Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

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!

I’ve just picked up Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. I like this series, and I was very disappointed when they cancelled the TV series.

I frowned. “What, like . . . purgatory?”
Jack shrugged. “if that works for you, call it that. But you aren’t here because you need to cleanse yourself. You’re here because there was an irregularity with your death.”

page 10, Ghost Story

Blurb:

Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard PI. Turns out the ‘everyday’ world is full of strange and magical things – and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in.

But he’s forgotten his own golden rule: magic – it can get a guy killed. Which didn’t help when he clashed with unknown assailants intent on his murder. And though Harry’s continued existence is now in some doubt, this doesn’t mean that Chicago’s resident professional wizard can rest in peace. Trapped in a realm that’s not quite here, yet not quite anywhere else, Harry learns that three of his loved ones are in mortal danger. Only by discovering his assailant’s identity can he save his friends, bring criminal elements to justice, and move on before he becomes trapped in his own unending nightmare.

It would just be easier if he knew which three friends were at risk. And had a (working) crystal ball. And had access to his magic. Instead, he must accomplish his mission unable to interact with the physical world – invisible and inaudible to all but the most specialised of magical talents. He’s far from the only silent presence roaming Chicago’s alleys. Hell, he put some there himself. And now, they’re looking for payback.

Purchase Ghost Story

Goodreads Giveaway – I’m currently doing a giveaway for my latest print release Sex Idol. Enter today to go into the draw to win. Here’s the Goodread’s link.

What are you reading this week? Leave a teaser or a link in the comments because I love to add to my wishlist.

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 comes from Working Stiff by Rachel Caine. This is the first book in a new series and features a funeral director heroine.

Not only were they selling some hard-core drug; they were bilking people. How could Fairview possibly be telling people he was bringing back the dead?

page 38, Working Stiff

Blurb:

It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it – dead or alive.

Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn’t the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment – until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele . . . as part of an extortion racket. Now Bryn faces being terminated (literally) with extreme prejudice.

With the assistance of corporate double agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem – pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She’d better do it fast before she becomes a zombie slave – a real working stiff.

She’d be better off dead . . .

Purchase Working Stiff

What are you reading this week? Leave a teaser or a link to your teaser in the comments section. I love adding to my to-read list

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!

I’m doing two teasers today. The first is from one of my favorite urban fantasy series, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series–River Marked

“Most people,” said Adam thoughtfully–and loud enough that even the audience members without preternatural gifts could hear him–”have surprise birthday parties. You get a surprise wedding.”

page 35, River Marked

Blurb:

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a coyote shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. And she’s never known any others of her kind. Until now.

As Mercy takes in this new information, an evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River. Something deadly is coming, facts are thin on the ground and Mercy feels ill at ease. However, her father’s people may know more. To have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need all the resources the shifters can offer. Or death will be the least of their worries.

Purchase River Marked

My second teaser is from one of my own books, Fancy Free, a contemporary romance, which is currently available at the low price of $1.49 at Amazon Kindle.

“Huh.” Harriet Te Whare snorted, her knitting needles clicking furiously as she worked on her current project, a striped scarf for her granddaughter. “You weren’t the condom type when Alicia approached us to help her raise the money to float the company. You’re sure as hell in favor of condoms now.”

page 20, Fancy Free

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…

Purchase Fancy Free

There’s nothing I like better than reading a romance with a strong heroine. Here’s a list of some of my favorites.

1. Kate Daniels from Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews

2. Anna Latham from Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs

3. Mercy Thompson from Moon Called (Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs

4. Mina Wentworth from The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas)

5. Alexia Tarabotti from Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carriger

6. Destiny from Dark Destiny by Christine Feehan

7. Betsy Taylor from Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy, Book 1) by MaryJanice Davidson

8. Cat from Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost

9. Tayla Mancuso from Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione

10. Riley Jensen from Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1) by Keri Arthur

11. Jaz Parks from Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Jaz Parks) by Jennifer Rardin

12. Eve Dallas from Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by JD Robb

13. Xhex from Lover Mine: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward

And one more, even though she’s a bit bumbling at times – Stephanie Plum from One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich

Source: I stole this idea and the list from the Auckland Library newsletter. The person who wrote the newsletter has great reading taste because her favorites are also mine.

Do you have a favorite kick-ass fictional heroine?

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 Unholy Ghosts, an urban fantasy by Stacia Kane

“Desperately she scrawled the figure on his arm, while her soul stretched between Hyram and the dog like a taut clothesline. She didn’t dare look away to see what her physical body was doing.”

Pg 5, Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 1) by Stacia Kane.

Blurb:

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen and constantly attack the living. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch and freewheeling Debunker and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing the human liars or banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.

Chess owes a murderous drug lord named Bump a lot of money. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust with a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

Purchase Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 1) by Stacia Kane.

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!

I used to read a lot of urban fantasy. This year I haven’t read as many books in this genre because of burnout – they were all starting to seem the same. This is one of the two UF series I still keep up with and would never miss. The Kate Daniels series gets better with each book. I’ve just finished this one and loved it. Highly recommended.

Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) by Ilona Andrews

“I took the dog to the medtechs to get cleared of the plague—he passed with flying colors. They drew some blood for further analysis and advised me that he had fleas and smelled bad, just in case I’d failed to notice.”

page 29, Magic Bleeds

Here’s the blurb:

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it rose.

Kate Daniels works for the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle–especially if they involve Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.

When she’s called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar midway between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers there’s a new player in town. One who’s been around for thousands of years–and rode to war at the side of Kate’s father.

