Tag: #IWSG

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IWSG

#IWSG March 2021: Do you read what you write?

Let me start off by saying that if you are seeing this post, it is a technological miracle. That’s the kind of year I’ve been having so far. Still, I’m blessed.
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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

I try to make a point to read from the genres I want to write so I know what is expected. When it comes to reading purely for pleasure, I mostly stick with the speculative genres though I’m enjoying romantic suspense and cozy mystery at the moment. I also tend to be drawn to historical books, fiction, and nonfiction. Still, I like to challenge myself with reading. That’s one reason why I love being part of the IWSG Book Club. I’ve read so many books with them that I never would have picked up on my own.

It tickles me that this is the question for this month when the video I have to share below touches on the same question. What a coincidence!

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Our March/April/May reads are…
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel is our fiction selection that offers a great use and example of description.

Deep Point of View (Busy Writer’s Guides Book 9) by Marcy Kennedy is our writing craft book with a focus on deep POV view.

Discussion Day for both books will be May 26, 2021!

You can still JOIN US for our current discussions on Ghost Light and Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters.

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Now, on to the personal updates.

Reading and writing is going well, not as well as I’d like, but I’ve written more in the last month than I think I did all last year. So, that’s something. Not sure if any publishing is in the works, but I can be hopeful. I hope to have my February book reviews to share next week. Perhaps, next month, I’ll have a WIP update worth sharing. I’m so excited about what I’m working on, just not sure I’m ready to share any of it.

I’m launching a Google Drive video tutorial soon for my Patreon patrons, but I will post it publicly for free, giving my patrons some special features.

I’ll be participating in LitCon this weekend (check out my virtual booth here) and created a tag video to kick things off. I tagged three author-tubers in the video, but hope they know not to feel any pressure to participate. I tagged Tyrean Martinson, Chrys Fey, and A. F. Stewart. If you have 5-minutes to spare, please give the video a watch.

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What, as a writer, do you like to read?
Read any good books lately?
How’s your writing going?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen,
Jacqui Murray,
Chemist Ken,
Victoria Marie Lees,
Natalie Aguirre, and
JQ Rose!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #37).

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

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#blacklivesmatter About Toi Fun Hops

The Kiss #WEPFF Challenge featuring A Mrs. Loving Reflection #amwriting #flashfiction

Mildred and Richard Loving in 1967 – Wikipedia

 

A Mrs. Loving Reflection

 

I didn’t know it would be like this. When I got married, I thought it would be like a fairy tale, but it was more of a nightmare. We got all dressed up, packed up, and headed out of town. I thought it was all part of the adventure. Course, I later found out that we had been on the run the whole time.

 

I didn’t know, or perhaps just didn’t quite understand, that it was illegal to marry somebody you loved if they didn’t have the same skin color as you. I sit here now, in reflection, thinking about all that happened, and I can’t believe it all started with a simple kiss.

 

He and I had been friends for a long time- since I was a little girl. When we started dating, it felt weird at first, but also kind of natural. Well then, you know how things are. One thing led to another, I was in a way, and he’d been saying for a while he wanted to marry me.  Daddy and momma seemed like they didn’t mind at all, invited him right on into the house, and then we started making plans.

 

After everything was all set, we headed out for our adventure. I thought that was the start of something wonderful. Then, we tried to go back home. I say try because we were stopped. The authorities were waiting for us like it was some kind of holiday. They arrested us, told us we were wrong, and sent us on our way. Our choices, a year in prison or never go home again.

 

To this day I just don’t get it. Why would the punishment for marrying someone other people don’t want you to be with be prison and not something else, anything else? I mean it’s prison or marriage. If I married a tree, would the tree have to do a year inside as well? They tried to claim that the law was just and fair because both parties (guess they meant me and him) got the same punishment despite the difference in our skin color. It still didn’t make sense to me why marriage, in general, was something that could be punished, but I guess that’s the world we were living in.

 

So, we left home. We did the best we could do, but it was just too much. We couldn’t travel together to go see family, it was making things difficult for keeping up with bills, and then there was the kids. So, we decided to fight it.

