Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~ Grab your current read
~ Open to a random page
~ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~ Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today is from Forbidden by Christina Phillips. I haven’t read far but I’m enjoying it very much.

“He was the enemy of her people. And yet she couldn’t tear her fascinated gaze from him.”

Page 1, Forbidden

Blurb

He was a master of seduction – but no match for the magical allure of the woman he wanted most…

Carys knew from the moment she first spied on Maximus in his naked barbarian glory that he was a dangerous Roman centurion – his taut, battle-scarred flesh marking him as a fearless warrior. But her desire for him was as undeniable as it was illicit.

Charged by his emperor to eliminate a clan of powerful Druids in Britain, Maximus never expects his mission to be thwarted by the clan’s ethereal princess, Carys, his daring voyeur. Falling under her spell, he doesn’t realize her true heritage – until he captures her heart as well as her body.

As Carys’s loyalties are twisted, and freedom is no longer her single-minded obsession, an avenging former lover threatens to crush Maximus’s people into oblivion. Now Carys and Maximus must overcome the devastation of war and face the ultimate sacrifice if their forbidden love is to survive.

Purchase Forbidden

To help celebrate the release of Forbidden, Christina Phillips’s debut Roman/Druid Ancient Historical Romance from Berkley Heat, she’s holding a launch party with lots of amazing authors and fabulous giveaways! In addition, Christina’s giving away a signed copy of Forbidden to one lucky person who helps spread the love. All you have to do is mention the party (you can copy and paste this blurb), being held from 1st to 6th September at http://christinaphillips.blogspot.com. You can Tweet about it, blog, Facebook, MySpace or anything! And then drop her an email at ChristinapPh @ gmail dot com (no spaces) to let her know. Please put Forbidden Launch Party (or something similar) in the subject line. The winner will be drawn for that on Monday 6th September.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your writing.

So what does that even mean?

For five years I targeted Harlequin Mills and Boon because that was the house I wanted to be published with. I did eventually progress from form rejections to personal ones and then onto revisions but something just wasn’t clicking. However, HM&B was where my heart lay and I was determined to succeed!

But eventually, disheartened, I decided to try writing single title. And then paranormal romance (which I had always loved). At the insistence of my CPs I finally pushed right out of my comfort zone and tackled erotic romance – something I had always insisted I would never do because it was far too difficult!

Suddenly, it was as if a great halogen lamp exploded overhead! My voice fit the dark, erotic tone as if this was where I had always meant to be. As another experiment to stretch my writing muscles further, I then wrote my very first erotic historical romance – and it was that book that landed me an agent and two book deal.

So this is my tip: Sometimes it really does pay to try another sub-genre you love – even one that you might not have considered attempting before. It could make all the difference between “thanks but no thanks” and “We love it! Please sign on the dotted line!”

Visit Christina Phillips Website
Purchase Christina’s upcoming release, FORBIDDEN ~ Berkley Heat, Sep 2010

I received my new cover for Cat Nap this week. I really love it. Syneca caught my heroes exactly–one in each form. To read an excerpt go here.

Today I’m blogging at Access Romance and I’m also guest at Christina Phillip’s blog. I’m talking about different things and giving away prizes at both places so do come and say hello!

And don’t forget that tomorrow is Snippet Saturday. The theme is Failed Seduction and you’re bound to find at least one book to add to your to-read pile. I know I do each time I follow the Snippet trail.

Hi! It’s me again. I’m home again after a very relaxing holiday in Western Samoa. I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos. They were actually from my last holiday in Samoa. Good thinking on my part because the Internet connection at Aggie Grey’s Resort wasn’t the best. I have lots of new photos (because we did some more sightseeing this trip) and will load them in my website photo album very soon.

While we were at the resort there were lots of people setting up for the shooting of a new Survivor show. I’ve never watched Survivor before, but I think I might make an exception for Survivor Samoa. Have any of you watched Survivor before? Did you enjoy it?

Christina Phillips and I are over at the Coffee Time forum this month. We’re doing a round Robin-type story called Red Wolverton Howling. It’s a paranormal Space Opera featuring Django (our hero) and Carrie Holland (our intrepid heroine). Here’s the intro paragraph.

I’ve just read through all the posts to catch up on the story, and it’s a real hoot. I hope you’ll come over to the Coffee Time forum to join us and maybe add to the story. Readers, aspiring writers and published writers are all welcome! Christina has left the story with one of the characters doing a pole dance, and I’m off to add to the story.

It’s release day! Currents Run Deep comes out at Ellora’s Cave today.

A sultry nightclub singer accepts a date with the enemy in this Romeo and Juliet type plot. Two shifters from opposing tribes meet in unusual circumstances and find love…

Purchase, blurb and excerpt link.

And because I have the whole Romeo and Juliet theme going on, here’s an appropriate song and movie to celebrate my new release.

This month Christina Phillips and I are over at Coffee Time Romance. We’re taking part in Coffee Write. I’ve written the first paragraph in a paranormal space opera, and all you have to do is write a few lines to add to the story, taking it in any direction you like. To play along and have a chance to win a prize, you’ll need to register at the Coffee Time forum. It’s fairly painless and free. Christina is in charge while I’m away on holiday, so go over to Coffee Time and keep her company.

