Toi Thomas's Blog, page 83

WWW Wednesday 1/1/14

WWW WEDNESDAYS… is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of “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.

As I am only contributing to this meme on a monthly basis, while comments and shares are welcomed here, be sure to visit Should Be Reading each week to see who’s reading what.

1. What are you currently reading?

I did not have a chance to read as much as I thought I would over this holiday, but I did read more than I’ve been able to in a while. I’m so close to finishing Chasing the Avatar and am slowly making my way through Seraphina because, of course, I’ve added more to my current reading list since last I posted.

I started reading: Name of the Wind, Death of the Mad Hatter, and a short- “Life is Difficult, But also Beautiful” (English title) which I received from a book review swap.

    

-”Life if Difficult” image from maryrpagano.com

2. What did you recently finish reading?

Call of the Herald was a very short read and I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not. The Guardian’s Apprentice was a good read and I’m still deciding if I want to read more of the series now or wait a while.

 

3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m trying to keep my focus long enough to finish my current reads and finally get to the two books I’ve really been waiting for. 2014 should be a great year for reading.

 

What is your WWW Wednesday?

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

Filed under: WWWWednesday-Blogdom Tagged: books, Toi Thomas Reads, try this, WWWWednesday

Character Files from the ToiBox 42: Lisa- Psych Test

Rorschach Test

This is not a real Rorschach test , but simply a fun little additive to the whole character profile motif.

Subject FM 2-Lisa describe test image #1 as:

A club bouncer holding open a door for her.

Subject is no threat to anyone or herself physically, but she is capable of playing mind games.

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

Filed under: Character Files, Full Moon Tagged: character, contemporary fiction, cultural study, drama, family, fiction, friends, profile, romance

Happy New Year’s Eve Everyone!

I invite you to share a good-bye, something you’re grateful for, and a hope or want.

1. I am blessed to have not lost anyone close to me this year, but there have been losses in my family or amongst my friends. To them I say good-bye and rest in peace.

2. I’m grateful for new beginnings and second chances.

3. I want to stop making excuses for myself and do what needs to be done.

Be safe this holiday and be blessed throughout the year.

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

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: holiday, life

My Geekdom 07: The Muppets

Pins from Pinterest that inspire me and indulge my geekness. http://pinterest.com/toinette_thomas/my-geekdom/

Please do not copy this image. Click this image to visit Pinterest and share, share, share :)

The Muppets are great! They are so weird, and silly, and cute. They are a ragtag group of friends who’ve been all over the world and back, and even when they split, it’s not long before they all come back together again. Fantasy gets kooky in the world of Jim Henson’s Muppets. There are no boundaries and everything that would normally be weird, is perfectly normal and acceptable. Talking food, animals with animals as pets, interspecies dating…when you write it out like this it actually sounds a little twisted and sick, but it’s the Muppets and they can get away with it.

The Muppets use all their special qualities and super oddness to entertain and even teach many subtle life lessons.  In the world of the Muppets: bullying is unacceptable, discrimination is intolerable, and hate acts and hate speech are unthinkable. In a world where so many people are alike, but different from so many others, it takes a group like the Muppets to show us how we can all get along. A pig, a frog, a bear, an alien, and so much more have figured out what the white man, the black man, the brown man, and so on are still working to understand.

The Muppets make me laugh, but more importantly, they make me think of unity. Unity, or the lack of, is a major theme developing in the world of the Eternal Curse. It’s something so new to the series; even I can’t wait to see where I go with 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

Filed under: My Geekdom Tagged: author, blogging, diversity, friends, geek, humor, inspiration, Muppets, Pinterest, process, try this, weird, writing

Sample Sunday 27

Here is approximately 100 – 150 words from a randomly selected original piece for your enjoyment. These samples can include excerpts from my all my WIPs and my Eternal Curse Series, but only as works in progress (not the final products). These samples of published and unpublished works are protected under the U.S. Copyright agreement.

Eternal Curse: Battleground chapter 4 (wip)

I approached the man trying to distract him, which I did, but not in the way I’d planned. When the gunman noticed me walking towards him, he became startled at my appearance. He turned and fired his gun without even looking. The young couple took the opportunity to run away in the opposite direction. The gunman fired twice; one shot hit the viewing portal of a transport parked next the curb and the other shot hit me. I hadn’t been shot in over seventy-five years. I’d forgotten how it felt. The bullet sped through the air making contact with my skin, causing it to stretch and bruise. The shot was fired close enough that when the bullet finally stopped, it lay rested in an indentation on my arm.

