And the winner is.....

TJBrown

TJ said... I am so excited to read it... it's the next on my list!Teri

TJ, if you can email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com, I'll get you in touch with Jaci.

Thanks everybody!

PS..Blogger is being a pain and won't let me load the cover pic of Surviving Demon Island. Guh.

Jaci Burton's Surviving Demon Island

She’s all curves and combat boots.
He’s six feet of lean, dangerous male.
Join them in a game of survival
That’s as real—and hot—as it gets.
What’s America’s top female action star doing on a tropical island shrouded in secrecy? To Gina Bliss, competing in a survival-type reality show is a nice change from fending off on-screen villains. Until she meets real-life action hero Derek Marks. A survival specialist in a tight black T and sexy stubble, he’s arousing every bad-boy fantasy she’s ever had…and testing her survival skills to the max.
Martial arts, jungle warfare—Derek’s done it all. But his latest mission is more dangerous than a stick of dynamite. Try telling that to the sexy, adrenaline-pumped actress who’s got his libido racing off the charts. As the heat rises between them and real-life violence erupts, suddenly Derek and Gina are on the run…and when they uncover a secret so explosive it could blow the lid of their so-called reality show, these two unlikely heroes are about to discover what surviving’s really about….

Did I tell you that I got to read SDI early? :O) It's excellent.

If you're wondering what SDI is about, I talked to Jaci about it and here is some of what she told me.

(shi)
Where did the idea for SDI come from?

(jaci)
I actually got the germ of the idea when I was watching an HBO special on the the making of Mr and Mrs Smith. Angelina Jolie did her own stunts in that movie, and thought...hmmm, what if an actress who was very physical, did her own stunts and loved action and adventure was put on an island for a reality show and came up against something paranormal, like demons? Then I matched her up with a demon hunter, and Surviving Demon Island was born.


(shi)
How many books are in the series?

(jaci)
Not sure yet. It depends on how well the series does, but there are a LOT of demon hunters, so it could be a lot of books. *grin*

(shi)
Can you tell us what the next one is about? And naturally... when do I get it...*G*

(jaci)
wellllll, I don't want to give away too much about the second book or the characters in that book until people have read the first one. But the second book takes place in Australia, one of the demon hunters is a lead character, and you'll get it when it finishes copyedits, of course *g*


(shi)
You've written some books with your husband. How did that come about?

(jaci)
I made him write the first one with me, with encouragement from some of my readers. We really enjoyed it so wrote another one together. Despite the constant nagging and fighting, it's fun to write with Charlie.


(shi)
What else are you working on right now?

(jaci)
Too many things to count. I'm doing revisions on the second Demon Hunters book, working on a single title Berkley Heat, and a novella for Samhain Publishing. Ack



Thank you, Jaci!

Jaci has generously offered to give away a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, so if anybody has any questions or comments... I'll draw a winner from those commenting sometime in the next day or so. Jaci will drop in to answer any questions! You can check out her site here


Shi
http://www.shilohwalker.com

Merry Christmas! Winner of the last faves...

Merry Christmas!

A day late...hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday with your families and loved ones.

The last of the faves contest, $15 to My Bookstore and More and a free download of any of my Samhain books...

The winner was Ddiane

I love ebooks because I can buy it now and don't have to wait or go to a bookstore. I have them all on my palm handheld which is a godsend because with multiple doctor appointments, I'm never without a book.

Ddiane, email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com and I'll get the info for your prizes to you.

Thanks everybody for playing and make sure you check back periodically~alot of free books given away here.

interview Lucy Monroe!!

Hey Peeps! Merry Christmas Eve!!!!!!!!!
Hope you all enjoying family and friends. I want to wish you all a terrific Christmas season and thank you all for the wonderful support. Your enthusiasm for my O'Fallon series overwhelms me. Thanks a bunch!

As a real treat today...

Here is an interview by our own Lucy Monroe. Gives you a chance to see what makes Lucy tick and find out about her great family and faith. Lucy Monroe is a real inspiration and very neat author.



