Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 133

Ramblings…

Today's posting is a hodge-podge…further proof of my disjointed mind.  As if you needed proof.

I'm really loving this show.  I know I've mentioned that. But I love, love, love it…

[image error]You can watch them at the website if you're curious.

We went to Indianapolis on Friday.  Last minute thing… I felt like heading up there and hitting some bookstores, signing stock.  We stayed at a very cool hotel-The Crowne Plaza Union Station.  It used to be an old train station.

[image error]It's hard to explain just how cool this place was.  They have old trains running through it.  The cars are used as rooms now.  Next time, we plan on staying in one.

I hit four different bookstores in Indy and signed stock-all of they had If You Hear Her…it's on the towers. Yay!

I can't stop watching the news/tweets about Penn State *alleged* child abuse story.  I can't call this a sex scandal.  That makes it sound like this was something willing.  Like between a couple of the coaches, or even a coach and one of the college students…somebody of age.  While that would be still rather disturbing, it would be a far cry from young teen and preteen children.  Some of the victims, IIRC, were ten.

And yet we have students at Penn State protesting over the firing of the coaches who hid this…who covered it up, and lied.  He did so much for this school…

Screw that.  They *allegedly* allowed children to be preyed upon.  Ten years old.  It blows my mind. Do they not comprehend what a ten year old child is?  My ten year old?  Weighs 90 lbs.  Still believes in Santa. Sometimes comes looking for me in the night when he's scared.  Ten years old…a child who needs protecting.

Yes.  I'm obsessed.  And I don't plan on silencing myself over it any time soon.  That's one of the problems with child abuse…people don't want to talk about it, because it is so ugly.  But people need to talk about it-they need to voice their concerns when they suspect it, they need to let their kids know they trust them, and if for God's sake, a child tells you of abuse…listen.  And don't hide it.

The Second Book of Grimm is up on Amazon and BN already for preorder.  This has Crazed Hearts and Tarnished Knight in it.

I've managed to start Christmas shopping.  I've bought a few presents for the bratlet and baby bratlet, the main thing I'm getting the DH and although I haven't BOUGHT it yet, I know what I'm getting the monster, too.

And with that… I think I'm going to curl up and finish reading my In Death book.

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Hunters Eli & Sarel… reissue…

2011 Revision

The Hunters Book 2

Three centuries is a long time to spend alone…but Elijah Crawford is used to it. He's got his friends, he's got thugs to kill, and a mild obsession with an on-and-off again lover to keep him occupied.

But then a woman appears in his dark world, one who just might bring some light to those endless nights. Just one look makes him hunger. Just one glimpse makes him burn.

There's just one complication. She wants him dead.

Sarel Chandler knows all about vampires and she knows all about monsters–or so she thinks. The monster she knows as Elijah Crawford is responsible for the death of her sister and she's going to see that he pays for it.

There's just one complication…she's completely wrong…and she's about to pay for it in so many ways.

Warning: This book contains a pissed-off witch, a sexy Master vampire, some serious ménage action and lots of one-on-one time…of the up-close-and-personal variety. And I do mean lots…

Excerpt

Eli's eyes closed. God, he hurt. The blood in his veins pumped sluggishly and it seemed to be filled with acid, burning him from the inside out. "Tori…?" He could smell her, that subtle scent of peaches, sex, woman, and vampire.

"She's down the hall. We can't get her to feed, Eli," Kelsey said, her eyes closing. She had to. She had never been much of a liar, and if he looked dead at her, he'd see the lie. Right now, he was probably too weak to scent it, but he might still see it. "Declan's tried and she won't respond to him. I don't know how to reach her."

Desperate energy suddenly flooded him as the rage broke open inside. He rolled, pinning the woman beside him, staring down in her slanted green and gold eyes. He was so fucking tired, and it wasn't such a chore to let it all be over, after three centuries of walking alone. He would never have Tori and there was no other woman.

But he could not let them die. Tori and Declan meant more to him than his own soul. The bitch in his bed could save him, and then he could save Tori and Declan. Then he could go right on being lonely, but what else the fuck was new?

"You owe me blood, darling," he purred with menace, his muscles trembling with the effort it took to move and hold her, even though she didn't resist him at all.

Those rather amazing eyes closed and she turned her head. Baring her neck. And then she said quietly, "I know."

read more…

Smashwords | All Romance Ebooks | Nook | Kindle

I don't know if/when this book will be released back into print. Details will be posted to the site when/if that changes.

Also… ah, a word of warning.  This is one of my erotic romances.  I should emphasize the erotic part.  Heavily. O.o  If that's not your thing, you might wanna avoid this one.

