Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’m handing out glasses of sparkling wine today. Grab one from the waiter and make sure you try one of those yummy canapés before you take a seat and hear my news. Even though I’ve been away on holiday, I’ve been busy!

Stranger Things Happen is now available at Amazon. This tale of a woman who designs virtual reality games and finds love in a surprising way is also available at All Romance ebooks.

I’m thrilled to announce I’ve sold a new contemporary romance to Samhain Publishing. Past Regrets is book two in the newly named Love and Friendship series. The first book in the series is The Bottom Line. For those who are familiar with The Bottom Line, Past Regrets is Julia’s story. It’s been a while since I’ve contracted a book with Samhain, which makes this sale doubly exciting.

After dragging my feet for ages, I’m finally jumping into the self-publishing pond. This move was spurred when I received the rights back for an older book. I currently have two projects on the go, both contemporary. Wild Child (the novella reissue) is almost ready to go live. Here’s the blurb and cover.

Zoe Underwood is one sexy disruption.

From the moment her father married Matt’s mother, Zoe has tempted Matt Cantrell with her seductive curves and driven him crazy with her flirting and provocative manner. The thing is they have no future because Zoe is his stepsister. Determined to dodge trouble, Matt leaves Auckland to live and work in the Gold Coast of Australia. A sea between them should do the trick and let him move forward without the “Zoe” distraction in his life.

Matt Cantrell is one stubborn dude.

No one presses Zoe’s buttons like the tall, dark and gorgeous Matt. In fact, every other man pales in comparison. One last play. Zoe decides to invade Matt’s territory and make her move before another clever woman snaps him up. She’ll bust through emotional walls and push boundaries. By the time she’s finished, Matt won’t know what hit him. Yes. Good or bad, she’ll stir things up and take a chance on love.

The second book on my self-publishing horizon is One Night of Misbehavior, a modern retelling of Cinderella. The fab Maria Zaninni at Book Cover Diva has designed an awesome cover for me, and I can’t wait to share. Watch this space.

What have I missed while I was away? Do you have any news to share?

Fancy Free is finally out in print at Ellora’s Cave!

Want to read a spicy romance?

A story about a woman who inherits a condom factory?

A story that’s sexy?

One that contains a little mystery?

A story that will make you laugh?

This is the story for you!

Here’s the blurb:

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

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 playing nasty, 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.

The testing turns personal. 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…

Purchase Fancy Free directly from Ellora’s Cave, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or the Book Depository

I’m visiting the wonderful Brinda Berry, YA writer and author of The Waiting Booth and upcoming sequel, Whisper of Memory today. My topic is peanut butter, and I also mention my latest release, Cat Burglar in Training.

Here’s the link to Brinda’s blog and my post on peanut butter.

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 Cinder by Marissa Meyer, which is a steampunk retelling of Cinderella.

“I’ll need to run her diagnostics. It will take me a few days, maybe a week.” Tucking a strand of hair behind one ear, Cinder sat down, grateful to give her leg a rest while she examined the android’s innards. She knew she must be breaking some rule of etiquette, but the prince didn’t seem to mind as he tipped forward, watching her hands.

page 13, Cinder

Blurb from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Here’s a link to a Whatever blog post where author Marissa Meyer tells how she came up with the idea for her book Cinder.

Purchase Cinder

Like many people I enjoy music. I can’t play an instrument. I can’t sing to save myself (not that it stops me from trying!), but I love to listen to music ranging from classic to rock to country and pop.

A radio station I was listening to the other day came up with this question….

If you could pick a theme song—one that would play each time you walked into a room—what would it be?

Here are some suggestions I came up with:

Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO

Bitch by Meredith Brooks

How Bizarre by OMC

Firework by Katy Perry

Born this Way by Lady Gaga

Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks

Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen

I Want it All by Queen

Man! I Feel Like a Woman by Shania Twain

Black Sheep by Gin Wigmore  (NZ Artist)

Loyal by Dave Dobbyn (NZ Artist)

Your turn now… If you opened the doors above and stepped inside the room, what would your theme song be?

I’m thrilled to contribute another story to All Romance ebooks Perfect Strangers series. Eye on the Ball, my story this year is a contemporary mm one with a rugby theme.

Here’s the blurb:

Sometimes the best games are the ones played for keeps.

For two years, Melbourne assistant rugby coach Leon Fleming has mourned the passing of his long-term partner, convinced he could’ve done something to prevent his lover’s unexpected death.

