The Perils of Twitter

This is a review of a book brought to my attention on Twitter. I am not going to name it. Saying this is a review, that's not quite right. It's a review of how that book got into my hands and how the author got my attention and how it made me feel. This is a tale of the perils of Twitter. In other words, you wanted my attention, and now, you have it. Be careful what you wish for.

Many authors and writers use Twitter for self-promotion. Many sometimes go a little overboard. I do it myself sometimes. I forget to balance promotion with interaction, conversation, entertainment, and humor. I understand, sometimes you can get carried away.

This author, who will remain unnamed, got carried away. There were times I suspected his Twitter was a bot. It began to post the same message over and over again, minute after minute, promoting the above named book. The only difference in the messages were the hashtags. Sometimes it was #Avengers, sometimes #HarryPotter, or #Stargate, #StarTrek, #LordoftheRings, or simple things like #Scifi or #Fantasy. Really? This book was comparable to all of those things? Or do you not know how to properly use hashtags? And every minute??

I replied to one of the constant Tweets, was it really like Avengers and Harry Potter? And would I need to read Parts 1-3 to understand Part 4? My Tweets went unanswered. Hmmm... not unheard of but kinda rude, especially when I was considering buying his book. Readers pay you when you're an author, remember. When the constant Tweets continued through the next day, I unFollowed him, sending an additional Tweet to him saying that perhaps his account had been hacked and he should check it out. Again, no answer.

But still, for good or ill, I got the book. I wish I hadn't. It begins with chapter twenty-three, with no sense of place, time, or explanation of who any of the characters are. Zero effort is spent giving the reader any backstory whatsoever. Pages drag by explaining the concept of a holographic ship's doctor, just like on "Star Trek Voyager." Well, okay, now I get the #StarTrek hashtag, where's #HarryPotter and the #Avengers?

There are numerous typos, contradictory details (how many different home planets does this captain have anyway?), more than a page spent ordering coffee, and absolutely nothing that resembles the #Avengers at all. This was a hard read, and because the author never tells us anything about the more than half-dozen characters inhabiting these pages, it's even harder to care about them.

I would hope that there might be some backstory in parts 1-3, but I'll never know. I won't buy them or read them. Had the author had the courtesy to tell me I was coming into it in the middle of the story, or not annoyed me with his Twitter, I might have had a different perspective. Now aren't you glad you got my attention?

Maybe I didn't get it. Maybe this "thought provoking fantasy scifi for enquiring minds" is just too intellectual for me. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to get it. I don't think that's it though. I know what this is, it's a couple hours of my life I'm never going to get back, and it most certainly is not #Avengers...

Robin Renee - The Biff Bam Pop! Interview

Robin Renee with Spy Gods at Deiner Park, New Brunswick, NJ

Photo by Joel Primer 

Today's stop on the Robin Renee Blog Tour is a big one, a 2500+ word interview at the pop culture website Biff Bam Pop!. You can check it out here.

In the interview, Robin discusses her music, her musical past (including Spy Gods, pictured), labels, and features some great performance video. Do not miss.

Tomorrow, be back here at Welcome to Hell, as the Blog Tour winds down for a wrap-up and unseen excerpts of interviews from the tour.

The Wolverine

The new animated movie poster for The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman, to be released June 2013. Awesome.

Mind Slices by Kevin R. Tipple

Kevin R. Tipple is a dear friend, or at least as good a friend as one can have online. That said, he's a good man, a great book reviewer, a terrific writer, and a wonderful fount of writing knowledge. We've known each other for years, and have supported each other in various projects over that time. Now Kevin has released a short story collection, Mind Slices.

The collection offers a glimpse into the mind of the man. Having read sadly very little of his fiction before, I was a bit surprised. Kevin's got a bit of a weird streak, and I like it. His twists are unexpected and fun, as well as edgy. The man is a hell of a writer, I'm in awe.

Much of the collection is previously published elsewhere, but there's also quite a bit of new flash fiction that is quite good, and that's not a form I usually like. One of my favorite parts of the book is the individual introductions to each story. I first fell in love with short stories under the pen of Harlan Ellison, and this was one of his practices - and this brought me back.

All that said, I loved Mind Slices, and not just because Kevin's my friend. Seriously that has nothing to do with it. On the contrary, being a friend means I'd really give it to him if it sucked, but this was really good.

Mind Slices can be found on Amazon and on Smashwords, check it out, highly recommended.

You can find Kevin at his website, his blog, and on the Twitter as well.

Pies and Prejudice

From my friend C.L. on the Facebook: "My thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer Stanley aka Ellery Adams. She lost her sister-in-law to complications following a C-section earlier today. She is a great writer and this is the first in her new Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series. She will be too busy with family to promote her new book, so her friends are trying to get the word out. You can help by asking for it at your local library or ordering from your favorite book store."

Here's the official description for Pies and Prejudice: "When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren't just delicious. They're having magical effects on the people who eat them--and the public is hungry for more.

"Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn's fiancé is found dead--killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin--it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name."



Pies and Prejudice is available at your local bookstore, or at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Bio from her website: "Ellery Adams grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound. Having spent her adult life in a series of landlocked towns, she cherishes her memories of open water, violent storms, and the smell of the sea. Ms. Adams has held many jobs including caterer, retail clerk, car salesperson, teacher, tutor, and tech writer, all the while penning poems, children's books, and novels. She now writes full-time from her home in Virginia."