Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 54

Vacation…

So…today was this…

 

Williamsburg, Va…Colonial Parkway heading to Yorktown

Kindle

Wanna meet Adam?

He’s the hot mess you met in Deeper than Need… if you haven’t read it, well, you need to.  Cuz, well…Adam.

 

 

“What do you want?” she asked softly.

He just stared at her.

And when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, he held still. Almost like he was frozen. But she felt the hunger, like it was a beast, snarling from within.  It practically vibrated inside him and she pressed closer, desperate to unleash that hunger and just feel.

To let go for a little while and have somebody else—no.  Not somebody else.

To have Adam with her while they both enjoyed the ride.

She stroked her tongue across his lips and he just stood there.

She caught his lower lip between her teeth, tugged and he just stood there.

She kissed her way across his cheek, his jawbone and down his neck. He just stood there.  His pulse raced under her touch, but he didn’t do anything.  Didn’t even show any sign that he wanted her.

Other than the fact that she could feel it.

Doubt started to whisper inside her and she went to pull back.

That was when he moved.

Her breath lodged in her throat as he spun them around.  Her head was still whirling and then her heart stuttered to a stop as hard, calloused hands closed around her waist and boosted her up, settling her butt on the edge of the bureau that took up nearly half the wall.  She opened her mouth to say something. Anything. She didn’t even know what she might have said though, because Adam’s mouth caught hers in the next moment and anything she might have said just…died.

His kiss consumed her.

It was as though he breathed her in and just…consumed her.

His hands cupped her head, held her steady and that touch might have been the only thing grounding her, too, because she felt like she was about to fly into pieces just from the kiss.

His tongue rubbed across hers, a sensuous, teasing rhythm that sent a low, demanding pang through her.  Groaning, she arched against him and he responded by sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her up against him, firm and tight so that nothing but their clothes separated them.

Too many clothes…through those layers, she could feel the heat of him and the strength of him and that hunger that vibrated inside him, barely held in check.

With teeth and tongue, he all but devastated her, with just that kiss. And then he shifted his attention, working his way down to her neck and she fell back, slamming her hands down on the bureau.  Dazed, dizzy, she stared up at the ceiling as his teeth raked over the sensitive curve of her neck.  “Adam…”

His hand curled over the hem of her shirt.  “You asked me what I wanted.”

“Yes.”  She sucked in a desperate breath of air and watched as lifted his head, staring at her through his lashes.

His hand skimmed up along her torso.  She felt her heart bump against him as he passed over her chest and then he stopped, his palm curved over her neck.  “And what if I want this?  Do I get this?”

Read more

You meet him first in Deeper than Need…then get all of him Sweeter than Sin.

BTW, if you’ve read Deeper than Need and have the time, reviews are greatly appreciated  They help improve a book’s visibility in searches, etc at the online retailers, which means the book shows up more in the random searches (ie: a general search for suspense) which helps me…a lot, and in a way, helps you, too, cuz that means I’m likely to sell more books and then write more books.  Just your honest thoughts on the book, that’s all I ask…

 

 

Kindle

This, that, the other…

The 10th annual Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together is over.  It was fun, as always.  Gail, with BN, handles the bookfair and she’d ordered in about 30 copies of WRECKED, THE PROTECTED and DEEPER THAN NEED.  By the time the bookstore closed, it was down to five copies of DEEPER THAN NEED and six copies of THE PROTECTED.  All in all that felt pretty awesome.  The booksigning was supposed to start at 3, but there was some confusion and some thought it was 2 and while I was setting up, people started coming up so I was signing for almost three hours and the line was steady right up until about 4:30.

That evening, some people from my street team and readers from the Scamps loop went out to Dingles for appetizers.

While we were gone, one of the readers with me gets a text..

 if Shiloh is with you, tell her I won. It’s hers.

I started giggling like mad.

Let me explain…

There’s a raffle. And there’s a book trailer that gets donated by Circle of Seven/Readers Entertainment.

Like this one…

I kinda like winning them. It’s fun.

I usually stuff about forty dollars worth of tickets into the bag and I’ve won 2-3 times. Last year I didn’t win.

This year?

Well…here’s my email to Sheila, the owner of COS.

So. Funny story.

I did buy some tickets to put in the raffle, but I put most of mine in a sybaris getaway thing that I wanted-like badly.

A reader of mine accidentally put a ticket in the raffle for the trailer.

