Taste of Kiwi

The theme this week is risky business. Immediately I thought of Soldier of Fortune since both the hero and heroine work in the private security sector–a risky business indeed!

Soldier of Fortune by Shelley Munro

Outside, two of their specially armored cars waited for them along with local drivers who spoke the language. His men donned protective vests and hats and readied weapons, both rifles and pistols, before climbing into the vehicles. The new recruits waited for instruction.

“You two in the back vehicle. Follow Simon’s instructions. He’ll explain about the things to look for. Mac, Tai, you’re with me in the lead vehicle.”

Mac entered the rear of the vehicle with Tai and Garrett while Louie took the passenger seat. He checked the link between the cars. “Come in, Simon.”

“Louie, we’re good to go.” Simon’s voice crackled through the radio.

“Basically we’re checking the route we’d like to use to take the CBS reporters tomorrow afternoon. If it’s a no-go, we’ll try the longer alternative route. Anything that raises your suspicion let me know, particularly if you see anyone watching us and talking on their mobile or using it to take photos.” Louie rattled through the rest of his spiel automatically. The hair at the back of his neck prickled insistently, a sensation he knew not to ignore. Louie scanned their surroundings as the driver pulled out of the compound. Nothing out of the ordinary. Locals going about their business, mostly males, with a few women dressed in head-to-foot black, their faces covered while they scurried down the edges of the road, carrying shopping baskets. Two battered vehicles drove slowly past, a radio blaring in one.

The palm trees they passed provided little respite from the hot afternoon sun. Sweat trickled down Louie’s back, making his shirt cling, his skin itch. He ignored it, concentrating on their surroundings.

“Man at three o’clock,” Mac said in a calm voice.

Louie’s gaze swiveled to the location she indicated. He spotted the man seconds before the ruins of a bombed building hid him from view.

“He’s moving off,” Mac said.

“Checkpoint,” the driver muttered, slowing the vehicle.

Louie cursed and slipped his gun out of sight but retained it in his hand. Local soldiers ran the roving checkpoints. They shot first and asked questions later. Cooperation and patience were key to remaining alive. If all else failed the driver would barrel straight through and hope for the best.

“Tell him we’re going east,” Louie instructed the driver.

The driver spoke rapidly in the local dialect, answering questions fired at him by the young soldier.
Louie relaxed fractionally when the soldier waved them through. “Good man,” he said to the driver.

They made good progress despite the slow-moving traffic and the wait for a British army convoy to pass through an intersection. Overhead, a Black Hawk helicopter buzzed like a whining mosquito, drawing sporadic fire from a patch of undergrowth.

“Don’t like this,” Simon said via the radio. “More gunfire than usual. Not many locals either. What’s your gut say?”

“Something’s going on.” Louie agreed, the back of his neck tingling in warning. Danger lurked in the shadows. Somewhere. “Guess our quiet period is over. Can you see anything?”

Up ahead, two vehicles jammed on their brakes, coming to an abrupt stop. Behind the second recon car, another stopped, blocking their retreat. Magically, the few remaining locals faded into the background, leaving a deserted street.

“Ambush,” Simon shouted.

Gunfire cracked directly behind them. A signal. Bullets rained down. From the front. From the rear. The rat-a-tat-tat of guns filled Louie’s ears, made them ring.

“Fire!” Simon hollered through the radio.

Louie concentrated on the two vehicles in front. “Shoot to kill.” Simon would watch their six, but he gave orders anyway. “Mac, check our rear.”

Like a freak hail storm, the bullets pelted their vehicle. Cautiously, Louie opened his door. Crouched behind. Fired.

Mac, Tai and Garrett fired with rapid precision from behind lowered windows. The jackhammer of AK-47 assault rifles echoed between the buildings, replaying in his head. All the time he was aware of Mac behind him. Part of him wanted to throw her back in the vehicle, keep her safe. He started to move and froze when a bullet whizzed past his cheek.

“Fuck.” He ducked behind the door, forced himself to concentrate. Just him and his weapon in hand. Shoot to kill. Fire. Fire. Fire! Bullets hit the door, kicked up dust until his eyes smarted. Men shouted. Somewhere in front of him, a man shrieked for help, his French accent casting him as one of the insurgent volunteers from abroad. Fanatics, they came from all over the world to fight for the cause.

Time slowed, the insurgents returning a barrage of fire. Sweat dripped down Louie’s face. He swiped it away, fear clutching at his chest. They couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Should they make a run for it? He fired another round of shots, assessing the situation, making decisions.

“Rear car is retreating,” Simon reported in a terse voice.

Thank you, God. Something was going right.