1.) What inspired you to start writing paranormal stories?

I had this scene in my head. It’s the final scene of Ty and Frankie’s story in UNLEASHED. And anyway, I couldn’t let it go. I knew I had to write their story. So, I carved some time out of my writing schedule and did it. Once I got going in their world I realized it was a place I wanted to spend a lot of time and pitched the idea of writing paranormal historical romance to Berkley and my editor was really keen for me to do so and that’s how MOON AWAKENING came about.

2.) Now that you have released books in three different genres, which is your favorite?

I really love them all. Each sub-genre of romance gives me an opportunity to explore different themes, characters and storylines. If I had to give one of them up I’d cry. I really would. LOL

3.) If you could switch places with one of your heroine who would it be and why?

Amanda from The Real Deal, because Simon reminds me so much of my dh and he’s the only man I want to be with. ;-)

4.) What is the most fascinating paranormal creature for you and why?

Definitely the shapechanger because there’s this wonderful mix of human sophistication and the primitive. My alpha hero has a reason for being so instinctive and not always led by logic. My heroine can be stronger physically than normal and still vulnerable to her mate. It’s all just very delicious to me.

5) Lucy, are you going to write any more historicals?

My current plan is to write historical paranormals. However, I do have one last straight historical release to be published by a smaller press at the end of next year. Annabelle’s Courtship is about a feisty bluestocking and the rather clueless (but incredibly sexy) Scottish nobleman that decides she’ll make the perfect wife.

6) How do you juggle the diff genres that you write?

I try to take some time off between each book, though that doesn’t always work. The hardest thing to juggle is time spent promoting the books, not the writing itself. I’m always telling stories in my head and writing them is such a joy to me – but the business side of writing can overwhelm me sometimes.

7) How many hours a day do you write? How many hours do you devote to promo?

Not enough any more and too many. Not kidding.

8) What does your family think of your writing?

They’re very supportive and proud of me. It’s an absolute blessing!

9) What is the thing you love most about writing? What do you like least?

I love most spending time with my characters and seeing their stories unfold in my head. I like least not having enough hours in the day to write all the stories I want to.

FAVES... Contest #3...and a winner

The winner from Thursday's faves contest is Cherie.

Cherie said...
Guardian of Honor by Robin Owens which hooked me on the Lladrana series

Cherie, if you can email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com, i'll get your prize out to you!

Today's contest is more books, specifically ebooks.

I love ebooks. Yes, I love print, too. I love holding the book in my hand and I love bookstores, going and picking out the books.

But I also like ebooks. Why?

Several reasons. With ebooks, when I find the book I want online, I don't have to wait for it to be delivered. I don't have to worry that it's out of stock or that the bookstore hasn't put it out. With ebooks, I can carry 100 of them in my purse. Can't say that with print books.

So yes, I love ebooks. I have a pocket pc that I carry with me and it's loaded with probably forty unread books and a couple of old faves. I don't have to worry that I'll finish one book and have nothing else to read while I'm waiting at the doctor's office...the books are right there at my fingertips.

So who here reads ebooks? Why or why not?

If you haven't ever read ebooks,t oday will be your chance to try. I'm giving away a gift certificate for $15 to Mybookstoreandmore, as well as a free download of any of my Samhain books. To enter, just tell me in the comments whether or not you read ebooks. If you do, tell us why... maybe we can convince some of the non ebook readers to give them a shot.

Contest open until hmmmmm... well, I'm not going to get online to check things out or draw a winner on Christmas, so we'll let it run thru Christmas Day and end at midnight, EST Christmas night. I'll draw the winner Tuesday.

Character careers

A lot of you know Kathy Love and I have created a fictional vampire band, The Impalers, http://www.vampireband.com/. The band will be written into our future books, and the character Ren D’Antoni will actually be the hero in Kathy’s fifth vampire book, due out in early 2008. We both absolutely love music, and are thrilled to be able to play in our fictional world of musicians, but generally speaking, there is resistance from publishers to have musicians as heroes in romance novels. They also aren't always thrilled to see professional athletes, artists, models, celebrities, and things like chefs.

