Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

WINNER PICKED: Congratulations to Molly Frenzel. I’ve emailed you about your prize. Thanks to everyone else for visiting! Happy reading. :-)

I’m taking part in the Sinful Sirens Giveaway hop, which takes place from 15 – 20 May. This hop is hosted by Under the Covers and Guilty Pleasures.

While I was pondering a topic for today’s post I received redo covers for my Talking Dog series. A sign! The perfect thing for my post today. A cover reveal.

And so, without further ado, here are the new, updated covers for the three books in my Talking Dogs series…

TALKING DOGS, ALIENS AND PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS

Janaya is a bodyguard on a mission. She must protect her Aunt Hinekiri from mercenaries and then return to Dalcon in time to take her captain’s exam.

A simple assignment for an officer of her caliber—except nothing goes as planned. Their spaceship crash lands on Earth. No spare parts available. Big problem.

Janaya is stuck on a tiny outpost called New Zealand. She’s going to stuff up her promotion chances. And because she neglected to have her travel inoculations in her urgent hurry to protect her aunt, Janaya has bonded with an Earthman.

Police officer Luke Morgan seeks a quiet life. No press. No nosy reporters. No women. Just lots of fishing and fresh country air.

Luke doesn’t count on meeting a pair of aliens and a talking dog and participating in a shootout with purple-suited aliens. Nor does he expect the surge of lust he feels for Janaya. Suddenly a routine callout turns into a big problem that Luke suspects might only be the tip of the iceberg.

Purchase from Amazon

NEVER SEND A DOG TO DO A WOMAN’S JOB

Sex. Lily Morgan hasn’t had any since her husband ran off with his boyfriend. But where will she find a man willing to overlook chronic clumsiness, dimpled thighs and cellulite?

Sex. Prince Alexandre Bellangere has too much. Sex, that is. Being treated as a sex object is becoming a pain in the ass.

Heck, he’s more than just a pretty face and muscular body. Alex has brains and ambition. But Dalcon princes are expected to have sex, mate and breed royal undergrowns.

Determined to change his life, he sneaks from the palace and the planet disguised as plain Alex Bell.

Sex. Lily Morgan takes one look at the golden stranger and starts thinking “what if?”

Alex Bell takes one look at the curvy travel agent and reconsiders his stand on sex. Maybe.

Sex. Lily’s family is not happy about her mating with an alien they know nothing about. They decide to leave Killer, the talking dog, to keep an eye on the situation.

Take one chubby travel agent and an alien Dalconian prince in disguise, add in sex, laughter, endless possibilities. Combine and shake vigorously. Result…a true-blue love.

Purchase from Amazon

ROMANTIC INTERLUDE

New Zealand cop Richard Morgan is settled and perhaps a tad boring. Maybe he’s a little lonely since his wife died, but there’s no need to change a lifestyle that works for him. Small-town life suits him perfectly.

Intrepid alien explorer Hinekiri walks through life alone, eager to explore uncharted worlds and try new experiences. She’s arrived on Earth to fulfill her ambition to witness the wildebeest migration in Africa . Unfortunately, she has Torgon mercenaries hot on her trail, eager to steal her valuable galaxy charts, and a niece who wants to spoil her fun.

From the minute Richard unwittingly finds himself in bed with the beautiful alien temptress it’s hard to catch his breath. Suddenly he’s lusting after Hinekiri and discovering they’re very compatible indeed! Richard’s flying in spaceships, talking to dogs and fighting Torgon mercenaries in his spare time.

Purchase from Amazon

So what do you think of the new look covers? And an extra discussion question – a form of informal research – I used to read a lot of erotic romance, but while I still like a hot read, I also enjoy young adult stories with no sex at all. What side of the pendulum do your reading tastes fall? Have your tastes changed?

GIVEAWAY – I’m giving away a $10 Amazon voucher to one randomly drawn commenter. Fill in the rafflecopter and leave a comment. Good luck!

