Toi Thomas's Blog, page 87

Adventures In Blogging: Social Media Marketing- Rafflecopter part 2

I’ll be writing about my adventures, from my point of view, while offering my opinion on whatever the current matter happens to be. I hope you will enjoy it, if for no other reason, because you’ll get to see just how crazy my mind and reactions can be sometimes.

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Social Media Marketing- Rafflecopter part 2

Thank you all for stopping by to see what craziness I have to share today. This is part two of my Rafflecopter discussion, but unlike my last post which was nice and sweet, this one is stern. I’m going to rant a little.

Before I begin my rant, know this now, I use Rafflecopter and appreciate its great value and am glad that I don’t have to blog in a world without it.

So, here I go.

I can’t stand trying to participate in Rafflecopters that have so many entry options that I loose count after 20. I totally understand why these exist, but I still don’t like them. Collaborative efforts are what keep much of the blog world spinning and when awarding prizes, bloggers should have an opportunity to build their social reach in order to do so, but why does it have to be so extensive?

A blog hop featuring 20 bloggers offer a prize bundle made of donations of all those participating never seems to have less than 50 entries, and averages around 80 or more.  With 80 entries, each participant gets to include a link for their blog, twitter, facebook, and one other social media outlet. Again, I agree with the reasoning and understand the why, but it just feels like too much.

I have participated in these kinds of rafflecopters and probably will again, but I will give it a second and maybe even a third thought before agreeing to it. For non-regular blog readers, I feel that a Rafflecopter like that is a deterrent. This is one of those times when knowing your audience really helps. Sometimes it works out great to send some to a contest or event like this and sometime is backfires.

Whenever I create my own Rafflecopters, I do make an effort to not have the entry process seem overwhelming…Then again, sometimes I think I’m over thinking things. We live in a competitive world. People love voting, and entering to win, and trying to beat out the next person. Maybe the average person doesn’t mind these long contests and it’s just me…

In any case, I’ll still make an effort to keep things as simple as possible; it’s just who I am.

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: AdventuresNBlogging Tagged: blog hop, blogging, books, contest, ebook, free, giveaway, promotion, rafflecopter, reading, social media marketing, social networing, try this, writing

ToiBox Blog Weekly Recap 12/07/13

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

I started out the week with Sample Sunday 23- Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel chapter 4.3…

And then, Sarah J. Pepper shared another excerpt from Death of the Mad Hatter (Just got my copy ).

On Monday I shared My Geekdom thoughts on Darth Vadar…

Sheila Deeth shared a lovely interview with a Shepherd Boy…

And then Sarah J. Pepper shared her last excerpt from Death of the Mad Hatter.

On Tuesday I added to my Character files the Rorschach test for Jack…

And then, I announced my Big Book News- the February 18th release date for my book and my book pre-orders.

On Wednesday I posted my monthly contribution to the weekly WWW Wednesday meme…

And then, I participated in another supportive and encouraging month of the Insecure Writers Support Group.

On Thursday I shared a meek WIP Update…

And then, announced my participation in 50 States of Pray.

On Friday after my Friday Forecast I posted my interview with Jim Musgrave.

-Today I will continue my thoughts on Rafflecopter in my Adventures in Blogging.

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

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

Jim Musgrave Interview

The Eternal Curse Series Blog Presents an interview with author: Jim Musgrave.

image provided by author

So tell me, who is Jim Musgrave?

I am a retired college English professor living in San Diego with my wife, Ellen.  We have two Siamese cats and a son, Ari, living with us.  My wife is my editor and my son is my illustrator.  I write all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, and I’ve been doing it for over 20 years in one form or another.  I have been a finalist in a variety of fiction contests, including the Bram Stoker Awards for Horror.  I currently enjoy writing a steampunk mystery and fantasy series called the Detective Pat O’Malley series.

I’m glad to have a chance to speak with you. I don’t know much about steampunk, but I do find it quite fascinating. I can’t wait to see what you have to share today.

So whacha got for me today?

In Forevermore, a Medal of Honor winner living in Poe’s Cottage in the Bronx following the Civil War, reads a strange note hidden on the bedframe and decides to prove that his former employer before the war, Edgar Allan Poe, was murdered in Baltimore, 1849, and while solving this mystery, this new sleuth must confront the most dangerous serial killer in 1865 New York City, and the detective must also learn why he can’t be intimate with women.

