Shelley Munro Blog

I’m blogging at The Danger Zone today and reviewing a book called The Action Heroine’s Handbook. I’m also at Dynamic Trio where I’m talking about reality shows.

Author Jennifer Ashley has a wonderful post where she’s looking back on her five plus years in the publishing industry.

Paperback Writer did a post about ten things to stir your imagination.

Have you discovered the Query Shark yet? Agent Janet Reid from Fine Print Literary Management dissects query letters.

And finally, what nationality are you in bed? Here’s a quiz - the passport lady cracked me up.

My husband went out with a friend fishing this weekend. Fine by me. I’m not a fishing fan.

“I’m taking your car,” he said.

“Oh,” I replied. There went my plans to go out for a coffee. Without the car I was stranded at home.

Fast forward a day and I decided to make a pot of coffee at home. I keep a small supply of ground beans in a airtight container. The plastic measuring spoon lives inside that container. Three spoons make a pot of coffee just the way I like it. I searched high and low for my coffee container. I looked in odd places. Yes, it’s true. When I’m concentrating on characters I’ve been known to put things away in strange places. I checked the pantry four times - that’s where the coffee lives. I checked the fridge twice. I checked sundry kitchen cupboards. In the end, desperate for coffee I opened a new packet of beans and ground some coffee. My measuring didn’t work out since I didn’t have my spoon. I ended up drinking weak coffee.

When hubby rang, I said, “Do you have my coffee?” I was feeling a little feisty by this stage so I figured I’d spread it around.

“Yes,” hubby said, shocking me speechless for an instant. He’s never taken my coffee before.

“Why? You’ve taken my car. You’ve taken my coffee.”

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” he said.

Fast forward some more. I made a pot of tea. I decided to eat some of the dark almond chocolate we’d purchased while doing our grocery shopping. It occured to me that there were three Cs. Car. Coffee. Chocolate.

I started to laugh. Huh! I thought. I have control of the chocolate, and instead of the normal two squares I limit myself to, I ate more. I’ve had WAY more than my share of that chocolate. It’s hubby’s favorite. That will teach him.

Jenyfer Matthews awarded me with a Blogging With Purpose award this week. Doesn’t it look pretty?

I’m meant to award it to other bloggers. At this stage I’m going to award it to a new blog, and I’d better mention I do a weekly post on this blog. I’m not awarding it to myself, but to the other bloggers. Their posts all relate to adventure in some way. The topics vary but are all equally fascinating. I award this to the Danger Zone.

My special guest today is Ellora’s Cave author, Wylie Kinson. Wylie has a new release out today called Law of Averages. Her book has a gorgeous cover, as you can see, and features an English Rock Star. Here’s the blurb:

Law of Averages is set in Bermuda, and today Wylie is talking about setting stories in exotic locations.

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Today’s Thursday Thirteen is brought to you by the color blue. (because it’s my favorite)

1. Blue is my favorite color. I like it because it’s calming. There’s nothing better than looking at the sky on a day when there are no clouds. The clear color just makes me smile. I also have blue eyes.

2. Pantone has selected the color Blue Iris (PANTONE 18-3943) as the 2008 Color of the Year telling us: “Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple, Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.”

3. In Iran, blue is the color of mourning while in the West the something blue bridal tradition represents love.

4. Blue conveys importance and confidence without being somber or sinister, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world and the blue uniforms of police officers. Long considered a corporate color, blue, especially darker blue, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism. From the About.com site.

5. Blue is a favorite color of both men and women of all ages. However, men have a much stronger preference for blue than women. It may be the calming effect of the color blue that makes it a popular color for both men and women or it could be the association of some shades of blue with authority figures, intelligence, and stability. About.com

6. You can feel blue, which isn’t a good thing. My Oxford dictionary says blue in this context means nervous, depressed, melancholy, dismal.

7. In Australia you can have a “blue” which means you argue or row with someone.

8. Once in a blue moon - a saying that means scarce or hardly ever or a rare event.

9. Blue moon can also mean an extra full moon in a year. Generally there are twelve full moons per year, one per month. Every two or three years there is an extra full moon due to the eleven extra days in each year.

