Keepers

We’ve all got keepers.  Movies, books, music.

Lately, I’ve been in the mood to revisit some faves-I’ve been re-reading some of my Sherrilyn Kenyon books, and not too long ago, I did the same with the Darkyn books by Lynn Viehl.  I’m also on a Buffy kick-stayed up until 2 am the other day watching the last part of season 5.

I don’t have a lot of ‘keeper’ TV shows, but Buffy is one of them.  Law and Order: SVU is another.  The old showtime series, Robin of Sherwood.   I already know the new Joss Whedon series, Dollhouse, is going to be a keeper.

Now I love House, Charmed and a few others, but I haven’t ever gotten to the point that I have to own them so I can watch them any time.  So they are loved, but not keepers.

Some keeper movies, Independence Day.  The Green Mile. The LOTR trilogy. The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

And then there’s my keeper shelf of books.  Which isn’t just a shelf now.  It’s an entire bookcase and it’s got double rows, one in front, another in the back and some of those are even double stacked now.  I have a lot more keeper books than movies or TV shows.  Of course, some of my fave authors (cough, cough Nora/JD cough, cough) writes almost as fast as a bunny reproduces-or so it seems.  So the Nora books take up a lot of space.  My SL Viehl/Lynn Viehl/Jessica Hall/Gena Hale books take up a lot of space.  My Mercedes Lackey books.

The list goes on…and on…and I plan on just adding more and more.  I love keepers.  🙂 Who do you have on your keeper shelf?

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A Witchy Recipe…Guest blog by Linda Wisdom

EDITED TO ADD… A winner’s name has been chosen…contest is now closed!

Hey folks…we’ve got a guest with us today! Author Linda Wisdom, and she’s going to be giving away a prize…we’ll draw a winning name and get it posted here early next week. Now I’m going to let Linda have the floor…Shiloh

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First off, thank you so much Vamps and Scamps for having me here to talk about Hex Appeal!

Take one snarky witch, add a cup of sexy vampire, a tablespoon of disgruntled ghost and add a dash of troublesome bunny slippers and you have a recipe for magick disaster. Or maybe not. After all, we are talking Jazz Tremaine, curse eliminator, 700 year young witch and attitude with a capital A.

Jazz is used to multi-tasking. She has a successful curse eliminating business – especially since LA is filled with a variety of curses — and working as a driver for Dweezil, a creature who can make Scrooge look like a philanthropist.

But her world is shaken up – again. It was bad enough when a past evil intruded into her life again and she had to work hard on getting rid of all it meant. No, this time, it’s struck even closer to home. Namely, Jazz isn’t getting any quality sleep and a sleep-deprived witch is a cranky witch.

It’s not so much that Jazz is missing sleep, she’s have terrorizing nightmares to boot. But then, who wouldn’t be freaked out if the nightmare involved your vampire lover tearing your throat out? Add to that Fluff and Puff accused of eating a Wereweasel carnie and now incarcerated in bunny slipper jail, Irma wanting Jazz to find a way to give her an updated look and Dweezil demanding his share of her time.

The only good thing is Jazz’s latest order of bath products and a pair of sexy crocodile stilettos named Croc and Delilah from fellow witch Thea. It’s just a shame they like to get into her make up.

Jazz is in a stew of magick problems that could easily overflow her cauldron. Especially when a dash of a sexy female vampire who was Nick’s ex is tossed in for some bitter flavoring and Jazz ends up with the worst 48 hours of her life that no witch should endure.

The problem is figuring out what ingredients will work for this witchy stew and which ones are outdated and need to be tossed out.

Who’s behind her nightmares? Who wants to unsettle Nick so badly with nightmares of his own that he might abandon her? Who’s setting up booby traps if she tries to track down the source and did Fluff and Puff really eat a Wereweasel even if there’s no way the bunny slippers would eat something that disgusting?

It’s all answered in Hex Appeal, which is out now and book two of my Hex series.

I hope you’ll pick the book up and enjoy Jazz’s new adventures.

I’ll also be giving a book away to a lucky commenter!

Linda
There’s also a fan fiction contest going on!

Give us your best HEX!

A Fan Fiction Contest with Linda Wisdom

Ever wondered why Jazz and Nick argue so much? Have you imagined a hilarious scenario with Irma? And I’m sure you’ve thought up a ton of escapades with Fluff and Puff! Why not write your very own Hex Fan Fiction piece?