She told me, “If I win it, it’s yours.”

I laughed and said, “That’s nice.” But thought… “one ticket won’t win it.”

I was out to dinner/drinks with some readers later and one of the readers with me told me, “Um…I just got a text…it’s Stephanie. She said, if Shiloh is with you, tell her I won. It’s hers.”

I stared at her. “No way.”

“Yeah. Really.”

And I started to laugh. I looked at my phone and sure enough, on twitter, Stephanie has just tweeted me… “@shilohwalker I’ve got something for you… Won the book trailer. LOL”

So I got back and went to find her. She tells me, “Yeah, Lady B. called me and I just covered my face and when I went up there she was like… cuz you look so excited…”

And Stephanie tells her what was going on. Lady B gaped. “You’re giving it to who?”

And cackles ensure.

It was becoming a running joke.  People would wag their fingers at me… you can’t win again.  How many tickets did you buy?  Cuz I’m going to buy more…

This year I didn’t win.  But a reader did, with one ticket…and the lovely lady gave it to me.  Hugs and smooches all over her.

 

Then while I was heading out, I get this email…

 

THE REUNITED is a finalist for the Booksellers Best Award in the paranormal category.

 

We leave on vacation Wednesday, gone for a few days.  My email is backed up and I’m probably not going to get everything caught up before I leave.  FYI, if you’ve won something from me, I’ll get things mailed out soon.  Keep in mind, my disclaimer states prizes will be sent within 4-6 weeks. I usually get them out within two weeks, but sometimes with conventions and traveling, it takes a bit longer so if you haven’t received a prize, I’ll get to them soon, I promise.

I’m torn between leaving my laptop at home or taking it… I need a real vacation, but I get so much work done on long drives…

Kindle

Heading out…

It’s time for the Lori Foster get together.  I’m leaving in a few.  Before I go, a quick snippet from DEEPER THAN NEED…

 

He pulled it down and stood there, staring at the cut glass, watching as the amber liquor caught the light.

Mesmerizing, really.

His own personal genie in a bottle. His own personal Pandora’s box.

Moving over to the table, he sat down and placed the bottle in front of him. After Dad had died, this was a ritual Noah had carried out almost every night. It was even the same bottle. Unopened.

Staring into it, tormenting himself, taunting himself. Reminding himself.

You pulled yourself out of that bottle. You only go back in if you make that choice.

Those had been some of the last words his father had said to Noah before he slid back into a drug-induced stupor as the cancer ravaged his body. Noah had all but begged him not to die. Please, Dad. I’m not strong enough to do this alone.

You’ve always been strong enough. You just never wanted to see it. It’s time to stand on your own two feet, son.

His own two feet.

Sometimes it got damn hard to balance. Those demons nipped at his heels and he could all but feel himself ready to tumble straight back down into that pit. Over the past few years, though, it seemed like life had gotten easier.

Empty, all but meaningless, except for the kids, but easier. He moved through life in a grey cloud, no color, finding little pleasure in anything, but he managed to exist. It was boring. It was empty. But it was easy.

Days passed when he didn’t crave a drink—the burn of whiskey, the smooth glide of vodka, the casual ease of a few beers, as he just drank the pain away.

He’d even managed to get past the craving for a woman’s soft arms around him, pulling him through the nights so he could sleep without the screams, the memory of bloody swipes on glass, the ghostly echo in his ears: Trust me. . . .

Those physical needs became his own personal cross, one he soldiered with until even those began to fade and he all but forgot the way it had felt to slide between a woman’s thighs, to tangle his hands in silken hair as he buried himself inside a welcoming body.

On nights like this, though, when he talked to a kid like CTaz who reminded him so much of himself, it was harder. Nights when all the scabs on the unhealed wounds inside him were ripped off and all the ugly poison came boiling out.

Staring at the bottle, he could almost hear a siren’s call.

Just one drink . . .

But it had all started with just one drink.

Shutting the voice down, he continued to sit there. Stare. Just one drink. He could all but hear the bottle singing to him.

He could lose himself again. Just for a while. A few days. A few months. The rest of his life.

Would anybody really care?

“No,” he said softly, uncertain if he was answering his question or denying the bottle, once again.

Five minutes ticked away and he let himself get up. Tuck the bottle away.

He’d won. Again.

