Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

2. 1st in a Series.

I always enjoy reading series so this challenge fits well. Hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog (Jan 1st – Dec 31st). The idea is to read the 1st novel in 12 different series. I hope to start new series in this challenge and to catch up on series I’ve missed. I’m not organized enough to list all the books I hope to read but the first one I’d like to start on is:

1. Devils on Horseback: Nate by Beth Williamson.

1. Themed Reading Challenge

Goes from Feb. 1 to July 31, 2009 and is hosted by Caribou Mom. The idea is to chose a goal of 4 to 6 books that are currently in your (physical or virtual) TBR pile that are connected by similar theme. There are three different levels of participation, depending on how difficult you would like to make it. I’m choosing the “Read at least 4 books with the same theme” level. My theme is books where the hero or heroine wear uniforms…

1. Rare Breed by Connie Hall (park ranger uniform)

2. Lifelines by CJ Lyons (ER scrubs)

3. The Down Home Zombie Blues by Linnea Sinclair (homicide detective)

4. A Different Tune by LK Campbell (WWII)

Firstly, thanks for helping me to celebrate my birthday. I had so much fun and loved having such great company.

Here are my list of my 2008 releases and my winners:

Playing to Win – Darby Lohrding
Fancy Free – Julie Robinson
Wanderlust – Julia Smith
Lovers at Last – Lindsey Ekland
Price of Love – Tami Cullen
Middlemarch Mates: Assassin – Fedora
Tea For Two – Rosemary Simm
Middlemarch Mates: Cat and Mouse – Jennifer McKenzie
Fringe Benefits – Michelle N
Middlemarch Mates: Cat Burglar – Karin

Congratulations all! I’ll email you all in person, but feel free to email me too. I’ve had problems with emails going astray in the past. I need to know which format you’d like your downloads in and once I know that, I can email you your prize.

Note – there’s still a copy of Middlemarch Mates: Cat Burglar up for grabs in the Triple D contest. The winner of the last prizes in the Deliciously Decadent December contest will be announced very soon.

Second note – don’t forget to pop back next week to visit with Emily Bryan. Everyone who comments will have a chance to win her new book, Vexing the Viscount.

Happy Reading!

I’ve read my very first book for 2009. I’m still in my contemporary/western phaze, and when I was trying to decide which book to read from my to-read pile, I picked up Wicked Burn by Beth Kery.

Wicked Burn is a recent release. You might have noticed some of the wonderful reviews out in webland. I have and was looking forward to reading it. I wasn’t disappointed. Wicked Burn is a sexy read, dripping with emotion and has a strong alpha hero. Very yummy. The heroine is no slouch either. They are perfectly matched and I believed in their happy ending. If you like hot contemporaries you can’t go wrong with Beth Kery’s recent release, Wicked Burn. She has done a great job with her first NY release, and I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next one.

What is the first book you’ve read in 2009? The first book you’ve started to read?

Look for the winners in my Birthday Bash contest tomorrow. I meant to pick them today but things were a bit hectic at Munro house. Tomorrow, I promise!

It’s no secret I love to read and that my love of reading directed me on the path to becoming a writer. If you’re a reader and you’re anything like me, you probably have a huge to-read pile sitting by your bed or lined up nicely in a bookcase somewhere in your house. I like ebooks as well and have a stack of unread ones waiting on my hard drive.

When I’m ready to read another book, I sometimes take the one on the top of the pile and sometimes that particular book doesn’t grab me, so I’ll shuffle the pile around until I find one that suits my mood. When it comes to ebooks, I’m more likely to choose according to length. I’m reading short ebooks at the moment because I’m time-poor but still want to feel as if I’m actually reading.

I’m constantly adding to my to-read pile, despite the fact that sometimes it looks like Mt. Cook. (NZ’s highest mountain) I can’t seem to stop myself. I tend to read the hot books first, although I’m saving one Lora Leigh book for after Christmas. At the moment I’m going through a contemporary phaze, and my pile is now sadly depleted in this respect. I’m going to have to either replace them or start on another genre any day now.

Okay, I’ve confessed. Now it’s your turn.

What does your reading pile look like? Is it tidy or messy? Do you know what’s in your pile or are you in danger of duplication? How do you choose which book to read next? What about your ebook stack?

Deliciously Decadent December Winners so far

Winner of Crimson Prey is Fedora.
Winner of Quintuplets is Cathy M.
Winner of Rain God is Lexee.

Congratulations!

My guest today is fellow New Zealander and author Suzanne Perazzini. Like me, Suzanne is a keen traveler. Check her website to see some of the places she’s visited! Today she’s telling us about how she works out her setting and giving her top five favorite places to visit.

One of the first things I have to decide before putting my fingers on the keyboard to start a new manuscript is the setting. Once I have the physical surroundings clear in my mind then I can imagine my characters living their lives there.

