Beautiful Scars by Shiloh Walker (ADULT title) (Interview, excerpt, GIVEAWAY)

 Today I have the pleasure of featuring Shiloh Walker who agreed to answer a few of my questions.  Her alter-ego, J.C. Daniels will be visiting my blog on January 15, 2014 with answers to some of my other interrogatives.  I am always impressed by the intense characters that live in this author's brain...there are so many great series that she has created that I am always tapping my foot impatiently waiting for the next one although I am forced to reluctantly acknowledge that she is entitled to a life occasionally, lol.

And, here's Shiloh:

ELF:  Tell us about Beautiful Scars

SW:  Well, it was inspired by a picture...you can look up the Scar Project to get an idea why, but I'd rather you wait until after you read the book.  Otherwise, you're moving into spoiler territory.  It's also a friends to lovers to lover story and unrequited love story, all rolled into one.

ELF:  What book not written by you did you gift most recently to someone?

SW:  Probably one of Lynn Viehl's or Ilona Andrews'.  I tend to gift those quite a bit.

ELF:  What was your best memory of last year?

SW:  That would be a toss-up... we took the kids to Universal Studios so they could visit the Harry Potter area and the kids loved it.  It was fun buying them pumpkin juice and butterbeer and letting them pick out their wands.  99.999% of the time, anything with my kids is going to win out.  But last year, I had what just might have been the experience of my writing life...I signed books at Turn the Page...with Nora Roberts.  Signing books.  In Nora Roberts' store.  When she was there.  I still get giddy thinking about it. 

 

ELF:  What one thing do you want readers to remember most about this book?

SW:  Beauty isn't just a physical thing.

ELF:  What is your favorite pair of shoes?

SW:  A pair of grey leather boots.

ELF:  What pet has ever been in one of your stories?

SW:  I don't tend to put pets in books, I don't think.  I've got a couple of books where there is a character who is blind and they've got a companion animal, but companion animals aren't pets--that's a much deeper connection.

(note from ELF:  The series referred to in this answer is the Ash Trilogy, which includes If You Hear Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense (Ash Trilogy))


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Please be advised that this is an ADULT title


                                             


Beautiful Scars
 by Shiloh Walker


Purchase here: Samhain | Amazon| BN | iBookstore | Indiebound



Blurb:  Some scars cut right to the heart. 

Three years after her divorce, Chaili Bennett is over her ex. Her only problem now? Of the few men she’s dated since, no one “gets” her. Not like Marc Archer—a man who’s never seen her as more than a friend. 

Marc Archer needs a date for a last-minute charity event, and he needs it fast. Not that women aren’t throwing themselves at his world-famous face and body, but sometimes it’s less messy—as in less personal—to use his sister Shera’s escort service.

 The last woman on earth Marc expects to see in his sister’s office is Chaili. There’s something different about her, but nothing pleases him more when Shera sets them up. That simple date quickly evolves into much more as they both discover the other fills a deep, secret need they’ve shared with anyone else.

 Though Chaili insists one night is all she wants, Marc isn’t walking away now. Not until he discovers what put the shadows in her eyes. And the scars on her soul.

Add to your Goodreads list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16182806-beautiful-scars?from_search=true


Excerpt

She all but groaned as he launched into the one part that got to her, every damn time, right near the end.
 
His voice dropped, lower, rougher.
 
A shudder went through her and she grabbed the glass of wine, drank it down. They’d emptied the bottle and she wished she could blame the heat burning inside her on the wine, but it wasn’t that. It was him. Always him—
 
“What is it about you and that song?”
 
As the music faded, she jerked her head up, saw him staring at her.
She tried to shrug. It wasn’t the song, it was him. Something about the way he sang it, hell, the way he sang anything… She licked her lips and stared off into the distance, trying to figure out the right way to say something that wasn’t a lie, but didn’t leave her stripped bare.
 
A harsh groan reached her ears.
 
Startled, she looked at him, realized he was staring at her mouth.
Two seconds later, he was reaching for her.
 
Stunned, she couldn’t think. As his lips covered hers, she just couldn’t think.
 
Marc was kissing her.
 
Damn it.
 
Marc was kissing her—
 
Had she drank more wine than she’d thought?
 
