Being American: The Massacre & the Olympics

If you’re anything like me, then you’re “over” the Colorado shooting that claimed the lives of 12 people. It’s depressing, it’s scary, and, thanks to the media, it’s everywhere. That being said, I welcomed the Olympics as more than just a sporting event; for me and my fellow Americans, the Olympics are serving as a much-needed distraction from this tragedy.

I don’t know about everyone else, but for me, it backfired.

There’s no way you can watch the Olympics without thinking about everything that’s going on in the world. While I was watching the opening ceremony, I couldn’t help but to make judgement calls as each country went by. When I saw Greece, I thought about Europe’s financial woes. When I saw Japan, I grimaced because the Japanese government used money from the tsunami relief fund (something that I contributed to) to support whaling. When I saw Syria, my stomach felt sick over what’s going on there. When I saw the United Kingdom, I smiled because our best friends (politically and culturally) just pulled off one hell of an opening ceremony. I felt pride for them.

When I saw the USA, my heart was in my throat. Despite the drama that surrounded their uniforms (really, Ralph Lauren?), our athletes were stunning. They encompassed everything that we are. They looked powerful, diverse, proud, resilient, exceptional. It dawned on me, just like it has so many times before: this is who we are and no terrorist group, no crisis, and certainly, no homegrown madman is going to break us…

…and nothing will break me. I saw The Dark Knight Rises just a couple of days after the shooting. I’m part of the 911 generation, I know terror. If you think fear is going to keep me from seeing the latest Batman installment, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not saying that I didn’t think about the possibility of copycats. I did and I even made a few adjustments. I wore yoga pants (all the better to book it in!), noted the people around me, and sat in the middle. That’s not fear. That’s being smart. That’s being adaptable.

So, that’s what I urge you all to be — adaptable. Let’s change and roll with the times, instead of letting fear debilitate us. Let’s make this world better. Let’s all go see the latest Batman movie and do anything else that we please.

#GoTeamUSA

9 Books for 99¢? Just Today? I’m In!

Welcome
to the FIRST EVER BookPushalooza!

July 26^th ONLY

9 Books, only $.99!

With
each purchase you get the chance to WIN while Helping Authors reach new heights
in Amazon’s ranks.

It’s
so easy a CAVEMAN could do it!

Follow
the Instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget and for each book you purchase (or
Borrow through Amazon Prime for Free) you get an entry in to WIN —

(1)Grand
Prize- $100 Amazon Gift Card

(2)Runners
up of $25 Amazon Gift Cards

That’s
not all! Purchase all NINE (9) books and get an additional 5 entries!

Don’t
delay, this offer is good for JULY 26^th ONLY! 

Overview of Dark Isle

When evil begets evil, a choice is forced on Quinn, the one person who can see
the danger. Does she save the ones she loves, or does she save the world from
Chaos?

As the realms of Fae and human collide, Quinn’s future has never
looked so grim, or so damn impossible.

Genre- Urban Fantasy

Overview of Enemy in Blue

The streets aren’t safe when your enemy wears a blue uniform and a gold
badge.

What if the good guys weren’t good?

What if a cop went
rogue and killed an innocent man?

What if it was all caught on video and the cop would do anything to
cover it up?

Chase this lawless cop through the streets and to a
scintillating series of showdowns with Cruz Marquez, a young attorney trying to
nail down his enemy in blue.

Will justice be served?

Genre- Thriller

Overview of Land of the Noonday Sun

When two strangers have nothing left but their dreams,
they must forge a relationship in Nantahala, North Carolina, a small town known
as Land of the Noonday Sun.A man with a
traumatic past is able to turn his life around and is happy with his chosen
career as a whitewater guide. Everything changes though when fate hurls a woman
into his path. His carefree life is in turmoil, and his former weaknesses
threaten to overtake him. Will he be strong enough when tragedy strikes and is
once again in danger of losing everything he loves?

