In April 2021, I read 2 graphic novels, 1 picture book, 1 nonfiction book, 1 suspense short, 1 horror novella, 1 literary fiction novel, and 1 ARC I won’t be able to talk about just yet. Check it out.
Below you’ll find my star ratings and review blurbs for each title I completed in the indicated month. If you have not signed up for my newsletter, please consider doing so. That’s where I post my thorough book reviews (and sometimes TV and movie stuff) as well as talk about my love of reading while offering tips for having a healthy reading lifestyle. You can also click the Goodreads links to see the thorough reviews. At the bottom of this post, you’ll also be able to watch a video of my monthly reviews, if that’s more your style.
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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 #blacklivesmatter
We are excited to have you on this delightful adventure!
Come along with us and meet some amazing heroes and heroines who may just win, or break, your heart. We have the supernatural, the unnatural, and the magical on this journey for you.
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Hi there, I’m Toi, for anyone new stopping by, and welcome back to all my faithful subscribers. Today I’ll be sharing a short interview with the hero of one of my short stories in the collection, Legend of the Boy, In the Window, and Other Short Stories.
Today, you’ll be getting to know Derek from In the Window.
Toi: What’s up Derek?
Derek: Oh, you know. Dead people as usual.
Toi: Ok, so we’re just getting right into it, aren’t we?
Derek: I see no point in pleasantries. I barely sleep anymore. The boy is gone but all the rest are still here.
Toi: Well, don’t give too much of your story away just yet. Why not tell the people a little about yourself first?
Derek: Fine. I used to be a cleaner. A guy who took care of messy situations that turned fatal. My partner and I wanted to start a legit cleaning business, but that was the only work we could get.
Toi: So, were you guys criminals?
Derek: Technically, we were just cleaners, but all our clients were criminals and we never reported the things we cleaned up. So, I guess we were kind of in the wrong. I guess that’s why we were cursed.
Toi: Okay, so let’s talk about the dead people. Do you see them, hear them, feel them?
Derek: I see them in reflections, such as windows, TV screens, silver wear, and most of all mirrors. I can’t stand mirrors anymore. At least I can’t feel them, and they can’t bother me too much unless I invite them for a conversation.
Toi: Wow, how did this all start?
Derek: The last job my partner and I did was the first time I saw the spirit of the body we were to dispose of. Then I found out about the boy. I thought he was the cause but turns out he was just the catalyst.
Toi: What happened in your story?
Derek: Without giving too much away, once I was able to give the boy what he wanted I was free of him, but it came at a high cost.
Toi: So, what’s next?
Derek: You tell me. You’re the one who’s been writing about me so much lately.
Toi: That’s right I have. I’ve decided to continue your story and put it in another collection to be released, hopefully, in 2022.
Derek: I hope my next story has a better ending than the first.
Toi: We’ll just have to see.
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If you enjoyed this stop on the tour, don’t miss out on meeting the other awesome heroes and heroines:
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
This has been the most cheerful harvest in recent history, with cool days and clear nights. I was put in charge of my first field this Spring and have worked more and harder than I have in years past, finally understanding pride in a job well done. I never before understood putting so much care into food I’d never eat.
As the youngest, male Field Leader in over a century, the anticipation of tonight’s celebration has me on edge, in the best possible way. I’m so honored to be able to attend the formal this year. Being around so many prestigious female leaders will surely increase my chances of establishing a pair-bond, especially if the Harvest Celebration goes as well as planned.
For decades, I’ve imagined the grandeur, etiquette, and politics of the Harvest Celebration, knowing how important it is to our survival. I should have been able to take part in the celebration many times over- I’ve been of the proper age for some time now, but the attendance of the celebration has been restricted as of late. As Josiah puts it, “The balancing of a population is a delicate endeavor. No matter how great our harvest may be, without good numbers, it mostly goes to waste.” I have been fortunate to have Josiah looking after me all these years and am even more grateful for a chance to repay his guidance and education.
I and two others, another male and a female, were sent out to dwell among the citizens to help influence them and protect them from their own ignorance. For a score, we blended into their society and corrected their assumptions, improved their methods, and fortified their medicines and rations. With our help, the citizens have thrived. In the Spring of this year, we were all called home to take charge of fields and prepare for harvest time. This will be the first Harvest Celebration in over a decade with an attendance that reaches beyond the capacity of our Great Hall. We don’t know the exact number of the population, it’s not our way to interfere directly with the citizens, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Now, we’re all highly anticipating the arrival of the citizens to the Harvest Celebration.
Milsa
Tonight is the night. I have been preparing for this, it seems an eon. Year after year, I’ve attended the celebration, but being the youngest of the elders, I’ve always missed my opportunity to choose a pair. The citizens’ numbers have been so low that there were never any descent Chosen left to present by the end. Not this year though.
I’ve heard wonderful reports from the citizen spies. The citizens are healthier than ever, and their numbers have almost doubled. Josiah was wise to restrict the invitation to the celebration this last score. He will be the savior of us all if this Harvest Celebration is the success we all hope it will be.
It’s foolish really, but the anticipation of this Harvest Celebration makes me feel like a girl again. It’s been so long since I was a mere girl, but even one such as myself does not forget that feeling of excitement, that thrill of mating and reproduction. I know I’m ready for tonight’s ceremony.
After the other citizens have departed with their bounty, our gift to the locals for their sacrifice, the Field Leaders will mesmerize their chosen progeny and then drain them to the brink of death. The other Elders and I will then choose, in ranking order, the Leaders and progeny we deem worthy of the Familia Bond. I will select a young, strong male who has chosen to present a daughter. I will feed his chosen progeny from my wrist and then I shall drink from his heart to replenish my own strength. The servants will clean our bodies, drape us in silk, and bury us together under the harvest moon.
Tonight is the night I finally obtain the family I’ve longed for, for far too long.
Josiah
Oh, this burden I’ve taken on, this great struggle to perpetuate our species has finally begun to lift. My plan to send out our youngest day walkers has served us well. Many disputed my decision, refusing to take in the severity of the problem. It is true the Vmpyrs have never directly interfered with the lives of the humans, the citizens of this land, but if they are to continue serving as our breeding ground, we could not afford to stand by and let them die from starvation, famine, and plague.
My decision to restrict the invitation to the Harvest Celebration was also unpopular. When an elder, female Vmpyrs is ready for the Familia Bond, she’s ready. Convincing the Elder clans to alternate the years in which their females could choose new pairs and progeny almost cost me my life. An angry Vmpyra can easily withstand the charge of ten Vmpyro, no matter how old or well-trained they are. Vmpyra live for the day they can start the Familia Bond, but with the humans’ numbers dwindling so, there just weren’t any new progeny available.
I myself had given up the prospect of presenting a progeny at the Celebration for the past decade to ensure that others would have a chance. But I am happy to have a chance to participate this year. My favorite and most talented pupil, Danube, has blessed us with a great report of the citizen’s health and numbers. Tonight, he and I will stand before the elders and finally have our chance at eternal bliss. I know Danube has longed for a daughter; perhaps I shall present a son.
I regret now that I once looked down on the Familia Bond, thinking an eternity as a bachelor was the bliss I wanted. After being a bachelor Vympyro for more than three hundred years, I deserve to have the Familia Bond.
This will indeed be the best Harvest Celebration ever.
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