Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

This month All Romance eBooks is running a campaign for heart health. Twenty-eight authors (myself included) have donated short stories and all the proceeds go to the American Heart Association. I thought this week I’d cover snippets about heart health.

Thirteen Things About Hearts and Heart Health

1. The heart is a hard-working organ that pumps oxygen-carrying blood through the body. It functions like two pumps in one. One pump controls the flow of blood from the heart to the lungs where carbon dioxide waste is exchanged for fresh oxygen. The other pump sends the blood to cells through out the body.

2. Heart disease is one of the biggest causes of death.

3. It takes about one minute for a drop of blood to travel from the heart down to your toes and back again.

4. The heart pumps around five litres of blood a minute during rest periods and up to 33 litres per minute during exercise.

5. If you have a family history of heart disease, your chances of suffering a heart attack are increased.

6. Some factors such as smoking, excess weight, diabetes, high blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, high blood fats, and excessive stress also make a person susceptible to heart attacks.

7. The heart muscle needs to be strong to pump blood around the body efficiently, which is why it’s necessary to exercise.

8. Common symptoms of a heart attack include sudden severe chest pain that may spread to the arm, neck, shoulder or lower jaw; nausea, changed or erratic pulse, pale or bluish skin, sudden perspiration, shortness of breath and a feeling of heaviness or a squeezing pressure around the chest.

9. If you suspect someone is having a heart attack call emergency services (911 in the US – 111 in New Zealand). Make the person comfortable and keep their activity to a minimum. Stay with the person and be prepared to do CPR if necessary.

10. A Dutch study found that eating fish on a regular basis (2 – 3 servings per week) cuts the chances of fatal heart disease in half. The French claim drinking red wine fights heart disease because of the high level of flavonoids.

11. It’s said garlic can not only deter artery clogging but may even heal destroyed arteries.

12. Reduce your risk of heart disease by quitting smoking, exercising regularly, keeping weight within normal limits, maintaining a low-fat diet, learning how to deal with stress effectively and keeping a check on blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. Finally, enjoy a balanced lifestyle.

13. Purchase one or more of the 28 stories in the 28 Days of Heart series from All Romance eBooks. There are a variety of genres available including contemporary, historical, paranormal and gay romances.

My story is called Wild Child.

Here’s the blurb:

Seize the day…

Zoë Underwood loved Matt Cantrell from the moment her mother married his father. She definitely thinks of him as more than a big brother and even though he moved away from home the moment their parents got married, her feelings for him have grown stronger, bigger. More. No one presses her buttons like the tall, dark and gorgeous Matt. If only he can get over the eight-year age difference.

Now, Zoë is determined to snare her man. She wants one thing—Matt’s love. It’s time for her to make a move, stir things up a little and take a chance on love.

Purchase Wild Child by Shelley Munro

My husband is on medication to control both his blood pressure and cholesterol and we try to live a fairly healthy lifestyle. Red wine is strictly medicinal

Do you have a history of heart disease in your family?

Visit the Thursday Thirteen Hub.

The Scarlet Woman tour hits Love Romance Passion today. I’m discussing Middlemarch and the setting for the Middlemarch Mates series. Visit Love Romance Passion and comment on my post to go into a draw to win for your choice of an ebook from the Middlemarch Mates series.

If you’re a Middlemarch Mates fan, don’t forget to take a look at the free Middlemarch family tree. It’s in PDF format plus there are some photos and background info on my website.

I’ll also take this opportunity to remind you to check out my free reads and the downloadable bookmark.

The 28 Days of Heart promotion continues today with the release of Unshuttered by Emery Sanborne & Philippa Grey-Gerou. Have you purchased your copy of Wild Child yet?

What do you think of the cover for The Bottom Line?

Here’s the blurb:

Spicing up her sex life sounds exciting…until the fantasy hits the fan.

When Maggie Drummond buys an erotic romance novel by mistake, she gets more than an unexpected eyeful. She gets an introduction to a world that arouses her to a fever pitch: Spanking.

Her boyfriend isn’t interested in pushing his vanilla-flavored sexual boundaries. Then there’s Connor Grey, who haunts her fantasies like a magical genie. As a source of masculine advice for her and her female friends, he’s off limits. The only safe place to explore her fetish is her anonymous blog.

The recent changes in Maggie don’t escape Connor’s notice. Now that her boyfriend has dropped her, he can finally—carefully—make his move. Given his family history, laying a hand on any woman, even in fun, is a line he’s reluctant to cross. But for Maggie? Anything the lady wants.

As Maggie gives in to the temptation to let Connor add some sin to her life, she finds herself juggling lies, half-truths, friendship and sensual delights. Her job is in jeopardy—and she’s falling in love. Exploring her fantasy is one thing, but she’s beginning to question if indulging her own pleasure is worth the cost to everyone around her. Especially Connor…

The Bottom Line goes on sale at Samhain Publishing on 20 April 2010.

Welcome to the New Release Monday. This month, in addition to our typical excerpt week, we’re showcasing new releases by several fabulous EM writers. Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner to the left.

Wild Child by Shelley Munro

Wild Child is available for sale on 2 Feb at All Romance eBooks. I’m really excited about the release of Wild Child because it’s part of the 28 Days of Heart promotion, and all the proceeds from the sale of this book go to the American Heart Association.

I was born with a heart murmur and spent several days during my childhood and teen years undergoing day-long tests and doctor visits at an Auckland hospital. I’m one of the lucky ones, because my murmur has never stopped me doing anything I’ve wanted to do–I’ve lived a happy and relatively healthy life.