Linda Wisdom and Sourcebooks Casablanca are pleased to present an exciting contest—Tell us your own short story starring the characters from 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover and October 1 release, Hex Appeal!

Rules (follow them or we might kick you out of the Witches Academy!)

1. Choose any character you like and give them an original story!
2. 1500 words maximum, sent in a Word Document or in the body of the email

Erotica is ok, but nothing too scary (no bestiality, necrophilia, pedophilia; no slander of public people; no black magic; no Wiccan or black magic spells, cursing in the regular sense is okay—we just want to have as much fun as possible!)

1. Send your story to Linda’s publicist, Danielle Jackson at danielle.jackson@sourcebooks.com, no later than 5:00pm CST on October 25, 2008.
2. The Winner, chosen by Linda, will be announced on her Myspace page the morning of Halloween!

So what do you get if you win? 2 runners up with received autographed copies of the first two books in the series, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover and Hex Appeal.

The Grand prize winner will also receive the autographed copies, AND their name will be used as a character in the fourth book in Linda’s Hexy series, out in October 2009!

We look forward to your stories! Good Luck!

Linda

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Contest for Bloggers The Missing

this is a repost…

The blog review contest I did for Through the Veil went pretty well. I think it generated some interest and hopefully caught the interest of some new readers. Soooooo I’m going to do it again with The Missing.

From the contest for Through the Veil…

I don’t get too many ARCs so I do kind of want your promise to do the review. I know life sometimes happens, and hey, that’s cool. But if you think you’re likely to just add the book to your TBR pile, I’d ask that you not enter. If you don’t like writing reviews on books you didn’t care for, I’d ask that you not enter.

I do want an honest review, whether you love it or not. However there’s a chance you might not like the book and I want a review whether you like it or not… *G* the power of word of mouth. Some people only review books they like, that’s absolutely fine…but again, I want an honest review, love it or hate it.

Since I only get a limited number of these things, I want to make sure they are being put to the best use possible. If this contest goes well, I may continue to do it in the future, with both ebooks and print books.

So did I make that complicated enough? 😉

Basically, the contest rules are this:

• You must have an established blog. Established as in being used prior to this post, and on a fairly regular basis.
• You agree to post an honest review of the book on your blog. Honest=as in your thoughts, whether you like it or not.

So…there’s that.

Blurb for The Missing

From a bestselling author whose stories are “exhilarating [and] action-packed”* comes a sinfully sexy novel of romantic suspense about a woman whose psychic gift drives away the man she loves—and years later draws him back to her…

LOVE LOST

As a teenager, Taige Branch was able to do things with her psychic gift that others couldn’t understand—except for Cullen Morgan, the boy her stole her heart. He did his best to accept her abilities, until his mother was brutally murdered—and he couldn’t forgive Taige for not preventing her death.

PASSION FOUND

Now a widowed father, Cullen Morgan has never forgotten Taige. But what brings her back into his life is another tragic event. His beloved little girl has been kidnapped, and Taige is his only hope of finding her.

A LOVE THAT NEVER DIED

Working together against the clock, Cullen and Taige can’t help but wonder whether—if they find his daughter in time—it isn’t too late for the overpowering love that still burns between them…

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So…. here are the rules for this one. All you have to do to enter the contest is have an established blog (yes, blogs on Myspace are fine) and be willing to post the review, good or bad, either the last two weeks of October or the first week of November. With new releases, getting the buzz out right around release time is very important, from a writer’s standpoint (of course, a buzz is wonderful at any time, but right around release time…good stuff for an author).

As long as you have a blog and are willing to post an honest review, you can enter. However, I get a very limited quantity of ARCs. Because of this, if you aren’t willing to guarantee you can have the review posted during the stated time frame, I do ask that you not enter the contest. I know sometimes things come up, emergencies and such, but since I only have limited number of ARCs, I want to put them into the hands of those who are willingly to help me generate the buzz I’m looking for.

So…

• You’ll give an honest review
• You’ll post the review sometime during the last two weeks of October or first week of November
• You have an established blog

If that’s you…and you’re interested…email me @ shilohwalker(at)gmail.com with Blog/Missing Review Contest in the subject line. Please include your blog address in the body of the email. I do expect to get the ARCs sometime fairly soon and once I get them, I’ll get the winning names drawn and I’ll contact them directly. FYI, yes, you can enter even if you won one of the ARCs from the previous contest, provided the review for Through the Veil was posted during the specified time frame.

