Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to 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: Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn’t around anymore? Anyone you miss?
In many ways, my family has been very supportive of my writing even if they don’t understand what being a writer really means. Most of my family members haven’t read what I’ve written, but mostly because they are not readers. The ones who do read, and are supportive, have read some of my work. However, there was one person, early on who was not only excited about me writing but read what I wrote and was a big cheerleader of my pursuits until she passed.
My sister-in-law, Crystal, passed away from colon cancer several years ago. She and I didn’t always agree on things, but for the most part we got along. We liked each other and felt a sisterly connection. The fact that we both enjoyed reading definitely helped. The great thing about Crystal was that she was supportive no matter what. Before I began writing, I tried out other things to fill, what I now know was a creative void, and she was right there ready to try out activities and products- you name it. The worst thing about Crystal was that all the support and enthusiasm she showed for others, she rarely showed for herself. She saw herself as weak and limited herself in ways that we often disagreed about.
At the end of the day, I miss her. I still don’t believe she had to go as soon as she did, but I feel good that I supported her when she decided to stop fighting her cancer battle. I was there to help her, as much as I could with an 8-hour travel distance between us (and yes, my husband and I made that trip many times). We weren’t there the day she passed, but when we got the call, after recently just returning home, we packed our things and went right back to help lay her to rest. She supported me when I needed her, and I hope she felt supported by me in the end.
The last happy memory I have of Crystal, was her eating a fried egg I’d made her while she was receiving hospice care. It was the first thing she’d been able to hold down in days. I liked seeing her smile that day.
****
IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS
Member Spotlights
#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of February are Champion in the Darkness by Tyrean Martinson and Circle of Friends: Lori by L. Diane Wolfe. 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.
6) List purchase links to your books. I know it can be time-consuming to list the link to every retailer where your book is listed, but it may be worth it to list at least your top 3 (or try a universal link service). Which sites give you the most royalties, either through individual sales or through traffic. Don’t make people go search for your books. They may find it listed on a discount site or worse, a pirate site. Please post clear and accurate links to retail sites where readers can buy your books if they so choose. *I briefly had some of my books available at a local bookstore and advertised that on my site, and you can too. No links are required, but a store name, address, and phone number might be helpful.
Reminder: Here’s our monthly 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 March we’ll feature books from authors in the 51-100 position of the IWSG blogging list. 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 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 read one mini book and have downloaded the next nonfiction book for my #ReadWithFey2022 challenge, but I’ll talk more about that next week when I post my book reviews. I did pretty well with my overall Goodreads challenge last month.
I posted a WIP update to my YouTube channel for the first time in a long time. I’m going to try to do this on a regular basis. Now that I feel obligated to squeeze out writing time, due to my Patreon community, I should have something to share more often than not. Check it out here if you are interested.
It’s been said that everyone will eventually get COVID or had it already without knowing it. I believe it. If I had it I didn’t know and I’m glad. That means that God and all those vaccines came through, still that doesn’t mean I’m ready to risk getting it. I’ve been held up in my house for weeks now, only engaging with the outside world virtually. No one made me quarantine, it’s just a choice I made, but I am physically ready to go back out. The problem is that I’m not quite mentally there. Whatever your beliefs may be, I’d appreciate some prayers and good vibes to help me feel comfortable enough and safe enough to get back to normal, sooner rather than later.
My sister is an amazing person who inspires me to do more every day. She recently co-hosted a podcast and if you have 5-minutes to spare, consider checking it out. I know it’s on the Apple podcast app and the Podbean app. It’s called Clutch My Pearls.
****
So, do you have a supporter or influencer you’re missing?
Excited about the Feb. IWSG Book Club books?
Are you working on any new WIPs?
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.
****
After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Erika Beebe,
Joylene Nowell Butler,
Jacqui Murray,
Sandra Cox, and
Lee Lowery!
****
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
Gregory Green loves his mom’s pea soup, but when he eats it at school, all of his friends make fun of how it looks. He doesn’t think it looks like bugs, and it tastes good! Then at recess, his friends run from him, screaming, “He’s a monster!” Gregory doesn’t know why his friends are being mean until he sees his skin is green. The teasing gets worse until an unlikely friend comes to the rescue—his teddy bear, Sammy. Sammy usually only comes to life for Gregory and his family, but Sammy has an important lesson to teach Gregory and his classmates.
Elaine Kaye got the idea for 