Read more or…yanno… you could order.   iBooks | Indiebound | Amazon | B & N | BAMM | Kobo

 

If you’re in or near Cincy, the signings for the event are open to the public.  I’ll be signing tomorrow and I’ll have a couple of the Kit books… ( a very very few.) I can also e-autograph those, and I don’t mean the authorgraph with Kindle.  This is cooler.  Find me and you can see. I can also do these for people who can’t come meet me if you’re interested, although I can only do the Kit books at this time.

Info on the event…

Cincinnati Marriott North

6189 Muhlhauser Rd.

West Chester, OH 45069

(800) 627-7468

Saturday June 7

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Book Signing

Atrium

Kindle

Some lines just make ya smile…

Working on a novella right now.

This line…right here…

 

“I’ve dreamed about touching you a thousand times and now I am and my hands are shaking…”  

 

from the untitled WIP.

 

Then this one, from Sweeter than Sin

 

He’d loved her then.  He’d adored her then.

 

And of course…almost everything Micah in Deeper than Need says…

 

It could burn your penis!

and of course, a parent’s favorite…

 Micah’s shoulders slumped and he dragged every step of the way. Once he hit the door, he paused and looked over at her. “Mama, what’s fucking mean?”

She closed her eyes. This is just one of those things a parent has to handle, Trinity, she reminded herself.

 

And this bit from the next Grimm, Furious Fire…due out this fall.

“That’s why I am asking,” I snapped, even though some part of me was whispering be nice to the crazy man who can kill you with a blink.

 

Kindle

Deeper than Need… now available!

So my newest romantic suspense is now out.

Even when she hadn’t realized she was that close to falling apart, he’d been there. Maybe now she wouldn’t have to bury her face in the pillow to keep from choking back the screams so she wouldn’t wake up Micah.

“Thank you,” she said, ignoring the erratic cadence of her voice as she forced herself to get the words out. “I know you had to hang around for a while, since you were down there, too. But you didn’t have to stay all day.”

The chains on the swing creaked and she heard him rising. Twisting the doorknob, she opened the door and watched as light spilled out onto the porch. She turned and faced him then as he moved closer. “I couldn’t just leave,” he said, a look on his face that told her he meant every single word.

“Some guys could have done just that.” She stepped over the threshold. Leaning against him had felt entirely too right. It was that odd little click thing, all over again.

He opened his mouth to say something and she lifted a hand. “Don’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I know plenty of guys who would have done just that, stayed just long enough to take care of whatever had to be done with the cops and then they’d disappear. It’s probably just human nature. You didn’t have to hang, but you did. So thank you.”

“If you think that’s human nature, then you know some really lousy humans.” He gave her a tired, sad smile and shook his head. “We can be selfish creatures, I know. But that selfish?”

Trinity suspected selfish didn’t even touch on some of the traits she’d come to expect in people. Shifting her gaze to stare off into the night, she licked her lips. “Look, I just . . . well. I wanted to say thank you. I did. Now I’m going to get some sleep.”

She ducked inside before she could say anything else. Before she could do anything else. All she really wanted to do was go back outside and lean back against him; maybe even wrap her arms around him and then push up on her toes and see what he’d say if she pressed her lips to his.

What he’d do.

Because she was desperate enough to push for whatever he’d let her take, find comfort in whatever he’d give her.

 

 

If you liked my Ash trilogy or are into my FBI Psychic books, you’d probably like these.  Also, if you liked Quinn from BROKEN?  You’ll probably like the heroes in these books.  Quinn was a broken, messed-up mess of a mess.  So are these guys…

iBooks | Indiebound | Amazon | B & N | BAMM | Kobo

Kindle

Tomorrow…

 

“So what happened?” she asked, sliding a hand around his waist.

He wanted to turn back to her and lose himself. Forget the darkness, forget the pain, the misery. Forget everything but her.

Trinity rested a hand on his shoulder and he locked his limbs to keep from giving in to that urge. It all but consumed him. He knew the oblivion he could find in a woman’s arms. It had given him comfort for a long, long time. And this need went so much deeper. The need for Trinity all but consumed him.

“What happened that day?” she asked quietly.

iBooks | Indiebound | Amazon | B & N | BAMM | Kobo

Kindle

How do I get on your review list…

I’ve gotten this Q a lot lately.

I don’t exactly have a review list, although I’m slowly putting together a list of the people who have reviewed for me before in the past.

