Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

It’s probably no secret to those who know me that I have a soft spot for feline shapeshifters. In fact, I’ve written quite a few over the years.

Thirteen Feline Shapeshifter Stories by Shelley Munro

1. Lynx to the Pharaoh – a historical romance featuring a caracal hero. That’s a cat with tufty ears.

2. House of the Cat – a sci-fi romance featuring black leopard shifters and weird hell-horses. Alien horse races. Fun and games!

3. Scarlet Woman – book one in the Middlemarch Mates series. Features Emily (human) and Saber, the oldest Mitchell brother. He’s a black leopard shifter.

4. Peeping Tom – features black leopard shifters. Felix, the second Mitchell brother is the hero. Book two in the Middlemarch Mates series.

5. Stray Cat Strut – book three in the Middlemarch Mates series. This story features Saul, one the the Mitchell brothers’ friends and a lion shifter from South Africa.

6. Assassin – book four in the Middlemarch Mates series. This book features Leo Mitchell, the third Mitchell brother. He’s a black leopard shifter.

7. Cat & Mouse – book five in the Middlemarch Mates series. This one features Duncan and Lana who are friends of the Mitchell family. They’re both black leopard shifters.

8. Cat Burglar – book six in the Middlemarch Mates series. Features Laura, a human cop, and Jonno, a leopard shifter who is a friend of the youngest Mitchell brothers.

9. Leticia’s Lovers – The main character of this story is Leticia, and she was introduced in Stray Cat Strut as a secondary character/sister of Lucas, one of the heroes in Stray Cat Strut. Book seven in the Middlemarch Mates series.

10. Catnap – Book eight in the Middlemarch Mates series introduces tiger shifters, brother Rohan and sister Ambar. This book is Rohan’s story.

11. Tiger By The Tail – book nine in the Middlemarch Mates series. This is Ambar’s story. See above for more info.

12. Blue Lady – book ten in the Middlemarch Mates series. This is a followup story to Scarlet Woman and features Emily and Saber Mitchell.

13. Twin Trouble – book eleven in the Middlemarch Mates series and the final story. This story features Joe and Sly Mitchell, the two youngest Mitchell brothers.

And an added extra – Lightning Strikes Twice, a free read featuring two black leopard shifters. Part of the Middlemarch Mates series, featuring Sam Mitchell, cousin to Saber, the hero in Scarlet Woman.

Note: the Middlemarch Mates stories are all stand alone stories, but it’s more fun to read them from book one.

Do you like paranormal shapeshifter stories? Which ones have you read recently? And if you’re not a fan, tell me about your latest read. I’m always ready to add to my to-read list.

Several years ago I started a tradition. On the first day of the year I always do some writing. This year was no different and I worked on the final story in my Middlemarch Mates series. It’s coming along nicely.

I have quite a bit of writing news to start off the New Year.

1. A Discreet Affair is due for release from Liquid Silver books on 17 January 2011.

2. I’ve contracted a Naughty Nooner story with Ellora’s Cave. I don’t have a release date as yet, but Lightning Strikes Twice is a Middlemarch Mates story. The action takes place at the same time as Scarlet Woman. This makes a total of twelve books in the series. A nice round number to end the series, I think.

3. I’ve also sold a story called Christmas is Coming to Ellora’s Cave. This story is set in the same world as Fancy Free and it is due for release around Nov/Dec 2011.

4. Resisting Tamaki was nominated for a CAPA in the Fantasy/Sci-fi erotic romance category at The Romance Studio. The winners will be announced in Feb 2011.

5. I received a ripper of a review for The Spurned Viscountess from Reviews from the Heart. The reviewer said, “This was such a great book and one that left me with the feel good feeling I love so much.” I scored a Totally Smitten rating. Yay!

How did you start your New Year?

The theme for this week is a sad excerpt — tissues required. Several sad scenes come to mind, but they’re all pivotal scenes that slot in toward the end of the story. I don’t want to give any spoilers. The two stories I have in mind are Leticia’s Lovers and CatNap. In the end I decided to give you a quick scene from a recent release, Blue Lady. Blue Lady is the latest addition to my Middlemarch Mates series.

Blue Lady by Shelley Munro

Saber Mitchell prowled across the tussock in feline form, gradually picking up speed until he was galloping at full strength. His mind seethed with turmoil. Anger. Helplessness. Pain. He felt it all.

The emotions roiled inside him, combining into doubt and panic. Something had to change between him and Emily before it was too late and their marriage imploded under the strain. His muscles strained. His lungs labored as he fought the stiff breeze roaring over the brow of the hill. Running didn’t help. No matter how fast his sprint, he couldn’t outrun his fears.

He was losing Emily.

Anguish swelled inside him and he slowed, realizing he’d instinctively headed for the spot where he and Emily had made love during the heady days of their courtship. He’d known what he’d wanted then. Confidence had filled him as he’d pursued his goals. He’d wanted Emily and done his best to both seduce and woo her to his way of thinking. Officially bestowing his mark on Emily and mating with her was the best thing he’d ever done.

He loved her.

