Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I received awesome news in my inbox today. I’ve sold Cat Burglar, the sixth book in my Middlemarch Mates series to Ellora’s Cave. Yesterday, I finished writing the first draft of book seven. I tell you, I’ve been on a roll with my feline shifters recently.

The final days of Brenda Novak’s auction for Diabetes Research are under way. There are raffle tickets on sale for $20 each. The raffle ticket aimed at writers is particularly interesting. I have my ticket already. The Reader’s raffle is for a Kindle so hurry and get your ticket. There’s only a day left.

Today I’m also blogging over at the Danger Zone about writing adventure stories.

I received the cover for Lovers at Last a couple of days ago. It’s not long until Lovers at Last hits the cyber shelves – 4 June.

I also have a gemstone story for July, so I’m looking forward to that cover as well. To read excerpts for the two stories check out the coming soon page at my website.

James Belshaw, 26, and his girlfriend Sophia Severin, 23, from London, shared an unbroken kiss for 31 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. They began kissing in the Plaza Shopping Centre in Oxford Street at 11:15 BST on Wednesday. The pair broke the previous record, which was set in the US four years ago, by more than half an hour. Throughout the event they were not allowed to sit, or fall asleep, could only take sustenance through a straw and had to stay kissing even while visiting the toilet.

Now that sounds a little extreme. I like kisses. I like reading about them and writing them, although I’m not sure about 31 plus hours of kissing. It makes my lips hurt thinking about it, but I thought we could share a few virtual kisses today.

Writers: post your excerpts up to 500 words maximum showing a kiss from your published book or work-in-progress. If it’s a naughty kiss with lots of explict language please post a WARNING at the top of your comment. Excerpts from m/m books are okay, but once again, post a warning at the top of your excerpt. If your book is published also leave us a buy link so we can explore further.

Readers and Writers: Tell me what you like to see in a kiss. If you have any kiss trivia you’d like to add, tell us about it. I’m giving away several spot prizes of downloads from my New Concepts books. All you need to do is post a comment and you’re in the draw. I’ll announce the winners on Sunday. If you like a kiss excerpt, tell the author. We love praise!

Kiss Quotes

It was brief, swift, and then it was done. It was a professional job. I needed to be kissed, and I was kissed. ~Actress Uma Thurman

This girl said “Yes” when I wasn’t ready. I kissed her lightly and got so dizzy I had to sit down. ~Actor Antonio Banderas

The first kiss I had was the most disgusting thing in my life. The girl injected about a pound of saliva, into my mouth, and when I walked away I had to spit it all out. ~Leonardo DiCaprio

If you kiss on the first date and it’s not right, then there will be no second date. Sometimes it’s better to hold out and not kiss for a long time. I am a strong believer in kissing being very intimate, and the minute you kiss, the floodgates open for everything else.
~Jennifer Lopez

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know. ~Mistinguett (Jeanne Bourgeois), Theatre Arts, December 1955

People who throw kisses are mighty hopelessly lazy. ~Bob Hope

Kissing is like drinking salted water. You drink, and your thirst increases. ~ Chinese Proverb

I’ll leave you with a kiss from my latest release, Wanderlust.

Sebastian moved closer, stopping when we almost touched, his expression cloaked in shadows. “Is that it? Don’t I get a kiss good night?”

“I—” His lips came down on mine, interrupting my train of thought about mixing business and pleasure. He nibbled my bottom lip, nipping and soothing the sexy bite with his tongue. When I gasped, he took advantage, pushing his tongue inside. Our tongues moved together in a sensual dance. Our breath mingled. It was as if we’d never parted. Sebastian drew me closer, fitting our bodies together. My breasts squashed against his muscled chest, increasing the throb of excitement that pounded me. It had been so long. It would be so easy to open the door to my cabin and let him inside. Apart from the fact that Elizabeth would arrive back at some stage and it was against hotel rules.

My mind hazed with pleasure, moisture starting to form between my thighs. Temptation slithered through my veins, and it was with deep regret that I pulled back from the kiss. “Good night, Sebastian.”

He smoothed his palm across my cheek. The tender gesture brought renewed desire and the siren lure of lust and temptation. So enticing just to step into his arms, hold on and never let go.

“Good night, sweetheart. Happy birthday.” He smiled before turning away and walking off into the darkness.

My March release, Fancy Free featured a heroine who inherits a condom company.

Some of you will already be familiar with the behind-the-scenes story about how the idea for Fancy Free came to me. My husband and I were flying home from San Francisco aboard an Air New Zealand flight. I browsed the in-flight magazine and a new product article caught my attention. One of the new products was a vibrating condom, and immediately my mind seized on the idea. My husband shushed me when I tried to discuss condoms and the possibilities, so I went into daydream mode and by the time we landed in Auckland had a plot all mapped out.

That brings me directly back to condoms. In our personal lives we’re told to practice safe sex. I have no problem with that, after all, who wants to pick up a nasty disease while doing a horizontal tango?

Safe sex and the surrounding issues is something that authors need to consider each time they write a love scene. Back at the start of the safe sex campaign a lot of people went on record as saying using a condom in a fictional love scene destroyed all the spontaneity. Personally I’ve never understood the problem because if the scene is written properly, a condom can add an extra dimension. It says I care enough about my health to use one. It says I care enough about my partner to protect him or her. To me, writing a condom into a love scene makes plain common sense.

