Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Do you have a new ereader? If you’re looking for something to read several of my friends have new releases this month. The genres are varied, so there is bound to be one to suit your tastes.

A Medieval Yule by Kaye Manro

A fortnight ago she left him.

Marcus of Windom stood alone in an empty castle without Lady Liana

by his side. The frigid winds of the Yule Season pressed upon him. He

pulled the parchment from whence he carried it and read her chilling

parting words once again. I can no longer live as your lady-wife… If ever

she returned would her sensual warmth be enough to melt the ice she

had caused to form around his broken heart?

Purchase A Medieval Yule

The Curse of Gremdon by Ciara Knight

In a world where marriage is forbidden, sex is only granted to male warriors, and the outer realm is full of murderous creatures, Arianna fights to protect the life of her only living relative, her brother.

Tardon, an elite warrior, is granted anything he desires by the Elders, but finds little joy in the voluptuous women presented to him. Born for the bloodlust found only in battle, complicated emotions emerge when he discovers his equal in the alluring warrior, Arianna.

Charged by the Elders with saving the castle from attack, Tardon and Arianna risk the curse when they traverse the vast outer realm to retrieve serum from the Tree of Life. If successful, the Elders have promised Tardon the right to marry, and Arianna the cure for her brother’s death fever. Will their love carry them through or will the discovery of a great deception be their ultimate demise?

Purchase The Curse of the Gremdon

Dragons at Midnight by Selena Illyria

One dragon is hot enough, but three can make this tiger shifter burn in the

most delightful ways.Tiger shifter Louisa thought she’d ring in the New

Year all alone. Little did she know that three younger dragon shifters plan

on making sure she celebrates things right. Add a little steam, a few

dragon shifters with dirty minds, and some creative use of furniture and

New Year’s Eve becomes the perfect scorching-hot party for four.
.

Purchase Dragons at Midnight

Marked for Surrender by Jennifer Leeland

When Zevon and Christophe are accused of being traitors to Nylar, they both believe the truth will come out and justice will prevail. But the Blueshift Brotherhood has targeted them and the two men end up with the Nyral Mistresses to be broken. Hope seems gone for the two lovers and they come face to face with their inner secrets when they face the most infamous Mistress of all: the Ball Breaker.

Mistress Andia Cyrus has broken thousands of criminals, turning dominant men into slaves. The two men she’s handed this time, however, are not the usual type she’s used to. They seem to be innocent, for one thing. For another, they’re in love. And for another, she’s starting to fall for them. She begins to dig deeper and soon finds a Blueshift Brotherhood assassin on her tail.

Fate seems to drag them together and Andia, Christophe and Zevon discover they can only survive if they are marked for surrender.

Purchase Marked for Surrender

Make Me Shiver by Aline Hunter

When Lacey loses control of her vehicle and finds herself trapped by ice and snow, she knows there’s only one person to call for help. Unfortunately, Michael may cause more turmoil than relief. She’s lusted for the gorgeous Dom ever since she first laid eyes on him. Trouble is, he doesn’t do vanilla and she’s not a submissive…or is she?

Michael’s hungered for Lacey for months, so when he notices her fleeting glimpses and blush-stained cheeks as he rescues her from an altercation with a guardrail, he decides it’s time to push the sultry beauty’s boundaries…only to discover Lacey’s not as reserved as she thinks.

Physical attraction blossoms into something neither anticipates, taking Michael and Lacey beyond kink, dominance and submission. Their newfound connection is strong. until a flame from Michael’s past returns, shatters the fragile trust he and Lacey have only just developed and threatens to destroy something neither wants to surrender.

Purchase Make Me Shiver

Melt by Natalie Anderson

When two frozen hearts collide…

Emma Reed closed her heart to love years ago after a lifetime spent getting kicked around foster homes and bad relationships. Now she’s on a mission to prove she deserves her recent award to paint a mural for a research base in Antarctica. Nothing and no one is going to get in her way.

After months working in recovery zones around the world, Hunter Wilson planned to escape everything this holiday season by rebuilding a lab at the Kiwi Research Base. Alone. No to family, no to fun. It’s isolation not intimacy he’s aching for. But when he sees the determined artist, that ache becomes an urge – after all, shouldn’t someone show her what two people can do with twenty-four hours of brilliant sunlight?

In the coldest place on earth, even the most frozen hearts can melt.

Purchase Melt

Don’t they sound great? I can’t wait to read the above books. All I have to do is find some reading time.

Do you intend to do some reading during the coming holidays? Do you think there will be ereaders, books or gift cards in your Christmas stocking?

In the red corner we have…

…the original Sex Idol cover. Lickable abs with no head.

