I’m taking part in Rainbow Reviews Scavenger Hunt. If you’re a fan of gay romances and enjoy exploring the internet for new books and authors then this is the contest for you. The winners will be announced on 30th June so get hunting now!
I’ve received a really great review from Fallen Angel Reviews for Wanderlust. Cheryl, the reviewer said, “What a splendid read Wanderlust was. If you are looking for adventure, romance, suspense and plain old fun than Shelley Munro’s latest Wanderlust is the book for you.” Five Angels. Here’s the link to the full review.
And finally, I have a new release out tomorrow! Actually, you’re going to see quite a few releases from me in the coming months since I’ve been very busy. I just love it in that writing cave.
Lovers at Last features pearls and is a friend to lovers story. It’s set in Auckland, New Zealand. I’ll post the blurb tomorrow but thought I would leave you with a snippet about pearls.
Did you know that Cleopatra and her lover Marc Antony wagered about whether she could give the most expensive banquet in history? He accepted her bet and during the dinner, Cleopatra took off one of her pearl earrings, which was extremely large and valuable, crushed it, dissolved it in vinegar and drank it. Marc Antony acknowledged her win.
A lady with attitude. I don’t know if I could drink my wealth so casually. What do you think?
I have a new interview up at The Romance Studio this month featuring my latest release Wanderlust.
What’s next for me? My next release is called Lovers at Last, and it’s a friends to lovers story, which is one of my favorite plots. Read an excerpt here. Lovers at Last is out on 4 June from Ellora’s Cave.
June 10 is also the release date for Midnight Treat anthology, featuring my story Curse of Brandon Lupinus. It’s already available for pre-order from Amazon and other online bookstores, including Fishpond (for NZ and Australian readers).
I’ll leave you with a video of The Feelers and their song Stand Up. The Feelers are a New Zealand band and their song is currently playing on my ipod. The video was shot in Downtown Auckland.
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.
My March release, Fancy Free featured a heroine who inherits a condom company.
Some of you will already be familiar with the behind-the-scenes story about how the idea for Fancy Free came to me. My husband and I were flying home from San Francisco aboard an Air New Zealand flight. I browsed the in-flight magazine and a new product article caught my attention. One of the new products was a vibrating condom, and immediately my mind seized on the idea. My husband shushed me when I tried to discuss condoms and the possibilities, so I went into daydream mode and by the time we landed in Auckland had a plot all mapped out.
That brings me directly back to condoms. In our personal lives we’re told to practice safe sex. I have no problem with that, after all, who wants to pick up a nasty disease while doing a horizontal tango?
Safe sex and the surrounding issues is something that authors need to consider each time they write a love scene. Back at the start of the safe sex campaign a lot of people went on record as saying using a condom in a fictional love scene destroyed all the spontaneity. Personally I’ve never understood the problem because if the scene is written properly, a condom can add an extra dimension. It says I care enough about my health to use one. It says I care enough about my partner to protect him or her. To me, writing a condom into a love scene makes plain common sense.
Over my years of writing I’ve developed a set of rules for fictional condom use. I’ll also add here that this is my opinion and this is what I like to see. I’m not going to bash you over the head if you disagree.
Contemporary romance:
My hero and heroine always use a condom in each love scene. Sometimes more, since I write erotic romance! If they don’t use a condom I give the reader a good reason. Sometimes in the heat of the moment our hero and heroine might forget. Our hero and heroine might be in the middle of nowhere and desperate to the point of crazed, or they might know each other’s sexual history and oral contraception is enough. In Fancy Free, condoms are part of the plot. My characters James and Alice make full use of their products. In Summer in the City of Sails, I even have a condom scene where the hero tells the heroine her glow-in-the-dark condoms remind him of a green ogre.
Historical romance:
I know from my research a form of condoms has been around since Egyptian times. During Roman times after the gladiators fought, they scored big time with the noble ladies. These noble ladies didn’t want children from the gladiators, merely a night of pleasure so they used condoms.
If I’m writing a historical, my heroes and heroines usually don’t use condoms. This was an era where good girls remained virgins until marriage, especially the women of the nobility so the use of condoms isn’t an issue. I look at the social mores when deciding whether my characters use birth control. In my Georgian-set historical, The Second Seduction the plot was a marriage of convenience and a condom wasn’t necessary. In Unforgettable, my World War II romance the couple use condoms.
Paranormal/futuristic romance:
Sometimes my hero and heroine use condoms and sometimes they don’t. It depends on the set-up. Often in my futuristic stories I’ll make a point of saying sexually transmitted diseases are eradicated. I did this in Sex Idol and Fallen Idol.
In my Middlemarch Mates feline shifter series condoms are used in some books and not in others, with the readers learning why condoms are absent.
It is my opinion that responsible romantic heroes use condoms.
What do you think about condoms in fiction? Should our heroes and heroines use them? Does it jerk you out of a scene if condoms are absent? If you’re a writer what rules of use do you like to apply?
