Shelley Munro Blog

I saw this ad on TV the other day. It’s from my favorite New Zealand store, Whitcoulls, and it made me laugh because this name problem has been me for the last three weeks. Today, I sat down and toughed it out, choosing names in much the way this couple did. In fact, I used the very same baby naming book to work out character names for my new work in progress.

How do you choose names for your characters? How did you name your kids?

Last month, a record number of New Zealanders left the country to move to Australia in the hope of finding a new and better life. On average around 700 people leave New Zealand each week.

We had elections this month. My husband and I haven’t been happy with the way our government was running things, and thankfully, many NZers agreed. A new prime minister was signed in at the end of last week, and he’s currently at the APEC meeting in Peru.

I love my home country. We have a lot going for us. Of course, things are tough at the moment, as they are in other parts of the world. If the government hadn’t changed hubby and I would have looked at our options very carefully.

So, my question to you is: If you had the option and didn’t have ties, would you consider moving to another country? And if you would move, which country would you choose?

A recent survey done by SPARC (Sport & Recreation New Zealand) has found that around half of New Zealand adults exercise for at least half an hour a day five times a week. Their survey shows the level of exercise among adults is about the same as in 2001.

SPARC spends around 70 million dollars a year on their campaign to encourage New Zealanders to Push Play and exercise. They’re calling the survey results encouraging, yet surely that means fifty per cent of NZ adults aren’t exercising?

I heard on the radio this morning that the NZ result is better than in many overseas countries but I couldn’t find an online source to quote.

I’m in the positive fifty per cent who exercise. I find exercise a great stress reliever and feel more alert afterwards. I also use the time while I’m exercising to think about my writing and often work out plot problems. I feel horrid if I don’t exercise. I cycle, walk and run a bit. Oh, and dance when I can get away with it. As I mentioned a few days ago, the dog takes exception to my dancing! Exercise isn’t always fun. Some days I don’t feel like moving from my chair, but I do it anyway. I’m a firm believer in the use it or lose it school of thought, believing keeping mobile helps you later when you’re older. I have to think about these things you know because I don’t have any children to look after me in my old age.

I’m lucky to live in an area with a lot of walking and cycling paths. I was excited this week to see the council is extending the paved area again. The concrete should be dry and the new paths open in a few days so I can explore it to see where they go.

How are you at the exercise thing? Does your country have a similar organization to encourage people to exercise?

I’ve been going to post this for ages. It’s an ad shot in Auckland (you’ll see quick glimpses of Sky Tower and the waterfront from Mission Bay) and it’s very cute. It never fails to make me laugh.

There’s a new version of the ad playing at the moment with the daughter asking her mother where she came from. The above version flashes through the mother’s head, then she turns to her daughter and says, “Ask your father.” That makes me laugh, too. I looked for it on Youtube but it’s a bit too new at the moment.

Well, it’s back to the writing cave for me. Things are going well. If you feel inclined, tell me who told you about the birds and bees…

Here’s a new ad that’s currently appearing on our screens. It’s advertising a hardware chain here in New Zealand with a little bit of Aussie leg-pulling. It cracks me up every time I see it.
An FYI for US viewers - the third little boy is dressed in Australian colors - gold and green.

What do you think?

1. Middlemarch is a small country town, in Central Otago, New Zealand. It is about 80 km West of Dunedin. It’s located in the Strath Taieri Valley.

2. Several suggestions exist about how the township was named. One is that Mrs Alice Humphreys, whose husband Edward Wingfield Humphreys owned and had surveyed for sale of sections in this new township, was reading George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch. Another is that the name is from the obsolete English term “march” meaning a boundary - in this case a middle area between two rivers.

3. Middlemarch is the setting for my feline shapeshifter series, Middlemarch Mates.

4. Each year Middlemarch holds a singles dance and a special train (nicknamed the Love Train) carries women and men to the dance from Dunedin.