Here’s a review from the Portland Book Review of my first mystery in the O’Malley series, Forevermore.

It sounds to me like this new sleuth has his hands full of work and social problems. I hope he’s able to come out on top…I must say I am very interested in this story already.

So who’s starring is this 2 dimensional script read of Forevermore?

Patrick O’Malley: Irish born detective and decorated Civil War vet who is living in his late friend Edgar Allan Poe’s Bronx cottage in 1860s New York.

Madame Rebecca Charming, a beautiful, Vassar educated daughter of a United States congressman. Charming owns a reputable brothel with high standards both in business and the working conditions.

You’ll recognize a few other names in the story, such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Fennimore Cooper, Jane (Haskins) The Grabber.

This is sounds like a lovely blend of real and fictional characters. More and more I am intrigued by what’s going on in this story.

 

Past, present, future, is there a rhyme or reason to your writing?

I write on a computer, and I use the Internet extensively to recreate the authentic setting and language use of 1860s New York City.  I listen to either Classical or Zen meditation music.  I am now working on a completely fantastic volume 4 in the series.  It’s called Steam City Pirates. Click here to read the first three chapters here.

Wow, you really do your homework don’t you? You are studying the settings and langue use of 1860s New York to be incorporated into your work; I’m impressed.

What author(s) has most influenced your writing? Why or how?

James Patterson has influenced my style because of his technique of writing short chapters. Here’s an article I wrote last Memorial Day on that topic.

I too like the way he writes. I tried to the short chapter thing, but it just doesn’t work for me consistently.

Whose brain are you just itching to scratch?

Jerome David Salinger.  I like his attitude about keeping your ego out of your writing.  The recent documentary “Salinger” about him is probably making him spin in his grave (although as a Vedantist, he has probably already been reborn on some cosmic plane or other).

Everyone has and opinion or an ideal set in their minds about J.D. Salinger, but I guess that’s what makes him so successful, in a way. People are always talking about him dead or alive…Wouldn’t it be cool to have that kind of legacy?

Who is so you and why?

from Goodreads book 1

Believe it or not, when I was a practicing alcoholic, my fiction was compared to the late author Charles Bukowski (“Buk as in puke”).  I now relate to Detective Matthew Scudder in the Lawrence Block Mysteries.  I think my character Patrick O’Malley can be compared to Matt Scudder in a few ways.

So you used to be a practicing alcoholic. Well, I guess a congratulations is in order for dropping or reducing the practice…I’m unfamiliar with the series you’ve mentioned, but this seems like a good opportunity to learn more about them.

What’s your ideal reading spot for your next highly anticipated read?

from Goodreads

I am now reading Eric Schlosser’s excellent non-fiction expose, Command and Control.  If you thought junk food was scary, you should read this book!  The numbers of times we came within a hair’s length of nuking ourselves into the Stone Age are covered with a thriller’s intensity in this book.  I read it on my tablet under the covers with my lovely wife at my side.

I’m a die-hard fiction lover, but I must admit that there is nothing scarier than reality. There are some works of non-fiction that make me wish they were fiction.

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

I really enjoyed reading Mark Twain as a kid. I was on the great show “Chatting with Sherri,” and you can hear me talk about these early influences (among other things).

I have found recently that people either love Twain or hate him, but I think this is a generational thing. I don’t think his work is taught in schools as much as it used to be so younger generations aren’t as familiar with him…

There is more fun and insights to this interview, visit the Eternal Curse Series Blog for the full experience.  For more information about this author, Jim Musgrave, please visit the links below.

Website: The Detective Pat O’Malley Historical Steampunk

Blog: Let There Be Blog

GoodReads: Jim Musgrave

Facebook: Jim Musgrave

Twitter: @OMalley_Mystery

LinkedIn: Jim Musgrave

Purchase links for Forevermore: Amazon

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: Interviews Tagged: author, books, character, ebook, fiction, interviews, Jim Musgrave, life, links, movies, music, process, reading, sci-fi, steampunk, try this, writing

Friday Forecast : 12/06/13

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 Top 5 websites and the first post in my spotlight of author Milton Kelly

Character Files & READ TUESDAY

Posts of the Past and the second post in my spotlight of Milton Kelly

Tea & Conversation

Friday Forecast and the bio of Milton Kelly

Weekly recap and a guest post on networking from Milton Kelly (end of the spotlight)

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Today I’ll post my interview of author, Jim Musgrave

Tomorrow I continue my Adventures in Blogging: Rafflecopter part 2.