A snippet… from IF YOU SEE HER…

I really like Remy and Hope…

"He was here about you, okay?"

A chill raced down her spine.

And for reasons she couldn't even begin to explain, her heart ached.

"So much for him meaning what he says," she muttered, reaching up and wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

"What?"

She just shook her head.

"What are you so scared about?"

She laughed, and even to her own ears, the sound was hard and brittle.  "Oh, come on, Law.  He just stood there and told me I don't need to worry him causing trouble for me, that he means what he says and yet he was here grilling you about me."

"Yes.  He was."  Law crossed the room and reached down, caught one of her wrists and lifted it, exposing the healing scars. "Mostly because of these, honey."

She curled her hand into a fist, tensed.  Staring into his hazel eyes, she whispered, "What about these?"

He held tight, his grasp gentle…but firm.  He couldn't, wouldn't, let her get away.   "Hope, somebody tried to kill you.  He beat the shit out of me, but he tried to kill you.  And up until recently, everybody just assumed you'd done yourself.  Remy's a DA.  He's got a job to do, and now you're just as much a victim of a crime as I am."

Hope swallowed the knot in her throat—victim—damn it, she was so fucking tired of being a victim.

Closing her eyes, she reminded herself that she wasn't one now, not unless she let herself be one.  So what if the law decided to view her as one?  That didn't mean she had to see herself as one, that she had to let herself be one…act like one…

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she opened her eyes and looked at Law.  "So if he was here about these, why didn't he talk to me?"

A shutter fell across Law's eyes.

And just like that, she knew.  Pain, shame, horror, they sliced into her heart, into her soul.  A scream rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down.

He knew.

Remy knew.

For some reason, that knowledge was like a lash across her heart.  Raw and unending and painful.

"Oh, shit." Jerking away from him, ignoring the sharp sting it caused in her wrist, she turned away from him.  Nausea churned inside her and if she had had any food inside her belly, she would have vomited every last bit of it up on Law's polished, gleaming hardwood floors.

Instead, she made her way over to the windows and opened it, fighting with the screen until she'd freed that, too.

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.

from the Ash series…

Dear Vets…

Thank you…

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Want to review IF YOU SEE HER?

I've got a few galleys of IF YOU SEE HER...and they need a home.

Now, a couple of these are already spoken for.  But others still need a home.  They'd like a home with somebody who has read/reviewed IF YOU HEAR HER.

I'm not trying to be unfair here, I'm really not.  But… I only received six galleys.  (Those who don't blog, I'm keeping one for a reader giveaway closer to release time.)

So.  Six galleys.  Yep.  Count 'em.  Six.  And this isn't a book that's going to work quite so well if you haven't read the first one.  I also have this little thing where sometimes, a few people will request a galley for review purposes, and then…well, they don't review it.

Now this isn't me sending a galley to a review blog…I know not all of those get reviewed.  This is me, posting a call for reviews, like this…to my blog, people request to review it and in exchange for receiving the ARC/galley, I ask the blogger to post a review.

When I only get a few of them and I have to spend several days trying to figure out who to send them to, and the people who get them don't review them?  Well, it makes it that much harder.

So…for this series, since it's so tightly entwined and since I received so few galleys, I'm going to have to be a little more persnickety.  I'm not going to make anybody do the hula or stand on their heads to get the ARC and you don't have to post the review to X site, Y site and Z site, and as always, all I do ask is for your honest opinion, posted to your blog.

However, in order to request one of these ARCs, you do need to have read the first book in the series and having a review posted to your blog gets you an edge.  Also, just so you know…I do have the galleys in for book 3 and I'll likely to do the same for IF YOU KNOW HER.  Meaning if you've read books 1 & 2, you'll be that much more likely to get in on reviewing book 3.

If you're interested in reviewing IF YOU SEE HER, please email Nicole with the name of your blog and other pertinent info … her email is grimmhunter.shilohwalker AT gmail.com.  We'll keep this open for a week or so.

#WWYD … What would you do…

One thing being discussed a lot on line the Paterno/Penn State/McQueary/Sandusky scandal.  Heads-up…I get frank, ugly and blunt in this post.  If you've got triggers about rape and assault, please be aware.  FYI, this is also a nice, long opinionated rant, full of…well…opinions.

Also, if you stumble on this post…you're welcome to argue, you're welcome to disagree, but if you get ugly with me or my readers, if you get nasty, I can & do reserve the right to block and delete you, and I do it with a smile.  I have no interest in trolls.

Now…about that scandal.

