Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I was a bit short of inspiration for a post today, but I do have some great books in my to-read pile.

Thirteen Books in My To-Read Pile

1. Scandal of the Year by Olivia Drake, a historical romance with a duke impersonating a footman.

2. Pleasure Me by Monica Burns, a historical romance with a virgin hero.

3. The Missing Ink by Karen E. Olson. This is a mystery, and I chose it because of the tattoo artist heroine.

4. Play Dirty by Lorie O’Clare, a reunion romance featuring a bounty hunter hero.

5. Tyler by C.H. Admirand, a cowboy romance.

6. English Country House by Gervase Jackson-Stops & James Pipkin. This is research for my current work in progress, another gothic historical.

7. Hot Head by Damon Suede, a gay romance featuring firefighters.

8. Love’s Fortress by Samantha Kane, book seven of The Brothers in Arms series.

9. The Great New Zealand Baking Book by Allyson Gofton. I enjoy checking out new recipes.

10. Three to Tango an anthology by Emma Holly, Lauren Dane, Megan Hart and Bethany Kane. Four hot novellas featuring threesomes.

11. Invitation to Ruin by New Zealander Bronwen Evans. A historical where the heroine is discovered in a compromising position.

12. Second Chance at the Sugar Shack by Candis Terry, a contemporary romance. I’m reviewing this one before Candis visits my blog on 19 July. This book is due out on 9 August.

13. River Marked by Patricia Briggs. Mercy and Adam finally tie the knot, but as usual, trouble follows Mercy wherever she goes.

What is the next book on your to-read pile?

I’ve totally stolen this topic from another blogger. I’d credit them with a link, but I’ve lost the bit of paper on which I noted down the information. I blame the puppy. She has a love of all things paper and cardboard!

So back to vampires. From my extensive research i.e. reading many romances, vampires bear the following characteristics:

1. Immortal
2. Can’t go out in the sun and are pale. (unless they own handy dandy rings like The Vampire Diary boys)
3. Possess a set of nifty fangs.
4. Feed on blood.
5. Have a structure/level of power. Older is usually better.
6. Politics is deadly.
7. Can mesmerize humans to either feed or for safety.
8. Can be killed by a slayer.
9. Can be killed by a stake through the heart.
10. Can turn a human into a vampire by draining all their blood.
11. The process is painful and messy.
12. Baby vampires have no control.
13. Garlic is not good.
14. They have no reflections in mirrors.
15. They are often lonely.
16. Humans don’t understand them.

I’ll admit that I’m not good with blood. It took me a long time before I would even read a vampire romance because of my issues with blood. I finally caved and read my very first one—a Christine Feehan book. I enjoyed it so much I glommed her entire series. These days I’m very picky about what I read because I’ve read so many.

Although I enjoy reading the stories, I’ve decided I’d prefer not to turn into a vampire. It’s that tricky blood thing again. Although most authors make the act of feeding on blood seem sexy, I don’t buy it. I like eating solid food, and I quite like garlic as a flavoring. No, I couldn’t be a vampire.

What about you? Could you be a vampire? What are your favorite vampire romances? Have I missed any vampire characteristics?

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 Waking Up With the Duke by Lorraine Heath, which is out today. I’m currently reading chapter four, and I’m enjoying this historical romance very much.

His guilt increased when he found himself enticed by the lure of Jayne’s hips gently swaying as she preceded them from the room. He didn’t want to contemplate the hell that awaited him if she consented to her husband’s insane notion to get her with child.

page 10, Waking Up With The Duke

Blurb:

The Duke of Ainsley, known for his talents in the bedchamber, is stunned when his long-time friend, the Marquess of Walfort, asks him to get his wife with child. During a night of debauchery with Ainsley, Walfort was paralyzed in an accident. His wife, Jayne, has never forgiven Ainsley for his role in the debacle that robbed her husband of feeling from the waist down and robbed her of the opportunity to have a child.

Ainsley owes his friend–and more–his friend’s wife. After much reluctance, Jayne agrees to spend one month with Ainsley, in hopes of getting her with child, but she has terms: he is never to kiss her, she will take no pleasure from the act, and she will do nothing to bring him pleasure, other than what is necessary for him to fulfill his obligations.

