Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I have Erika Scott visiting today, and she’s talking about her recent vampire release, Chalice.

Ericka Scott is a multi-published best-selling author of seductive suspense. She’s written stories for as long as she can remember and reads anything under the sun (including the back of cereal boxes in a pinch). She got hooked on romantic suspense in her college days, when reading anything but a textbook was a guilty pleasure. Now, when she’s not chauffeuring children around, wishing she had a maid, or lurking at the library, she’s spinning her own web of fantasy and penning tales of seduction and suspense.

She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.
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I don’t know much about Zombies and have had little to do with them. (Probably a good thing!) I’ve read about them in the Laurel K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series and know they’re popular in teen fiction. Today I decided to learn about Zombies. This is what I discovered.

1. A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. They are among the lower forms of the undead, and often appear in large numbers.

2. According to the tenets of Voodoo, a dead person can be revived by a bokor or Voodoo sorcerer. Zombies remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own.

3. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction after the success of George A. Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.
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My special guest today is New Zealander, Sara Hantz. According to Sara’s bio she didn’t like school because it was boring and she liked to disrupt lessons. Just a little snippet to entice you to visit her website and learn more. She’s always been a reader, and luckily for us she’s turned into a writer. Her first book THE SECOND VIRGINITY OF SUZY GREEN is a wonderful read.

Today Sara is giving away a copy of THE SECOND VIRGINITY OF SUZY GREEN. Details of how to enter the contest are at the end of the post.
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Periodically new ideas with promo potential come along. Twitter is one of the latest things around. So what is Twitter, you ask? Basically it’s a tiny blog that you update throughout the day. When I say tiny I mean a small, since 140 characters is the maximum amount you can write in each post. The idea is to twitter several times a day to let your friends, family and co-workers know what you’re doing.

Here’s a video that explains everything:

I haven’t signed up yet but thought I would once I return home from my holiday. I’ve had a brainwave – a way to use Twitter for promo, so it will be interesting to see if it works. You can find Twitter here.

Do you Twitter?

I’m busy with edits at the moment. As luck would have it, they’ve all arrived at once, which means I’m going to be a little quiet for the next few days.

Tomorrow is the start of my spotlight week at Long and Short Reviews. Here’s the link. I’m giving away a few prizes, so come along and check it out.

On Friday a young female orca washed up on the West Coast. She was loaded on a trailer and taken across Auckland, with a police escort, for release from Takapuna beach on the East Coast. Boat traffic seemed to confuse the orca, and DOC staff are asking the public to ring them in the case of a sighting. Here’s the full story here.

Did you have a fun weekend?

Add some Sizzle to your Summer and enter the contest at The Hussies. There are lots of prizes up for grabs including a download from me. Here’s the link.

Author Island also has some wonderful contests. How would you like to win a book every week for a year? Or would you like to win a Kindle? These are just two of the contests over at Author Island. Here’s the link.

The following ad for Cadbury appeared on our television just over a week ago. The gorilla caught my attention quickly followed by the music. I watched the entire ad, spellbound, even though I had no idea what it was advertising. I think it was the combination of the lifelike gorilla playing the drums and the awesome Phil Collins soundtrack. I even mentioned the ad to hubby. Whenever it plays, I stop to watch. Here’s the ad from youtube.

Today I went to itunes’ New Zealand store to download a couple of songs. I’d decided to download the Phil Collins song as well. I couldn’t remember the name but figured I’d find it with a search. I didn’t have to search. Other New Zealanders had the same thought as me and the song is currently at #2 on the top ten songs downloaded from itunes. Such is the power of advertising.

This made me think, so here’s a note to the writers of the Grey’s Anatomy series. Don’t you think it’s time to feature something regarding erotic romance in your show? I have the perfect books for your characters to read. Good plot, great characters. Well written. You can use them for free in your show. Email me and we’ll talk…

I can’t take the credit for most of this list. It’s taken from the Persil website, which I visited after seeing the ad on our local TV. I love this ad because it shows kids getting dirty. IMO, kids should play in the mud and get dirty. It’s part of growing up, and I certainly created lots of dirty clothes when I was a child, growing up on a farm.

