I read in the New Zealand Herald today that some of King Henry VIII’s love letters, along with thousands of other Tudor and Elizabethan documents, go online this month for public viewing.
The love letters were written by the king in 1527 to the woman who became his second wife. He was still married to Catherine of Aragon at the time. He writes to Anne: “I beg to know expressly your intention touching the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection.”
Here’s the link. It wasn’t live when I went to look, but they say it will go live very soon.
I’ve been going to post this for ages. It’s an ad shot in Auckland (you’ll see quick glimpses of Sky Tower and the waterfront from Mission Bay) and it’s very cute. It never fails to make me laugh.
There’s a new version of the ad playing at the moment with the daughter asking her mother where she came from. The above version flashes through the mother’s head, then she turns to her daughter and says, “Ask your father.” That makes me laugh, too. I looked for it on Youtube but it’s a bit too new at the moment.
Well, it’s back to the writing cave for me. Things are going well. If you feel inclined, tell me who told you about the birds and bees…
Fringe Benefits is out today!! Readers have been asking me about this book ever since I put it up on my coming soon page. Buy your copy at Ellora’s Cave today. I need every penny or cent you want to spend because that’s the only way I’ll get another trip to the US in the near future.
JERR asked to interview me recently, and my interview appears in the 16 Nov issue of their newsletter. If you write or read erotic romance and don’t know about JERR’s newsletter you’re missing out! Here’s the link to their website. Details of how to join the newsletter are on their site.
After an anxious wait, I received a review for Tea For Two this week. The reviewer said, “This is the perfect story to curl up with on a cold winter’s night, add a glass of wine, some music, and lose yourself in the ups and downs as star crossed lovers discover their soul mates. This is such a fabulous story, and I look forward to reading more stories written by this amazing author. Kudos, Ms. Munro!”
Here’s the link to the full review.
And finally, the writing is going really well. I’ve cranked out a lot of words this week, and all going well, I should have my first draft done at the end of next week. This is the first time I’ve worked to a synopsis for ages, and it’s certainly a good way of keeping on track. I enjoy writing the first draft. I think it’s the creating and allowing my imagination to wander wherever it likes. Sometimes plotting too much freezes my brain, but this time, it’s all good, and I’ve even done a few fancy steps that aren’t in the synopsis.
How has your week gone? If you’re working on NaNo, how are you going?
A menage a trois is defined in the dictionary as a domestic establishment or household that consists of a husband, a wife and a lover. They’re hot in the erotic romance world and very popular with readers. Since Fringe Benefits, my menage a trois story is out on Friday from Ellora’s Cave, I thought I’d run through some of my favorite titles and authors in this arena. In no particular order…
1. Jory Strong – I’d be hard-pressed to choose my favorite from Jory’s titles. They’re not all menage a trois but no matter what Jory writes, the story is hot and a great read.
2. Maya Banks – also writes some good books. Sometimes the bed is even more crowded!
9. Samantha Kane – hot regency historicals. Pick one.
10. Lorelei James – I’ve mentioned her books before. Some of the books in her western series have menage a trois scenes. I’m saving her latest release, Rough, Raw and Ready for the weekend when I’ve completed my word count.
12. Tielle St. Clare – Summer’s Caress Some very hot werewolves.
13. Fringe Benefits by Shelley Munro
Flatmates. Best friends. Casual lovers.
Life’s good—a friends-with-benefits deal works perfectly with her male flatmates, but Marie Wright secretly craves more. A hot threesome. Erotic pleasure. Silken touches from both Shane and Kelvin. One hot summer day the sensual tension explodes between the three. For Marie each caress is a slice of ecstasy. It’s seductive magic, and she’s bewitched. Momentary pleasure isn’t enough. She wants a future with her lovers—a permanent ménage a trois—but if she makes a wrong move, she might irreparably destroy their friendship and lose everything.
Read an excerpt here. Buy your copy from Ellora’s Cave on 14 November 2008.
Have I missed any of your favorites? Do you think a menage a trois relationship is plausible or do you think there would be too many problems to overcome?
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
My special guest today is Selena Illyria. She has an unusual shifter in her new release. I’ll let her tell you about her hero, Renato.
First I’d like to thank Shelley for allowing me to invade her blog yet again.
