Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

1. Legends of werewolves have been with us since Greek times and even earlier.

2. European folk law in particular is full of tales of men shifting to wolves.

3. In one of the legends, Ovid (Metamorphoses) served human flesh to Zeus. In punishment, he was changed to a wolf.

4. Lycanthropy is a mental illness where a patient believes they have transformed into a wolf.

5. Curved fingernails, red hair, eyebrows that meet, hair that grows beneath the skin are all signs of a werewolf.

6. Werewolves have superhuman strength but are vulnerable to silver bullets.

7. The vulnerability to silver only appears in tales after 1935.

8. Werewolves are very active during a full moon.

9. In some tales, a special salve is rubbed over the body and this transforms a man to werewolf.

10. Some werewolves transform after donning a wolf skin or a wolf skin belt.

11. If a werewolf bites a human, the human will become a werewolf. This method of turning is a modern invention and does not appear in early legends.

12. Many of our recent thoughts/perceptions are due to Hollywood movies and popular novels, and they bear little relation to the old legends.

Today kicks off my Lone Wolf tour. My first stop is at Book Junkie. I hope you’ll pop over and visit. Don’t forget – every time you comment on one of my Lone Wolf VBT posts you’ll go into a draw to win a $20 Amazon gift card.

What do you think about werewolves? Do you have any tidbits to add to my werewolf list?

The recent snow in Auckland hit the news for several days in a row. I’ve lived in Auckland all my life, and have never seen snow here before. I took photos – please don’t laugh. That really is a misting of snow, although it didn’t last long.

Hubby and I took Bella for a walk to the bird reserve, not far from where we live. These proud parents were busy parading their young about for all to see. This pair normally only has one or two, but this year they’ve outdone themselves with seven offspring.

It’s not long until we head off to China. I intend to start packing this week. For once I’m not going to be packing at the last minute.

This coming week sees the release of Lone Wolf and my Virtual Book Tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. I hope you’ll be able to visit some of my stops. Everyone who visits the guest spots and comments on the posts will go into a draw to win a $20 Gift Certificate from Amazon.

My stops are below:

August 22: Book Junkie
August 23: Naughty Boys in the Backseat
August 24: Black Velvet Seductions Readers Blog
August 25: Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess
August 26: Sara York the Author of Sexy Books for Smart Women and Men

What did you get up to during the weekend?

Lone Wolf, my fourth Samhain Publishing release is due out on 23 August. Corey, one of the heroes has a liking for chocolate, which R.J., the other hero indulges.

“Yeah.” R.J. gave him a quick kiss and pulled a small bar of chocolate out of his pocket. He tucked it in Corey’s waistband. “Take care, kid. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

In honor of R.J. and Corey’s story, today I’m giving you a list of my favorite chocolate things.

Thirteen Chocolate Treats That I Adore

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies – I like the ones with huge chunks of chocolate.

2. Pain Au Chocolate – preferably still warm from the oven and partnered with a latte.

3. Hot chocolate – nothing better on a cold winter’s day.

4. Chilli chocolate – very dark chocolate with the bite of chilli peppers. Very yummy!

5. Chocolate cake – rich and moist with thick chocolate icing and partnered with a glass of cold milk.

6. A chocolate milkshake – the thick kind that is hard to drink through a straw.

7. Choccywoccydoodah – I like watching this program on TV. The shop is in Brighton, England, and their cakes look amazing!

8. Whittakers Ghana Peppermint Chocolate – this is New Zealand chocolate. It’s dark chocolate with a mint filling. They have a very cool ad, which is on Youtube, but it has an over 18 warning on it because of nudity. Link to Whittakers’ ad.

9. After dinner mints – I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

10. Moritz ice creams – various flavors of ice cream with a thick coating of chocolate that crackles when you take a bite.

11. Chocolate truffles – hubby makes some delicious ones that have a hint of orange in them. Yum!

12. Double Choc Muffins – for morning tea with a cup of coffee.

13. Scorched Almonds – I usually only eat these at Christmas time. Almonds covered with a thick coating of chocolate. Very addictive because one is not enough.