5. HOW IT ALL BEGAN - the dance.

In November last year our Community Board was presented with some statistics about rural health and other services in this area. As part of her presentation, Pauline Carruthers, the local Plunket Nurse, District Nurse and at that time only local practise nurse in the area, noted that we needed more nurses and made the flippant comment that we should marry some of our bachelors off to some nurses.

The Community Board took the idea one step further and suggested to the local A & P Society that it would arrange for the sponsor of the Dance for its Centenary Show. We contacted Country & City Contacts (NZ) Ltd. They are an Amberley-based dating service that has had huge success in the rural areas, especially of the South Island. Henk & Joy van Leir were enthusiastic and supportive of the idea of publicising the dance as a good place for their clients to meet each other and also some of our bachelors.

6. The area has some rare creatures - the mountain weta, the Otago and Grand skinks and the NZ falcon.

7. The area is also home to the Sutton Salt Lake. The water in the lake evaporates during the summer.

8. There are also special clouds in the area called the Tairei Pet. A cloud formation reportedly found only in one or two places in the world. It is formed by high north westerly winds being forced upward over the Rock & Pillar range - spectacular and unnerving by its sheer size and its association with the high winds.

9. It is the start of the 150km Otago Central Rail Trail, a path that stretches from Middlemarch to Clyde. People can walk, cycle or ride horses along this path, staying overnight at stops on the way.

10. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a train from Dunedin. It travels through the spectacular Tairei Gorge and is popular with tourists.

11. Scarlet Woman, Peeping Tom and Stray Cat Strut are all set in Middlemarch and feature various members of the Mitchell family.

12. Go here to learn about how the series was born, plus there are photos. There are also Middlemarch photos here.

13. Assassin, Middlemarch Mates book 4 is coming on August 6.

Here’s the blurb:

Feline shifter Leo Mitchell is the pretty brother who attracts women with ease, but he’s turned picky. He suspects the mystery blonde hanging around Middlemarch is the one for him. If only he could grab the elusive female and seduce her. Oh yeah. He craves some hot, sinful lovin’ with the lady in black leather.

Assassin Isabella Black has harbored a huge crush on hunky Leo for ages. Because the timing sucked she’s watched him from afar, praying another woman won’t snatch the hottie away before she’s free to stake a claim.

Finally the pair meet. Isabella offers her naked body but Leo counteracts with a cup of tea. Seems Leo likes to call the shots when it comes to sex. A day later they’re finally dancing horizontally. It’s smokin’ hot, steamy, delicious—everything she’s ever wanted. Isabella is ecstatic until another assassin threatens to ruin her happiness. It’s life or death now. One wrong move and her secrets will destroy the Mitchells along with everything that has become dear to her…including Leo.

Do you like small town settings or do you prefer sophisticated city settings for your romances?

This story is a true one and comes to you from New Zealand.

A Family Court judge has ordered a girl be put in court guardianship so her name - Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii - can be changed. The judge said he had concerns over the girl’s name creating a social hurdle for her as she grew up. The judge made written findings on the issue public after discovering other names some New Zealand parents had called their children. (Number 16 Bus Shelter, Violence, and for twins - Benson and Hedges)

Evidently the nine-year-old Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii was so embarrassed about her name she hadn’t revealed it to her friends. They call her “K”.

Parents must adhere to the following criteria when choosing a name for their child:
1. Must not cause offence to a reasonable person.
2. Must not be unreasonably long (less than 100 characters long including spaces)
3. Must not be without adequate justification, be, include or resemble an official title or rank.
4. Must not use punctuation marks, brackets or numbers.

A person’s name is such an important part of their identity. It’s something we carry with us throughout our lives. Growing up these days is hard enough without our parents saddling us with an embarrassing name. Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii? Hello!!! What were this girl’s parents thinking???? I’m so glad the judge had the good sense to rule she could change her name.

Violence - it’s not a name I’d want, but she has a possible future in a paranormal novel or movie.

