Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Writers – have you ever had trouble writing a love scene and keeping track of limbs? Carina Press author, Kathleen Dienne has written an excellent post about writing love scenes and making sure your characters don’t do the impossible.

Here’s the link to Keeping Track of Elbows: Writing Sex Scenes

PS. Don’t forget to check out Kathleen’s book Her Heart’s Divide

I was thinking about sneezing the other day because I scared the dog with a loud sneeze. We’ve all experienced the prickling, tickling sensation that heralds a sneeze. Sometimes they explode out of nowhere at the most inconvient times, such as when you’re driving. I was curious so I googled sneezing…as one does.

A sneeze is your body’s way of expelling an irritant from your nose. It can be dust, pepper, cold air, allergies or viruses that cause the explosion.

When you sneeze you use lots of different muscles — your abdominal muscles, chest muscles, the diaphragm, vocal cords and muscles at the back of your throat. You also use your eyelid muscles since sneezing makes us shut our eyes. Remember that sneeze while you’re driving? Yep, not so good because you automatically close your eyes.

Sometimes we want to sneeze but it doesn’t quite happen. There’s nothing worse! They say one out of three people sneeze when they’re exposed to bright light. I haven’t found that. They also say it’s an inherited trait and runs in families.

Do you sneeze after exposure to a bright light?

Sources:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneeze
www.kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/sneeze.html

Seeking Kokopelli goes on sale today at Samhain Publishing.

Love never hits a wrong note.

Ever since Nate McKenzie hired on as a roadie, musician Adam James has lusted after him. So far Adam has kept his distance, knowing Nate is mourning his dead wife. But lately Adam has caught the man returning his stares. Maybe it’s time to test the waters.

Besides, there isn’t much chance Nate will find out that Adam was once his people’s Kokopelli. His powers were stripped from him, along with the magical tattoo on his chest, when his orientation was discovered.

Nate is going crazy with guilt. Before his wife’s death, he never looked at anyone else, woman or man. Now his dreams are filled with Adam. He tries to keep his mind on his job and off Adam’s sexy body, but in a moment of weakness they share a kiss that sends them both up in flames.

Their relationship risks both their hearts and Adam’s female fan base, but the attraction is too strong to ignore. Then someone takes a shot at Adam—and his tattoo begins to reappear, forcing him to come clean with his lover. And Nate to decide exactly where his future lies…before a killer steals it away from them.

Warning: This book contains rockin’ music, smoky pubs, the mystical legend of Kokopelli and lots of playful, hot manlove.

On the whole, I’m a fairly healthy person. I don’t catch many colds or flu-type bugs. I think a lot of it is because I don’t have children. When we were kids we were always sick, and I’ve noticed that people with children tend to get sick more. There are a lot of bugs spread around at schools. At least that’s my theory.

My husband thinks we keep healthy because he puts garlic in everything and we eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. I know garlic has medicinal properties so he could be right.

The coldest part of our winter doesn’t hit until July and August, so it’s possible I might get sick yet. I’ve never had flu shots. Mr. Munro hasn’t either even though his employer provides them free of charge. My father usually has a flu shot as does my MIL.

Do you get sick every winter? Do you have flu shots? What do you think of my theories?

I took this photo during our last visit to my father’s farm. My father used to breed bucking bulls for the rodeo circuit here in New Zealand, and the sign comes from a time when it was dangerous to enter the paddock. These cattle are pretty friendly and it’s safe to walk up to them.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters.

The theme this week for Snippet Saturday is apologies. I’ve chosen an excerpt from The Bottom Line where Maggie’s friends apologize for the way they’ve treated her after a falling out about Connor, the lone male who hangs out with them.

The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro

Julia gestured for another bottle of wine, and Maggie hustled to serve both her and the new arrivals.

“How are you doing, Julia?” she asked in an undertone.

Julia shrugged. “Good days. Bad days. How about you?”

Obviously Julia wasn’t willing to talk specifics yet. “About the same as you. I don’t think I’m relationship material. Every one of them ends the same way, with me ending up alone. I think I’m doing okay, then things get mucked up and everything ends badly.” The words burst from Maggie, making her realize how badly she’d needed to talk.

Julia gave a sharp bark of laughter, one that held little humor. “You and me both. What say we give up on men and have a raging affair with each other?”

“Julia!” Christina said in clear shock. “Did you just proposition Maggie?”

“Why not?” Julia winked at her, but made sure Christina didn’t see. “We’re both off men, but like sex. I’m sure I could spank you, Maggie. Let’s talk.”

Susan started to splutter, while one of the young rugby players picked up on a pertinent word.

“Spanking?” he asked. “Which one of you is into spanking? There’s a great spanking blog that one of the other guys in my team put me on to. I thought it would be strange and kinky, but it’s really interesting.”

