If you haven't heard, I finally bit the bullet and joined Twitter. Over the past several years, I have grown quite accustomed to using Facebook. Twitter? That's a bird of a different color. Well, blue actually.

I am slowly gaining familiarity with how things work in Twitter land, such as hashtags. It took a few days, but my hashtag posts are finally showing up. Of course, I then find out that Facebook has had hashtags for nearly a year. Well, I guess I'm still learning Facebook also. Though, I think the value of hashtags in FB is much more up for debate.

I do find it interesting how quickly I've connected with other users of Twitter with similar views and purposes. Some of my new Twitter followers are also FB friends, but a lot aren't. Seems like Tweeters expect a much looser connection.

So, if you are on Twitter, stop by and say hi. Oh, and check out #WritingExcerpts where I will be posting one or two sentence snippets as I write the new book I'm working on. But don't worry, I won't post anything that will serve as a spoiler. Think of them more as teasers.

'Till next time.

Have you found Goodreads?

I have to admit, until a few days ago, I had never seen this site. Whether you are an author or a reader, I highly suggest heading over there. As its name would imply, this is a site aimed at connecting readers with books they would enjoy reading. The approach is not new. Online merchandisers often use similar techniques to suggest items you might like to purchase based on prior purchases and ratings. Also video subscription companies, such as Netflix, use the same technique to suggest movies you should watch.

In order to use Goodreads you do have to create an account. However, this is quite easy as you can use your Facebook account to sign in. You can choose whether or not you want information about the books you rate and read fed to Facebook. Once you have an account, the best way to get started is by rating books you have read. This is done using the typical click-how-many-stars rating system. As you rate books, Goodreads will begin to suggest other books that you might like to read. I think this is a great way to find new authors or books that you have not tried. If you're like me, you don't have unlimited time to read books. Therefore, you often find yourself only reading authors you are certain will provide a story (or content if non-fiction) you will enjoy.

So head on over to Goodreads and get to rating and finding some good books. I can suggest at least one book you might want to either read, rate, or review. :)

Seriously though, if you enjoyed reading In The Image of Man, I would greatly appreciate your ratings and reviews. Ratings, and even more so reviews, on sites like Goodreads and Amazon are the single best way for readers to find new authors, like myself. Well actually, that's not true. The best way is word of mouth. However, most of you probably aren't going to meet hundreds of readers who like books similar to Image, such as Peretti's Darkness books. So, don't just rate my book. Rate others you've read too. This will create associations to Image that will cause it to be suggested to other readers.

Thanks all, 'till next time!