I’m a guest over at Jenyfer Matthew’s blog today. I’m talking about my new release, WANDERLUST and also giving away a download of Playing to Win.
Come over and say hello to go into the draw to win.
When my husband and I traveled through India, we went with a group. Much like the characters in my new release Wanderlust, we traveled in a truck, both camping and staying in hotels during our circuit of India. At the beginning of the trip we decided we’d play a game that’s all about murder. Here’s how it works:
Everyone receives a slip of paper, one of which bears the word “murderer”. Once the murderer is picked he or she quietly tells one member of the group they are murdered and how they must die. That particular person must pretend to die in the chosen manner and then he or she is out of the game. The murderer chooses his next victim and waits for them to die before choosing another. The object of the game is for the person acting as the murderer to kill off everyone before someone in the group discovers his “or” her identity.
One person acts as the judge. All players can take one guess at the murderer’s identity. If they make an incorrect guess, they are out of the game.
Here’s a little real life drama from when we played the murder game during our trip to India. My husband was in charge of lighting campfires each night, and the murderer suggested he died very realistically with fire. He scared me half to death. I was so angry and upset I refused to play the game any longer. I also didn’t talk to my husband for a few hours. Mr. Munro won the prize for the best death, and we still have his small plastic Oscar trophy. It’s bright orange – for those who’d like to picture it.
In Wanderlust, the passengers play the murder game. Anna, the tour leader isn’t very amused with her passengers when they pretend to die. And when her passengers start dying for real, she’s not impressed with the game at all!
I’m guest blogging over at Jenyfer Matthew’s blog today. The excerpt over at Jenyfer’s site shows the first death in the murder game. Everyone who comments on Jenyfer’s blog goes into a draw to win a download of Playing to Win. What are you waiting for - hop over and say hello.
An excerpt from Anna Tietjen’s travel journal. Anna is the tour leader of OE68, a Wanderlust Adventures overland trip from London to Kathmandu.
~*~
Felixstow, England.
There are eleven passengers on the tour, and for a change the male/female split is about even. The ages range from 19 - 32 and there’s a mix of Australian, New Zealand and British passengers with one lone American. Like most trips, all the passengers seem pretty subdued at the moment, feeling their way with people who will become close friends or possibliy enemies for the next four months.
After checking off names, Greg and I loaded the luggage in the back locker and the passengers piled on board Alice (our truck). Home for the next few months. It should be a good trip. I’ve driven the route from London to Kathmandu a couple of times before. This is my second trip as leader. Greg, my co-driver is great to work with and thankfully, he doesn’t spend time trying to talk me into sex. Not gonna happen. Ever. It’s a personal rule. I don’t sleep with my co-driver or the passengers, although I might share a room to keep costs down. This is work. My personal life (Sebastian) is separate and that’s the way I like it.
Once we were on board the ferry, we left the truck and headed up to the passenger deck. I had a quick word with the passengers, trying to connect faces with names, and arranged a meeting point for them in the morning. That done, Greg and I went to the bar for a quick drink before finding our cabin. The passengers were on their own…
Wanderlust by Shelley Munro, coming to Cerridwen Press on 17 April 2008. Read an excerpt here.
A few months ago I couldn’t figure out why the dog’s water dish was always empty. It’s a heavy china dish and our dog doesn’t tip it over, yet no matter how many times I filled it up, the water seemed to vanish. Being a writer I immediately thought of fairies and tiny folk, but no, the answer was much more mundane.
I happened to hear a kaffuffle outside. It wasn’t Scotty since she was asleep in her basket. When I peered out the window I saw a thrush standing in the middle of the water bowl, madly flapping its wings and having a fine old time. Water was shooting in all directions. After a while the thrush jumped out and flew off. Almost immediately a blackbird jumped in for a bath. That’s right - they were queuing up to take a bath in the dog’s water dish. Mystery solved. The birds wait until our dog comes inside then they perch on the outdoor furniture, waiting their turn to take a bath. When they’ve finished there’s hardly any water in the bowl and all the pavers in the surrounding area are wet. The birds have become quite cheeky, even taking a bath while the dog is sleeping a few feet away, and I’ve become resigned to my new job as pool attendant.
Ellora’s Cave author, Wylie Kinson is holding a special competition, involving photos and angels, to celebrate the upcoming release of her book Law of Averages. Check out all the details here.
Oops! I’m in BIG trouble. Mr. Munro has just arrived home from work and I didn’t notice his haircut. He always notices mine - in fact he usually rings me and tells me I look beautiful. In my defence I tell him I’m going to have my hair done, so he has a chance to remember. He springs his haircuts on me without warning. I must try to do better next time…
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 was really thrilled to receive a recommended read for Fancy Free from Joyfully Reviewed. Jambrea said, “Fancy Free has it all: laughter, fear, heartbreak, and steamy hot sex. Ms. Munro wrote a wonderful story and that is why I am Joyfully Recommending Fancy Free.” Here’s the rest of the review here.
