Shelley Munro Blog

Today is the grand opening of The Danger Zone - a group of authors who all have adventure in common. It’s an honor to be part of this group, and I hope you’ll check out what we have on offer. Adventure. Peril. Intrigue. Just one click away…

I’ve updated my website with a new page/excerpt for Cat and Mouse, the fifth Middlemarch Mates book. Enjoy!

My arm is giving me real problems this week, which is why I’m a little quiet. Using the computer seems to aggravate the condition. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to catch up on housework instead.

Happy Mothers day to all mothers out there. I hope your families are spoiling you because you deserve it!

This coming week I’m a guest blogger over at the CataNetwork Come and visit me on 15 May. The wonderful Wylie Kinson has a new release this week, and she’s visiting here on 16 May. BTW - check out her lovely cover. Very nice!

Sensual - part of the Catanetwork has a very nice new look plus a contest for authors. Check out the details below.

Check out Sensual!

I’m helping to spread the word about the newly redesigned website Sensual. If you like your romance novels on the steamy side, you’ll love this site. It’s full of reviews, interviews, excerpts, information on the newest print and ebooks and lots more. You can even win books and other goodies. So check it out. http://sensual.ecataromance.com
Authors, you can spread the word too! If you’d like a chance to win one of 20 Cover Ads and get a shot at a fabulous grand prize (a 3 Pack of their huge billboard ads - a $100 value!) just repost this blurb on your blog or website. Then stop by Sensual and leave a link to your post. All authors are eligible to enter and win so why in the world wouldn’t you? See their site for more information and official rules: sensual.ecataromance.com/?p=688

I’ll see you at Sensual!

I have a new interview up at Sensual. You can read it here.

And in writing news I’m delighted to announce I’ve sold a book to Samhain Publishing. Tea For Two is a hot contemporary set in London and is the story of a Hayley, a woman who reads tea leaves and finds love along the way. I’m really excited about joining the Samhain family. Actually, color me very excited!!

I’ve been reading a lot of m/m lately. I’m not sure why, but I’ve felt in the mood to read this genre. My favorite out of all my recent reads would have to be Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series. Adrien owns a bookstore specializing in mysteries and has a habit of stumbling over dead bodies. His lover is a cop called Jake who is firmly in the closet and has no intention of coming out - ever. The books are not erotic and there aren’t many love scenes. They concentrate mainly on the solving the mystery and the relationship between the two. I’ve fallen in love with Adrien. Actually, I like Jake too. This is a seriously good series, and quite frankly, Josh needs to write faster because I’ve just about read all his books now. I highly recommend Josh’s books.

My special guest today is debut Ellora’s Cave author Marilu Mann. According to her bio Marilu Mann brings the steaminess of the Louisiana bayous to her books and she doesn’t stop there. Marilu’s willing to travel to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin to heat up those northern nights and melt a little snow. She’ll also circle the world to Wales, Ireland, Scotland and back just to bring you books that make you sweat.

Today Marilu tells us a chilling tale of le feu follet, and I can tell you the hairs at the back of my neck rose, so beware!

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The secret of writing a great romance is to take a classic plot and twist it to make the story unique. Here is a list of the classic plot types used in romances:

1. Secret Baby - a pregnancy results from a romance and the father doesn’t know about it.

2. Cinderella - a rags to riches story.

3. Beauty and the Beast - one of the main characters is physically marred in some way.

4. Good Girl/Bad Boy - opposites attract. This can also be reversed with a bad girl/good boy.

5. Stranded - a couple is stranded together and the enforced intimacy leads to more.

6. Marriage of convenience - an arranged or forced marriage leads to love.

7. Family feud - think Romeo and Juliet.

8. Mistaken Identity - one of a couple isn’t who he or she appears to be on the surface.

9. Lady and the Cowboy - a class difference sets a couple apart.

10. Secret - a secret stands between romance.

11. Twins - lots of possibilities here.

12. Kidnapping - an abduction.

13. Business competitors - two people fighting for the same prize and only one can win.

14. Friends to Lovers - a friendship leads to more.

15. Masquerade - pretending to be someone else.

16. Amnesia - where one of the characters has lost their memory.

Which type of plot is your favorite? The one you most dislike? Have I missed any from my list?

I visited the Purple Hearts blog a few days ago, and Nancy Haddock was their special guest. Nancy’s post was about the road she’s traveled to become published. BTW - Nancy’s new release La Vida Vampire looks like a fun read.

The last part of her post made me think about writing the book of your heart and following the market. There’s no doubt about it - the road to publication and the subsequent hard work to stay published isn’t an easy one. We, as writers, need to write the very best book we can, yet it must be marketable. Sometimes the market is difficult to read. The books that editors are buying now won’t hit the shops for a while, and by the time they do, often the market is saturated with that particular genre of romance. Historicals are becoming more popular now, and I’ve heard murmuring that sci-fi is the new paranormal. Other people are saying erotic romance has done its dash.