Yet if you’ve read Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson, or Lori Foster, you know athletes make amazingly sexy heroes!

The reason usually given to steer clear of the above is that it’s hard for the reader to relate and empathize with someone in such a different lifestyle, and that creative professionals tend to be moody and difficult to live with. I suppose there is also a fidelity issue, since musicians and athletes are on the road so much. Personally, I see it as more of a challenge to write heroines in the above professions- it’s a little hard for the average woman to dredge up sympathy for the rich and beautiful model who just can’t be happy. Or is that just me? LOL.

But on the flip side, one of my favorite books I’ve written, and one of the best received by readers, is Heiress For Hire, where the heroine is rich and beautiful and spoiled. But I think what Amanda showed was that it’s easy to be a brat when you’re raised the way she was… but at the core of it, she is a very loving and giving person. That is her achievement as a human being.

So for me, I think it’s all in the execution, and all in who the character shows themselves to be as a person. I don’t care what they do for a living.

Are there certain professions or settings you just wouldn’t want to read about? Would a musician or athlete for a hero turn you off a story? What about a hero in a traditionally female profession?

Have a great holiday everyone!
Erin

Thirteen Books I read over and over...

And I forgot it was Thursday and time for the Thursday 13.

1) Stardoc by SL Viehl

2) Irish Jewels Trilogy by Nora Roberts (yeah, that's 3 books, I know)

3) Endurance by SL Viehl

4) Natural Law by Joey Hill

5) Elizabeth's Wolf by Lora Leigh

6) Dream Shadow by Mary Wine

7) Lover Eternal by JR Ward

8) Mage Winds trilogy by Mercedes Lackey (yeah, that's another 3)

9) Stephanie Plums books (okay, that's... 12? yep, 12 books)

10) Blue Moon by Laurell K Hamilton

11) Dream Man by Linda Howard

12) Ceremony in Death by JD Robb

13) Passion by Marilyn Pappano

If you want me to add your blog to today's 13, just leave a link to your 13 in comments and I'll add you in.

Other TT places to visit...

Sci Fi Chick

Milady Insanity

Erin (the not so innocent... *G*)

Favorite BOOKS! and a winner...

The winner from Tuesday's contest is Joye. She commented My mother who is 82 is hard to buy something for because she has just about everything-doesn't cook anymore, doesn't wear fancy clothes. I need Joye to email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com with the words FAVE THINGS in the subject line.

Today we're going to talk about my favorite books. Have I mentioned that I love books? I don't always get to read as much as I'd like. I have little kids, a husband that recently switched to night shifts three days a week and it seems like my list of things to do grow longer every day. Now deadlines play into my reading time. When I'm under the gun, I'm too frazzled to focus on reading that much.

Even when I'm not hearing the ticking clock, I don't always read as much as I should. There are times when I'm so worn out from looking at words all day, relaxing with them didn't sound that much fun. But then I realized my brain was getting creatively tired. A writer needs to read almost as much as she needs to write. Plain and simple. It recharges the brain batteries.

I had to take some time off from writing this year because I had to have surgery on my hand. It was probably a blessing in disguise. It freed up several weeks for me to do nothing but read. I finally got some books out of my TBR pile. Some went on my keeper shelf. Some didn't. I did some rereading of old faves.

I'm going to give away a couple of those faves...

For today's Fave Things contest,

Stardoc by SL Viehl

For the record, my favorite series EVER. I think everybody who can read should read it.

Elizabeth's Wolf by Lora Leigh

Very hot, very very good...my fave from her.

Dream Shadow by Mary Wine

her Dream series is excellent, especially if you like kick ass heroines

The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed

Shelby writes some of the most beautiful romances. I adore her, even though I'm jealous ;o)

Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton

Because I'm such a sweet, loving girl, *choke* I got an early read of this. Okay, okay, stop laughing, I'm as far from sweet as they come, but Jaci loves me anyway and let me read early. It's awesome. Mortal Kombat meets Survivor, Jaci style.

