Broken Blade by Shiloh Walker (Feature, excerpt, interview and GIVEAWAY)

I have the wonderful opportunity to have talented author J.C. Daniels (who is also known as Shiloh Walker) visiting with me twice this month.  Today, we are showcasing that deliciously intense addition to the Colbana Files, Broken Blade

 J.C. agreed to answer a few questions in her delightfully laconic way...

ELF:  What fact most surprised you when you did research for this book/series?

JC:  That would be kind of hard to answer.  I don't research for UF books the same way I'd research for my RS books.  I look for things I can twist up or myths that are already twisted, so to speak.

ELF:  What tv show is your guilty pleasure?

JC: I don't watch much TV and I don't tend to do many guilty pleasures, so to speak, unless it's chocolate.  But I adore Sleepy Hollow and S.H.I.E.L.D.  That's about all I really watch these days.  I'll get on a kick where I rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer sometimes.

ELF:  What can readers do (besides buying your books) to show their appreciation for your stories?

JC: Well, buying them is excellent.  Reviews on retail sites help a lot.  Publishers look for those things and it matters quite a bit.   But if a reader takes the time to buy my book, that right there means the world to me.  It's what makes it possible for me to do this, to keep doing it.  Without readers buying my books, I couldn't keep doing it. :)

 

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

JC: I never promised there would be an easy road for Kit.  I plan on making her happy in the end, but first she has to figure out who she is.

 

ELF:  Who is your newest favorite author and why?

JC: Um...I dunno.  I'm reading Meridian Six by Jaye Wells and enjoying it a lot.

 

ELF:  What is on your current playlist?

JC: Too many to count. I love Daughtry and a ton of their music is on my playlist.

ELF:  What is the next title on your TBR list?

JC: That implies I actually organize things.  I'm more helter-skelter than that.  Maybe J.D. Robb.  It's a toss up between her and Victoria Dahl.

 

ELF:  What would readers be surprised to know about you?

JC: I really don't know.  One little known fact... I've attended the same church for almost thirty years.  It's the same church where my guy and I got married, seventeen years ago.

            
                                   



Broken Blade
Colbana Files #3
By JC Daniels
Release Day January 6, 2014
Order here: iBooks | BN | Amazon | Kobo

Kit Colbana: assassin, thief, and investigator extraordinaire. Now broken. She always expected her past to catch up with her but never like this. Haunted by nightmares and stripped of her identity, she’s retreated to Wolf Haven, the no-man’s land where she found refuge years before. But while she might want to hide away from the rest of the world, the rest of the world isn’t taking the hint.
Dragged kicking and screaming back into life, Kit is thrust head-first into an investigation surrounding the theft of an ancient relic...one that she wants nothing to do with. Her instincts tell her it’s a bad idea to just leave the relic lying about, but finding it might be just as bad.
Forced to face her nightmares, she uncovers hidden strength and comes face to face with one of the world’s original monsters.
If she survives the job, she won’t be the same...and neither will those closest to her.

Read an excerpt of Broken Blade HERE

plus...

EXCERPT:

He slid me a dark look. “Go ahead.” Shoving away from the shower, he came closer. Violence, danger and anger radiated from him and fear pulsed inside me, despite the fact that Iknew, deep inside, that he wouldn’t hurt me. Damon was one of the few people who was safe.

Too bad my body didn’t get that message.
 
He reached up and my breath froze in my lungs as he slid a hand inside my vest. The back of his hand brushed against my breast and the black band of terror grabbed me, held tight.
 
“You’re so fucking afraid now, Kit,” he whispered, dipping his head to murmur into my ear. “It’s killing me.”
 
Then he lifted his head and reached down. He caught my left hand and pushed one of my knives into it. “Bloody me.”
 
I jerked my hand away—or I tried. He still held my wrist and he wasn’t letting go.
 
“That’s a silver blade, you son of a bitch.”
 
“I know.” He guided my blade to his chest, his grip relentless. 

“Bloody me. I’d feel better for it. And if it would do something to take that fear away...”


GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17573932-broken-blade

About JC:
J.C. Daniels is the alter ego of author Shiloh Walker and was created basically because Shiloh writes like a hyperactive bunny and an intervention was necessary.  J.C. is the intervention.  The name… J.C. Daniels is a play off of the three people who pretty much run Shiloh’s life.


