October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Treat the ta-ta's well and go for that mammogram.

Can't do that?

Then make sure and do a self-exam.

Can't do that either or don't like to do it?

Then get your partner or a friend to do it for you. They won't complain. Remember, no matter what else is going on, think of those fabulous breasts of yours and do whatever you can to keep them happy.

Banned Books Week Day #8

The ALA Banned Books Week has a variety new challenges this year that caused my eyebrows to raise.

"The New Joy of Sex " by Alex Comfort

"Challenged at the Nampa, Idaho Public Library (2005) along with seven other books because “they are very pornographic in nature and they have very explicit and detailed illustrations and photographs which we feel don’t belong in a library.” The library board approved policy changes that restrict children’s access to any holdings that may fall under the state’s harmful to minors statute and barred the library from buying movies rated NC-17 or X." Books Challenged & Banned 2008-2009, Robert P. Doyle

and

"The Joy of Gay Sex" by Charles Silverstein and Felice Picano

"Challenged at the Nampa, Idaho Public Library (2005) along with seven other books because “they are very pornographic in nature and they have very explicit and detailed illustrations and photographs which we feel don’t belong in a library.” The library board approved policy changes that restrict children’s access to any holdings that may fall under the state’s harmful to minors statute and barred the library from buying movies rated NC-17 or X. The book was relocated to the director’s office (2008) and it was eventually restored to the collection (2008). Challenged in the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena, Mont. (2008) due to objections over its content. The book has been in the library’s collection since 1993. The library director accepted the recommendation of the library’s collection review committee that the book be retained in the collection. Restricted minors’ access in the Topeka and Shawnee County, Kans. Public Library (2009) because a group contended that the material is “harmful to minors under state law.” Books Challenged & Banned 2008-2009, Robert P. Doyle

As an erotic romance author, I thought these were appropriate books to end this week with.

Today, I'm at the Collingswood Book Festival, stop by the Romance Unlimited booth and we can chat about my books, books in general, or Banned Books Week.

Banned Books Week Day #7

The ALA Banned Books Week has a variety new challenges this year that caused my eyebrows to raise.

"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt

"Banned for just four days from the Beulah, N.Dak. High School library (2008). Two school employees followed school policy to request removing the book after their son brought it home from an accelerated-reading program, in which students pick from a couple of hundred titles. The parents said the 1994 runaway nonfiction best seller was too pornographic and at odds with student behavior promoted in the school handbook. The board reversed its decision at the encouragement of the board president, who said the board moved too fast and unleashed a possible court case it would never win. He said there might be more palatable alternatives, like creating a list of restricted books that parents have to approve before their children can check them out. A decision to review school policies and investigate less-restrictive means to control library books was approved by the school board." Books Challenged & Banned 2008-2009, Robert P. Doyle

Interesting.

Banned Books Week Day #6

Banned Books Week has noted a variety new challenges this year that caused my eyebrows to raise.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire

"Retained in the tenth-grade honors program of the Canandaigua Academy in Ontario County, N.Y. (2008) despite concerns about the sexual content on a few pages of the book. The district will offer alternative reading for anyone who objects to the book." Books Challenged & Banned 2008-2009, Robert P. Doyle

Interesting.

Banned Books Week Day #5

Have you ever heard of "The Canon"?

I was taught that "The Canon" was a list of books that had long ago been deemed must reads. From the onset of its inception there has been criticism of what was and wasn't on the list, and there still is discontent. Since my days in the classroom have finished, I read for pleasure, and yet "The Canon" haunts me. I wonder if I've missed anything important and in my search for the list, I came across a website that notes the Western Canon by Harold Bloom The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages"].

Now, because it's Banned Books Week, I looked at the list not to see what I should read, but to see if anyone had challeneged any of these books. No surprise to find that they had. Here is a very small sampling of what I found:

Beowolf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye [challenged 1998]
The Cantebury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer [challenged 1995]
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain [challenged 2008]
The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger [2008]

Interesting.

Banned Books Week Day #4

I'm not entirely sure what makes a book "a classic", but I know that I enjoy reading many books that have been given this title. They often put me in a different place or time, and that is what a good read should do.

