Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Inspired by #comicbooks part 1 by Toi Thomas #OurAuthorGang

Being a female, multi-genre, independent, author who sometimes writes about religious themes, there are 5 questions I frequently get asked?

1) What made you decide to be an independent author?
2) Is it difficult to be a female author of speculative fiction?
3) Why don’t you just write Christian Fiction?
4) Is it difficult to break out as an author of color?
5) Why don’t you write books exclusively about black characters?

My answer to all these questions is the same. Whatever else I am, I’m also a geek and I express that in my writing. Yes, I’m a Christian. Yes, I’m black, Yes, I’m a woman. And yes, I’m self-published, making me an independent author. But, I’m also a geek, and as a geek, I can be all of these things and more. As a geek, I have many interests beyond what I am and beyond things that only affect me.

Aside from my childhood dream of running off to Neverland to become a lost boy, it has been the adventures, political statements, and diversity of comic books that have constantly inspired me to be a better writer and more openminded person.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love books and probably read more of them in a year than I do comic books (except for this year when I did a graphic novel read-a-thon in the month of February), but it’s still the world of comic books and graphic novels that make a lasting impression on my desire to create characters and worlds in the face of turmoil, stress, adversity, and so much more.

In this series, I’ll be writing about how comic books and comic book characters have helped shape me as a writer and have helped to inspire me when creating new characters and worlds.
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Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:

Amazon | Goodreads The ToiBox of Words | YouTube | See a list of my other posts here.

#geekculture, #specfic, #blackwriter, #Pinterest 
COMMENTS

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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi Thomas shared her love of comics and graphic novels, and how they shaped her writing career in the first of her new series of posts.
 
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Ruth de Jauregui

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Oh yes, comic books! And then came graphic novels. For a while, I collected comics, but then there was this broken pipe in my house and I lost about 2/3 of my collection. It kinda took the heart out of me. But I still love them! Thank you for sharing!
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I would be quite sad if I lost 2/3 of my collection.

Susan Gourley

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I'm so thrilled with all the superhero movies that are out. I hope they inspire readers and writers everywhere.
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Me too.

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on A Small Gang of Authors, Toinette Thomas talks about being an indie author, and about comic books as one of her creative inspirations.
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Toi Thomas via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today I start a new series all about how comic book and comic book characters help shape me as a writer.
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Joe Bonadonna

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Well done and well said, Toi! Bravo!
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Thank you.
 
+Toi Thomas -- you're very welcome!

Erika M Szabo via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
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Erika M Szabo

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I grew up on European comic books :)
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I only recently began to dive into indie and foreign comics; so far, I find they all much the same in that they are really cool.

Mary Anne Yarde

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful post!
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Thank you.

Grace Au

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Comic book inspiration! I love it!!! I'm a Superman and Wonder Woman girl...always have been! Thanks for the walk down memory lane....
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I'm only getting started. Glad you're along for the ride.

Chris Weigand via Google+

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Read Toi's post and find out how comic books can inspire.
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Chris Weigand

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I didn't have the privilege of reading comic books as a kid, but my children are big fans of comic books and even though I am a little late to the game and I still don't read a lot of comic books they do inspire me. And I can safely say that thanks to my children I can qualify as a geek.
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Yay! It's never to late to go geek.

Rich Feitelberg

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I grew up reading comic books. It is probably why I write fantasy novels now.
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So cool. Isn't great how much inspiration comes from comic books?

Rebecca Tran

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
See what great things happen when you're inspired by comic books like author Toi Thomas on Our Author Gang.
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Thanks for sharing.

Nikki McDonagh

10 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
If you are a Geek, Toi, more people should be too. Great post and I love that you get inspiration from comic book characters.
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Thank you. I was a geek before it became chic and I agree, more people should go geek.

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