Professional Bio

J.C./Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more…ah…serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing just about every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.  She writes urban fantasy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance, among other things.

You can learn more and connect with JC here:
website, facebook, twitter and goodreads

Buy links for Broken Blade:
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
iBooks

The other books in the series:

                                     

My reviews for these titles are available at this link and this link

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GIVEAWAY

One winner from this tour will win a Kit & Damon goodie bag which will include a silver cuff bracelet inscribed with a quote from Shakespeare  "Though she be but little she is fierce..."
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/168292430?ref=fb2_tnx_title

A clouded leopard stuffed animal, along with a clouded leopard 'adoption' via World Wildlife Foundation-the donation will help support the WWF's conservation efforts around the world.
http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Clouded-Leopard.aspx

Signed copies of Blade Song and Night Blade

Please use the Rafflecopter below for entries

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


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My review:

Broken Blade by J.C. Daniels (Shiloh Walker) continues the story of Kit Colbana as she struggles to recover from the horrific events that took place in “Night Blade” (the second story in the ‘Colbana Files’ series).  So many aspects of Kit’s life are broken but as her friends struggle to convince her that many things can be repaired, she is unable to believe them even as she slowly tries to pick up the shattered remnants of her life.  Accepting a case that requires her to interact with those she would rather avoid causes her to become involved in a struggle that turns a well-known myth on its end and has far-reaching implications for witches, aneira, were and vampires as well as the offshoot races.  The assignment may end up costing far more than Kit wants to pay but it also may be just what she needs to start on her road to recovery, if she survives long enough to try.

This intense urban fantasy series has provided a serious crucible for its main character to undergo and it was difficult to read about what Kit experienced in the last book.  Understandably, she feels broken and isolated from those who care about her but she slowly has to start accessing that inner strength that was honed during her abusive upbringing.  It is tough to follow her slow climb from the depths of despair but the case that is foisted upon her does an excellent job of mobilizing her allies while forcing her to face her new realities even as it uncovers some mind-boggling facts.  It definitely would be advised to read all of the books in the series so that appropriate background is available but probably best if one has a couple of days put aside because this mesmerizing storyline makes one race to the finish of each book and impatiently await further developments.  The title of this gripping story is “Broken Blade” but fortunately, the descriptor should be ‘badly damaged’ but hopefully repairable and persevering.  This was an excellent addition to the series and provides even more mysteries to be solved and I impatiently look forward to reading the next installment.



a copy of this enthralling title was provided in return for an honest review
offered to Night Owl Reviews



Other Tour Stops:

Blog Link

http://www.fabfantasyfictio.com

http://queenofallshereads.blogspot.com/

http://www.literaladdiction.com/book-blasts-and-more.php

https://wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com

http://lizasblog-liza.blogspot.com/

http://liasbookhaven.wordpress.com/

http://SSLYblog.wordpress.com

http://www.vivianaenchantressofbooks.com

http://tracymeighan13.wordpress.com/

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

http://www.harliesbooks.com

http://www.salaciousreads.com

An excerpt from JC Daniels/Shiloh Walker's Broken Blade

Something to torture those of us who are anxiously awaiting the next book in the mesmerizing paranormal Kit Colbana series.  If you haven't read the first two in the series, Blade Song and Night Blade, please get your copy and catch up...but keep a tissue or two handy, this author does NOT treat her heroines lightly!  Broken Blade  will not be released until next year (sigh) but the cover was recently revealed and below is an excerpt to make you wish this talented author would clone herself so that we can get the book in our impatient hands even quicker!

Yum...

                                        

My review of Blade Song is at this link and for Night Blade at this link.

And now...an excerpt from Broken Blade


I knew the weight of a weapon in my hand.

Even at sixteen, broken, battered and bloodied. I knew what it was to hold a weapon and realize that I had to fight or be destroyed.

Those last moments were nothing but a blur, but it was a blur of silver and
blade and blood.

I left the guards dead in the snow, taking their packs and fleeing into the
night, certain my grandmother would seek me out. And all the while as I ran, the blade had whispered to me. I am here now. I am here…

Reaching out, I touched her hilt and drew her from the sheath and stared at the gleaming, liquid length of silver.

