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!
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.
The theme this week is spooky, which is a suitable topic with Halloween tomorrow. But, the thing is we don’t really celebrate Halloween in New Zealand and, as it happens, I couldn’t think of a single spooky scene in any of my books. Note to self – write a spooky scene or two!
Instead I’ve picked a scene from Tiger By The Tail, book nine in my Middlemarch Mates series just because I like it. You have my promise to try to do better next year when spooky comes around again.
Tiger By The Tail by Shelley Munro
“Rohan. Rohan!” Ambar stomped into the house she shared with her brother and his mate Kiran. The scent of freshly brewed coffee made her turn in the direction of the kitchen. She burst through the doorway and glared at them both before focusing on Rohan.
“I asked you to do one thing. One thing! And did you do it? Oh no.” She threw up her hands in disgust, her scowl intensifying.
Kiran took one look at her face and stood. “Maybe I should go.”
“Sit,” Ambar ordered. “Rohan, you didn’t cancel the marriage broker.”
“I did so.” Rohan met her gaze without a hint of deceit. “I cancelled the contract with the marriage broker and told him his services were no longer required.”
“Then why did a man turn up in the store this morning and tell me he’d come to marry me?”
“What man? Where is he?”
Ambar glowered at both men. “I pushed him out of the store, slammed the door in his face and hightailed it straight here.” She twisted the golden band on her right hand, the ring she’d inherited from her mother and wore to remind herself of her desire to live an independent life. While men were lots of fun, she didn’t need one to survive. She did not need a mate to complete her life.
“Why didn’t you bring him here? Or ask him to wait at the store and call me so we could sort it out?”
“I’m not marrying him, and you can’t make me.” She wrenched on the gold band again, trying not to think about him. Hari.
“Rohan doesn’t intend to force you to marry anyone,” Kiran said, handing her a mug of coffee. His unruffled manner went a long way to restoring her calm.
“I can’t believe you closed the store,” Rohan muttered. “How are we going to grow our business with you shutting shop at the slightest provocation?”
“Provocation? You call this provocation?” Ambar snapped, the fragile hold on her temper fraying again. “I supported you and Kiran. I expect you to tell this…this man to leave Middlemarch and never come back. I told him, but I expect he’ll only listen to a male.”
Rohan pushed back his chair and stood, circling the table to stand at her side. For a moment Ambar wanted to deck him then she saw the concern on his face. All the fight drained out of her. Deep down, she didn’t think he’d arrange a marriage for her. He knew she valued her independence, but he didn’t know of her desire to travel. She hadn’t confided her list of dream destinations to anyone.
“Finish your coffee and we’ll go back to the store together.”
“But what if he’s gone?”
Kiran chuckled. “Isn’t that what you want?”
“He was actually quite nice,” Ambar said, recalling his tentative manner. “He had an awful scar on his face. I’d hate for him to think I acted like a boor because I couldn’t bear to look at him. I think he was nervous.”
“Where was he from? Did he say?” Rohan asked.
“I didn’t give him a chance.” Ambar frowned, trying to recall his face in detail. Apart from the scar, she didn’t remember much. “He wasn’t from India. He sounded English to me.”
Rohan took a sip of coffee. “I wonder if Dad used a broker over in England as well as the one in India. There’s a large Indian community in Manchester and a smaller one in London. I didn’t find anything in the paperwork in the office. Did he ask to speak with me?”
“Of course he did. I was consigned to the little woman box straightaway,” Ambar said, her top lip curling in disdain.
“Why didn’t you just tell him to piss off?” Kiran sipped his coffee, studying her carefully like one of his animal patients. “Why did you flick your tail and run away? You know a male tiger’s typical response is to chase.”
She winged him a glare. “I did not flick my tail. I’m not interested in another man. You know I’m going out with Jake.”
Rohan’s brows rose and his lips quivered as if he was trying not to laugh. “But you did run away.”
All the hot air whooshed out of her at the challenge. Heck, they were right. Why hadn’t she told him to take a hike?
The topic for this week is “In Between” and I immediately thought of Leticia’s Lovers. Leticia had a rocky road to love and her story remains one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this snippet from Leticia’s Lovers.
Leticia’s Lovers by Shelley Munro
Morning came all too quickly. They shared a quick shower with only mild groping before they both dressed for work.
“Will you come and stay tonight?” Gavin asked.
Charlie tossed his damp towel aside and strode the two steps needed to reach Gavin. “The idea of not being with you hadn’t occurred to me.” He dragged Gavin into his arms and kissed him, not roughly but slow and gentle, pouring every writhing emotion inside into his kiss. When he lifted his head they were both breathing hard.
