Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

You might have heard of authors (me included) complaining about people pirating our books. It’s a huge problem these days for both print and e-authors. It’s also a problem for people in the music and movie business. For example, a rough copy of the latest X-men movie has been pirated before the release date.

Here’s a link to an article about the founders of Pirate Bay who have been involved in a court case regarding music downloads. The decision has come back and the judge has sentenced them to a years jail term, and they were ordered to pay $4.5 million in damages. They are appealing the sentence.

Here’s the link.

Samhain Publishing is having a Spring Fling. The fling starts today with a scavenger hunt. There will be a new scavenger hunt every day plus there are some free Spring Fling stories for you to download. I’m part of the scavenger hunt on 22 April, and I have a free short story called Wild Thing available on 20 April. Enjoy!

During the last six months, I’ve read heaps of contemporary romances. I seem to have burned out on paranormals and have become really picky about what I read in this genre.

And of course, my love of the contemporary genre fits in nicely with the books written by the authors below. These three ladies are all wonderful writers and you can’t go wrong reading one of their books.

Do you enjoy contemporary romances, and what is the title of your most recent read?

Have you seen the YouTube featuring Susan Boyle? The judges took one look at Ms. Boyle, listened to her talking and decided she wouldn’t be able to sing. The music started, Ms. Boyle started singing and smashed apart every one of the judges’ preconceptions, showing true talent. The audience loved her. Millions of people have watched the performance on YouTube. I’m one of them, and I smiled the entire way through. Her performance was amazing.

It made me think about stereotypes when it comes to the romance community. Don’t authors lounge around wearing flowing pink dresses (sometimes with ruffles) and eat lots of chocolates while they’re writing about arrogant alpha males and quivering virgin heroines? And don’t romance readers wear thick glasses, fluffy bathrobes and stay at home with their fictional friends on a Saturday night, eating lots of chocolate while they’re reading their chosen genre?

We know these stereotypes are wrong. Lots of people don’t and accept the above descriptions (or something similar) because they don’t know any better. Well, the chocolate part might be right, but you understand what I mean. We’re all individuals who love the written word and reading/writing about love and romance. Stereotypes are wrong, and we should wait before judging anyone. First impressions aren’t always right, but we’re probably all guilty of judging or applying sterotypes at some time or another. I know I have.

A few days ago, Julia tagged me with a meme called Keeping It Real. I had to post a photo of myself taken without primping and doing ordinary things. The photo caught me on a day when I wasn’t wearing pink, but I’m in my second office i.e. my chair with my laptop. As you can see – no stereotypes here.

I’m meant to tag people, so if you’re brave enough, consider yourself tagged. Follow the Keeping it Real link above and scroll down to the bottom of the post. I have to say that Julia takes a great photo.

How would you describe a writer or a reader? (You can have fun making up a stereotype or you can do a truthful description of a writer/reader as you see them)

I’m feeling really tired today, and I can’t think of a topic for my TT. I decided to google “nothing” and this is what I came up with…

1. Nothing is something that doesn’t exist.

2. You can buy “nothing”. It costs US$4.84 here and is actually a vial of emptiness. They advertise it as the present for someone who has everything.

3. Director Vincenzo Natali made a movie called Nothing in 2003. Read about it here.

4. Nov 29 is Buy Nothing day, a strike against comercialism. I think my husband would approve!

5. Sinead O’Connor sang about Nothing Comparing 2 U

6. There’s a tattoo and body piercing place in Atlanta called All or Nothing Tattoo and Art. They’ve won awards.

7. My sales ranking on several of my books at Amazon this week was nothing. I’m glad they’ve fixed that!!

8. Tristan Campbell is a landscape photographer based in Harrogate. He’s posted some of his photos at his blog Absolutely Nothing. They’re amazing, and I wouldn’t have found them if I hadn’t googled nothing.

9. I found Nothing Bundt Cakes here. They look yummy even though I’m not sure what they are exactly.

10. And while we’re on the subject of food, I found Nothing but Noodles. Sounds good to me!

11. Shakespeare went on about Much Ado About Nothing

12. Nothing ventured, nothing gained – means if you don’t join in or start then you can’t achieve anything.

13. Nothing to crow about – there’s nothing special or to feel good about.

Do you think nothing is a negative or a positive word?

Butt cracks in a public place. Not a pretty sight…

Big shudder. I need to scrub my eyeballs. Just sayin’…

What say you?

I mentioned on Thursday how one of my favorite books when I was a child was called Shelley and the Pony of the Year. Ellen Bosworth also wrote a book called Shelley and the Bushfires, and I liked that one too because it was like reading about myself.

Shelley isn’t a usual name. I don’t meet many people named Shelley, especially spelled the same way. Most of you have probably seen the range of “name” products available in gift shops where you can buy all sorts of things from coffee mugs to notebooks, pens and badges bearing your name. I’ve only seen my name once, and I purchased the little metal numberplate bearing my name immediately. That’s how rare I am!

A while ago Marianne Lacroix’s book Sea Hawk’s Mistress was published at Ellora’s Cave. Her heroine is named Shelley Hanover. I must admit I found it a bit weird reading the blurb featuring “my” name. I still haven’t read Mari’s story. I keep meaning to and have written it on my list just now. I mean – pirates. What’s not to like? BTW, Mari’s story is also out in print.

The week before last another “Shelley” book came out at Ellora’s Cave. Cyna Kade’s Linking Shelley also features a Shelley. This time I’m heading off to outer space, and by the sounds of it, I’m very naughty. Heck, I’m a spitfire!

I’ll admit I’m feeling a bit weird about reading these “Shelley” books. Somehow the books seem more personal because the heroines bear my name. Um…dare I say it…it’s almost like readers are getting a bigger glimpse of me than I’m comfortable with. They’re peeking inside my bedroom.

What do you think? Do you enjoy reading a book if the heroine bears your name?

I visited Jody Wallace and Meankitty today. Meankitty asked me some tricky and probing questions. My interview is here.

Look what Mr. Munro found in our garden during the weekend…

Isn’t he handsome? We don’t live anywhere near a pond and it’s a big mystery as to how he arrived in our garden. He made Mr. Munro start when he jumped from beneath a bag of compost. Hubby thought he might be lonely, so he found him a friend…

He stayed around for a while before hopping away into the depths of our garden. The only problem is that I have this song inside my head now.

Did you find anything interesting in your garden during the weekend? Did you do anything exciting during the weekend?

For those readers who enjoy a spicy hot read, Ellora’s Cave will have a new treat each day, starting on 14 April.

Monday: One or two free reads and sometimes reissued stories from older anthologies.
Tuesday: One new theme story, Quickie or a new Cavemen anthology.
Wednesday: Normal release day – four new ebooks available to purchase in various genres.
Thursday: Sale day! Ebooks and print books on sale for a week. Pick up some bargains.
Friday: Normal release day. Four new ebooks go on sale in various genres.

Reminder, the above schedule starts from 14 April so don’t forget to visit Ellora’s Cave every day to see the new arrivals.

I’m over at Book Talk with J & J today. The post should be up soon, and I hope you’ll have time to visit. I’m giving away a download from my back list as an incentive to chat with me. I hate to hang out by myself.