I actually won something - thanks to novelist Joe Finder and Twitter

I'm not the type of person who ever wins anything. I lived in Las Vegas for ten years and the most I ever won was $100 on a poker machine. I think I won $2 on a couple scratch lottery tickets. But otherwise, if it's a drawing, giveaway, gamble, game of chance, random draw...count me out. Not gonna happen.

That changed yesterday! I won a new iPod Shuffle on a Twitter giveaway. I had to read my name a couple times to let it sink in. I actually won something, and it was a pretty cool something at that!

How did this happen? Well, friends, it all started on Twitter...

Author Joseph Finder is promoting the release of his new novel, VANISHED. A highly anticipated action thriller, this book introduces Finder's new lead character, Nick Heller, a "private spy." (Read a juicy excerpt here.) He has a quickly growing fan following on Twitter, and with good reason. He follows people back, and replies to his fans personally. He and his very cool assistant Claire are very fan-appreciative, and it shows. One of the ways is through giveaways and great promotional ideas.

For the release of VANISHED on August 18th, Joe started a fun and clever Twitter campaign: for everyone who follows him at @JoeFinder, and who makes a tweet using the topic #Vanished (hash tag is necessary), will be entered into a drawing for an iPod Shuffle. I've been enjoying the clever tweets and the wordplay used with the title of the book. Joe has some fun and intelligent fans!

With this new Internet social marketing world, writers and authors like Joe Finder are learning to utilize the tools and connect with readers and fans like never before in history. And it's great for the fans, to know their favorite authors are real, and listen to them. A win-win!

I've read a couple of Joe's novels, and I enjoyed them immensely. I'll be posting some reviews as soon as time allows.

But until then, check out his pre-order special offer for VANISHED and visit his site to learn more about the very interesting Joseph Finder, the Yale grad, ex-CIA agent, former journalist and singer (a cappella, no less!). (I'm pre-ordering and will get a free signed paperback!)

(Photo by Joel Benjamin)

• If you'd like to follow Joe on Twitter, click here: @JoeFinder
• If you'd like to follow Joe's new character, Nick Heller, on Twitter, click here: @NickHeller
• If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, click here: @smilingwriter

And that, folks, is how I came to win the iPod Shuffle. I have become a fan of Joe Finder's books and follow him on Twitter. I love to retweet his posts and those of other fans, and when the #Vanished challenge came along, I naturally couldn't resist. And I actually won! I'm still grinning about it...and watching my mailbox!