When I first heard about Banned Books Week, I looked at the list, and was shocked to see "To Kill a Mockingbird " was challeneged that year for profanity and racial slurs. Well, you shouldn't be surprised that I picked up a fresh copy of that book, and read it again. This is where I started to pick a book from the yearly challenged list to read during this week.

Here are the top ten Classics* - where 1-9 have been challenged/banned:

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The entire list of Classics* can be found here on the ALA and the details for some of their challenges can be found here.

Interesting.

*=Radcliffe Publishing Course, now at Columbia, compiled a list of the top 100 novels from the 20th century.

Banned Books Week Day #3

Banned Books Week is the perfect time to learn and embrace the First Amendment.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Online University has a load of information to help you know and understand The First Amendment - they use layperson terms.*

Picture of the Bill of Rights made available by the National Archives and Records Administration through Wikipedia.

*This paragraph was amended on August 15 2012 in response to Jennifer Jenkins very kindly pointing out a broken link and suggesting another for guidance - thank you!

Banned Books Week Day #2

I love pie charts. They make statistics more interesting than raw numbers do - at least for me they do.

What does that have to do with Banned Books Week?

Easy, the ALA has published a few pie charts that depict important information about book challenges in easy to grasp details. Reason, Institution, and Initiator are laid out in bright beautiful colors.

Number #1 reason books are challenged is for being "sexually explicit", followed by "language" and "unsuited for age". Putting those three together, it makes sense that "parents" are the largest group who initiate challenges. Again, it won't surprise anyone that, putting the reason for challenges given and who is doing it the most, that the "school library" and "public library" hold the dubious honor of being the institutions with the most challenges.

Interesting.

It's that time of year...

September 26 - October 3 is Banned Books Week.

Visit the American Library Association to read about the Who, What, and Why of Banned/Challenged Books. After that, check your personal shelves, head to a library, or purchase an ebook/book of one that intrigues you, then realize how lucky you are to be able to make your own choices. A new site to me, the Illinois Library Association, has a great brochure up [free pdf download] of the 2008-2009 challenged/banned books. After going through it and noting the various reasons for their being on the list, I chose to read Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War", removed from a Louisiana High School for cursing.

Did you know Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet On The Western Front" was banned by Hitler and burned, banned for Austrian soldiers, Czech military libraries, in Italy for ani-war propoganda, and during this time in the US, what did they do? Banned it in Massachusettes for obscenity and in Chicago seized by US Customs. All this happened from 1929 to 1933.

Some super-fabulous news!

I won!

Okay, what I did was write down My eReader Thoughts [and no, it wasn't perfect because concentration is not an ability I have right now], and submitted the link to the lovely people who put on the contest: Book Blogger Appareciation Week.

How freakin' cool is this!?!

Thank you BBAW gang and iRex Technologies - my odyssey [sorry, as someone who studied Classical Greek for so long, I couldn't let the opportunity for some fun pass me bye] for an ereader has ended.

Two New Contracts!

Both "Call Me Lucifer" and "My Angel", the Good, Bad, and Kinky duet, have been accepted by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, and the contracts signed!

I'll pass on the details when they're available, until then: prepare yourself for Lucifer, a Guardian Angel, love, and bondage! Oh my!

My eReader Thoughts

I'm getting closer to delving into purchasing a dedicated eReader! As an author/reader who really enjoys the ebook format, it may shock many people to realize I've never owned a eReader. Nope. I firsted started reading ebooks on a laptop, then went to the Pocket PC, and am currently on the iTouch.

The reason I haven't bought a dedicated eReader is because I haven't found a device that will do everything I want, which isn't all that much. What exactly am I looking for?

1. I want it to be capable of carrying copious amounts of ebooks. Who knows what I'll be in the mood for when I get a chance to read.

2. I want it to be wifi so I can shop wherever I want. This is where business and pleasure mix for me. Being someone who receives royalty checks, I prefer to make my purchases through the publisher first. After that, it's either All Romance eBooks] or Barnes & Noble [the latter now has both my ebooks and paperbacks sitting side-by-side.