I know it’s not a usual shifter type. Most shifter are either cats, dragons, wolves, etc., but a komodo dragon? After I had finished Discovering Passion, the second book in the Vampiropolis series, I knew I wanted give Renato a story. At first I had thought Magda should be a phoenix, but scrapped that idea. I wanted something different, some unusual, something that I don’t think someone has done yet. I knew I wanted to do a dragon shifter but what kind? Which one? Read the rest of this entry ?
Michael Hyatt, the president and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers has an interesting blog post about websites. He ran several author websites through WebsiteGrader to see how their websites performed.
I scored an 84, which shows room for improvement. I lost marks for too many images. Mr Hyatt’s post is very interesting and concludes that a slick website doesn’t necessarily equate to more traffic.
This test made me think about the characteristics of a good website. I did a little online research and came up with the following list:
1. Good keywords – these are words that describe your site and what you do. For example I’m a romance author.
2. A simple design – nothing too complicated. Keep your page simple and on topic.
3. Easy naviagtion – don’t confuse your visitors. Make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for.
4. Fresh content – update on a regular basis and give your readers something new to look at. Give them a reason to come back. Keep the content short and organize it.
5. The Wow factor – make your page different and original. Make it stand out from the crowd.
6. Optimized – make your website search-engine friendly by using page titles and meta tags.
How did you do with the test? Do you have author websites you return to time and time again? What keeps you going back?
Mr. Munro and I haven’t had such a busy weekend for ages. We’re both glad the week is here so we can have a rest.
Our night with the turtles turned out to be a lot of fun. As well as seeing turtles, we had a behind the scenes tour, watched the antics of the penguins as they stole nesting rocks from each other and sat on their eggs. We watched the stingrays being fed and wandered around looking at all the fish. I really like the fact that Kelly Tarltons focuses on New Zealand fish rather than having tanks of tropical fish. We ended up sleeping next to the seahorses. All the kids headed for the sharks and we decided we’d like to sleep!
I haven’t had a chance to download my photos yet but will post some as soon as I’m organized.
On Saturday it was our election day. Mr. Munro and I did our civic duty and voted. The polling booth was busy but very efficient, and we were in and out in ten minutes. We are both thrilled with the result and pleased with our new Prime Minister elect, John Key. Neither of us liked the way our country was going and it’s obvious that many other New Zealanders felt the same way.
On Sunday we attended the Clevedon agricultural show. I had an awesome time watching the horses perform, going around all the cattle, goats, pigs, donkeys etc and checking out the food and wine. I also had a back to childhood moment at the sideshows, lining up with the kids to have a turn shoving balls into a clowns mouth. Hey, I won a yo-yo. It’s a very cool yo-yo because it glows in the dark. I’ve decided I need a miniature donkey. They are SO cute!! I have photos from the show, too.
As well as all this excitement I managed to keep up with my daily word quota and hit the 50,000 word mark. I’m very proud of myself.
I’m going to sleep with the turtles tonight at Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic and Underwater World. It’s probably weird for me to be so excited about spending the night inside old stormwater and sewage holding tanks, but I can’t help it. I’ve been looking forward to it all week. My sleeping bag is packed, and I’m all a dither because I can’t decide what to wear. Insert eye-roll here. No doubt I’ll post some photos next week so watch this space!
It’s my birthday in December – 8th of December to be exact. Last year I had a blog party all month long and I thought I’d do something similar again. So, blog visitors, if you’d like to do a post for me on a day in December either email me at my website contact or leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.
The posts can be on any subject. If you’d like to tie it into your book that’s fine, but I don’t want anything that’s pure promo. No excerpts please, although you’re very welcome to put links to excerpts! Aspiring writers and readers – you’re very welcome to join in the fun. Email me!
Authors – I read all genres so don’t hesitate. I love to add to my to-buy list. (Hubby mutters but that’s another post entirely!) Really, come and join the party. I’d love you to visit me.
Middlemarch Mates fans – I’ve just contracted book seven in the series. Leticia’s Lovers follows Leticia, a character introduced in Stray Cat Strut. I’m so excited about this sale. As the title suggests it’s a naughty menage a trois story. If you follow the series you’ve met one of her lovers already and her second lover is introduced in Cat Burglar, which is out on 31 December.
Have a fun weekend and think of me sleeping with the turtles plus dozens of excited kids.
I like sunflowers. Whenever I see one I think of summer and sunshine. They’re a happy flower, and they make me smile. October is the recommended month to plant sunflower seeds in New Zealand. I need to hurry up!