Number 16 Bus Shelter - okay, so the bus shelter where your child was conceived might have great memories, but saddling your child with this name? Having a permanent reminder of the fact your parents have sex? That’s just plain icky!

Please parents, think long and hard when naming your child. Your choice is with them for life.

Things are pretty busy in the Munro household at the moment. I’m busy with writing–someone please tell me why I thought it was a good idea to sell three books before I left on holiday, because after sales, the edits arrive. I worked on edits for most of the weekend. Mr. Munro had to work for part of one day and went off to play golf for the other day. He arrived back home with a meat pack and was very pleased with himself. Today I worked on my current work-in-progress. I’m not following any of the “so-called” writing rules, and I’m having a ball. Writing for the sheer joy of it is so liberating, although it’s not always practical when it comes to selling the manuscript. Sales equals income. I always need to factor that into the equation.

This year I’ve done a lot of soul-searching when it comes to my writing. I’ve analyzed my strengths, my weaknesses (I swear my commas move around like loose cannons every time I hit send), and I’m working to a plan of attack. I’ll let you know this time next year if it works.

I’ll leave you with a video of an ad, which I love. It’s about success and was filmed in New Zealand. The beach in the first and last frames is in Auckland and looks out over Rangitoto Island. It’s one of my favorite views.

I’m taking part in Rainbow Reviews Scavenger Hunt. If you’re a fan of gay romances and enjoy exploring the internet for new books and authors then this is the contest for you. The winners will be announced on 30th June so get hunting now!

I’ve received a really great review from Fallen Angel Reviews for Wanderlust. Cheryl, the reviewer said, “What a splendid read Wanderlust was. If you are looking for adventure, romance, suspense and plain old fun than Shelley Munro’s latest Wanderlust is the book for you.” Five Angels. Here’s the link to the full review.

And finally, I have a new release out tomorrow! Actually, you’re going to see quite a few releases from me in the coming months since I’ve been very busy. I just love it in that writing cave.

Lovers at Last features pearls and is a friend to lovers story. It’s set in Auckland, New Zealand. I’ll post the blurb tomorrow but thought I would leave you with a snippet about pearls.

Did you know that Cleopatra and her lover Marc Antony wagered about whether she could give the most expensive banquet in history? He accepted her bet and during the dinner, Cleopatra took off one of her pearl earrings, which was extremely large and valuable, crushed it, dissolved it in vinegar and drank it. Marc Antony acknowledged her win.

A lady with attitude. I don’t know if I could drink my wealth so casually. What do you think?

When I used to go to primary school (longer ago than I care to admit) we used to make and play with poi. The word poi refers to a Māori dance or game performed with a ball-like object, to which a cord of varying length is attached. Poi refers to both the ball and the dance, which normally includes hitting and swinging the ball on its string, usually accompanied by music or a chant of some kind. These days poi are used in live performances world-wide where they are either set on fire or contain lights. Luckily, I didn’t attempt either fire or lights with my poi. My mother would have had something to say about that. I distinctly remember breaking a light shade with my normal set of poi. I’d been told to practice outside but didn’t listen. After the light shade episode my poi were confiscated.

Here’s a YouTube of the New Zealand folk song Poi E, which was written by Dalvanius and performed by the Patea Maori club. It was a big hit in 1984, and I still tap my feet everytime I hear it. If you’re interested in the words or a translation to English and learning a little about the background of the song go here. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the dog and the breakdancer in the video.

For those of you with children here are some instructions from pupils at Awakeri School on how to make your own set of poi. Here’s another set of instructions from the Auckland Museum. Check out their Magna Muffins on the sidebar as well. They look like a fun thing for kids to make on a rainy day.

NOTE: Mothers, if your children make poi, encourage them to practice outside. Poi have the uncanny ability to attack lightshades and other delicate/breakable things without warning.

I’m also blogging over at Dynamic Trio today about a special interest story I heard about this week.