Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 126
January 10, 2012
The Departed Giveaway winner…
A LOT of entries on that puppy.
So here we have a winner…
elaing8.
elaing8, you can use the contact form to get in touch with me! Thanks so much to all who entered!
January 9, 2012
January 8, 2012
Be warned…
I can't alter a few things I need to alter on the theme I was using. So I'm going to find a new one. If my site looks like it's going haywire… well, it might be. For a while.
I read this. I loved this.
You want this. But you probably have to wait. But not too long.
3/6/2012
When Grace Andreas's sister, Petra, and her husband are both killed, Grace inherits the Power and responsibilities of the Oracle of Louisville, as well as her sister's two young children–neither of which she is prepared for. Then Khalil, Demonkind and Djinn Prince of House Marid, decides to make himself a part of the household both as guardian and counterpoint to Grace's impudence towards the Elder Races.
January 7, 2012
YOU SHOULDN'T POST NEGATIVE REVIEWS….
(warning…sarcasm and weirdness ahead)
Because…um…well… I said so… no, wait! That's not why…this is why…
authors read them
you might want a career in publishing some day and you'll be BLACKBALLED
librarians say so
a fluffy pink unicorn dies every time you do it
it's not nice
kittens don't like it
Ah. Screw it.
Here's the thing. And it's been said 10000000000 times.
Reviews. Are. An. Opinion.
Authors don't have to like it. And guess what…readers/reviewers don't expect us to like the negative reviews.
But damn it. They are entitled to their opinion. And when you say…
YOU SHOULDN'T POST THAT.
DON'T BE SO NEGATIVE…IT'S CAN SCREW UP YOUR CAREER IN WRITING BEFORE YOU HAVE ONE
AUTHORS READ THOSE BLOGS (WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN…) okay…i added that on my own, but those whining about the negative reviews…um. Well…
Or anything variation of the above…you know how this translates?
You challenge their right to an opinion. Plain and simple. Perhaps that's not how you intended to come off.
Yes, yes, I realize, you slaved and labored and worked so hard on that book.
Hey, check out the header up there… I read. I write. Yes, I write. I'm a writer. Published since 2003 ( I think). I don't know how many published works, because I stopped counting them. But I'm a writer. Full stop. End of.
But being published doesn't entitle you to special treatment.
No. Wait. Maybe it does. It means you get paid for your books. If you go to a store and they have your books, you can ask to sign them, and that's kinda cool. And when people ask what you do for a living, you get to say… "I write."
That doesn't translate to…
"I get to deny other people their right to an opinion."
"I get to tell people how or where they should voice their opinions."
"I get to determine which opinions are valid and/or acceptable."
Think that's a little over the top? Maybe it is. But when you rant about a negative review, that's the message you're sending.
That negative review isn't going to kill your career. Will it stop a few people from buying your book? Possibly…because that book may not be right for them.
And FYI, one of the rants lately was that negative reviews discouraged people from reading. That comment is so fricking ludicrous I can't even began to voice how many ways that is wrong.
But here's a clue…and I'm not using these authors to mock or poke or malign. I haven't read these books, but I'm familiar with the authors and their works…'kay?
Laurell K Hamilton… on Amazon, Bullet-300+ reviews, and 147 are 1 star. And you want me to believe people are still not buying/reading? They are buying and reading her like crazy.
Stephanie Meyer on Amazon 5000+ And day-yum…guys I need more reviews!… anyway. 600 something negative reviews for Twilight. And Stephanie Meyer…. still getting bought like mad.
Yes, these are big names. I realize that. But readers aren't discouraged by 'bad' reviews.
And guess what…that negative review may be the very thing that entices another reader to buy your book.
Example…over at Dear Author… there are several different reviewers.
I generally tend to like books that reviewer Janet likes… if she likes a book, chances are I'm going to, and I've often found myself disliking the same books she's disliked.
So if she didn't care for a book I'm on the fence about? Yeah, I might not buy.
However… Jane's negative reviews? I very often have enjoyed books she hasn't. I'm hit or miss on the books she's liked so a positive review from her isn't necessarily going to be the push I need to get me to buy. But a negative one very often is the push I need if I'm on the fence. I really don't think I'm the only person who does things like this.
And it's a book I'm really, really interested in? Reviews don't matter. I'm probably going to take a chance on it. Unless you're one of these authors who are having fits about people having opinions your books, because you're an author I'm never going to try. I'm full of opinions and nobody gets to dictate how I get to voice them, where, when…etc, etc, etc.
I don't want to come off as being harsh. But seriously…some of these writers who are having meltdowns lately over negative/critical reviews?
I just have these thoughts in mind.
You need to get a couple of good, solid friends to vent to. OFFLINE
You need to get your big girl pants/big boy pants…and put them on….people are going to dislike your work. That's all there is to it.
Accept it. Be prepared. Your life will be easier for it, I promise you.
