Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 148
June 18, 2011
A silly Saturday snippet
On Thursday, I was editing my novella, The Unwilling (same world as THE MISSING) which will be in the Hot in Handcuffs antho with Sylvia Day and Shayla Black.
And I found this little gem.
She turned around…a box in her hair.
Oooookay, then. Boxes in hair. A new style? How about a real snippet?
She fell asleep in his arms.
Colby knew the best thing for him to do was to close his eyes and try to get some rest of his own. But he couldn't. Not yet. And oddly, he felt more rested than he had in days. Rested…at peace, almost. Just because of Mica. Just because she was once more in his arms and it didn't matter, at the moment, that he knew this wouldn't last. The job would end, he would leave and Mica would go back to pretending she belonged in a world she didn't. A world of where the people where normal and they didn't hear whispers in their mind…see ghosts…
June 17, 2011
June 16, 2011
Proof positive that there are weirder people than me…
So I have a friend who helps me with galleys.
Yes. I admit this. An extra set of eyes helps, especially at certain times.
She found this little gem…
"Feel better?" he asked, tugging a handkerchief from his nose.
Okay, then.
I emailed her, with the words….ewwwww….how in the hell can you read me?
Her response?
The typos lighten things up.
Picture me…blinking. And still trying not to gag or giggle at the image I must have given her.
June 15, 2011
Dear Reader
There are going to be a lot of these going up, I guess.
So there is a big drama (was) a big drama going around twitter & blogland on Monday-I couldn't stop to blog about it then because I was tttthhhiiissss close to finishing up my book and I still have to edit it, and edit the RS book, but anyway.
I haven't had a blog rant in a week or two. Let's have at it.
There are a number of authors who want to demand how readers buy books. This crap happens every so often.
The latest, though, was interesting. It included steps on how a reader should buy an author's book. Steps.
Format. When. How. Where.
Up front disclaimer…I have no issue if an author wants to offer an incentive to get readers to buy during the week of release. I do those sometimes. Week of release sales do count.
Now, there is a right way to do this, and oh, crap, that couldn't be more wrong way. Beating people over the head and demanding that in order to enter, they have to buy X amount of copies? Wrong way. Yes. I've seen this. Hopefully, just offering a giveaway is an okay way to do it. But there's a difference, for me, between trying to entice people to buy at a certain people…and laying out politely worded demands.
Certain things are …well. Crass.
Implying that if a reader really, really loves me, she should
a) only buy print
b) only buy from indies
c) if indies aren't an option, then she must go to certain chain in order to punish this chain… (don't ask me to explain this logic, because I can't)
Okay. I'm boggled. You know what I want from readers? That's easy…
If you're getting my books through legit channels? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
If you're talking about them…? Thank you so much!
It doesn't matter if it's print, ebook, library…and, yes, I'm fine with used bookstores, because I know a lot of people, if you like what you've read, you'll go out and snatch up every single book you can find new. (No, not everybody, but I've gotten enough readers through UBS to know this happens…they can't be discounted. UBS can totally hook readers.)
Now all the blah, blah, blah about buying multiple copies? Buying only in a certain format? Whatever.
People get very uptight about hitting the lists. Does it matter? Yes. It does. To an author, it matters a lot. It's not just a matter of pride, but it's a way of proving to your publisher that they can count on you. You're worth the time, the money, the effort they put into you. It does matter.
Do I want to hit the big lists? Yes. I keep working, I keep trying, I keep hoping. But I refuse to bash my readers over their heads to do it. If (no, when) I do it, it's going to be because you all put me there and I'm going to show my appreciation through saying thank you…not making endless demands.
And although I haven't hit the big ones yet, I still want to say thank you. You readers who buy my books, who check my stuff out through libraries, you readers who blog about my stuff, tweet about my stuff, you rock. You are amazing. Thank you.
June 14, 2011
Guest Blogging…
Guest blogging today at Limecello's blog…
There may be a prize involved. O.o
I'm also guest blogging at The Good, The Bad & The Unread (Here's a straight link to their blog, too-they are posting excerpts and reviews, too…it's like a Shiloh day…hee hee)
And I also had a last minute invite to blog at RomCon!
June 13, 2011
How Maggie killed the fairy. And other stuff.
The other day, bratlet got mad at me.
I asked the DH if she still pouting. He tells me:
"For the next twenty years or so."
She's 12, at the pre-teen/teen diva drama. I so didn't need to hear that.
My kids are roller coaster junkies. They cannot go a day without talking about this ride or that ride. It's worse in the summer when they can talk their dad into taking them to a local amusement park on his off days.
Yesterday, they asked him:
"Dad, what's the roughest ride you've ever been on?"
I was thinking Drachenfire (sp?), an old steel coaster at Busch Gardens. As straight-faced as could be, he looks at them and says:
"The first four and half years of your baby sister's life."
Monster ripped the nail of his small toe the other day. Somehow. I don't know how. He doesn't know how. I told my guy about it-it was still clinging by a thread and he says:
"Pull it off."
I informed him I was waiting for him to distract the monster.
So the DH comes in to do just that, monster is panicking…
"No, no, no, you can't, it's going to HUR…what?"
And I showed him the nail. I'd pulled it off before he really even started talking.