To visit other bloggers taking part in the blog hop follow this link

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don’t they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I’m participating too!

I am randomly picking Savannah Chase, who is amazingly supportive of her fellow writers and always offers encouraging words when she hops around the Internet each day. I figure that as an author, Savannah, you are also a keen reader so  for my RAOK gift, I’m offering to give you the download of your choice from my backlist.

I really appreciate Savannah, who blogs at Savannah Chase. If you have a minute, please stop in and tell her how awesome she is!

Do you know someone special that you’d like to randomly acknowledge? Don’t be shy–come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments! You never know what might happen…

Thanks to everyone who visited my blog for the 18 and Over Blog Hop.

And the winner of the $10 Amazon GC is…

Sue Sattler

Congratulations, Sue. I’ve emailed you about your prize. Thanks again to all those who commented. I enjoyed chatting with you, and I hope you’ll stop by again in the future.

Let’s do the hop! Today I’m taking part in the 18 and Over Blog hop, sponsored by Bitten By Paranormal Romance and Getting Naughty Between the Stacks.

MY GIVEAWAY: I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one visitor who posts a comment on this post before the hop ends on 25 March.

So tell me – what would you do if you inherited a condom company? That’s the situation that Alice Beasley faces. I’ll let her tell you about it in her own words…

Sloan is a country town. It’s not exactly normal. I hear they have a cult here. We’ve sure seen some weird people since our arrival for the reading of my godmother’s will. Steven, my boyfriend, didn’t want to take a day off work, but like me, he’s curious about my inheritance. He’s a bit grumpy. I’m ignoring him.

I think my godmother has left me money or jewelry. At least I hope so. I could do with some money to pay off my student debts. That would be so cool.

Whoa, this is weird. The town hall is packed for the reading. Everyone is staring at me. Oh, nice! He’s cute. Sexy butt… I keep staring and realize I’m staring at his crotch. I hurriedly look away.

Oh, that must be the lawyer. I, along with everyone else, straighten. He starts talking. Oh, no. He’s going to read the entire will. I hope it’s not too long.

My gaze darts away from the lawyer. My attention wanders.

“Not bloody likely!”

Oh, no. What have I missed? A condom factory? What happened to money? Jewelry? What the heck am I going to do with a condom factory? Shoot. I can’t sell it. The lawyer says I have to run it for a year.

But I don’t know anything about condoms. I haven’t had much experience with them.

Yikes, I have to go to a board meeting. What? Steven just told me if I stay here our relationship is over. He can’t mean that. Hell, he does mean it. Unbelievable! I’m not letting him maneuver me. Not this time.

Mr. Cute and Sexy is watching. I feel my face going red. He’s the manager of the condom factory—the man I have to work with. I tell Steven I’m staying in Sloan. I have to see what this inheritance is about even if I have to stay in this weird town and look at condoms all day, every day for the next year.

So how does Alice cope with condoms and Mr. Sexy, the manager she has to work with for the next year?

The excerpt below shows some of what happened to Alice on her first day of work at FANCY FREE:

BLURB:

It’s not every day a girl inherits a condom company, and to say accountant Alice Beasley is astonished and out of her depth is putting it mildly. For an almost virgin, she needs a quick education in all things condom because her inheritance is in danger. Someone is intent on sabotage and trying to destroy her new company.

Alice is suddenly getting down and dirty with charismatic James, the factory manager, all in the name of business, testing new condom designs. The sex is hot. Mind-blowing. It’s a dark thrill and an erotic journey. Yeah, it’s a hard job, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s gotta do.

Alice wants James. She craves his talented touch and sultry kisses, she desires passion and physical pleasure on a permanent basis but first she must convince bad-boy James to give up his fancy-free ways.

WARNING: Condoms were tested and a few harmed during the writing of this story.