And since I'm talking about faves, I'll also give away a copy of my fave from my own books, Touch of Gypsy Fire.

To enter, just tell me the name of a book that you would give away. Not because you didn't like it. But because you loved it and want to share. What's the book and why would you give it to someone? What made it so special? Post the answer in the comments section and I'll draw a winner Saturday.

Contest open until 12/22/06, midnight EST.

Favorite Things

Bookmarks and lotions and dark chocolate kisses...ebooks and red hots and signed books from a friend... these are a few of my favorite things.

Okay, so I'm no song writer, but you get the idea. These are some of my favorite things. I love buying them for me. I love getting them. And today I'm going to take a page out of PBW's book and give away some of my favorite things.

Be sure to check back in every couple of days~for a couple of reasons. To see if you won, because you have to email me to claim your prize. And to see if there's another contest. I have three planned.

Today's prize is candy from one of my favorite stores, a little locally owned place called Schimpff's. And since I reckon I ought to promote my Christmas book, I'll also send you a signed copy of All She Wants, from Ellora's Cave and Pocket Books.

To enter, tell me who is the hardest person on your list to buy for. Or just leave a name in comments if you don't have a hard person. Contest is open until midnight, EST, tomorrow, 12/20/2006. Next contest will start on Thursday and it involves some of my favorite books...

Seasons Greetings!

Mornin' Scamps and Vamps... this is a momentous occasion. :) My last blog of 2006. When I write this next time it will be January 1, 2007. Hard to believe!

We have a houseful of company right now... I've included a photo of our immediate clan at the top of this blog. We were going to open presents tomorrow morning, but there was a mass revolt... I was outvoted, and now we're opening all the loot in just a little while.

But first we have to eat the coffee cake that's getting ready to come out of the oven. Yum!

This blog goes out with a special wish to all my online and "in the flesh" friends for a very Merry Christmas...

And to my Jewish friends - a Happy Hanukkah...

Part 2: Well, I didn't get finished... had to stop for opening presents. Now the livingroom floor is buried under paper.

It is beautiful here today... blue skies and very warm. Doesn't feel like a white Christmas, but it's great for "playing" outside.

Hope everyone gets lots of good books for Christmas, and more importantly - lots of time to read them!

Happy Holidays to one and all!

Janice Maynard

And the winner is.....

Traveler.

Traveler, if you can email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com ! I need your addy.

Thursday Thirteen and Contest...

Just a reminder... if you haven't entered the scavenger hunt at www.aftermidnightfantasies.com ... time is running out. Ten prizes in all.

Thirteen Things Left to Do Before Christmas 1…. Bake Cookies with the Kids. 2…. Wrap the presents BEFORE Christmas Eve. 3…. Take the kids to the zoo in Cincy or Indy to see the lights. 4…. Wrap the darn presents BEFORE Christmas Eve 5…. Make sure I've got batteries for all the presents and the camera. 6…. Wrap the frickin presents BEFORE Christmas Eve ( I know I didn't buy THAT many) 7…. Remember the Christmas party at Church this coming Sunday. 8…. Wrap the presents BEFORE Christmas Eve and buy some drambuie to get me through the night, just in case I don't wrap them ahead of time. 9…. Buy my dad's present, and his girlfriend something. What do you buy for the dad's girlfriend, anyway? 10. Wrap the presents BEFORE Christmas Eve ( are you seeing a theme here? I'm an excellent procrastinator) 11. Mail 1, 2, 3...maybe 4, okay no more than five more presents to friends. 12. Forget wrapping. I'm just throwing them in a pile on the floor. They'll end up there anyway. 13. Buy the drambuie. Even if I don't need it Christmas Eve, it will be nice to sit down and have a drink with the DH once everything is done and Santa and his elves have left. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Needless to say, I'm a procrastinator of the highest caliber. I never remember to get things done on time and I don't even remember to do lists. So I never remember what I wanted to buy. Nonetheless, I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year... and now time for the other contest.

