Shiloh's in the House!

About Shiloh:
I was born in Kentucky and have been reading avidly since I was six. At twelve, I discovered how much fun it was to write when I took a book that didn't end the way it should have ended and I rewrote it~and I've been writing since then.

About me now... hmm... I've been married since I was 19 to my high school sweetheart and we live in the mid-west. Recently, I made the plunge and turned to writing full time, quitting the day job, so I can devote more time to my family- two adorable children who are growing way too fast and my husband who doesn't see enough of me.

I like to read. There's a shocker! Personal faves include Nora Roberts, Lora Leigh, Mary Wine and Mercedes Lackey, but my all time favorite is SL Viehl. She writes sci fi and romance, but my favorite of hers is the sci fi series Star Doc. If you haven't read them, I think you're missing out.


GINGER: I'm really happy to have Shiloh visit me today. I wish she was actually here, having a cup of coffee and sharing her answers in person while I type them, but since that isn't possible, you can picture it in your mind. I'm thankful that the internet allows us to connect and exchange information that we can share like we've always been the best of friends. So with that said, please welcome Shiloh and enjoy finding out a little more about her, up close and personal.

Shi, you have quite an impressive backlist. I know you've mentioned in other interviews which one is your favorite, but I wonder if you could explain to us, what makes a book your favorite? What did you accomplish in writing that one story that was missing from all the others?

SHILOH: But my favorites change! LOL. Right now, I think my favorite is the book I turned in back in the winter, titled The Missing. What makes it a favorite, it's hard to say. I generally think most of my writing sucks.

When I finish one that doesn't suck in my eyes, then that makes it my favorite. For a while. ;-)

GINGER: I know that you went to Nursing school then worked in a pediatric office. You mention recently that you've stopped working outside the home to devote more time to writing. Do you miss you interactions with other people, and if so, in what way? Remedy?

SHILOH: I quit working outside of my writing back in 2004. Nursing was just getting too hard, emotionally. It's easy to get attached, especially to kids. But that doesn't mean I don't miss it. I miss seeing the kids I've known since they were infants, but I still help out from time to time. Only a couple times a year, but that helps.

It's not a remedy, per se, but unless I want to dive back into nursing full-time, there isn't a remedy. So I'll just content myself with visiting with them during the times I do called in to help.

GINGER: I met you several years ago and thought you were a fun person. I remember walking away and thinking, I'd really love to have her as a friend. What is the longest time you've been friends with a special gal pal, and what about that relationship has made it last.

SHILOH: Oh, geez. That's hard to say. There's a friend I've had since high school, back in the early 90s but we don't talk as much as we used to. Time just slips away, we grew in different directions. I still love her dearly, but we just don't see each other as often as we used to.

Most of my closest friends now are writing friends-sometimes I think writers just connect better with other writers. Our brains work on a different tangent and it takes another writer who understands that tangent. Get that, and a friendship can really click.

Friendships, just like anything else, take special attention-since I'm constantly talking, bouncing ideas, venting to certain writing friends, one in particular, those friendships had thrived better than others.

GINGER: There is so much talk about mainstream publishing among e-published authors. Everyone sees that big advance as the answer to financial prayers and a stepping stone to fame. What are your feelings about the future of e-publishing? Is mainstream publishing the answer to achieving one's goals in writing?

SHILOH: Mainstream isn't going to work for everybody. Just like epublishing won't work for everybody. Is epublishing a stepping stone to fame? For some, it certainly has been. Others are content to stay epubbed. It's just going to depend on the individual. There is no hard and fast answer to that, because every single one of us have different goals, different ideals, different plans for their careers.

GINGER: There was recently a very long thread on DearAuthor.com about a particular person and her association with a small press. I was so surprised to see how many people chimed in. Many remained anon for fear of retaliation. I noticed you were among those identifying yourself and speaking freely. What gave you the courage to speak out without fear? Would you have done that, say... five years ago?

SHILOH: I've always had a big mouth and a tendency to voice my opinions regardless of whether it's asked for or not. ;) Since I've always been like that, I can say, yeah, I probably would have done the same five years ago, although chances are, I would have been less diplomatic. If nothing else, my career has certainly taught me the need for diplomacy.

GINGER: In another interview, you revealed you married your high school sweetheart at a young age. What has kept the romance alive for you?

SHILOH: *G* The same thing that had me marrying him. I adore him. He adores me. We understand each, mostly, and we do what we can to have time just to us. Not always easy with three young kids, but we make it happen.

GINGER: You and I both seem to share a passion for Native Americans. I believe I was one in a previous life. If you could travel back in time and speak with one, who would that be and why?

SHILOH: Hmmmmm....I don't know. There have been many, many...many Native Americans who had a wisdom that people today are just now beginning to see-the need to protect the earth, the need to preserve our heritage-I wouldn't need to have a specific person, just because it would be too hard to narrow it down to one.

GINGER: What types of hurdles have you had to overcome as an author to get where you are today?

SHILOH: My own ability to procrastinate. *G*

GINGER: Have any of your stories been rejected and how did you handle it?

SHILOH: I'm a writer-I think that means I've definitely had something rejected. I do what most writers probably do. Sulked. Steamed. Stewed. Then I started working on something else. I've been lucky in that I only had a handful of rejection letters before I stumbled onto EC, but rejection is just something a writer has to face, has to deal with, and if they want to keep writing, they just have to put it aside and move on.


GINGER: The number of authors submitting manuscripts continues to grow each and every day. In just the past five years, even e-publishing has become much more competitive than it was. What suggestions or guidance can you offer that might help someone get a 'foot in the door'.

SHILOH: I'm probably the worst person on earth to ask that question. I've happened into where I am mostly through blind luck, I think. I hit EC right when it was exploding and because of that, it's opened a lot of doors for me that I don't think I would have had any luck with if I tried a year earlier, or a year after.

Publishing is every bit as much hard work, in my opinion, as it is luck. Getting your story in front of the right person, at the right time-that depends a lot of luck. But if you write the best story you know how, if you believe in it, and if you keep trying, hopefully it will pay off the way it has for me.

GINGER: Thank you, Shi, for spending time with me. I'm putting away the 'virtual' coffee pot and cleaning up the crumbs from our danish. I always enjoy learning more about my favorite authors and I'm hoping my readers do, too.

You can check out more about Shiloh on her website, and if some of my jealous drool marks are still there, please wipe them up for me. *lol*

Shiloh Walker