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

Filed under: EC: Battleground, Samples Tagged: angels, demons, family, fiction, spec-fic, war, wip

ToiBox Blog Weekly Recap 12/28/13

Check out my Recent Posts links to see what I was up to this week.

I started out the week with Sample Sunday 26- Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel 4.5, but before that…

I shared my GoodReads Year in Books 2013

On Monday I forgot about my auto post option and had to post a correction to Mira’s Closet.

On Tuesday I added to my Character files the Rorschach test for Rebecca, and then…

I shared My Hope #50StatesOfPray, on Christmas Eve.

On Wednesday, Christmas Day, I said a few words and then…

Posted my review of The Oath.

On Thursday, I posted A Day in My Life.

And yesterday, I posted a simple Friday Forecast with a nice little milestone worth mentioning.

-No Adventures in Blogging today.

I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself this week and enjoy a very pleasant weekend.

Happy New Year’s ! Be safe and be loved.

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

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: author, biography, blessings, blogging, books, character, culture, discussion, entertainment, fashion, geek, interviews, journal, life, likes, lists, reading, reviews, sample, wip

Friday Forecast : 12/27/13

Highlighting interviewees, guest posters, my standard weekly posts, and whatever else I can think of, going into the next week.

So, here what’s happening next week:

Sample Sunday

My Geekdom: Muppets

Character Files

WWW Wednesday

WIP Update

Friday Forecast

Weekly recap and maybe another installment of my Adventures in Blogging.

–

No Adventures in Blogging today.

I am so blessed to have acquired 200+ followers on this blog. I hope I am able to keep informing, entertaining, and conversing with you all for a very long time.

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

Filed under: Author Insights, Uncategorized Tagged: 200 followers, author, blogging, interviews, life, milestone, reviews, sneak peak, try this, writing

A Day in My Life: Dec. ’13

You may or may not find this surprising, but as a writer I’ve never been much of a journaler (I like making up words). I’ve always kept writing, sketching, and poetry notebooks, but I’ve never really liked writing about myself. This monthly post is my attempt at rectifying that and is an opportunity for me to get a little personal, as I share a single event from my life.

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December 2013 – Holiday and Birthday Parties

June is a month that is so swamped with birthdays and other celebrations that I always feel a little overwhelmed, but December is a little different. There are several birthdays to be celebrated and then, of course there is Christmas, but it seems to be a little more laid back. So for this month of December, I say happy birthday to many, including my mother and nephew, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

  

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

Filed under: Listography-Top5-MyLife Tagged: biography, birthday, celebration, Christmas, family, holiday, life, social interaction, tradition

Review: The Oath

The Oath by Frank Peretti

I give this book a 4.

This book is not what I thought it would be, but I liked it. The Oath tells the story of a town with so many secrets that people are beginning to die because of them, but maybe this has been going on for a while. At the beginning of the story it is a stranger from out of town who’s the victim of a horribly violent death that begins to bring light to the existence of the Oath.  The Oath itself is a little difficult to grasp, but it seems that the people of this town have collectively decided to do whatever they want at any time and never speak of it, proudly defying the notion of consequence or sin. As everyone knows, no secret is kept forever and in Hyde River, the silence has manifested itself with terrifying results.

This book was a short and easy story to traverse. The imagery was in-depth, but not wordy. I felt as if the whole story was delivered in a matter-of-fact kind of way, as if the author was telling you the story at your house over coffee. I think what I liked best about the book was how real it seemed. I’m pretty sure I’ve been to that small town on more than one occasion. A place where people point the finger at one another, but never actually says anything.

From a fantasy perspective, the physical manifestation of sin is one of the scariest monsters I’ve come across in a while. I was intrigued by the hunting sequences and the whole predatory and prey struggle. There is absolutely nothing vulgar about this story, but it does touch on many sensitive subjects such as: infidelity, substance abuse, greed and pride, and more.

Me being me, I also liked the spiritual aspects of the story. This is definitely an adult read, but while younger children may not be able to understand the imagery or handle the dark elements, and some teens may not be able to grasp the maturity of some themes, I think this is good story for anyone.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try these links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble.

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

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: books, Christian, crime, dragons, drama, fiction, lies, mystery, reviews, secrets, spec-fic

Christmas

Christmas is a special time of year for so many people. Christians celebrate the birth of Christ. Others who observe this occasion, spend time with loved ones and spread cheer. I think, also, that many people try extra hard to be a better version of themselves than they usually are, during this time.

Christmas isn’t just for Christians and I think it’s great. Why wouldn’t I be grateful for any occasion that brings out the best in people? So anyone reading this today or some time down the road, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

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

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: holiday, life