It’s time for a monthly check-in. We, at the IWSG Book Club, invite you to share your thoughts and or progress on our current member spotlight books via the social media platform(s) of your choice. I’ll be sharing my thoughts below and encourage you to share here if you’re not up for heading to social media.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
Amazon.com
Almost done with this one; should be completed by the end of the week. Enjoyable. Fun 90s references.
Amazon.com
Haven’t started this yet, but will as soon as I complete the upper one. I think I will like it, but I’ll have to read it to be sure.
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 #blacklivesmatter
Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click hereto learn more or sign up.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
Optional Monthly Question: Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?
I write a lot of stories I have no intention to share with the world. Usually, if it’s something I’m concerned about sharing, I write it, edit it, rewrite it, and then polish it before deciding what to do. I’ve written some dark pieces that I am in no way ashamed or embarrassed about but recognize that my reason for writing them may not meet the expectations of those who might read it. I may write something contrary to my own values and beliefs because it’s part of how I process and deal, but I wouldn’t put that out in the world for people to misinterpret. Even when I have been clear about my intentions and my words with others, it hasn’t stopped them from projecting their own thoughts and feelings onto my work. But that’s part of the risk a writer takes when they share their words.
So, while I don’t shy away from writing hard things, I know better than to share everything I write. Even within the writer and blogger community, it’s not as safe as one might think to share. Writers and bloggers, especially the IWSG, can be very supportive, but some writers and bloggers can also be the harshest critics, often forgetting what it’s like to be on the receiving end of negativity if they’ve been dishing it out for too long.
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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS
Member Spotlights
#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of March are Psycho Hose Beast From Outer Space by C.D. Gallant-King and Turn The Light On by Pat Garcia. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.
Feel free to share this image on social media to help spread the word.
My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…
Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”
…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.
7) Aside from making your books findable, don’t miss an opportunity to develop your audience and connect with new readers. If you have a blog, use your About page to let readers know why they should follow your blog and or be interested in your books.
If you do not publish your work and or don’t plan to publish your work, let readers know. I searched for many members’ books and or publications before realizing that they hadn’t been published because it wasn’t clearly stated somewhere. The bloggers who did let me know that they were unpublished and planned to stay that way or were querying stories stuck with me. I can’t remember the ones who never clearly expressed it one way or the other. You don’t have to be planning publication to maintain a blog. If you have good content, readers will read it.
If you only have a website, make sure it’s up to date with current information. While some people are shy about posting images, it’s important to not be misleading. If you don’t like your headshot, use an avatar, a logo, or something else that represents you consistently. Posting a picture of you at age 21 and you are now 50 could be problematic in a world with social media trolls.
Reminder: Here’s our spotlight schedule.
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (IWSG Anthologies)
IWSG Registry = Apr, Aug, Dec
In April we were going to feature books from authors on the Registry (for Facebook members), but there has been no interest. So, we will pick books at random from the IWSG blogging list. We will return to our regular schedule in April and revisit the Registry in August. Remember, if you are not currently on the IWSG blog hop list and don’t plan to join, the registry is the only way for your books to have a chance to be spotlighted by the book club. If you are on the blog hop list, please don’t join the registry. We want to be fair and give everyone an opportunity to be featured, which means some of us will have to wait for our turns, including me (the book club admin) and the co-mods.
Please click the hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.
Now, on to the personal updates.
I’ve been busy. I continue to make slow progress on my current WIPs with the support of my Patreon community. I had a good reading month that was also kind of weird in that I didn’t finish reading a book and that’s not normal for me. I’ve also continued to do some beta reading for other authors so I think my personal reading will be taking a backseat for a month or so. Luckily, one of the book club reads is a short story.
