Welcome to Duck Chat!

Shiloh Walker is a busy woman, and though she’s working right this moment on her next project, she’s taken a few moments to chat with us today.

Married to her high school sweetheart, Shiloh and her family live in the mid-west. She quit her nursing job in 2004 to begin writing full time. I’m sure her fans are more than thankful for that. If you haven’t read one of her books yet, Shiloh has an impressive backlist in a number of genres, from suspense to erotic to paranormal and then some, so there’s something there for everyone. Take your pick, you’ll enjoy every last word.

But first spend a few minutes with Shiloh to get know her a little better. Be sure to leave her a comment or question and we’ll put you  in the running for an autographed copy of the winner’s choice from Shiloh’s backlist! Now let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Shiloh, let’s jump right in and talk about your upcoming release, Hunter’s Need, along with the Hunters series. First, would you tell our readers about the series as a whole? Has it evolved as you originally envisioned it?

SHILOH WALKER: Well, asking if it evolved from an original vision kind of implies I had some planned-out mental image of the world. And I didn’t. The series started with just one character—Tori from the first book, Hunters: Declan and Tori. I didn’t have any thoughts about making an ongoing series at the time. I just wanted to tell her story. Once I finished, I realized there were a lot of stories in that world.

The Hunters are basically paranormal cops—the world they live in has plenty of paranormal creatures and not all of them are the good guys. The Hunters work to keep those people in line.

DC: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

SW: Oh, that’s easy…. So, do you write your books from personal experiences?

I once had this very, very weird guy ask me that at a signing and trust me, he wasn’t asking about whether or not my nursing background plays into my writing, or whether I write about romance because I’m living a happy-ever-after with my high school sweetheart, either.

*G* I did answer him. I smiled sweetly and said, “Well, no. I mean, after all, I haven’t killed anybody yet.”

DC: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

SW: My characters frequently surprise me, but I’m not a plotter by nature. I’ve got a vague idea of where I want the story to end and as I write the book, things happen to push me toward that goal. Very frequently, events happen that are nothing like what I’d thought was going to happen.

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

Oh, I frequently argue with my characters. And who wins depends on what the argument was over. But a lot of the time, the characters win. 

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

SW: Laundry. Email. Twitter. Phone calls. Website junk. Blog stuff. Clutter. An empty stomach. Facebook. I’m easily distracted—staying on task requires me to frequently kick myself in the tail.

DC: Do you have the next Hunters book in the works yet? How many more books will be in the series?

SW: I just finished the next in the series…Hunter’s Fall, which will be out in either late 2010 or early 2011. I don’t have any idea how many more Hunter’s books I’ll write, though. It might be just be one or two, or it might be a lot more. I just don’t know.

DC: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

SW: The cover for the romantic suspense that came out earlier this year, Fragile. I just love and adore that cover. It’s shiny. It’s pretty. What’s not to love? 

DC: How about your least favorite cover? Why?

SW: That one is harder to answer—some of the earlier covers from Ellora’s Cave I haven’t liked as much because they were the computer-generated images and I’m just not as big a fan of the CGI stuff.

DC: How do you feel your male or female characters have evolved over your career? Do you think you write them differently now than you did when you started?

SW: Well, I try to make the characters deeper, more complex. I think that’s just natural for a writer to do, though.

DC: Is there a genre you haven’t tackled but would like to try?

SW: Well, sooner or later, I’m going to try more traditional fantasy stuff, I think. Possibly urban fantasy, without as much romance. Maybe some thrillers. And horror-I have one idea for a horror story that I’ve wanted to write forever…I just haven’t managed to do it, yet.

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

SW: Hmmmm. Nothing. Choices I made when I was younger led me here and I love my life—wouldn’t want to do anything that might change it.

DC: Next March Broken will be released. Can you give us a sneak peek into Quinn and Sarah?

SW: Quinn is a complicated bastard and he gave me ten kinds of hell writing his book. Sarah is equally complicated. I fought the two of them tooth and nail.

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

SW: Oh, I’m a lousy person to ask about blurbs… I hate and abhor blurbs. Writing a blurb about me? I’d just suggest you skim the first few pages instead…

DC: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

SW: Smartass…

DC: One of my favorite books of yours is The Missing. Where did the story idea for Cullen and Taige come from? Can you tell everyone a little bit about it?

SW: The story for The Missing stemmed from the little girl, Jillian. She was the first character I ‘met’ from that story, so to speak. Cullen and Taige emerged later. I woke up one morning with this mental image of a girl sitting in an airport, drawing. She showed the drawing to her dad. There were three kids in the drawing, one in each corner of the page. He asks who they are and she tells him, “They are the missing.” Then she tells him that each of them had disappeared.

That’s was the bare bones of the book, as it first came to me.

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

SW: Nursing. That’s what I did before I focused on writing full-time. I keep my license current and still work on occasion. Just in case.

DC: For a reader who may not have picked up one of your books yet, where would you recommend them to start to get the full effect of Shiloh Walker?

SW: The full effect…LMAO. Well, one of my personal favorites is Fragile. Or Candy Houses, an urban fantasy/paranormal erotic romance that came out from Samhain Publishing in October. [LOL, okay, so it was really early morning when getting Shi's interview together, the brain apparently was having fun at my expense! - SM]

DC: What’s on the horizon for Shiloh Walker?

