Toi Thomas's Blog, page 122

Featured Guest 1/01

What I Love/Hate About Social Media: MySpace
My first declaration will be that I am a social media nut. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, You Tube, you name it. With our society having access to just about anything with a single swipe of your cellphone you are always connected to those who important to you. Moreover you have the ability to meet and connect with people that was never before possible… and all of this fascinates me. There are many studies about the problems with social media and how it is destroying the fabric of society, and blah, blah… but I’m not here to discuss that today. These arguments have merit, but I believe in “everything in moderation”. Instead I want to talk about the one major social media outlet that I omitted in my intro. MySpace.
Who uses my space anymore? MySpace is dead isn’t it? MySpace is bloated with annoying ads, a dysfunctional user interface, and it’s users have left in droves. Facebook killed it. Wasn’t MySpace the first mainstream social media giant to connect millions upon millions of people around the world? VH1 should make a mini documentary, “When MySpace ruled the World”. I can’t tell you the last time I logged in to MySpace, but writing this post has me interested in going back to see what it looks like. Oh just finished checking – I couldn’t remember my login.
Well why exactly am I talking about MySpace? Remember when Justin Timberlake bought the company just last year for about 35 Million dollars? You probably thought to yourself that was a waste of money. Or some thought I hope he knows what he’s doing. Or some didn’t care… ? Many of you who are social media nuts like me already know about the latest announcement from MySpace. MySpace released an official relaunch video that demos the newest features and interface of MySpace and it is dazzling! 
Mr. Timberlake has effectively resurrected what was at one time the King of Social Media. The timing probably couldn’t be better either. With all the talk about Facebook faltering this may be the opportunity that MySpace has been waiting on to remerge and take it’s place as the social media elite. So what does it look like? What is it going to be? Well I have included a link to you can click to take you there to discover for yourself. You can also sign up for email correspondence for when MySpace officially launches. http://vimeo.com/50071857
Well fans, friends, humans, and half-breeds, I hope you enjoyed that. Today you got to hear from the illustrator of my book and one of my favorite tech guys. He’s a lot of fun and knows his stuff. He works in a highly technological field and he’s a bit of a geek just like me. We shall be seeing more from Eric as he has just jumped on board be a regular featured guest here at the Eternal Curse Series Universe. See you all next time.

Stacking The Shelves 04

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, and of course ebooks!*Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use Tynga’s official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!*You can set your post any way you want, simple book lists, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!*Tynga’s posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.* Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday to add your link so others can visit you.*Visit other participant’s links to find out what they added to their shelves.The information list above was taken directly from Tynga’s Reviews blog.Here’s what I got.Childhood’s End audio bookCollection of  Jules Verne books- a bargain buyCall Me Rockstar- ebookThe Sister Circle (The Sister Circle Series #1)- ebookThe Angel of Music, Part I: The Enchanted Violin- ebook
Just for fun, ECS will also be Entertaining My Brain.I will be sharing the comics, movies, live shows, and vinyl records I’ve added and or will be seeing at venues or theatres.  Please feel free to share and comment.*Watched my Netflix copy of The Debt and thoroughly enjoyed it.*Bought some Batman paraphernalia, not that I needed more.*I bought a Where’s Waldo game for the Wii just because it makes me smile.Can’t what to see what I have next week.

Author Insight 06

So I’m a little late on a few things, but stick with me. It’ll all make sense in the end.
Saturday’s R 4 Sharing.This is a weekly meme hosted by Eternal Curse Series. Throughout the week, guests and followers will have the opportunity to vote on the week’s topic. Each Saturday, I will post my thoughts on the subject matter and will include my top 5 whenever applicable. I greatly encourage guests and followers to comment and contribute to the subject of the day.I didn’t get any bite this week for my topic so I am reposting the same poll to see if I get any interest for next week. Next Saturday, whether I have interest or not, I will pick a topic out of a hat, like I did last week and write about it.  Here are the current choices. Bestselling booksFavorite indie authorsBook to screen adaptationsWho would you like to interview?As for today, I’m taking a moment to offer some author insight.
I completed my first two interviews this week and am really liking the interview process. My first unofficial interview was of myself, for a blog hop promotion called the Next Big Thing. I didn’t come up with the questions, so it did actually feel like I was being interviewed, but I posted the interview. Then I got a chance to actually interview an aspiring author working to release her first book, Quanie Mitchell.
I think I like interviews much more than reviews, though I have not abandoned those, I’m just very behind. I have read so many books I can write reviews for, but reviewing isn’t a strong point for me. I do what I can though. The more I do, it seems, the that is expected. Being a writer isn’t easy and being an author is actually hard. Luckily for me, I write because it makes me happy, everything else is just extra. If I fail a little here and there, I don’t let it get me down. As long as I haven’t lost my will to write, I’m doing good.
A new week has started and for me that means another round of adventure. I’m glad to announce that I have a few reviews and interviews scheduled to post in the near future as well as introducing a regular featured guest. I hope you al like what I have in store and I hope I remember to keep my Info. page updated with my activities.
Comments are welcomed. Be sure stop by this week and vote for next week’s topic.