And in the blue corner we have…

…the sexy new print cover for Sex Idol. We still have lickable abs, but now our hero has a head.

Now I like the first cover, but I love the new updated one. Call me shallow, but I let out a shriek of joy when I saw the print cover last week. I think the cover model really looks like a sex idol. I’d vote for him for sure. Yeah, yeah. I know. Shallow. I did warn you.

Which cover do you prefer and why? What would your ideal cover look like?

The print version of Sex Idol is out today at Ellora’s Cave. If you prefer an e-copy follow this link.

If you’re on Facebook or Twitter I’d really appreciate a shout out to help spread the news of Sex Idol’s release. Here are some tweet-sized snippets to save you time.

Are you Sex Idol material? SEX IDOL by @shelleymunro @ellorascave http://bit.ly/r0idVp

SEX IDOL by @shelleymunro @ellorascave This is a very naughty book http://bit.ly/r0idVp

Lord have mercy on me. SEX IDOL by @shelleymunro @ellorascave is the hottest novel on the planet ~ JERR reviewer http://bit.ly/r0idVp

SEX IDOL by @shelleymunro @ellorascave a futuristic romance about reality shows, dreams & pressure to perform http://bit.ly/r0idVp

Thanks!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~ Grab your current read
~ Open to a random page
~ Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~ Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Kim Knox’s Gambit, a sci-fi/futuristic romance from Carina Press.

The stream of venom from the innocuous little bug, one that looked so harmless when it sat on a client’s palm, flowed too fast over her thoughts. She grimaced, loathing the lack of control that would grip her in a few short seconds.

Page 2, Gambit

Captain Chae Beyon is a hustler, a mercenary pilot, a wounded woman who prefers her men to be easily thrown aside.

Daned Traern is a first-caste Ladaian bound by tradition and DNA to protect his race. He’s willing to align himself with the hot space captain if she’ll transport him home in time to ensure the right candidate is crowned—and thus prevent a bloody war.

Disguised as Chae’s sex toy, Daned is erotically bound to her through living gold, alien tech designed to increase pleasure. When he frees himself, their passion only increases…but succumbing to temptation will bind them together—permanently.

But there’s more at stake than their needs. As Chae is dragged into a world of insane princes and sentient stones, hired killers hound them across the quadrant.

And then, as only her lousy luck would have it, Chae must choose between the good of the galaxy and her own heart…

Purchase Gambit

My special guest today is fellow Carina Press author, Kim Knox. Aside from having several publishers in common, Kim shares a release date with me since her futuristic romance Gambit is out on 20 September at Carina Press. It sounds like an awesome read so head over to the Carina store and preorder your copy now! Today Kim is talking about films and inspiration for her upcoming release. Don’t forget to comment on her post to go into a draw to win one of her backlist.

There are some films I can watch over and over. My other half can testify to my current night time obsession with Hot Fuzz. Really, what’s not to love about bromance heavily laced with guns and just enough gore to make you wince? Something about the structure, the humour doesn’t get old for me. My other half may tell a different story.

Then there are the films that are a slow boil. I didn’t like the remake of Clash of the Titans when I first saw it at the cinema. Admittedly I was crushed up at the front of the theatre and I’d made the egregious error of viewing it in 3D…but I watched it again at home and enjoyed it more. I could truly appreciate a muscled hero in a leather skirt. Yes, I have also watched Gladiator a lot, too.

With children around, I can’t indulge in anything rated above PG and their repeated favourites of The Gruffalo and Dangermouse can grate a little. And the less said about Count Duckula the better.

We do have common ground though. All of us can watch films four, five and six of the Star Wars Trilogy ad nauseum. They appreciate spaceships and aliens and things generally exploding and I can appreciate Han Solo. A lot.

He was also the spark behind my novel, Gambit. Well him and Leia in her slave girl costume. My mind was drifting as I watched Return of the Jedi — the scene in Jabba’s court — and I got to thinking that the gold bikini was wasted on Leia…and really Han should be Jabba’s pet. The idea of Jabba as my heroine was a little off putting. So I swapped in a woman…who was a pilot and a hustler. One who enjoyed her men wrapped in little more than golden strings. I also gave her a collar and a leash for her new flesh-pet…and Chae Beyon was born.

I do point out Gambit to my other half as proof that my addiction to some films does mean I am actually working. I’m still not sure he believes me.

So does anyone else have a film or films that they can watch over and over?

CONTEST: Everyone who answers Kim’s question will go into a draw to win a download from Kim’s backlist. Kim will be back to pick the winner.

Links:
Web: www.kim-knox.co.uk
Blog: www.darknessandromance.com

Purchase Gambit

Blurb:

Captain Chae Beyon is a hustler, a mercenary pilot, a wounded woman who prefers her men to be easily thrown aside.