I'm still getting the pressies together, but either next week or this week, I'm going to do a "favorite things" contest. As in... these are a few of my favorite things... Christmas-y. Sort of.

I'm taking a page out of PBW's book and giving away some of the books that I love above all others. Also some candy. A gift certificate or two. Not sure what else yet. Just have to wait and see.

But while I'm getting things together... what are some of your favorite things? Christmas or otherwise. I'll draw a winner from comments today and give away a signed print book from my backlist, reader's choice so long as it's available to me!

It's The Best Time of the Year!!!

Are we having fun yet???? LOL December is crazy but I can't help loving it. It has to be my favorite time of the year. I've been super busy with deadlines but I've taken the time to do some shopping. Word of caution---never go to the mall on a Saturday in mid-December. Bad mistake. I don't guess I've ever done that before. I don't think I ever will again LOL

Have y'all bought a lot of presents? I always think I'm finished but then see something my daughter will like (she's so easy to buy for!). But then I have to buy something else for my son so I won't feel guilty (he's soooo hard to buy for!). Girls are just so much fun to buy for, though. Especially girly-girls.

I think I shop too much sometimes. Nah.......

Speaking of which--I have a cute little purse with bath products inside that I found at Kohl's. I'll add a book and a holiday candle for a little relaxation and it'll go to one lucky winner, drawn at random from the list of comments today.

Happy Holiday!
Karen Kelley
Available Now! Hell On Wheels/Brava
Available Now! Texas Bad Boys/Brava
04/07 Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind/Brava
www.authorkarenkelley.com

Reality vs Fiction

Howdy, Peeps!

I write humorous type stories. The kind that makes you laugh and are good for a few hours of fun escape. If it’s go for the joke or go for the hankie...I always do joke. That’s what I write and that’s what I read.

But what about the non-humorous side of writing and I don’t mean the editors and agents part. How much reality do you really want in your romance books?

I’ve done cops and cowboys and lawyers and doctors and even did a wounded soldier coming home. But where’s the line?

I got this from RT and wanted to know your views. Would you read about people dealing with the aftermath of 9/11 or a family picking up the pieces after Hurricane Katrina? What about a story about a POW soldier who returns home from Iraq? Of the heroine who feels guilty because a fellow soldier she was serving with died in battle?

Are these too heavy or are they interesting? Too much like reading the front page of the newspaper or timely and current?

Would you buy the book?

Dianne

Love Doesn't Conquer All??

At least not according to a survey I read. It said that 30% of American men said they would break up with a woman solely for this reason…

They don’t like her pet!

I had to laugh at this because my new release, BIT THE JACKPOT, has a heroine with five pets- three dogs, two cats. Seamus, the hero, is a vampire, and doesn’t exactly hit it off with all of Cara’s fur babies. Have you ever ended a relationship because you couldn’t stand a pet? Did you issue a “Me or Fluffy” ultimatum? What was the final thing that sent you over the edge?

I think if I was truly interested in someone, I could deal with an obnoxious dog or a pet bunny with a smelly cage. I could even handle a tarantula. Just keep the lid on. ;-)

To celebrate BIT THE JACKPOT hitting the shelves, I’ll choose a random winner from everyone who posts and send out a copy.

Happy Friday,
Erin

Reminder about Christmas Contest

Thru one of my other websites, we're running a Christmas scavenger hunt.

Chances to win one of ten prizes....

Christmas Contest
Scavenger Hunt

Running thru the month of December

Here's your chance to win one of ten prizes.
Winning is easy. All you have to do is find the candy cane hidden on the participating author sites. Write down what page you found the candy cane on each author's site and email the list to the contest coordinator. Ten winners will be drawn.

EXAMPLE: After Midnight Contest's Page.
You can't just put I found the candy cane on the After Midnight Site. We need to know where.