The driver moved the second car up, giving them better cover. Another of the insurgents fell to the ground, didn’t move. Grimly, Louie fired until all return fire ceased. The guns of his men fell silent, but they remained watchful. Louie cautiously peered around the door to scan the vicinity. When no one moved, he ordered everyone back into the vehicles.

They’d been bloody lucky this time. He swiped a weary hand over his face. Mac… Damn! Thoughts of her had distracted him. Time to get a grip. He’d get them all killed if he didn’t start thinking with his head instead of his dick.

Purchase Soldier of Fortune at Ellora’s Cave or Amazon Kindle

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the trail below:

Mari Carr
HelenKay Dimon
Eliza Gayle
Shelley Munro
Lauren Dane
Vivian Arend
Shelli Stevens
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries

Tweet This Post

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!

Here’s the link to the full review for Soldier of Fortune

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.

Tweet This Post

The theme this week is Near Death Experience. I have quite a few scenes where my characters are in dire danger, but they come mostly at the end of my stories. I don’t want to give too much away. In the end, I decided on an excerpt from Soldier of Fortune, one of the earlier scenes where the hero and heroine face an ambush on the streets of Iraq.

Soldier of Fortune by Shelley Munro

“Checkpoint,” the driver muttered, slowing the vehicle.

Louie cursed and slipped his gun out of sight but retained it in his hand. Local soldiers ran the roving checkpoints. They shot first and asked questions later. Cooperation and patience were key to remaining alive. If all else failed the driver would barrel straight through and hope for the best.

“Tell him we’re going east,” Louie instructed the driver.

The driver spoke rapidly in the local dialect, answering questions fired at him by the young soldier.

Louie relaxed fractionally when the soldier waved them through. “Good man,” he said to the driver.

They made good progress despite the slow-moving traffic and the wait for a British army convoy to pass through an intersection. Overhead, a Black Hawk helicopter buzzed like a whining mosquito, drawing sporadic fire from a patch of undergrowth.

“Don’t like this,” Simon said via the radio. “More gunfire than usual. Not many locals either. What’s your gut say?”

“Something’s going on.” Louie agreed, the back of his neck tingling in warning. Danger lurked in the shadows.

Somewhere. “Guess our quiet period is over. Can you see anything?”

Up ahead, two vehicles jammed on their brakes, coming to an abrupt stop. Behind the second recon car, another stopped, blocking their retreat. Magically, the few remaining locals faded into the background, leaving a deserted street.

“Ambush,” Simon shouted.

Gunfire cracked directly behind them. A signal. Bullets rained down. From the front. From the rear. The rat-a-tat-tat of guns filled Louie’s ears, made them ring.

“Fire!” Simon hollered through the radio.

Louie concentrated on the two vehicles in front. “Shoot to kill.” Simon would watch their six, but he gave orders anyway. “Mac, check our rear.”

Like a freak hail storm, the bullets pelted their vehicle. Cautiously, Louie opened his door. Crouched behind. Fired.

Mac, Tai and Garrett fired with rapid precision from behind lowered windows. The jackhammer of AK-47 assault rifles echoed between the buildings, replaying in his head. All the time he was aware of Mac behind him. Part of him wanted to throw her back in the vehicle, keep her safe. He started to move and froze when a bullet whizzed past his cheek.

“Fuck.” He ducked behind the door, forced himself to concentrate. Just him and his weapon in hand. Shoot to kill. Fire. Fire. Fire! Bullets hit the door, kicked up dust until his eyes smarted. Men shouted. Somewhere in front of him, a man shrieked for help, his French accent casting him as one of the insurgent volunteers from abroad. Fanatics, they came from all over the world to fight for the cause.

Time slowed, the insurgents returning a barrage of fire. Sweat dripped down Louie’s face. He swiped it away, fear clutching at his chest. They couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Should they make a run for it? He fired another round of shots, assessing the situation, making decisions.

“Rear car is retreating,” Simon reported in a terse voice.

Thank you, God. Something was going right.
The driver moved the second car up, giving them better cover. Another of the insurgents fell to the ground, didn’t move. Grimly, Louie fired until all return fire ceased. The guns of his men fell silent, but they remained watchful. Louie cautiously peered around the door to scan the vicinity. When no one moved, he ordered everyone back into the vehicles.

They’d been bloody lucky this time. He swiped a weary hand over his face. Mac… Damn! Thoughts of her had distracted him. Time to get a grip. He’d get them all killed if he didn’t start thinking with his head instead of his dick.

Purchase your copy of Soldier of Fortune here.