I launched a new interview show on my YouTube channel that I’m so excited about. I’m really embracing this new role of reading advocate and just want to do my part to help spread the word about how great books and authors are. I’m also freaking out that I get to interview one of my favorite authors on the show. I couldn’t believe it when she said yes. I took a chance and reached out and I’m so glad I did. Here’s a link to catch the next episode this Friday, March 4, 2022 at 6:30 pm EST. Episode one is featured below.
If you’re interested in being featured: check out this link.
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How do you decide whether to write hard topics?
Are you on YouTube?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.
Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #31).
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 #blacklivesmatter
So, I’ve been ill and haven’t really been able to give this review the attention I would like, but since it’s already a day late, here goes nothing.
If Wes Anderson got really high and was held at gunpoint by the Australian mafia to create a film inspired by Pan’s Labyrinth, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, and Alice in Wonderland, Girl Asleep might be the result. With a 6.5 IMDB rating and 82% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, this is bound to be an odd adventure (53% audience vote).
If anyone is interested in my experience of watching Girl Asleep, click hereto see my notes.
This review will consist of me asking myself 10 questions and answering them to the best of my ability.
Wikipedia
1. What is this film about?
14-year-old Greta is new at school and very shy. She’s also turning 15 in a few days and her oddball family thinks a big party is just what she needs. Too bad she hates the idea.
2. What did I think of the title, poster, and or trailer?
I literally discovered this film surfing through Netflix and knew absolutely nothing about it ahead of time. The poster of the two kids in their school uniforms seemed interesting to me. Plus I wanted to try something different, and this certainly looked different.
3. What did I think of the main character(s) and how the actors performed them?
Everything about this movie was odd. With that being considered, it was difficult deciding whether the actors were performing their roles well or not. I’m only vaguely familiar with the work of Bethany Whitmore, who plays Greta, but as child actresses go, I think she did a fine job with the odd material.
4. What did I think of the direction and cinematography?
I’m not sure how I feel about the direction of this film. As I mentioned before, I got the sense that Wes Anderson might have been an influence but so might have Tim Burton and Jim Henson. I didn’t really get it. Sometimes it seemed like close-ups were the focus, but then a wide-angle scene with one individual in the shot would come up next. I’m not even going to try to understand the use of stop-animation at one point.
5. What did I think of the soundtrack and score?
This movie takes place in the 70s, so of course, the music is fun. Even with tunes I don’t clearly recognize, the music helped ease the oddness. That is until an unnecessary musical number broke out, more than once… Yeah.
6. What did I like about the story as a whole?
Well, I guess the anti-bullying and self-acceptance message is a good point to drive home, so… that was good. I did actually like the end where…SPOILER… Greta puts on her friend’s suit and he puts on her dress to prove a point.
7. What did I not like about the story?
So much. It’s difficult to pinpoint one thing.
8. Would I recommend this movie to others and what would I rate this movie?
Probably not.
The moral of the story seems to be that being a teenager sucks. I’m still not quite sure why the critics liked it so much. I honestly don’t think this is the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It’s not that bad. It’s just really not good, to me.
On a scale of 1 to 5 movie reels, I give this film 2 reels.
P.S. This should really be a 1 reel rating. I discovered a glitch in my rating system for works I “Didn’t Like” or “Didn’t Finish”. I will leave all previous ratings as they are but will apply adjustments for all future book and movie reviews.
9. Is there anything I would have changed or done differently?
Perhaps it’s simply a cultural difference, but I wouldn’t have made the people seem so sitcom-like. They just didn’t feel the slightest bit real. I also probably wouldn’t have had the kids curse so much. Kids cursing in movies has its place, but hear it just seemed like too much.
10. Was there anything in this movie that could be related to me or anything I have written?
Mini SPOILER
In this movie, Greta takes a trip, I mean that in the “puff, puff, pass” sense (if you don’t get that reference, don’t spend too much time thinking about it). It’s supposed to be a dream, I think, but it quickly becomes a nightmare. It’s like many other films where reality and the dream world collide. I often write stories where that happens, especially in my Eternal Curse Series.
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