Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 124
January 25, 2012
My fave character…
Law.
[image error]
Source: via shiloh on Pinterest
Okay, so he's not the main character in this book. And yeah, yeah, his hair should be longer.
But if you read his book without reading the other two? You're missing out.
So I can totally use this picture to push my upcoming release. O.o
And BTW…this is how I kinda see Remy.
[image error]
Source: via shiloh on Pinterest
Excerpt…
"I've got a job to do. She was attacked." It was the truth. It was also almost trite, because job or no job, Remy knew he would have been out there. For Hope. Sooner or later.
And as though he had read Remy's mind, Law's mouth curled into a one-sided smirk. "So this is just the conscientious DA doing his job?"
Remy stared at his hands for the longest time, unsure of what in the hell to say to that. What in the hell could he say? He couldn't get involved with Hope, even assuming she might have once been remotely interested. But there was a hell of a lot more than just a professional concern on his part, and he couldn't honestly say otherwise.
Feeling raw, exposed, he looked up at Law and as met the other guy's eyes, he realized he probably didn't need to say a damn thing.
Law already knew.
Shit.
Coming off the chair, Law shoved a hand through his hair and, and in a perfect echo of Remy's thoughts, he muttered, "Shit."
Then he shot Remy a dirty look and muttered, "This would be a hell of a lot easier on me if I could just kick you the hell out of my house, keep you the fuck away from her."
"Could you do that?"
Law snorted. "With Hope? Yeah." He sighed and shot a glance at the door. "She's…damaged. You get that? Damaged in ways I don't think you really understand right now. You might think you do, but you don't. And she trusts me. That means if I really wanted to keep you the hell away from her, if I thought you were bad for her—it would be shitty of me to do it, but I could it."
Then their gazes met. Hazel rested on blue.
Law sighed and said, "I'm not going to do it."
More…
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January 24, 2012
Seriously… again.
So somebody out there is knocking romance. Again. Yawn. This one is almost entertaining because…
He starts mentioning how romances won't ever be discussed in colleges, when they actually already are. Ask Sarah of Dear Author or ReadReactReview… a couple of smashingly brilliant women who happen to be scholars.
He actually mentions a professor at Harvard? And gets her sex wrong…and misspells her name. Yes, this, clearly, is a man we should listen to…
He has a donate button in the sidebar of his blog.
(ETA…by the way, I think I took out the links in the pic, but they were in his blog until he deleted them. His name is Cale McCaskey. If you want to read his stupendous…google. I don't wanna give him more blog hits)
Wince. Sorry. I'm kind of leery to give a lot of weight to an writer who does that. Especially if he's not offering anything but a few overblown opinions. Plus, he knocks romance. Hello… he clearly does not get just how much we read. Or what we read.
Me? I read:
Romance
Urban Fantasy
Fantasy
Thrillers (some)
Science Fiction, although pal…I won't touch yours
Horror (when I'm in the mood)
Guess what…so do a lot of romance readers…we are voracious readers. But once somebody knocks my genre of choice? On that DO NOT BUY…EVER…list.
Anyway, carrying on.
I made a comment. He deleted it.
So I made another. Here's the text, since I'm sure he'll delete it again.
Wow, so having it pointed out to you that your blog, does, it fact, have a donate button bothers you, huh? Or is it the fact that the romance novelist who is making the comment doesn't need one on her blog the rub?
Don't worry, I'll screen cap the comment and blog and save the JPEG so I can post it my site for my own follow up post tomorrow.
Anyway, the point of my comment WASN'T the donate button, which you apparently took issue with-but the fact that romances brighten peoples' lives. Because certainly, that can't be the problem, and thus the reason you deleted it.
I mentioned that I've had readers email me about how the fact that a book where a heroine overcomes rape and abuse and goes on to work with abused kids. The book helped some heal. It helped others find a voice. Surely you didn't take issue with that. Why would that bother you?
It couldn't be the fact that I've had readers email me thanking me for helping them through loss, divorce and illnesses, whether it's a cold or cancer. Why would you take issue with that? Unless, of course, it challenges your viewpoint on romance.