I am so looking forward to Read Tuesday and 50 States of Pray; please check these out and see if they are a good fit for you.

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, blogging, interviews, life, reviews, sneak peak, try this, writing

#50StatesOfPray on 12/24/13 hosted by @markjkoopmans

“On Dec. 24, 2013, take a moment, (and in about 100 words), share a prayer, a thought, a memory, a hope, a regret about the past, and/or a wish for the future.”

Open up your heart and share. 

Mark’s desire is for all 50 of the States in the U.S. to be represented in this blog hop, but he’s not stopping there. He wants this to stretch across the globe. Wouldn’t it be great if we could gather 50 independent nations with this event and spread love and peace around the world?

I’m totally in and hope you’ll join in to.

Click the image to join or visit other stops in this hop on Tuesday, December 24, 2013.

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: #IWSG, 50, blog hop, Christmas Eve, Linky, Mark Koopmans, peace, pray, share, States

WIP Update 10

I hate to disappoint myself and, of course, any of you who may be reading this, but I do not have much to report on at the moment. I have been writing a little, but I’ve been busy elsewhere and have been working hard to keep up my daily posts. The biggest distraction I’ve recently encountered is, fortunately, something positive. I’ve been busy figuring out how to promote my book Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, now that a release date has been set and I can start selling advanced copies. You can learn about that at my Pre-Orders tab.

Next month, I sincerely hope I’ll something worthwhile to report. I have so many good stories floating about; I’d love to be able to share a little bit of them with you.

Feeling a little lost about what’s going on in this post? Just see the side panel and search My Topics, WIP Updates, to get all caught up. Also check my WIP tab to see what else I may be working on.

Do you have a WIP update to share?

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: WIP Updates Tagged: author, books, character, fiction, process, wip, writing

#IWSG December 2013: #cursescanbebroken

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 am so blessed right now. Even though I am constantly overwhelmed, never seem to have enough time, and am leaping from one temporary illness to the other, and also seem to fall short no matter how hard I try…I have so much to be thankful for.

1. I have been meeting and promoting some really great authors as of late. I’m to glad to have an opportunity to help these authors spread the word about their work.

2. I have an amazing family, they are all so special to me. My sister is talented in ways she doesn’t even know and inspires me to pursue my dreams. My Mom is my biggest fan and my husband is so wonderful that I just had to write about him in “Dear Stick”.

3. I am getting closer and closer to my goal of being a successful published author. Needless to say, monetary gain isn’t how I judge success, but I’ll be even more thankful if and when the big bucks ever start rolling in.

I have three ebooks available for purchase and am now able to offer pre-orders for my first novel, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, which is set to release on February 18, 2014. See My Books and Pre-orders for details.

4. I made it to the second round of voting for the 50 Great Authors You Should Be Reading, which I still find amazing, and now I must wait to see how well I did. At this point it doen’t really matter, if I make it into the publication great, yay, hip hip hooray, and if i don’t it’s still been a fun ride.

5. And lastly, I’m so grateful that I am steadily writing, blogging, and reading my way through life. I’m networking and learning from others everyday and am so glad to be apart of this community.

Be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts: Julie Flanders, Heather Gardner, Kim Van Sickler and Elsie is Writing!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share inspiration and support (I’m #343).

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: IWSG Tagged: blogging, community, encouragement, Eternal Curse, friends, insecure writers support group, writing

WWW Wednesday 12/4/13

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. (Click on images to be taken the books’ Goodreads.com pages.)

1. What am I currently reading?

I skipped my post last month so it’s been two months since I’ve had anything to update. It’s been a crazy two months. I somehow forgot I was reading Chasing the Avatar, but have picked it back up again and am enjoying it.

