Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’m visiting Nine Naughty Novelists today. My topic is a little naughty in honor of my visit. I’m talking about male appendages and dangly bits.

Here’s the link to my post at Nine Naughty Novelists

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~ Grab your current read
~ Open to a random page
~ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~ Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today is from Forbidden by Christina Phillips. I haven’t read far but I’m enjoying it very much.

“He was the enemy of her people. And yet she couldn’t tear her fascinated gaze from him.”

Page 1, Forbidden

Blurb

He was a master of seduction – but no match for the magical allure of the woman he wanted most…

Carys knew from the moment she first spied on Maximus in his naked barbarian glory that he was a dangerous Roman centurion – his taut, battle-scarred flesh marking him as a fearless warrior. But her desire for him was as undeniable as it was illicit.

Charged by his emperor to eliminate a clan of powerful Druids in Britain, Maximus never expects his mission to be thwarted by the clan’s ethereal princess, Carys, his daring voyeur. Falling under her spell, he doesn’t realize her true heritage – until he captures her heart as well as her body.

As Carys’s loyalties are twisted, and freedom is no longer her single-minded obsession, an avenging former lover threatens to crush Maximus’s people into oblivion. Now Carys and Maximus must overcome the devastation of war and face the ultimate sacrifice if their forbidden love is to survive.

Purchase Forbidden

Mr. Munro and I had a busy weekend. Hubby went fishing on Saturday, leaving me in peace to do some writing. Job done since I completed the short project I’ve been working on recenty. Mr. Munro arrived home with lots of fish (guess what we had for dinner?) and we headed off to the farm for a working bee.

We spent a couple of hours fixing fences and trimming trees and vines. We were exhausted by the time we finished and I was covered with sheep poop. A shower never felt so good!

This is me on the farm bike.

I purchased another mushroom farm from the local farmers’ market. The mushrooms taste so much better than the ones we buy at the supermarket. I thought my farm had stopped producing but this morning when I woke up several more mushrooms have popped up. I think they like the extra hot weather we’ve been having recently.

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when I first got my mushroom farm. The current batch of mushrooms are really small but they grow quickly and should be to this stage soon.

How was your weekend?

I took this photo at the local A & P show. The donkey was in the kid’s petting area and he looked as if he desperately wanted to escape their wandering hands.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

The theme for this week is bad dates. I’ve chosen a snippet from The Bottom Line, my Samhain Publishing release where the heroine and her friends attend a speed dating event.

The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week, but now that I’ve seen the men I’m not so keen,” Susan said in a glum voice.

Privately Maggie agreed with her, although it wasn’t right to judge by appearance. “There are a couple of guys who look okay.” And one of them was Connor. She’d noticed the way some of the women had looked at him, like a dieter studied a chocolate bar.

She tried to tamp down the jealousy blooming inside her. No reason for it, she told herself. They’d both agreed they were free to date others.

A bell interrupted her jumbled thoughts. “Ladies, the gentlemen are ready for you. If you’re a bit lost and not sure where to go, look for the ladies wearing the bright yellow T-shirts. They’re stewards and will help with directions.”

“I’m starting to feel like I’m at school,” Christina said. “And look how the women outnumber the men. I feel like I’m in a competition and that makes me nervous.”

“You and me both,” Susan agreed.

“I’m going to need drinks after this,” Julia said. “Anyone else want to hit a bar with me?”

Maggie nodded. “I’m in. We can discuss our dates. Good luck. Something tells me we’re going to need it.” There were some beautiful women present tonight. Old insecurities surged back to haunt her. If they couldn’t find dates, what hope did she have?

She slipped into the seat opposite her first date and forced a smile. “Hi, I’m Maggie.”

“Stewart,” he said. “I like stamp collecting and reading Superman comics.”

“That’s nice.”

“Can you cook?”

“Yes, I like cooking,” Maggie said.

“Good, I need a woman who can cook. My mother said that’s important.”

Maggie stared, shocked. In her worst nightmares she hadn’t thought the men would be this bad. She glanced at her watch. Another hour. A drink was looking good, and she’d barely started. “What else are you looking for in a woman?”

“I want a woman who is a good cook, does a good job of housework and won’t mind looking after my mother.”

“I’m not very good with sick people.” Maggie had no experience with ill people and didn’t want to learn unless it was for someone she cared about. “Maybe you should hire a maid?”

His mouth dropped open.

Just then the bell went.

Saved by the bell. Surely the dates couldn’t be all as bad as Stewart?

She slipped into the next seat and smiled a welcome. To her relief he wasn’t as bad. He just wasn’t very interesting either. Her mind drifted to spanking and her blog.