I clearly stated that I don't know if my books will ever be discussed in colleges or universities and I'm not bitter over this-because I bring a bright spot to lives. That's enough for me. Why would that comment have bothered you? Not sure.
Yeah, it had to be the donate thing. And I also admitted it was petty. It's truth, but petty. If it bothers you…well, I could apologize, but it would be lying, because I'm not sorry. I don't believe in saying things I don't mean.
Perhaps I'm not a good liar…however, I'm a pretty good story teller.
Before you knock romance, try writing one. And selling one…not on the kindle or the nook, but the hard way. To a traditional publisher. It's not as easy as one might thight.
And damn. I made a typo. Oh, well. As one might think. What do you expect of a no-class romance writer, anyway?
Oh, by the way…here's the screen cap.
The screen cap, again, is because the first comment got deleted. Yeah, I was a little flippant, which is my norm. But I was actually well behaved, for me. Oh, well.
Whatcha gonna do?
He also deletes comments like mad, just FYI. Sarah from DA made a particularly brilliant one that called him on a few of his errors…
Sarah S. G. FrantzJan 24, 2012 07:47 PM
The International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (http://iaspr.org) is an academic organization that is devoted to the study of romance in all popular media. This, of course, includes romance novels.
IASPR (of which I am the President) has an annual international conference (http://iaspr.org/conferences) and a fully peer-reviewed academic journal (http://jprstudies.org), both of which strive to demonstrate how romance narratives operate in our lives. Courses that focus entirely on or include popular romance novels are indeed taught regularly at many prestigious universities around the world, including, yes, Bill Gleason's courses at Princeton University.
While I'm sure none of this academic interest in popular romance fiction will change your mind about its literary merit, worth, or value, I thought your readers might be interested to know it's out there.
In her Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen, the Ur-Mother of Romance, said of "novels" — the "popular romance fiction" of her day — that they were, "in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language." The same might be said of romance novels today, word for word.
While your personal opinion is valid merely because it's yours, it does not make it fact, nor does it invalidate other peoples' opinions to the contrary. And some of those people DO have Ph.D.s from and teach at incredibly prestigious universities.
(Jung Choi, by the way, is female, and does, in fact, teach romance novels at Harvard, her status there not-withstanding.)
Screen cap of that one…
So she points out that there are, in fact, academic organizations devoted to romance. (Which kinda proves the dude wrong, yeah?) And he deletes them.
Plus, he also gets Jung Choi's (I'm sorry, not familiar this individual) sex wrong. Deletes the comment correcting him.
Wow. Why delete that? Unless of course he can't handle having somebody point out the places where he was…kinda…ya know…wrong?
He's allowed to have his opinion, sure. We're allowed to have ours. We know the power of romance.
When I miscarried, I wanted a romance. I wanted things that brought me pleasure, that made me smile.
When I had the hell year in 2010 and lost not just one friend, but three? I wanted something that would make me smile. I wanted a romance.
Somebody mentioned:
AJAJan 18, 2012 06:02 PM
Agree. These books neither challenge nor engage on any meaningful level.
I've lived. I've lost. I work in a very stressful, hectic career. Beyond that?
I have a happy, healthy marriage and you want to talk challenges? That is one. We're raising three kids. That is a challenge. I have challenges. Life brings me challenges.
When I read romances, they make me think…and yes, they do…they make me think, they take me to magic places, they take me back in history, they take me to alternate worlds, they make laugh, they make me cry.
M-W.com:
en·gage (link)
: to provide occupation for : involve <engage him in a new project>
Yes.. these books involve me. In short… they engage me. Do they engage others? Yes…millions… Most of us are college educated, involved in a committed relationship, and we read romance because we enjoy them.
On that note…let me introduce myself.
I'm a nurse, although I only work enough to keep my license active. I've been a fulltime writer since 2004. I'm married. Quite happily, to my high school sweetheart. We've been married more than 15 years now.
We have three kids. The older two are in the honors program and my son, it's suspected, is well beyond 'gifted'.
My oldest daughter is 12 and has written more than five books already-plus, she's also had a book read by an editor and an agent.
My youngest is five, and if she turns to the dark side, the whole word in trouble. She is already 'writing' her own songs, and trying to play the guitar.