But as the days and nights follow, she discovers a man with the ability to make her feel alive as she never did, a man who can make her dream again, make her feel young again. In his arms, she will come to realize a love far greater than any she has ever known.

Purchase Waking Up With the Duke

Check out the Waking Up With the Duke Virtual tour. Everyone who comments on one of the tour posts goes into a draw to win a $25 Amazon voucher. Waking Up With the Duke is out today.

During the last six months, I’ve noticed a lot more ads on TV targeted to men and their personal grooming. I found it quite interesting, and it made me start thinking. Cue theme music from Sex in the City and a voice over by Carrie Bradshaw…

Are our men ready to embrace cosmetics and skin care? Are man hides about to become a thing of the past?

I started my investigation close to home. Hubby is very conservative in this area, although he does use a moisturizer every day. It’s a no-frills one from the supermarket, and I have to say he doesn’t look anywhere near his real age. Hubby wasn’t actually much help. He screws up his nose at the idea of skin care products, but I think it’s more a case of time and cost rather than worrying about what other people might think.

During our recent cruise, I attended a lecture about shaving, given by the spa. I thought that since I wrote male characters, the information might prove interesting, and I was right. Some of the men, including my husband, used soap for shaving. Soap doesn’t soften the hair and the alcohol in the soap actually dries out the skin. Special shaving foam does soften the hair, which leads to a closer shave. The razor should not always be stroked with the grain of the hair, but sometimes against the grain or across the face to help prevent ingrown hairs.

At the lecture they announced a special for their Shave of All Shaves treatment. I decided to persuade hubby to have the treatment while I watched and took notes for research purposes. Unfortunately, at the last minute, they said I couldn’t watch. I’ve no idea what they thought I was going to do since all I intended was to sit quietly, watch and take notes. In the end, hubby took mental notes for me. Watch for a shaving scene in one of my upcoming books.

His shave included the following: hot towels to soften the facial hair and prepare the skin, a cleanse, a shave with foam and a second shave with oil. Next came hubby’s favorite part – a peel off mask made with donkey’s milk. A recovery mask followed and last of all was moisturizer. As part of the deal, he also received hand, arm, scalp and a face massage.

His skin felt really smooth when he finished and the shave was so close, he didn’t need to shave for two days. Just quietly, I think he actually enjoyed the process, even though I had to talk fast to persuade him to have the treatment.

On our arrival home, I bought him some good shaving foam, and he admits it’s way easier to shave with the foam.

Is your man a bit like mine and reluctant to use anything remotely “girlie” during the grooming process? Does he use soap, shaving foam, moisterizer?

Presenting my cover for Lone Wolf. Isn’t it pretty?

Here’s the blurb:

When you fall out of step, that’s when everything falls into place.

R.J. Blake begins a new session tutoring young werewolves in the old ways—before the introduction of the shift-suppressing drugs that allow their kind to live secretly among humans. He expects nothing out of the ordinary. Until sexy, smart, aggravating-as-hell Corey Wilson arrives. Older than the others, son of a powerful Los Angeles pack leader, Corey is an instant temptation he cannot afford.

The last thing Corey wants is three months stuck in the Yellowstone wilderness, followed by the stifling life his father has all mapped out for him. One glimpse of R.J., though, sparks a determination to seduce the older man before he leaves. Yet as R.J. guides him through the sometimes terrifying process of rediscovering his heritage, a deepening respect calls to his artistic soul and fuels a burst of creativity.

When their time comes to an end, Corey senses hesitation behind R.J.’s insistence that theirs was simply a summer fling. Inspiring him to take a leap of faith with consequences neither of them saw coming. A dangerous plot that reaches from the heart of their love to the highest office in the land…

Lone Wolf is due out at Samhain Publishing on 23 August.

Several of my Ellora’s Cave titles are currently on sale for $1.19 each at Amazon (Kindle format)
There are a variety of genres available, and they range in length from Quickies to long novels. Snap up one of the following:

Contemporary
Fancy Free
Playing to Win
Wanderlust
Issy’s Infatuation
Summer in the City of Sails
Soldier of Fortune
Fringe Benefits
Lovers at Last
Sex, Spies & Sapphires

Paranormal/Sci-Fi
Talking Dogs, Aliens & Purple People Eaters
Never Send a Dog to Do a Woman’s Job
Romantic Interlude
Sex Idol
Fallen Idol
Make That Man Mine
Lynx to the Pharaoh
Last Wish
Price of Love

Go on. Grab yourself a bargain or two!

