Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 145
July 16, 2011
Saturday Snippet
Wheee…..
So, if my eyes aren't bleeding out of my skull by the time I post this tomorrow, I'm planning on taking the day off. Actually, a few days. I'm taking my kids to the first major comic con in the Louisville area (that I know of) for quite a while. (Maybe ever?)
And after that, on Sunday, taking off with my guy for three days. Our 15th anniversary is coming up and we're taking a couple of days to ourselves.
And I can actually enjoy those days. I made a little more progress to catching up. I just finished a book. It's Grimm # 6- don't wanna discuss the title yet. Too reveal-y. But there's a nice long snippet for a Saturday Snippet. BTW, I have no information about release dates or anything-sorry! I don't even know for sure where this is going. Once I know, I'll let you all know.
~*~
"You can chase death just a little too closely."
Death was no stranger to the Grimm—men and women who dealt with the demons who managed to cross over into the mortal world.
The three men stood there, staring down over the edge of the building into the alley below, watching the bloody, brutal battle taking place. Will—their leader—watched the woman closely. Few others knew him by any other name for him. Their leader was rather closed-mouthed, especially about himself.
"Who is chasing death? Finn?" The blond at Will's side cocked his head as he studied the Grimm with a knack for fire and fondness for firearms. "Or the baby Grimm?"
"Is it hard to figure out, Rob?" Will murmured.
Rob smirked in response.
No. It wasn't hard, not for anybody with eyes. Finn fought like a hellion, but he fought like a hellion with a focus.
The woman, though…
"She doesn't seem to care if she lives or dies," Rob murmured. "As long as she kills things." His eyes—the strangest eyes—glowed red in the dark, a sign that he was either pissed off or amused. Neither boded well. Rob was the dangerous sort when he was pissed. When he was amused. Hell. He was the dangerous sort no matter what.
But he'd been the most dangerous when he'd chasing his own death, hundreds of years earlier.
The other man, Jacob, stood with his hands linked loosely at his back. His eyes were a cool, flinty gray and although his eyes were no where near as odd as Rob's, they were still unsettling. As he stared at the duo fighting in the alley below, he eyed the woman's technique—it was flawless. She knew how to fight. She was still green, but that was to be expected. She was young—he could feel it.
He knew her name. Celine. A lovely name—graceful. It suited her.
Most of the Grimm this side of the Atlantic knew who she was. She'd crossed over nearly four years earlier and she'd gone through more trainers in those four years than any ten Grimm usually went through in the same time frame combined.
Sometimes new ones did go through a rough patch and needed an adjustment period. Just not such an extensive one.
It wasn't that she was a bad student. She learned fast, she trained hard and once she'd figured how what she was supposed to be doing, no demon put in front of her stood a chance.
Grimms were made to kill demons and she did it very, very well.
She just might become a legend among them. A legend among legends…strange, that.
If she survived.
That was a big if.
Her fight wasn't about the mission. She hadn't become the whirlwind he saw before him because she cared all that much about what they were doing. It was, to her, just a means to an end. She fought like there was no tomorrow, because she didn't want a tomorrow.
She fought because she wanted to die. It was all but etched upon her skin. Her problem was that she was just too damn good at what she did.
But sooner or later, that luck would run out. And as he watched, it almost happened—too fast for any of them to even stop it, considering how far away they stood.
A silver flash caught the faint light as a demon came up behind her. If it wasn't for her trainer, Finn, she would have been toast. Finn was pyrokinetic and he used that handy little talent for fire to eliminate the other demons that managed to surround them. As the flames ripped through the alley like an inferno, Finn stormed up to Celine, his face tight and angry.
Celine didn't look like she appreciated the save.
"Will, what do you expect us to do with her?" Jacob slanted a look at Rob. "And are you actually expecting the two of us to work together with her?"
"No. But one of you will be the one to get through to her." A faint smile curled Will's lips and the simple silver disc at his neck glowed. "It will be one of you—because there aren't many left who have the experience to guide her. She's gone through most of the others I thought could help her. So it's down to one of you."
"Down to one of us?" Rob stroked a finger across one eyebrow. "So did you save the best for last or hope like hell you wouldn't need one of us?"
Will's mouth twisted in a humorless smile. "To be honest, I never thought it would be one of you. But today, I…had a feeling."