Over my years of writing I’ve developed a set of rules for fictional condom use. I’ll also add here that this is my opinion and this is what I like to see. I’m not going to bash you over the head if you disagree.

Contemporary romance:

My hero and heroine always use a condom in each love scene. Sometimes more, since I write erotic romance! If they don’t use a condom I give the reader a good reason. Sometimes in the heat of the moment our hero and heroine might forget. Our hero and heroine might be in the middle of nowhere and desperate to the point of crazed, or they might know each other’s sexual history and oral contraception is enough. In Fancy Free, condoms are part of the plot. My characters James and Alice make full use of their products. In Summer in the City of Sails, I even have a condom scene where the hero tells the heroine her glow-in-the-dark condoms remind him of a green ogre.

Historical romance:

I know from my research a form of condoms has been around since Egyptian times. During Roman times after the gladiators fought, they scored big time with the noble ladies. These noble ladies didn’t want children from the gladiators, merely a night of pleasure so they used condoms.

If I’m writing a historical, my heroes and heroines usually don’t use condoms. This was an era where good girls remained virgins until marriage, especially the women of the nobility so the use of condoms isn’t an issue. I look at the social mores when deciding whether my characters use birth control. In my Georgian-set historical, The Second Seduction the plot was a marriage of convenience and a condom wasn’t necessary. In Unforgettable, my World War II romance the couple use condoms.

Paranormal/futuristic romance:

Sometimes my hero and heroine use condoms and sometimes they don’t. It depends on the set-up. Often in my futuristic stories I’ll make a point of saying sexually transmitted diseases are eradicated. I did this in Sex Idol and Fallen Idol.

In my Middlemarch Mates feline shifter series condoms are used in some books and not in others, with the readers learning why condoms are absent.

It is my opinion that responsible romantic heroes use condoms.

What do you think about condoms in fiction? Should our heroes and heroines use them? Does it jerk you out of a scene if condoms are absent? If you’re a writer what rules of use do you like to apply?

I’m a guest over at Jenyfer Matthew’s blog today. I’m talking about my new release, WANDERLUST and also giving away a download of Playing to Win.
Come over and say hello to go into the draw to win.

I’m also over at Naughty and Spice and Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers talking about exercise and bottom spread.

An excerpt from Anna Tietjen’s travel journal. Anna is the tour leader of OE68, a Wanderlust Adventures overland trip from London to Kathmandu.

~*~
Felixstow, England.
There are eleven passengers on the tour, and for a change the male/female split is about even. The ages range from 19 – 32 and there’s a mix of Australian, New Zealand and British passengers with one lone American. Like most trips, all the passengers seem pretty subdued at the moment, feeling their way with people who will become close friends or possibliy enemies for the next four months.

After checking off names, Greg and I loaded the luggage in the back locker and the passengers piled on board Alice (our truck). Home for the next few months. It should be a good trip. I’ve driven the route from London to Kathmandu a couple of times before. This is my second trip as leader. Greg, my co-driver is great to work with and thankfully, he doesn’t spend time trying to talk me into sex. Not gonna happen. Ever. It’s a personal rule. I don’t sleep with my co-driver or the passengers, although I might share a room to keep costs down. This is work. My personal life (Sebastian) is separate and that’s the way I like it.

Once we were on board the ferry, we left the truck and headed up to the passenger deck. I had a quick word with the passengers, trying to connect faces with names, and arranged a meeting point for them in the morning. That done, Greg and I went to the bar for a quick drink before finding our cabin. The passengers were on their own…

Wanderlust by Shelley Munro, coming to Cerridwen Press on 17 April 2008. Read an excerpt here.

1. Deirdre Martin – Ice Hockey.

2. Power Play by Erica DeQuaya – Ice Hockey

3. Susan Phillips – Lady Be Good – Golf. It Had to Be You – Football

4. Crystal Jordan – Full Swing – golf.

5. Lisa Renee Jones – Hard and Fast – baseball.

6. Love Match – Keira Andrews – tennis

7. Riding Partner – Mary Winter – showjumping.

8. Lorelei James – rodeo – including Long Hard Ride, Rode Hard, Put Up Wet and Cowgirl Up and Ride

9. NASCAR – Harlequin – including Back on Track by Abby Gaines.

10. Pat White – wrestling

11. Bend it Like Beckham – football (soccer)

12. Polo by Jilly Cooper

13. And because it makes good sense to promo, here’s some of mine: Issy’s Infatuation, Best Man, Playing to Win by Shelley Munro – rugby. And coming soon – Cat and Mouse with a rodeo theme, New Zealand-style.

Do you like romances with a sports theme? Have I missed any of your favorites?

Coming to Cerridwen Press on 17 April 2008.

I’m guest over at Lillian Feisty’s blog today, talking about the use of condoms in fiction. What do you think about condoms and the fictional character?

I’d love to hear your opinion. Here’s the link.

Woohoo! Fancy Free is out today. I’m having a dreadful time posting anything on the internet tonight, so hopefully this post will work.

I’m a guest over at Danette’s blog today and I’m giving away a download from my backlist. Here’s the link.

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…

Buy your copy here.

EXCERPT:

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