opportunity to have fun times and celebrate for three days in a row and perhaps share it with the ones I love most.

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