Contest will remain open for the next few weeks! Thank you!

Please do not post this contest to sweepstakes sites.

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Through the Veil~ A Contest for Bloggers

Contest has ended. Winners have been notified.

To avoid confusion, comments are now closed for this post. 

Thank you!

I usually try to keep my contests open for everybody, but I’m trying to help spread the word about my summer release, Through the Veil. Since blogs are a wonderful way of spreading the word, I’m going to do a contest just for bloggers.

This contest involves an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy) and a promise. The ARC comes from me, the promise comes from you. The winners simply need to agree to post a review on your blog (Yes, MySpace blogs are fine) of Through the Veil sometime the last two weeks of May.

I don’t get too many ARCs so I do kind of want your promise to do the review. I know life sometimes happens, and hey, that’s cool. But if you think you’re likely to just add the book to your TBR pile, I’d ask that you not enter. If you don’t like writing reviews on books you didn’t care for, I’d ask that you not enter.

I do want an honest review, whether you love it or not. However there’s a chance you might not like the book and I want a review whether you like it or not… *G* the power of word of mouth. Some people only review books they like, that’s absolutely fine…but again, I want an honest review, love it or hate it.

Since I only get a limited number of these things, I want to make sure they are being put to the best use possible. If this contest goes well, I may continue to do it in the future, with both ebooks and print books.

So did I make that complicated enough? 😉

Basically, the contest rules are this:

• You must have an established blog. Established as in being used prior to this post, and on a fairly regular basis.
• You agree to post an honest review of the book on your blog. Honest=as in your thoughts, whether you like it or not.

The blurb…

Found wandering in a field as a child, Lee Ross was given a name by the state and placed in a foster home–without anyone realizing she wasn’t entirely human. All her life, she’s tried to dismiss the odd dreams that have plagued her, dreams of monsters creeping through the night and a man, fighting demons by her side. But the bruises she wakes up with are all too real to ignore

Then the man from dreams appears in the flesh. His name is Kalen and he insists that her destiny lies in his world, the world of her dreams. To save their people, he must convince Lee to give everything she knows, follow her heart and cross into the Under Realm, even though once she does, she’ll never be able to return.

An excerpt can be found here.

Just a side note, I’ve seen a few references that this is part of my Hunters books and it is not. Veil is not related to the Hunters world at all. If you’re interested, send an email to shiloh_ @ shilohwalker.com NO SPACES, put “BLOG CONTEST” in the subject line, and make sure to include your blog url in the subject line.

I plan on drawing a couple of winners, how many, I don’t know yet. Outside the States? That’s fine. Enter away.

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Sunny’s Winner….

Is Culleen!

Culleen, if you can email me @ shilohwalker@gmail.com, I get you hooked up with Sunny.

Thanks to all who came by and thanks to Sunny.

Shi

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Sunny’s Back… and a contest…

We love contests, right? Just a reminder, you do need to check back to see if you win if you’d like to claim the prize. 😉

Sunny will be giving away a signed copy of her latest, Mona Lisa Craving, to one commenter…. so comment!

Every commenter will get their name entered into the drawing once and a winner will be drawn for the prize.

The blurb for Mona Lisa Craving…

From the time she was an orphan child, Mona Lisa knew she was different—but she never knew how different. As daughter of the Mixed-Blood of the Monère, she has arrived to rule a new domain in the Louisiana Bayou. Now, under the full moon, she’s feeling a new and uncontrollable surge—and an instinctive new craving…

Dante, the warrior son of a healer, was cursed by the high priestess to endure a never-ending cycle of life and death, born and reborn into an ever-diminishing bloodline. Someone shares one of his past lives. Her name was Mona Lyria. Back then, on the moon in another world, she was his victim. Today, she is Mona Lisa. This time, she is his savior. Dante’s wish is to die by her hands to end his cursed existence. But she feels fate has given them both a second chance. For even stronger than her craving for blood is her craving for what every Monère female desires, and needs…to bear life. Now she has found her mate. But with this blessing could come a new curse under the shadow of a new moon.

You can read more about Sunny’s books here…

And now onto Sunny!

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ONE CRAZY READER

I’m giving away a free signed copy of MONA LISA CRAVING at the end of the day, and will choose a winner from those who post a response. I’d love to hear from other readers on how you got started reading romance.

Before becoming a writer and discovering Romance Writers of America, I was an oddity, a freak—the only one in my family and circle of friends who was a reader. And not just a reader, but a romance reader.