Baby bratlet was playing with her toys a few weeks ago. She had a LITTLE PEOPLE castle with all these little toys lined up in front of it. And there was a fairy lying on her back.
She tells me:
"It's a murder mystery. Somebody killed the fairy."
Blinking. Okay. It turns out this was the culprit-
That's Maggie. From Fischer Price's Little People. She killed the fairy because she was jealous of the fairy's wings.
June 12, 2011
Soldiers…helping out
Okay, so those who visit my blog probably remember the drill with this. I sometimes post names for Army and Marine units.
These guys are stationed overseas and they could use some letters and cards. If you want to include an email address, they often do write back and at that point, if you want to think about sending care packages, go ahead.
But for now, cards and letters suffice.
The first guy…
CPT Granzow, David
HHC, 2/82 AAB
APO AE 09396
And then these three are all in the same unit, you'd use the address and just select one name to go with the addy (starting with the C-CO).
Again… right now, all that is asked for is cards and letters.
Eric Johnson
Ryan Grab
Shawn Brown
C-CO 1-175 IN
unit 31530 MFO 55
APO,AE 09833
If you have any questions, please read the soldier FAQ page first-I'm under a major deadline crunch and I barely have time to check email or breathe-the blog isn't a big priority right now. If you ask and I don't respond for a while, I'm not ignoring anybody, I'm just running behind because of my deadlines and again, most questions for this are answered in the soldier FAQ.
Also, for those who've been following the issue with the Congo's hero, Pastor Marrion P' Udongo, I received this update from Indiegogo:
Hey folks,
It's been over a week since my last update, so I wanted to let you know what's taking place. Basically, right now we're waiting. Two days after the transplant, the pastor's new kidney went into a state of shock. As Dr. Twahir Ahmed explained, the kidney entered "a period of slumber." It's not dead, but it's not really working, either. The pastor is still at Nairobi Hospital receiving regular dialysis. He's also experiencing swelling and a lot of pain.
The good news, according to Dr. Twahir, is that this period of "slumber" is fairly common. Last night the doctors performed another surgery to clear up some minor complications and reported the kidney looked healthy. Overall, the pastor's body is healthy. We're just waiting on this kidney to WAKE UP and do its job. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, the doctor says. Despite this setback, they're all still hopeful and optimistic.
So we wait. And while we wait, let's hope and pray this kidney decides to finally show up to the party.
Several of you have also asked about Omaka, the kidney donor. Dr. Twahir said he's recovering well and should be ready to go home soon. We'll know more next week. We also hope to bring you an interview with Omaka so you can learn more about his own experience though this odyssey. We'll also have updated photos and video of Pastor taken after the transplant. It's been difficult to get footage over the past week because he's often resting.
And of course, we're still raising money. The expenses are really mounting right now. So please share this story with friends, family, and co-workers, and direct them to our website. We've come a long way since last July, and we've cleared the biggest mountain. But as Jimmy Cliff sang, there are many rivers to cross. For us, this isn't over until the pastor is at home in Bunia, working and preaching and helping rebuild his great country.
Onward….
Bryan
June 11, 2011
Fun with words…
So I'm editing IF YOU KNOW HER, the last book in the RS trilogy.
Came across this little bit.
He stroked his hand up her lung.
First…ewwwww. Second…getting that right word is crucial.
It should have read:
He stroked his hand up her leg.
Much less gross.
I'm guest-blogging at Fresh Fiction today. 
June 10, 2011
The Friday 56
Today is a quickie…I'm struggling to catch up and still get a novella done, so no contest…sorry!
This is from the novella, which is the closest thing at hand.
And when he hadn't answered—
"Damn it, Colby, what's wrong with you??"
Blinking, he forced his eyes wider open, made himself swallow although most of the spit had dried in his mouth.
This is set in the same world as THE MISSING and THE DEPARTED, and I'll have a cover for THE DEPARTED soon. This novella is going to be in an antho with Sylvia Day and Shayla Black.
(BTW, I feel the need to point out…yes, authors are welcome to participate, but keep in mind-there is a line between participation and spamming my blog. The line isn't really all that fine, either. You don't try to use my blog as your promo platform and we're good. And trust me, you don't want to spam my blog. I've been known to strange and unusual things to author spam left on my blog…you wouldn't want your spam-mish post that reads something like… CHECK OUT MY BOOKS to be changed to CHECK OUT MY BOOGERS/MY BOOBS/MY MORNING BREATH, would you? This PSA was left after a few came a little too close lately)
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.
June 9, 2011
New news…
Okay, so Hunter's Choice is now free on…
Nook
ARe
Kindle
Smashwords
Diesel
Currently, it's not free on Kobo or Sony. Unfortunately, they are slower to work things through the system and this isn't anything in my control. Sorry, guys! But you can always download the various software (Kindle/Nook) to read it on your computer or you can get the format you need from either ARe or Smashwords…PDFs work really on Sony readers and epub is what I think is best for the Kobo. The FAQ page at Smashwords also explains how to get files on various readers. :)
ALSO… I had an interview at Paperback Dolls today…
Covers! Did you see my covers in the last post? No? Well, you should…here's one of them just to prove it.
Okay. I'm newsed out. I don't think I forgot any other blogs I'm supposed to be at. Until Saturday. O.O