I have an idea. I know it’s probably not a marketable story because it’s sci-fi, it’s light rather than the currently popular darker paranormals, and I have a yearning to write this story in first person. Three strikes, and I’m out. But the thing is - this story is calling me. I’ve been thinking about this story for three years, and after all that time, I still love the idea.

So my question to you is: do you write the book of your heart, even though you know it might not be your breakout book, or do you play it safe and write the story you know you have a good chance of selling?

I’ve been hiding in my writing cave during the last couple of days, trying to finish the polishing on my current Middlemarch story. If I work late tonight I think I’ll get it off to my editor, which is great news because I can get back to writing, the part I love most.

Cat and Mouse, the fifth book in the Middlemarch series has a release date of 1 October. As soon as I get this manuscript off, I intend to update my website with a blurb and excerpt.

Have you checked out Brenda Novak’s Online auction to aid Diabetes Research? Check it out here. There are loads of great things on offer. I have to admit I’ve been a little…um…carefree with my bidding. It’s so exciting to see all the agent and editor items to bid on. For a moment there I lost all control and had to remind myself it was real money I was bidding with! Can anyone tell I’m new to this bidding business?

Lots of my online friends have books out this month, especially at Ellora’s Cave. Check out that coming soon page. I think I should also be on there this week. For me the appearance on the coming soon page is when the books start to feel real.

And finally, you might have noticed Emily Veinglory’s cover for The Sculptor’s Muse on my sidebar. Emily is running an experiment to see if online promo helps with sales. She’s doing promo for this book and has another book that came out around the same time for a control. Click on the cover and check out her blog for the details of her experiment. The Sculptor’s Muse is available from Loose Id.

Appearing on the cyber circuit this week is author Lyn Cash with her recent release Mistress Mine. Lyn is the multi-published author of over fifty short stories and confessions, a couple of non-fiction books, and over a dozen novellas and novels. Her mainstream fiction is written under Bobbie Cole, her erotic fiction under the pen names of Lyn Cash and Cash Cole.

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So many searches have hit my blog after I posted photos of our potager garden, I decided to ask my husband to write a how-to with photos to show how he prepares the potager garden for planting. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any questions please post them in the comments section, and I’ll round up my husband to answer them for you.

Planting the Potager

A potager garden can be of any size and dimension. A patio container to a formal garden, depending on the space available.

I have found the raised bed method most successful, especially for the size of our section.

When building the raised bed any type of timber can be used, from old railway sleepers to half round posts, what ever your budget stretches to. You can even use bricks and mortar. There are kit set options you can buy ready to assemble. A good example is www.patchfromscratch.co.nz

Once you have decided what dimensions you require and have built the frame to contain your raised bed, the layering begins. Depending on the size of your garden and budget, this will likely determine the contents of your bed. I have found that a 3 layering system works for me. If your bed is going directly on to grass either spray the area to kill off grass, weeds etc or lay some weed matting or better still layer newspapers.

Recipe:

• Add pea straw. This is good for retaining moisture. Personally, I use shredded paper. It has the same moisture retention, is biodegradable and doesn’t cost a cent.

• Take some good manure e.g.: sheep pellets, chicken manure, or good general purpose fertilizer. Spread out evenly.

• Place a layer of organic garden mix over the manure. www.livingearth.co.nz Depending on the size of your bed this could be bought in bags or more economically in bulk. Soil is okay, but you could have the added problems of unwanted weeds germinating instead of your vegetable seedlings.

• Keep repeating the process until you have reached your desired height or depth of your potager bed.

The garden will subside and requires rebuilding at each planting. It may need an additional one or two layers. Be sure to turn the original bed before you proceed with layering.

Although rotation of crops is advised, I have found that this is not necessary with this type of potager garden. Self seeded potatoes keep popping up with no ill effects.

Potatoes dug from this type of garden only require a slight brush before cooking.

Happy gardening.

I have a new interview up at The Romance Studio this month featuring my latest release Wanderlust.

What’s next for me? My next release is called Lovers at Last, and it’s a friends to lovers story, which is one of my favorite plots. Read an excerpt here. Lovers at Last is out on 4 June from Ellora’s Cave.

June 10 is also the release date for Midnight Treat anthology, featuring my story Curse of Brandon Lupinus. It’s already available for pre-order from Amazon and other online bookstores, including Fishpond (for NZ and Australian readers).

I’ll leave you with a video of The Feelers and their song Stand Up. The Feelers are a New Zealand band and their song is currently playing on my ipod. The video was shot in Downtown Auckland.