Sometimes my books go up on Netgalley (Deeper than Need is there now).  If you’re somebody who has requested my titles through them before and been accepted, you’re welcome to email me with a link to your reviews and I can add you to the list I’m slowly compiling.  I can’t guarantee this will get you a review, though…I turn this list over my publisher and they handle it.

Sometimes I do calls for open reviews here on the blog, especially for my Samhain books or my self-pub books.

The other way to have a chance at early reads or to get in on blog tours (including reviews) is to join my Street Team.  The street team does involve a commitment, though.  You can read about it here.

Kindle

Weekend stuff…snippets, Maleficent and a cute baby goat.

It’s a ramble!

We saw Maleficent… I liked it. It was fun and a great kid’s movie. I guessed a few twists, and one I thought would happen didn’t, and the way it did happen was sort of hokey, although yeah, I can see why they did it.

But all in all, definitely worth seeing, especially if you like fairy tale twists. My seven year liked it and keep in mind, bratlet has some serious ADHD, so if it held her attention, that’s saying something. It does have some scenes that might bother younger kids, and bratlet doesn’t get scared too easy, so don’t use my opinion there on taking kids her age or anything.

“This is insane, Noah,” she whispered.

“It’s beyond insane . . . and you felt it, too.” His hand was at her hip now and she forced her lids up as she met his gaze.

“I felt it.” On a shaky breath, she pressed her brow to his and told him, “I looked at you and it was like every-thing inside me whispered, There you are. I’d never seen you before in my life, but it didn’t matter. I felt like I’d been waiting my whole life for just that—finding you.”

The world turned into a dizzying blur around her and she clutched at him, crying out in surprise as he caught her up in his arms. A moment later, she was caught between him and the wall and she thought maybe, just maybe, this was the one time she didn’t mind being in this house. The feel of his chest against hers, his hips pressing square against her through the layers of her skirt.

The blue of his eyes burned like fire as he caught her face in one hand, angling her head back until all she could see was him.

“We found each other.” His voice was hungry, hot and hoarse as he bent down, rubbed his mouth against hers. “All that matters. I don’t want to hear you worrying that this is anything but what it is . . . it’s for us.”

 

Just a couple of days… did you pre-order?  Keep in mind that although this is mass-market, you can’t guarantee it will be in your local store, so it doesn’t hurt to ask in advance.  Now is a good time!  Also, if you hit stores like B&N or BAMM and you don’t see it, it doesn’t hurt to ask up front (not for this book or any other you want on release day that you can’t find.)  Sometimes the book you want is sitting in the back still boxed up.

Excerpt

Order

iBooks | Indiebound | Amazon | B & N | BAMM | Kobo

And now, prepare for cuteness attack.

Kindle

Deeper than Need…five days left!

“You try and take it easy if you can,” she murmured. “You look like you’re having a rough one there, Noah.”

A rough one . . . maybe that was why he did it. Reaching up, he touched his fingers to her cheek when she went to pull away.

She stilled.

The voice of reason, rational thinking, restraint . . . the voice Noah expected to hear whispering to him from the back of his mind was silent as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Just a light, easy kiss. Almost impersonal. Impersonal . . . if anything could be impersonal when a man had spent so many nights dreaming about a woman. If anything could be impersonal when the heat of her skin reached out to tease him, even though inches separated them and the scent of her, sweet woman and lavender, rose up to taunt him. If anything could be impersonal when her lips parted on a gasp and he caught the first hint of her taste.

If anything could be impersonal when he lifted his head and saw her staring up at him, her gaze smoldering, smoking, as if it held all the heat of the sun. It was almost too much and he had to fight to keep from hauling her back against him.

Another kiss, just one more, he thought. Deeper, harder—

A car sped by and he heard Micah’s voice bounce off the glass as the boy called for his mother, but the words made no sense.

Trinity licked her lips, her lids drooping down to shield her lashes.

Aw, now that wasn’t helping at all. “It just got a little bit better,” he murmured, stroking his thumb over the path her tongue had taken.

She eased back, a slow blush rising up to stain her cheeks pink. But she didn’t look away.

“Should I apologize?” he asked.

She reached up and closed her hand around his wrist. “I’m hoping you won’t. If you do, my day is probably going to take a turn for the worse.”

 

iBooks | Indiebound | Amazon | B & N | BAMM | Kobo

Kindle