I got my library card in third grade, at the age of eight, when we moved from Brooklyn to Poughkeepsie, New York. Adriance Memorial library was about a mile away from my home, and I would walk there a couple of times a week, loaded down with a pile of books that stretched my arms longer each trip. When I hit my teens, I discovered the romance novel. My mother, a pastor’s daughter, used to rip those mild love stories (Silhouettes and Harlequins then) out of my hands and call them a sin—this was in the early eighties, during the era of bodice-ripping covers. But I was hooked on the rich love and emotion I found in those stories, and couldn’t give them up.

Even now, several decades later, I remain a voracious reader, averaging about five books a week. It’s my favorite way to unwind. Thankfully the covers have gotten more refined. Over the years, my reading tastes have broadened to include sci-fi and fantasy, women’s fiction, mystery, and general fiction, in addition to my mainstay—romance—and my taste in romance itself slowly grew darker, edgier, and much more hotter as I discovered authors like Linda Howard, Laura Kleypas, Emma Holly, and Laurell K. Hamilton.

Interestingly enough, I’ve found that reading has a real impact on my writing. A good story gets my creative juices going, not only with ideas but with words and actual phrasing. It helps in editing, too, I’ve found. The other day, I sat down to do the final editing revision on my husband’s new young adult fiction, The Sword, coming out this fall by HarperCollins/Laura Geringer Books. It went awfully. I had a hard time making the necessary changes in grammar and sentence structures, and finally stopped after a frustrating two hours. I hadn’t done any reading for a week, a rare event, and had been watching movies each night instead, after discovering Redbox, a $1 per night movie/dvd rental machine at my local supermarket. Part of the reason was that I’d read all of the January book titles I had wanted to read and was waiting for February’s offerings.

Nalini Singh’s new book, Mine to Possess, finally came out yesterday and I devoured it, staying up late into the night to finish it. Today, when I sat down to edit my husband’s manuscript, it was a piece of cake, different as night was from day. The changes and corrections came to me easily, effortlessly. It was really surprising to me, that reading the words of a well-written story makes working with words so much easier.

Sunny
http://www.sunnyauthor.com
MONA LISA CRAVING, National bestseller
LUCINDA, DARKLY, 2007 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee

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Do you believe in fate? Guest Blog by Patrice Michelle

Fate, Kismet, Destiny…we all call the phrase “meant to be” by many different names, but as much as I like to believe I’m in control, I wonder if sometimes things do happen on their own and for reasons beyond our understanding. 🙂 I’ve written and published eleven books with a small publisher (including a vampire series and a cowboy series). Many things inspired each book: from songs to people to a ring, and yes, even secondary characters, who wouldn’t leave me alone until they got their own books. LOL!

But one story I wrote started out very different from my other novels. You see, I dreamed many parts that I included in the second chapter. A woman had been kidnapped by a man carrying a gun. They were being chased and shot at by other men. She knew the man who took her was very dark natured and could do things a normal man couldn’t do. Even though he’d taken her, he appeared to be trying to protect her as well. It was an intense, action-filled scene and as soon as I woke up, I started writing. In my dream, she intuitively knew he was a vampire. In the book I wrote, she didn’t, not right away. The entire world I wrote about, the characters, their wants, their dreams, their desires, their secrets, even the prophesy that leads them…was all inspired by a snippet of a dream, my wild imagination and my pen moving non-stop as I scribbled a story outline. From that story, two others were born.

So back to that fate thing…the story that was inspired by a dream? That’s the book I sold to a NY publisher. I’m so excited to see Scions: Resurrection finally on the shelves! I hope you’ll check it out if you’re in the mood for an action-adventure novel that features a dark, seductive vampire hero and a heroine who can hold her own. Excerpts and advance reviews are posted on my website.

What about you? Is there some event that happened in your life, even something seemingly small that made you stop for just a moment and wonder…do things sometimes happen for a reason?

I’ll give away a signed copy of Scions: Resurrection to be picked at random. Come on and share some stories. 🙂

Patrice
http://www.patricemichelle.net

~From Shi…. Contest winner’s name will be drawn and posted here in the next few days.  You do need to check back to win!

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Hardest people to buy for…

Who’s the hardest person to buy for on your Christmas list?

Usually, it’s the DH. Not this year… I found him an excellent… oh, wait, can’t say that. I think he’s visited the blog a time or two before. Can’t ruin the surprise. But I hope he likes it.