Genre- Contemporary Romance
Overview of This Time Forever

Delaney Brannigan and Blake Morrisson
met at the Cedar Cove annual costume dance, known only to each other as the
leopard and the cowboy–but, as Delaney soon discovers, the cowboy she’d
thought had ridden off into the sunset never to tempt her again, is none other
than the man she came from New York to find and discredit. Against her will,
Delaney is drawn deeper and deeper into an overwhelming attraction to Blake–an
attraction she can’t give in to if she wants to keep the one thing she values
more than anything else.

Genre- Contemporary Romance

Overview of Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula

Fourteen-year-old Cassidy Jones wakes up the morning after a minor
accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist to discover that her
body has undergone some bizarre physical changes. Her senses, strength, and speed
have been radically enhanced.

Lives are put at risk when they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous,
action-packed adventure. Soon they are forced to confront a maniacal villain
willing to do anything – including murder – to reach his own ambitious goals.

Genre- YA/MG Superhero

Overview of Gray Justice

Gray Justice is the fast-paced debut
thriller from Alan McDermott. When a killer walks free from court, the victim’s
father sees just two options: accept the judge’s decision; or take on the
entire British justice system. Tom Gray chooses the latter and his crusade
attracts instant worldwide media coverage. It was just what Tom was hoping for,
but it brought him a lot more than he bargained for.Gray Justice is much more than a simple tale of revenge: it’s a rollercoaster
ride with an ending you’ll never forget!

Genre- Thriller

Overview of Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00

“Their lives are in the hands of two 18-year-olds…”

A Prominent P.I. is
gunned down – killed by a sniper – and it’s broadcasted on live TV.

Now,
her daughter, along with her childhood pal, are thrust into a complex and
riveting thriller forced to take on a secret club whose members call themselves
The Privileged Ones.

Murder. Teen abductions and illegal underground
parties.

They’re chased by men in ski-masks, nearly gunned down by
members of a cartel, and the only way to bring down this criminal enterprise; is
to crash a Mardi Gras bash and stop their private cruise ship from sailing off
into the sunset.

 

Overview of Allegiance

Who do YOU pledge allegiance to?

After exposing one of the most notorious rings of police corruption in history,
lawyer Cruz Marquez planned on starting a new life south of the border. That
plan unraveled when an extremist group of Minutemen captured and tortured him
and his wife.

Will Cruz pledge allegiance to do right, or will he do anything
to serve up revenge?

Genre- Thriller

Overview of Curbchek Reload

Curbchek-Reload is a dark account of the streets as they were worked by
Zach Fortier, a dangerously deranged cop. Welcome back to the inner city and
the twisted mentality of Zach Fortier. Patrolling the streets, broken and
mentally damaged from years of urban violence, Zach fights a losing battle to
maintain a hold on reality. Join him in the passenger seat of a police cruiser
for more of the darker and meaner side of life: The inner city. In
Curbchek-Reload you get a front row seat to an attempted murder of a cop,
suicide attempts, rapes, and DARK cop humor. Curbchek-Reload – Fasten your
bullet proof vest and buckle your seatbelt, it is gonna be a wild ride!

Genre- Police Procedural 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/49be101/” rel=”nofollow”>a Rafflecopter giveaway

//

All winners will be notified via email July 28th 2012. For a list of winners contact onedaybookpush@yahoo.ca

//

Writing Challenge: Journaling One Line (There’s an App for That)

In my senior year of college, I took a history class that allowed me to write my seminar paper on any of the primary materials that I found in the Sophia Smith Collection. While I ultimately settled on the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, I came very close to writing about the day-to-day life of an alumna. She was just your average woman, explaining the comings and goings of her life in the form of a line-a-day journal. When she passed away, her children gave the college an entire lifetime’s worth of these journals.

Long story short, while I didn’t end up using her as the subject of my seminar paper (her nearly-illegible handwriting had something to do with it), her journals were fascinating. I read all of them in my spare time, relishing the journey of getting to know this woman. I learned all about her favorite activities, what was expected of her as a privileged woman, and even which books she liked to read. As she grew older, I experienced the milestones and tragedies of her life — all one day, one line at a time. It was an amazing experience that was made possible by her commitment to write a measly sentence or two each night.