I am very close to finishing the Guardian’s Apprentice. For some reason the audio (computerized voice) kept trying to read this story to me and it was driving me crazy. I didn’t ask for an audio attachment with this book, but I guess some ebooks will read to you whether it’s a professional narration or not.

I found a copy of the Call of the Herold on my computer and can’t remember how it got there. As far as I’m concerned it’s a free book; yay!

…And I finally re-cracked open the papges of Seraphina, but now that I’m in book promo mode, who knows how long it’ll take for me to read it .

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2. What did I recently finish reading?

You’d think that in two months I could have finished more books than this, but like I said, it was a crazy two months. The fact that I finished anything reading related is a minor miracle; between a full-time job, illness, blogging and writing full-time, and family issues, reading was my escape that I didn’t get to take quite as often as I would have liked.

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3. What do I think I’ll read next?

I am so excited about the next installment of the Gryphon series. While I have no good reason for it, I’ve put off reading Legend for long enough. I hope it doesn’t take so long for me to get through my current reads that I forget about these.

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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: Memes Tagged: books, try this

Big Book News! #cursescanbebroken

I am so excited to announce that my book, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel is now available for Pre-Orders while awaiting its February release date.

On February 18, 2014, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel will be available to the general public, but pre-orders start now!

Pre-order Paperback $18.99 plus tax & shipping

–Regular price $20.99 plus tax & shipping

–Order a signed paperback now at regular price

Pre-order eBook card $8.99 plus tax & shipping

–Regular price $9.99 plus tax & shipping

Visit my Pre-orders tab up top to get started.

For a limited time only (December 1 – January 27), I’m offering you a chance to, not only get your hands on the book before everyone else, but you can get it at a discount, and I’ll be offering signed copies at regular retail price, just for this special occasion.  If you are looking to receive a copy for review, I may just have something for you. (Also, book sellers, let me know you’re interested and I’ll send you information.)

In honor of the pending release of my first novel Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel, I’m also offering a special giveaway for those who pre-order. I’ll give each person who pre-orders, a signed bookmark and 2 easy entries into my Release Day Giveaway! The winner will be announced on, February 19, 2014, at noon EST. (Enter your pre-order invoice number to claim your easy entries at the link below.)

The prizes for the Release Day Giveaway are 2 ToiBox fan packs consisting of : 1 Eternal Curse book poster, 1 Eternal Curse book t-shirt, 1 Eternal Curse book pen, 1 signed paperback copy of 40 Days and Nights of Eternal Curse,1 super special ToiBox exclusive- *Toi’s Shorts, and a $10 gift card to Amazon.com.

*Toi’s Shorts is the combined collections of Legend of the Boy and Unexplained in paperback form. This rare collection is not, and will not be, available for purchase anywhere. This is a special giveaway!

Click here to enter my Release Day Giveaway!

It only takes 1 entry to win & there are 2 prizes to award.

A new window will open so you can easily refer back to this page.

I’ll be accepting pre-orders now and will begin to ship out pre-orders on December 16, 2013, based on the order in which invoices are paid. The window to pre-order this book ends January 27, 2014.

Hardcover pre-orders are not yet available, but will be soon. Send me a message letting me know that you are interested and you’ll be notified when they are ready.

Hardcover $23.99 plus tax & shipping

–Regular price $25.99 plus tax & shipping

I’m also ready to start making appearances and presentations to promote this book. Please visit my Appearances tab up top to learn more.

Thank you all for your wonderful and continued support .

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: Giovanni's Angel, Uncategorized, WIP Updates Tagged: angels, author, book release, books, demons, ebook, entertainment, Eternal Curse, fantasy, fiction, giveaway, pro-orders, promotion, rafflecopter, reading, reviews, romance, Toi Thomas, try this

Character Files from the ToiBox 38: Jack- Psych Test

Rorschach Test

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

Subject EC:B 3-Jack describe test image #1 as:

An armored super soldier like Ironman only fat and ugly

Subject may or may not be joking about what he sees. He has issues with authority and organized groups, but is obviously very clever. He’s probably very dangerous, and remains under observation.

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, EC: Battleground Tagged: angels, being overwhelmed, blessings, character, cultural study, demons, fiction, profile, spec-fic