What scandal? In case you don't know…in short… *allegedly*, one of these coach guys, Sandusky allegedly assaulted…no…allegedly raped numerous boys…yes, boys, young teen and pre-teen boys over a period of I think 15 years.

One of these guys-a former quarterback-McQueary-I think, actually, saw it happen.

From what I've read, and I'll be honest, I'm skimming, because I can't read much without going ape-shit crazy, this quarterback walks in and sees Sandusky raping a child.  A child.  He sees a grown man…raping a child.  Not fondling, as some of the media would say-that isn't what is in the shit presented to the court, if I'm understanding right.  He was raping a child.

What does he do?  Does he call the cops? (The right thing).  No.  He calls his daddy.

Now, I'm 35 years old.  I think he was 28. I stopped calling Daddy to fix my problems when I was oh, say ….17 or 18.  But maybe I'm just a little advanced for my years.

So he calls Daddy and it goes from there…people take it to their superiors.  Which, in PA, is the legal thing.

Screw legal.

I look at these pictures, and I think…

[image error] image from http://www.centredaily.com

And I think… do any of you have little brothers? Sisters? Cousins? Or even children of your own?  Think about it now…what if it had been your brother.  Your sister.  Your cousin. Your child.

And a guy saw this child that you know.  That you love.  That you would do anything to protect.  This child was being raped.

What would you have wanted the guy to do?  Go to his…superior?  Or call the cops?

**Added to clarify…yes, I know Paterno didn't witness it.  But he also didn't call the damn cops, either.

Would you be happy knowing he did the basic minimum required by law?  Because honestly…we can see how well that worked.  How long has this been going on?

Or would you want more done?  Would you have maybe hoped for a hero?  Instead of a coward?

McQueary had a chance to be a hero.  Instead, he called Daddy.

Paterno had that chance to be a child's hero.  He could have stepped up and stopped an endless cycle of nightmares.

Spanier had that chance.  So many people had a chance to step up and do the right thing.

What is the right thing?  That's simple…in a nutshell, it's speaking up for the innocent.  It's standing up for the voiceless victims, for the children who were victimized.  It's not always easy.

But being a hero isn't meant to be easy.  People are idolizing this guy for being a football legend.  But he had a real chance to be a real hero.  All of them did.  And they chose silence instead…because of …what?  For football?

All of those kids rallying around him and saying they are blowing this 'sex scandal' out of proportion…a quote from one Brendan Westfall…

"I'm here to support Joe Paterno, and the media is blowing this (the sex abuse scandal) way out of proportion," said sophomore Brendan Westfall.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com

 

Out of proportion? Again. A child. Up against a wall. With a grown man forcibly having sex with said child–this is rape, people.  RAPE.  How do you blow that out of proportion?  Being outraged, disgusted, horrified…?  That isn't being blown out of proportion.  That's being human.

So I ask you…all of those rallying about Joe Paterno, the administration, all of those who feel that the firings were unjust.

Let's do a hypothetical.  Close your eyes.  Think of a child you love.  Now.  Place that child in a shower.  Alone.  With a man who is raping him/her.  Somebody walks in…this person has several options…it's a man who is likely strong enough to physically intervene.

Does he?  No.  Would you?  I would.  But I'm rash and prone to that.

Does he call the cops?  No.  Would I?  Yes.  Would you?  I hope that answer is yes.

Does he go to his superiors?  No.  He calls his daddy.

What would you do?  What would you want somebody else to do… if it was your child? If it was a child you loved…?  Your brother.  Your sister. Your cousin.  A friend you knew from childhood…somebody weaker, somebody helpless…somebody is waiting for somebody, anybody to step in and save him.

This child was waiting.  And nobody saved him.  So many had the chance to help.

And it's not just this child…there were others.  So many others.

If you can't get into the mindset of a child needing help, because you don't know one…don't have one.  Okay.  Here's this.

You're trapped.  You're in a dark, hellish little hole.  Somebody has placed you in there and they will not let you out. You are imprisoned.  This, naturally, is against the law.

One day, somebody walks by your prison and you see them!  You scream out for help…they hear you! And…they don't call the cops.  They tell their superior, of course, which is what's required by law.

But nothing ever comes of it.  You had a chance to be saved.  But because the person who had the chance to help you chose the easy way…instead of the right way…you're still in hell.

Paterno, Spanier, so many people had a chance to speak up.  To save children from hell.  They chose silence.  From what we can see, they chose to allow children to suffer….for the sake of football.  And those supporting them?  You're telling us…this is okay.

It is not okay.

Don't be silent.  Don't ignore the victims.  Sometimes…we are the only voice they have.

