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IWSG

#IWSG February 2022- I miss Crystal

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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 #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

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG January 2022- I have no regrets (sort of)!

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: What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

I had the perfect job for building a writing career while still working until I could write full-time or retire, but then I quit. I quit because I was miserable. Not just whiny miserable but still need therapy to this day miserable. I worked in a classroom and got lots of vacation time and summers off. Now I find time to write between long work hours and bouts of anxiety commuting to and from my clients due to the number of times others have hit my car. I never get time off, I can take time off and not get paid, but I don’t get time off. Since I quit the job, I legitimately hated, my writing has suffered. I just don’t have the time to write like I used to. It’s just one of the major triggers to my ongoing battle with depression, and yet, I have no regrets. I’m blessed. I thank God every day for family and friends who help me cope with life, even when it’s hard. No matter how hard life gets, at least I don’t have to go back to that job. Never again. Not sure I’ll be able to overcome this, but maybe this is just how it’s meant to be. I’ll do what I can when I can and keep moving forward.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of January are The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas and Satellite Blues by Team Netherworld. 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.

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.

5) This may sound a bit touchy, but after all the searching I did, I found it incredibly helpful when an author not only posted their book cover but also listed the title of the book in text on the page. Sometimes, a beautiful cover comes with the slight drawback of not being very readable. Just something to keep in mind.

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 February we’ll feature books from authors in the 1-50 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 for 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 had a lot I wanted to put into this post, but it just didn’t happen. I hope to catch up throughout the month and recap in February.

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So, any regrets in your writing career?
Read, or written, any good books lately?
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.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Erika Beebe,
Olga Godim,
Sandra Cox,
Sarah Foster, and
Chemist Ken!

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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 #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

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG December 2021- There’s a thin line between stress and delight.

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: In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?

At times, the writing process itself can be stressful, when the words and or ideas aren’t flowing, but for me, that’s a good kind of stress. I always enjoy the process of writing a story and working out the plot and characters. Even in the developmental editing phase when critique and beta readers are giving me feedback I don’t want to hear because I know that part is good no matter what five other people tell me (well, maybe). Once I get passed all that and start to think about publishing, that’s where the stress comes in.

I don’t even stress about marketing anymore. I will do the best I can and hope for the best, but I’m not stressing over advertising. For me, editing and the actual process of publishing is what stresses me out. Making sure all the edits have been applied, making sure all the formats are ready, making sure files and codes are ready for upload, etc… This isn’t so bad when publishing traditionally because someone else takes care of all that, but still, the waiting drives me crazy- waiting for the release date to be announced, waiting for author copies to arrive in the mail, etc…

So, I guess my point is that writing isn’t that stressful, even when I never have enough time to do it as much as I’d like. It’s the stuff that comes after writing that stresses me out. Writing is the delightful part… when it isn’t driving me crazy. There’s such a thin line between stress and delight.

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of December are Falling for the Villain by Kim Elliott and Being Human by Patricia Lynne. 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.

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.

4) When listing your books on your website or blog, go a few extra miles and do more than simply post the book cover. By listing a description and or genre, it will clarify for a potential reader whether it’s something they really want to know more about. I discovered several wonderful-looking books with great cover art, that didn’t explicitly let me know what to expect from the pages within. When a description and or genre was listed, I had a better idea of whether I was interested or not. The books without descriptions or genres were overlooked because I didn’t want to risk it. *Also, if you have books in a series, please list the series number.

Reminder: Here’s our new 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 (Anthologies)
IWSG Registry Apr, Aug, Dec

In January we’ll feature books from authors in the 101+ position of the IWSG blogging list. We are very excited to be featuring books by IWSG Facebook members this month. Don’t forget, 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.

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.

I think I’m finally ready to start working on something for publication. I’ve been playing around with the idea to release another collection of short stories but didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go. Next year, releasing that collection by my birthday will be a big focus. I’ll be needing critique readers early on and ARC readers closer to publication. It will either be a collection of fantasy shorts or science fiction, but not both together. Perhaps I’ll release one and then the other, depending on how the first wave of critiquing goes. When I’m ready, I’ll see if any IWSG members are interested in reading ARCs. I have a list of people I want to ask for critiques. We’ll see how that goes.

Also, I’m excited to announce that the Kickstarter for RavenCon relief was so successful that they released two anthologies. My contribution to the effort appears in the first book. I’m so excited about another royalty opportunity.

Amazon.com

Last month, I posted my previous month book reviews with my IWSG Book Club Poll announcement and will do that again this month. Come back next week if you want to see that. Below I’ve attached a fun video of me unboxing some new glasses!

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So, what about writing stresses you?

Where do you find delight in the process of writing?

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.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
PJ Colando,
Diane Burton,
Louise – Fundy Blue,
Natalie Aguirre, and
Jacqui Murray!

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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 #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