“Is there anything you’d like to know about me?” he asked. “Maggie?”

“Yes, what do you think of the idea of spanking in a consenting adult relationship?”

The man’s mouth opened and closed before he replied. “Spanking? During sex, you mean?”

“That’s right,” Maggie said in a crisp voice. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he said. “Er…I suppose I could try it. What would you spank me with? Would it hurt?”

“That wasn’t quite what I had in mind,” Maggie said, the need to laugh out loud taking her by surprise. Maybe the night wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The bell went and she moved on to her next date. She grinned and took her seat. “Hi, I’m Maggie. How do you feel about spanking?”

The man stared at her, his mouth curling into a delighted grin. “I haven’t been naughty.”

“But you’re thinking about spanking. Surely that’s worth a swat or two.”

“And I came tonight under protest,” he said. “Where have you been all my life?”

Purchase The Bottom Line

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:

Vivian Arend
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Ashley Ladd
Mari Carr
Lissa Matthews
Helen Kay Dimon
Delilah Devlin
Shelli Stevens
TJ Michaels
Jody Wallace

I’m thrilled to announce I’ve sold another books to Samhain Publishing. Lone Wolf is a m/m werewolf story set in Yellowstone National Park.

Have you entered the Night Owl Reviews Autumn Harvest scavenger hunt? If not you still have until midnight PST on 30 November to get your entry completed and sent. Full details are available here at Night Owl Reviews.

I’m blogging at Access Romance today. I’m talking about shopping and presents. I’m also celebrating my upcoming birthday and giving away a download from my EC backlist. Here’s the link to The Season of Giving

This month I’ve been writing up a storm. Since I write romance, I seem to be writing a lot of love scenes. Here’s a selection of words you might find in one of my love scenes.

Thirteen Words You Might Find In a Love Scene

1. Whimper

2. Rasp

3. Sensitive

4. Ache

5. Explode

6. Throb

7. Voluptuous

8. Decadent

9. Hunger

10. Ecstasy

11. Contraceptive

12. Kiss

13. Perfect

Since I write a lot of erotic romance I use a few naughtier words as well. I’ve given you a clean selection today.

What are some of your favorite words to write or read in a love scene?

When I was a kid, banks weren’t open during the weekends. People would go to their banks on a Friday to cash a check and stock up for the weekend ahead. For a couple of years I was a bank teller and I remember busy Friday afternoons well. I also recall my tired, aching feet after a busy day in the bank.

These days most businesses take plastic—either credit cards or Eftpos cards. (I think you have debit cards in the US). The only time I use cash these days is for bus fares and, the rest of the time, I use my credit card.
This made me curious and I wondered if other people were doing the same as me.

Do you use cash or do you tend to use plastic?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~ Grab your current read
~ Open to a random page
~ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~ Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I’ve recently discovered Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series. My teaser is this week is from Silent in the Sanctuary, the second book in the series.

“Well, I suppose that settles it. Either we all go home to England for Christmas or we hurl ourselves into Lake Como to atone for our sins.”

Page 13, Silent in the Sanctuary: A Lady Julia Grey Mystery

Blurb:

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father’s estate crowded with family and friends— but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters. Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget—the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas Brisbane—is among her father’s houseguests… and he is not alone. Not to be outdone, Julia shows him that two can play at flirtation and promptly introduces him to her devoted, younger, titled Italian count.

But the homecoming celebrations quickly take a ghastly turn when one of the guests is found brutally murdered in the chapel, and a member of Lady Julia’s own family confesses to the crime. Certain of her cousin’s innocence, Lady Julia resumes her unlikely and deliciously intriguing partnership with Nicholas Brisbane, setting out to unravel a tangle of deceit before the killer can strike again. When a sudden snowstorm blankets the abbey like a shroud, it falls to Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane to answer the shriek of murder most foul.

Purchase Silent in the Sanctuary: A Lady Julia Grey Mystery

Romance Diva, Maddy Barone has her very first release out with Liquid Silver Books this week. Check it out below!

Sleeping With The Wolf

Maddy Barone
ISBN 978-1-59578-777-4 Sterling Silver title

Rising country music star Carla boards a plane in the year 2014. But it crashes in the future, fifty years after Armageddon has destroyed technology and plagues have reduced the female population to a precious few. She finds herself offered as prize in a Bride Fight, where only the strongest and fiercest men are allowed to compete to win a wife. Alpha werewolf Taye knows Carla is his mate. He wins the Bride Fight and takes her to his den, ready to give her everything, even his heart. Will Carla ever be ready to give him anything?

Read An Excerpt Here

Word Count: 42500

BUY IT HERE