Email for the contest coordinatior (AMAContests@millenniumpromotion.com )

Participating authors
Anya Bast
Cheyenne McCray
Jaci Burton
Lorie O'Clare
Madeleine Oh
Melani Blazer
Patrice Michelle
Rosemary Laurey
Shiloh Walker
Sylvia Day

A Mountain Top Experience...

Greetings, Scamps! I should probably come up with a scintillating topic for today's blog, but to tell you the truth, I am pooped. Just got in last night from a nine day road/air trip, and I am staring at piles of luggage just waiting to be unpacked. But if I start unzipping suitcases, I'll see the dirty laundry, and from there on out, it's a downward spiral! :)

So instead, I'll blog a bit...

My hubby had to go out west for some meetings, so I tagged along. His expenses were all covered, so I only had to buy my plane ticket and food. On Saturday the 25th, we drove to Cincinnati (you'll see why later) and got a direct flight to Vegas. By the time we made it to our room, we were so tired. That three-hour time change meant the folks in Vegas were still partying when we were brushing our teeth and tumbling into bed.

The next day, we explored the small city with the big reputation. Visual overload everywhere you go! Ate lunch at one of Wolfgang Puck's restaurants... rode the monorail from one end of town to the other... peeked in the lobby of some of the fancy hotels... saw a Cirque du Soleil show that night.

Monday morning we checked out and hit the road, driving north and east toward Utah. Passed through a corner of Arizona on the way. Arrived at Zion National park about 2:30. Now we are on Mountain time which is only 2 hours different from Tennessee.

My hiker husband wanted to get out and explore the park ASAP, so we put on our boots and headed up the Angels Landing trail. It is rated "strenuous", and normally that word would make me say a big "no", but he really wanted to do it. You hike two miles pretty much straight up with an altitude gain of 1500 feet. That's the equivalent of a 150 story building!!

It was snowing and the wind was strong, but the views were phenomenal.

Got back down in time for dinner. His meeting started early the next morning. Tuesday was messy weather-wise, so I shopped a bit in the tiny town of Springdale at the park's entrance. Wednesday was clear but cold. I stayed in the room until after lunch and then decided to do that same trail again. (Am I crazy, or what?!?!?) But it was so amazing, and with the sun out, I thought I could get better pictures. Unfortunately, the hike was just as hard as it was the first time.

The trail is wide and very safe, but there are sheer drop offs. I respect heights, but am not really scared by them, so I was okay. Although I did pass a handful of other hikers, there was plenty of solitude and stunning vistas. The valley is surrounded by massive peaks, and from the vantage point of the steep trail, it was almost like being in church. In this picture, I was sitting with my back against the cliff face and looking out over the valley. (In truth, I was trying to catch my breath for the rest of the climb!!)

Thursday the meetings ended at noon, and we headed back toward Vegas. Took a detour on the way so I could see Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Way cool!

Checked in at the Holiday Inn Express and took a shuttle to the Mandalay Bay Hotel for a Brad Paisley concert. My dh is NOT a country music fan, but he loved it. Brad is a phenomenal guitarist and puts on a kick butt show. Terrific fun. (We bought tickets at the last minute and lucked into a couple of seats that were in "spittin' distance" of good ole Brad.)

Up and out Friday to head to the airport...flew back to Cincinnati... losing three hours on the way.

Saturday, I was at the Barnes and Noble in Westchester for a booksigning with a bunch of other authors including LuAnn, Rosemary, Toni, Lori, Kay, Shiloh, J. C., and more. Great to see everybody!

Afterwards we caught a late afternoon matinee of The Santa Clause and had dinner at the Fish Market. Yum!

Sunday morning up bright and early to drive back to Knoxville. Stopped at our daughter's house... she was having a Christmas open house, so we had some yummy food.

At last, drove the final two hours home and crashed here about 6:30 last night.

Now you can wee why the suitcases are still waiting to be unpacked.

I have to get myself in gear and clean up the debris so I can get the house in shape, decorate, and start wrapping.

I missed all you guys while I was gone! Glad to be back in my own bed!

Janice