Professional rugby player Hunter Blair is having a terrible season with his Auckland team, struggling with his form and a spate of injuries. A closet gay, Hunter visits the Maxwell’s BDSM club intending to satisfy his curiosity and maybe score an anonymous one-night stand. What he finds is something quite different—a taciturn man who intrigues him. A man who fires both his imagination and his libido.

Hunter’s blatant offer shoves Leon into turmoil. It’s only sex, yet it feels as if he’s stepping into the unknown. This is a game with no rules or referee. Not a final whistle in sight, so why is his heart telling him he should play hard and win?

Preorder your copy today at All Romance ebooks

The first book in the Perfect Strangers series comes out on the 1 Feb with new books releasing daily. Find details of all the Perfect Strangers books here.

I’m taking part in Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Challenge for 2012, and we’re tackling pigeons of discontent.

So, what is a pigeon of discontent you ask?

This is Gretchen’s definition, paraphrased a little by me: A Pigeon of Discontent is an ordinary problem that has settled into roost. For example: you never make it to the gym; you bicker with your kids each morning; your closet is a mess; you haven’t had time to read a book in months.

She goes on to say that the Happiness Challenge for 2012 is the identification of these Pigeons. Once identified, we then find a way to shoo them away.

I have a couple of very easy, fixable pigeons of discontent, yet it’s almost all the way through January, and they’ve settled in to roost. In my defense, I’m doing Editpalooza with Savvy Authors this month and working hard on polishing/adding 30K words to a historical romance. I’ve also been trying to get away another sub to Ellora’s Cave. Yay! Mission accomplished today. Now all I have to do is wait to hear from my editor.

My pigeons of discontent:

1. Spiders have taken residence in my clothes line and their webs are encroaching on my clean washing, sticking everywhere and making a mess. Yes, this is totally easy to fix, yet I keep thinking oh, yeah. I need to do something about that, and every time I hang out my washing the webs are still there getting in the way! I hung out washing today, and yes, the webs remain.

2. Finger marks all over the kitchen cupboards and fridge. Again, totally easy to fix, but whenever I think about kitchen cleaning I’m in a hurry.

3. I have books I need to read and judge for a competition, yet reading time is in short supply. I also have two books to review and a looming deadline. Due to my writing commitments I haven’t been reading. I like reading, dammit. Got to fit it in somehow.

Action Plan
These are easy pigeons, practically poised for flight if I give them a nudge. This is what I propose to do.

a) Add all three items to my list. This means that they’re constantly brought to mind.

b) This coming weekend – just do it! Both jobs won’t take me long, leaving me time to do the things that really make me happy.

c) Reading – exchange some of the time I waste on the web for reading. Also go to bed a little earlier and read a few chapters before bed. Read 1 – 2 chapters during my lunch break each day.

Do you have a small, ordinary issue that influences or has a negative impact on your happiness? What is your Pigeon of Discontent?

I’m thrilled to announce Cat and Mouse, Middlemarch Mates 5 is now out in print.

Here’s the blurb:

Middlemarch Mates, Book Five

Every woman has sexual needs. Lana Sinclair, feline shapeshifter and widow, is more than ready for a fun night with a likeminded male. Hot lovin’ is compulsory because she’s determined to scratch the itch that’s driving her crazy. This time, career-girl Lana is picking a malleable male who won’t try to corral her into the housewife role.

Fellow shifter Duncan Ross is the perfect candidate. The cowboy follows the rodeo circuit and is only in Middlemarch for the bull riding. One night of mutual seduction, slick, naked bodies and pleasure, then he’ll be on his way.

Duncan is astonished when Lana propositions him, but no one could ever call him stupid. He’s always desired Lana and now that she’s ready for sex, he’s all action. It’s time to lasso the woman of his dreams with some sweet lovin’ and charm, a sexy massage and ropes spliced together with addictive pleasure. He’ll seduce her to his way of thinking—a permanent arrangement. This is one go-round Duncan is determined to win.

Purchase from Ellora’s Cave | Amazon |

I’ve added some new photos to my online photo album. There are photos of the Forbidden City and the Chengdu pandas, and I’ve also uploaded some photos from England, Ireland, Nepal and India.

To explore my photo album follow this link and select the category you’d like to explore. Double click on the thumbnails to enlarge the photos.

More photos to come. Enjoy!

I have a new release coming out with Carina Press in February 2012. It’s a rerelease of my contemporary mystery/romance The Shadow, although I’ve done extensive revisions and rewrites with the help of my wonderful editor. There’s no official title or blurb as yet, but the release date is definitely February.