As a writer the decision is to set the story:

1) in a setting we are familiar with so the visuals come readily and we can translate our vision onto paper without breaking a sweat or
2) in a setting that exists but with which we are not familiar or
3) in an invented setting – a world created by our imagination.

For me, the answer is always the first. I have travelled to more than 40 of the 200 or so countries of the world, and it seems obvious that I should put my knowledge to good use. If the memories are not always crystal clear, then there are a myriad of photographs in my albums to jog my memory.

Here are my five favourite places to visit (I’ve used them all in different books), and according to me, the most beautiful. I will count them down from 5 to 1.

5) The Scottish Highlands.
I loved Scotland when we visited – rain and all. My mother is a Macdonald and so their blood runs thick through my veins. I felt at home there with its dramatic history of deprivation and the eerie folklore of the land. The atmosphere was laden with mystery and I was overwhelmed by its beauty.

4) The Yasawa Islands in Fiji.
I lived and taught in Fiji for a year on Volunteer Service Abroad when I was eighteen and fell in love with Fiji. I spent one school holiday on Yasawa-I-Rara, the northern-most island of the Yasawa Islands before any businessman had decided it had the potential to make him a heap of money in the form of an exclusive resort. Unfortunately this influx of tourism is killing the beautiful, multi-colored coral as luxury boats cruise the waters, polluting the seas. But there are still many unspoilt areas in Fiji if you know where to go.

3) The Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia.
This ancient complex of temples, which is visually, artistically and architecturally breathtaking, was at its power between the 9th and 12th centuries. It was rediscovered hidden in dense jungle in 1860 by Henri Mouhot. The first Tomb Raider movie was partially filmed here and a more haunting place you would have difficulty finding.

2) My uncle’s fishing and hunting lodge on the Zambezi River in Zambia.
Eight hour’s four-wheel-vehicle driving from the main road, this paradise on earth is truly isolated. Overlooking the mighty Zambezi River, it has views straight across into the wilderness of Zimbabwe. The brilliant red sunsets and sunrises blow your mind. Visit in winter when the heat is not too overwhelming and most creepy crawlies are hibernating.

1) Rome.

As you can probably guess from my choices above, I am not a city lover and yet Rome is my number one choice. I have seen it several times and each time, it takes my breath away. Every corner you turn has another magnificent monument to the artistry and creativeness as well as tenacity of man. Each building has a history and glory that makes you want to touch and smell and absorb its essence.

Staying in Rome transports you to another time when life was very, very different from today and yet when man essentially was just the same. Our need for beauty has never waned.

So authors, which of the three methods do you use when constructing your settings for your stories? And a question for readers: what was the setting in the last book you read? What settings attract you most? And are there any settings you’d like to read in a romance but haven’t yet?

Suzanne’s Website
Suzanne’s blog

Books available:
Beneath the Surface – buy now.
Rough Justice – buy now.
Crash into Darkness – buy now.

My guest today is Nancy Henderson who writes both historical and paranormal romance for Champagne Books and Linden Bay Romance. Nancy says she writes romance because she likes happy endings. She likes to believe love can become the answer when nothing else in the world makes sense. Nancy is talking about a problem many of us face. I’ll let her tell you…

I often blog about my book problem. I own too many books. They’re everywhere: next to my bed, in my writing office, in the living room, even under the sofa. I even have a makeshift end table made up of books, which came about when a stack of reference materials became too high so I placed a lamp on top of them. Needless to say, after my recent trip to the Romantic Times Booklovers’ Convention in Pittsburgh, the book situation has gotten worse. How do people do it, going to one or more book conventions every year? It’s not like I can read them and toss them out or have a garage sale, either. Most of them are signed. So they’re natural keepers.

Maybe I should add on. I would love my own library; a cozy sanctuary with a chair I could sink down in, a warm lamp, my cat curled up in my lap. The extra space might help for awhile, but sooner or later I’d start buying more books and the problem would eventually rear its ugly head again. I know a couple who literally have bookshelves floor to ceiling in every room in their house. I don’t want to turn into them, but I fear I might. They’re a wonderful couple, but…they just own too many books.

Maybe an e-reader. I’ve checked out the Sony and the Kindle. Both made me drool, but the price was a little hefty. Although I could discover many e-authors I’ve heard great things about with the e-reader. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably end up buying the e-reader, keeping all my books and buying more.

Anyone out there have this same problem? What do you do?

~ Nancy
http://www.nancyhenderson.com
http://www.nancyhenderson.blogspot.com

One of my standout reads for this year has been Lori Armstrong’s Julie Collins series. I finished the third book in the series during the weekend and immediately emailed Lori, attempting to bribe her in exchange for an ARC of the next book. I’m desperate to know what comes next! Sigh – I failed. Evidently others have tried bribes with little success as well.