Still, even with that knowledge, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m in capable of traditional journaling. The limited journaling that I do partake in is sporadic. Months or even years will go by before I dig out my dusty journal and actually put pen to paper. No more. I’m taking a tip from that Smith alumna and from John Quincy Adams (the Massachusetts Historical Society tweets his line-a-day journal entries via @JQAdams_MHS) and I’m writing a sentence each day. No, not in the gorgeous journal (Pottery Barn) pictured above! I’m a Millennial, tech savvy and booked (haha, in more ways than one!). Thank God for Day One. An app that truly is “designed and extremely focused to encourage you to write more.” Not only can you synch the app with your other devices, you can even set a reminder alarm within the app. Documenting your daily happenings just got easier, faster, and far more legible. That Pinterest recipe you finally mastered, the bellyflop contest you won, and your trip to see the what might just be the world’s largest ball of elastic bands will now be documented for the rest of your life. That’s huge.

Maybe one day I’ll buy a real journal and will use my Day One app to transcribe my life, line by line. At this point, I wouldn’t put my money on it…

*I am not affiliated with (and was not paid by) Day One or Bloom Built, LLC.*

Did We Go to the Same High School?: Friend Request Denied!

I hardly ever go on my Facebook page. While I do use it to keep in touch with family members, friends from college, and colleagues both current and former, I refuse to add anyone from the small town I grew up in. Some of my best friends are from that town, but I still won’t add them. Why? If I add one, the floodgates will open. I’ll get friend requests from people I was never friends with and from old friends I have purposely let fall by the wayside. I don’t want to deal with the stress that would ensue from rejecting those people. (Again, I’m from a very small town. Trust me, tales of my harsh Facebook rejections would travel fast. My mom would call to tell me to add “What’s-Her-Name.”) Also, I’m a nice person so I would feel bad for refusing anyone I don’t have bad blood with. Still, I’m not nice enough to open up my life to those people. I don’t want them to know where I live now, who I’m dating, or even what I plan on doing over the holiday weekend.

There’s no point in them knowing. There’s no point in me bragging. This is where Twitter comes in. That is the point.

As long as I like your feed, I’ll add you on Twitter. I’ll add strangers just like I’ll add people I’ve known my entire life. Why? Twitter allows me to make and keep connections on my own terms. With all of Facebook’s new-ish privacy features, some of you may argue that I can enjoy the same terms there. Nope.

1) Setting all of those intricate privacy settings would give me a headache.

2) People from my real life know that a ton of strangers follow me on Twitter. They wouldn’t put me in danger or jeopardize my privacy by tweeting super personal things. With Facebook, it’s assumed that you know all of the people you list as “Friends.” Consequently, the closest people in my life would be more apt to write things of a more personal nature on my wall. Things I probably wouldn’t want the person who sat behind me in math to know.

3) High school reunions will become obsolete because of Facebook. Let’s be honest, you don’t go to them to rehash memories. Why? Because you already do that with the friends you have remained in contact with. You already have that connection. Everyone goes to their reunions to brag about themselves and see how everyone else turned out. Facebook is the perfect platform for both of those things! You know that most people have probably listed the schools they went to and the places where they’ve worked. You’re even willing to bet that they’ve posted pictures of their house and the vacations they’ve been on. On Twitter, those fields aren’t there and, most likely, neither are those pictures. Twitter just doesn’t lend itself to creeping the same way that Facebook does. All you can tell from my Twitter account is that I love my dogs and that I make one kick-ass watermelon shark!

So, people from my past, this is an open invitation to add me on Twitter. If it turns out that we have a lot in common (from what I can tell by your tweets), maybe I’ll DM you. If that goes well, maybe we can go for coffee the next time I’m home. Maybe I’ll tell you about the things I’ve seen or the things I’m doing. Maybe we’ll be friends. But even then, I still won’t add you on Facebook!