Susan blurted, “That’s Mag—”

“That’s great,” Maggie cut through Susan’s words, shouting loudly, and her friend clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes full of apology. “You sound very open-minded.” A pity he was too young for her.

In that moment, she knew she was going to meet up with her cyber lover. He pushed every one of her buttons and already knew she liked spanking.

“Where do you play rugby?” Christina asked, diverting the conversation.

Susan wasn’t so easily diverted, her speculative gaze going from Maggie to Julia and back. Maggie felt Susan’s gaze follow her down the bar while she served several beers and mixed drinks. It was another hour before things calmed down enough for her to check on her friends.

At least the initial stiffness had faded, although Maggie wasn’t fool enough to think their friendship would continue as if nothing had happened.

“Susan thinks we’re interested in each other. Connor would have a good laugh about that. He’s always said two chicks together are hot,” Julia said.

“Susan is gullible.” Maggie didn’t want to talk about Connor. She hadn’t seen him, not even at the gym. She hoped they didn’t mention she was working here. The last thing she wanted was to see him with his new blonde. She didn’t think she could cope with that. A sudden tight sensation behind her eyes told her she was far from over him.

Betrayal hurt—from both sides, which made her want to work to repair the rift with her friends.

“I’ve really missed you. I haven’t been going out much. Just work and Susan and Christina dragged me out tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t make more of an effort to see you,” Julia said in a low voice. “I really am sorry. You’re a good friend and you deserve better.”

“It’s okay,” Maggie murmured.

“It’s not, but thank you. Are you seeing anyone else?” Julia asked.

“Not really. Sort of,” she amended. Cripes, she was having regular cybersex.

“So, which is it?”

“I’ve been having some pretty torrid cybersex with someone I met through my blog.”

Julia’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Maggie moved away to serve some more customers, noting the crowd had thinned out. Some had left for home while others had moved to the adjoining restaurant.

When she returned to her friends, the rugby players had left. She gathered up the glasses, stacked them into the glass machine and switched it on.

“You can’t leave me hanging like that,” Julia said. “Spill.” She turned to the others and whispered, “Maggie’s having cybersex with some guy.”

“Maggie!” Susan said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so critical. What I meant is that cybersex could be dangerous.”

“I intend to be careful,” Maggie said.

“For goodness sake, tell Maggie cybersex is dangerous,” Susan said.

“Susan, you sound like my mother when she discovered I knew about the birds and the bees,” Julia said. “Maggie’s having safe sex. What’s wrong with that?”

“There are all sorts of weird people online,” Susan said. “You’re having sex with one? I don’t believe it. You don’t know anything about him. How do you even know it’s a him? It could be a woman.”

“Or a horny underage teenager,” Christina added.

Maggie thought about Kinky Lover’s posts. “No,” she said slowly. “I don’t think it’s an underage male. This man knows his way around a woman’s body. He knows what makes us tick.”

“He could be married,” Julia said.

“See,” Susan said with concern. “Even Julia agrees. There has to be something wrong with him if he has to have cybersex. What’s wrong with the real thing? Why can’t he go out and find a date like most men do? Aw, hell, I don’t mean to sound critical. It’s a safety issue.”

“It’s not always so easy to meet people,” Maggie retorted. “I know. Heck, Susan. You know too. That’s why you’ve applied to a reality show.”

Susan nodded with a wry smile. “Touché.”

“We got in,” Christina said, bouncing up and down on her barstool.

Maggie noticed a new arrival. “Hold that thought,” she ordered, moving down the bar to serve the elderly couple.

When she returned, the three were in deep conversation. Maggie used the time to remove some empty glasses and wipe down the bar. She chopped up a lemon and restocked the beer fridge.

“You can take a break now,” the head barman said.

“Is it okay if I sit with my friends while I’m on my break?”

“Sure. Don’t be late back.”

With a nod, she walked around the bar.

“Are you on a break?” Christina asked. “Or are you finished for the night?”

“I wish. My feet are sore from standing. No, it’s a break. I have another two hours for this shift.”

“Let’s sit over there at the table,” Susan said.

They moved over to the table, Maggie clearing it off and taking the glasses to the bar before she rejoined her friends.

Susan stood and hugged her. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch about Connor. I have no excuses, but I’ll try not to repeat it ever again,” she whispered fiercely.

Christina embraced her, too, a tight squeeze that said more than words. Maggie blinked rapidly to control the surge of emotion gripping her chest.

“Don’t look at me,” Julia said with a wink. “I don’t want to hug you and start spreading rumors about our hot lesbian affair.”

Purchase your copy of The Bottom Line from Samhain Publishing, Amazon Kindle or All Romance eBooks.

