Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 129
December 17, 2011
Saturday Snippets
It's Snippet time…
Saturday snippets…winter!
Staring at it, his heart racing, he wondered. Was this the end of it, then?
Had they found her?
He looked up, saw Dez staring at him.
"She's in there," Dez said quietly. A heavy sigh shuddered out of her and he realized, although the sky was beating down on them and the frost covering the ground had started to melt, it was colder now than it had been. "I feel her."
"Is she . . ."
Other snippet-y authors…
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
December 16, 2011
The Friday 56…mystery book…
O.o I got to read this last week. It was awesome
The plants were finally coming back – kudzu draped a crumbling wall here and there and bright yellow dandelions and crimson bloody dandies, the dandelion's magic-altered cousins, poked out between the fallen bricks.
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.
December 14, 2011
Writer Wednesday… Myla Jackson…
Today's writer wednesday is …Myla Jackson
What's the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)
A: Focus. I have to focus on one project at a time and push my way through.
What's the one piece of advice you'd give a new writer?
A: Keep your day job! Writing is not for the risk averse. It's a tough business with unpredictable income.
What's the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?
A: That there's only one right way to write a book. Writing rules are guidelines you don't always have to follow.
What's the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?
A: The book of life. There is no one book for everyone to read. Live your life! Books can enrich and make life a better experience, but nothing beats getting out and exploring the possibilities yourself.
December 12, 2011
Giving back…
December isn't always the easiest month for a lot of people. My family is blessed. We've got a roof over our heads, we've got the money to buy our groceries, pay our bills…and my guy & I can buy presents for our family without hitting the credit cards (usually).
It wasn't always the case. There was a time when I'd been pretty sick-back when I was working as a nurse, had some health crap, had to take some time of from work, and we were just broke. I didn't have the money to buy groceries and if it wasn't for some friends at church…well. I know what it's like to be broke. I know what it's like to wonder how you're going to put food on the table. I've been there.
I try to do what I can to give back throughout the year, and do a little more during the Christmas season. We've got local things where you can buy a family a meal for Christmas- I do that, and we usually sponsor a child from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. I send books to the soldiers through my friend who helps out with the SOS groups.
I firmly believe that when you give…it comes back to you. Although that's not why you should give…the world is much smaller than we realize sometimes and when we help somebody, whether it's a stranger or a friend, we're doing something that helps in a very deep way…there's that saying, Nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody…
Whether it's a monetary sort of help, a donation of time…every time I've given back, every time our family gives, we get blessed.
I've had somebody say (paraphrasing), "It's just too big a job. There's too much suffering and you can't change the whole world."
But that's bull. We can change the world. We start small, and we help one person. Because when we help one person, we've changed that person's world. When 100 people help 100 people…the world has changed for 100 people. When 1000 help 1000…when 1 million help 1 million…that's how we can change the world. Maybe it's not world peace, maybe it's not the cure for cancer or AIDS. But if we take steps where we can to alleviate suffering, it's a start. Even in just small ways…a donation to a local food pantry, sponsoring a child at Christmas, volunteering your time to a local school or nursing home or sending letters to those serving over seas.
After all, the world would be a pretty miserable place if nobody tried to help anybody because it was 'too big a job'.
December 11, 2011
December 10, 2011
Saturday Snippets
It's Snippet time…
Saturday snippets…family. This one is a dysfunctional family, but hey…it's family.
But their family had a lot of bygone traits and skills.
Like his father's habit of keeping a piece on the side.
His mother's habit of ignoring it.
A functioning alcoholic, that's what Elsa Jones had been, floating through their grand house, sipping her cocktails and pretending to be the happy wife at all the social functions, just as a good mayor's wife should.
It all fell apart after Anna disappeared. Sweet, pretty little Anna—his baby sister, somebody who had made him laugh. Made them all laugh, even Mother at times. But then Anna had disappeared and everything changed.
His father tried, Taylor knew. The old man did his damnedest and Taylor, at least, had that. But Elsa . . . a couple of years after it happened, Elsa took one of her cocktails and made it special.
She never woke up.
Other snippet-y authors…
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Leah Braemel
Louisa Edwards
TJ Michaels
December 9, 2011
The Friday 56
From The Reunited...which is what I'm working on now so it's technically the closest book.
There was death here.
He didn't know how long ago it had happened, but people had died here and it stained the air, a vicious black stain that would never fully fade.
It was fucking cold, too. The lingering echo of those trapped here, he knew. Which was why the place was so heavily imprinted on Dez's brain, why he'd followed the trail to it to easily. Probably all but infested with ghosts.
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.
December 8, 2011
Powerful…
I saw a tweet about this guy when I was out of town last week and I saved it. I just read it again and I get the same shivers now that I did when I first read it.
I was fighting so that you wouldn't have to deal with or die in another 9/11. I was fighting so that you and America would never have [to]know another war on our soil.
He was killed in a firefight recently. In a letter to his family, he said:
I died happy. Maybe not peacefully, but happy, and with purpose. That's all I could have ever asked for.
Image and info from the LA Times
December 7, 2011
Writer Wednesday Taige Crenshaw
Today's Writer Wednesday is Taige Crenshaw...
What's the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)
A: I always have some sort of music playing. Rhythms play a big part in my writing. I have different playlists based on the various scenes I am writing. I get more sexy or sensual when I'm working on an erotic scene. For fight scene or black moments I go harder hitting with songs with lyrics that talk about heartbreak or what would make my words flow. And I have many more based on what I am writing in my book.
What's the one piece of advice you'd give a new writer?
A: Write the book that is true to your heart and don't write to what is new or hot in the market. When you write true to you the story will resonate more than one you write just for the market.
What's the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?
A: That there is a mandatory rule or formula for writing in order to get published. There is no such thin. There is no mandatory rule, formula or one way to write. Yes you must learn the craft of writing but what you put on that page must be fresh and unique. Something that will engage the publisher or editor you are submitting too. Then when book is released you want to engage the reader who will read your book. Make them want to read more and more of your books.
What's the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?
A: Oh boy I can't narrow it down to one. There are two books that really moved me. I read both in high school. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Color by Alice Walker. I've always been an avid reader searching out books to read. When these two books were assigned in high school I remember reading them both for the first time and wondering how I had never read them before. They were raw, emotional and makes you think. One of the things I noticed most about the books was how it compelled even those who were nonreaders to have such strong feeling about the books. This lead to very interesting discussions in the class. I also read these again in college for another class. There it was also interesting to see the opinions and thoughts on the books.
So yeah those are two books I think everyone should read.
want to know more about Writer Wednesdays? Go here…
December 5, 2011
Carolyn Crane… I so love her…
Her new book, HeadRush is out tomorrow. You should get it. Because it's awesome
I've already read it...and loved it.
JUSTINE JONES FACES HER ULTIIMATE ENEMY: HERSELF
In an attempt to put her unhappy past behind her, Justine Jones throws herself into nursing school and planning her wedding to the man of her dreams. But something is off. Random details aren't adding up…and is it her imagination, or are her friends and fiancé keeping secrets from her? And what's with this strange sense of unease, and her odd new headaches?
Justine tries to stay upbeat as Midcity cowers under martial law, sleepwalking cannibals, and a mysterious rash of paranormal copycat violence, but her search for answers leads her into the most dangerous mind game yet.
With the help of unlikely allies, including her paranoid dad and best frenemy Simon, Justine fights her ultimate foe…and unravels the most startling mystery of all.
