Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 3

Happy Mother’s Day

The post Happy Mother’s Day appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

And….we’re off… (well, sorta)

It’s been a little over ten years since Kit first came into the world. And I’m currently working on her final book. I had the brilliant idea to do new cover art and since I was at it, I thought maybe I’d do a limited special edition. And while I was at it, I thought maybe I’d do it via kickstarter.

The Art

With new cover art designed by Kmochi of ArtistsnClients, I can’t tell you how beautiful this book already looks.

Through the Kickstarter, the book will be available in ebook, trade paperback and hardback and reward tiers will start at a couple of dollars and go up, with higher tiers offering payment plans.

About the Special Edition

The book has been revised, smoothing out a few editorial issues I’ve noticed, mainly repetitive phrases but I’ve also reformatted this edition.

The Bonus Chapter

Have you ever wondered just what went down with that fight between Annette (I’m sorry, the Queen Bitch) and Damon? Well, the Special Edition is your chance to find out. Everybody who buys the Special Edition, in any format, will receive the expanded book, complete with a bonus chapter, written from Damon’s POV when he returns to face Annette.

Special Tier Rewards

Tiered rewards start $3 (plus shipping), where you receive an adorable Chibi sticker.

The design was by angellix3 of Artistsnclients, and there’s one that’s even cuter than this available as a reward, too!

If the kickstarter goes well, I’m hoping to add in illustrations to the final project and I’ve got a few other fun goals in mind.

If you’ve never been part of a kickstarter and you’re interested, the first thing you need to do is register. Then use the handy dandy infographic to guide you through.

The kickstarter isn’t set to go live yet, but you can click notify on launch as circled in the next image below.

The post And….we’re off… (well, sorta) appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

Some cautionary advice on conventions

If you’re anywhere in reader & author spaces on social media right now, you’ve likely heard about the mess(es) that happened with last week’s Readers Take Denver event.

The 2025 event has been canceled.

If you haven’t heard, you can find plenty of information by looking for #readerstakedenver on Twitter/X, Facebook, youtube, Threads, or pretty much anywhere readers and authors talk.

And a lot of shit went down –

little to no security at private parties, allowing outside individuals to gatecrash events, making others feel uncomfortable, even having (alleged* so I don’t have people making wild accusations of libel at me) sexual assault happen when these outsiders gate-crashedHaving the organizer’s husband actually downplay the above event and (put his own male twist on it) –multiple occurrences where authors, readers, PAs etc where yelled at by volunteers (not all, just a select few), occurrences where some of these volunteers actually put hands on readers and PAsThose with disabilities were dismissed and/abused when asking about questions about accessibilityAuthors were threatened and bullied in weeks leading UP to the event just for asking questions.Oh, and putting somebody with a potentially fatal allergy in harm’s way

And I’m not even touching half the stuff. It’s a hornet’s nest.

But I don’t so much as want to talk about the event particularly in and of itself, believe it or not.

I want to talk about something that could have cued in newer authors if people had felt comfortable discussing it without reprisal.

And…well, the organizer might have felt comfortable bullying some people newbie people into silence. But I’m not a newbie…and I never did react well to anybody trying to intimidate me, even if somebody were to attempt it.

So, what do I want to discuss?

The Sponsorships

Apparently, sponsorships were pushed hard at this thing. Big time. Authors shelled out money like crazy. They weren’t just asked to sponsor, they were made to feel like it was expected.

One of the links I posted up top goes to an author’s post on Facebook, one by Laramie Briscoe who was initially planning to attend but when she asked questions about the high — and excessive — sponsorship fees, she was bullied and harassed, so much to the point that she questioned whether she’d even have a career left.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen cases of where Lisa Renee Jones has been involved with threatening/intimidating an author or their career. Frankly, this bullshit needs to stop.

It would have cost nothing address somebody’s questions openly. Transparency only hurts if you’re hiding something.

So let’s discuss sponsorship fees in general.

The fees

Up until COVID, I attended anywhere from 1-3 events a year for probably over a decade. At a couple, I was a small-ish sponsor. I was never harassed or pushed into being a sponsor.

Organizers know that, by and large, many authors aren’t rolling in dough. Some sponsorship fees start at just a couple of hundred dollars, or they’ll let you do ‘group’ sponsorships. When I did sponsor something, it was around $500, and only if the event itself was less than $300.

In all the events I’ve attended, I’ve never felt harassed. I’ve never got endless requests for sponsorships.

When I was at events, the money for those sponsorships was spent as intended. The fees I paid, for costs like WiFi, etc? That’s where it went.

Questions – ASK THEM

If I had questions, and anybody who knows me will know I always have questions, I asked and have never been given less than a professional answer and I’m typically given polite and extremely friendly answers.

