Categories
Blessings IWSG

#IWSG Jan. 2025- Who did you admire as a kid?

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.

Optional Monthly Question: Describe someone you admired when you were a child. Did your opinion of that person change when you grew up?

My answer is also available as a YouTube Short I’ve shared on social media.

So for me, this was kind of a difficult question. I think I’ve always looked up to the adults in my family, and those throughout my family history. It’s hard for me to pinpoint whether or not there was someone specific, outside of my family that I admired; however, I know there are so many noteworthy historical figures that I’ve learned about throughout my life. They cover many facets, like, science, politics, literature, and entertainment. I’m human, like everyone else, so I have different people that I prefer over others in terms of celebrities and public figures.

I think for me though, what it boils down to is that growing up in Texas meant that I had Texas history. When I was around 11 or 12, I moved to Virginia and I started getting Virginia history. There are a lot of similarities but the most resounding thing that sticks out to me, is how a lot of the figures that I was taught as a child were so great and noble, as an adult I’ve learned that they’re not so great and noble. Some of them I learned about before I was even an adult. So much of history is based upon where you’re getting it who you’re getting it from. So while these people may have done a lot for their communities, what they did was based on greed and oppression and suppression.

So, there’s no one person, but there are a lot of people that I may have admired as a child that I don’t admire anymore, but there are a lot that I do still admire.

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Personal Updates…

1) Here’s a post you may have missed where I give an update about my Mark of Bletsian series.

2) I’ve moved my personal updates over to Patreon. Anyone can access this post because it’s public. And though it requires a one-time login, so does Substack. In any case, my feelings will not be hurt if no one is willing to click through.

I’d love to grow my Patreon community to 100 free subscribers by 2026, but I’d also be happy with one more than I currently have. It is what it is.

My Patreon community was able to watch my Counting My Blessings video three days early, but now its public if you’d like to see it and don’t want to go to Patreon. There’s also a short for it, in case the full video is too long for you.

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Commerce update…

I HEART Books crewneck featured.

If you’re interested in the featured item or other clothing, click to visit Sell My Tees.

I’m happy that people are starting to show interest in my merch. The stickers of this design have been doing well. It also comes in white letters on a black background. It’s the only thing I currently have that’s selling. The stickers and other accessories can be found at Redbubble.

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Do you still admire someone you did as a child?

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:
Rebecca Douglass,
Beth Camp,
Liza @ Middle Passages,
and Natalie @ Literary Rambles!

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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 #23).

Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG Jan. 2024- Do you follow readers on BookBub?

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.

Optional Monthly Question: Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?

I honestly never gave this matter any thought. I feel like to do follow back people who follow me, but I know I’m following more authors than are following me. I think most of the people who follow me do so because they like my book reviews, not necessarily because they enjoy the books I’ve put out.

Oh, and I’m trying something new this year. I’m sharing the IWSG monthly question as a YouTube short. Anyone else interested?

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I’m so excited to announce that a passion project I’ve been working on is finally complete and ready for publication. I haven’t decided if I want to do a limited distribution to friends and family or do a standard release where it is open to the world. At the end of the day, I wanted to get this book done before my fur baby crossed over the rainbow bridge and I’ve done it.

Even if I don’t do a full release, it might be fun to at least do a blog hop or blitz where other people could share their pet stories. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

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Now, on to the personal updates.

I’ve actually set some goals for 2024 and I’m excited about the possibilities.

 

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A post shared by Toi Thomas (@toithomasauthor)

I’m not so excited about the future of this blog. My hosting service seems to be getting worse every day and I really don’t want to start over with a brand new blog, especially since I’ve put so much money into this one. I have no idea what the future holds for me on this platform.

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Are you on BookBub?
Want to follow each other?
Want to be part of a pet story hop?
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:
Joylene Nowell Butler,
Olga Godim,
Diedre Knight, and
Natalie Aguirre!

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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 #27).

Did you know you can join my community for FREE over at Patreon to receive a monthly update on the creative projects I’m working on? I tell you the truth, it’s better than a newsletter!

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.

Categories
Books

What I #read in May. ’23 & what I #amreading!

I’m a bit late this month and am dealing with some emotional things so this post will be short and sweet.

If interested, stop by the book club and let us know “What Are You Read?

The following to videos will get you caught up on what I am reading and what I completed in the month of May.

Here are some links of interest, and yes, they are affiliate links. Thanks for your support.

Entheóphage- Amazon: https://amzn.to/43VqcQE

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/82846/9781958461006

In Darkness: The Shark- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3N28QL9

Lila Lou’s Little Library- Amazon: https://amzn.to/43U04pn

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/82846/9781735345116

The Brides of Maracoor- Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pnerU5

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/82846/9780063093966

Razor Valentine- Amazon: https://amzn.to/42Lz8re

Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.