 

It was a long battle. I think the thing that still sticks with me, after all this time, aside from the whole prison thing, was that the lawyers didn’t even want me to say I was black. Seemed ridiculous to me, but they thought we’d have a better chance if I identified as a Native person. I don’t see how that made a difference, but they sure thought it might. In the end, though, a black woman got to keep the man she loves and we both got to keep our freedom.

 

So, I guess we won. The world isn’t as great a place as it could be, but it seems to be getting better. We got to be together and we got to go home. This has not been a fairy tale, but, I guess, in the long run, it could have been a much worse nightmare. After all, I’m blessed to have the man I love, wonderful children, and my health. Looking back, I still can’t believe this all started with a simple kiss.

 

A “fictionalized first-person” account summation of the Loving v. Virginia 1967 Supreme Court ruling. Click the Loving image up top to learn more about the case.

 

FCA- 626 words- A Mrs. Loving Reflection 2021 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas

 

Join me on June 12 to celebrate Loving Day! This is a day to celebrate the right to marry anyone you want no matter what anyone else thinks about it (including me). Celebrate Loving Day to honor the right to love… In case you didn’t know, that’s me and my hubby up at the very top. It’s an old picture but still very much us and in love.

 

Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.

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

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IWSG

#IWSG February 2021: Friendship through Blogging

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

Optional Monthly Question: Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

I’ve made a lot of connections online in the past ten years, but to say I’ve made friends is a little different. I’d first like to point out that just because someone is your friend on Facebook doesn’t mean they are your friend in the real world. With that said, the blogosphere, for me anyway, is way better at building solid, meaningful connections that in time can become true friendships.

I’d love to someday meet some of my blogging friends face-to-face. Before COVID-19, it was a real possibility. I mean, I got to meet one of my favorite publishers at a writer’s conference, who’s to say I couldn’t have also met up with a blogging buddy? Still, I recognize the difference in relationships that thrive in cyberspace and the ones that could potentially thrive in reality.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having only “online friends,” as long as they are genuine. I consider all the solid connections I’ve made within the IWSG and WEP to be real friends, especially since they’ll be honest about my writing and let me know where I need improvements. Do these friendships translate into the real world? I have no idea. Maybe. Even if they don’t, they’re stronger than most of my Facebook friendships.

Still, there are those that stand out. There are those I’d love to have a cup of coffee or tea with once a month as I do with my old high school friend. I’m so blessed to have made these friendships through the blogosphere. I won’t name names for fear of leaving someone out, but I think they know who they are. They are the ones I email from time to time and follow on social media platforms. They have truly made my life better, and that’s what a good friendship should do.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

I have finished one of the book club books for December/January/February. Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner was a short read and I really liked it. Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor is another story. Aside from my Goodreads overall reading challenge, I also joined an audiobook challenge and I thought I’d listen to Ghost Light instead of reading it. I think I made a mistake. I’m really struggling with it. Still, I hope I’ll make it through by discussion day.


Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor, a book written in second-person. Since many readers haven’t read a book in second-person, and many writers haven’t written in second-person, we figured this is a great chance to explore something new.


Preparing to Write Settings that Feel Like Characters by J Lenni Dorner. This will be our writing craft book, with a focus on settings.

Discussion Day for both books will be February 24, 2021! Don’t feel pressured to read both. Pick the one that suits you best and go for that. Or don’t read either but still participate in the discussion day poll. They’re pretty good.

JOIN US!

 

Now, on to the personal updates.

I continue my quest to settle into my new home. It’s been a slow process, but it is coming along. I’m hoping everything will be done by the Spring. For now, I’m just trying to survive the winter. It’s so cold, and much as this may hurt some people’s feelings, snow is way overrated.

One month down in 2021 and COVID is still taunting us all.

I’ve been posting videos on Facebook and YouTube chronicling my struggles with technology, but think I finally found something that might work long term for me. You can check it out in my January wrap-up video below.

Lastly, my Patreon experiment is going well, at least in my eyes it is. I have three supporters and am actively writing new material again. It’s not a lot, but every little bit counts. I designed an exclusive postcard to send out to them, hopefully, today or tomorrow… Oh, and check out my most recent book reviews at Lit Carnivale.

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Have you made any lasting friendships through the blogosphere?
Read any good books lately?
Met any writing goals?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Louise – Fundy Blue ,
Jennifer Lane ,
Mary Aalgaard ,
Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, and
Nancy Gideon!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #37).

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