This is a mystery series with a romance subplot. Julie is a chain smoker, she drinks, and she brings a lot of baggage to the first story. Julie has a screwed up relationship with her father and her brother was murdered, which colors her actions. She’s a tough chick with a smart mouth, and I loved her straight away. And Martinez, her love interest – let’s just say, I want him and leave it at that.

The books are Blood Ties, Hallowed Ground, Shallow Grave and Snow Blind (out in October). They are best read in order.

If you haven’t read Lori’s books before and enjoy mysteries, run and grab a copy. You won’t regret it. As I said – the first three books in this series are among my favorite reads to date this year.

I’ve also just finished reading Drui Claiming by Jory Strong. This is part of Jory’s Supernatural Bonds series and I’ve enjoyed all four books. The last two books in the series Drui Claiming and Sophie’s Dragon take place during the same time frame. Gotta love those dragons!

What have your standout reads been so far this year?

Today I’m guest blogging over at the Romance Studio. Come on over and say hello!

I’ve loved reading ever since I was a child. I was thinking about this the other day when I needed to write a bio to go on the Cerridwen Press website.

This is what I wrote:

From the time Shelley Munro was a little girl living in New Zealand, she wanted to be a detective. She read all the Famous Five mysteries by Enid Blyton before graduating to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Her favorite television viewing was Scooby Doo where she, in her invisible guise, helped Scooby solve the crime.

As happens with children, Shelley grew up and boys distracted her. She found one she really liked and married him, traveling the world at his side until returning to settle in New Zealand to write hot and spicy tales for Ellora’s Cave, some of which contain the odd body or two.

Writing this bio reminded me of how much books and reading have played in my life. I’m never without a book and often have two or three on the go. For me, it’s the armchair travel, the jump into another world where I can experience things I might never experience in real life. I can vary the journeys according to my mood – travel back in time without the sacrifice of comfort or enter a magical world with wizard, witches, feline shape-shifters and the like. Or, if I’m feeling like a jolt of reality, I can have a contemporary adventure. Ah, so much choice!

And one of the best things is I can jump into the hero or heroines shoes and be them, I can disappear from my normal world and be someone else. I can be very naughty, if that’s what I’d like at that moment in time. I can change occupations and fight wars or hunt down criminals. I can even wear clothes and shoes that I’d normally pass by. I can be anyone and do anything each time I pick up a book from my to-read pile. As you can see from my bio I spend a lot of time wearing detective shoes.

I’m assuming most of you who read this post are readers as well. Just what is it about reading that you enjoy so much? How did you come to be a reader? Have you always been a reader? Do you read one book at once or many? And, do you prefer your reading journeys to be in one area or are you, like me, a bit of a wanderer, going from genre to genre?

Today, as I stated a couple of days ago, was a lazy day. I’m reading my final RITA book and I also read Red Garnier’s Amatista. It’s a hot, little number that I enjoyed very much. Kavi and his people are searching for the lost city of Amatista but their search is hindered by Earthmen, wanting to find the city first. Kavi and Liana are a great couple. Did I mention hot? Anyway, Red’s Amethyst book, Amatista hits the Ellora’s Cave store tomorrow. Make sure you check it out and buy a copy because Red is a great writer. She also has a new release out with Liquid Silver Books called I Take Thee with a very eye catching cover. Actually, there are no eyes on the cover but when you see it you’ll understand what I mean.

If you’re agent hunting, check out the Q & A with Laura Bradford from the Bradford Literary Agency over at Lauren Dane’s blog.

Things have happened slowly this week but today, I’m definitely in the groove with the words coming well. I guess you’d call it feeling my way into the new year. I’m working on a short contemporary erotic romance targeted to Samhain Publishing. I’m on the home stretch and quite happy with my story, although it will need a little coloring to bring in the setting and a tweak or two with the character emotions. I have to finish and submit this story by 10 January so I’m on the time clock here.

Once this story is completed and away, I intend to work on three other projects. Two are feline shifter stories, which are started and need completing. They’re targeted to Ellora’s Cave. I also have an Urban Fantasy speeding around inside my brain and I want to write some notes and flesh out the main characters.

My object for January is to get hope in the mail – in other words I want to get some submissions out. If a rejection arrives I will send something else out almost immediately so I always have hope in the mail/email. I have a paranormal romance of 100,000 words to submit to editors/agents plus a couple of shorts. Wish me luck!

I have a new release coming from Cerridwen Press on 17 January. Playing to Win is a romantic suspense. This month I have an interview at The Romance Studio featuring Playing to Win. Check it out here.

And finally, I’m reading Charlene Teglia’s Wild, Wild West. I’ve read the first story and I’m enjoying it very much. Charlene has a smooth, very readable style and as I’ve mentioned before I’m having a Western and cowboys love-fest at the moment. Wild, Wild West fits the occasion perfectly

What are you up to for the weekend? What are you reading? Writing?