So please tell me… how am I 'contributing' to this staggering illiteracy problem, may I ask? By raising some super-sharp kids who are already reading well above their grade level? Like many romance readers, I passed my love of reading on to my kids.
My passion is romance…the stories, contrary to what you think, are not the same. Because they are about two people falling in love, and the journey of falling in love is never the same.
Why do I love romance? Because, plain and simple, I love character driven stories and I love that slow, gentle glide into love, that crazy free-fall.
It's the most amazing thing. I feel it every time I look at my husband. When he sits at the table and teases the kids, or me. I love to experience the milder side of it when I'm sitting down and reading a good romance…it's a milder side, because nothing compares to the real thing. But the journey is always fun.
Nothing other genre out there offers me that.
Now…before you persists in knocking romance, how formulaic and easy they are to write? (And therefore publish, I'd assume)…perhaps you should write one. Sell it. Publish it. And not on a self publishing platform, either, because anybody can do that (although not many can do it well). But do it the hard way. The traditional way. You might be surprised at how hard it is.
I dare you.
Fave lines… heh.
It's under a week now.
And I love this line. Ms. Tuttle is one of my fave characters…
"Look, if you keep calling me in here, you're going to have to get me some sort of free pass to get me through the dragon keeper's gate. That woman out there, I hate to say this, but she almost scares the shit out of me."
Amazon | B & N | Booksamillion | Indiebound | Book Depository
January 23, 2012
Guest Post with Myke Cole
I've gotta admit, I've been looking forward to this guy's book for a while. It comes out next week and damn it, I wants it.
After I read the guest blog he wrote for me? WANT IT EVEN MORE.
Say hi to Myke Cole…
Here's the info about his book, which I think you all should read.
SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT
Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer.
Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze.
Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military's Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.
The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down–and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he's ever known, and that his life isn't the only thing he's fighting for.
And onto the guest post…
from Myke
If there's one thing that bugs me about being a genre fanatic, it's when you run into folks who have already made their minds up about how your genre functions and why they're not interested.
Like most haters, these people have inevitably never read anything in your particular genre, or if they have, it's just the major classics, most of them totally not representative of where things stand today.
Fantasy? That's magic and elves, right? Harry Potter? Kids stuff. Comic books? That's for kids. Science fiction? You mean like Star Trek? I watched a few episodes when I was a kid. There's more serious stuff on TV now.
Argh. Must. Control. Impulse. To. Strangle.
Instead, I try to interest folks in genre by recommending books or comics that I think have broad enough appeal to hook non-speculative fiction readers and bring them into the fold. I've had some success with this (using George R. R. Martin and Peter V. Brett for novels and Bill Willingham's Fables for comics), and I'm really proud of the nerds I've helped create.
So when I went pro and began looking more widely at my writing career, I refused to stigmatize any genre. I want to be a writer, not just a genre writer. I want to have the option (and the skill) to throw my pen in any arena that strikes my fancy. I've done a lot of non-fiction writing, mostly on counterterrorism/military theory, but it's a sector I enjoy and would be happy to get back into. Ditto for military public affairs writing (an entirely different style). I'd love to write for comic books, or video games.
So, yeah. Romance.
I'd been raised with all the misconceptions and stereotypes that everyone has about the genre: parodies of category titles, Fabio lounging shirtless on the cover, some heaving-chested damsel swooning in his arms. I knew that was over-simplistic, foolish. I knew that romance writers put every bit as much blood and sweat into their work as I did.
And then one day I went to meet my friend Cassie Alexander at RWA in Times Square. I got on the escalator and was checking twitter on my iPhone when it finally deposited me on the convention floor and I looked up.
There were no men.
No, seriously. Not one.
I've since been informed that there were some men there, but I just didn't see them, but everyone has admitted to me that they were few and far between.
And through my whole lunch with Cassie, I couldn't stop thinking "There's a man on the cover of most of these books. Why aren't there any at this convention? Don't men write these books?"
As it turns out, not usually. And when they do, they assume female pseudonyms.
Now, I remember getting mighty pissed when I first found out that Andre Norton was a pen name deliberately adopted to make her work more marketable. Ditto for Robin Hobb. The thought that a woman couldn't just be a woman writing fantasy and science fiction seriously burned me.