Daned Traern is a first-caste Ladaian bound by tradition and DNA to protect his race. He’s willing to align himself with the hot space captain if she’ll transport him home in time to ensure the right candidate is crowned-and thus prevent a bloody war.

Disguised as Chae’s sex toy, Daned is erotically bound to her through living gold, alien tech designed to increase pleasure. When he frees himself, their passion only increases…but succumbing to temptation will bind them together-permanently.

But there’s more at stake than their needs. As Chae is dragged into a world of insane princes and sentient stones, hired killers hound them across the quadrant.

And then, as only her lousy luck would have it, Chae must choose between the good of the galaxy and her own heart…

Bio:

Kim is published with Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id and soon with Carina Press. She lives on an ancient boundary line, once marked by a Neolithic burial tomb. The tomb’s now a standing stone circle–thank the Georgians for that one–and stirs her mind with thoughts of history and ancient myths. She mixes the essence of the past into fantasy, along with the essential mix of magic and sex. She also writes science fiction romance, pushing out into the far future with effortlessly sexy men and the women who can’t resist them.

I’m doing a bit of a blog tour with one of my older releases, Fancy Free. Today I’m at I Do Not Want To Wait I Want The Book Now where I’m talking about Fancy Free and life in small towns.

Warning: Condoms were tested and a few harmed during the writing of this story.

It’s not every day a girl inherits a condom company, and to say accountant Alice Beasley is astonished and out of her depth is putting it mildly. For an almost virgin, she needs a quick education in all things condom because her inheritance is in danger. Someone is intent on sabotage and playing nasty, trying to destroy her new company.

Alice is suddenly getting down and dirty with charismatic James, the factory manager, all in the name of business, testing new condom designs. The sex is hot. Mind-blowing. It’s a dark thrill and an erotic journey. Yeah, it’s a hard job, but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s gotta do.

The testing turns personal. Alice wants James. She craves his talented touch and sultry kisses, she desires passion and physical pleasure on a permanent basis but first she must convince bad-boy James to give up his fancy-free ways…

I’m also doing my monthly column for The Raven Happy Hour where I ponder what aliens actually look like. Here’s the link to my post on What Do Aliens Look Like?

The theme for today is departures, and I’m posting a scene from one of my m/m romances, Fallen Idol.

FALLEN IDOL by Shelley Munro

Rafi made it back to the spaceport with five minutes to spare. He paid the cab driver and sprinted for the ship, trying to ignore the throb in his leg. Barker would look at the injury once they were safely en route for Patigous.

“About time,” Henry snapped. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He turned away to seal the door before nailing Rafi with a glare. “We don’t need any more crew on this voyage. They’re only teenagers. And where’s your shirt? Aw, man. You stink. Whatcha been doing? Rolling around in the drains?”

Rafi ignored the comments about his appearance. Teenagers? That old? It was better than he’d thought.
He’d had visions of the authorities charging him with child slavery or worse. He nodded at the grizzled male who had been with him from the start. “Yeah, I know they’re just kids. Long story. The shirt is in the story as well.” Now that he’d stopped his headlong rush, the pain seemed to have caught up with him. His leg throbbed, his shoulder ached where he’d scraped the skin off and his head hurt. “Where are they?”

“I told Mac to look after them. She’s a female. She knows about kids.”

Rafi snorted, trying to imagine the blonde temptress from Dalvine looking after the two street kids. She might look like centerfold material but all she really cared about was the spaceship and the engines that drove them. Fortunately for him, she was bloody good at her job. “Did you inform Mac she’s meant to know about kids?”

“Do I look stupid?” Henry’s grin bloomed to display a sapphire in his front tooth as he scrutinized Rafi carefully. They shared a knowing smirk. Mac was not a typical female. Henry’s humor faded, his brow crinkling in worry. “Hey, man, you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Rafi ignored the query, concentrating on more important things instead. He couldn’t believe he’d brought Bob and two street kids aboard the ship. The two street kids he could handle—he’d just delegate responsibility—but Bob was different. Bob had the ability to create turmoil. Hell, the man had him tied in knots of confusion already. And worse, it was difficult to reconcile the yearning inside with Bob’s physical appearance. Rafi swallowed and glanced at his second-in-command. “How’s Bob?”

Henry rolled his eyes in clear contempt. “The whale?”

“He’s my friend,” Rafi snapped, drawing up tall and threatening. Regret followed immediately since the movement stretched his thigh and hurt like a bitch. Rafi relaxed his body deliberately but his glare was designed to make Henry back down. “He’s going through a rough patch. He used to do well on the sex circuit. Bob has won lots of competitions.”