What do you think? Do you prefer to keep your Twitter account a secret from your real-life loved ones? If you add people from your real life, will it change what or how you tweet? Weigh in!

Surviving an Internet Attack: When Blogger Friends Go Bad

My WIP. I haven’t talked about it until now, often referring to it as my “real writing.” As some of you know, one of my best friends was killed in a drunk driving accident. At the time, my therapist encouraged me to write about her death and I’ve been doing it ever since. My WIP is a work of fiction, but it’s what I imagine a young drunk driver’s life to be like in the years following a similar accident. Due to the emotional toll this takes on me, this work is far from finished. I haven’t released excerpts of it yet because I’m not ready for any sort of backlash. I’m not ready for writing that recounts such a sad time in my life to be ripped apart.

Tonight I realized that I have made the right decision, because I was hurt when a “Blogger Friend” (we’re in the same tribe on Triberr, friends on Twitter, etc.) attacked my most recent review in a blog post. This person clearly misunderstood what I was trying to communicate in this review and if he gave me 24 hours, I would have responded to his initial comment in order to explain where I was coming from. Nope. He decided to write a post that bashed both me and my words.

To his credit, this person didn’t say my name. However, he reproduced my review without asking my permission (a writer no-no and, you know, an act of plagiarism). Since he used my exact words and since we run in the same Twitter/blogging circle, it’s pretty clear who he was referring to. Me. Either way, even if that wasn’t the case, he should have never personally attacked me or my character in the ways that he ultimately did. I said there was something creepy about Abe Lincoln. Sue me. I didn’t say these words out of malice or hate, more as an entertaining opener for my review. We writers call it a hook. But guess what? THERE IS! I DON’T TAKE IT BACK! I didn’t mean it in an I’ll-mug-you-on-the-street creepy way! The creepy that I was referring to was more along the lines of an I-may-just-be-in-a-secret-society creepy. I am beyond proud to be an American; consequently, I wasn’t trying to disrespect Honest Abe!

Still, without letting me explain myself, here are a few of the nastier judgement calls this person made against me in his post:

-”Abraham Lincoln is only creepy to a child who hasn’t been taught history properly. ” (Funnily enough, I minored in history at one of the nation’s top 20 liberal arts colleges. I focused on American history specifically.)

-”I suppose that could sound creepy to someone who might be narcissistic.“

-”I suppose that would sound creepy to someone who didn’t understand the true meaning of valor and self-sacrifice to a higher cause.”

-”Abraham Lincoln might also sound creepy to someone who hasn’t been taught to revere their country.”

-”I suppose that sounds creepy to an intellectual who believes that there is nothing special or exceptional about the United States.”

-” ’Scarily convincing?’ Are you kidding? News Flash: Vampires are not real!” (Oh my God, they aren’t? I’m so happy! I can finally stop wearing this garlic wreath around my neck!)

And my *absolute* favorite:

-”The only plausible explanation I can come up with is that the author of this review is like one of the girls I knew in high school who liked the bad boys.” (This one hurt me the most. I can’t put my finger on why. My grandfather used to beat the hell out of my grandmother, so I have made it a personal mission to stay away from “bad boys” like him. That’s none of this person’s business and neither is the fact that I’ve been successful.)

Final word: There’s a difference between respectfully disagreeing with what someone says and tearing their work (and them) apart. What should I do now? Should I approve a post in which I was attacked in such a churlish manner? I’m a fan of free speech, so my first inclination was to do so. However, I’ve decided that, in good conscience, I can’t do it. I don’t agree with how this author handled his views, so I will be perfectly candid in saying that I will no longer approve/tweet *any* of this person’s posts. I have lost respect for them and simply cannot support their work. I posted a review of a vampire book, not an intellectual thought piece about Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. We’re all writers and we’re in this together. I think we should act like it.