EXCERPT:

The condom was a delicate violet color and had tiny raised dots all over the surface. It looked like an alien creature with chicken pox. There were certainly alien appendages attached. Hard to say what that round bit did. Dragging her gaze from the photo, she turned her attention to James’ run down of the product and the current state of play. Tests. Trials. Okay. She supposed that made sense. They had to know if they worked properly.

But how did they conduct the tests?

Her mind went into overdrive as she visualized a typical condom trial. A man and woman naked on a huge bed while a man dressed in a white coat stood with a clipboard, snapping out pertinent questions and ticking off the questions in his survey. How did the latex feel? Did it fit to the penis correctly? Was it too thick? Too thin? Was it big enough to catch semen? Did it stand up to vigorous thrusts? Is there significant loss of sensation?

A tight band constricted Alice’s chest, affecting her breathing. Her bra felt way too tight. She furtively tugged at the underwire of her bra while a wave of heat engulfed her body. She squirmed about on her chair, warmth growing in her nether regions because of her sexual thoughts. Alice bit into her bottom lip. Questions. She had them, but nerves and uncertainty made her hesitate. A sharp inhalation did nothing to steady her. This was stupid. She had a vested interest in this condom company and had every right to ask questions. “Um, how do you conduct trials?”

“We ask for volunteers, dear.” The elderly lady in the seat next to her stopped her knitting to lean over and pat her on the hand. “Thankfully, our team of volunteers likes sex.”

“That’s after our special machines are used for the initial tests,” an elderly gent added.

“Oh.” Alice bit her lip again. None of the elderly board members seemed embarrassed while nerves caused her stomach to twist tightly enough for all of them. It was that man’s fault. He made her think very naughty thoughts and totally forget about her problems with Steven. Her gaze speared to him and clung.

James Bates.

His husky voice and good looks had spilled over into her dreams last night. She could barely look him in the face after she recalled her nakedness, wantonly sliding her well-endowed chest across his face. Begging for it. Begging for him. Tension gathered low in her belly when she recalled the exquisite sensation of his mouth when it closed over her breast. He’d drawn her nipple deep into his mouth and sucked hard until she felt a corresponding tug in her… Pussy. Pussy. Huh, she might as well think bluntly since she’d certainly dreamed in Technicolor with no holds barred. He’d stripped his jeans and white cotton shirt off and displayed tanned muscles. Smooth skin. And a huge erection. Alice groaned and imagined his cock and how it felt sliding deep into her body. Or at least she tried since she remembered only the barest mechanics and sensations. She shifted on her chair and sighed, her feminine flesh pulsing. It had been so long since that one foray into sex. Maybe it was time to explore again?

“Are you really all right, dear? You look a little flushed.” The knitting lady again.

Alice jerked back to the present to find every one of the six board members staring at her again plus the admin lady, and worst of all, the manager James Bates. He wore a grin, almost as if he knew what she’d fantasized about and relived only seconds ago.

Oh my. Steven was right. Her morals had fallen by the wayside. She was a wicked woman and was going to hell. Realizing she had yet to answer, Alice blurted, “Fine. I’m…ah…focused on the business.” And how. If she concentrated on sex and condoms any harder, she’d self-combust. An X-rated version of Alice in Wonderland. Who’d have guessed?

Purchase Fancy Free, book 1 in the Fancy Free series:

Ellora’s Cave | Amazon | All Romance ebooks | Barnes & Noble

Purchase Christmas is Coming, book 2 in the Fancy Free series:

Ellora’s Cave | Amazon | All Romance ebooks | Barnes & Noble

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post—the excerpt, the blurb or Alice OR tell me if you have an e-book reader and what you like about it OR tell me what you’d do if you had a free day without work or children – a day to do anything you’d like.

I’m taking part in a Blog Crusade. What is a blog crusade?

Basically, the Crusade is a way to link those within the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Crusaders are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others’ online platforms while at the same time building theirs.

It’s hosted by Rachel Harrie at her blog Rach Writes.

Here is the link to Rachel’s post detailing the Crusade.

Why don’t you join in too?