“Sorry,” Henry said, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender and apology. “We should be used to your strays by now. He’s going to be okay. Barker took care of him. Said he’s going to heal up fine. He’s in your berth, strapped in, ready for takeoff. I think Barker gave him something to knock him out because he’d started shrieking like a baby.”

Rafi swallowed and tried not to think about Bob lying in his bed. His berth was Spartan with not much in the way of personal touches, not that it usually mattered since Rafi spent most of his time up on the bridge or in the recreation room with his crew. Having Bob around was going to make his life difficult. Rafi pictured Bob as he used to be, regret at the forefront of his mind. Thoughts of Bob’s current appearance blotted out everything good. Difficult? Hell, make that impossible. “Where is Barker now?”

“Getting ready for takeoff,” Henry said.

Rafi nodded. “I’d better head up to the bridge now.” Damn, his thigh was hurting. It throbbed with each stride he took and he also gagged at the stench coming from his body. Too bad. Both a bath and medical attention would have to wait until they were out of Earth’s atmosphere and safely on autopilot. He headed down the short and narrow passage toward the bridge, limping as fast as he could. Beneath his feet, he could feel the rumble of the ship’s engine. The smooth purr was a credit to Mac, their engineer. Rafi grinned. Those two street kids would be driving her nuts.

“Captain. ‘Bout time you arrived.” Mac scowled at him. “You almost made us lose our slot. Where is your shirt?” Her dark stormy eyes said a lot more and Rafi knew he was in for a tongue-lashing later on once the complexities of liftoff were out of the way. “You look like you’ve been rolling around the gutter with all that muck on you and the torn trews.” Her perfect nose wrinkled. “You honk like a pack of dog-rats.”

“Sorry. It’s a long story. Plenty of time for that later.”

Barker and Mac were at their stations when Rafi slipped into the pilot’s seat. Everything looked set for takeoff. Mac had the two street kids strapped into the spare seats on the far side of the bridge. Wide-eyed and unable to hide their excitement, they gaped at the black and silver interior of the bridge. Colored lights flashed on the console. Henry communicated with traffic control and each member of the crew went through final preparations for takeoff. A huge porthole filled the area in front of the bridge, giving a view out over the busy spaceport. Henry slid into the copilot seat beside him and patched through to main control. The two kids took in everything, reminding Rafi of his first voyage into space, the exhilaration, the excitement and knowledge that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. It didn’t seem to bother the kids that they had no luggage or were with people they didn’t know. They seemed to trust him—another weighty responsibility he wasn’t sure he wanted.

Mac increased the power of the engines and after the last muffled instructions from control they soared upward into the Earth’s atmosphere. They shot through fluffy white clouds, continuing upward at a steep incline. In a short time, the color of the sky darkened and they blasted out of the atmosphere into dark space.

“Wow!” one of the kids said.

Rafi smiled, trying hard to concentrate on the instruments. Difficult when his leg ached so badly. He scanned all the readings and nodded slightly when he saw everything was working smoothly. Not that he’d expected anything else since his crew was topnotch. The ship leveled out and they headed out on the flight path they’d filed.

“On to autopilot,” Henry said.

As one, the crew relaxed and soon banter filled the bridge.

“Hey, Barker,” Rafi called. “You got a minute?”

“Sure, Captain.” Barker was a fearsome sight—a huge bear of a man with a scar down his left cheek, but he was the best medic Rafi had ever met. Barker strode over to Rafi, his right eyebrow rising in a question.

“I took a gunshot to my thigh.”

Henry’s head whipped around. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Purchase Fallen Idol at Ellora’s Cave.

To read more Departure excerpts follow the Snippet Saturday links below:

Eliza Gayle
Jody Wallace
Moira Rogers
Kelly Maher
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Lauren Dane
Savannah Foley

I have a new interview up at Manic Readers. BTW, if you’re an author you can sign up for a free page at Manic Readers. Here’s mine.

Yay! I have a new sale to report. I’ve sold a Quickie to Ellora’s Cave. It’s called Fringe Benefits and is a friends with benefits story as well as a threesome. It’s a hot little number.

Finally, we had a fine day today, and I went for a long cycle ride. Unfortunately all that fresh air was a bit too stimulating for my brain, because I had two ideas for stories and one in particular is screaming, “Write. Me. Now.” Not gonna happen. I’ve done a note to jog my memory at a later date, and I’m ploughing ahead with my sci-fi story.

We went out for lunch with friends yesterday and had both great food and company. I take my camera with me everywhere and decided I needed a photo of my cherry beer. I’d taken a couple of sips. A passing waiter asked if I’d like some froth on top for my photo. “Yes, please!” I said and he took away my drink, returning seconds later with some nice froth on top. Wasn’t he nice?

Did you have a fun weekend?