Shelley Munro Blog

James Belshaw, 26, and his girlfriend Sophia Severin, 23, from London, shared an unbroken kiss for 31 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. They began kissing in the Plaza Shopping Centre in Oxford Street at 11:15 BST on Wednesday. The pair broke the previous record, which was set in the US four years ago, by more than half an hour. Throughout the event they were not allowed to sit, or fall asleep, could only take sustenance through a straw and had to stay kissing even while visiting the toilet.

Now that sounds a little extreme. I like kisses. I like reading about them and writing them, although I’m not sure about 31 plus hours of kissing. It makes my lips hurt thinking about it, but I thought we could share a few virtual kisses today.

Writers: post your excerpts up to 500 words maximum showing a kiss from your published book or work-in-progress. If it’s a naughty kiss with lots of explict language please post a WARNING at the top of your comment. Excerpts from m/m books are okay, but once again, post a warning at the top of your excerpt. If your book is published also leave us a buy link so we can explore further.

Readers and Writers: Tell me what you like to see in a kiss. If you have any kiss trivia you’d like to add, tell us about it. I’m giving away several spot prizes of downloads from my New Concepts books. All you need to do is post a comment and you’re in the draw. I’ll announce the winners on Sunday. If you like a kiss excerpt, tell the author. We love praise!

Kiss Quotes

It was brief, swift, and then it was done. It was a professional job. I needed to be kissed, and I was kissed. ~Actress Uma Thurman

This girl said “Yes” when I wasn’t ready. I kissed her lightly and got so dizzy I had to sit down. ~Actor Antonio Banderas

The first kiss I had was the most disgusting thing in my life. The girl injected about a pound of saliva, into my mouth, and when I walked away I had to spit it all out. ~Leonardo DiCaprio

If you kiss on the first date and it’s not right, then there will be no second date. Sometimes it’s better to hold out and not kiss for a long time. I am a strong believer in kissing being very intimate, and the minute you kiss, the floodgates open for everything else.
~Jennifer Lopez

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know. ~Mistinguett (Jeanne Bourgeois), Theatre Arts, December 1955

People who throw kisses are mighty hopelessly lazy. ~Bob Hope

Kissing is like drinking salted water. You drink, and your thirst increases. ~ Chinese Proverb

I’ll leave you with a kiss from my latest release, Wanderlust.

Sebastian moved closer, stopping when we almost touched, his expression cloaked in shadows. “Is that it? Don’t I get a kiss good night?”

“I—” His lips came down on mine, interrupting my train of thought about mixing business and pleasure. He nibbled my bottom lip, nipping and soothing the sexy bite with his tongue. When I gasped, he took advantage, pushing his tongue inside. Our tongues moved together in a sensual dance. Our breath mingled. It was as if we’d never parted. Sebastian drew me closer, fitting our bodies together. My breasts squashed against his muscled chest, increasing the throb of excitement that pounded me. It had been so long. It would be so easy to open the door to my cabin and let him inside. Apart from the fact that Elizabeth would arrive back at some stage and it was against hotel rules.

My mind hazed with pleasure, moisture starting to form between my thighs. Temptation slithered through my veins, and it was with deep regret that I pulled back from the kiss. “Good night, Sebastian.”

He smoothed his palm across my cheek. The tender gesture brought renewed desire and the siren lure of lust and temptation. So enticing just to step into his arms, hold on and never let go.

“Good night, sweetheart. Happy birthday.” He smiled before turning away and walking off into the darkness.

I spent the afternoon at my favorite shopping center today and found myself trying on a couple of outfits. What on earth do they do to the lights and mirrors in store changing rooms? I want to know - the image that reflects back in the mirror… Oy! Scary stuff. I’m sure that wasn’t me! Was it?

I’m heading straight back to the writing cave now, but on Friday I’m going to have a special day all about kisses with the odd random prize or two. I hope you have a chance to visit.

I’ve added a couple of articles to my For Readers page including a photo essay for Never Send a Dog to do a Woman’s Job and also an article about the real Ellora’s Cave.