Want to make your voice heard, want to speak for victims but don't know how?

Visit sites like RAINN.  Visit sites like Child Help. If you suspect child abuse or child sexual assault…don't be silent. You just might be that kid's only ticket out of hell.  Think about it…if it was you, stuck in hell, wouldn't you be hoping for a hero?  A real one?

 

So yesterday was sucky news…today is cool news

Today… I has good news.

First…Fragile is going to be released in mass market next year.  This was one of my first full length romantic suspenses so this is really cool news for me. Yay!  ( I assume Broken will follow at some point…dunno when).

Then…Crazed Hearts and Tarnished Knight from my Grimm series will be going into print next year…together.  Titled The Second Book of Grimm.  Here's a look at the cover.

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And…Hunters Eli and Sarel is now back out in eformat.  So far, it's up at All Romance Ebooks, Nook & Smashwords.  I'm waiting to get it to the Kindle.  That's a bit more time-consuming.  I've uploaded it, it's just a matter of them clearing it through.

Wanna see the new cover?

News about the Veil series

Okay…so this isn't the funnest post to write.  But it's got to be written.

For the foreseeable future, the Veil series has been placed on hold.  While Through The Veil had great sales and great feedback…Veil of Shadows did not.  Oh, the feedback I got it from it was good, but the sales…well, they sucked and I spent a few months debating, thinking…

In the end, I had to make a hard decision.  Writing can be full of them.  A writer's daily life is all about the words…but in our business lives, if we don't focus on something else…numbers and sales, we can end up being one of the writers who don't keep writing for a living.

Since I kind of like what I do, and since my family kind of needs me to keep working…well, in the end, I knew what the right decision was. It wasn't an easy one.

I spoke with my editor about the series and we've decided to put it to the side.

This doesn't mean the series won't be completed, but at this time, I just don't know. Unless something amazing happens with Veil of Shadows, it's not a big likelihood.

Now, before the ideas pop up…this book is already contracted to Berkley.  I signed it with them.  I can't just take it elsewhere…contracts are legal obligations.

But should they be willing to let me take it elsewhere…I'm not inclined to even try, so before anybody asks, let me explain why.

Self publishing is out of the question…this is a hard series.  I'd need an editor who was familiar with it.  An editor/author relationship has to work and it's not like picking up a carton of milk at the grocery store.

Self-publishing…the right way…isn't cheap and I'll either do it right, or I won't do it. It's a full-length book and would run me a couple of thousand dollars by the time all was said and done.

Self-publishing it would likely take me twice as long and could very well put me behind on other projects.  As I just spent almost four months hauling tail to catch up after being sick in the spring, I'd rather not get behind again.  One bad thing is all it takes and I'm screwed.

Signing it with a digital first publisher, a better possibility, but the editor who took it would have to be very familiar with the world, read both books and other issues.

The most likely possibility would be that maybe it could be released as a digital release from Berkley.  Then I could have my original editor.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't get to as many people as it would in print.

There just aren't any good scenarios, but the sad fact…the worst one is to continue the series at this point in time. Writing a book is a serious investment in time and if it's a book that just isn't selling, well…as much as it sucks, I have to wear my business hat when I'm making these decisions.

A series that isn't selling well is bad news for a writer.  Because I'd kind of like to keep getting those contracts…but series that don't sell well, they don't really look good to those nice people who offer the contracts.

I'm very sorry to those readers who've been waiting for the third book, I'm very sorry to the readers who've followed this series.  I appreciate all your support and if, God willing, things do change, I'd love to continue with Morne's book.

Thanks for understanding…

I am loving this…

 

I normally don't get too involved in TV shows. They have a habit of getting cancelled.  But I had to watch this.

Have you checked it out? ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME

 

Winners…we haz them…

We've got several…

First up, the 'spread the word' winners-the bloggers who helped get the word out about the contest.

Jaci's Winner-Crystal: http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub...

Lisa's Winner-Cricket: http://inkstainedwriter.com

Shiloh's Winner (my) http://www.chaoscoffeeandabookshelf.com/

Ladies, each of you win a prize. If you'll contact me at shilohwalker(at)gmail.com with your author's name/Thrill's and Chill's in the subject line, I'll get you in touch with your author. Thanks so much for helping us spread the word.

And the winner of the Nook color….Alexandrea Ward:

Randomly drawn, with this comment from Lisa's blog:

Wow! A giveaway for a Nook. That's a big deal.

Alexandrea, if you can contact me, at the addy above, I'll be in touch shortly about getting your prize, the Nook Color, to you.

Again, thanks to everybody for entering!