Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

My Christmas story, Christmas is Coming is now out at Ellora’s Cave.

Here’s the blurb:

Christmas is coming. Give your lover the gift of pleasure…

Gaby Montgomery works for Fancy Free as a condom designer. Recently she’s been designing sex toys and testing her inventions with fellow designer Marc, but they’ve parted ways. The timing couldn’t be worse because she’s stuck without a willing test subject for her sexy products.

Gaby’s roommates Liam Richardson and Fletch Darcy both want a serious relationship with her, and now that she’s free, it’s time to make a move. But how do they decide which one will date her? Fletch finally suggests they share. Liam is skeptical but agrees the scheme might work, which allows Fletch to move on to step two of his romance plan. Fletch doesn’t just want Gaby, he wants Liam as well.

The loving is hot, their days full of fun product testing, exquisite pleasure and laughter. Everything is perfect until the outside world intrudes, putting their budding relationship under stress. This time their love and friendship might not stand the pressure.

Publisher’s Note: Want to have more fun with the characters in this book? Then pick up Fancy Free!

Purchase from Ellora’s Cave

Shelley’s Shoutout Corner

Don’t forget that Maria Zannini’s Do It Yourself Christmas continues until 22 Dec.

Author Beth Revis is doing an Epic Giveaway at her blog.

Cari Quinn has a new release called Unwrapped at Loose-Id. Unwrapped is a contemporary menage. If you like spicy hot reads, this one sounds like a good one.

My special guest today is Loose Id author, Lori Toland. She’s here celebrating the release of her book Trust in Me. Over to Lori…

I love Beta Heroes. You know, he’s the guy who is totally geeky. He probably wears glasses and typically can fix your computer or entertainment center. Or he may be the guy who has his nose in a book and has a deadly sharp sense of humor. He might also be the science or math go-to guy who spends his days slaving over equations.

But once you get him into bed, he blows your mind. In between books and equations, he has been thinking about the many ways to sex you up and make you beg for more. He’s what a like to call a Beta to the world but an Alpha between the sheets and he is the sexiest hero alive.

Some famous Beta heroes are Sherlock Holmes, Gregory House and Indiana Jones. All of these guys are sexy and they use their brains to get where they need to be. They may be snarky or polite but they are incredibly smart and they always get laid.

Tristan is a computer nerd, with the glasses to go with it. He never thought Jamie Hunter, the high school quarterback and hot man on campus would be gay, let alone be interested in him. One hot August night changes all of that and Tristan for the rest of his life. Ten years later, he meets the man he fell in love with. Can he let go of the past and risk his heart again?

Thank you Shelley, for having me by to talk about Trust In Me. I hope you all enjoy it!

Lori

Do you enjoy beta heroes? Do you have any favorites?

CONTEST: Lori is currently doing a blog tour for Trust in Me. She’s giving away a $25 gift card from Amazon, B&N or Loose Id and a copy of her book to one lucky person. The more blog stops you visit, the better chance you have of winning. Follow this link to learn more details for the rest of Lori Toland’s Trust in Me Virtual tour

When Tristan takes over for a sick employee, he runs into an old high school crush. Ten years after a summer fling with Jamie, left him with a broken heart, Tristan’s got a different view of it; will he push away the only man he’s ever loved?

Purchase Trust in Me

CEO by day, erotic romance writer by night, Lori Toland lives in Orlando where the summers are hot but the romance between her characters is even hotter. Writing since the tender age of 13, Lori somehow finds time to play video games and watch movies while taking care of her beloved cats and a husband who will forever be her hero.

To learn more about Lori and her book visit her website or blog. You can also find Lori on Twitter.

My special guest today is fellow Ellora’s Cave author, Wynter Daniels. Wynter was lucky enough to attend the recent RWA conference in Florida and is here to tell us about both that and her latest release, Getting Even With Warren.

Thanks so much to Shelley Munro for inviting me to guest blog here! I want to tell you about my trip to the RWA National conference in Orlando. This was my first, but I can assure you, it won’t be my last.

Aside from the awesome parties, the plethora of free books and the great info at the publisher spotlight sessions, there were the workshops. Before I attend a conference, I make myself a spreadsheet of my schedule including which workshop of the 7 or 8 being offered at any given time. My organized self sighs contentedly at the neat chart I tuck into a folder.

Then I arrive at the conference and I blow that all to hell! I listen to the buzz from other authors, scratch one program off in favor of another. The time rolls around and I change my mind yet again. The offerings were great this time and I would love to give you a detailed recap from each workshop I attended. But that would make a ridiculously long post, so I will try to give you a pearl from each of my favorites.

Linda Howard’s Twelve Steps of Intimacy is always a crowd pleaser. If you ever have the opportunity to attend this program, go for it. You won’t regret it. One thing that stands out – leapfrogging the steps can intensify or shake up the intimacy experience.