I came across a book called Good Old Fashioned Advice by Michael Powell. It includes a section on the proper way to write a love letter. It’s a dying art, but one I think is very romantic because it demonstrates thought and takes an effort when these days it’s far easier to fire off an email, telephone or send a text.

Mr. Powell suggests the following steps will produce a successful love letter:

1. Write from the heart. If you are sincere, honest and caring, your words will find a natural rhythm and music.

2. Use high quality parchment and handwrite in ink.

3. If you have poor handwriting find someone who has good, tidy writing to write your letter for you. The visual impression will create a romantic disposition in the recipient even before they read the letter.

4. Check your spelling and punctuation. As the author says, love may be may be blind but it notices bad grammar.

5. A love letter should not be written lightly because toying with the affections of another is uncool.

6. Avoid purple prose. Simple writing is easier to read and more sincere.

7. Start your letter writing by placing a photo of your loved one in front of you. It’s good for inspiration.

8. Take your time. Don’t rush your letter writing.

9. Listen to some romantic music. The author suggests Chopin, Beethoven, Wagner or Tchaikovsky. I think we could probably go a bit more modern than that.

10. Write as you speak and think. A letter can be playful, flirtatious or witty, but it should carry your voice.

11. Be specific. Point out twelve unique qualities about your beloved.

12. Focus your letter on the two of you and nothing else.

13. End the letter by looking to the future. You want this relationship to last forever and to grow year by year. Let them know your thoughts and hopes for your life together.

Have you sent or received a love letter?

My special guest today is author Lynn Reynolds. Lynn is celebrating the release of her contemporary romance Love Capri Style. Think sun, good food, long sultry evenings and romance. Nothing better, right? That’s what I thought. Today Lynn is talking about the summer romance, those reads that are perfect to laze away the long sunny days. Over to Lynn…

Shelley, thanks so much for having me here. I have to say, this is one tour stop I wish I could do in person. I’ve always dreamed of going to New Zealand. It’s so remote, which holds a lot of attraction for a homebody writer like myself. The in-laws certainly wouldn’t be dropping in on me without warning – LOL. New Zealand looks from photos – and those Lord of the Rings movies, of course – like it’s full of majestic hills and green valleys. And while that’s breathtaking, I have to admit it’s not what I think of when I think “Summer Romance.”

To me, summer romances should be set in one of two places: the tropics or the Mediterranean. Many authors go with a tropical setting, since it lends itself well to lots of sexy sunbathing scenes and the like. With my latest novel, Love Capri Style, however, I opted for the Mediterranean setting. Why? Well, I do feel like the tropical locations get done pretty frequently. And I personally have always longed to go to Capri. I’ve travelled a lot – not as much as you, Shelley, but a good bit. However, I never made it to Italy. Setting Love Capri Style was a little bit of wish fulfillment for me. Research was a lot of fun too, and made much easier by the modern convenience of the Internet. Not only was the tourist board able to get me quick answers about which hotels and restaurants a wealthy playboy might frequent – I was also able to check out YouTube videos and blogs from tourists who’d visited Capri and recorded their favorite places to see on the island. I felt like I was taking a summer vacation while staying in my own office. At least no one lost my luggage, which is what happens to my heroine Amanda.

Amanda is an eager young reporter who goes to Capri to cover a music festival and finds herself being seduced by the sexy head of a rival publishing empire. She’s not used to covering celebrities and she’s a bit inept. I tried to use that to create humor in my story. Because setting is not the only key element to a summer story. It’s not even the most important element. I can think of plenty of stories set on gorgeous islands that don’t end well at all. The TV series Lost and the classic novel Lord of the Flies spring to mind immediately. For me, a good summer romance doesn’t just need a good location – it also needs humor. I don’t want to read dark, grim stories in the bright summer sun, so I tried to make sure there was a lot of witty repartee in Love Capri Style.