3. I want to be able to hold it easily in one hand and turn pages without it being a big production.

4. I want to be able to read an ebook in the format of my choice - PDF. Having been reading ebooks for almost ten years, I have a huge library in this format, and like having the opportunity to read them all.

See, I'm not asking for much. So, who have I had my eyes on that will do all this?

IREX Technologies iLiad.

Since I first stumbled upon the iLiad [which, as a Classic Greek major, immediately drew my attention], I've been moving that much closer to taking the last step to owning a device purely for reading ebooks, and now I'm there. It has everything I want and much more.

Thank you, Kevin Hamilton, CEO IREX, for sticking with it and giving us readers [and authors who truly enjoy the ebook format] a great eReader!

Today, I'm talking about...

researching while traveling over on the Erotic Muses Blog! Come on over and give it a read, ask a question or two, I'll be there :-)

Due to a glitch with the hotel, we were able to reopen registration till Sept, 20th! And I know you guys have been thinking about coming to the Authors After Dark Paranormal weekend, and now is your chance to come and hangout with me for this first years event. So many fantastic authors have signed up to come, give away goodies and sign on saturday that you are going to miss out on something amazing if you don't attend.

Registration is 175$ and includes 4 meals, 2 parties(a candy shoppe PJ party and a Masquerade ball), a cocktail hour, a slew of reader focused events, Author lead mini events and tons of free books and goodies! And we are even doing a charity raffle to benefit the ACN and a local no kill shelter, Pets Alive! we have over 25$ gift baskets too!

Your room is 99$ a night, double occupancy, and can be booked through the info on the AAD website on the Registration page.

So who is going to be there? Well...

Jacquelyn Frank, Sunny, Joey W. Hill,Stella and Audra Price, Bianca D'Arc, Rosemary Laurey, Jennifer Armintrout, Madeline Oh, Georgia Evans, Mechele Armstrong, Samantha Sommersby, Cat Johnson, Cathy Clamp, Eliza Gayle, Diana Castilleja, Leigh Ellwood, Tilly Greene, Selena Illyria, Stephanie Julian, Judi Fennell, Kayleigh Jamison, Donna Grant, Robin T. Popp, Linda Mooney, Mima, Teresa Noelle Roberts, and JoLynne Valerie

The authors are fantastic, the goodies are fantastic, the books are beyond a doubt amazing. We got the Authors, and the books, and the amazing events. All we need is YOU!

To register, join us at http://www.authorsafterdark.net/register.html. We are looking forward to having you hangout with us this year and hope to see you there!

Fab Book News!

Highland Heat is now available in print at Amazon and Barnes & Noble - so exciting!

Now, do you want it signed? Talk about Hamish's secret? Want to discover what inspired Graces business?

Well, you can come hunt me down at any of the events listed below, and I'll be happy to fill you in.

September 3 [11:00am]
Books Beyond Boundaries Blog Talk Radio Show
Online Interview

September 12 [10-4:00pm]
Monroe Cheese Festival

October 3 [10-4:00pm]
Collingswood Book Festival, Collingswood NJ

October 9-11
RomantiCon, Richfield [Akron] OH

October 23-25
Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend, Suffern NY

Book Drive Time!

On August 4, heavy rains caused flooding in Louisville, Kentucky and the surrounding areas. The Louisville Free Public Library’s main branch was hit hard and the damages are estimated at $1 million.

I’m putting to a book drive in effort to help.

Here's how you can help:

* Everybody *
Donations of new books, all genres.

Information about monetary donations can be found at WFPL.


* Authors & Publishers *
Donations of both signed and unsigned books. All genres, from children’s books to romance to non-fiction, etc, etc.

Signed books can be used in fundraiser purposes. Unsigned books can be used to help replenish the books that were lost due to the flood.


I [as in Shiloh Walker] have spoken with somebody with the library and at this time, they have no place to store books. However, I’m close and I will keep the books at my house until they are able to take them.

For those wishing to donate books, there are two ways you can send them. I can either receive them my post box address or a friend will receive them at her home.

If you wish to mail them via the USPS, send to:

Shiloh Walker
PO Box 976
Jeffersonville, IN 47131

For those wishing to use Fedex or UPS, send to:

LFPL Book Drive
C/O Jennifer Kennedy
20813 State Rd # 62
Marysville, IN 47141

Feel free to repost this information in it’s entirety.

