Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Twin Trouble, my new release is out at Ellora’s Cave on 1 April. As the title suggests, my story features identical twins as the heroes. The Mitchell twins, Joe and Sly, inspired my topic this week.

Thirteen Facts About Twins

1. 1 in 250 pregnancies can result in identical twins.

2. Women pregnant with twins will have more ultrasounds, tests and prenatal appointments than women pregnant with singletons.

3. The average weight of twins at term is about 5.5 lbs

4. Identical twins share the same DNA, but have their own fingerprints

5. Fraternal twins (girls) have twice the chance of giving birth to twins than singletons

6. Gemellology is term use for the scientific study of twins

7. The chances of having a twin pregnancy naturally is increased by maternal age ( 30+), genetics and number of previous pregnancies.

8. China has the lowest rate of twins in the world

9. Twins share a special connection, and many report incidences of twin telepathy or extrasensory perception ESP phenomenon. Some twins create their own language.

10. Twins are generally born on the same day but in some cases twins have different birthdays

11. For the second-born twin the mortality rate at birth and within the first month of life is twice that of the first born

12. The use of fertility drugs, the increased use of in-vitro fertilization, and the use of contraceptive pills all influence the rise in the rate of multiple births

13. Twin Trouble is the name of my book featuring twins. Here’s the blurb:

Man wanted: confident and charismatic, a virtuoso in bed and capable of supporting a woman in her quest for freedom.

Shifter Kiera Pascoe is desperate to foil her brothers’ plan to ship her back to England. She needs help, and hunky Joe Mitchell is the perfect applicant. Joe misses his twin Sly, and Kiera presents a diversion from his isolated state. From the start, hunger explodes between them and sparks fly with each intoxicating touch. The sex is fun and challenging—mutual ecstasy with a little spanking and kink.

Sly arrives home unexpectedly, creating chaos with their erotic hijinks. Emotions tangle and create a dilemma for all three. Joe has feelings for Kiera and wants to keep her. Kiera worries about exchanging one set of pushy males for another while Sly lusts after his twin’s lover. Two sexy shifter twins and one gorgeous feline woman—they’ve got trouble in Middlemarch and it’s gonna take time to unravel the steamy muddle.

Read an excerpt for Twin Trouble

Do you have twins in your family? (My husband’s mother is a twin, but not an identical one)

My special guest today is fellow Ellora’s Cave author, Ria Candro. Ria has a new release, a sci-fi romance called Mated, but today she’s talking about one of her interests outside writing. Over to Ria…

Often writers get so caught up in their story worlds that they have little time for anything else. I’m no different. Writing eclipses everything for me. I lose myself in my world, often staying there until my story is done being told (much to the chagrin of my hubby). But when I’m not writing, I do have something else that I absolutely love to do: Boating.

Living here in the southern part of Florida, we get an awful lot of hot, sunny days. I’m not the biggest fan of 90+ degree, super-humid weather, but it’s perfect if you are on a boat. When the sun is blazing and the weather is hot, there’s nothing better than hopping on a boat and feeling the breeze on my face as I speed toward destinations unknown. In this part of Florida tiny, uninhabited islands abound. Perfect for playing a pioneering explorer. Coral reefs team with sea life: parrotfish, stingrays, lobsters. It’s a water-lover’s paradise, and the perfect pick-me-up when writing has left me mentally wrung-out. So if I’m not writing, chances are you might find me out on the water, charting a path to a new adventure. One day I’ll incorporate my travels into a story. Until then, care to join me on the water?

Ria Candro is the author of futuristic and paranormal erotic romance. When not dreaming up hot love stories, she enjoys spending time with her family in their home state of Florida. You can learn more about Ria and her novels at her blog.

Blurb: Mated

When Natalie awakens on a spaceship manned by three gorgeous and adoring hunks, she’s convinced she’s dreaming. It’s up to Andros, Leikos and Zafron to prove to her she’s not. And that she’s the perfect mate for all three of them.

Spygian alpha males travel far and wide in search of their perfect partner. And then share their mate in the most delicious, pleasurable ways they can imagine. But for Natalie, loving these red-hot aliens means leaving Earth. Is she willing to take a chance on a love that’s out of this world?

Mated is now available from Ellora’s Cave

Read an excerpt from Mated

CONTEST: Comment on this post and follow the rest of Ria’s blog tour to go into a draw to win a prize. Full details about Ria’s tour here

Do you have any questions for Ria, either about her book, Mated, her writing or her love of boating?

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 this week is from Wilder’s Mate: Bloodhounds, Book 1 by Moira Rogers. It’s a steampunk, shapeshifter, vampire, paranormal story from Samhain Publishing.