1. The scientific name for sunflowers is Helianthus. It comes from two words — Helios meaning sun, and Anthos, meaning flower. The sunflower often tracks the sun’s movement, a phenomenon known as heliotropism.
2. A sunflower is one of the few cultivated plants native to North America. It is believed that wild sunflowers covered thousands of square miles of land that is now the western United States. Sunflower remains have been found in North American archaeological sites dating from as early as 3,000 B.C. The center of origin for wild sunflowers is considered to be the Western Plains of North America, but the ancestors of the cultivated type have been traced to the Southwest or the Missouri-Mississippi River valley areas. The first breeders of sunflowers appear to be the Ozark Bluff dwellers who selected plants and seed for cultivation.
3. Early American natives used the sunflower before corn and beans were introduced to America. They ate the seeds, ground the small kernels into flour, extracted oil from seeds for their hair, and used the seeds, flower petals, and pollen to make dyes for face paint, cloths and baskets.
4. The tallest sunflower grown on record was 25 feet tall and was grown in the Netherlands.
5. The largest sunflower head on record measured 32 1/2 inches across its widest point and was grown in Canada.
6. The shortest mature sunflower on record was just over 2 inches tall and was grown in Oregon using the Bonsai technique.
7. Sunflowers grown in home gardens are divided into two categories – Helianthus and edible seed types. Helianthus are grown for their decorative flowers. They come in many colors and sizes. Gardeners can choose a dwarf (15 inches high) fully double, golden chrysanthemum type, or a 4 foot pure yellow or white Helianthus with shades of primrose. The tallest Helianthus, 5 to 6 feet, provides the widest color range – yellow, gold, bronze, mahogany red, and bicolor blooms. These flowers do produce seeds if left on the plant, but they are small and probably best left for wildlife.
8. The most widely grown variety for edible seeds is Mammoth. First offered in the 1880s by a U.S. seed catalog, it was listed as Mammoth Russian. One of the tallest sunflowers, Mammoth is most often used to produce prize-winning seed heads. New cultivars have been introduced that are shorter (only 6 feet), earlier (68 days), and that have been bred for disease tolerance.
9. Healthy, natural sunflower oil is produced from oil type sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is light in taste and appearance and supplies more Vitamin E than any other vegetable oil. It is a combination of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with low saturated fat levels.
10. Sunflowers are a great choice for planting to attract birds to your yard.
11. Sunflowers are one of the fastest growing plants. They can grow 8 to 12 feet tall in rich soil within six months.
12. Sunflower heads consist of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base. The large petals around the edge of a sunflower head are individual ray flowers which do not develop into seed.
13. The former Soviet Union grows the most sunflowers. The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.
This photo was taken during our recent trip to the US, in Oregon, I think from memory.
And this photo was taken at our local botanical gardens.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I went to town. Of course, I couldn’t resist visiting Whitcoulls. (the store I mentioned here)
While I was there, I purchased season two and three of Deadwood (my love of Deadwood and several photos of the town are here).
The shop assistant and I started talking about the Deadwood series and I told her how Mr. Munro and I had originally watched the first program of series one and were horrified by the swearing. I said how we’d visited Deadwood and decided we’d try to watch the series again. Obviously she didn’t need to know we’d fallen in love with the series this time – she could work that out for herself! But we started talking about all the old Western shows that are starting to come out on DVD. Shows like Bonanza, Petticoat Junction and Daniel Boone.
My father loved Westerns. He still does, and if Daniel Boone was on we had an early dinner then all sat down to watch it as a family. Another assistant joined the conversation and we started talking about Fess Parker who starred in Daniel Boone. She said she’d seen him on TV recently, and despite his advanced age, the man was still a hunk.
This is my long-winded way of asking what shows you enjoyed during your childhood. I liked cartoons and still do with The Flintstones and The Jetsons being some of my favorites. Doctor Who, and the daleks in particular, used to scare me silly, and Lost in Space wasn’t far behind in the scary stakes. What can I say? I’m a big wimp!
What shows do you consider oldies but goodies? And for you Doctor Who fans out there – who do you think they’ll cast as the new doctor?
Flatmates. Best friends. Casual lovers.
My special guest today is Selena Illyria. She has an unusual shifter in her new release. I’ll let her tell you about her hero, Renato.