School holidays start here in NZ tomorrow, and I know it’s the summer holidays in America, too. Do check out the website since it gives instructions for all these things. Believe me, a bored kid makes everyone grumpy! Oh, and just as an aside, I’m a Persil fan. Dirt is good!!

1. Lie on your back and find shapes in the clouds.

2. Build a secret hut.

3. Camp out in the backyard.

4. Catch a fish.

5. Play in the rain.

6. Build sandcastles at the beach.

7. Learn to swim.

8. Whoosh down a mud slide.

9. Grow your own garden.

10. Make mud pies.

11. Learn some basic cooking skills.

12. Have a water fight on a hot summer day.

13. Climb a tree.

Do you have any suggestions to add to the list? Do you have memories of doing these things when you were a child?

Rubies are the birthstone for July, and the gemstone featured in my new release, Price of Love.

Rarer than diamonds, emeralds and sapphires, rubies come in various shades of red from orange-red, pink and purple red with the most valuable being a deep red color. The stones are located in parts of Asia such as Thailand and Myanmar and also Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and America. Myanmar is the most well-known source of rubies, and it’s this country where Price of Love is set.

Here are some other facts about rubies:

1. The name comes from ruber, which is Latin for red.

2. The common red color is caused mainly by the element chromium.

3. People have mined rubies for over 5000 years, many cultures believing they have the power to heal and protect.

4. They were thought to cure bleeding, and a stone which turned darker was thought to warn its owner of impending disaster, misfortune, illness and even death.

5. Some people say the ruby’s red glow comes from an internal flame that can’t be extinguished, making the stone a symbol of everlasting love.

6. Some ancient tribes used to use rubies as bullets for their blowguns.

7. Ground rubies placed on the tongue cures indigestion. (I don’t know about you, but who can afford to do this with a ruby?)

8. A synthetic ruby crystal was used to create the first laser.

9. The ruby is the most commonly named precious stone in the Bible.

10. Rubies were popular with royals and used in prediction and as protection against vulnerability.

In Price of Love, the rubies are used as a bride price. When a young shifter male wishes to mate, he must present his prospective mate’s family with rubies. Here’s the blurb:

Tiger Kersen Amat wants to marry leopard Jarita Namar. All he needs to do is find rubies for the bride price and woo the sexy shifter. Unknown to him Jarita is already interested. When they meet in the Burmese jungle sparks fly, along with love and laughter. Mutual pleasure explodes, sweet, erotic and compelling, until thieves intent on stealing rubies intrude. A disaster since without the rubies there’s no bride price and their courtship will be doomed. Obtaining Jarita, a jewel beyond price, as his mate might take more than rubies and seduction…

Price of Love is out from Ellora’s Cave on 2 July, which is today. Grab your copy here.

It’s true I’ve concentrated on writing recently, but I have spared the odd moment or two to wonder about what to wear at the upcoming conference. It’s a perplexing problem, since after the conference, I’m traveling for another five weeks, which means I need to pack conservatively. Another major problem is that I need to leave plenty of space for books, both the ones I collect at the conference and the ones I buy during my travels. Do you see my dilemma?

About two weeks ago, I decided to attack the problem in a scientific manner. I’m going to write out my appointments and add details of what I’m wearing for each day. I think I’ve also decided to wear trousers to the Awards function, and this will mean one less pair of shoes. I’m also going to do the trousers/nice tops thing all the way through. All I need to do is decide the order of wearing. Jeesh! Who knew clothes could cause such a huge problem?

If anyone has any suggestions please speak up! And for those who are going to the conference, what are you taking to wear?

I have some wonderful guests visiting me this month. New Zealander, Sara Hantz is here on 9 July. She writes teen fiction. I must admit I’ve been reading quite a few stories from this genre and have really enjoyed them. Don’t miss her visit!

Marcia James is visiting on 16 July, and she’s talking about promo for both print and ebooks. She has wonderful advice for promo, so come armed with your questions. She also has a list of 150 plus promo ideas for authors. (details available on the day) You definitely don’t want to miss her visit!