“Damn, I wish I didn’t need to go to work,” Gavin said with a glance at his wristwatch.
“I know the feeling. Do you have time for a coffee at the café?”
“No, I have a patient arriving in half an hour. I’ll have to prepare the surgery.” Gavin lifted his head, glancing toward the surgery with a frown. His shoulders tensed beneath Charlie’s hands. “Fuck.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” Gavin didn’t sound very certain.
Charlie heard the tap-tap of shoes and turned to the door. “Your patients come to your bedroom? Is there another door I should have locked last night?”
“The one to the surgery waiting room,” Gavin muttered. “I forgot to check it. I had other things on my mind.”
“Gavin, I thought I’d—” A decidedly feminine form skidded to a halt in the doorway.
Leticia—the woman from last night. Today she wore tight jeans and a formfitting T-shirt in pale blue. She wore a cap on her head, her blonde hair poking through the back in a long ponytail. What little color she had in her face flooded away when she took in both Gavin and Charlie. They both wore trousers but neither had donned shirts and they stood way too close to try the casual friends ploy. The scent of sex hung on the air and the rumpled bed gave more than a hint of how they’d spent their night.
Leticia’s brown eyes swept over Charlie, coming to rest on the mark. His skin prickled as if she’d physically touched him and he automatically covered the raised site with his fingers.
“You marked him?” The pain in her voice had Charlie wanting to comfort her. He noted it had the same affect on Gavin. Collectively they took a step toward her.
Leticia slapped her hand over her mouth and backed up, her eyes wide with panic and betrayal.
“Leticia, it’s not what it looks like,” Gavin said.
“Oh yeah?” Bitterness filled her words. Her eyes swept over both of them, skimming their bare chests and the obvious marks on their shoulders. “He bit you too. You can’t—I thought we…oh hell.” Leticia turned and fled.
Blue Lady, book ten in my Middlemarch Mates series is due out on 11 August at Ellora’s Cave. I’m giving away a download to one commenter.
Tell me what you do to cure the blues. What do you do to cheer yourself up when you’re feeling down in the dumps?
I usually go for a walk or find my husband and pester him. He has a way of making me laugh that always cheers me up. He also brings home chocolate and chocolate makes everything feel better!
I’ll choose the winner tomorrow night (New Zealand time) and announce it in the comments section.
Here’s the blurb for Blue Lady:
Saber and Emily are longtime mates. Happiness has been theirs, until the tragic loss of their unborn baby.
Saber is desperate. Emily has shut him out, wallowing in depression. They inhabit the same house, but his loving mate has withdrawn, and he wants his happy, matchmaking woman back. It’s time to up the ante. Armed with a bag of sex toys from his wild twin brothers and a tropical island setting, Saber is determined to seduce his mate to his way of thinking, to drive the blues away, and he won’t take no for an answer.
The theme for this week is vacations and exotic locations. If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you’ll know that I love to travel. I’m all about vactions and exotic locations. (Check my photo album to see some of the places I’ve visited.) My snippet this week is from my recent release Tiger By The Tail, and the heroine, Ambar is in Samoa for a short holiday.
Tiger By The Tail by Shelley Munro
Ambar ambled to the swimming pool, pausing at the poolside shower to wash the white sand from her feet. The days had slid together and she hadn’t looked at a clock since leaving New Zealand. She’d come to a decision about her mates though. In the end, it hadn’t been difficult because she’d pined for Jake and Hari even more than she’d missed her brother and Kiran. She’d made a list as Isabella had suggested, going for total honesty since no one would see it apart from her. The big disadvantage was the possible restrictions on her freedom. She considered her friends who were in relationships and had officially mated, acknowledging they all seemed incredibly happy. Somehow, she would work things out too. When she returned to Middlemarch, she needed to discuss the future with Jake and Hari and lay out all her fears. She’d discuss things calmly without panicking.
Ambar scanned the pool area. Due to a camera crew preparing to film a tropical version of a popular reality show, there were lots of people her age staying at the resort. She’d made friends quickly, although without Jake and Hari it felt as if a part of her were missing. The anger and confusion that had hovered like a storm cloud when she left New Zealand had cleared, a few days helping her to see things at a distance. She had feelings for both men. Whenever she’d considered her future, she’d hoped to have a mate. She just wished it had happened when she was older.
“Ambar! Over here.” Anna, one of the girls she’d met on the first day of her holiday hailed her. “We saved you a lounger.”
Ambar smiled and waved, heading in her direction. She dropped her orange straw basket on the ground and shrugged out of her coverall to reveal her lime green bikini.