This year, one of the the hardest people is going to be the bratlet. She’s 8 1/2 now. She hasn’t outgrown toys yet, and I love that, but she’s also just getting very selective about the toys she likes.

I’ve got a couple of friends I’m still debating on what to get, although I’ve taken care of the inlaws, my mom and I know what I’m getting our sitter, who’s actually like a third grandma to the kids.

Me, I’m easy to shop for… books, gift certificates, almost anything with faeries. And I do like sparkly stuff… my inner tomboy would be so ashamed.

So the clock’s ticking people… who’s your hardest? Toss out some ideas… maybe it will help some others out.

And just because I haven’t done it in a while, I’m going to give away a copy of my upcoming Ellora’s Cave release, One of the Guys, a contemporary erotic romance releasing in ebook. **It’s only in ebook at this time~apologies to those who don’t read ebooks…although this would be a wonderful time to start. Either comment or just toss your name in if you want a chance to win. I’ll draw a winner here in the next few days.

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We’ve got a winner!

We have a winner for Jules’ guest blog the other day.

Winner’s name was…  Kim H.

Kim commented

i love contempory romance

Kim, I need you to email me at shilohwalker@gmail.com  and put BLOG CONTEST in the subject line.

Just a reminder, guys,  the contests here on the blog, you have to check back to see if you win or not and if we don’t hear from you within a week or so, another name may be drawn.

Thank you!

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Guest blog by Jules Bennett

Jules Bennett is joining up today, and her alter ego, Sophia Rae will be giving away a prize. 🙂 We like prizes.

And now onto Jules…

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First of all, I want to thank Shiloh Walker for the invitation to blog today. I LOVE the Scamps and Vamps, so I’m thrilled to be here with such great company.

Okay, onto the topic of the day. Since becoming an author, I can’t tell you how many comments I’ve heard about the romance genre. I really should write a book about themJ.

When someone discovers I’m an author, their face lights up, mouths drop, eyes widen.

Then they ask the question, “What do you write?”

I reply, with a big smile, “Romance.”

The light in their eyes fade, their eyes dart to the side. “Oh. I don’t read that stuff.”

Sometimes I just want to say, “Do you have any idea what you’re missing out on?” But, I refrain. I do give them my website address and tell them to check it out and read an excerpt, they may be surprised.

I would like to add, I think the majority of these people are lying. I know they’ve got a steamy romance tucked under their pillow with the “good parts” dog-earedJ.

There’s such a vast array of romance, you can’t lump it all together and form an opinion. That would be like putting all men in a group. Let’s face it, men – like books- aren’t all the same. Some are great to cuddle with at night and some, well…aren’tJ.

Personally, I think there is a romance book for everybody. I’ve even turned my husband into a fan (sshhh, don’t tell him I said thatJ). I’ve told him about Cindy Gerard and Suzanne Brockmann and he’s taken an interest. He was surprised at the amount of action…well, the amount of action OUT of the bedroom.

Then there are the sweet, old-fashioned love stories that just melt your heart. I like those, too. Sometimes I want to go back and remember what that first feeling of love felt like. That first twinge of giddiness when you felt his hand against yours for the first time. Ahh, I love being in loveJ.

And, of course, let’s not forget the steamy, make-your-heart-stop-romances. You know the ones that get the blood pumping? Those are a must have for your keeper shelf.

So, whether you like your romances action-packed, full of sweetness or something to get your engine revved up, there’s an author and a book for you!

For example, I write sweet contemporary romances under the name Jules Bennett and hot, sensual romances under the name Sophia Rae. You see? Even I like the variety!

So, lets here it. What is your favorite sub-genre of romance? If I had to pick a fav, I’d probably choose Romantic Suspense. Who doesn’t love action from all directions? Oh wait, did that come out wrong?

(Jules taking foot from mouth).

I’ll choose one lucky person who comments today to receive a copy of my very first Sophia Rae book which comes out in a week! A Stranger’s Bed is a steamy novella – the first in a series of three. If you want more info on Jules or Sophia check out my sites: www.julesbennett.com or www.myspace.com/authorsophiarae. Sophia’s site is in the worksJ.

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Thank you, Jules!

Reminder about the contest…all you have to do to enter is respond in the comment section and one winner will be drawn. Winner’s name will be posted here in a few days and you’ll need to check back in order to claim your prize.

Thank you, Jules!

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