One-On-One With Shiloh Walker

I had the honor of coming up with a few questions and Shiloh did the wonderful and answered for me. You all know I'm so freaking curious and nosy that I have to know everything... well, I asked. :-)

Easy questions first…

What's your favorite comfort food?

Depends on why I need comforting. ;) If I’m feeling blue, maybe some of my mom’s chili.

If I’m ticked off or just grouchy…dark chocolate is an excellent cure-all. I’m grouchy a lot. As evidenced by my hips.

What's your favorite color?

Hmmmm…blue. Maybe black. No, blue. Or a really vibrant, dark purple.
{A: Blogger doesn't have that color... but what else is new?}

Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla. No question.

Spicy or bland?

The spicier the better. I go through hot sauce like nothing else.

Coke or Pepsi? Diet or regular?

Diet Coke, of course.

Personal Question...

If you had a day (a full 24 hours) all to yourself--no kids, no husband, just you--what would you do?

Hmmmmm....

Okay.

1. Sleep until 10am.
2. Take a long hot shower.
3. Make myself breakfast-what I want, not what's easy to eat in between getting the kids ready and getting out of the house.
4. Have a reading frenzy or a movie frenzy, depending on mood.
5. Grill myself a medium-rare steak and some veggies out back and then sit down and read while I eat and drink a glass of wine.A bubble bath (yes, I'm wasting water here, but it will never happen so hey...)
6. Go to bed at 10pm. Sleep through the night. Without being woken up. Not once. Not for milk, not because somebody had a bad dream, not because I think I heard something and want to make the DH go investigate. No waking up until the following morning-then I wake up and realize it was a all a dream. ;-)

Trickier, thought-provoking questions…

If you could meet one person, dead or alive, and have a conversation with them, who would it be and what would you talk about?

Just ONE? Uh…hmmmm…well, I could say Lynn Viehl—and it was be a huge thank you for all the books she’s written. Won’t even go into her blog, because I’d be here all day. Or maybe I could say Nora Roberts…same reason, her books. But I can tell them that because I stalk…uh…post on blogs where they can be found. So neither of them.

Maybe Laura Ingalls Wilder. She introduced me to my love affair with books, with Little House in the Big Woods. Back in third grade. Hooked ever since.

And I think I’d ask her whatever happened to Nellie Olsen.

{A: Me thinks she cheated a bit *G*}

Tell us about Through the Veil. Did anything in particular inspire this story? Or did it come to you out of the blue?

*G* A bruise. It was inspired by a bruise.

You mentioned that this story is different from anything you've written before, how so?

It’s a lot more complex. A lot. It’s sort of a cross between paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and those genres require world-building. It’s also a romance, which requires focus on the characters. But it’s also a little more epic than anything I’ve ever done, which required a lot more focus and concentration…the story made me work. I even had to do an outline for this sucker. I never do outlines. Well, I never used to. I’m trying to learn some organization skilz.

How old were you when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

That I can recall? Sixth grade. According to my mom? Forever ago.

How old were you when you wrote your first story?

I wrote Murder in the Mall in fourth grade. It sucked. Don’t remember writing much after that until sixth grade…with another lousy story. But it got me hooked.

Do you have one author that you look to as your idol or inspiration?

I’m not so sure the word ‘idol’ would describe my views on any person. Although I have huge amounts of respect and admiration for a couple, namely SL Viehl/Lynn Viehl and Nora Roberts. But idolize?

Do you still get nervous when your books release? Or has it become easier for you as time has gone on?

Yes. No. Does it get easier?

You have books coming out from Samhain, Ellora's Cave, and Berkley on a regular basis which is a fantastic feat, but one we, your fans, are very grateful for. What is your writing schedule like? Structured? Flexible? Do you have a word count limit you set for the day?

I wouldn’t know structured if it bit me on the tail. On a day when I’m behaving and focusing, I can do 7k—that happens when a story is really rolling for me, either I’m just starting, hit a major plot twist, or I’m wrapping it up.

On a typical day, I try to make myself do at least 3-4k. If I could stay away from blogs, groups, and other various methods of procrastination, I could do more. But all work and no play… ;)

What are you working on now?

Literally just finishing up a weird paranormal for Samhain—right now it’s called Vicious Vixen and I’m working on Chains, an erotic romance single author anthology with intertwined stories.

It's always fun to get to know a little more about your favorite authors. So I thank you, Shiloh, for taking the time to be interviewed.

Not a problem ~ Thanks for asking!