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:

Eliza Gayle
Moira Rogers
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Juliana Stone
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
McKenna Jeffries
Anya Bast
Victoria Janssen

Tweet This Post

Today is the last day of my Soldier of Fortune tour. I’m visiting Kaye Manro and talking about communication, the war zone and letter writing.

I’m also visiting Romance Roll Call where I have an interview.

Last year my younger sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It’s a disease that affects the nerves and eventually sufferers end up in a wheel chair. At present there’s no cure. It was a shock to us all, and I really feel for her. We (the family) all suffer from a sense of helplessness because there is nothing we can do, except to offer help when it’s needed and to be available to listen when necessary.

She works in a bank, and since the world economy has declined, it has become a very stressful job. Not only do employers put pressure on staff to meet targets, but customers shout at the staff and expect them to work miracles. My sister has reduced her hours, but the week before last, a customer returned from overseas, went into the branch and shouted at her for twenty minutes nonstop. She’s good at her job, is efficient, and customers follow her whenever she moves to a new branch. She felt she hadn’t done anything wrong and was very upset when the branch manager and those higher up backed the customer. She was so upset it triggered her MS. Her shoulders ached, and when I rang her, she couldn’t get up to answer the phone. Her body didn’t work.

When we talked she said she was so disillusioned, she’d decided to hand in her notice. For her it was a matter of principle. I agreed. Last week she handed in her notice, and in the new year, she’ll start job hunting. She said it felt as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders, and after a couple of days off work plus a doctor’s visit, the pain faded. She’s getting around again and seems a little better, at least for now.

Last week the doctor told her about some new clinical trials for MS sufferers. Even though the trials won’t help her, she’s decided to participate in the hope the research and results will help others in the future.

I’ve discussed stress in the past. It’s is a terrible thing, and we all suffer from it at some point. I remember coming out in a full body rash because I was so worried about some upcoming exams. These days I’m fairly stress free. I’m a big believer in regular exercise. Go for a walk, take the kids to a nearby park and get some fresh air. It really does help reduce stress levels.

People who are under a great deal of stress feel as if their lives are out of control. If I ever get to this stage, I find that lists are a good idea. Write down all the things you need to do, prioritize and tick the items off one by one. A list really does help with a semblance of control.

For my sister, she needs to slow down a little. Hopefully, she will find an enjoyable job–one that won’t send her into meltdown. My fingers are crossed.

The run up to Christmas is usually busy and it can be stressful. What strategies do you use to cope with stress? And if anyone has experience with MS, do you have advice?

Tweet This Post

The campaign continues at:

Smexy Books.

I did an oops with the dates yesterday, and I’m guest blogging at Smexy Books today about Judging a Book by its Cover, and how I love my Ninja Turtle cover.

I’m doing a giveaway here, so do come along and say hello.

Tweet This Post

My tour stops today at:

I Do Not Want To Wait, I Want The Book Now.

I’m blogging about Spin Off Characters and mention both Soldier of Fortune and the book where we first meet Louie, Summer in the City of Sails.

I Don’t Want To Wait, I Want The Book Now has already reviewed Soldier of Fortune. Here’s the link.

Tweet This Post

The campaign continues today.

I’m guest blogging at Smexy Books today about Judging a Book by its Cover. I’m doing a giveaway here.

I’m doing a guest spot at Nine Naughty Novelists about First Impressions.

I’ve also added some new guest spots to my tour calendar, so do keep checking back to see the latest campaign news.

Note – today is a two-post day. Scroll down to see my second post.

Tweet This Post

I’m blogging at My Foolish Wisdom today with Soldier of Fortune. I’m talking about Occupations in Romance, and I’m doing a giveaway. Here’s the link to My Foolish Wisdom.

Last week I watched a reality-type show on the Living Channel called Shopping is My Life. Each show features a shopping addict and two experts give them advice so they can get their habit under control. They mentioned some interesting statistics about shopping.

The average person used to purchase 19 items of clothing per year.
The average person now purchases 34 items of clothing per year.
The featured shopping addict purchased 400 plus items of clothing per year.

My sister really enjoys the Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic series and has suggested I read them. I haven’t seen the movie either. Maybe one day soon. It’s on my list, but from what I hear the heroine should probably submit themselves to the Shopping is My Life experts.

I’ve had a rough count, and I think I’ve purchased 15 items of clothing and footwear this year. It’s been a busy year shopping for me this year. Last year it would have been well under 10 items. I can’t imagine 400 items. That’s a lot of shopping!

How many items of clothing have you purchased this year? Have you read any of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series? Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think?

Tweet This Post

The theme for today is arrivals. The following is an excerpt from my latest release Soldier of Fortune that shows the arrival of Joanna “Mac” McGregor for her new job.