This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family…

Purchase Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) from Amazon

“I have a feeling my writing tip is one that’s been shared, but just in case it hasn’t, I wanted to remind everyone that writing comes in all forms. It can be a stanza of poetry, a blog update, a letter, a book review, a diary entry, or actually sitting down to write a short story, novella, or full-length tale.

Every day I write in one of these forms. If I’m not in the mood to get into the headspace of a character, I’ll focus on my blog. Or if I need to be creative, I’ll think about a book I’ve read recently and compose a review for Goodreads, Amazon, or (did I mention) my blog. The key is to stay creative and keep the mind sharp. Ideas are born of the most mundane things. Perhaps inspiration will strike as you’re thinking of something else — much like those wonderful brainstorms that occur during the shower or while you’re folding laundry. The mundane has one bright side — it forces the mind to relax, think, and daydream.”

Happy Writing!
Jaime AKA J.A. Saare

Visit J.A. Saare’s website
Purchase J.A. Saare’s latest release, Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between

Author Adrienne Kress has an interesting post called It’s Not About the Odds. She talks about the luck required in getting a publishing contract and how you can slant those odds in your favor by doing a great query letter.

Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books has a tongue in cheek post about urban fantasy stories. If you’re not really sure what an urban fantasy is read the Ten Commandments of Urban Fantasy.

Margie Lawson has a guest post at Routines for Writers. It’s all about writing body language and verbal cues–an important thing in good characterization.

And finally, You Are What You Eat, Foods That Improve Your Sex Drive is an article by Elizabeth Black that makes for very interesting reading. Stay about from fried foods and rich cream sauces – that’s all I’m saying!

I’m reading a book called The Wolf Almanac by Robert H Busch. It’s research for a new idea I have, and you might have guessed from the title that my story will feature wolves.

What are you reading at the moment?

It’s the time of the year where everywhere looks back and thinks of their favorite and sometimes least favorite things for the year. I thought I’d list my top romance reads for both print and e-books. NOTE: Most of the above books came out in 2009, but a few of these are 2008 releases. I read them this year and therefore they’ve made my list.

Favorite Romance reads in no particular order.

1. Wicked Burn by Beth Kery (erotic contemporary)
2. Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione (paranormal)
3. Able-Bodied (Harlequin Blaze) by Karen Foley (Blaze)
4. Amorous Liaisons (Harlequin Blaze) by Sarah Mayberry (Blaze)
5. Bound to Shadows (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 8) by Keri Arthur (paranormal)
6. On the Prowl (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 2) by Karen MacInerney (paranormal)
7. She’s Got It Bad (Harlequin Blaze) by Sarah Mayberry (Blaze)
8. The Education of Madeline by Beth Williamson (historical)
9. Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3) by Ilona Andrews (urban fantasy)
10. Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas (contemporary)
11. Bound to Please by Lilli Feisty (erotic contemporary)
12. Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carrigan (historical paranormal)

Favorite Romance e-books in no particular order.

1. Hard Fall by James Buchanan (m/m)
2. Branded as Trouble by Lorelei James (erotic contemporary)
3. High Line by TA Chase (m/m)
4. The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon (m/m)
5. Rough Stock by Cat Johnson (erotic contemporary)
6. Happy Ending by LB Gregg (m/m)
7. Hara’s Legacy by Bianca D’Arc (futuristic)
8. Gray’s Awakening by Cameron Dane (m/m)

The interesting thing is that while I’ve read plenty of e-books this year, many of them have been by NY published authors. I’ve purchased far more books in e-format than print this year. There are some books in my to-read pile that I suspect would have made this list, if I’d had time to read them such as Tere Michaels’ Love & Loyalty and NJ Walters’ Alexandra’s Legacy. I’ve been drowning in edits for the last two months, which cuts into my reading time!

Which books made your “best of list” for 2009?

Thoughts of urban fantasy have filled my mind recently since I’m about to start chapter one of my very own story in this genre.

Urban fantasy is defined as a contemporary fantasy set in a real city such as New York, Chicago or Melbourne–one that all of us might recognize. The setting is gritty. The stories are often ones of good versus evil. I’ve found in a lot of the stories the magical inhabitants of the cities are very political with lots of jostling for position going on amongst the different races. The stories are usually told in first person and purists prefer to stay well away from romantic sub-plots. Most urban fantasy authors have series with the same recurring characters and for the reader each subsequent book is like a return to friends. I love this! I’d also say that urban fantasies as a whole straddle lots of genres. There’s the fantasy element, the contemporary one, with sometimes a strong suspense plot. A few stray into horror territory. They’re certainly not boring, and I find the genre very exciting.

According to Wikipedia urban fantasy has been around since the 1920s in children’s books. The term became more readily recognizable during the 1980s where it was applied to adult fiction.

During the past two years I’ve read a lot of urban fantasy. I do tend to prefer the ones where there is a romantic sub-plot, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. The Wikipedia lists quite a few popular authors along with some TV shows and movies which fall into the urban fantasy category.

Some of my favorites are Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Kim Harrison, Jennifer Rardin and Jim Butcher.

I’m currently reading Unquiet Dreams, the second book in Mark del Franco’s Connor Grey druid series. This series is also rapidly becoming a favorite with me.

My guest blogger this week is Stacia Kane who has an urban fantasy release coming in April called Personal Demons. She’ll be here on Wednesday, so I hope you’ll return to visit.

Have you read urban fantasy stories before? Do you like them? Which authors are your favorites?