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: If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?
This is so tough! There are so many book worlds I adore. But… Let me be clear. There are book worlds I really enjoy and love how they are put together, but I would never want to visit them. Pretty much any historical novel taking place in, or inspired by, a time in which black people were enslaved, I’m not going. Even some post-American Civil Rights stories aren’t ideal for me. With that said, there are dystopian futures you wouldn’t catch me in either, but I still love reading those books.
Here are a few book worlds I wouldn’t mind visiting.
L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of OZ, not Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (love the series, though).
Maguire’s Corner from the series by Heather M. Gardner.
The future of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, the Oasis sounds really cool.
I wouldn’t mind being friends with the MCs of the Disaster Crime series by Chrys Fey, but I’m never traveling with them.
The world of the Lunar Chronicles has its ups and downs, but by the end, I’d totally visit.
Neverland by J.M. Barrie is a place I’ve read enough about that I would do okay on a short visit but will not be taking up residence.
I’ve thought it would be cool to hang out with characters from the Mark of Nexus by Carrie Butler, but again, just for a while.
Living with toons could be cool or tiring but Who Censored Roger Rabbit, to which the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit is based on, is definitely a place I’d like to visit at least once.
Here’s where I could possibly live.
Ellen Jacob’s Coconut Cove where the Mollie McGhie series takes place, but I’d make sure that Mollie was never the last person to see me (the buddy system will always be in effect).
The future world of These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi.
Tinselville, the world of the Bad Fairy by Elaine Kaye sounds pretty sweet. I already deal with hurricanes where I live so I could learn how to prepare for twisties.
Oh, and Wakanda, from the Marvel world of the Black Panther.
Hope it wasn’t too much for you.
****
IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS
Member Spotlights
#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of July are Magic at Midnight by Ronel Janse van Vuuren (Amazon.com & Bookshop.org) and Reaching For Normal (Bloo Moose #1) by Jemi Fraser (Amazon.com). 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.
I’m putting off helpful tips for today to let you know that some minor changes are coming to the book club. There will be a full announcement next month in the newsletter, here, and also on the IWSG blog page. For now, just know that we will continue to spotlight books by members, but we will also start highlighting a craft book each month.
There will be a few other minor changes that are in line with our current schedule of weekly festivities, so I hope you join in on the fun.
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
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 this 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.
Physical Therapy is costly and doesn’t always give you results, but US doctors will not give you any additional treatment until they suck as much money as they can out of you in $20 increments as possible. I’m so ready to just give up and consign myself to living with pain for the rest of my life. People do it every day. I’m not so special as to be spared this inconvenience of aging.
I’m keeping myself busy. I’ve submitted another short story while continuing to work on my ongoing projects. I hit some walls with my illustration process, but I finally climbed over them. I’m excited about the next WIP update I’ll be sharing. I’ve made, very small, but some progress with most of my current projects.
I’m continuing to grow my YouTube channel and am working on a new audio podcast. So far, guests are really excited about the idea of not being on camera. I seriously had no idea so many people are sooo camera shy. Oh, and I have several events planned for the Fall. I will be putting myself out there and trying to make things happen, but more on that later.
Have you ever heard of someone having a blog tour when they weren’t releasing a book? I’ve been toying with the idea of having a tour to promote all my picture books? What do you think? Good or bad idea? Suggestions? I’m all ears.
I actually posted my Goodreads Wrap-up and Book Review videos early this month. Yay, three-day weekend.
Here’s the latest on my YouTube series, The Read Local Show (Hampton Roads, VA, USA) and The Read All Over Show (global). I’ve been having so much fun with this.
If you’re interested in being featured: check out the Read Local/All Over Sign-up form here.
****
What book worlds are you escaping to?
Should I have a blog tour for my picture books?
Have you tried the IWSG Book Club?
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:
J Lenni Dorner,
Janet Alcorn,
PJ Colando,
Jenni Enzor, and
Diane Burton!
****
Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #30).
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