Large scale events are going to be run by an event planner – you can’t have thousands of readers, authors, influencers, PAs and narrators in a confined space and have everything go off smoothly without somebody who knows how to make that happen. It’s not the hotel’s job to do that. And from what I’m understanding there was no paid event planner involved.

If you’re asked to an event and it’s a big one, ask who the event planner is.

Ask what the safety plan is. I don’t know what all would be involved, but an event planner would. A conscientious event organizer should have some idea.

If the questions you ask aren’t answered to your satisfaction or if you’re made to feel dismissed, you’re most likely dealing with unprofessional people and you shouldn’t get involved.

Safety

All events should have a safety plan put in place. Even if it’s just lanyards to make sure only the attendees are allowed access into the venues. Ask about it.

If you’re an author, you will have some readers who have accessibility concerns. That safety plan should address them.

Who is watching the doors to make sure only ticketed attendees are coming in?

If somebody with a fatal allergy reaches out to the organizer and is assured their concerns will be addressed, they should be addressed. An event planner knows how to handle this. Don’t be afraid to ask if they have an event planner in place who will be handling safety plans, etc and what that plan entails.

Research

Don’t just rely on the event’s private group for answers. While we want to think that the people involved in the event will be open and answer our questions truthfully, sadly, we live in the real world. Some may be too intimidated to answer, and considering that some authors like to bully others into silence, it’s understandable. Do a google search and see what has happened in previous years. Read reader experiences.

And listen to your gut.

If something feels off, listen to that feeling and ask why.

The post Some cautionary advice on conventions appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

I’m up to something…

It’s still in the super sekrit stage. It has something to do with Kit.

It’s not about the last book. However, Kit fans will hopefully enjoy…

Follow me on Kickstarter to stay up to date.

Also…a sneak peek at Blade’s End.

I wasn’t used to waking before him.

I also wasn’t used to lying there while he had nightmares.

But nothing in our lives had been normal for the past two weeks and change. Okay, it had been far longer than that, but I’d be willing to go back to the insanity of the past few months if only we could undo the past couple of weeks. If only Doyle would just show up, right now.

Swallowing the knot of despair that threatened to choke me, I rolled onto my side and stared at Damon in the dim light, the thin wedge shining in through the window more than enough for me to catch a good look at his face.

His eyes were tightly closed, mouth clenched in a flat light.

As I hesitated another moment, his lips peeled back from his teeth and a low, rough growl rolled from his lips.

I went to sit up and had to stop at the cold press of metal in my hand.

Sighing, I looked down at the sword I’d either grabbed or called in my sleep. I had no idea which. I’d had nightmares and I remembered enough about them that either option was likely.

Putting the blade down on the mattress behind me, I rose and crossed the few scant feet to Damon’s bed..

We’d been sleeping apart since we’d left East O. It felt like a distance of a hundred miles rather than a few feet. I didn’t know how to cross it, or if I even should.

A harsh noise tore from Damon’s throat and I went to reach out, shake him awake, then stopped. Warily, I looked down at his hands and he lifted one of them, slashed out at something—wicked claws emerged for a fraction of a second before retracting back into his skin.

I backed up a step.

“Damon,” I said, deliberately making my voice flat and cool.

It wasn’t particularly easy.

My heart was breaking to pieces inside me.

But the brisk tone had the desired effect and his eyes flew open, swirls of glittering gold locked on the ceiling while he sucked in gulps of air.

”Fuck,” he muttered.

The gold in his eyes faded, replaced by a more familiar green-gold, then even that faded and stormy gray looked up at me from the mattress. “I woke you.”

I edged closer once I saw the awareness in his gaze. With a shrug, I sat on the edge of the bed, my arms wrapped around my middle. It was cold in the room. Normally, when I was with him, I never felt cold. But I was sleeping alone in a bed instead of curled up next to him. Even with him lying two feet away, I felt horribly alone. I didn’t know how to bridge this chasm between us.

“I’ve woken you up with my nightmares more than a couple of times. You owe me,  the way I see it.”

“No.” His voice was hoarse and for a moment, we just looked at each other and the air grew heavy with all the things left unsaid between us.

Without even thinking about it, I reached up to touch him. Before I made contact, he caught my wrist, eyes on me in the dim light coming in through the gap in the curtains.

His eyes were still haunted by whatever nightmare had plagued him, but as we stared at each other, a veil fell, cutting me off.  The crack in my heart split wider and I pulled back.

The post I’m up to something… appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

Hard day

Today we got a call. My mother in law has been in the hospital and they wanted to know if we were open to considering hospice. She’ll return to the memory care unit where she’s been and hospice will come and give additional support, if we’re open to it.

