Tag: video

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IWSG

#IWSG March 2015: Interviews & Anticipation #bloggerswanted

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Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.

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I don’t know how encouraging this will be to anyone who happens to be reading it, but I’d like to have a conversation with you. Really, whoever you are, I want to get to know you. It seems that no matter how hard I try I just can’t seem to really connect to those around me and in the blogosphere it’s even harder. I’m not sure if people, or other authors, think I have something up my sleeve, but no one seems to believe me when I say I want to get to know them.

I’m not going to lie and pretend that I’m the perfect pen pal or virtual friend you’re ever going to find, but I do like connecting with people, even if I’m not that good at staying connected. Being an introvert is only a small part of it. What can I say, I have issues, but that doesn’t make me a bad person. I want to get know people, especially other bloggers so I can learn from them, but my problem may be that I don’t have much to offer in return.

While I love to interview people, they may not want to be bothered with the whole process knowing that my post isn’t likely going to garner them a 1000 new followers or fans. I’m small time, but I like it here at The ToiBox of Words and think others would too if they simply gave it a chance.

I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of video interviewing authors and bloggers. I guess I missed the memo that said talking in front of a web cam was a mortal sin. What kind of introvert am I anyway? Why would an introvert have a You Tube channel? I guess deep down, I know it doesn’t bother me because my following is so small and filled with people, to which, I feel pretty confident in calling friends.

In any case, I’m making efforts to reach out and interview some new authors and even some book bloggers just because I’d like to get to know them. We’ll see if any of them say yes.

On a completely different note, I’m trying to walk by faith and believe that I’ll be able to release my sequel, Eternal Curse: Battleground by May of this year, but I feel like I’m battling a giant in the process. We’ll see what happens.

Would any of you like to be interviewed?
Why are people so camera-shy?
Are you working on a book or other release? I’d love to hear about it.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Chemist Ken,
Suzanne Sapseed,
Shannon Lawrence!

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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 #121).

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

Categories
Awards Videos

Very Inspiring Blogger Award #gratitude

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My buddy, the motivator of my journey into movie reviews, The Armchair Squid has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and I am almost speechless. It took me a few days to wrap my head around this and now I’m sharing it with the world. Thank you so much Squid for nominating me and providing me with a level of encouragement I didn’t realize I needed. You have made my week! 😀

Here are three things that have inspired me recently:
1) Lemons. To me lemons have always symbolized opportunity, ever since I understood the phrase “make lemonade”. I’ve been dealt plenty of lemons recently, but have chosen to make lemonade at every turn. I just hope I don’t end up upsetting my tummy.

2) This driving dog inspires me for three reasons.

1. This is just so cute 8D.
2. Dogs are so willing to do things above and beyond, maybe even unnatural, to please the people they care about. I want to be more like dogs in that they can be so selfless.
3. If a dog can learn to drive a car, surely I can figure out a way to write a story that reaches into people’s hearts and makes them feel good. That’s all I really want, but it may be a bit much.

3) My sister who is also one of my nominees. Tori J. Jones inspires me in more ways than I have time or space to write here, and on top of all that, she’s the physical inspiration for the main female character in my book Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel. Tori is a full-time mom, a full-time art student, a full-time cyber entrepreneur, daily –weekly blogger, and she volunteers her time at Church, the PTA, and women’s shelters. Maybe I should just write a story about her; it’s bound to me a phenomenal read.

My nominations:
I am well aware that these awards aren’t for everyone and also realize that some of the people I’d like to nominate may have already been nominated. In any case, I’m taking lemons and using them as an opportunity to honor and or promote a few bloggers who inspire me daily and weekly. Even if they wish not to participate, I’m proud to give them a shout out and say, “Thanks for inspiring me.”

