W4WS Event for June 2013 and Taking Time cover reveal

Welcome to the June 2013 W4WS event! I'm honored to co-host this event with three talented writers, Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Stephen Tremp.  The mission of this group is simple: we have a spotlighted author(s) that we strive to help bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people, increase the sales of their book(s), drive new traffic to their blogs and increase followers, and create verbal and viral buzz.

We've made this simple and fast. It's as easy as a tweet or a RT, and sharing a status on Facebook. Go to the writer's blog and copy a tweet or RT from the posts with the tag #W4WS. The W4WS Facebook page will have all the updates and links for you.

To join the W4WS event, click here for the linky list. It will only take a minute of your time, and you'll have talented writers take a step closer to their dreams. 

This month we're spotlighting the fabulous paranormal author Marta Szemik. Check her out on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook. She has an awesome series called the Two Halves series. You can get the first book, MARKED for FREE on Amazon.

And now onto Ellie Garratt's fantastic new cover!

Book Blurb

Science fiction stories of time and space...

The future of humanity must be decided in Next Phase. Winning the Planetary Lottery is not as lucky as it first seems in Schrodinger's Gamble. An apocalypse and its aftermath threaten to tear one couple apart in Daiker's Children. In Life As I Know It a reclusive man finds both his heart and home invaded during an alien harvest. In Taking Time a demon seeking shelter on a distant planet finds himself facing a very different kind of demon, after answering a frontier settlement's plea for help. Stories range from flash fiction to novelette in length.

Publication date: 15th July 2013

About The Author

A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror, meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre was published in March 2013 and contains nine previously published stories. Her first nine-part science fiction serial will start in September 2013.

Author Links: Website | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

W4WS event for May 2013

Welcome to the May 2013 W4WS event! I'm honored to co-host this event with three talented writers, Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Stephen Tremp.  The mission of this group is simple: we have a spotlighted author(s) that we strive to help bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people, increase the sales of their book(s), drive new traffic to their blogs and increase followers, and create verbal and viral buzz.

 
We've made this simple and fast. It's as easy as a tweet or a RT, and sharing a status on Facebook. Go to the writer's blog and copy a tweet or RT from the posts with the tag #W4WS. The W4WS Facebook page will have all the updates and links for you.

 
To join the W4WS event, click here for the linky list. It will only take a minute of your time, and you'll help talented writers take a step closer to their dreams. 

Laura Eno is a Speculative Fiction wordsmith. Her secret lies in blending lies with truth with a pinch of snark and a dash of tears. Her newest book THE JEWEL OF SHAYLAR is now available. You can find Laura on her blog, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Marian Allen has been a writer since she could think, and a cook since middle school. THE FALL OF ONAGROS is the first book in her Sage Trilogy. You can find Marian at her website, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Don't forget to enter my BIG giveaway. You could be the first to own the enter 13th Floor series. 

My experience with Twitter so far

I still consider myself new to Twitter. Sometimes I still feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that goes through. I haven't become addicted. Thankfully! Though I can see how someone can spend hours upon hours on there.

I tweet a couple of times a day. I pass on links to my blog posts and RT other links that I find interesting. Sometimes I post something about my home life, but I mostly use it to tweet about writing.

It's good for promoting books. A great blurb with a link can attract a lot of attention. It's easy for others to RT (re-tweet) your blurbs too and for you to do the same for them.

I have nearly 1000 followers. I'm amazed at how fast I've gained them. I almost always follow back. I check out the person before I follow. Sometimes they're scammers or spammers. Or they could be something I have zero interest in. I get a lot of women's health people wanting me to follow them, and entertainment people I don't like. The strangest one I had was a coffin company. It was legitimate. Did they target me because I write about the paranormal, or because they're saying I'm getting old and better plan ahead?

I don't read many tweets. I just don't have the time. There's too much going on on there. I might read the top twenty on the list when I tweet. I more often read tweets by people I know if they have the little widgets on their sidebars on their blogs. I'd rather read blog posts than tweets.

Was it worth it joining Twitter? Yes. It's effective for what it does and easy to use. A better social media tool than Facebook.

If you have a Twitter account, what has your experience been like? What's the strangest individual to ever follow you?