6 Sentence Sunday 04

This is a weekly meme hosted and originated by 6 Sentence Sunday. Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel -6 sentences from chapter 3.
Giovanni stretched out his neck and squinted his eyes, but he could not make out the face of the angelic warrior. As the victor knelt down and placed his hand over the head of his foe, Giovanni could see that he was looking down at the slain face of a youth; a golden boy, curled up like a wheel with his head pressed into his feet. His body was covered with a thousand crying eyes that now remained forever shut behind their resting lids.
There seemed to be a black smoke-like spirit fading away, almost seeping, from the corpse as it disintegrated into ash. Giovanni was nearby struggling to break free, as forces of anger and hatred held him down. He could not see this enemy, this dark force that was digging its claws into his flesh, causing blood to trickle painfully from his body.
To participate, pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers ). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!
Posts are for bloggers only, but comments are open to all. Please post a link back to Six Sunday, the “anchor” site, to let people know where you heard about the idea. You are not required to list the week’s posters on your post…And don’t be afraid to share the love by adding the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets about Six Sentence Sunday. You can follow the official Six Sentence Sunday twitter at: https://twitter.com/6_Sunday.
*The informative content listed above was taken directly from the 6 Sentence Sunday website with a few paraphrases for ease of viewing and reading. Please review their FAQs for more details.

Interview 01

Greetings humans, half-breeds, and everything in between. Yesterday I had the pleasure to interview my new friend, Quanie Mitchell. A good time was truly had be all, and here’s how it went down.
Hi there Quanie. It’s so awesome to have you here at the ECS Universe. Don’t worry about the darkness, you’re eyes will adjust.
 So tell me who is Quanie Mitchell?
I’m a writer, blogger, and soon to be wife. I’m from Louisiana and often find different variations of my family (and my hometown!) appearing in my work. I love reality television shows, don’t read as much as I should, and I don’t really like my vegetables.  
I’m a pretty big fan of Louisiana myself. That’s where my dad is from. Congratulations on the soon to be nuptials. As much as you don’t like’em, I hope your still eating them. Veggies are important.
So whacha got for me today?
Well, my current WIP is a piece of speculative fiction, tentatively titled The New Mrs. Collins. Here’s the one liner: When a jilted woman discovers that her ex’s new wife is hiding something, she goes digging for the truth and discovers that some secrets are better left buried. 
Buried secrets get you every time. This story sounds juicy.
 So who’s staring is this 2 dimensional script read of The New Mrs. Collins?
My main character’s name is Leena Williams. She works at Sweet Time, the bakery that she owns. She’s the proud mother of a six year old rascal named Corie and loves spending time gossiping with her mother and sister about the goings on of Carolville, Louisiana. Oh; and she’s also just about to get married. Google searchAlready I can see a few parallels between you and Leena. I know what that’s like. Sometimes you just can’t avoid putting a little bit of yourself into your characters. I can’t wait to learn more about the story, but for now, I want to know more about you.

Past, present, future, is there a rhyme or reason to your writing?
When I’m writing and really in the zone, I am sitting at my computer with a cup of bamboo leaf green tea.

Tea sounds good right about now, but I digress. Let’s keep going.
What author(s) has most influenced your writing? Why or how?
Google searchFor my current work, I would honestly have to say R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. I read so much speculative fiction as I child, not even realizing that those themes were slowly trickling into my own writing!

I hear that. So much of what we read, saw, heard, experienced in our youth has influenced in current daily lives. As writers, I think those early impressions are sometimes more relevant than our current influences.
 Who’s brain are you just itching to scratch?
I would have to say Octavia Bulter. I would ask her how she came up with the idea for Kindred and the issues she faced while writing it.
 That’s a good one. That’s one of those stories that I hate to admit that I haven’t read, but have heard of. I too wonder how she came up with this tragically emotional tale of time travel and made it so politically and socially relevant.  It’s weird in a great way.
What’s your ideal reading spot for your next highly anticipated read?
Well, I'm reading Elsewhere, California by Dana Johnson. I'm excited to read it because she's super talented and I had the pleasure of meeting her at Squaw Valley Writers Workshop this past July. My ideal reading spot is my comfy living room sofa!