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the trail below:

Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Mari Carr
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Shelley Munro
Shelli Stevens
TJ Michaels
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Ashley Ladd

I’ve decided my favorite part of writing is getting the first draft down. That’s when I’m happiest and I plod along, writing 2000 words a day. (Around 10,000 a week since I try not to work on weekends). Lately I’ve been in edit mode for books I’ve contracted. I like working with my editors and making my book sparkle, but I get to a stage where I’m so sick of my book the thought of reading it once more makes me want to scream. I grit my teeth and do it, because that’s part of being a writer. It’s my job.

All this editing is good news though, because it means I have lots of releases: June, July, August and September. Check out my coming soon page for further details. And I can get back to doing the part I love most – creating new books.

It was fun working on Lucky Charm again. (working title). My word count stands at 13,200 as of today. Lucky Charm is a historical set in 1940 England. I really enjoy this era since it comes with lots of inbuilt conflict. I’m also working on book eleven in my Middlemarch series plus a werewolf story. Yes, that’s three things at once. Somehow everything is working. One book is close to done, one is about half done and the other I’ve just started.

I love it when my inbox brings good news. Today I sold a sci-fi romance called Resisting Tamaki to Ellora’s Cave. Yay!

I have a new release called Seeking Kokopelli out at Samhain on Tuesday. As the title suggests, my romance incorporates the legend of Kokopelli.

Thirteen Things About Kokopelli

1. Kokopelli has been a sacred figure to Native Americans of Southwest America for thousands of years.

2. He’s found in several Native American cultures such as the Hopi, Anazasi, Taos and Acoma.

3. He’s a flute player who is traditionally shown with a humpback.

4. He’s also known as a fertility figure.

5. He’s also a trickster and is very mischievous.

6. Kokopelli often displayed a long phallus, symbolizing the fertile seeds of human reproduction.

7. Some people think the hump is actually a bag of gifts or seeds that Kokopelli plants each spring. Some people think he carries babies in his hump and hands them out to women. This means he’s not popular with young women.

8. It’s said that Kokopelli would visit a village and on leaving the next morning all the women of marriageable age would be pregnant.

9. One of his other duties was changing winter to spring.

10. It’s said you can hear Kokopelli’s flute on the spring breeze.

11. Petroglyphs show that Kokopelli has been around for many thousands of year.

12. He was a flute-playing Casanova.

13. My book Seeking Kokopelli is due for release on 29 June.

Love never hits a wrong note.

Ever since Nate McKenzie hired on as a roadie, musician Adam James has lusted after him. So far Adam has kept his distance, knowing Nate is mourning his dead wife. But lately Adam has caught the man returning his stares. Maybe it’s time to test the waters.

Besides, there isn’t much chance Nate will find out that Adam was once his people’s Kokopelli. His powers were stripped from him, along with the magical tattoo on his chest, when his orientation was discovered.

Nate is going crazy with guilt. Before his wife’s death, he never looked at anyone else, woman or man. Now his dreams are filled with Adam. He tries to keep his mind on his job and off Adam’s sexy body, but in a moment of weakness they share a kiss that sends them both up in flames.

Their relationship risks both their hearts and Adam’s female fan base, but the attraction is too strong to ignore. Then someone takes a shot at Adam—and his tattoo begins to reappear, forcing him to come clean with his lover. And Nate to decide exactly where his future lies…before a killer steals it away from them.

Warning: This book contains rockin’ music, smoky pubs, the mystical legend of Kokopelli and lots of playful, hot manlove.

Do you enjoy stories that incorporate myths, legends or fairy tales?

Sources:
www. jowsey.com/kokopelli/kokopelli.html
www.kokopelli.com/whowaskok.html

My special guest today is Natalie Acres who has a new release out today called Bridled and Branded. An intriguing title, isn’t it? Bridled and Branded is a a western MFM contemporary romantic suspense. I asked Natalie a little about her writing.

What attracts you to writing cowboy/western stories?

Give me a big green tractor, a cooler full of ice cold beer, and a couple of strong cowboys to toss a few hay bales around and I’m a happy girl. I love reading and writing about the sexiest of all men–cowboys.

Wow, sounds good to me. Where did you get the idea for your story Bridled and Branded?

My love for horses inspired Bridled and Branded. I’d love to read a western with a strong heroine steadfast in her commitment and love for training/showing horses but just as dedicated to her cowboy hero. Bridled and Branded materialized because this novella is the kind of short western romance I’d like to read.

What writing tip would you give to an aspiring writer just starting on their writing journey?

Believe in yourself.

Great advice! Tell us about Bridled and Branded.