I hope you’ll support this worthy cause, and buy my book, or one or more of the other 28 books that will be on sale at All Romance eBooks this month.

Here’s the blurb for Wild Child:

Seize the day…

Zoë Underwood loved Matt Cantrell from the moment her mother married his father. She definitely thinks of him as more than a big brother and even though he moved away from home the moment their parents got married, her feelings for him have grown stronger, bigger. More. No one presses her buttons like the tall, dark and gorgeous Matt. If only he can get over the eight-year age difference.

Now, Zoë is determined to snare her man. She wants one thing—Matt’s love. It’s time for her to make a move, stir things up a little and take a chance on love.

And a short, spicy excerpt (because this is a very hot book):

Total darkness shrouded the room, the whisper of breathing the only audible noise. Matt smiled. After stripping his trousers and boxer shorts off and placing them beside the bed, he tugged back the covers and crawled into bed. Marisa lay on her side, facing away from him. He slid closer, smoothing his hand across her shoulder. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her bare back. She smelled of flowers—carnations to be exact. Nice. Different from Marisa’s usual spicy perfume. He liked this one much better.

When he nuzzled behind her ear, she stirred with a sleepy sigh. Smiling, he pressed a kiss to the smooth skin and stroked his hand down her arm and across her hip. She murmured again, starting to rouse. Good, ‘cause he was definitely beginning to stir, his cock pressing insistently against her curvy backside. Time to rev up this interlude. He slipped a finger into the valley between her butt cheeks and traced a path to her pussy. Her warm flesh parted. She sighed and spread her legs a fraction, just enough for him to graze his finger across her clitoris. She moved again, pressing her luscious ass against his swollen cock.

Marisa had put on a bit of weight. He liked it. With soft, gentle strokes, he massaged her clit until the tiny bud swelled. Marisa stirred again and froze. Then, she let out a shriek loud enough to wake the dead in the local cemetery and leapt from the bed.

“Keep away from me.” The note of fear told him she wasn’t playing games.

“I’ll get the light.”

“No! Just go, and I won’t tell anyone.”

He froze in the act of reaching for the light, his gut churning with acute apprehension. He knew that voice. Suddenly, all the new things he’d noticed about Marisa made sense.

With a sick, sinking sensation in his stomach, he fumbled with the bedside lamp. Soft light
bathed his room. He swore, low with feeling. “What are you doing here, Zoë?”

Instead of answering, she stared at him with big, brown eyes. When her gaze dropped, he cursed again and reached for his trousers, rapidly stepping into them and forcing the zipper over his erection.

“Put on some clothes.” There was a distinct snap in his voice. Self-loathing sat heavily in the bottom of his gut. His mother and John would die of shock if they found out. They weren’t going to find out. He sure as hell wasn’t going to confess to his monumental cock-up.

“I’ll make coffee.” He strode from the room but couldn’t resist a last look at her. She caught him in the act, and he jerked as if touched with a hot poker. Matt swore. Her curvy image was seared on his retinas for life.

Instead of making coffee, Matt padded across the terracotta tiles and headed straight for his liquor cupboard in the ultra-modern kitchen. He opened the door and pulled out the first bottle that came to hand. Whiskey. Unscrewing the cap, he drank straight from the bottle. The peaty flavor cut across his taste buds. He closed his eyes and swallowed. Mistake. Zoë’s sexy shape flashed in front of his eyes. He’d—Matt shuddered, still able to feel the warm, clinging flesh of her pussy.

“Do you grope every woman you find in your bed?”

“It’s my bed,” he snapped, his eyes flicking open. She wore his robe belted around her trim waist. Shit, he wasn’t the one in the wrong here. He was the innocent victim in this…debacle. “You were naked.”

“Because the airline lost my luggage.” She folded her arms across her chest. His eyes followed the move, noting that in the years since he’d last studied her closely, she’d filled out in a spectacular fashion. His cock jerked, reminding Matt he required satisfaction. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not with this woman at any rate.

Purchase Your Copy of Wild Child from All Romance eBooks

There will be a new release out for every day of February. The release for 1 Feb is Exchange of Hearts by GA Hauser

Links to other New Releases
Note: I have not personally screened these releases. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

This is the cover for Wild Child, which is coming out in Feb 2010 as part of the 28 Days of Heart series from All Romance ebooks.

Here’s the blurb:

Zoë Underwood loves Matt Cantrell. Over the years her feelings for him have grown stronger, bigger. More. No one presses buttons on her sexual libido like the tall, dark and gorgeous Matt. He’s definitely the one for her.

When they first met the age difference was a problem. Now geographical distance keeps them apart. And then there’s Matt’s insistence that they should have a platonic relationship—that they should be friends only. A stupid idea. Surely Matt can feel the sensual sizzle between them whenever they’re in the same room, feel the heat when their eyes meet.

Zoë is determined to snare her man. She wants one thing—Matt’s love. It’s time for her to make a move, stir things up a little and take a chance on love.

I’m giving away a print copy of Romancing the Alien at Access Romance today. (4th December)

If you’d like a copy of Romancing the Alien and you’re not the lucky winner in the Access Romance contest mentioned above, surf on over to the Ellora’s Cave site. They’re having a huge sale on print books.

Romancing the Alien, Dreams of Oasis III and Risque Ruby are all on sale at rock bottom prices!

Random question for the day: Do you prefer a beach holiday (as portrayed in Wild Child above) or a mountain holiday with skiing, hiking and the like?