I told them yes. I didn’t have to think about it. Both my husband and brother-in-law have trusted me to handle the overall, day to day decisions on her care, making me the medical power of attorney. We’d all talked about the hard decisions early on. None of us want to do anything that will draw this out for her.

Dementia is a miserable disease and all we want for her is to keep her as comfortable as we can. The relief with hospice is that we’ll be able to get her on medications that will help more with her anxiousness, the fear and paranoia that seem to be her most common symptoms. Some people with dementia have these symptoms only occasionally, some never have them, and others, like my MIL, they become a part of daily life.

So, thankfully, we will soon be able to get her more comfortable.

Folks, I’ve said this on twitter and facebook, and I think I’ve mentioned it on my blog before, but I want to say it again, because it can’t be said enough. Treatments for Alzheimers and dementia had progressed remarkably in recent years, but they are most effective when you start treatment early on.

There’s no cure, although I hope we’ll see one, if not in my lifetime, then maybe in that of the next generation. Current treatments can help with memory and thinking, but again, they are more effective when you start early on.

If you have a family member… urge them to get evaluated. It’s been ten years, easily, since I first noticed the subtle changes in my mother-in-law and I tried to talk her into it, tried to convince my father-in-law to talk to her. I did what I could and sometimes that is all you can do.

If you think you have dementia…get evaluated. Don’t let fear talk you out of it.

The post Hard day appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

So…here’s a Kit novella.

it’s either a short novella or a very long short story.

Strangely enough I’ve had a couple of people ask me recently if Chang would ever get a story. Well, he won’t get an entire story…his history is…complicated, and rather sad. But we get a glimpse into his past.

Son. Brother. Friend. Lover. Husband. Father.

Warrior.

Throughout his long life, he has been all of these things. But before all else, he has been a protector. He has made friends, but more importantly, he has made enemies. One has stalked him through the millennia, centuries before he took the name Chang and long before he found a lost, orphaned boy who would one day become one of the most powerful Alphas in the world.

Take a step back in time and look through the eyes of the powerful being known simply as Chang .

Author note: this short novella is a series of vignettes throughout Chang’s life, starting in childhood and up to the years right before he came into Damon’s life, then connecting to the events at the end of Blooded Blade. It all ties together. There are no spoilers here, but you might find an answer or two…or maybe a few questions.

Buy links: (more coming as they go live) Amazon | Apple | BN | Kobo | Play | Smashwords

The post So…here’s a Kit novella. appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

Comfort Reads

When I’m stressed or dealing with heavy shit, ai either stop reading or go back to a couple of die-hard favorite series.

Usually, that means Jeaniene Frost’s Cat & Bones, Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling or the Guild Hunters, or Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels.

We’re dealing with some heavy shit right now and I’m rereading like a fiend. This time around, it’s Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrew’s.

There’s comfort in reading familiar books, like coming to see an old friend.

The post Comfort Reads appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

Surprise release…A Kit Colbana World Short story

For readers of the series, remember the Christmas tree Kit found in her home during Broken Blade?

Well, I was going through the series as I refresh my mind and make notes for the final book and an idea hit me. There’s some information about Damon and Chang I’ve been wanting to share…and well. Viola.

Short story.

A Christmas short story from Damon’s POV, set after the events of Night Blade but before Broken Blade.

Latest Release

This is a short story. This is only a short story. It contains spoilers relating to Night Blade and Broken Blade in The Colbana Files. You’ve been warned.

Alpha Damon Lee is one of the strongest shifters around. But his strength doesn’t do him or the woman he loves any good when Kit is kidnapped by a cold-hearted predator and stolen away, hidden in a cell on the opposite side of the continent.

Haunted by bitter words and a fight that left them both wounded, haunted by his failure to protect her when she needed him, Damon doesn’t plan on celebrating Christmas—or anything else. But a call from a contact reminds him he’d ordered a gift for Kit and he has to make good on it. Not expecting to ever earn her trust back, Damon decides he’ll still fulfill a Christmas promise he made to Kit before everything between them went to hell.

Add on Goodreads
Amazon | Apple  | B&N | Kobo | Everand | Smashwords

Excerpt

“It’s a dumb thing to do, grabbing onto an Alpha without his permission—even dumber to keep holding onto him when you know it’s pissing him off.”

“But you’re not pissed off, Damon,” she said calmly, cocking a brow. “At least not about this.”

I went to point out how wrong she was.

And realized she wasn’t. I didn’t know what I felt—other than shock—but I wasn’t pissed at her.

Her smile turned sad as she let go of my wrist, and then, slowly, deliberately, she stepped in even closer.