If you don't think all of this makes sense… look at all the blow-ups that happen when an author rants over a review disliking a book. Think them through… how many of them ended well for the author? I can't think of one. It reflects badly.
And it can cost you readers. The internet… she doesn't forget.
ETA: Please… think of the unicorns:
Author Author Cat pic made @ the LOL Cat builder
Saturday Snippets… Warm Places
This one was harder! But hey… a beach is mentioned…
There were places a guy wanted to be in life—in bed with a long, lean woman wrapped around him? That topped the list, as far as Law Reilly was concerned.
Although he wouldn't mind a cabin in the mountains, just him and his laptop. He'd be fine with swapping out the laptop for a long, lean woman.
Or even a shack on a beach, just him and his laptop. Again, the swap-out—his laptop for a long, lean woman? That would work. And some beer on hand.
The place he didn't want to be, though?
A wedding in small-town Kentucky.
Namely, Ash, Kentucky, where he'd been living for the past ten years. Long enough that he could call the place home, long enough that most of the people knew him by face, by name…and by bank account, even if most of them didn't entirely know where the money came from.
due out next month…read more
Other authors doing the snippet go round
Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lacey Savage
Leah Braemel
Selena Robins
TJ Michaels
January 6, 2012
The Friday 56…
This is from my current WIP, THE REUNITED which is the next book in the FBI Psychic series. I think it's due out late this year or early next.
Grace had been lovely, there was no doubt about that, but she hadn't been smart.
Ella was much more suitable.
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.
January 5, 2012
New winner chosen…
So the thrills and chills winner must not want her Nook. This is the second winner.
So now we have a third. Another name, randomly drawn. And it's…
jepebATverizonDOTnet who commented:
Trying to post again….
jepebATverizonDOTnet
And the last batch…The Departed… Giveaway
Last round…(FYI, the winner must check back to claim the prize-if you think you might forget, try setting up a google alert. It's easy, I promise…) Also, because I've been emailed/asked… all entries made be made via the comments section of the blog. Not thru email/Goodreads, etc.
Also included, but not shown…some random swag, bookmarks, pens, trading cards, etc.
From THE DEPARTED
Say something, he thought. Stop her, damn it. His mind was a raw, ragged wound and today, of all days—shit, today, yesterday, it was the worst possible time for him to be trying to think of something coherent to say to anybody. Especially the person who mattered to him the most. Dez.
But he had to say something. He just didn't know what. Didn't know what to think. His mind went blank. Words, the easy glib lines he could always hand out whenever he needed to do whatever he needed to do—they failed him. He needed to talk, needed to say something, but he couldn't.
He had to do something, though, and he had to do it fast, because if he let her leave this time, he wasn't going to have a chance in hell of getting her. Keeping her. And he was finally starting to realize that was exactly what he needed to do—what he wanted, what he absolutely must have.
Otherwise, he was going to turn into one of those shadows that haunted her. Maybe a living, breathing one, but everything that made him live would be gone.
Read More
B&N | BAMM | Amazon | Indiebound | Book Depository
These are books I've picked up to give away. And here's your chance to win them.
To enter, name an author you've discovered in 2011 that you love. Mine would be Thea Harrison. :-) The other authors are ones I've already read & enjoyed…before 2011. Well, except the author of Hunter's Fall… not too sure about her. 
All names entered will go into the pot. One winner will be drawn at the end of the contest and posted here. Make sure you read my disclaimer-the winner is responsible for checking back to see if they've won- (hint…you can always set up a google seach for your name/whatever handle you see use. Good way to keep track of contests).
Entering means you agree to the rules and that you've read the disclaimer.
More prizes will be randomly added with each giveaway post. (Or that's the plan…) Entries must be made at my blog, not via facebook, twitter, GR, etc).
One winner will be drawn from all the names posted, and one winner will get the entire stash of goodies from the random giveaways posted here over the past few weeks. The name should be posted next week and you have two weeks to contact me to claim the prize, as per my disclaimer.
January 4, 2012
Cut it off! Cut it off! #helpingout #soldiers
Okay, so we had a name from a while back… a marine by the name of Anthony Raymond. I can't find the original post-I think it's one of the ones that got lost during my move.
Anyway…He was stationed with a unit that didn't get much mail or anything and we posted his name/unit here.
So today I get an email from my friend Kelley…
This was a forwarded part of the message:
She said, "Tony called. He said, 'Mom, you can't believe it! I must've received 100 boxes and given away more than 50 pounds of chocolate—Reese's pieces! But tell them to stop sending them!'"…
…(cut some of the email out, not sure if it's personal data or not)
a huge group of Marines was made very happy this holiday. He was very surprised because he hardly ever got anything during the other 4 or 5 deployments. It was depressing to be a leader and have the men share with him rather than the other way around.
I know some of you send stuff out…whoever sent something, thank you. You're awesome…but Tony's gotta head back soon, so we need to stop now. Whoever sent something…you're amazing. Thanks so much.
FYI… per their requests, solider requests aren't to be posted on FB.
