AUTHOR INTERVIEW, GIVEAWAY, AND BOOK EXCERPT: J.C. Daniels (aka Shiloh Walker) discusses her new book, Broken Blade

We’re so happy to welcome you, J.C. (or should I call you Shiloh)? Yes, author J.C. Daniels is Shiloh Walker, one of our favorite writers. We’re so happy that you’re able to join us during our January Book Blitz and tell us more about the Colbana Files and your new book, Broken Blade!
J.C. Daniels thank you so much for joining us on the release day for Broken Blade! Our questions are rather wide-ranging, from your life, writing habits and inspiration, and a little more about the Colbana Files series. So thanks for stopping by and let’s chat!

Can you please share with us a little about yourselfI’m a mom, a wife, a reader, a writer. That’s in a nutshell. The longer version? I married my high school sweetheart. We have three kids. I used to be a nurse, and sometimes, I still am, when they make me. (Enough to keep my license active.) I read a lot of books, I write a lot. I take more pictures than any person really should and I’m addicted to many things geek.
Have you always wanted to be an author?According to my mom, I was practically born telling stories. I can remember writing stories in elementary school, although there were just a few of them. I got seriously addicted to story-telling in middle school and haven’t stopped since.
Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?I love Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb. Some of the earliest fantasy I can remember reading was Mercedes Lackey. I adore S.L Viehl in all her many forms. Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh and Stacia Kane are like crack. If I had to pick one particular inspiration, I’d have to say Nora Roberts, though. She turned me onto romance in the biggest way and that’s what I eventually started writing.
What are some of your writing rituals? I don’t have one. If I need to write, I need to write. The one thing I do need are my writing gloves, but that’s more to protect my wrists (carpal tunnel) than anything else.
Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?I’ve got two out this month…one is an erotic romance written as Shiloh Walker, Beautiful Scars*, and then Broken Blade, my UF release written as J.C. Daniels. That’s the next story in the Colbana Files series.*Editor’s Note: Shiloh will be joining us on Wednesday to discuss Beautiful Scars
How did you come with the idea for this story?I don’t really come up with ideas…I sit down and start with a few lines and then I let the characters take it from there. After that, the plot sort of unfolds for me.
Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress? I’m working on Kit #4…the title keeps changing. I’m playing with a short story with Kit and Justin, a prequel of sorts. And I’m putting together my next romantic suspense proposal that I’m plan to pitch shortly. Cross fingers.
What would you be if you were not an author? Well, I still have my nursing license, so I’d probably be doing that. More than likely, I’d have gone back to school. I was in the process of doing that when I sold my first book.BROKEN BLADE GIVEAWAY
One winner from the Broken Blade 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…”
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.
Signed copies of Blade Song and Night Blade

a Rafflecopter giveawayEXCERPT FROM BROKEN BLADE by J.C. DANIELS
Damon.My heart raced. It had been three weeks since I’d seen him. It seemed like longer. But it wasn’t long enough. I couldn’t—The door opened. My hand convulsed on the water and the plastic crumpled. Lowering my gaze, I stared at the water and sighed. Dumping it in the recycler, I dried my hands off. I was surprised to see they weren’t shaking. That was nice, I thought. At least I could face him without showing how much of a mess I was.He’d know, of course.Damon always knew.My heart bumped against my ribs as I turned around and saw him standing in the door. His hair had grown out longer than I’d ever seen it, maybe even close to an inch all over. Eyes the color of thunderheads stared at me as I stood there. A muscle pulsed in his jaw.The silence was weighted, a heavy burden settling on my shoulders as I fought the urge to back away. Run. Hide.Nearly a month had passed since he’d barreled his way through the wards at TJ’s. An eternity seemed to stretch out between us, words hung unspoken, the pain in my heart, in my soul, so vivid and all consuming, it all but doubled me over.Doyle was the one to shatter it. “Kit needs some information on somebody in the Clan.”Damon shot me a look and then focused on Doyle. “What for?”“Work.”Damon looked back at me, taking in the gun, the K-bar strapped to my thigh and although he didn’t say anything, I suspected he was fully aware of the fact that I was pretty much loaded for bear. His gaze dropped to my belt—at least that was what I figured he was looking at, although some part of me, the part that wasn’t instinctively cowering in fear, felt a warm, shivery little tingle spark, then spread. I rested my hand on my belt and stroked the silver wire of the garrote, needing something to ground myself.“You looking to kill one of my cats, kitten?”
……………………….
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…”

Excerpts used with permission from JC Daniels ©

Broken BladeColbana Files #3By JC DanielsRelease day: January 6, 2014Order 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 additional excerpt of Broken Blade on J.C. Daniel’s website.
Add Broken Blade to your Goodreads shelf

About JC Daniels
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.

You can learn more and connect with JC on her website, like her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, and Amazon.com

EXTRAS
In search of Clouded Leopards

Thai researches search for Clouded Leopards
[embedded content]Clouded Leopards in Borneo
[embedded content]Clouded Leopards reintroduced to the wild
[embedded content]Watch clips of Clouded Leopards from YouTube
Add THE COLBANA FILES by J.C. Daniels to your bookshelf today! Books one and two are now on SALE!!!

Blade Song (Colbana Files Book One)
$1.99 (save $3.00, regularly priced $4.99)
Kit Colbana–half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades–has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters–especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.Or maybe it’s all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she’s gotten in over her head. Or maybe it’s because if she fails–she’s dead.If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she’ll even live long to collect her fee…

Night Blade (Colbana Files Book Two)
$1.99 (save $3.00, regularly priced $4.99)
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.

Broken Blade (Colbana Files Book Three)
$4.99
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.