SW: Right now, I’m working on a romantic suspense trilogy for a new publisher. My current plan is to write paranormal for Berkley and romantic suspense for Ballantine.

Lightning Round:

- dark or milk chocolate?     -Dark
- smooth or chunky peanut butter?     -Not a peanut butter person…unless it’s with chocolate.
- heels or flats?     – Bare feet. 
- coffee or tea?     – Both, depends on my mood.
- summer or winter?     – Fall. (It’s my favorite season)
- mountains or beach?     – Mountains, absolutely.
- mustard or mayonnaise?    – Mustard.
- flowers or candy?     – Why do I have to choose?
- pockets or purse?     – Purse.
- Pepsi or Coke?   – Coke.
- ebook or print?   – Both.

And because we still enjoy the answers we get:

1. What is your favorite word?    -Love.
2. What is your least favorite word?     -Cunt
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     -Sunsets. Kids laughing. Hugs.
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     -Cruelty. Neglect.
5. What sound or noise do you love?   – The sound of my kids laughing.
6. What sound or noise do you hate?     – Fingernails on a chalkboard.
7. What is your favorite curse word?     – Don’t have one.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?     -  None…I’m doing what I always wanted.
9. What profession would you not like to do?     – Teacher. I lack the patience.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?    – Oh, I absolutely believe heaven exists…and I expect to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

DC: Thanks for spending the day with us, Shiloh!

Sandy M’s review of The Missing by Shiloh Walker
Contemporary Paranormal Romance published by Berkley Trade 4 Nov 08

Wow.  I tried to think of some way to start this review and I ran through the story again in my head.  Once I did that, all that ever came to me again was, “Wow.”  I’ve really only read a few of this author’s books before this one, but I can safely say without a doubt that Shiloh Walker has outdone herself with this book.

We meet Cullen and Taige as they meet when they’re teenagers near Taige’s home where Cullen’s family vacation every year.  They see each other around, but it’s not until Taige is attacked by some local boys and Cullen comes to her rescue that their relationship truly begins.  They continue to see each other the rest of that summer and then each year as Cullen and his family return to the area, and each year their relationship progresses, despite Taige’s fear he’ll leave her when he discovers her psychic gift.  But love does eventually bloom for them both and then tragedy strikes, and Cullen blames Taige for his loss and cuts her out of his life.

Their lives go on, of course, in the intervening years, each going in a direction they hadn’t expected in those years together.  When they do meet again, it is due to tragedy one more time.  Cullen’s daughter has been kidnapped and when the police waste precious time looking at him as a suspect, his only hope to find his little girl before it’s too late is to go back to Taige.  He knows now that it was his grief that pushed her out of his life years ago and he prays she’ll help him.

Thinking she would always stay holed up in her hometown where folks are used to her and her gift, it was her guilt from not being able to help the one person who meant the most to her that caused her to hone her abilities to help others, mostly children.  So when Cullen comes to her she has a chance to make things right with him.  What neither of them expected is a connection to Taige’s dreams and visions she’s had most of her life are wrapped up in the hell Cullen is currently going through.  So begins their journey to find his daughter, other missing, and the evil villain who preys on the innocent.

Though they both realize their feelings still exist for one another, Taige tries to keep Cullen at arm’s length just as much as he tries to bring her closer.  Even their dreams are more real than even they could imagine. When they finally come together again, especially as adults instead of kids, it’s worth all the time they were apart.  Cullen and Taige are an awesomely dynamic couple.  The scenes when Taige has her visions are perfectly described, you feel like you’re right there in the middle of it all.  And the villain they have to fight personifies evil to the core.  Bringing that bastard down is not only satisfying to Cullen and Taige, but the reader as well.

This is a terrific story starting with a teenage love that grows over time, even when they’re apart, endures tragedy, and triumphs over evil in the world.  It’s a story of being accepted for who you are and loved anyway, having those you love not judge you, and it’s a story of forgiveness and faith that the love you lost and long for will be yours once again.

Wow.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Her psychic gift drove away the man she loved— and years later has drawn him back to her…

As a teenager, Taige Branch hated her psychic gift. No one could understand—except for Cullen Morgan, the boy who stole her heart. He did his best to accept her, until his mother was brutally murdered—and he couldn’t forgive Taige for not preventing it.

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

Read an excerpt.

This just in…

Shiloh Walker is asking for your help. The hurricanes, the flooding, the destruction, people losing everything they own in the blink of an eye. So what can you do to help these folks who so desperately need it? Donate.

~ You can pick and choose your charity, but Shiloh asks that you pick one that specifies the money will go to the areas so hard hit by the hurricanes and tropical storms that have been so devastating over the past few weeks.

~ “One of my fave charities is World Vision. 86% of all monies received go directly to their programs, not into the pockets of the board members, not in administration, not in whatever, but to the programs. They also let you specify what programs, like US Disaster Relief,” Shiloh said.

~ Once you donate, all you need to do is send her the confirmation number, the amount you donated and which charity you chose. Per Shiloh, there is no set minimum. You can give $5 or you can give $50 or you can give $500.

~ In return Shiloh is offering an ARC of her latest book, The Missing, due out in November, a $40 GC from Borders, and a couple of books from her backlist.

~ The contest will run for the next few weeks.

~ Check her site for more info.

Consider yourself flashed.