Shelley Munro Blog

Today is the grand opening of The Danger Zone - a group of authors who all have adventure in common. It’s an honor to be part of this group, and I hope you’ll check out what we have on offer. Adventure. Peril. Intrigue. Just one click away…

I’ve updated my website with a new page/excerpt for Cat and Mouse, the fifth Middlemarch Mates book. Enjoy!

My arm is giving me real problems this week, which is why I’m a little quiet. Using the computer seems to aggravate the condition. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to catch up on housework instead.

Happy Mothers day to all mothers out there. I hope your families are spoiling you because you deserve it!

Mr. Munro and I have just returned home from a family dinner - a birthday celebration for my mother-in-law. Now that the family is getting larger it’s difficult to organize everyone, so we were slightly depleted in number, although we managed four generations of family. We’re also expecting two babies in the family - the first to arrive should make an appearance in just over a week. Everyone is excited because it’s a girl after several boys. Anyway, Mr. Munro and I had to go for a walk when we arrived home to shake down our dinners. My eyes were WAY too big.

The form for volunteers at the RWA conference went online today. I decided I’d volunteer and chose the agent/editor appointments plus a few hours on the registration desk. I’m a bit shy, so it’s good for me. That’s what I keep telling myself…

I thought I’d mention the Erotic Romance Blog. Both the blog and the website are full of great information on e-publishing and erotic romance plus the latest market news. I always find the posts interesting and have them on my blog feed.

And finally writer Josh Lanyon has a how-to book available on writing m/m romances. It’s called Man-oh-Man, Writing M-M for Cash and Kinks. It’s definitely worth checking out and is available in e-format from Fictionwise. I recently read my first book by Josh Lanyon called The Dark Horse and enjoyed it very much. He’s a very good writer - lots of emotion and well-rounded characters. He has several books available at Fictionwise and some at Loose ID.

Brush up your cover/query letters and send them to Redlines and Deadlines for a chance of a critique and maybe win a download of an Ellora’s Cave or Cerridwen Press book.

Anna Campbell is doing a workshop at Sandra’s Goings On about lifting the drama in your writing.

At IHeartPresents there’s a post from editor Bryony Green about what they’re looking for in the new Modern Extra line. These books are sold as Sensation Sexy in Australia and New Zealand, and I believe in the US some have come out as part of the Presents line. They’re younger feeling with lots of dialogue and are fairly hot. I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read. Also check out the contests they are having for Presents and Modern Extra - write a chapter plus a synopsis by mid-February.

And finally, it’s my birthday in December. I’m having a birthday bash right here with guest bloggers from 1 Dec to 21 Dec. Lots of fun and prizes. I hope you’ll come along and join in the fun. I have a special birthday contest on my contest page. Guess the date of my birthday and win!

I’m blogging over at the Dynamic Trio today. Check out my post here.

I learnt something interesting yesterday. Did you know candles have a memory? I didn’t. Evidently a candle will only burn to the same diameter it was last burnt to. To avoid ‘tunneling’ ensure the candle burns for one hour per 20mm in diameter. Note to self - this is obviously what I did wrong with my chubby candle because I ended up with a wax tube.

Out on the web at the Naughty and Spice blog Shelli Stevens is talking about love scenes. When did you read your first love scene and if you’re a writer, how did it feel writing your first love scene? I remember writing mine - discomfort would sum it up. How times change!

There’s always lots to look at in the Midnight Moon Cafe but check out Tempest Knight’s Flirting tips. You never know when this stuff can come in handy.

At Six Degrees of Sexy Wylie Kinson has a great post on body language. It’s one post you’ll want to save and refer back to while writing.

And finally, I received my Romance Writer’s Report today and Louise Ahern has an excellent article titled “The Cure for the PR Challenged.” I’ve just done an online course on PR with Louise through Author MBA and learnt so much. I’ll be putting stuff into practice soon so watch out!

Quote for the day: “We don’t stop laughing because we get old; we get old because we stop laughing.” Author ~Unknown~

There are loads of wonderful workshops online at the moment while the annual Romance Writers of America conference is taking place. Those of us who had to stay at home needn’t miss out!

Check out the following:

Paperback Writer
So far Lynn Viehl has posted workshops on Story Power, Editing and Revising and Pacing. She’s also doing giveaways to those who comment on the blog.

Gabriele Campbell is posting on writing battles. She has some wonderful photos of English castles and Hadrian’s Wall.

LJ Cohen has a post about organizing your novel with a Wiki.

Shiloh Walker has posts about Exploring Backstory and Heat with Heart (finding the missing emotion)

Joely Sue Burkhart has a post called Do you Know the Secret? It’s about writing and positive thinking.

Rosina Lippi has posts about The Story Machine and Ask Your Characters.

And last but not least, check out Romance Divas for free workshops on a great range of topics. You’ll need to join the free forum to take part in these workshops and there are lots of exciting doorprizes on offer.