"You're not here now."

If ever there had been a time when I needed her, it had been when I was trapped up on that mountain. Broken, desperate.

But she hadn't answered my call.

And she couldn't come to my hand now, either.

Stroking my fingers down the blade, I closed my eyes…and wished.

Then I turned back to my weapons trunk and went about getting myself ready.

Just what did you take to the party when you were dealing with some ancient, psychotic evil who unleashed holy hell just for the fun of it?




Blurb:

Kit Colbana: assassin, thief, investigator extraordinaire. Now broken. She
always expected her past to catch up with her but never like this. Haunted by nightmares and stripped of her identity, she's retreated to Wolf Haven, the no-man's land where she found refuge years before. But while she might want to hide away from the rest of the world, the rest of the world isn't taking the hint.

Dragged kicking and screaming back into life, Kit is thrust head-first into an investigation surrounding the theft of an ancient relic…one that she wants nothing to do with. Her instincts tell her it's a bad idea to just leave the relic lying about, but finding it might be just as bad.

Forced to face her nightmares, she uncovers hidden strength and comes face to face with one of the world's original monsters.

If she survives the job, she won't be the same…and neither will those closest to her.

Releases January 2014

Please see this link for a brief interview of JC Daniels (and her other personality Shiloh Walker)

Night Blade by JC Daniels

Night Blade is the fantastic sequel to JC Daniels' exciting book, Blade Song.  Both are part of the 'Colbana Files' series.  Some of you may already know that JC Daniels is another side of Shiloh Walker.  I have enjoyed all of the stories I have read by this incarnation of one of my favorite authors but I really was enthralled by Night Blade although I cringed at some of the developments.  Personally, I needed several tissues while reading and I have re-read some of the sections multiple times.  My Amazon Review is at this link.  Don't forget to read the first in the series, Blade Song to get a true appreciation for what happens in this fast-moving story!    (FYI, UF=urban fantasy--I consider them the more gritty paranormal books, HEA=happy ever after--USUALLY an absolute requirement for me to enjoy a book but there are exceptions to every rule, lol)

NB:  There was some snafu at getting the right novel uploaded to the various outlets.  This was not the author's fault!  Please ignore the nimnerds who rated the book based on this problem.  As far as I know, it has been corrected.


I am delighted to have JC (aka Shiloh) visiting and answering a few questions!

1.  What is a decision about a storyline that you have regretted making and why?

Ah, honestly?  None, that I can think of.  I can think of ways to go back and improve a story, tighten it up and make it better, but I tell the story the way I see it playing out in my head…I can't regret telling the story as I see it coming together for me.  If I tried to change the story, I'd regret that.

2.  Which author(s) do you think most influenced you as you started writing.

I can't think of any who influenced me when I started…I've been writing since I was a kid and I guess the closest 'influence' I could claim as far as starting out goes would be when I decided I'd rewrite a comic book because I didn't like how it ended…that was in grade school.  I'm not positive but I think the comic was a Fantastic Four comic.

3.  What are the differences between your JC Daniels and your Shiloh Walker creations

Depends on what you're reading… at some point J.C. might have some more erotica coming out, but I don't know yet…she's an avenue/outlet for me because I write fast and that outlet is helpful under those circumstances.  As far as the UF stories go, they aren't romance.  You won't find a HEA and the story and life the main character, Kit, is pretty brutal.  She's has a hard life and it will take a while before things get easier for her.

4.  What do you do for relaxation?

Sleep...

5.  What place do you dream of visiting and why.

I'd like to take my family to Ireland.  My husband and I have been but I want to take the kids.  And I'd love to see Scotland.  I don't know why…it just calls to me.

Thanks so much for visiting JC/Shiloh!

Please continue reading below for a wonderful excerpt from the fantastic Night Blade....

Kit Colbana is always biting off more than she can chew. She has a knack for finding trouble. This time, though, trouble finds her. Someone from her past drops a case into her lap that she just can’t refuse…literally.
People on the Council are dying left and right and she’s been requested to investigate the deaths. The number one suspect? Her lover, Damon. If she doesn’t clear his name, he gets a death sentence. Even if she succeeds? They still might try to execute him. Oh, and she’s not allowed to tell him about the case, either.

