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EC: Giovanni's Angel Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 02: This story?

teaNtalk

Today I’m sharing a picture of a green tea set from Pinterest. This is from my personal collection.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation on the Eternal Curse, I’m writing about: Why this story?

There are a number of reasons why I wrote Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, but the one that’s the most honest and accurately reflects my mood and motivation at the time I was writing it, would be “stress relief.”  After having a reoccurring dream about a gray man who turned into an angel, I began to write down all that I could remember of the dreams and compile a new story. I found the whole process of taking notes, rearranging ideas and information, and actually typing up the words to be quite relaxing, which also provided me a bit of mental escapism.

So why was I so stressed out at the time I began writing this book? Let’s see, I was living in a very small space, commuting a very long distance to my day job, dealing with chronic health issues, and dealing with family issues. As much as I love my family, and I really meant that, it’s difficult sometimes to be around them too much. Eternal Curse came to me just when I need it. There is so much of myself and even my family in between the lines of this story.

I was never raised to believe that my family was poor or impoverished in anyway, but I also knew that we weren’t wealthy. I think that writing the characters and settings of Eternal Curse the way I did, helped me come to terms with my own issues of balancing social, financial, and family demands. Speaking from the stand point of a U.S. consumer, relationships come with any number of issues to be overcome or dealt with that have nothing to do with fiancés, but when finances are an issue it does add additional unnecessary pressure. In this story, I wanted to show how people who have no financial worries are still normal regular people with issues and problems. Having money doesn’t make them happy; it’s all the “other stuff” that ends up bringing them joy and peace.

Writing this story also helped to come to terms with many other issues that I still sometimes find myself struggling with such as: social interaction; technology misuse or over usage, romantic interactions, family dealings, faith and spiritual beliefs and tolerances, and so much more. If no one other than myself were to ever read this book, all the time and effort I put into it would still be worth it.

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 Tea & Conversation

Tea and Conversation 01: Why fantasy?

teaNtalkToday I’m sharing a picture of rainbow tea cups from Pinterest.

Please do not copy this image. Click image to share on Pinterest.

Today in my meditation on the Eternal Curse, I’m writing about: Why fantasy?

I did not set out to become a writer, but when I realized it was a part of who I am, it just felt right. I had no idea that I’d ever need to be concerned about the way or style of my writing and definitely not the genre in which I write.  I believe that there may be a memoir inside me somewhere, but for now I’m sticking with fiction. I like fiction for so many reasons, but mainly because it removes all limitations. Anything can happen in fiction!

When I started writing Eternal Curse, there was no doubt that it was going to be a fantasy story; as I’ve learned it’s more specifically an urban fantasy/ paranormal romance. Again I never set out to become a fantasy writer. This story put itself together, I was just there to record it. Don’t get me wrong, I love fantasy and will probably write more of it, but it’s not “my” genre.

I don’t like kidding myself one bit. I’ll probably never write a great comedic story, even though I very much enjoy comedy, it’s just not in my writing mentality. I will, however, dabble in sci-fi, romance, mystery, contemporary fiction, and more.

With a story like Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel and the sequels to come, limitless possibilities are just the beginning. In the world of fantasy, you get to make the impossible possible and make any dream or nightmare a reality.

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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Author Insights

An Empty Mind is a Good Thing

My mind is empty for the moment, but it’s not writers block. This is exactly what I wanted. I needed to clear my mind for just a little while so I can regroup later. As I’m writing this, everything is slowly coming back to me. How I got here and why.

First, I made myself a cup of tea. Second, I watched an old cartoon episode on youtube to clear away all thoughts of literary pursuits. Then I went into the living room, sipping my tea along the way, and sat with my husband for a few minute as he watched TV.  I asked him a question about the game that was playing. This is always fascinating to me. I know nothing about sports, but I like to hear my husband talk about them. He’s so passionate about it; and even though I don’t always understand what’s going on, I do enjoy watching the game in hopes of witnessing a touchdown or a good tackle. When I’m watching hockey, I like to yell at the TV; it helps me to feel like I’m there in the arena.  By the time my tea was finished, my mind was a complete blank. I pat myself on the back as I head back towards my computer.

Now I’m ready to regroup and write. That’s what all that was for after all. So here I am writing a blog entry I should have written a day ago. Even after I finish this, I will take another break. I’ll be watching one of my favorite TV shows, just to, again, clear my mind and regroup later.

After my show, I’ll be ready to add another tidbit to the ebook companion guide I’ve been working  on for the first installment of Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel. After that, I’ll brush up another one of my short stories. Pretty soon, I’ll have enough of them brushed up to send to beta-readers and finally an editor. The last bit of writing I’ll do tonight, will be for a romance I just started, well sort of. I started it ages ago and forgot all about. I guess that’s why I send myself reminders to clean up my files every couple of months. Here’s a another, novel-length story, just waiting to get out there and be read by the masses. Sometimes, for me to be a good writer, I have to stop writing. I’m glad I know that about myself.

This is an unofficial Author Insights post.