Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’m blogging at Access Romance today. My post is about Auckland and the setting for my recent release, The Bottom Line.

Here’s the link to Access Romance

Since the earthquake in Christchurch and the one in Japan, our larger cities have been under the spotlight. According to records, many buildings in Auckland (where I live) are not earthquake proof. For the last few years we’ve had a series of ads on TV and other media about being prepared with an emergency kit. Like most people I pretty much ignored the ads. Not now. Experts say we have earthquakes every day in New Zealand. Who knew? I didn’t. I’ve never experienced an earthquake, and I really don’t want to lose my virgin status in this respect.

In our local paper this week they listed disasters that could strike those of us who live in Auckland. They included the likelihood of a hazard occuring and the possible impact on the Auckland population.

Thirteen Auckland Disaster Risks

1. Power failure – very high risk/possible/catastrophic (a problem with power crippled the central business district a few years ago)

2. Human epidemic – very high risk/possible/catastrophic (we’re big travellers with lots of planes coming and going each day)

3. Distant volcanic eruption – very high risk/likely/major

4. Cyclone – very high risk/likely/major

5. Flooding – very high risk/almost certain/moderate (flooding seems to be a problem in many areas during high rainfall)

6. Erosion: Coastal Cliff – very high risk/almost certain/moderate (there are lots of expensive homes perched on cliffs)

7. Auckland volcanic eruption – high risk/rare/catastrophic (I knew this was a possibility since Auckland is built on a field of volcanoes)

8. Animal epidemic – high risk/possible/major

9. Aircraft crash – high risk/possible/major

10. Earthquake – high risk/unlikely/major

11. Hazardous spill – high risk/likely/moderate

12. Erosion: Landslide – very high risk/almost certain/moderate (we’re quite a hilly city, but I wouldn’t have thought of this one)

13. Dam failure/Rural fire – low risk

Source – Manukau Courier, 15 Mar, 2011
Are you prepared? – a link to a website about being prepared for an emergency.

What disasters could strike where you live? Are you prepared with an emergency kit?

Shelley is busy with edits, so here are some photos of places she’s visited during the last two weekends.

This is the Sky Tower, taken from the Auckland Domain.

This is the Auckland War Memorial Museum. I came across some people practicing playing their bag pipes. This shot is also taken from the Auckland Domain.

My brother-in-law has purchased a new boat, and we went to check it out. This is the view of the marina from his boat. The houses at the top of the hill are on Paratai Drive. This is the most expensive and exclusive real estate in Auckland with views over the harbor and Rangitoto Island.

Don’t forget – The Scarlet Woman tour continues at Amberkatze’s Book Blog. I’m talking about both Scarlet Woman and leopards and giving away a download from the Middlemarch Mates series.

I haven’t done the trip from Auckland to Wellington for a long time. Yep, I was excited about the prospect of a trip South. We picked up the van we had to drive to Wellington the night before. It’s a little van with vinyl seats and not much leg room. Mr. Munro complained the van didn’t like going fast. He had trouble coaxing it past 100km per hour, which is our speed limit. After little sleep (we had a phone call at 2.00am – highly uncivilized if you ask me!!) we hit the road at six-thirty.

It turned out that the van wasn’t too bad for leg space and a towel stopped the problem of sticking to the vinyl seats. The van loved going up hills, which was a bonus, but on the down side it also loved to guzzle gas. We had to stop three times to refill during the eight hour drive.

The weather was beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. The iPod worked well and we drove with the windows down and the music blaring – well as much as Mr. Munro lets the music blare. He’s a fuddy-duddy that way!

We stopped at Lake Taupo, which is the biggest lake in New Zealand, and supposedly the site of the largest volcanic reaction the world has ever seen. You’ve probably heard me mention Taupo before. I like it very much and have some wonderful memories of family holidays spent there as a teenager. I pointed out the street where my mother received a parking ticket and where we went to the movies. The lake was flat calm and the trio of mountains were visible across the water. That’s unusual so we took photos.

We drove down the Desert Road and managed to take some great shots of the mountains. The Desert Road is mostly tussock, but parts of it are very sandy. During winter this stretch of road is often closed due to snow and ice. The NZ army do a lot of their training here before troops are sent overseas. The terrain is certainly challenging, and while it’s very pretty, I wouldn’t want to be there in the middle of winter.

The rest of the drive was through farm land before we hit the coast and the sea. The pohutukawa trees seem to flower later down here. The trees were ablaze with scarlet flowers. Pohutukawa flowers always remind me of Christmas. We drove into the central city of Wellington and found our serviced apartment without any problem. It’s very central – just a brief walk away from most of the tourist spots. We can even see a sliver of the waterfront from our balcony.