He was dark and forbidding, a large man wrapped in the savagery of a hound. Some hid their other natures well, but this one… Satira met his eyes, and a beast stared back.

Page 7, Wilder’s Mate

Think a vampire-hunting bloodhound is dangerous? Try threatening his woman.

Bloodhounds, Book 1

Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.

At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn.
As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save.

Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

Purchase Wilder’s Mate

I’m taking part in the Sweet N Sexy Divas Easter Blog Hop contest. Explore author websites, find a special Easter icon and go into a draw to win a basket full of decadent gourmet chocolates for Easter.

Find full details and the rules at Sweet N Sexy Divas

Entries must be received by 24 April.

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” — Anonymous

I’m blogging at Samhain today about friends and The Bottom Line. Here’s the link to Samhain Publishing

We came across this determined duck in Wellington. She was crossing a busy road and the traffic came to a halt while she and her ducklings marched from one side to the other. I couldn’t resist a photo as she headed into the botanical gardens.

Why do you think she was crossing the road?

To view more animal photos visit Camera Critters

This is a photo of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House, taken from the Botanical gardens. Hubby and I spent a day in Sydney at the end of our cruise in December last year. It’s an interesting city to walk around, and we had a beautiful sunny day for our sightseeing.

I attended a craft show last week and sat in on several lectures. One of them was on fashion and styling, which didn’t really fit with crafts, but it was still interesting. Kate Elizabeth, the fashion stylist talked about ways to look slimmer and I thought I’d pass them on.

1. Wear non-shiny fabrics. Matt fabrics work best since they don’t scream “look at me!”

2. Wear clothing items with as many vertical elements as possible. They lengthen the body.

3. Wear dark colors over areas you want to disguise e.g. black trousers to cover a large butt.

4. Make sure your underwear fits perfectly since this is the foundation for your garments. Make sure the said underwear keeps everything in its place.

5. Large is not necessary best. Stick to medium size accessories and patterns.

6. Wear one color on the top and bottom e.g. black T-shirt with black trousers or jeans

7. Wear fabrics that drape rather cling.

8. Wear fine or medium weave fabrics rather than chunky ones.

9. Wear shoes with a medium to high heel to add height.

10. Wear prints that don’t have an obvious pattern i.e. abstract patterns

11. Wear garments with elbow length sleeves.

12. Wear clothes with some shape to them rather than going for a boxy look.

13. Wear eye-catching accessories to direct the eye away from problem areas.

What do you think? Do these solutions work for you?

Last night was Bella’s final class at puppy school. The seven weeks have passed really quickly and have been good for all of us. On the run up to the final class we worked hard with training, practicing several times each day. Our training paid off big time last night when the instructor ran a competition. It was a bit like muscial chairs. The puppies walked in a circle and the instructor shouted out commands for them to sit or drop. The last puppy to complete the command each time was eliminated. Bella sat and dropped like a champ and beat out the last puppy to win bragging rights. She was a real little star and both hubby and I were very proud.

Bella received a certificate stating she’d completed basic training.

At the end of the class we watched a demonstration of obedience and agility training with some older dogs. I’d love to do agility training with Bella but she’s not old enough yet. She needs to be 18 months old but she’s not quite six months yet. That’s something to consider in the future.

Meantime, hubby and I feel like proud parents…

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 Mercy Kill: A Mystery (Mercy Gunderson) by Lori Armstrong

My feet moved of their own volition, and the next thing I knew, I was standing over the body.
He wasn’t sleeping; he was dead.

page 49, Mercy Kill by Lori Armstrong

Blurb:

Former Black Ops Army sniper, Mercy Gunderson isn’t adjusting well to the laid-back rhythm of civilian life on her family’s ranch in South Dakota. To fill her time, Mercy accepts a temporary bartending gig at a local watering hole. Yet her attempts to settle in back home are tested when Titan Oil, a Canadian company proposing to run an underground pipeline through Eagle River County, sends Jason Hawley, Mercy’s former Army buddy to the area to convince ranchers to get behind the project.

While local business owners support the pipeline, Hawley’s presence riles the landowners and Mercy is torn. After ugly threats and multiple altercations escalate tensions in the county, Mercy discovers Hawley’s brutally mutilated body in the bar parking lot. When it appears Sheriff Dawson cares more about campaigning for re-election than investigating the case, Mercy vows to find Jason Hawley’s killer—even if she has to run against Dawson for sheriff to ensure justice is served.

But Mercy soon learns her former military pal had plenty of secrets. Her search for the truth brings unwanted exposure to the county’s dark side and risks deadly repercussions for the entire community.

Purchase Mercy Kill: A Mystery (Mercy Gunderson)