A feeling. Yes, Will's feelings were another thing of legend. He had 'feelings' and cities rose and fell, saints wept and angels bled.
The Grimm, usually. They were angels—of the guardian variety. And they could bleed. It wasn't unusual for one of Will's feelings to lead to bloodshed. The Grimm were a tough lot and they could heal just about anything short of losing their heads, which, all things considered, was a good thing.
"So this feeling," Jacob asked. "Did it say which one of us, or are we here just for see if you can have us both manage to be in the same hemisphere without killing each other?"
Will chuckled. "You've both been in the same hemisphere for six years now and you haven't killed each other. No. I wasn't sure which one…you'll both be connected to something that's coming up for her. I don't know how. I can't see that clearly. But I suspect the one who can help her will feel it."
"That girl down there needs serious guidance, Will. Everybody knows what a mess she is, but you're moving down the foodchain." The glow in Rob's eyes glinted hotter, redder as he crouched down, almost animal-like, one hand gripping the edge of the building. "I'm the biggest headcase among a party of headcases. And that one?" He nodded at Jacob. "This chit's problem is that she can't stop living in the past, right? She's only been one of us a few years. Jacob, though? He's still dragging his chains after almost two hundred years."
"Will, bear in mind, if you expect me to work with that imbecile, I'm likely to use any chains I might carry to strangle him." Jacob had worked with Rob. Once. Nearly a hundred and fifty ago. It had ended in a bloodbath—for them. Not the demons. Jacob had spent nearly two weeks in stasis, the healing sleep a Grimm needed when the damage was too extensive. Rob had needed a few days downtime himself, even though he was somewhat older than Jacob.
It was a well-known fact. Rob and Jacob didn't get along. At all. It hadn't been a joke about keeping them in different parts of the world. For a very long time, Will had done just that, to keep them apart.
"Don't worry. I need to bring the girl down to earth—make her accept her reality. Only one of you can do that. And I think the right one already knows who it is."
Jacob wore a silver pendant around his neck—the other Grimm wore one just like it, a silver disc, etched with wings, upswept. And right now, Jacob's pendant was pulsing, throbbing, and heating from within. He didn't need to the silent cue.
He'd known the moment he saw the girl she was for him.
Memory stabbed at him—he was no good at saving people. He was good at fighting, and excelled at killing things. Those were his talents. Oh, and reminding people of things they'd rather forget, stripping them bare of all defenses until they had to face things they'd rather die to accept. Nothing else.
Moving to the very edge of the building, he watched as Finn finished banking the fires he'd called. The woman stood off the side, cleaning her blades and tucking them away, looking cold and unaffected.
She wasn't, though. Unaffected. There was pain inside her. The power inside him, that monstrous power that had almost driven him mad, pulled at him, teased him…what lies behind the pain, let us see…
Jacob pushed it down. He wasn't going there, not with a Grimm. Her pain was her own.
Turning, he stood with his back at the very edge of the building, the wind slamming against him. It was cold, the bitter edge of winter sharp in the air.
His eyes met Will's silvery ones and he saw nothing there—no satisfaction, no interest, no curiosity. Not even that keen intelligence that he knew existed.
"And if I can't help her, what then?"
Something flashed in Will's eyes, then. It might have been relief. But then Will lowered his lids, his gaze shifting away to linger on the woman fighting before him. "We don't want that to happen, Jacob. It's been a long time since we've lost one. Let's not let it happen now."
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July 15, 2011
Yay! Drake made it!
Drake Bennett from Beg Me made it to the next round of Summer's Hottest Hero! That means…votes are open again, and you can vote again!
IMPORTANT…Seriously. Er…pretty please, guys…only vote once. Please don't offer or try to vote more than once. Yes, I'm competitive as hell, but if I win something, I wanna know I won fair and square. I can't win fair and square if people are voting more than once-I don't even like offers of extra votes.
You can go vote again, though, now. It's round three, the slate is clean and everybody gets to vote again! Yay! Go, vote! And if you vote for me? Awesome!!!! Is contest! I like contests! And if I win? I win cool stuffs! I like winning cool stuffs! It makes me happy…
And now…since I skipped the Friday 56 for this shameless bit of self promo-I shall post a mini excerpt from the current WIP. It's a Hunter book. Dunno about the release date. Will post when I know.