I’m very excited to introduce Christina Phillips as my guest blogger today. Foretaste of Forever is Christina’s debut book and it was released at the end of last week. I can’t wait to grab some time and read my copy. Foretaste of Forever is a paranormal tale featuring a witch heroine. Christina tells us why she chose a witch as her heroine.

FORETASTE OF FOREVER – A Witch’s Tale

Thank you Shelley for inviting me onto your blog today to talk about my debut release, FORETASTE OF FOREVER, a dark erotic romance published by the Scarlet line at The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:
Elyesha, last surviving descendant of a line of powerful witches, finally finds the only man she’s ever loved, the man who deserted her countless years before. But Ben is torn between desire and despair when Elyesha, his only love, eventually penetrates his protective retreat. He knows what she wants, but the price of their love is too high. At midnight, on the beach, a battle of wills and erotic seduction ensues as each confronts the other’s darkest fears.

So why did I decide to write about a witch and her emotionally tortured lover? Well, when Elyesha first came to me in a dream I had no idea she was a witch.

Yes – this story came to me in a dream! And it was a perfectly gorgeous dream, in vivid color and with sound effects. Midnight, on a storm tossed beach with the moon casting silver threads across the chilly sand. And her hero was breathtaking. Dark, dangerous. Powerful. And an utter mystery.

I loved everything about this recurring dream. But after a while – like, four years – it began to drive me mad. Because this couple never got any further! All I knew was the heroine would do anything to be with the man she loved, and the hero was too blinded by his sense of honor to see his destiny when she was standing right in front of him.

So I decided to do some sleuthing. And gradually I discovered the heroine was the last of her line, descended from a powerful matrilineal family of witches.

The whole concept fascinates me and I spent ages reading about ancient beliefs, particularly the goddess culture, and specifically Hecate the goddess associated with witches.

But what kind of man could captivate a woman like Elyesha?

I started digging into the hero’s past. Not only was he more than a match for my heroine, but he was immune to her magic, much to her frustration. And while he loved her more than anything else in this world or the next, it was that very love which drove them apart.

Contest: For the chance to win a download of FORETASTE OF FOREVER, all you need to do to go into the draw to win is comment on this post. The winner will be chosen and announced on Thursday 30th October.

Read an Excerpt

Christina’s Website
Christina’s Blog

Google book link from The Living Goddesses By Marija Alseikaite Gimbutas, Marija Gimbutas, Miriam Robbins Dexter

WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: Christina’s daughter chose the winner…

Amy, I’ll contact you in private. Thanks to everyone who visited us this week!!

One new laptop later, I’m back in business. I had to dip into my holiday fund, which is a big pain, but the new laptop is very good. I’m not finding Windows Vista too bad so far. I also have a new external hard drive to use for backups along with my old flashdrives.

Mr. Munro and I had a busy weekend. We computer shopped – boy, what an experience that was. You really have to shop around for the best price. The service varies so much from shop to shop.

I threw away my old crosstrainer shoes when I was in the US since they were worn out. Rebel Sports had a sale so I’ve replaced them with a pair of running shoes. Yes, it’s true. I’m going to take up running again. When I was younger I used to run up to 10km a few times a week. I don’t know why I have the urge to start running again, but I decided to go with the flow. Any other runners out there?

Yesterday we stopped at our local Farmers’ Market before heading to visit family. The weekend just seemed to vanish. Suddenly it’s Monday again. The good thing is that I seem to have my writing mojo back. It’s returned from holiday and I’m looking forward to completing the book I’m working on at present.

Christina Phillips interviewed me a couple of weeks ago. You can read my words of wisdom here.

My Dynamic Trio buddy, TJ Michaels is having her annual Holiday Hotties contest. I’m giving away a download of Cat and Mouse. Find the details here.

My special guest today is Christina Phillips. I’ve stolen Christina’s bio directly from her website because it made me smile, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Here it is:

CONTEST: See details below. I’ll get Christina to draw a winner for me on the day following her post, so make sure you check back to see if you’re the winner.

Read the rest of this entry ?

A kakapo is a New Zealand flightless parrot. It’s an endangered species because of its vulnerability to predators and of course, the inroads made by man into the parrots’ natural habitat. Until this week there were only 86 living kakapo but after a bumper breeding season five chicks have hatched on Codfish Island (a sanctuary for the birds). Kakapo need special conditions to breed and plentiful food, which means that not every year is great for breeding. The last good year was 2005. Here’s the story here plus a photo of a kakapo.

In a small promo, I included the kakapo in my very first book, Aislyn. The baddies were conducting a scavenger hunt and one of the items they needed to collect was a rare kakapo egg.

In writing news I wrote the last words on my first draft of another Middlemarch story. It’s tentatively called Cat Burglar. I’m going to let it sit for a couple of weeks and start yet another Middlemarch tale – this time it’s Leticia’s story, a character from Stray Cat Strut. I’m really thrilled with my progress, because after stopping the Sven challenge and taking almost a week off writing, I’ve still managed to write 50,000 words.

Tomorrow Christina Phillips is my guest blogger and we’re giving away a prize. I hope you’ll pop back to say hello.