It might seem laughable to some, but Emily really did complete him. Her presence made him a better man. She pulled him and his brothers together, making them into a big, happy family, one full of love and laughter.

Hell, he didn’t know what to do, how to make things better or how to fix the yawning hole between them. Because there was one thing he knew for sure—he couldn’t survive without Emily. They were mates, meant to live out their lives together.

Saber came to a halt in the shelter of a large pile of schist, his sides heaving from the exertion. The scent of dried grasses and the underlying, more pungent aroma of the soil, damp from recent rain and cattle filled his lungs. He’d come out here to think, but his mind couldn’t get past the fact he was losing Emily and the reality—he’d never felt so helpless in his entire life.

It didn’t help that he hadn’t been there for her and their unborn daughter when they needed him. That’s what killed him most of all. He’d promised to look after Emily and hadn’t. He’d failed her.

The ache of failure intensified, hurting his chest. Despondently, he padded back into the wind, heading for his vehicle. This time self-sufficiency wasn’t going to work. He needed help.

Half an hour later, he walked into Gavin Finley’s surgery, halting just inside the door. Gavin was both doctor to the local feline shifters and vet for the human part of the Middlemarch community. Kiran, Gavin’s assistant, was with him as they worked on a golden retriever.

“Gavin, I need to make an appointment,” Saber said. “Can you fit me in?”

“Is there a problem?” Gavin watched Kiran carefully stitch the wound closed.

“No. Yes.” His hands curled to fists at his sides while he struggled to ask for help. He was the one who fixed problems. He didn’t need help. His shoulders slumped forward a fraction.

That was a lie.

He and Emily desperately required help.

Purchase from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon or All Romance eBooks.

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:

Leah Braemel
Lissa Matthews
Vivian Arend
Delilah Devlin
Sasha White
Lauren Dane
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Ashley Ladd
Helen Kay Dimon
Mari Carr
TJ Michaels

I’ve been watching a UK drama called Lost in Austen recently and I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s based on Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice. Here’s the blurb from the TV New Zealand site: Bored bank worker Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper – The Black Dahlia; As If; Hex) literally becomes lost in her favourite Austen book, after she finds a strange portal in her bathroom and swaps places with its heroine Elizabeth Bennet. As she gets to know the Bennet family and encounters the famous Mr Darcy (Elliot Cowan – The Golden Compass), how can she keep this celebrated romance on track?

In the last episode, Amanda and Darcy had a moment and Darcy told her he loved her. Of course, Amanda is worried because he’s meant to marry Elizabeth Bennet, but she does get him to go into the pond and get his shirt wet. It was a very special moment for both Amanda and me!

Here’s the trailer to watch if you’re interested:

Purchase link for DVD: Lost in Austen

I’d like to step into Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series or Eloisa James’s Desperate Duchesses series or Scarlet Woman from my Middlemarch Mates world.

If you could choose a book, a movie or a tv program to step into, which one would it be?

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.

Some of my titles are now available on Kindle. Ellora’s Cave have a huge backlist of titles, and it’s taking a while, but all titles from A – C are now available at Amazon in Kindle format.

Several of my Middlemarch Mates series are now available on Kindle.

Here’s the link to my available Kindle titles – go forth and shop for Christmas!

I’ve had a bit of a rough week and took myself off to the doctor today. Since I’m not feeling too clever, I thought it was the perfect time to revisit some of my favorite posts from the past.

1. Classic Romance Plots – The secret of writing a great romance is to take a classic plot and twist it to make the story unique…

2. Penises in Paranormals – the curious case of interesting bits…

3. Gifts for writers – is there a special person in your life who writes?

4. Collaborative Writing Partnerships – the wonderful Josh Lanyon and Laura Baumbach share their experiences…

5. Marcia James shares her views and ideas about promo for writers…

6. Do you like paranormal romances featuring feline shapeshifters? I discuss some of my favorites…

I leave you with a puzzle of sorts. Male writers are from _______, Female writers are from _______.

What would you put in the blank spaces?

Today it’s Spring Equinox in New Zealand, which means the sun is ready to officially spend more time in the southern hemisphere than the northern. I must admit I’m ready for warm, despite having had summer for most of the year. (we had a loooong summer here and then I had seven weeks of USA summer). The good thing is that my heavy winter clothes haven’t left the wardrobe. Yeah, bring on the shorts weather, I say.

For the month of October I’m participating in the Raven Annual Scavenger hunt. This year I’m giving away a print copy of Midnight Treat (signed by me). Watch this space for details.

I have a new cover. It’s for my 31 December release, Cat Burglar. Here it is….

And finally, I’ve had a few anxious moments with my computer, one of them this morning. I go to push the power button and nothing happens. The next few minutes I spend quietly panicking before I go into technician mode. This is where I crawl under my desk and pull out plugs and put them back in their sockets. Thankfully, this worked this morning, after I crawled under the desk twice and tried pulling out different plugs. Before I turn everything off tonight I’m backing up. I have my flashdrives ready to go. Meanwhile, if I disappear for a few days you’ll know my technician skills have failed and I’ve had to call in recruitments.