Stroking the edge of her knife with her thumb, she eased her way into the darker shadows of the room.
Even before she saw the moonlight shining off his pale hair, she knew.
He was down there, in the backyard, waiting for her. And damn it. He'd hauled her bike out. Bastard. He was leaning against it, leather stretching over those long thighs, a black T-shirt clinging to his lean chest. He had that blond hair pulled back in a neat tail at the nape of his neck and he looked good enough to eat. In many, many ways.
Her fangs pulsed.
Lower, much lower, other things pulsed. Because she knew he'd be aware, she figured she'd hide one hunger within another. Standing in the open window sill, keeping her knife hand free , she murmured, "Oh, look. It's Meals on Wheels."
He grinned at her. And then he leaped. Sylvia fell back, moving away from the window even as part of her wished she could stand there and just watch him move—
She pulled another knife, but didn't bother hiding that one. He'd go for the one she'd left in open view, she hoped.
He came through the window, almost silent, a grin on his lips, his blue eyes glinting with humor. That hot, rich scent of his flooded her head and suddenly, she had to swallow. It was that, or start drooling.
"Delivery service." She waggled her knife at him. "I like that."
"That mouth of yours ever get you in trouble, Sylvia?"
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July 14, 2011
Sunsets…
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One of the sunset pics I took outside of Cave City, AZ. Pretty, yes?
UTA… crud, I was forgetting something. I just found out that DRAKE made it to the next round of ARe's SUMMER'S HOTTEST HERO! Thanks so much for all the votes, guys!
Round 3 will open back up tomorrow. 
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July 13, 2011
My last minute Ack… Drake From Beg Me needs votes…
The next GRIMM book is like ttttthhhhiiissss close to being done. Been planning a last minute getaway with the DH-our 15th wedding anniversary is coming up. My easily-distractable brain has been…well, distacted. And I wasn't watching a competition-gasp! (I'm slightly competitive.) Especially when really cool prizes are involved.
And Drake from BEG ME fell behind in Summer's Hottest Hero! He needs more votes! It ends soon!
Annnnndddd…. it's over… we'll see if I pulled ahead or not on Friday!
He's a hot hero…or some people think he is. You can read excerpt and see. Will you vote for him?
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Writer Wednesdays…Duffy Brown
Today's WW is with Duffy Brown.
Writer Wednesdays
What's the one thing that remains unchanged during your writing process, from one book to another? (ie: Intensive plotting? Music?)
A: The writing process is pretty much the same…getting books in on time, revisions etc. Authors write but what is changing is marketing and sale of books
What's the one piece of advice you'd give a new writer?
A: Think of writing as plan B. Do not quit your day job.
What's the one piece of advice you wish was wiped from the minds of writers everywhere?
A: I'll write a book this week and put my kids through college
What's the one book you think everybody, writer or not, should read?
A: Anything…as long as you buy it and not pirate it.
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July 12, 2011
Interested in reviewing…
Locked in Silence, which is book 5 in the Grimm's Circle series?
Shiloh needs a few book bloggers to do reviews on Locked in Silence…
Dying is hard enough. Coming back to life is brutal.
Grimm's Circle, Book 5
Vanya has been hunting and killing demons ever since one of them scarred her face and killed her sister. Correction—since she was forced to kill the demon possessing her sister.
Then some sort of angel offers her a deal she can't refuse—that if she becomes one of them, she gets to kill even more demons. Tonight, she's made that choice. The death she smells on the air will be her own—and she welcomes it.
Silence feels a darkness is looming. Change—something he has every reason not to welcome. The deeply hidden memories that robbed him of his past, of his own name, render him unfit to teach anyone the ways of the Grimm. Yet here he is in the dankest sex club in town, waiting to assume his charge—after he stands by and watches her die.
When Vanya awakes, their complicated, dangerous dance begins. And so does something else—a searing need that blisters along their unexpected mental connection. Silence shouldn't be drawn to his student, but once they touch, he can't think of a reason to stop. Even though acting out their darkest desires puts them in more danger than they realize.
Warning: This book contains sex-starved demons, lonely angels, demon-angel sandwiches, blood, violence, death and a happy-ever-after.