“Ambar, are you sure you don’t want to go out with me tonight?” Sam, a cameraman from Texas leaned close, his face full of expectation.
“I told you. I have someone in my life.” She waved her left hand at him to flash the gold ring she’d inherited from her mother. Normally it resided on her right hand, but instinct had made her transfer the ring to her left soon after her arrival. Another telling action, she realized. She thought of herself as taken.
“I’m not sure I believe you,” he drawled as his gaze did a smooth trip from her head to toes and back again.
“If Sam can ask you out, then I want to throw my hat in the ring too,” Gary, one of the soundmen said.
Anna waved a languid hand at her. “Leave her alone, boys. She’s already told you she’s not available.”
“Tell us about your man,” another woman said.
Ambar blushed, thinking the relationship she’d become embroiled with was hardly traditional. “It’s too hot for a chat. I’m going for a swim. Anyone up for a game of volleyball?” She indicated the volleyball net strung over a portion of the pool.
“I’m knackered after trudging halfway around the island scouting for film locations,” Anna said in her English accent. “I’m staying right here.”
A punch of longing hit Ambar, the accent reminding her of Hari. Did she miss them? Yes. Did she want to give up her dreams? Definitely not.
A dilemma, that’s for sure. Hopefully they could reach some sort of compromise.
“I’m in for some volleyball,” Sam said. “I’m on your team, Ambar.”
Ambar jumped into the pool, the water slipping over her skin in a cool kiss. Like most tigers, she loved the water and felt perfectly at home in it. With a whoop Sam and several of the others, both male and female leapt into the water. They were soon embroiled in a hard-fought volleyball match, shouts and victory cheers filling the air.
Ambar watched the ball sail over the net and called it. She jumped from the water, doing a perfect spike over the net.
“Woohoo!” Sam shouted, pumping his fist in the air. With each successive point they scored, the man became more exuberant. He hugged her, copping a feel at the same time. The first time she ignored it. The second time she started to get pissed.
“Knock it off, Sam.”
He shot her an innocent look, as if he didn’t know what she was complaining about and moved away.
Ambar held her breath and counted swiftly to ten. The next time he touched her she intended to deck him.
Go on…I dare you. Check out my new release–Tiger By The Tail, book nine in my Middlemarch Mates series.
Middlemarch Mates, Book Nine
One plus one equals three.
Tiger shifter Hari Daya takes one look at Ambar Patel’s photo and is smitten. Further research heightens his fascination. An arranged marriage would work, except the lady isn’t buying and tells him to take a hike.
Ambar is already involved with human Jake Quinn. Casual pleasure and lovin’ works best for her since she dreams of traveling the world and delving into new experiences. The frisson of heat and desire she feels for Hari is unacceptable. There will be no tiger mate for her.
Jake Quinn has no idea either his lover or his new friend are shifters, but there sure as hell is something weird going on in his head. As much as he enjoys sex with Ambar, he’s thinking about Hari too. Suddenly there’s kissing and togetherness way past his comfort zone. The slide into sinful pleasure with both Hari and Ambar is easy—it’s the relationship dynamics that give them headaches and make them wonder if they’re making a huge mistake.
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!
I’ve received some excellent reviews recently, both from Whipped Cream Erotic Romance.
Soldier of Fortune – The plot of this book was really exciting, believable and well done. It was packed with thoroughly described, high action and never got boring. And I liked how the team, after many trials and difficulties, came to be eventual friends and stood strong amongst all of the fighting. And, just to add icing on the cake, the sex was smoking hot!
House of the Cat is an amazing thrill ride of adventure, quests, lost heritage and found love. Extremely well written love scenes spice up a solid and exciting plot line. I was gripped from the first chapter and entertained non-stop until the final and very satisfying happily-ever-after. Ms. Munro knows romance and she’s proved it again with this engaging and fast paced story. Not only am I putting this book on my keeper shelf, I can’t wait to tell all my friends. It rocks!
Here’s the link to the full review for House of the Cat. It received a Best Book rating. Woohoo!
Tiger By The Tail, book nine in my Middlemarch Mates series, has a release date of 9 July. Check out the blurb and an excerpt on the Tiger By The Tail book page.
Blue Lady by Shelley Munro
Tiger By The Tail by Shelley Munro
Leticia’s Lovers by Shelley Munro
Yay! Blue Lady, book ten in my Middlemarch Mates series, is out today. Blue Lady features Emily and Saber who were first introduced in 
Blue Lady, book ten in my Middlemarch Mates series is due out on 11 August at Ellora’s Cave. I’m giving away a download to one commenter.
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. 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?
series or Eloisa James’s 
series or 
from my Middlemarch Mates world.