Donald Maass’ Fire in Fiction II program was standing room only. The pearl there – imagine the standout emotion from your scene then recall a moment in your own life that exemplifies that emotion. Include the details of what you were feeling at the time to give your writing better impact.

Nora Roberts, aka J. D. Robb, was the keynote speaker at the opening luncheon. She spoke about the incredible changes in technology in the thirty years since the first RWA conference in 1980. Manuscripts were typed on typewriters with carbon paper and research was done at the library. She said she’s heard people say it was so much easier to get published back then but she disputes that. Getting published is supposed to be hard. Hard makes it that much more special when you achieve it. She also talked about the huge number of opportunities available today like e-publishing. She credits the camaraderie of RWA members for helping writers survive and flourish in a difficult field.

I also listened to sessions on police procedure, upping the heat in romance and diversifying an author’s portfolio and attracting the biggest audience for your books. Overall, the conference was a winner and did I mention free books?

CONTEST: Please leave a comment and I will draw one name to receive a free copy of my latest ebook from Ellora’s Cave, Getting Even with Warren.

Here’s a little about the book and a link to an excerpt:

Widow Macy Halstead learned of her much older husband’s voracious appetite for cheating shortly before his death. Now it’s too late to get back at him. When she meets his bi-racial illegitimate son at the funeral, a mutual attraction flares. She leaves with him and the two share a night of hot passion.

Alex Jackson set out to get back at the father who treated him like dirt. Bedding his old man’s widow fit the bill—until he forgets his reasons and realizes he really likes Macy. But after a steamy fling, she seems to have second thoughts. Can they overcome their initial agendas and explore the possibility of a relationship?

You can find Getting Even with Warren HERE.

Bio: Wynter Daniels is the naughty alter ego of contemporary romance author Dara Edmondson. She lives in Central Florida with her husband of more than twenty years and their two nearly grown children. They are all the slaves of two very demanding cats. After careers in marketing and the salon industry, Wynter’s wicked prose begged to be set free. She currently writes for Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id and Red Sage Publishing.

My special guest today is Fiona Jayde who has a new sci-fi romance release called Cold Victory. Fiona Jayde is a space pilot, a ninth degree black belt in three styles of martial arts, a computer hacker, a mountain climber, a jazz singer, a weight lifter, a superspy with a talent for languages, and an evil genius. All in her own head.

Today Fiona is talking about superheroes. Over to Fiona.

Vampires or hot-shot pilots. Werewolves or sexy super spies. Genetically altered humans or humans with larger-than-life lives. Supermen and kickass women.

My favorite books or movies or TV shows tend to feature superhero type characters. There is something about a larger than life character experiencing the same pull of love, lust or loss as us ordinary folks do. There is something about being able to step into a superhero’s life and be surprised that internally they can bleed just as much as we do.

With the explosion of the paranormal subgenre in romance, our choices for larger than life characters have expanded to suit every fantasy. Angel lovers, demon villains (or vice versa!), dragon shifters, you name a fantasy and there are books ready to cater to it, with various shifts on various subgenres. Blood vampires, energy vampires, psychic vampires… Werewolves, werecats, weredragons… One of my favorite paranormal “superheroes” are motorcycles from the series Driven To The Limit by Alice Gaines. The concept is so originally brilliant – motorcycles (which to me has always been a symbol of sexy man power) are built to shift into a man.

And yet, under the chrome, or leather, or scales, or teeth or Adamantium infused bones (gotta love Wolverine) we still have regular men and women who need an emotional connection, something or someone to believe in.

In Cold Victory, my superhero is Galen Stark, commander of Battlecruiser Victory. He possesses various technological enhancements such as an ocular implant which allows him to see vitals of a person, communication implants which allow him to “telepathically talk” to members of his crew, or nano-controlled fibers in his body which let him easily adapt to swift changes in gravity. And in that sexy tech-enhanced bod, pumps the heart of a red blooded male who has a duty to his crewmates and an insatiable desire for one of his pilots who shouldn’t even be on his ship.

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“You’ll follow standard protocol aboard this ship.” Stark knew his voice had dropped, was furious that he couldn’t control it. Images of skin and sweat and tangled limbs flashed through his mind as his pulse shuddered with accelerated rhythm.

She looked at him now, those exotic amber eyes empty of feeling. “My apologies, Commander. I’ve been on civ div far too long.”

Heat wouldn’t let him breathe. Despite himself, Stark engaged his ocular implant, watching the waves of red surrounding her form, her body temp spiking, her blood vessels pumping overtime. If not for the pink, delicate flush over her face, she showed no outward appearance of being affected by same beast that clawed at him.

“You’re dismissed.” He didn’t know what the hell had happened, couldn’t understand why an impersonal touch charged him with a sexual awareness he had no business feeling. He simply knew he had to put her out of his reach. “I suggest you find a standard uniform.”