Isn’t it so cool when you get to meet the people whose work you admire. I’ve haven’t meet anyone like that yet, but I’m sure it will be a great experience when I do.

What was your favorite book or story, pre teen years?

AmazonThe Last Vampireby Christopher Pike.

I expected you to answer with something from Pick…Now this where the questions get a little kooky; are you ready?
Yes indeed, baby!
 Alright then, here we go.
If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
IMDB The rest of my life? Hmmmm…I guess I would have to say Brown Sugar. 
 Good choice. That’s a funny movie, but very true to relationships; and if  you like Hip-Hop, that’s just icing on the cake.
What makes you geek out?
Something that makes me geek out? The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo (the movie, US, Sweden ); I thought the movie really did the book justice and I couldn’t shut up about the movie for days.
 That’s an intense story. I can see wanting, maybe even needing, to talk about it afterwards. I never read the book and only watched the (Swedish) movie when I was able to have someone tell where all the graphic scenes were so I could skip them. It’s a good story.  
 
When the soundtrack of your life is playing in your head, what songs express your glee and what songs bring out your rage?
AmazonNot sure about the glee and rage, but I know just what songs would appear on my sound track: Jill Scott’sfirst and third albums (in totality!) Janelle Monae’s Oh Maker, Come Alive, and Violet Stars Happy Hunting, and Beyonce’s I am World Tour Album.
 That would make for a very soulful life and movie.
What’s the most fun experience you’ve ever had?
The most fun? Hmmm…meeting my fiancé for the first time, the summer before I moved to California that I spent mostly with my mom and my nephew, my brother’s wedding, and going to Charleston to visit my fiancé’s family.

I can see that family time equals fun with you; I’m the same way. I bet you’re hearing wedding bells everywhere you go right now. I’m so excited for you.
 Remind me again how I was lucky enough to meet you?
I met (you) Toi Thomas through Linkedin! It’s a group called Black Authors Network.
 Not that you can see into the future, but in your opinion, what does the future hold?
Okay, so, knock on wood; in five years I hope to have a very commercially successful novel on the market with two or three other books in the works. I also hope to be making a full time living as a writer and working from home while taking care of my (now unborn) child(ren).
 Ok, humans, half-breeds, and everything in between, that’s all for today. For more from Quanie Mitchell, check out this great link: quanietalkswriting.com
 

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop: Week 15

Greeting everyone. Today I am listing my contribution to the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. It’s like a chain letter that’s not creepy, annoying, and is actually fun. It’s a great way for writers to promote themselves and inform people about their works. Each writer answers ten questions about one of their current, upcoming, or works in progress, and them tags a few other writers to keep the ball rolling the next week. I will be answering questions about my current release.

Before I get started with my answers, I would like to send a huge shout out to Quanie Mitchell over at Quanie Talks Writing for tagging me last week. Quanie’s w.i.p. The New Mrs. Collins is in its final editing phases. Be sure to stop by her blog and take a look around…And now for my 10 answers.

What is the working title of your book? The title of my published book is Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.
Where did the idea come from for the book? The idea for this book came from a reoccurring dream about a gray man who turns into an angel, but that’s not the story I wrote.
What genre does your book fall under? It is considered to be speculative fiction, fantasy, and spiritual fiction.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A gray man meets a woman online who helps him discover his true purpose in the world, only to find out that he is not of this world.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I have self-published my book. To learn about this, visit my Info. tab or go to this link https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/236158.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? It took me about a year to write the first draft of my manuscript and another year to work out all the kinks.
IMDBWhat other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Many people have compared the story to an unusual take on the classic Beauty and Beast tale. I agree with that assessment, but also consider my story to a bit prophetic in the sense that it has a character being singled-out as “the one.” Such is the case with stories like the Matrix (the movie) or The Wizard of Oz. In these stories, on character becomes “the one” that will solve all the problems.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? I was inspired to write the book because my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about it until I did.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? This book is part of a 3-4 part series. The second draft of the sequel is complete and an outline with three chapters of the third book is complete. The Eternal Curse Series will travel back and forth through time following the life of Giovanni and will open up a world of angels, demons, and half-breeds. Even the fate of the world may be involved at some point.
These images are just place holders for the future book covers.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see my interview of Quanie Mitchell.

