Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’ve just realized it’s only a month until Mr. Munro and I head off on holiday again. It’s our wedding anniversary at the beginning of September and we’re flying to Hawaii for two weeks to take a cruise around the different islands. Should be lots of fun and it will be nice to see some sunshine for a change. I mentioned over at Dynamic Trio a few posts ago about buying a bikini. Well, mission accomplished. I ended up buying one from my favorite mail order company, and Mr. Munro whistled when I modeled my new purchase. He’s such a sweetie!

Writing wise, I’ve just finished the first draft of my next Middlemarch story. I’m going to let Assassin sit for a week or so before I go back to it. Meantime, my agent suggested I try to write for one of the Harlequin lines. That’s my next task after I complete edits on Fancy Free. Fancy Free was known as “Snap” in a previous life and will be coming out with Ellora’s Cave, probably early next year. Update: edits almost done!

This weekend we’re doing lots of family stuff. Last night it was dinner at a local pub for my nephew’s birthday and tomorrow our family is getting together for a mid-year Christmas dinner. Remember it’s winter down here so a hot dinner makes sense for those who live downunder.

And finally, I’ll be at the Romance Galleria for a chat on 1 August at 9.00 pm EST. If you haven’t visited the Romance Galleria before go and check it out. I downloaded the software this afternoon and had lots of fun trying to hustle my body around the rooms. I think we’re in the cafe for the chat.

What are you doing this weekend? How’s your job going? Are you heading off on holiday soon? Have you purchased a new binkini recently? Come on – speak to me

I’ve been a little busy during the last couple of days, writing and reading. Unfortunately I haven’t been hiding with Harry Potter since I don’t have my copy yet. I’m busy staying away from any spoilers, or intended to, but Mr. Munro who has never read a Harry Potter book in his life came down to the bedroom.

“I know what happens in Harry Potter,” he said.

“How do you know?”

“I googled it,” he said. “I know who dies.”

Color me amazed. For a man who has never read one of the books and professes himself as indifferent, he was still curious enough to want to know what happens. That’s great marketing.

And then, disaster. My curiosity kicked in. “Who dies?”

The moment Mr. Munro had been waiting for. The wretched man told me!

In punishment, his mission today is to purchase me a copy. Honestly, what am I going to do with this man?

Mr. Munro was talking in his sleep the other night. I have a lot on my mind at the moment and was wide awake. Like a good wife I tried to get him into a conversation because you never know what you might learn that way.

“You’ve got dust all over,” he muttered.

“What?” I frowned because I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Dust. All over,” he repeated quite emphatically.

“What sort of dust?”

“Explosive dust. You’re gonna blow up.” He promptly went back to normal sleep, leaving me dangling in suspense. Was I safe? Was I not? And why was I covered in this dangerous dust?

He couldn’t remember a thing when I quizzed him the next morning. Just my luck. A curious writer left thinking all sorts of what ifs.

I didn’t write a word today, but as usual my mind kept churning over plot points. I do some of my best thinking and plotting while having a shower. Probably too much information, but there you go.

Mr. Munro and I went off to do our shopping and purchased more DVDs for our library even though we’d decided we didn’t need anymore at the moment. In my defence, my chosen DVD relates to research on Earthquakes. We quite like documentaries and have a large selection of non-fiction titles along with movies and cartoons.

This afternoon we tidied and rearranged the garage. Mr. Munro came up with this idea while we were walking the dog. He obviously does his thinking while walking. I kept putting him off since rearranging the garage involved heavy lifting and was full of pitfalls on the domestic front to my way of thinking. I was pleasantly surprised when we managed to tidy said garage without arguments. I have to admit it’s much better now. We’re both happy.

We’re having a lazy evening and intend to watch a DVD before tuning into the netball (Silver Ferns are playing Jamaica) and later on to the rugby (All Blacks playing South Africa). I played netball during my younger days and Mr. Munro played rugby. We both love sport.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Let me know if you’re doing something interesting.