Yay! I survived my first Internet attack; my hide has just grown a little bit thicker. I’ve said what I needed to say and have defended myself as I felt necessary. I’m done. I won’t say anything else on this subject. *I have NOT and will NOT comment on this person’s post. No part of me wants to delve into this with him any further.*

By the way, creepy or not creepy, Abraham Lincoln will always be my favorite president.

Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Book & Movie)

Description: Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother’s bedside. She’s been stricken with something the old-timers call “Milk Sickness.”

“My baby boy…” she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother’s fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, “henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose…” Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed thetrue life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Taken from Amazon

Rating: *****

Review: I would give Seth Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 5 stars just for freshness alone. I mean, Abe Lincoln killing vampires? Yeah, that could have gotten real corny, real quick. It didn’t.

There has always been something creepy about Abe Lincoln. His life was marred by tragedy, his wife was obsessed with the occult, and he was freakishly tall and gangly. This book centers his creepiness in a way that any history buff can appreciate; Grahame-Smith “vamps” up the real life events of Lincoln’s life in a big way. Not only does he “revamp” Lincoln’s personal history, he rethinks America’s! After reading this, you’ll forever perceive slavery in a different light. A darker light.

In some places, this book is scarily convincing. Seriously, that gut feeling that Honest Abe was up to no good in his downtime will only intensify once you finish reading. It may not have been vampires, but *something* just might have been going down in the White House. Seth Grahame-Smith just gives your suspicions a visual.

Final word: Google our 16th president and then read the book. The history refresher will make the story even better.

Thoughts on the movie: By all means, this was a “good” movie. BUT – and this is a HUGE but – it is completely different from the book. There are a ton of new characters, a lot of the backstory is missing, and the ending is the exact opposite of what it was in the book (I hated the book’s ending though, so I was fine with this last point!). You’ll be shocked by the changes. I certainly was!

Review: The Mongoliad

Description: ”The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia.

The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors’ preferred text.”

Taken from Amazon

Rating: **

Review: I know, I know. I’m a hideously vile reviewer for giving something by Neal Stephenson (and other fabulous authors) a 2 star rating. I’m sorry, but I have to. Between the slow plot and the long-winded descriptions, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. This took me forever to finish.

Trust me, my own rating breaks my heart, because I really wanted to love this book. I thought the origin of this book was badass and I dug the social media element of it. (I even created a username on the official website in order to access all of the additional materials.) I’m also a history buff and an action fan, so this *should* have been up my alley. It was just meh. It was just there.

The Mongoliad boasts 7 contributors in all, and I can’t help but think that that’s where the problem lies. At times, it did feel disjointed and the story was told from the perspectives of far too many characters. I do have to give The Mongoliad some credit though – the writing itself is above average. Any word nerd will relish the $5 words that are used throughout the epic. I kept my phone close by, so that I could look them up in my Dictionary.com app.

Final word: The lackluster plot won’t keep you reading past your bedtime.

One Whole Day of Bookish Fun: June 6th 2012

These are not my words, but I wanted to let you all know about this great contest:

This is a one day only BOOK PUSH for June 6^th 2012. Yup, four authors DETERMINED to bring their books to the world AND to see them climb high in Amazon’s Ranks.  We have a Zombie-ish apocalypse with a splash of romance, a romantic suspense with a dash of humour, a Thriller with a huge helping of action and a Ya Paranormal with a mystery blended in.

Something for everyone!:

Sundered, A Zombie-ish Apocalypse-

Red is an Attitude- Romantic Suspense

Allegiance- Thriller/Action adventure

Cassidy Jones and The Vulcan’s Gift- YA Paranormal Mystery

And you, my friends, can help. How? Easy peasy. Not only can you help, you can WIN BIG while you’re at it.

Here’s the run down. Purchase any ONE (1) of the books, and send your receipt to us and you’ll be entered in for a grand prize of $50.00 in Amazon Gift Cards! PLUS if you purchase all FOUR (4) books, not only will you have 4 entries, you’ll also be in for an additional SECRET DRAW.

Now, we can’t tell you what the draw is, because that would ruin the whole SECRET thing. But we will give you a hint. IT’S FABULOUS!

