Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

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 Prelude to a Scandal by Delilah Marvelle

“In this particular letter, however, she offered Bradford a bit more than the usual gossip about herself and her family. She offered him several nights in exchange for her father’s release.”

page 12, Prelude to a Scandal

Blurb:

Lady Justine is willing to trade her good name, her reputation and her place in London’s gossip-hungry ton to secure her father’s release from prison. But when the notorious Duke of Bradford counters her offer with a proposal of marriage, the stakes grow higher still. For while the smoldering lord is famous for his conquests, the man is oblivious to both her devotion and her charms. And Justine is soon afraid she has wagered all for naught….

Purchase Prelude to a Scandal

On Tuesday at 12:51 pm an earthquake struck Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It’s been an emotional week for us down here in NZ. Today the death toll stands at 147 with around 200 people still missing. Watching the news is heartbreaking. Hundreds of people have walked away from their lives in Christchurch, saying the stress is too much to take. Even worse are the people who are stealing and looting. Police have caught several and they’re receiving stiff sentences. A curfew is in place each night.

People throughout New Zealand are donating time, money and are fundraising for the Christchurch people. In the coming week our Prime Minister will announce a worldwide fundraising drive to help the victims of the earthquake. In New Zealand, the Red Cross is collecting donations and I, like most people I know, are giving what I can.

One thing about the earthquake is that it’s reminded my husband and I how precious life is and that we should enjoy it to the max. Those things on the bucket list – we’re doing them as time and money allow. Life is short and can disappear in the blink of an eye.

I took this photo out at my father’s farm last weekend. This photo features a stallion, two mares and two foals. One foal is hiding behind the other one. The stallion (named Fred) is on the far left.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

I saw this recipe for a Pinata Birthday cake on the Australian version of Better Homes and Gardens. It’s for a children’s birthday cake, but it was also perfect for my sweet-tooth father. I was a bit short of time and didn’t make the cake. I purchased a sponge cake and filled it with strawberry jam and whipped cream. Before I did this, I cut a hole in the middle of the sponges to create a ring cake.

If I were making the cake from scratch I’d use a ring tin and make a chocolate, banana or carrot cake.

For a child’s birthday cake, purchase some of their favorite candy and fill the hole in the middle of your cake with these. You could ice the cake first or not–depending upon your child’s likes or dislikes.

My father likes dried fruit so I filled the cake centre with dried slices of apple, papaya, crystalized ginger, dried strawberries and banana.

For the next step you need a bowl that will fit over comfortably over the cake. Line the bowl with tin foil. Melt some chocolate–I used both dark and milk chocolate. The quantity you require will depend on the size of your bowl. Brush the chocolate over the inside of the bowl. Once complete, place in fridge to harden for five minutes. Add a second layer of chocolate to the inside of the bowl and chill again. Once the chocolate is set, remove the chocolate shell from the bowl and place over the top of the cake. Peel off the tin foil to reveal the chocolate shell. Decorate the top with icing writing or candy. I used fruit jubes.

To serve: arm the birthday person with a wooden spoon and get them to bash/hit the chocolate shell to reveal the treasure cake beneath.

My father didn’t really understand what to do, but you can see the small hole he’s made in the chocolate cover.

Enjoy!

Two things made me think about smell today. I’m currently working on polishing book twelve in my Middlemarch Mates series and I’d overdone the word “smell”. Also one of the ponds we walk past during our evening walk really honks. I think it’s due to the hot weather and lack of rain to wash it out.

Thirteen Words That Relate to Smell

1. fragrance

2. malodorous

3. waft

4. whiff

5. bouquet

6. fresh

7. stink

8. odor

9. inhale

10. nose

11. reek

12. perfume

13. musty

What smells/scents do you dislike? (the pond ranks right up there for me!)

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 comes from Tall, Dark and Wolfish by Lydia Dare. This is a historical romance featuring werewolves and witches. It’s set mainly in Scotland. I’m enjoying it very much.

