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Full Moon Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 21: Italy

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Today I’m sharing a picture of “biscottea” by stephsus 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 Full Moon and I’m writing about: Why Italy?

I have never been to Italy, but I’d love to visit one day. I have friends and family who’ve been, even my husband has been at least twice before we started dating. The main reason, however, that I write about Italy in It’s Like the Full Moon, is because of the movies that helped inspire the story. Two of the three movies that inspired the plot of It’s Like the Full Moon are connected to Italy in some capacity.

There are many places that are known for romance if you go at the right time. Paris, New York, Las Vegas, The British Isles, and more, but it seems the whole country of Italy is connected to romance. Of course, I’m exaggerating and embellishing a bit, but you get the idea. You don’t typically have to mention a specific city or town in Italy for people feel romantic at the mention of a trip there. Some places you go to for adventure, some places are for site seeing, and some places are for good food, but Italy is all that and more all wrapped up in romance…At least it is in my head.

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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My Geekdom

My Geekdom 22: Maleficent


Pins from Pinterest that inspire me and indulge my geekness.
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My Geekdom

I was in awe of Maleficent long before Angelina Jolie played the role, for which I think she did a great job. I always thought there was something special about her, but mostly I loved the fact that she was so evil and powerful. She was the kind of villain I wanted to create for one of my stories, and I believe I just might have.

When I saw Disney’s Sleeping Beauty as a child, I remember thinking that if that king hadn’t been so stupid as not to invite her, none of the curses and enchantments would have been necessary. For me, if I knew I had a crazy scary neighbor with known anger issues and I was planning a neighborhood party, I’d be a fool not to invite him. Now, I might take precautions to ensure the safety of others around me should things go wrong, but I wouldn’t ignore the guy. You know what they say, keep your enemies close…Now, I’m rambling.

Maleficent is a dynamic character that I’ll always love to hate or maybe just love, if Hollywood keeps up with the new Jolie take on this character.

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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EC: Giovanni's Angel Full Moon Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 20: The Race Thing

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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