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NEWSLETTER UPDATE

Just an FYI, due to computer issues, I lost the list of my newsletter subscribers. If you were on it and would like to continue to receive it, please send me another email… shilohnews@insightbb.com

And onto today’s post…

I had a booksigning this past weekend~actually had a reporter ask me a few questions, which was kind of cool… the article appeared on Sunday. The link to it is here, but you have to register… so I’ll make it easy. The article is below (from the Middletown Journal, the staff writer’s name is Megan Gildow).

Sunday, February 10, 2008

When Laurie Damron wants to escape with a guaranteed happy ending, she turns to romance novels.

Damron, of Delaware, just north of Columbus, said she’s read nearly 1,000 romance books. She’s also attended the annual Reader Appreciation Day of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Romance Writers Association, held for the last four years at the West Chester Barnes & Noble on the Saturday closest to Valentine’s Day.

Damron said she travels to the event to reunite with friends — both authors and readers.

“It’s kind of nice to get to see them,” she said.

It’s also a chance to meet online friends face-to-face, said Barbara Smith of Muncie, Ind.

“I’m friends with a lot of the authors, and it’s a fun event,” she said. “Kind of a get-together of people you know online.”

Reader Appreciation Day brings writers together with the readers who make the books possible, said writer Lori Foster of Ross Twp. Happy endings are one of the main draws of romance novels, she said.

“You like to talk books, and these are the people that like to talk books with you,” she said.

“You get a happy-ever-after,” said Shiloh Walker, a romance author from Louisville, Ky. “Your main characters don’t get killed off and you’re not going to have somebody riding off into the sunset to live their life alone.”

Romance novels sometimes deal with serious issues, said author Michelle Stegman of Dearborn County, Ind. Stegman has written about issues such as adoption.

“I think it helps and empowers women,” she said.

Women typically make up the crowd at the annual event, but some men enjoy — and even write — romance novels, said Linda Keller, community relations manager for the West Chester Twp. bookstore.

Nice write-up, yes? I didn’t even come off as too much of a dork.

Call me crazy but when the reporter first asked if I minded a few questions, I answered with a question of my own… Does it involve pictures being taken? She laughed and said, “No.” So I was happy to answer the questions.

I’ve developed a reputation for abhorring pictures. Yes, a reputation. Some people think it’s fun to try to catch me… a nameless man who shall go unmentioned (wicked, mean, awful person that I shall start having checked for cameras…. *G* or I’ll start wearing a mask) A few others thinks it’s kind of stupid or silly. But it’s a quirk, and we’re all entitled to quirks, right?

I do have reasons behind the quirks, though.

One, I’m terribly private. And having a picture of me posted doesn’t let me keep my privacy as much as I’d wish. I’ve gotten some weird emails, and I do mean weird to the point of scary, so in all honesty, I’d rather there not be pictures of me out there. It’s the same reason I always give vague answers when people ask where I live, or what my real name is and why I chose a pen name. It boils down to privacy.  Even if they don’t get posted, I don’t really like it.  It’s my quirk.

Sort of connected to the privacy deal… well, there are people that I would rather not know I’ve gotten published. Skeletons in the closet, if you will, and I’d rather they not show up on my door because they saw my picture somewhere and oh, wow you’re published now, you must be doing really well… and would you mind doing this for me? Yes, sadly, it’s happened. Signing a publishing contract isn’t the same as winning the lottery jackpot.  Of course, even if it was, I still wouldn’t appreciate some people boiling up out the shadows to ask for favors.  Others get really nosy about my income, asking questions better suited to my accountant than an acquaintance.

Some people think getting one book published means I’m on easy street. I have no problems saying no, but it’s annoying to be asked. A way around that is just to keep my professional career separate from my personal and/or family life.

Another reason… I hate how I look in pictures. Hate and abhor.

A fourth reason, and one I really wish people would respect even above the desire for privacy, I’m migraine prone. Seriously migraine prone. A bad trigger for me is bright light. Bright flashing lights are even worse. Repeated bright flashing lights are almost guaranteed to get a serious headache going and if the lights continue, the headache won’t stop at a headache, I’ll end up with a migraine that could last two or three days. If you’ve ever had a migraine, then you can understand why I want to avoid them at all costs. If you haven’t… first, I pray you never do have one, and second…imagine a headache so bad it hurts to breathe, it hurts to blink, it hurts to see anything, heat hurts, cold hurts, moving hurts, talking hurts, light hurts, eating is impossible, moving isn’t much easier~and drugs don’t always help.

On days when I’m feeling okay and I think I can do a picture or two, it’s possible I might think about being still for one, if somebody asks me ahead of time and if they understand I don’t like my pictures posted online. But on a day when I’m already tense, even if it’s just my normal, every day tension, I’m probably going to say no and just hope people understand.
My name is Shiloh Walker and I have picture phobia…but there are actually reasons behind it. I promise, there’s a reason behind my weirdness.