“Not being able to change with the fullness of the moon was a huge problem for someone like him. It threw his whole life out of kilter.”

Page 18, Tall, Dark and Wolfish

Blurb:

He’s lost the most important part of himself…

Lord Benjamin Westfield is a powerful werewolf-until one full moon when he doesn’t change. His life now shattered, he rushes off to Scotland in search of the healer who can restore his inner beast, only to find she’s not at all what he expected…

She would make him whole, if she could…

Young, beautiful witch Elspeth Campbell will do anything to help anyone who calls upon her healing arts. Then Lord Benjamin shows up, and she suddenly discovers she may need him even more than he needs her…

Purchase Tall, Dark and Wolfish

I’m blogging today at Access Romance about photography. I’m also running a contest and giving away both a print book and a download of one of my recent releases.

Come over and say hello – Here’s the link to Access Romance

We took Bella to her second puppy class this week. All the puppies were taken through the things they learned last week and taught two new things. She has learned to drop, to come, to sit at our feet when she comes and to walk alongside. While she’s not perfect, she does pretty well. She’s very good at coming and sitting.

Bella is well behaved with my husband but she’s giving me lots of problems. It’s a fight for dominance and at present, she thinks she comes in at number two in our house. The ladies at the puppy school have suggested some strategies for me to try. The minute she’s naughty, she is instructed to drop. I hold her in this position until she’s calmed down a little. If she persists, she goes to time out and is put outside. We were feeding her first and have now changed our feeding plan so she gets fed after us and, in particular, after me.

I have to keep reminding myself that she is a puppy and not to expect too much from her. I’m not sure that all my changes are helping with the problem much. I’ll report back to the puppy school lady at the next class and take her advice.

Bella had her first meeting with a horse this week. She was a bit intimidated and retreated to a safe distance before barking her head off. It was quite funny. The alpacas didn’t throw her at all.

Our February has been the hottest one on record. Bella went swimming in the duck pond a couple of days ago, swimming well out of her depth and with real confidence. We decided to buy her a kid’s paddle pool. She’s had a ball playing in it today. We toss all her balls in the water and she splashes around and takes them back out. It’s really hilarious to watch. Funniest of all was when we threw some old bones in the water. They sank to the bottom, but that didn’t deter Bella. She’s quite happy to put her head right under the water and grab them.

I watched Better Homes and Gardens last week. They always have a pet section and had a feature on pets and hot weather. They suggested tossing some cheese, sausage and liver strips in an empty ice cream container, add water and freeze. Once it’s frozen you tip it out and hey presto, you have a puppy ice block for a hot day. I’ve made an ice block for Bella. It’s freezing as I type this and should be ready for her to play with tomorrow. Between her sandpit, swimming pool, toys and ice block she has lots to keep her entertained. Here’s hoping she’ll be a little kinder to the plants in the garden!

I took this photo at the local A & P show. This fellow was a bit of a poser with his cute curls.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

Peeping Tom, which is book two in my Middlemarch Mates series, is now shipping from Amazon and The Book Depository! And, Peeping Tom has a new cover…

Here’s the blurb:

The residents of Middlemarch have a nickname for reporter Tomasine Brooks. They call her Peeping Tom and refuse to answer her questions about the mysterious black cats spotted in the vicinity. To them she’s an outsider—the enemy—who has no place in their close-knit shifter community.

Tomasine is determined to find a safe place to settle but earning the locals’ trust seems impossible. In desperation, she decides to seduce the sexy Felix Mitchell into giving away Middlemarch’s secrets because it’s a matter of life or death…hers.

From the moment feline shifter Felix Mitchell crashes into Tomasine outside the post office he desires her with an urgency that makes him suspect they are fated mates. When they are together the connection is hot, the sex is spicy and she makes him happy, but Tomasine is close-mouthed about her past—a past that can threaten their future together.

Purchase Peeping Tom