What is your favorite chocolate item?

Yellowstone was the very first National Park. Established in 1872, the park hosts millions of visitors per year. The park is located in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and has a wide range of habitat ranging from grasslands and forest to lake, rivers and mountains. Note: I think the people who set the land aside had great vision, and I’m proud to say that the second park in the world was a New Zealand one.

Animals that live in Yellowstone include bison, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer, grizzly and black bears, moose and a few years ago, wolves were reintroduced after being previously wiped out in the area. There are also lots of different birds.

Yellowstone is also famous for its volcanic activity. Huge volcanic eruptions occurred here, the last around 640,000 years ago. The central portion of the park is actually a large caldera (basin) and the area is still very active with many geysers, mudpots, and hot springs. The most famous of these is Old Faithful geyser, which erupts to a schedule and thrills many a tourist.

Yellowstone is vast, yet parts of it are very accessible to the daytripper tourist. I’ve been fortunate to visit twice, and during my last visit, a story idea popped into my mind. My husband and I stayed at Tower-Roosevelt in a small cabin and spent two days exploring as much of the park as we could manage. We went animal spotting and saw loads of wildlife including a grizzly bear eating its kill. I really wanted to see a wolf. I didn’t see one in the end—they’re actually very hard to spot during the summer months—but early in the morning, not long after we woke, we heard the wolves calling. It was an eerie, magical sound and provided the final inspiration for my story. Lone Wolf is the result of my visit to Yellowstone.

Have you visited Yellowstone National Park? What is your favorite outdoor spot to visit? (any part of the world)

Experience wolves and the wildlife in Lone Wolf, an m/m romance coming from Samhain Publishing on 23 August. Available now for pre-order at a discounted price.

This week I’ve finally managed to catch up on my blog feeds. Since I write historical romance, among other genres, I subcribe to several blogs that feature info from the past. My favorites are the posts that feature social history and little tidbits about everyday normal things. I thought I’d share some of the posts I enjoyed.

At Word Wenches, I came across the following:Keeping it Clean: Georgian and Regency Bathing Habits by Joanna Bourne. Ms. Bourne explores exactly how clean our forebears were. “…And water. They had ‘running water’ of a sort. They sent a footman to run and get it.”

A Tale of Buttons by Anne Gracie. This article brought back fond memories of playing with all the buttons in my mother’s button tin. Anne talks about buttons through the ages and there are some cool pictures of button hooks.

Over at Historical Hussies Leigh Michaels talked about The Regency Season The season was actually when parliament was in session. The men brought their wives with them to London. The women required entertainment while their men were busy, thus the season was born with its balls and other outings.

A post by Donna Hatch about Regency Fragrances caught my attention. It was exactly what I needed to work out my Gothic hero’s scent.

Now traveling to more modern times…

Author Allison Brennan wrote a wonderful post called Money Can’t Buy Love at Murder She Writes. It’s all about Self-Promotion and Word of Mouth.

CJ Redwine addresses this question – How do I raise the stakes and make the conflict matter to the reader? in her post Write a HolyCowAwesome story

And last but not least – I’m doing a giveaway over at Goodreads. Enter the draw to win one of two copies of The Bottom Line.

Do you have any favorite blog feeds that you subscribe to?

Picnic (1748) ~ an excursion or outing with food, usually provided by members of the group and eaten in the open.

I have lots of fond memories of family picnics. During the summer months we’d go to the beach, agricultural shows, rodeos and sports days. My mother would make delicious sandwiches with egg and lettuce, ham and mustard or salmon. There were club sandwiches and sometimes rolls filled with salad. We’d have bacon & egg pie and fresh fruit, usually apples or oranges. For drinks there would be a thermos flask of tea and sometimes fresh lemonade. The food always tasted better when eaten outdoors.