The stakes are high this time around, higher than they’ve ever been. Kit may be forced to pay the ultimate price to save her lover’s life…a price that could destroy her and everything she loves.

Excerpt (used with permission from Shiloh ©ShilohWalker)

      “Dunno where you are or when you’ll get this message, but I’m looking for you and I need to talk to you.  I have a job for you and you kind of have to take it.”
     I made a face.  Justin was a Banner cop now.   They’d seduced him with the promises of You get to kill things and we’ll give you lots of weapons.  He liked weapons almost as much as I did.  And he liked killing things…well, when they needed killing.  Justin was like a loaded gun, a good weapon and he was most efficient when he had a target.
     “Call me, set up a time, Kitty-kitty. Don’t make me track you down, okay?  You really do have to take this job…trust me.”
      I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.
     Trust him.  That was a problem.  I did trust Justin.  There weren’t a lot of people I was willing to say that about but he was definitely one of them.
     The message ended and I sat there, staring at nothing.
      I trusted him, but I sure as hell didn’t want to take any job that he might have to offer.
      Jobs and Justin meant one thing.  A connection to the Banner unit.  The Banner units were exterminators.  Non-human exterminators.   Banner cops, slang for the Bureau of American Non-Human Affairs–were basically men and women like Justin, highly skilled, very deadly human who went out and eliminated the NHs who had been deemed too deadly to live.  Generally, they didn’t get to play much because us non-humans patrolled our own.  That was the job the packs, the clans, the order of witches and the Assembly in general.  But sometimes there were those who slipped past the ever-watchful eyes of the Assembly.
      Sometimes there were those the Assembly turned a blind eye to and the Banner cops stepped up to the plate.
      If Justin was calling me, it was entirely likely that he wanted my help in tracking somebody down.
      Damn it all to hell.



A little about JC:
J.C. Daniels is the alter ego of author Shiloh Walker and was created basically because Shiloh writes like a hyperactive bunny and an intervention was necessary.  J.C. is the intervention.  The name… J.C. Daniels is a play off of the three people who pretty much run Shiloh’s life.
J.C./Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more…ah…serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing just about every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.  She writes urban fantasy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance, among other things.

Learn more about JC/Shiloh here

Website: http://jcdanielsblog.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorShilohWalker
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shilohwalker

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5921279.J_C_Daniels




                           



and also by JC Daniels...

Blade Song

Blade Song  

by J.C. Daniels (Shiloh Walker) is the start of a new urban fantasy series with another of those kick-butt heroines who is determined to rise above the horrors of her past and stand for those who are weaker and oppressed.  I like characters who are able to use the 'that which does not kill us makes us stronger' mentality and hone themselves into a well-tempered weapon and Kit Colbana fits that description perfectly.  Thanks to another reader's review, I discovered that there is a short story on Tor.com which sets the stage for Kit's world and is actually referred to in this book.  It is titled Stroke of Dumb Luck and available at this link. The action never stops and the strong characters make these both wonderful reads.

My Goodreads review is at this link.

I was provided with a copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Books coming out

If you love historicals, check out Sandy Blair’s upcoming release The King’s Mistress 

Gemma Halliday's Unbreakable Bond  

Urban Fantasy...J.C. Daniels' (aka Shiloh Walker) Blade Song

 



And don't forget the free reads at Pocket After Dark,
Most Dangerous Profession by Karen Hawkins and
Trance by Kelly Meding are available right now at this link.

Sexy Little Surprises

Sexy Little Surprises  

by J.C. Daniels (Shiloh Walker's new pen-name) is a beautifully developed short novella that delves into the problems facing a couple who have grown apart.  The reason I love this author's works so much is the way she can conjure up deeply felt emotions in her tortured characters who yet retain their ability to love intensely.  I am not sure why she is writing under a different name but she definitely has not lost her ability to create an intense tale.  She is also about to release an urban fantasy title which I have also had the great pleasure to read and will review in a few days.  Those who enjoy strong heroines who find an equivalently strong male should put Blade Song on their TBR list.  A link to Shiloh's post about the book is here.

My Amazon review for Sexy Little Surprises is at this link under ELF2060.  A 'yes, this was helpful vote' is always appreciated if appropriate.