“Open your mouth,” he snarled against her lips, a harsh, urgent command in his voice. “Give me your mouth.”

Read an excerpt from Beautiful Scars HERE

My review is at this link



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Professional Bio

Shiloh Walker is an award-winning writer…yes, really!  She’s also a mom, a wife, a reader and she pretends to be an amateur photographer.  She published her first book in 2003 and since then, has tried her hand at digital publishing, traditional publishing and self-publishing. Her publishers include Hydra Publications, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, Berkley, Random House and St. Martins. She writes romantic suspense, contemporary and paranormal romance, and urban fantasy under the name J.C. Daniels.

Learn more about Shiloh:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads



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GIVEAWAY



Giveaway Details: One winner of the tour will get a signed copy of Beautiful Scars.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour stops:

https://wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com

http://www.fabfantasyfiction.com

http://thereadingaddict-elf.blogspot.com/

reviewbycacb.blogspot.com

http://twimom227.com

http://ripeforreader.blogspot.com

http://www.vivianaenchantressofbooks.com

http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com/

http://tracymeighan13.wordpress.com/

http://SSLYblog.wordpress.com

http://www.salaciousreads.com

  http://www.harliesbooks.com

Characters with physical disabilities

I attended an online lecture on writing using characters with physical disabilities and thought that the presenter did a very nice job of reminding the audience of salient points.  I hadn't thought much about some of the ramifications of having one's character(s) with a physical disability such as lack of sight, hearing or voice although I do seem to be encountering more stories lately that feature someone who has learned to compensate for a physical handicap. I was fascinated by the concept that some of the normal techniques used to indicate emotion (e.g. lowering one's voice) naturally couldn't be used with a deaf person just as facial expressions or gestures couldn't be used with someone who is blind.


The Iris Johansen character named Dr. Kendra Michaels in the novel Sleep No More was blind until the age of 20, then had an operation which allowed her to see.  She is exceptionally observant and has a personality similar to the great Sherlock Holmes.  This is the latest title in the ongoing series featuring Eve Duncan who is a forensic sculptor (i.e. she takes bones, in particular skulls, and creates an image of the child who has been killed and helps in his or her identification).  I enjoyed this title more than the last (What Doesn't Kill You) because even though I like Agent Catherine Ling, that story just didn't enthrall me.  Fortunately, Eve and her delicious Joe Quinn feature prominently in Sleep No More in a suspenseful tale.  My review for Sleep No More should be available over the next few weeks and my review for What Doesn't Kill You is at this link under ELF2060 (but probably pretty hard to find...it's titled, "Catherine Ling's Story").
    



Shiloh Walker's main character in If You Hear Her, is a blind chef named Lena Riddle.  I was really puzzled by the concept of being able to cook without being able to see since I tend to have very rudimentary cooking skills and have been known to make my hubby very nervous when I start brandishing a knife...and I have vision (although I can't say I am fond of my bifocals) and can see what I am cutting up.  This book was very intriguing to me because of that novelty but I quickly became ensnared in the mystery and suspense.  We have been watching the television show Master Chef featuring Gordon Ramsay (although I still think his mouth should be washed out with soap) and one of the finalists is an impressive blind chef named Christine Ha.  Watching her rise through the ranks until reaching the finals has been truly awe-inspiring and one of the funniest moments for me was seeing Gordon Ramsay ask her if he had been 'punked' because the dish she prepared was virtually identical to the sample that had been presented to the contestants.  Remarkable woman!

All three titles that form the 'Ash trilogy' are fun reads.  If you missed it before, my Amazon review for If You Hear Her is at this link under ELF2060, for If You See Her is at this link and for If You Know Her at this link.
   



Maya Banks has a character with a physical disability that causes her family to think that she is brain damaged in Never Seduce a Scot.  The exploration of the interaction between the heroine and her family and the different reception that she gets from the the hero is at the heart of this romantic story.  My Goodreads review is at this link.  The book will be released on September 25, 2012.



I realize that I have posted about most of these titles before but I was fascinated to realize that it has become such a commonplace trend to feature strong characters who compensate for one disability by strengthening themselves in other areas.  All of them remind us to work with what we are given rather than waste effort bemoaning what we lack or have lost (0: