Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Yesterday I blog-hopped over to Rosalie Lario’s blog and read J. R. Barrett’s post about her new release, Incorporeal. Her post was titled Why I Wrote a Ghost Story.

Publishers told her ghost stories didn’t sell. Click over to Rosalie’s blog and read what Julia said. Don’t worry. I’ll hang around until you return.

Frankly, I disagree because I enjoy reading stories featuring the combination of ghosts and romance. I remember being enthralled by the old television series The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. In fact, reruns would be welcomed. I also enjoyed a detective show called Randall and Hopkirk. One of them was a ghost–I can’t quite remember which one it was, but he wore a white suit to denote his ghostly presence.

The thought that love is timeless and goes on past death attracts me, and it’s always interesting to learn how an author deals with a ghost plus a human lover. How will they finally end up together? Will they end up together? A ghost makes for an interesting conflict. Ghosts also make excellent secondary characters and can add depth and humor to a story.

There don’t seem to be many ghost romances around, but a few years ago I wrote a werewolf-ghost story called Curse of Brandon Lupinus. In fact, it’s selling at the reduced price of $1.49 at Amazon and All Romance ebooks. And of course, you can check out JR Barrett’s Incorporeal.

What do you think about ghost romances? Do you like or dislike them and why?

Check out my contest to win a shapeshifter ebook bundle or a Talking Dog ebook bundle. The details are here. Basically all you need to do to enter the contest is comment on my blog. Go forth and comment!

Picnic (1748) ~ an excursion or outing with food, usually provided by members of the group and eaten in the open.

I have lots of fond memories of family picnics. During the summer months we’d go to the beach, agricultural shows, rodeos and sports days. My mother would make delicious sandwiches with egg and lettuce, ham and mustard or salmon. There were club sandwiches and sometimes rolls filled with salad. We’d have bacon & egg pie and fresh fruit, usually apples or oranges. For drinks there would be a thermos flask of tea and sometimes fresh lemonade. The food always tasted better when eaten outdoors.

When my husband and I visited Yellowstone National Park a few years ago we also had a picnic. We stopped at one of the park stores and purchased a salad each. Yellowstone has so many beautiful picnic spots and we found one to eat our meal. There are signs everywhere about not feeding bears and other wild life and disposing of rubbish correctly in the bear proof bins. We were both hoping for a glimpse of Yogi and Boo Boo, but it wasn’t to be, although we did see a grizzly bear later in the day. We did come across one of the downsides of eating in the outdoors. Bugs!

Do you like picnics? What are your favorite picnic foods? Do you have a favorite picnic spot?

Experience wolves and the wildlife in Lone Wolf, an m/m romance coming from Samhain Publishing on 23 August. Available now for pre-order at a discounted price.

We have so many negative things in our lives I thought it would be good to focus on the things that make us happy. Happiness is–according to my dictionary–a state of well-being and contentment.

Things that make me happy

1. Taking a walk with my husband and our puppy.

2. Listening to music on my iPod.

3. Getting together with friends and family.

4. Choosing a new book off my to-read pile.

5. Trying out a recipe I haven’t made before.

6. Exploring new places, both at home and overseas.

7. Writing “the end” for one of my works in progress.

8. Eating an ice cream on a hot day.

What is one thing that makes you happy?

I have two special guests visiting my blog next week. On Tuesday, contemporary author Candis Terry will visit. She’s a new-to-me author, and I really enjoyed her new release, Second Chance at the Sugar Shack.

On Friday, sci-fi and fantasy author, Maria Zannini is visiting and talking about promotion secrets. Check out the rest of her Indie Roadshow tour here.

I read an interesting blog post in the weekend at Falling in Love With Romance, the blog of author Suzie Quint. The post was titled Don’t Think You’re Writing Historical Novels? Think Again. Suzie mentioned how technology is changing so rapidly, it makes some novels seem like historical novels even before their time.

Some of the examples she cited include:
tapes/compact discs/downloads/
dial-up Internet
telephones/cell phones/home lines/party lines
VCR/tapes/

I know from experience when I received the rights back for Playing To Win, I had to update due to changes in technology in DNA tests and the computerization of birth records. It was tricky to incorporate the advances and still make the plot work.

(I interrupt this post with a sales message–Playing to Win is currently available on sale at a deep discount at Amazon and All Romance ebooks. Go. Buy!)

My mother died at a young age, and I often think of the changes in technology since her death. In the almost thirty years since there have been changes in the way we use credit and debit cards instead of cash, computers, phone, television, the Internet and home entertainment. Heck, some of the changes such as fax are rarely used now, already supplanted by email.

It’s true. We might think we’re writing contemporary novels but, in a handful of years, many of the items we give our characters to use in a book or some of the research methods will be out of date because of the rapid changes in our technology.

I don’t use product specific brand names in my books because I think they help date a book. Technology isn’t as easy to avoid because our characters need to communicate, even if it’s only to ring for take out. They need to entertain themselves, so maybe it’s easier to write historicals after all!

While our novels might go out of date rapidly, changes in technology have made the actual writing of our books much easier. The thought of handwriting or typing a novel using a manual typewriter makes me shudder. I much prefer my computer with its spellcheck and ease of use. Research is also a breeze with many resources available online or just an email away.