A good summer story also needs to capture the feel and the flavors of summer – weather it’s cooking shrimp and burgers on the grill, building sandcastles, or savoring a creamy Italian gelato. I think Italian food can be especially sexy, as Lady and the Tramp proved with their own immortal love scene. There’s lots of luscious food and wine in Love Capri Style for just that reason. Capri is also known for limoncello, a liqueur that’s distilled from lemons. What could be a more sexy, summery flavor than that?

To sum up – the ideal summer read for me is one that’s loaded with romance, humor, delicious flavors and an exotic setting. I’m hoping readers will find that I’ve done a good job of capturing those elements in Love Capri Style!

Blurb:

Amanda Jackson only took the job with Fame magazine to get closer to her estranged father, billionaire publisher Peter Tate. Instead of welcoming her, Dad sends her out of the country, to cover a music festival on the magnificent isle of Capri. There Amanda finds herself up close and personal with her dad’s leading competitor – dashing British playboy Eric Greyford. Can she get an exclusive on Eric’s hectic love life, or will she wind up as just another item on the gossip pages of his newspaper?

Purchase: Love Capri Style at Amazon or The Wild Rose Press

Lynn Reynolds’ bio:

I’m a writer, a wife and a mom – although not necessarily in that order. I’m a city girl trapped in Green Acres.

In my other life as a journalist, my feature articles have appeared in major daily and weekly newspapers. Remember those? My short stories and poetry have been published in a few obscure literary mags that you’ve never heard of. At various times in my life, I’ve also been a child model, an actress, a stagehand, a secretary, a seller of ladies’ lingerie and – in a brief fit of practicality, a computer programmer. My secret ambition is to be a wench at the Renaissance Faire.

I write romances because I truly do believe in Happily Ever After.

Visit my website
I’m on Facebook way too much of the time. Friend me there
I don’t blog often, but I am a regular contributor to the PopCultureDivas blog
My own blog can be found at http://lynnreynolds.blogspot.com/

CONTEST: Lynn is giving away a $15 Amazon gift card along with a copy of Colbie Caillat’s CD Coco, featuring the song “Capri”. Comment on this post and follow Lynn’s virtual tour to have an even better chance of winning. Lynn’s tour dates can be found at Goddess Fish Promotions

What sort of books do you like to read during your leisurely summer days?

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 been in a cowboy mood lately, and my current read is One Fine Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy.

Nate’s gaze dropped from her face and swept up and down her body, assessing every detail like a wealthy buyer at a livestock auction. She felt herself come alive under his scrutiny and wondered if he was noticing her bone structure, the length of her legs, the swell of her breasts.

page 63, One Fine Cowboy

Blurb:

His heart is as wild as the horses he trained…

Nate Shawcross is perfectly content to spend his days training wild horses. So when a beautiful greenhorn unexpectedly shows up for a seminar from the famous “Horse Whisperer” of Wyoming, all Nate wants to do is send her packing…

The last thing she expects is a lesson in romance…

Graduate student Charlie Banks came to the ranch to learn about horse communication, but when she meets the ruggedly handsome cowboy, she starts to fantasize about another connection entirely…

Nate needs to stay focused if he’s going to save his ranch from foreclosure, but he can’t help being distracted by the brainy and breathtakingly sexy Charlie. Could it be that after all this time Nate has finally found the one woman who can tame his wild heart?

Purchase One Fine Cowboy

My sister rang me two nights ago. “Guess what I saw when I was driving home?”

“Uh, rain?” We’ve had lots of rain recently, and on this particular day, the rain came with thunder and lightning.

“An emu,” she said.

“What have you been drinking?” I asked because we don’t have emus in New Zealand.

She laughed and explained further. After her initial shock passed, she stopped and put on her hazard lights. It turned out the emu belonged to a petting zoo just up the road. The thunder and lightning had scared the emu, and it had escaped.

Hubby and I have seen lots of weird things while driving through foreign countries. In Harare, Zimbabwe we actually saw the road through the bottom of the cab we were driving in. I was pleased to arrive at my destination. Driving in Cairo, Egypt was interesting. It was like being in the middle of a dodgem car arena. In India there were elephants, camels, trucks decorated and colorful, buses crammed full with people hanging from doorways and windows, female road gangs just to mention a few of our sightings. In Fiji one thing that sticks in my mind are the numerous clothes lines full of freshly washed laundry.

What strange things have you noticed while driving around the countryside?