Cold Victory © Fiona Jayde

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To the readers: who or what are some of your favorite super heroes or heroines?
(Fiona will be giving away a $15 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky commenter at the end of her tour. Details of Fiona’s full tour are available here at Goddess Fish Promotions)

Cold Victory by Fiona Jayde

Intergalactic warfare has not been kind to humans. Convicted pilot Zoya Scott has the chance to avenge her family, redeem an act of desperation with that of sacrifice. She’ll end this war if she betrays the man whose touch burns through her soul, the man whose ship and crew she must destroy. The man who is her bloodmate.

Commander Galen Stark never expected the convicted pilot on his ship to be anything more than a good looking inconvenience. A small brush of their hands grips him with vicious lust, a need he can’t control. She is his bloodmate–a biological reaction burning through his veins.

Except his bloodmate carries an explosive. And Stark may have to give the order to destroy them all.

Purchase Cold Victory from Loose Id
Visit Fiona Jayde’s Website

My special guest today is Jennifer Leeland. I read about her new release Marked For Pleasure at Leah Braemel’s blog and immediately pestered…ah emailed her to come and do a guest post for me. Being the nice Romance Diva that she is she said yes, and here she is talking about romance tropes! Over to Jennifer…

I’m so sad and pathetic. I stand in front of the book section at my local grocery store and sneer at the “The Sheiks Virgin Princess’ Secret Baby” titles but the truth is, I love the familiar romance tropes.

The Secret Baby trope–She’s pregnant…or had a baby that belongs to him but he doesn’t know a thing about. I have to admit, I love these. (Favorite example: Lucy Monroe’s “Goodness had Nothing To Do With It”)

The Bodyguard trope–She’s in danger, he protects her. The opposite variation is fun too. (Favorite example: Any Christine Feehan Ghostwalker series. They all have elements of this trope)

The Mate/Mate trope–”You were made for me”. I don’t know why I love this one, but it’s just so cool. (Loribelle Hunt’s Delroi series)

The Arranged Marriage trope (or Marriage of Convenience)–I actually just started one of these as a sci fi erotic romance. To complete a peace treaty, the heroine has to marry an alien. Conflict ensues. My absolute favorite of these devices is “Prince Charming” by Julie Garwood)

The Reformed Rake—I ADORE this one. I know. Sad, isn’t it? Can the playboy ever stop playing? Will the heroine find love or heartbreak? Variations are also “The Hero Who Is Determined Never to Commit”. My absolute favorites are “Master Of Cormus” by Charlotte Lamb (1978) and Kate Pearce’s “Simply Sexual”.

The Damaged Hero/Heroine Healed By Love–Oh, my FAVORITE. “Simply Sinful” with Peter being “healed” by Abigail’s love. Joey W. Hill’s “Mistress of Redemption”, a complete twist on this trope. “Rough Canvas” by Joey W. Hill.

Those are the highlights. All of my favorite books have elements of these. “Paul’s Dream” by Rowan McBride has the Bodyguard trope since ultimately Kian attempts to protect Paul from an evil sorcerer and Paul ends up saving his bacon instead. “Lonely Places” by A.L. Debran features a marriage of convenience. (Though that book took that trope and twisted it all around. LOVED that.) All of Kate Pearce’s “Simply” books feature men who are determined to maintain their freedom.

My newest release MARKED FOR PLEASURE is a combination of the Mate/Mate trope and a marriage of convenience. In a dangerous situation, Conner marks Rhea as his mate, tying her to him to protect her. I love to place my heroes and heroines in danger and make them work together to escape.

So, what’s your guilty secret? Do you love the Slutty Virgin Trope? You know, the hero thinks she’s been sleeping around, but she’s really a virgin….which he finds out the hard way. Or how about Friends To Lovers Trope? They’re friends but he’s never thought of her “that way”. What will she do to get him to see her?

Did you ever notice how silly the word “trope” looks? LOL.

Leave a comment and I’ll pick one random commenter to receive a copy of MARKED FOR PLEASURE by Sunday November 8th.

Tell me all about your favorite trope.

My special guest today is author, Mechele Armstrong who writes for Loose Id and also co-writes under the name Melany Logen for Ellora’s Cave and Loose Id. Mechele says that while growing up she had a vivid imagination and lots of imaginary playmates to keep her company. After reading some of her paranormal and sci-fi tales I can report her rich childhood imagination continues into adulthood and translates to some wonderful tales!

Today Mechele is talking about the small details you’ll find in romances, the ones that make all the difference. She’s also giving away a download from her backlist to one lucky reader. All you need to do to go into the draw is post a comment. The winner will be chosen the following day so don’t forget to come back to see if you’re the lucky one.

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