As for reading, changes in technology are giving us more options. We can read physical books or ebooks. We can listen to books and interactive stories have also arrived. It’s an exciting time in the world of books.

I adore new technology and have a love of gadgets. I have an iPod, an e-reader, computer etc and enjoy learning how to work new technology. I’m always interested in the new inventions that hit the market. The only thing I don’t enjoy is toting around all the different chargers, and if the power goes out…well, suffice to say you’ll probably hear me from your place. Technology has certainly made us more dependant on electricity.

Do you enjoy the rapid changes in technology?

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?

Penticost Island was one of the destinations on our recent cruise, and we stopped there to see the land divers. I’ll do a post about them on another day, but it’s said that AJ Hackett [New Zealand inventor of bungee jumping] got the idea for bungee jumping from here.

I took this photo at the Kawarau Bungy Jump, near Queenstown in NZ. It’s said to be the original bungee jump site.

On the last night of the cruise, hubby and I had dinner with another couple. (They were in their late sixties) We started talking about what we’d been doing during the past few days and the conversation came around to bungee jumping. The husband told us that he decided he wanted to do a bungee jump for his sixtieth birthday. His wife thought he was stupid, but he went ahead and did the jump and enjoyed it very much. Before the jump he had a bad ankle. He did the jump and hasn’t had a problem since. He figured the jolt from the bungee must have jerked a bone back in place. A real benefit.

Hubby looked at me and said, “You should do that to fix your sore ankle.”

I took about three seconds to think about it. “No,” I said. “I’m not jumping off anything while attached to a rubber band thingie. No, I won’t do it.”

The bungee jump might have helped the man, but I’m not about to jump. I much prefer to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. I’m positive that’s why I have big feet. I’m meant to stay grounded!!

Have you done a bungee jump before, and if so, where? If not, would you like to do one, or are you like me and think it’s a crazy idea?

Our local supermarkets have vouchers on the back of their shopping receipts, and I usually scan them to see if there is anything that might apply to me.

I was surprised to see the following voucher:

Great Gift for Someone With Every Thing!

$20 + p & p for YOUR OWN ACRE ON THE MOON

(as filed with the United Nations)

Purchase your slice of the moon

I blinked when I saw this ad. Hello? How can someone sell off bits of the moon? According to their website they can. Maybe the better question is who wants to purchase the moon? And would the title stand up in court? I also wondered how much postage and packing it would take to wrap an acre of moon.

What do you think?

Lisa Sanchez is my guest on Friday. Come along, comment on her post or one of the other posts in her Obsessed tour and go into a draw to win a $20 Amazon voucher.

I’ve been thinking about sleep recently—mainly because I could do with more. Yes, I’m in sleep-debt. Our genes determine the amount of sleep we require. The average amount of sleep required by an adult is around eight hours, although people can fall either side of the scale. A child requires more sleep than an elderly person.

If we don’t get enough sleep we might experience all or some of the following symptoms.

• Daytime sleepiness
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Poor thinking
• Increased risk of accidents
• Other health complications e.g. weight gain
• Grumpiness

Source: Sleepdisorders.about.com

About eight hours seems about right for me, maybe slightly more. Anything less, and I start to get grouchy. Tonight I’m off to bed as soon as I finish watching Bones. I’m a morning person—the early to bed, early to rise thing works for me.

How much sleep do you need to function well? Are you a night owl or a morning bird?

In the eighteenth century, the aristocracy traveled to Europe with all the comforts of home. They took their servants and clothing along with things like pots and pans and teapots. I’m not sure what they packed their luggage inside, but I know it traveled separately in a different coach, often with the servants.

A few years ago when hubby and I were off on our overseas adventure we had a large backpack each. They were the frameless kind, which made them easier to pack in trucks during our epic land adventures and we could stow away the back straps so they didn’t tangle. Since our holidays were for months at a time our packs were crammed to capacity and they were heavy. I remember walking from the bus stop to the Youth hostel in Seattle and arriving in a hot sweat and exhausted. Lugging our packs through airports was also hard work. Sometimes our luggage was slightly overweight and it’s a real technique to walk toward the luggage check-in counter without staggering or groaning at the weight. We must have done okay because, to date, we haven’t needed to pay for excess baggage.

As we’ve grown older, our holidays have changed. Sometimes we stay at nice hotels and suitcases with wheels have replaced our backpacks. It’s so much easier wheeling a bag! Before our last holiday hubby bought two duffel type bags (the ones that look like sports bags) with wheels. I much prefer wheeling to toting a heavy pack!

For weekends away, we tend to use smaller size backpacks or duffel-type bags. We roll most of our clothing and these bags work well with this technique.

The progression in luggage is interesting. We still have our old backpacks but we don’t use them as much. The zips are temperamental after all the African dust for a start!

What sort of bags/luggage do you have? And just out of curiosity–have you have needed to pay excess baggage fees?

During our last holiday one of the special activities on board the cruise ship was making beauty products using items from the pantry.

Below is one of the recipes:

Sweet Brown Sugar Scrub

1 part milk
4 parts brown sugar

Mix the sugar and milk together.

Apply to hands, scrub and rinse. This scrub makes the skin soft yet avoids the use of artificial ingredients. You can also use on elbows, feet, knees and other rough skin. Replace the milk with cream to make an extra silky, rich scrub.