Soldier of Fortune by Shelley Munro

The charter flight from Jordan to Iraq was a short hop but plenty long enough for Joanna “Mac” McGregor to second-guess her decision to take up a contract in the security sector with Chesterton UK. The wheels of the plane hit the runway, a solid thump before the pilot applied the brakes. Tension seeped into hands holding a fantasy paperback, turning her knuckles white. It wasn’t just her. Even the guys at the back of the plane—the ones who had bantered their way through the entire journey and tried to tempt her into joining the Mile High Club—fell silent. Mac stared out the window. She’d seen the stark reality of Baghdad firsthand when the plane circled the runway to land—the endless sand giving way to the greener city.

Checkpoints. Security forces. Burned-out vehicles, buildings damaged by both allies’ and insurgents’ bombs.

Too late to change her mind and return to New Zealand now.

She’d gone through the lengthy interview process, answered all the questions about why a woman would want to undertake such a dangerous assignment and finally signed on the dotted line. After all, not much call for her skill set in an office and she couldn’t earn this sort of money doing anything else. Icy determination to succeed curled through her gut, squared her shoulders.

Mac disembarked with the rest of the security force, a few intrepid reporters and a camera crew, the initial blast of heat when she walked down the stairs sucking her lungs dry. Sweat broke out over her body and her shirt soon clung to her clammy skin. Something she’d become used to quickly. After formalities, she waited with the other recruits—the new ones and the others who had signed on for a second or third tour.

Like her, they were in it for the money, some for the adrenaline rush. Some of them would return home to family and friends. Some would die. Time would tell which camp she fell into.

The only route into the city, dubbed Route Irish by the Americans, was the most dangerous stretch of road in the world. Despite the fences on both sides of the road, there were dangerous overpasses and numerous car bombs planted to snare the unwary. From the briefing, Mac knew they’d attempt to drive straight through any situation, be it bullets or bombs. Stopping wasn’t an option.

Five minutes later, they pulled out in convoy, protected by security forces from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, their driver pausing to wait while a United States military convoy crossed the road ahead of them. Overhead Mac watched two Black Hawk helicopters drawing fire, diverting it from the road. The entire time their car remained in radio contact with others from the convoy. The drivers and guards constantly assessed risk, on the lookout for threats.

Mac stared out the window, gut jumping because she knew danger lurked around every corner. Signs at the checkpoint authorizing lethal force brought home the reality of her situation. If she found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, she would die. No one left to look after her father then. She scowled at the thought and shoved it away.

Their convoy drove past the International zone, patrolled by the US military, the only part of the city considered relatively safe. They didn’t stop, their destination the less-secure area where many security forces and their clients lived.

The Red zone—her home for the next six months.

Mac climbed from the rear of the armored vehicle, grabbed her gear and followed the other recruits into the main barrack-like building. All the domestic comforts, Mac thought, taking in the mismatched furniture, the clean but scuffed linoleum floor and the poster of a busty blonde hanging drunkenly on the far wall. She dumped her bags at her feet.

A tall, dark-haired man prowled through a doorway on her right and headed to the front of the room, his piercing blue eyes taking in the new arrivals. Mac’s breath caught the instant she glimpsed his face, hurled back to the past.

Louie?

Shock drop-kicked her square in the gut. Why wasn’t he at home in New Zealand? Only her military training kept her face impassive, the astonished gasp trapped inside her throat. Her training did nothing to halt the images flooding her mind, the memories of hard muscles beneath her questing fingers and the way it had felt each time his cock plunged between her legs. Damn, Louie had lied to her.

Purchase your copy from Ellora’s Cave

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the links below:

Eliza Gayle
Jody Wallace
Moira Rogers
Kelly Maher
Victoria Janssen
Ashley Ladd
Shelli Stevens
Leah Braemel
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Lauren Dane
Juliana Stone
TJ Michaels

Tweet This Post

My Soldier of Fortune tour begins today. The first stop on the tour is Tracy Cooper-Posey’s blog where I have an interview. I’m also doing a giveaway so pop over to Tracy’s News & Gossip to say hello.

I’ve also received my very first review for Soldier of Fortune. I Do Not Want to Wait, I Want the Book Now said, “This story has the perfect balance of what I look for in a book. It shows the heartbreak of watching someone you love disappear into the illness of Alzheimer, the danger and fear of being in a war zone, and the camaraderie of friends, while still keeping the romance the central point. Did I mention the scorching hot sex? Can’t forget that. Seriously hot!”

You can read the entire review here. Thanks so much! I’m thrilled with my review.

Tweet This Post