WWW WEDNESDAYS 03

WWW WEDNESDAYS… is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading, where you share (1)What you’re currently reading, (2)What you recently finished reading, and (3)What you think you’ll read next.
Comments and shares are welcomed here, but please try to share with Should be Reading as this is their meme.
1. What are you currently reading? Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore (half way through) and The Conduit (Gryphon Series) by Stacey Rourke (just started today).
2. What did you recently finish reading? Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I haven’t finished anything else new lately and since Ender’s Game was soooo good, I don’t know if what I’m reading now will satisfy me as much, but I have high hopes for The Conduit.
3. What do you think you’ll read next? I’m going to re-experience a classic. Since I just acquired and audio book version of Gulliver’s Travels, I will listen to it in my car.
What are your WWW Wednesday?

Author Insight 05

When did fiction become so Speculative? Someone posed this question to one of my social networking groups recently and though the topic was very popular, I don’t know that an answer of ever given. I guess the question is a bit vague. It’s not like all fiction has actually become speculative, but this genre has become very popular as of late. The term speculative is so broad that it’s not too hard to understand it popularity. There is something there to appeal to a great many people across the board.
Speculative fiction encompasses sci-fi, fantasy, horror, supernatural, paranormal, and all sorts of alternative reality themes including those with historical, romantic, and political undertones. The Speculative fiction umbrella is so vast that many like it and don’t even know they do, while some think they like and actually don’t. I think it’s the term itself that’s really been getting the buzz lately.
As popular as the myriad of speculative genres are, fiction still stand strong and stands strong all on its own. Depending on the circles in which one travels, Speculative fiction may not even exist. I know lots of people who read fiction and have no idea what Speculative is. These people read historical novels, crime and suspense novels, romance novels, and so much more. People do still write stories that tell the tales of ordinary every people without any undertones of supernatural happenings, or creatures, or technological wonders of the past, present, or future.
I think maybe that sometimes people get so involved in the happenings of their social circles that they forget that everyone isn’t a part of their world. I know I’ve been guilty of that many times. And while I’m content to continuing working my series of Speculative spiritual fiction, that doesn’t mean I don’t take the time to step out of that world and experience something else from time to time.

Stacking The Shelves 03

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, and of course ebooks!*Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use Tynga’s official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!*You can set your post any way you want, simple book lists, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!*Tynga’s posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.* Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday to add your link so others can visit you.*Visit other participant’s links to find out what they added to their shelves. The information list above was taken directly from Tynga’s Reviews blog.Here’s what I got. 'All Things Different' by Shawn UnderhillGulliver’s Travels- audio book.
Just for fun, ECS will also be Entertaining My Brain.I will be sharing the comics, movies, live shows, and vinyl records I’ve added and or will be seeing at venues or theatres.  Please feel free to share and comment.*Dredd was terribly inappropriate for children, but I guess that’s why I don’t have any. It was awesome!*The first episode of Once Upon a Time left me wanting for more. We’ll see how the season goes.* I saw a beautiful interpretive dance this weekend at a Women’s Conference. It was very unexpected and very well received.  
Can’t what to see what I have next week.

6 Sentence Sunday 03

This is a weekly meme hosted and originated by 6 Sentence Sunday. Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel -6 sentences from chapter 2.
Giovanni further explained to Mira that he had an unusual skin condition that made him sensitive, almost allergic, to direct sunlight. He explained that ever since he was born his skin had been a dull grayish color, not quite lacking in pigment but something more unique. Giovanni explained that it wasn’t a gray color like that of pale or pasty skin; it was more of a gray like the color of ash after a fire.
He explained that he could go outside with the proper sun protection, just never at midday when the sun is the brightest. He then went on to explain that he hardly ever went out in public around other people. He told her how, throughout his childhood and even as an adult, the scrutiny he would receive from passersby was too much for him to bear.
To participate, pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers ). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!
Posts are for bloggers only, but comments are open to all. Please post a link back to Six Sunday, the “anchor” site, to let people know where you heard about the idea. You are not required to list the week’s posters on your post…And don’t be afraid to share the love by adding the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets about Six Sentence Sunday. You can follow the official Six Sentence Sunday twitter at: https://twitter.com/6_Sunday.
*The informative content listed above was taken directly from the 6 Sentence Sunday website with a few paraphrases for ease of viewing and reading. Please review their FAQs for more details. For an Eternal Curse: Giovanni's Angel Swag Pack & a $5 gift card: Tell me what is the name of the next book in this series.