When my husband and I visited Yellowstone National Park a few years ago we also had a picnic. We stopped at one of the park stores and purchased a salad each. Yellowstone has so many beautiful picnic spots and we found one to eat our meal. There are signs everywhere about not feeding bears and other wild life and disposing of rubbish correctly in the bear proof bins. We were both hoping for a glimpse of Yogi and Boo Boo, but it wasn’t to be, although we did see a grizzly bear later in the day. We did come across one of the downsides of eating in the outdoors. Bugs!

Do you like picnics? What are your favorite picnic foods? Do you have a favorite picnic spot?

Experience wolves and the wildlife in Lone Wolf, an m/m romance coming from Samhain Publishing on 23 August. Available now for pre-order at a discounted price.

Presenting my cover for Lone Wolf. Isn’t it pretty?

Here’s the blurb:

When you fall out of step, that’s when everything falls into place.

R.J. Blake begins a new session tutoring young werewolves in the old ways—before the introduction of the shift-suppressing drugs that allow their kind to live secretly among humans. He expects nothing out of the ordinary. Until sexy, smart, aggravating-as-hell Corey Wilson arrives. Older than the others, son of a powerful Los Angeles pack leader, Corey is an instant temptation he cannot afford.

The last thing Corey wants is three months stuck in the Yellowstone wilderness, followed by the stifling life his father has all mapped out for him. One glimpse of R.J., though, sparks a determination to seduce the older man before he leaves. Yet as R.J. guides him through the sometimes terrifying process of rediscovering his heritage, a deepening respect calls to his artistic soul and fuels a burst of creativity.

When their time comes to an end, Corey senses hesitation behind R.J.’s insistence that theirs was simply a summer fling. Inspiring him to take a leap of faith with consequences neither of them saw coming. A dangerous plot that reaches from the heart of their love to the highest office in the land…

Lone Wolf is due out at Samhain Publishing on 23 August.

Several of my Ellora’s Cave titles are currently on sale for $1.19 each at Amazon (Kindle format)
There are a variety of genres available, and they range in length from Quickies to long novels. Snap up one of the following:

Contemporary
Fancy Free
Playing to Win
Wanderlust
Issy’s Infatuation
Summer in the City of Sails
Soldier of Fortune
Fringe Benefits
Lovers at Last
Sex, Spies & Sapphires

Paranormal/Sci-Fi
Talking Dogs, Aliens & Purple People Eaters
Never Send a Dog to Do a Woman’s Job
Romantic Interlude
Sex Idol
Fallen Idol
Make That Man Mine
Lynx to the Pharaoh
Last Wish
Price of Love

Go on. Grab yourself a bargain or two!

I’m guest blogging at Samhain Publishing again. My topic for today is taking time out. Here’s the link to Samhain Publishing.

I’ve sold a new gay romance to Ellora’s Cave. It’s one that’s dear to my heart because it features rugby heroes. I’m a huge rugby fan.

Here’s an unoffical blurb:

Tyson Hamlin lives and breathes rugby. With loads of natural talent, he’s destined for the big time. But Tyson has a secret—his perfect life, complete with doting girlfriend—is a lie. While he loves the game, he’s not quite as driven as he used to be, and his girlfriend is a beard he hides behind because the truth is he prefers men.

Darcy Nicholls transfers from Dunedin to pursue his dream to make the All Black team. He’s giving his all this one last season and intends to focus on his goal. Openly gay, he arrives in Auckland to suspicion and hostility.

One look and Ty is smitten. He wants the sexy Darcy to do all sorts of bad things with him. Game on. The sparks fly in private as they burn up the sheets, but they can’t live in seclusion forever. They’re under public scrutiny, and one wrong step could derail their rugby careers and end their dreams forever.

Contains sexy rugby players with their eye on the ball.

I’m not sure about a release date yet. Watch this space.

My next Samhain release is another gay romance. It’s called Lone Wolf and will be out on 23 August. I don’t have a blurb for this one yet, but as the title suggests, the story features werewolves and is set mainly in Yellowstone National park.

I’m visiting The Romance Studio – the Rainbow blog – and talking about the setting for Seeking Kokopelli, which is out in print this week. I hope you’ll visit because I’ve included some of my holiday snaps.

Here’s the link to The Romance Studio