Okay, you want another hint? Hmm. How about DOUBLING THE GIFT CARDS?! Oh, right. Secret’s out.

What are you waiting for?

More stuff?

Well, If you insist.

4 randomly drawn entrants will win back their purchases. FREE BOOKS.

Here are the other covers!:

Review: The Baby Trap #WLC

Rating: ****

Let’s get one thing straight: I am not on the baby train.

I need to get some more life experience under my belt, go back to school, become financially stable, and get married. Yep, that’s a long, long way to go.

So, I wasn’t sure if I would like The Baby Trap by Sibel Hodge. I mean, it’s all about babies, infertility, and all of the tricks and tools of the trade. It all starts when Gina realizes that she actually does want to have children with her husband, Karl. However, after months and months of trying, there is still only one blue line on the pregnancy test. In this hilarious read, we follow Gina as she grows more and more baby obsessed. She tries everything from the average (holding her legs in the air for 10 minutes post baby-making session) to the extreme (*attempting* to picture a healing white light traveling to her ovaries as part of a mediation technique). It goes without saying, but life changes quite a bit for Karl too!

I liked this book because it was actually funny. This could totally be a movie and Bridemaids star, Kristen Wig (or even Maya Rudolph), would play the lead. (I know, I know, they’re American and this is set in the UK. I don’t care that I’m Americanizing this hypothetical movie!) It’s that kind of funny. Good funny. You’ll find yourself in hysterics over all of the less-than-polite words, antics, and sometimes just rotten luck that Gina and Karl encounter on their journey to babyville.

Final word: I’m not even on the baby train — let alone near the station — and I thought this book was hilarious. Think about what this book will do for you if you or a loved one has suffered from infertility. Hodge has a real talent for making light of this serious subject while also making you painfully aware of how torturous this ordeal is for so many couples. (Maybe it’s because these events are based on Hodge’s real life struggle with infertility.) Your heart will break at times, but your tears will mostly be from laughter.

After reading The Baby Trap, I’m definitely going to put another book by Sibel Hodge on my reading list.

Twisters: 5 Clever New Ways People Are Using Twitter

Think of Twitter as the Alice Cooper of the social media giants.

Like the shock rocker, Twitter has a way of always surprising, inspiring, and sometimes scaring us. Think back to the first time you heard that these things called “tweets” were only 140 characters long. If you were anything like I was when I was a non-tweliever, you thought something like: “Wow. How pointless. What is the world coming to?”

Now that I’m a Twitter fiend, I have since removed my foot from my mouth and have fully come to “get” Twitter’s platform. However, I’m still in a state of perpetual amazement. Just this week, I discovered the following completely original uses by Twisters, my new name for people who use Twitter in somewhat twisted ways.

Here are 5 bizarre ways that people are using Twitter:

5. Tweeting entire stories. Starting yesterday, the New Yorker Fiction Department (@NYerFiction) began tweeting “Black Box,” a short story by Jennifer Egan (@egangoonsquad), the celebrated author of “A Visit from the Goon Squad.” How is this possible? Jennifer Egan, also a seasoned tweeter, structured each paragraph in 140 characters or less. Is this the future of reading and tweeting?

4. Predicting stock market trends. Researchers at the University of California discovered that Twitter predicts stock market trends better than any investment tactic out there. Although there are several factors at play, it pretty much comes down to how tweeters feel about certain companies. Amazingly, this computer model claims that it “can predict both the volume of trading and the value of a stock the next day.” Wow.

3. Buying beer. The rumors are true: you can officially buy your favorite Tweep a beer. A new web app called Tweet-a-Beer, links your PayPal and Twitter accounts so you can buy a round without that inconvenient being-in-person thing. Just how much beer can you send? Tweet-a-Beer works by sending increments of $5 to your Twitter friend’s PayPal account. And no closing time.

Read about the top 2 at The Ballpoint Revue where this was originally posted. Trust me, they are biz-to-the-arre! Comment there…please!