Lynlee Lewis is an old-fashioned girl who might as well take the lead in a modern day romance. She met a boy, when he was just a boy. She fell in love, but he barely noticed. Now, Lynlee wants to place a woman’s brand on Blaine McCain, but will his past prevent her from staking a claim?

Lynlee’s storybook romance isn’t without its villains and obstacles. Add in the fact that Blaine rarely travels behind a bedroom door without company and Lynlee wonders why she’s so taken by the cowboy in the first place.

Throw in a deadly situation and Lynlee finds herself in the midst of danger when a knife is shoved against her throat. Worse still, the man behind the blade is traveling with a wife who is no stranger to Blaine McCain. And they want to turn Blaine’s life upside down with a package full of problems.

The following excerpt is unedited pending final approval:

“You wanted our attention,” Rhett began. “You got it. What do you want?”

Blaine released him. “Yeah, what’s so damn important that you’d go to this extreme?”

His eyes watered. “My Sarah Beth passed away last week.”

“She what?” Rhett asked, compassion settling in his eyes, which Blaine had rarely seen.

“She passed away.”

“What happened?” Blaine asked, feeling a little odd since he had been one of the participants in the ménage experience with Rhett and Sarah Beth.

“She jumped off a bridge,” Sarah Beth’s husband explained.

“She did what?”

“Told you she was touched in the head,” Rhett reminded Blaine.

“You’re the one who brought her home,” Blaine said, jumping to his feet and backing away before her husband took an opportunity to deck him. “She wasn’t even that pretty, best I remember.”

“Blaine McCain, I ought to kick your ass right here,” Lynlee said, studying her captor. “Sir, I’m sorry for your loss. I really am. It’s a shame these two didn’t have a gentleman’s sense of values to keep their cocks in their pants, if not their hands, but you see here, you can’t blame your wife’s actions on two men who barely knew her.”

“Lynlee, so help me God, I don’t need your eloquent way of taking up for me,” Blaine said.

“No, you don’t. What you need are some manners and maybe even a conscience, but I doubt you’ll find either tonight.”

Rhett snickered. “You got that right.”

Lynlee extended her hand. “I’m Lynlee Lewis, by the way. We met at the party, and you said your name is Scott Sanders, but I take it that’s not your real name?”

“Yes,” he said, taking her hand. “The name is Scott Sanders. Sarah Beth was my lovely wife.”

“Well, I’m sure she knew how much you loved her,” Lynlee said, backing away from the situation and making it evident in the finality of her tone. “Gentleman, I’ve had a long night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Blaine looked at Rhett and then Scott. Rhett nodded and Blaine said, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll say your peace and leave.”

Scott shifted his weight. “I wanted to look directly at the two men responsible for Sarah Beth’s downfall and see if I found even a smidgen of remorse. I blame you for what happened, and I can’t understand what she ever saw in either one of you.”

“Good thing,” Rhett said. “I don’t buck that way.”

Blaine ignored his friend and addressed his enemy. “I’m walking Lynlee back to her camper. If you go near her again,” he paused, set his jaw, and then grated out, “I will harm you in a way you’ll never forget.”

“I don’t want an escort, Blaine,” Lynlee snipped. “And I sure don’t need you to hold my hand.”

“Well, ain’t that a blessed shame? Besides, I need you to hold mine.”

Natalie Acres is the best selling author of the Cowboy Sex Series which includes Sex Party, Sex Games, and Sex Camp. She’s also the author of the #1 Amazon Best Selling Western/Erotica title Cowboy Boots and Untamed Hearts which now has a sequel, Cowboy Boots and Unfinished Business. To find out more about Natalie Acres, visit her on MySpace at www.myspace.com/natalieacres. To view more information on Bridled and Branded go to: http://www.bookstrand.com/bridled-and-branded

Copyright © 2010 Natalie Acres

SALOME AT SUNRISE by releases today from Carina Press!

It’s not nice to piss off Mother Nature…

Bryton Haruk sets out on a suicide mission to stop the bloodthirsty Skullmen from terrorizing the war-weary Land of Eldwyn. Consumed by guilt over the death of his wife, Bryton seeks revenge and reunion in the afterlife with his lost love. His purpose is determined, his bravery unmatched, until the queen casts a spell to save Bryton from himself.

Salome is that spell. A bird-shifter, she can harness the earth’s breeze and take the form of a beautiful, innocent woman. Her challenge is to harness Bryton’s pain and guide him to peace. She entrances and irritates him, tempting Bryton from his mission. Even as he gives in to the passion between them, Bryton insists on mounting a solo attack on the brigands’ compound, and Salome fears her love won’t be enough to save him…

Celebrate Summer Solstice.

Salome at Sunrise from Inez Kelley and Carina Press.

Seize the day.

Buy it now.