10. There’s a song Blue Moon. Here’s the 1961 version by The Marcels.

11. Blue gemstones promote peace and are used to calm ragged emotions. They are used to provide relief to people who have difficulty sleeping or who have nightmares. They offer inspiration and enhance the quality of communication. Check out the meaning of other colored gemstones here.

12. What color are you? A quiz - surprisingly I was yellow

13. Something can happen “out of the blue” meaning the something happened without warning. You can be “between the devil and the deep blue sea” which means you’re in an impossible situation.

Have I missed any common blue sayings or things? Oh, I just thought of something blue - The Blues Brothers. Man, I love that movie.

Last week Mr. Munro and I watched a New Zealand movie called The Tattooist. We’ve had the DVD for a couple of months but hadn’t found time to watch it. It was a great movie with a paranormal element and was a little spooky in places. The movie stars Jason Behr and Mia Blake, and I loved seeing familiar New Zealand faces in cameo roles. I also liked that the main character was a bit of a thief at the start, although he soon regrets this. Part of the movie is shot in Auckland, New Zealand.

Here’s the blurb of the movie from the DVD cover:

American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer wanders the world, exploring and exploiting ethnic themes in his tattoo designs. At a tattoo expo in Singapore, he gets his first glimpse of the exotic world of traditional Samoan tattoo, and, in a thoughtless act, unwittingly unleashes a powerful angry spirit. In his devastating journey into Pacific mysticism, Jake must find a way to save his new love, Sina and recover his own soul.

I see that The Tattooist is currently available for pre-order at Amazon and releases in June. Both Mr. Munro and I enjoyed it very much.

I’m looking forward to a few upcoming movies, including the Indiana Jones one plus Sex and the City.

Writing progress has been a little slow this week. I’m babying my arm still, although it has improved a lot. I’m getting quite good at using the mouse with my left hand. I’ve applied for an appointment at Nationals–successfully–so now I need to kick some writing butt. Wish me luck!

Edited to add: Today I’m blogging over at the Cerridwen Press blog about murder and Wanderlust. Also don’t forget to check out the Danger Zone. Today Lise is talking about Guatemala and volcanoes. Comment on Denise’s post from yesterday and go into a draw to win a download of one of her books, and my post was about my adventures searching for gorillas in Rwanda.

I enjoy some of the Maori myths and legends. This one, telling of Maui and the birth of New Zealand, is one of my favorites. As with all legends, there are a few variations.

Maui was a demi-god who possessed magical powers. Not all his family knew of his magical powers, and he used this to his advantage.

One day, he hid in the bottom of his brothers’ boat in order to go out fishing with them. Once out at sea, Maui was discovered by his brothers, however they weren’t able to take him back to shore because Maui made use of his magic powers and made the shoreline seem farther away than it was in reality.

The brothers continued rowing, and once they were far out into the ocean Maui dropped his magic fishhook over the side of the waka (canoe). After a while he felt a strong tug on the line. This seemed to be too strong a tug to be any ordinary fish, and Maui called to his brothers for assistance.

After much straining and physical effort, up surfaced Te Ika a Maui (the fish of Maui), known today as the North Island of New Zealand. Maui told his brothers that the Gods might be angry about this, and he asked them to wait while he went to placate the Gods.

However, once Maui had gone his brothers began to argue about the ownership of this new land. They took out their weapons and started pounding away at the catch. The blows on the land created the many mountains and valleys of the North Island today.

The South Island is known as Te Waka a Maui (the waka of Maui). Stewart Island, which lies at the very bottom of New Zealand, is known as Te Punga a Maui (Maui’s anchor), as it was the anchor holding Maui’s waka as he pulled in the giant fish.

So, there you have it - the story of the origin of New Zealand.

Do you have a favorite myth or legend?

Today it’s my turn to blog at The Danger Zone. Check out my post about my adventures in Rwanda while viewing the mountain gorillas.

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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