Tag: diversity

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EC: Giovanni's Angel Full Moon Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 20: The Race Thing

teaNtalk

Today I’m sharing a picture of “make tea not war” with a bird that I posted on my tea pin board.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation I’m thinking about Eternal Curse and Full Moon, and I’m writing about: Why the race thing?

My work isn’t that culturally diverse in comparison to works that aim for cultural diversity, but I do mix races and cultures a tiny bit sometimes. I can still remember one reviewer being shocked to learn that Mira, from Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, was black. Apparently I revealed her race in a very dramatic kind of way. In actuality, I just think most people have preconceived ideas about how black/ethnic characters should be written.

In my mind, I was simply providing a reveal between characters who’d gotten to know each other online without ever wasting time talking about the color of their skin because so many other matters were much more important. In any case, I’ve made some changes to the chapter structure of that book, which should tone down the “race reveal”, since that’s not the point of that scene.

Now in my first attempt at a contemporary romance, I’ve included one black character who plays a supporting role to my white main character. Some people have asked why am I writing about white people. The truth is that race is never brought up as an issue in this story. I wrote the story based on the way the inspiration came to me. The story is not about race. It’s about all the crazy things that happen in the pursuit of love, but I’m sure someone will be fixated on the one black character for whatever reason because that’s how it always goes.

I’m still fairly new to this whole writing thing and even though I have so many other stories to share and so many other characters to create, some people will complain that I’m not culturally diverse enough, that I’m not black enough, that I’m too edgy, that I’m too PC, that I’m not PC enough, and so on. So, since I know it’s coming, I’m already prepared to simply ignore it all and keep on writing.

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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Books

Review: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary (Maggie Hope Mystery #1) by Susan Elia MacNeal

I give this book a 3.

Okay

First thing I want to admit is that I’m just now becoming acquainted with historical fiction in books. In the cinema it has always been one of my favorite genres, but I’ve never stopped to read any of it. With that being said, I’m starting to have an appreciation that is still very new and maturing.

Maggie is a very smart, almost genius, young mathematician, who is supposed to be flattered by an unexpected opportunity to be one of Mr. Churchill’s secretaries. WWII is just beginning to take its toll on London as the Nazis and the IRA take turns dropping or planting bombs in the city where Maggie and her friends struggle to just get by and make it through.

Of course, not all is quite as it seems. For one, a man Maggie is sure can’t stand her begins to look out for her well-being, then friends begin to act strange and she’s not sure if it’s a coincidence or not, and on top of everything else not mentioned, one of the parents she thought died years ago might still be around.

I think my problem with this book is that I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the story, but had difficulty reconciling the fiction aspects and the development of the characters. All the characters are well-developed, but I just don’t know if I relate to them. As a woman, still in an age facing the glass ceiling, it was easy to relate to Maggie, but the rest of the characters are a puzzle to me.

I feel as if the emotional aspect of the story could have been more involved. I get it, Maggie is this strong-willed woman who rises above her struggles, but what about everyone else. I just feel like that emotion was put to the side because there was a war on, as it should be, but it didn’t feel real to me.

The suspense and espionage was great and kept me interested in times when I was not emotionally attached, and as much as I hate to say it, I wish Maggie had more romance in her life (I’m not a traditional romance, chik-lit kind of girl).

[A slight tangent here-I encounter more and more stories every day with homosexual characters in them, in the same manner as is on TV and in the movies so that is no big surprise, but I wonder if there is a trend involving the “special aunt”. I’ve seen this general character quite a bit now.]  Trend or not, I like the aunt. She’s one of the few characters I felt really expressed good emotion and she did it in a letter, without interacting with any of the other characters.

All in all, this was a very entertaining story and an easy read/listen. I’d recommend this for adults with a love of history, spy thrillers, and or WWII, though it does seem to be geared toward women and may not be welcomed by conservative readers.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

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
EC: Giovanni's Angel Full Moon Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 12: Age

teaNtalk

Today I’m sharing a picture of an antique Victorian teapot and stand I posted on my tea pin board.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation I’m thinking about Eternal Curse and Full Moon, and I’m writing about: Why age?

It seems to have become a theme in my writing to feature important older characters. It was a few years ago that I truly grasped the concept of ageism and realized that I too had been practicing it. I’ve made efforts since them to not judge people by their age and set limitations upon them. The fact that older characters keep showing up in my stories and having a major impact is a byproduct of this. I never set out to use my writing as a platform, but when I look back at what I’ve written, many messages begin to pop out at me.

I like the idea that as we get older, we actually get better, but I do acknowledge that aging is a challenge. I don’t make it a point to have my older characters seem larger than life, but I do show that you can live a life worth living after a certain age, through my characters. In essence, I write these characters because I hope to someday be just like them. I don’t want to be an old lady siting in a rocking chair (even though rocking chairs rock) barely able to hold onto my knitting needles watching the world spin around me. I want to truly live every moment, right up to the end.

For those who are familiar with my Eternal Curse Series, Abraham is just the first of my senior characters to make an impact on this overall story. I hope to be able to share my, It’s Like the Full Moon, story with the world soon and give people a chance to fall in love with the many senior characters that make an impact in that story.

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Also, today I’m visiting with author Shah Wharton. Go check out our special interview.
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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