Black Magic Sanction Is Out – RUN To Your Local Bookstore!

One of my most anticipated books of 2010 happened to release while I was away and I can’t let another day go by without discussing it.

I haven’t read the book yet, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE no spoilers, but I’m pretty sure the spectacular Mrs. Harrison will keep us Hallows fans happy with Black Magic Sanction!

Mrs. Harrison is an absolute master at world-building and creating characters you love and love to hate. I “discovered” her in my all-time favorite way – I randomly selected a good looking audio book at the library and the rest is history.

I do highly recommend the Audio Book versions of the Hallows series, but I’ve also read the books. Yes, I am a book geek. To read and listen to the same book means I’m in love. :)

For those not familiar with Mrs. Harrison and her Hallows-verse(Rachel Morgan Series) I have a treat for you. The publisher is offering free eBooks of the first book in the series, Dead Witch Walking.

Here is the FREE Amazon version.

Here is the FREE Barnes & Nobles version.

Here is the FREE Sony Reader version.

I seriously cannot recommend this series enough. It’s the very best Urban Fantasy I’ve ever read with the question of who Rachel will end up with being one of my favorite romance plots ever!

The Geeks of Doom have released Mrs. Harrison’s first ever book trailer. Click here to head over there and check it out!

Book Drive To Benefit Louisville Library

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 $5 million. Three book-mobiles, electronics equipment and 50,000 books were destroyed.

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

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 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, IN47131

**Please note, I did speak with library personnel before I started this bookdrive. I realize they had no storage/no way to process books, which is why I’m holding them for the time being, and I did discuss that with library personnel as well. Several members of the library do have my contact info, should they have concerns, and none have contacted me.

Feel free to repost this information in its entirety.

Shiloh Walker
http://shilohwalker.com/
http://shilohwalker.wordpress.com

This post was submitted by Shiloh Walker.

For the Love of Audio

Cheeky Girl Loves Audio Books!

I admit I devour books like candy, but never thought I would enjoy having someone else – anyone other than the voices in my head that is – bring the characters to life for me. With an hour or so car commute each way to work, I decided to give audio books a try and I discovered a prefect way to pass the time and get some "quality" time in with my feisty girlfriends and those hot leading men!

I was very lucky that the very first audio book I tried was excellent – The Good, The Bad, and The Undead by Kim Harrison- which introduced me to the amazing Hollows world and I highly recommend the series both in audio and printed versions! I've since learned that audio books can be hit or miss – the success or failure hinging on the person reading and how well they handle the various characters.

You can usually tell within the first few tracks if the voice will connect with you or if you feel it paints the perfect world for you. My experience has been that most of the audio books are very well done. There have been only a few that were so bad I had to stop listening before I got through the first disc. I remember one distinct book that I really struggled to keep listening, since the first few tracks were just annoying! For some reason I hung in there and was rewarded with a light-hearted romp through France and a new series to follow!

Some great perks with Audio Books:

More...

• Car Commuting - Put your time behind the wheel to good use!
• Great for putting on your iPod while you clean the house
• You can download Audio Books just like eBooks - Look for upcoming posts on the various different Audio Book retailers
• Great for travel when you don't want to carry paper books or have light to read by (I hate when they turn off all the lights on the plane and then my seatmate wants to sleep!)
• When you want the excitement of having a book read to you like when you were 5 (only obviously now your book selections have changed) :)
• Your local library already has a selection of Audio Books waiting to be discovered
• Too many more to list!

Cheeky Reads will have a regular Audio Book feature where we'll review and discuss both upcoming and older titles. I hope you'll be enticed to try Audio Books for yourself, and if you already sing the praises of audio, then you'll find some great new books to listen to!

If you have any suggestions for audio books you would like to see reviewed, just leave me a comment below! If you're an author with an audio book - speak up and sing its praises!