Shiloh Walker
http://shilohwalker.com/

http://shilohwalker.wordpress.com/

Getting Ready to Party!

October 21-23 in Suffern NY is the First Annual Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend and some Samhain/Linden Bay authors are going to be there! It is an incredible list who will be attending, some I haven't met before, and can't wait to do so.

Did you know with three months to go, we're already knee deep in preparations? Oh yes, maybe even waist deep, but we are so excited about it all, we decided to go into the Samhain Cafe and drop some hings of what's going on.

So, come on over tomorrow, Thursday, August 6th, from 4-9:00pm est, and play. The hostesses with the mostest have given us permission to take over the Cafe and we intend to spread so fun.

Hang on, I keep saying "we" - who are the "we" that will getting ready to party in October?

Bianca D'Arc, Cat Johnson, Leigh Ellwood, Samantha Sommersby and me, Tilly Greene.

See you all there!

A new FREE READ is available!

Dragon Lust
Contemporary Erotica
Cover Artist: Stella Price

O'Reilly's is an average bar. People go there to have a drink after work and play the type of games that satisfy their personal needs, no matter how odd or different they may be. On this particular night, the dragon's lust rules, but who controls the dragon?

Okay, I hear you. How is it possible to have a contemporary with a dragon involved? How does that work and what's this about control?

Well, without giving anything away, here's a subtle hint:


Artist Tiago Hoisel

You can pick up your copy from All Romance eBooks [ARe].

Book Talk!

Recently I heard the news that Gidget had died. Immediately, I thought of Sandra Dee, the blonde who played the young "girl-midget" surfer in the movies, not the dog from the Taco Bell commercials.

The incident had me, as usual, heading for my bookselves for my copy of the book. That's right, the movie came after the book Gidget by Frederick Kohner.

There was a time when I was living far from the beach and feeling homesick for some salt air. Lucky for me I had great friends and one who was as much of a book lover as I was. During one of his trips into a used bookshop, he came across a copy of the 1963 Penguin Book edition for 75p [in today's exchange rate that would be $1.24]. It is in pristine condition but I still read it with care.

The story, as far as I'm concerned, is a must read for young girls - actually anyone. It may be a different era, the 50's, but it still handles the crush [Moondoggie], going after what you want - no matter what other people may say [surfing], and much more [parents and teenagers, being smart is okay, friends, etc] in such a way, it is still relevant. Okay, I may be prejudiced about Gidget, it reminds me of home, but I think it is still a good read.

Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend!

Save the date! October 23-25, 2009 - The Authors After Dark Paranormal Weekend is filling up fast! Sign up by August 1^st to get the lowest membership rate of $160 for the weekend. (After August 1^st, the membership goes to $175.)

The event is being held at the Suffern, NY Holiday Inn, located conveniently about 1 hour from New York City and most of the area’s major airports. Guest include:

Jacquelyn Frank

Sunny

Joey W. Hill

Stella and Audra Price

Bianca D'Arc

Rosemary Laurey

Jennifer Armintrout

Madeline Oh

Georgia Evans

Mechele Armstrong

Samantha Sommersby

Cat Johnson

Cathy Clamp

Eliza Gayle

Diana Castilleja

Leigh Ellwood

Tilly Greene

Selena Illyria

Adra Steia

Stephanie Julian

Judi Fennell

Kayleigh Jamison

Donna Grant

Robin T. Popp

Linda Mooney

Mima

Area attractions include the phenomenal shopping at Woodbury Common and the Forest of Fear, held on the site of the New York State Renaissance Faire at Sterling Forest.

The convention is limited to 200 attendees so your “face time” with your favorite authors is maximized. We’re having loads of panel discussions, parties and a fantabulous dealer’s room. We’ll also be holding a massive charity raffle to benefit the CAN and Pets Alive – a local no kill animal shelter.

Sign up now for the best rates! The conference registration is only $160 until August 1^st ($175 after August 1^st) and the hotel is $99 per night, double occupancy. Lots to do in the area will make this a weekend you will never forget!