I’ve done a lot of travelling, and I think a person would have to go a long way to see better scenery. New Zealand really is a pretty country, not that I’m biased or anything.

Do you enjoy road trips? When and where did you take your last road trip?

This is a shot of Albert Park (named after Prince Albert) in Central Auckland. It’s not far from the university and on a fine day, it’s the perfect place for students to eat their lunch.

Mystery writer JA Konrath has a very interesting post about e-books and what he predicts will happen during 2010 in the e-book/e-reader world.

I’m actually feeling very positive about e-books at the moment. I love the freedom of writing for e-publishers, although the pirate issue does worry me. It’s truly disheartening when pirates put up books for free download on release day. It’s not only the e-authors who have a pirate problem though. The pirates have no compunction in making e-copies of paperback books and giving those away free too.

I think the increased competition in the e-reader market can only mean good things, driving the price down. Like Mr. Konrath, I’d like to see a standard industry format. What do you think will happen in the e-book world during the next year?

I’m guest blogging at the Samhellion blog today and talking about diaries and my upcoming release, The Bottom Line. While you’re there don’t forget to check out the special Christmas scavenger hunts to win either a Kindle reader or a Sony reader.

This is Westhaven marina and the Auckland Harbor bridge that links the city of Auckland with North Auckland.

Books that mention Auckland: Playing to Win, Summer in the City of Sails

Don’t forget to enter my contest to guess how many books I will read during my holiday. Go here for details.

Thirteen Photos of New Zealand

I thought I’d do a photo blog today, introducing you to some of my favorite parts of New Zealand. Unfortunately, I lost quite a few of my South Island photos when our computer crashed last year. It’s a good excuse to make a return visit, I think!

1. Wellington – this photo is taken from the top of Mt. Victoria looking down on the central city and waterfront. The stadium (the round thing) is the home of the Hurricane rugby team.

2. This is Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, not far from inner Wellington. They have many rare and endangered birds here. The birds are free to fly in and out, but the entire sanctuary is surrounded by possum proof fencing to keep these and other pests out. The lake was originally a reservoir for the city. When it was no longer requried, the area was restored to forest and wetlands.

3. This is Rangitoto Island, the youngest of the dormant volcanoes in and around Auckland. The distinct cone is visible from many parts of the city. This shot is taken off a boat on the harbor.

4. This is Middlemarch. It’s a small country town in the South Island and the setting for my Middlemarch Mates series. This is a shot of the typical country surrounding the town. Look closely and you might spy one of the Mitchells…

5. This is Lady Knox geyser, not far from Rotorua in the North Island. It was discovered by a prisoner work party. They were sent to do their washing in the warm water of the thermal stream and some of their soap dropped into a crack. The next minute a lot of foam bubbled up and then it exploded with prisoners and washing flying in all directions. When I visited as a kid, you could stand under the geyser as it erupted with the warm water raining down on you. These days visitors have to watch from afar. The geyser plays most days after the guide puts soap inside the funnel. It’s a very interesting process to watch.

6. Huka Falls – the Waikato river (the longest river in NZ) exits Lake Taupo (the largest lake). Huka Falls is not far from Taupo and there is a beautiful bush walk to get to it.

7. Goat Island Marine Reserve – not far north of Auckland. It’s a marine reserve that’s popular with divers and snorkellers. You can also paddle off the beach and huge snapper swim around your legs. Personally, I didn’t like the look of their teeth and felt safer looking down from the rocks! This is a popular day trip for families.

8. Waiotapu, one of the thermal regions near Rotorua. This is the beautiful Champagne pool. The colors don’t show that well in the photo but they are terracotta and turquoise. Very pretty. The day we were there the wind came up blowing steam around and spoiling the photo.

9. This is a shot of central Auckland from the harbor. You can make out the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere. The Sky Tower is mentioned in my book Summer in the City of Sails.

10. This is a shot of the crater of Mt Eden in Auckland and some of the city looking out to the sea. Many people go up the Sky tower to get views of the city, but I think it’s hard to beat the view from the top of Mt. Eden. And it’s free! If you look closely you can make out people standing deep in the crater. Look for the colored dots.

11. This is Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. It’s a beautiful spot and a place that’s also mentioned in some of my Middlemarch Mates books. It’s the heart of adventure sports in New Zealand and tourists flock here to scare themselves silly.

12. Mt Cook – New Zealand’s tallest mountain and part of the Southern Alps range. I used this as the setting in Stray Cat Strut.

13. This is a shot of the Kaikoura mountains, north of Christchurch in the South Island. This area is known for whale watching and is one of the few places where you can watch whales all year round.

And a shot of one of the whales.

Do you have any questions about New Zealand?

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?