So the more people told me that men (writing as men) couldn't write romance, the more I became determined to do it.
You know, in my copious spare time.
I met up with my friend Laura Anne Gilman (no stranger to the genre herself) and told her that I wasn't real happy with folks telling me what I can and can't do. She told me to calm down, take a deep breath, and first learn what the hell I was talking about. She gave me a long talk about the history of the genre, explained the range of styles from single titles to erotic to category (sternly warned me never to use the term "bodice-ripper") and left me with an old trade paperback of Nora Roberts' Night Tales.
A little Internet research reminded me of just how vast this genre was, how much history had already existed before I even started paying attention. As I realized how much I had to learn, my desire to write in the genre waned (daunting hard work'll do that to you).
In a development that surprises exactly nobody, Roberts didn't disappoint.
So, I moved on to Lora Leigh. Nauti Nights made me blush, and I spend much of my time working with sailors.
And it was fun. Romance and romantic relationships are every bit as interesting to men as they are to women. Sit a bunch of guys down, give them alcohol, and leave them alone for an hour. If the conversation hasn't turned to sex after fifteen minutes, check their collective pulse.
Jessica Scott tweets a lot that her books are being read not only by men, but hard-bitten army operators (a special-forces Command-Sergeant-Major was her latest convert). So, clearly the trend is changing, but not fast enough in my opinion.
If just my brief sampling of the field is any indicator, the romance genre is a pack of outstanding writers who are simply focusing on a different subject. That's no reason for a gender divide. Men marry, men screw, men fall in love. Men spend a lot of time thinking about those things. It preoccupies our minds every bit as much as it does women.
I'm hoping for a day when I see erotic romances on the shelves written by male authors under their own names, and to walk into a future RWA that's a little more gender-equal. Who knows? Maybe, if the writing gods are good, I'll be able to make a real go of this and eventually make good on my threat to write a romance some day.
RWA 2015. See you there J.
Myke Cole
www.mykecole.com
www.facebook.com/mykecole
www.twitter.com/MykeCole
Bio…Myke Cole is the author of the SHADOW OPS military fantasy series. The first novel in the series, CONTROL POINT, will be coming from Ace (Penguin) at the end of this month. As a security contractor, government civilian and military officer, Myke Cole's career has run the gamut from Counterterrorism to Cyber Warfare to Federal Law Enforcement. He's done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. All that conflict can wear a guy out. Thank goodness for fantasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dungeons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.
And…because I suspect this is going to be an awesome book, I'm doing a giveaway of Myke's book. Want a copy? Tell me a genre that you normally don't read but that you think you might want to try. I'll draw one random winner and you'll get an unsigned copy of Myke's book.
My standard rules apply, international is fine, don't post to sweepstakes sites…void where prohibited, odds of winning depend on number of entries, read the disclaimer, etc, etc, etc…
January 22, 2012
The Hunters: Byron and Kit
Okay, this is done. It's up on Smashwords, Amazon, and ARe. I've got it loaded on BN so it's just up to them when it's ready.
This one was rather heavily edited and I added more to it…it went from about 12k to a little over 14k, so even if you've read it before, you might not mind reading it again. It's a smoother, better read, IMO.
Plus, the cover? AWESOME.
Just a general note about the earlier HUNTER books… they are…ah…hot. Explicit. Very much so. I've had a few people email/comment about the heat level, the sex, even though with the warning, I tried to make it clear, these were very, very kinky books. Again… these are very, very kinky books. 
As of yet, it's still not on BN-it's loaded, just waiting for it to show. But you can get it at
ARe | Amazon | Smashwords
And… Smashwords and ARe? International…
Fave scenes…
Just about a week…
One of my fave scenes from this book.
Leaning forward, she sucked in a breath of air. But it lodged in her lungs when she saw Remy.
Doing the exact same thing.
He was leaning over the hood of his car, a sleek, silver sports car…a Jaguar, if she wasn't mistaken, his shoulders bowed, head low.
As though he felt her stare, he lifted his head.
A good forty feet separated them, but she still felt the impact of his gaze and it shook her clear down to her very core. Heat…wrapped in fear, and nerves, and need, and…surprise.