M.C.V. Egan – an amazing promoter and advocate for peace; an all-around fun person
Stacy Rourke – wonderful sense of humor, wonderful promoter and author
Wiz Green – wonderful sense of humor and great promoter, makes everyone feel like a friend
Brian Feinblum – knows his stuff about the industry, excellent blogger
Tricia Drammeh – an amazing supporter of indies, all around wise and peaceful person
Derrick Ferguson – Mr. cool to me, excellent movie reviewer, blogger, and writer
John H. Byk – great entertainer providing interesting and fun audio interviews
The Geek Twins – my goto for geekess, fun stuff, but also thought-provoking
Beth – excellent book reviewer and blogger, the reason I check out many books
Bethany – a true blessing and reminder of the good things in life
Andrew Hess – another cool guy, great critiquer and promoter
Tori Jones – A renaissance woman (my sister)

The Rules for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award:
1. Thank the person who nominated you, and link to their blog.
2. Display the award logo.
3. Nominate 15 other bloggers (more or less) and provide a link where they may be found.
4. Go to their blog, leave a comment to let them know they have been nominated.
5. Mention three things that inspired you the most during the past few weeks.

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

Categories
Fiction Author Videos

Long Time No Talk with M.C.V. Egan #author #fiction

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Greetings humans, half-breeds, and everything in between. Today I’m sharing a very special update from one of my dearest author friends, a trend I hope to develop more. It’s been a while since I’ve hosted this special author or reviewed something of hers, but that’s just me being disorganized and frazzled as usual. Not only is Catalina, a.k.a. M.C.V. Egan a wonderful author and friend, she just a neat person to know. 

So here’s an update on what she’s been doing.

Toi: Can you believe it is 2015? Did you make any great resolutions that you know you can keep?

M.C.V. Egan: I did set a few goals/resolutions and at this stage I like to be very fluid. If I stumble, I can pick my self up and remember the set course. 2014 was full of many good moments, sprinkled with a dose of some health issues and teen drama, but it was overall a good year. I am very much looking forward to 2015, one such resolution is keeping more in touch with my friends, so be warned Toi, you will see much more of me! Another sadly is to watch my intake of caffeine….

Toi: Is there anything new happening on your blog?

M.C.V. Egan: I run three blogs in 2015 and I have fun plans for all three.
On Tumblr @ The Bridge of Deaths, I plan to interview more bloggers. I did that a few years ago, and although some bloggers are also authors, I really enjoy that exchange.
I am welcoming more diverse guests @ Is History The Agreed Upon Lie? I am also not leaving the guests on for the full two weeks. The theme is still discrepancies in history and the guests are amazing. I have a fantastic one now about The Pilgrims.
I have agreed to host for many more on-line book tours and other promotions. I feel this is a great way to learn how to best promote myself, while helping others. I have connected with many fantastic people this way. I really recommend hosting other authors.

Toi: Any books news?

M.C.V. Egan: YES, MANY BOOK NEWS ! I am working hard on a series, YES A SERIES, it is The Defining Ways series and the first book is now available on AMAZON . I will release the printed version of DEFINED by OTHERS soon.
The series book two is Climbing Up The Family Tree; Defined by Pedigree is going to be diverse, not all of the books will be considered contemporary nor will they have the same format (Surprises ahead) , they will all have the common thread of all that defines us; which is great because there is so much out there that shapes and molds us!

Toi: So, how’s the future looking? Any cool plans?

M.C.V. Egan: I am working hard on marketing strategies, both locally and in our great cyber world. As a part of that I have started using as many tools as I can find such as photofunia.com and Animoto. With this as well as with my blogs, I feel that sharing and helping others is key to success, so I am making trailers and promo videos for my artists, poets,  and author friends.
 
Enjoy my latest promotional and a bit about my new venture…Oh yes if you get a chance swing by AMAZON and FOLLOW ME Please?????
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See why I love this lady so much. She’s so positive and kindhearted, it’s hard not to like her; plus she writes some really good stories. So please, take some time to visit her blogs, follow her on Amazon, and check out her books. You’ll be glad you did. Head over to 4covert2overt to see an update from me. 
 
If you like this update of my dear friend Catalina and are wondering about some of my other past guests, don’t worry; their updates are in the works. So, humans, half-breeds, and everything in between, that’s all I have for today. 
 
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