Then email me (NOT SHILOH!) at grimmhunter.shilohwalker(at) gmail(dot)com. Make sure to include a link to your blog. We'll check them out and a couple of people will get digital copies of the book. Also, if you could include in the subject line, Locked in Silence review request. It'll help me filter and keep track of you .
Please note… this isn't a contest.
This also isn't a 'Shiloh's giving you a book, so you have to give her a good review.' All she asks for is your honest opinion, posted to your blog either the week of last week of August or first week of September.
ETA: Also, the reviews have to be on a blog…you can also post to FB as well, Amazon, Goodreads, etc, if you choose, but the review must be on your blog.
Keep in mind that if you've received ARCs from Shiloh (or if you receive this) and you don't get the review posted by the agreed time, you're less likely to receive ARCs from her in the future. This isn't done to be mean, but she only sends out a limited number and those who get the reviews posted by the agreed date will be those who get first priority.
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July 11, 2011
Random
Oh. Pretty. Yes. I shall be sharing desert & Grand Canyon pics for a while.
Locked in Silence is up for preorder @ BN | @ Amazon. FYI, although it's not showing up there for preorder, if you preorder from Samhain, that's where you'll get the cheapest price. It's like 35% the first week of sale, I think.
Also, lookit! Cover teasing begins! This is from If You Know Her
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July 9, 2011
Saturday Snippet
It's not a work in progress… it's from IF YOU SEE HER, the book I'm editing. But I like this scene.
Remy reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. This day, it just wasn't going to get any better before it ended, was it?
Then he knocked on the door and it took yet another crazy turn on him.
He should have been prepared to see her.
Really.
But when the door opened and Hope Carson stood there, framed in a wedge of light, those dreamy, green eyes so sad and quiet, her mouth solemn and unsmiling, Remy thought his heart just might stop.
There just wasn't any way he could prepare himself for seeing her. There wasn't any way he could prepare himself for what seeing her did to him, mentally, physically, emotionally.
Shit.
Oh, shit, he did not need this.
Lust reached up and grabbed him around the throat, squeezing and choking the air from his lungs even as it heated the blood in his veins.
This was the absolute last woman on earth he should want—she was trouble, in so many ways. She was troubled, and that was just one of the reasons he didn't need this.
This was the absolute last woman on earth he wanted to want—she just plain and simple was trouble—he could feel that in his bones.
And yet, as he stared into those big, green eyes, he did want.
Hell, did he want.
read another excerpt... (hey, did you vote in the next round for Summer's Hottest Hero? Drake Bennett from Beg Me could use your votes…He made it to round two. Can you get him to round three?)
July 8, 2011
Summer's Hottest Hero
All Romance Ebooks is having a contest for Summer's Hottest Hero and DRAKE from Beg Me is in the running.
Quickie excerpt… you can read the rest here.
"I want to ask you for a favor," she said, staring at him over her wine glass.
Drake told himself he could get through this—he told himself he wasn't about to lose it, thinking about how sexy and sweet she looked in a short, flippy little tan skirt that left too much leg bare. He told himself he wasn't all but drooling as he thought about the breasts under her close-fitting, clingy black top. He also told himself the dinner had been delicious, but he couldn't remember what it tasted like or what he'd even eaten twenty minutes ago. Some kind of chicken. He thought. Or maybe pork. Right?
No, he was too focused on Tania, and the fact that she was sitting three feet away from him. Too focused on the fact that his cock was throbbing like a bad tooth and had been ever since she'd let him into her apartment an hour earlier.
Her words rang in his mind. She needed help—finally, though, something real, something physical he could focus on. That would really help. Maybe her car needed a tune-up, that was easy, although why she'd felt the need to cook for him just to ask for that, he didn't know.
"Anything." He tipped his beer bottle back, wetting his throat. Fuck it, she looked so beautiful. She was sitting so close, he could smell the scent of the lotion she'd slicked all over her skin. Good enough to eat, and that's just what he wanted to do, too.
She grimaced and said, "Maybe you should put the beer down. Stop drinking for a minute because I don't want you to choke when I ask."
"Okay." He smirked a little and leaned forward, setting the bottle on the table. "Although I don't know what you could ask that would surprise me that much, Tania."
"Five years ago."
Okay—maybe I was wrong. She can surprise me.
UTA… Yes. I would like your votes.