Because he looked every bit as shaken, as worried, as confused as she felt.
Those blue eyes bored into hers.
Her heart raced and for the first time in her life, Hope understood the concept of what it might be like to actually have the world fall away. In those few seconds, it seemed like nothing, and no one, existed, except for him, and her.
Then, he looked away and the moment shattered.
Read more…
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January 21, 2012
Saturday Snippets…Friends
Snippet time… From IF YOU SEE HER and it's all about friends…
She was still standing there, dazed, when Law came into the kitchen about two minutes after the front door closed.
Still standing there, with her hand touching her lips, and her heart racing.
Remy had just kissed her.
And right before he had lifted his head, he'd whispered, "I've wanted to do that from the first second I laid eyes on you."
"Hey."
Shaken, she looked up and saw Law standing by the island, staring at her, his face drawn tight in a worried scowl. "You okay there?"
"Um…I…I'm not sure."
He leaned back against the counter, assuming almost the same pose Remy had stood in just minutes earlier. Hope closed her eyes and then immediately wished she hadn't, because she could see that image in her mind, the way his shirt had stretched across his shoulders, the way the light glinted off his hair.
Then she found herself thinking about how he'd stared into her eyes as he'd lowered his head and kissed her…
"Hope?"
Gulping, she opened her eyes and stared at Law.
"Remy kissed me."
If she'd expected Law to be shocked, well…she was expecting too much. All he did was lift a brow and fold his arms over his chest. "Okay. So is that a problem for you?"
"A problem?" She shoved a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Damn it, Law. He kissed me! A week ago he was out here grilling you about me and today he thinks it's okay to kiss me?"
"Actually, a week ago, he wasn't grilling me about anything." Law's mouth softened in a smile. "He just wanted to…"
She grimaced. "Find out things he had no right finding out."
Law sighed. "Hope, he already had most of it figured it. He just wanted to make…hell. Look, cut him some slack. The guy was in one shitty place—I get the feeling he was…" He scowled, a dull red flush climbing up his cheeks. "Damn it, this is like giving a kid sister dating advice or something. Look, I think he's been attracted to you like from the get-go, but can you figure out where that put him? Whether we like it or not, somebody did a damn good job trying to set you up and I hate it like hell, but what kind of man would be if he turned a blind eye to his job just because he thought the girl involved was cute?"
Hope blushed and looked away. "I'm not…" then she stopped herself. The hell she wasn't mad about it. But she understood what Law was getting at. "I understand he had a job to do—I do. I don't have to like it, but I understand it. Still, this is giving me whiplash." Looking down, she stared at the healing scars on her wrists.
Gingerly, she touched one, winced at the lingering pain. She'd carry those scars for life, forever carry that reminder that somebody hadn't just tried to kill her, but they'd tried to do it in a way that had made the past two years of her life a lie. So what if she'd spent them running—she'd left her husband, that bastard who'd tried so hard to destroy her?
She was trying to be strong…and these marks were done to make her look like a coward.
"Law, I don't know if I'm up for this. I'm just…I'm so confused," she murmured.
Heaving out a sigh, he lifted a hand. She placed hers in it and he tugged her close, tucking her up against his chest.
Amazon | B & N | Booksamillion | Indiebound | Book Depository
Other snippet-y authors…
Megan Hart — Read in bed!
Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Leah Braemel
Shelli Stevens
TJ Michaels
Zoë Archer
Lacey Savage
January 20, 2012
It's being…formatted…Byron and Kit
O.o Bleh. Formatting…I hates it.
This one actually has some reworking done. I added a couple of new scenes, smoothed it out a lot more. So even if you've read it, you might wanna check it out.
I'll post here once it's uploaded…depends on how long it takes to do the formatting.
From THE REUNITED… Friday 56
Still in progress, being revised, but mostly done. Scratch that. It's now done and sent in. Due out late this year, I think.
It made Taige smile inwardly. Too often, this kid didn't act anything like the kid she still was. Even when she was completely in the wrong, it was nice to see Jillian act like a teenager. Hell, it was even kind of nice to see her screw up, see her rebel.
About the Friday 56
Grab the book nearest you. Right now
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.
