Shelley Munro Blog

I played hooky and went to the movies with hubby tonight. We don’t go to the movies very often. In fact I can’t remember the last movie we saw. I blogged about it over at the Danger Zone. While you’re there check out Linda Wisdom’s Hex Appeal contest in the post below.

I also blogged over at Dynamic Trio where I’m talking about Occupations in Romance novels.

It’s hard to believe that Cat and Mouse is out this week from Ellora’s Cave. Where has the time gone? Meantime I’m working on a synopsis for the next Middlemarch book before I start in on the requests I garnered at conference. Nailbiting time. I’m stressing about whether I can do my ideas justice. Sometimes ideas lose color and vibrancy when transferred from my head to paper. Or maybe I’m being tough on myself? I don’t know. I’m going to keep forging ahead anyhow.

Next month I’m doing an online class about pacing and how to fix sag and drag in writing. I figure a few coping strategies won’t go astray.

And what am I reading at the moment? I’ve just finished Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich and have started Lover Enshrined by JR Ward. While I like both books, I don’t love them. They didn’t wow me in the way that earlier books did by both authors. Am I getting series burnout? I don’t know the answer to that question either. Do you burnout on a series written by the same author? Do you stop reading series or do you keep reading to the completion of the series? When is a series too long?

Last week Mr. Munro and I watched a New Zealand movie called The Tattooist. We’ve had the DVD for a couple of months but hadn’t found time to watch it. It was a great movie with a paranormal element and was a little spooky in places. The movie stars Jason Behr and Mia Blake, and I loved seeing familiar New Zealand faces in cameo roles. I also liked that the main character was a bit of a thief at the start, although he soon regrets this. Part of the movie is shot in Auckland, New Zealand.

Here’s the blurb of the movie from the DVD cover:

American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer wanders the world, exploring and exploiting ethnic themes in his tattoo designs. At a tattoo expo in Singapore, he gets his first glimpse of the exotic world of traditional Samoan tattoo, and, in a thoughtless act, unwittingly unleashes a powerful angry spirit. In his devastating journey into Pacific mysticism, Jake must find a way to save his new love, Sina and recover his own soul.

I see that The Tattooist is currently available for pre-order at Amazon and releases in June. Both Mr. Munro and I enjoyed it very much.

I’m looking forward to a few upcoming movies, including the Indiana Jones one plus Sex and the City.

Writing progress has been a little slow this week. I’m babying my arm still, although it has improved a lot. I’m getting quite good at using the mouse with my left hand. I’ve applied for an appointment at Nationals–successfully–so now I need to kick some writing butt. Wish me luck!

Edited to add: Today I’m blogging over at the Cerridwen Press blog about murder and Wanderlust. Also don’t forget to check out the Danger Zone. Today Lise is talking about Guatemala and volcanoes. Comment on Denise’s post from yesterday and go into a draw to win a download of one of her books, and my post was about my adventures searching for gorillas in Rwanda.

Happy New Year!

Mr. Munro and I had a quiet end to 2007 because he’s on call. We had an alfresco dinner, since we’re currently experiencing hot weather, and after walking the dog, watched Blood Diamond. We’ve had a good run on DVDs lately, and Blood Diamond is one I’d highly recommend, if action movies are your style. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-mercenary turned diamond smuggler, and is set in Sierra Leone. It’s a gritty movie with a stark portrayal of life in a war-torn country. I was really impressed with DiCaprio’s performance and his accent. The support actors also gave excellent performances. The next movie showing at the Munro home theatre is The Bourne Ultimatum. I’ve heard some great things about this movie as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing it.

This year my blog format will be a little more organized. Each week there will be a guest blogger, a post about something from New Zealand, an update as to where I’m at with writing, a Thursday Thirteen post, and a potpourri post about a topic that interests me. It could be anything from books to movies to whales or travel. I’ll be blogging five days a week (unless I’m on holiday or sick!) and taking the weekends off.

My guest bloggers will be a combination of favorite and new-to-me authors so if you’d like to have a guest spot contact me via my website. I’m also considering doing some reader guest spots where I’ll have an interview format. Once again, if you’re a reader who would like to take part, contact me via my website.

I’m looking forward to the new year. It’s started off hot and sunny, which is a cue for me to get out my bike and do some exercise before I head to the writing cave. I was also lucky enough to receive an ARC of Lauren Dane’s Wolf Unbound, which releases from Samhain Publishing today - 1 Jan 2008. As soon as I’ve done my word target for today I’m starting to read. I can’t wait since I adore Lauren’s books.