Okay, I fibbed. I’m going to have a cup of tea and a Timtam first and then hit the writing cave. Middlemarch calls…

Since I’m attending the conference in San Francisco I’ve been thinking about promo. Last time I went to the RWA conference I distributed bookmarks and business cards via the goodie room and thought I’d do something similar this year. Then last week, thanks to the Marketing for Romance Writers loop, I had another idea. Book thongs.

Hubby and I discussed the idea and I googled for instructions on how to construct a book thong. We decided that the only downside to a book thong would be the lack of connection to my name, but we’ve come up with a cunning plan to combat this disadvantage. Each book thong will have a little label attached and will also be placed inside a ziplock bag, along with an excerpt. We’re also going for a special New Zealand flavor, which unfortunately for all of you is top secret. In other words, I’m not gonna tell.

For those who don’t know what a book thong is, here’s a link to instructions on how to make one plus a photo. Here’s another link to JM Snyder’s instructions so you have two sets of different instructions to compare.

We’d already decided to go for a drive to buy compost and potting mix so added bead shopping to our list. In the past I’ve done several handicrafts including knitting, tapestry, cross stitch and sewing, but I’ve never done beadwork. We walked into a craft shop and had great fun studying all the beads and deciding which ones to buy. I settled for a green theme since that’s what I have on my website. We also purchased dark cord. On arrival home we discovered our cord was a little thick for the beads. Mr. Munro stalked out to the garage and returned with his drill. He had his serious face on so I left him to it. He loves projects and thrives on challenges of all kinds. About half an hour later he’d made three book thongs. I was very impressed.

I’m not spending a fortune and don’t intend to make hundreds of thongs, but a few lucky people will go home with New Zealand book thongs.

This morning I received another good review for Fancy Free. In fact I’m thrilled with the reviews I’ve received so far. Kate Garrabrant from JERR says, “I had some good laughs while reading Fancy Free and Shelley Munro truly writes exceptional sex scenes with two great characters. I would recommend you check a great story by an exceptional author!”

I’ve just googled April Fool’s Day, and it seems the origin of the day is a bit of a mystery. According to the National Geographic site the most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of the start of spring in late March or early April.

However word of the change traveled slowly, and many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country dwellers became known as “April fools.”

Another theory is that April Fools’ Day simply grew out of age-old European spring festivals of renewal, in which pranks and camouflaging one’s identity are common.

Wikipedia says April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

As a child I remember my father waking us up extra early. He was very excited and said that one of our horses had foaled. When we stumbled outside in our pajamas, rubbing our tired eyes, he shouted, “April Fool.” Color me not amused. I still remembered my lack of humor!

I also remember purchasing a block of rubber, cutting it into pieces and decorating them with chocolate icing and shredded coconut so they looked like Lamingtons. I took them to a class party and still recall the priceless look on the boys’ faces when they tried to eat the rubbery lamingtons.

And sort of in the funny ha-ha category - I broke my bike today. I’m not sure what happened but the front wheel caught somehow and I almost flew over the handle bars. It must have looked funny, but I managed to save myself from greeting the footpath with my head. I think hubby should be able to fix my bike. The chain has come off and I couldn’t get it back on so I had to wheel it home. Luckily, I always wear my helmet. I know some people don’t but during my teenage years I used to ride horses quite a bit. I never fell off much, but I did trip over while crossing the road one day. The riding hat was the only thing that saved me from gashing my head open. I ripped the felt on the hat but was otherwise uninjured. The moral of the story is that I learned to wear protective helmets whenever necessary! It’s actually law to wear a helmet while cycling in NZ, a law I’m happy to obey.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Watch out for pranksters on April 1st!

I’m over at Dynamic Trio today and the subject is procrastination…

Gwen Mitchell from News and Reflections honored me with an Excellent Blog Award recently. Thanks so much, Gwen!!

The Rules: By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you agree to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. You deserve this! Feel free to recognize blogs that have already received this award.