Her next movement shocked me even more.

The woman, shorter than me by almost a foot, and ballsier than almost anybody I’d ever met, wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug.

“You might be the Alpha and one of the toughest bastards in the whole fucking country, but you’re still a person…still somebody who feels, somebody who hurts, somebody who gets angry and has a heart, who has grief and guilt and pain.”

I sucked in air and realized I’d stopped breathing.

“I know you can’t let it out. Alphas have to present the façade of being in control all the time. But you’re hurting inside. And I’m sorry for it.”

My chest was tight and it ached. That ache spread and spread and I went to pull away, but she broke contact before I could, save for where her hand lingered on my arm.

Gaze on my face, Tricia stroked my arm carefully. “Sooner or later, you’re going to have to let go of this pain inside before it turns to poison. If you let it poison you, how are you going to be there for her when she needs you?”

Add on Goodreads
Amazon | Apple | B&N | Kobo | Everand | Smashwords

This book is set between Night Blade and Broken Blade. To see all of the Colbana Files books, visit this page.

The post Surprise release…A Kit Colbana World Short story appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

What are you reading?

My next read is SPLINTER, by Jasper Hyde. I followed Georgina/Jasper on a couple of platforms and my jaw dropped when I saw this cover. Isn’t it GORGEOUS?

Then I saw that this was a Sleepy Hollow retelling…and damn. I had to get.

Blurb

This Is The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Reborn…

In a small town hidden behind the hills of New York, things are far from ordinary. As Sleepy Hollow’s youngest Medical Examiner, the pressure intensifies for Dr. Drusilla Van Tassel when the headless bodies of her sister Katrina’s friends start surfacing. Meanwhile, Drusilla’s ex-lover Ichabod Crane returns to town, dredging up feelings better left buried.

Things take a turn for the worst when Drusilla comes face-to-face with the Headless Horseman, who is back to settle old scores – and she and her sister are the perfect targets. Drusilla can repel the horseman with an unknown power, but her sister isn’t so lucky, and she goes missing.

However, when Drusilla discovers Ichabod is a monster hunter, she has no other choice but to turn to him for help. Even if that means working with a man she feels an inexplicable attraction to. Will they find Katrina and banish the headless horseman once and for all?

Buy: Universal Book Link

The post What are you reading? appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.

I was 47 years young when I realized…

A few months ago, I was having a conversation with Guitar Kid, but before I get into that, let me preface with this…when Diva graduated high school and moved out to Colorado for college, she eventually got evaluated and diagnosed as being autistic. Looking back, now, it’s easier to see it.

Girls are still very much under-diagnosed and she was socialized well, excelled in school…nothing that would have stood out to me.

But then, she got diagnosed. And some dominoes started falling.

It turns out all three of our kids are autistic. All three have ADHD. Yes, sometimes when you have one, you’ll see the other, and when there is autism, you’ll see symptoms common in ADHD, although not the other way around. There’s a large overlap between the two.

Maybe that’s why it took this conversation for the last domino to fall.

pre-cursor being something weird I’d done or said.

Guitar Kid: ‘Hey, let’s hear it for ADHD.’

Me: Snorting and rolling my eyes.

Guitar Kid: ‘Or, maybe…hey, let’s hear it for autism.‘

Me: stopping to look like they’d lost their mind. ‘are you implying I’m ADHD, which we all know… or that I’m autistic?’

Guitar Kid: ‘Yes…? And yes.‘

Me: Me, frankly stumped, walking off.

And later… I’m reading articles, because I can’t get what they said out of my head.

I found this one and let me tell you when I read it, I’d never felt so called out. I spent the next several weeks reading up on autism in women, masking, the underdiagnosing stats, taking several online tests – FYI, testing costs an arm and leg and there’s no real reason to have a concrete answer, except I’d feel better knowing, but uncertainty drives me batty.

The more I read, the more likely it seems I am autistic. So, armed with a bunch of questions, I talked with my primary care physician during my yearly check-up and although she can’t give a diagnosis, her unofficial theory…yes.

More than likely, I’m autistic.

What does it matter now? In the long run…nothing…and a lot. It’s an answer to struggles I’ve had all my life, struggles I’ve kept to myself because what else was I going to do? It explains why some things are such a problem for me when they come easily for others.

And knowing some of this makes me a little sad, because if I’d known sooner, could I have made changes that might have made a difference earlier on? But then I have to stop myself, because the what-if game sucks and I just try to figure out a way to incorporate changes now.

Anyway, if you’re one of the numerous adult women coming into the realization late like me… you’re not alone. And we got this. We made it this far, right?

The post I was 47 years young when I realized… appeared first on SHILOH WALKER.