I visit the following blogs on a regular basis. Most of my favorite blogs relate to books and the writing business. All never fail to entertain, enlighten and make me think. They’re all Excellent Reads. I would like to pass this wonderful award to the following 10 blogs (in no particular order):

1. Midnight Moon Cafe
2. Denise Rossetti
3. NJ Walters
4. Lauren Dane
5. Amanda Ashby
6. Jenyfer Matthews
7. Gabriele Campbell
8. Pussreboots
9. A Piece of My Mind
10. The Hussies

I’m a fan of Grey’s Anatomy and was looking forward to the new season. It’s been going for about four weeks in New Zealand, and I have to say I’m disappointed. Firstly, Izzie and George? What were the writers thinking? It’s just plain wrong trying to have them as lovers and came out of the blue last season. Not enough motivation people. There’s not much motivation this season either. I’m not convinced.

Meredith has turned into a whiner. I’m totally on Lexie’s side. It’s going to be interesting to see what the writers have in store for these characters. I only hope I can make it through more of Meredith’s angsting. Sad but true. I’m not quite as much a fan this season.

I’ve decided to stop with the Sven challenge. I’m doing okay, but my right arm and elbow are telling me it’s time to ease back and take a rest. I know from experience if I ignore the warnings I’ll pay! As a rule I don’t have trouble with motivation and write a steady 2000 words most days. I’d decided to push a bit harder even though I didn’t really need to. A few easy days should do the trick and I’ll be back in business. Meantime I’m going to do some plotting and planning and probably catch up on some reading while my arm takes a rest.

Thoughts of urban fantasy have filled my mind recently since I’m about to start chapter one of my very own story in this genre.

Urban fantasy is defined as a contemporary fantasy set in a real city such as New York, Chicago or Melbourne–one that all of us might recognize. The setting is gritty. The stories are often ones of good versus evil. I’ve found in a lot of the stories the magical inhabitants of the cities are very political with lots of jostling for position going on amongst the different races. The stories are usually told in first person and purists prefer to stay well away from romantic sub-plots. Most urban fantasy authors have series with the same recurring characters and for the reader each subsequent book is like a return to friends. I love this! I’d also say that urban fantasies as a whole straddle lots of genres. There’s the fantasy element, the contemporary one, with sometimes a strong suspense plot. A few stray into horror territory. They’re certainly not boring, and I find the genre very exciting.

According to Wikipedia urban fantasy has been around since the 1920s in children’s books. The term became more readily recognizable during the 1980s where it was applied to adult fiction.

During the past two years I’ve read a lot of urban fantasy. I do tend to prefer the ones where there is a romantic sub-plot, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. The Wikipedia lists quite a few popular authors along with some TV shows and movies which fall into the urban fantasy category.

Some of my favorites are Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Kim Harrison, Jennifer Rardin and Jim Butcher.

I’m currently reading Unquiet Dreams, the second book in Mark del Franco’s Connor Grey druid series. This series is also rapidly becoming a favorite with me.

My guest blogger this week is Stacia Kane who has an urban fantasy release coming in April called Personal Demons. She’ll be here on Wednesday, so I hope you’ll return to visit.

Have you read urban fantasy stories before? Do you like them? Which authors are your favorites?

I have a few questions for you:

What do you like to see on an author’s website?
What makes you return to a particular website?
Which author websites are your favorites and why?
Do you like behind-the-scenes information for books? i.e. character profiles, where the story came from etc.

I’d love to hear what you think…

My upcoming release from Cerridwen Press, Wanderlust is set in India. You might wonder why I mention this since my title is about diaries. For me there’s a definite connection, since the only time I write a diary or journal is while I’m traveling.

I recently hunted out all my travel diaries, especially the ones relating to our overland trip from London to Kathmandu and India. When I flicked through them all the small details came back to me, the good and bad. I was reminded of the wonderful temples and natural scenery, the people and the not so good things such as being hellishly sick while in Turkey and Iran. I started to come right about halfway through Iran, having existed on rice for quite a few days, and still remember the cheese omelette I had that tasted absolutely amazing. I remember the markets, the vivid color and friendly people, even though we spoke different languages. Hmm, I’m suffering from a definite case of itchy feet after reading my diary entries.

Do you write a diary?