Taste of Kiwi

Baking Soda – The Must Have Kitchen Item!

Shelley — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:01:49 +0000

Baking soda is one of the most useful things to have in the pantry. It’s also known as sodium bicarbonate and its chemical compound is NaHCO3

Thirteen Uses for Baking Soda

1. As an ingredient in cakes such as carrot cake or chocolate cake. Yum!

2. Sprinkle baking soda and spray over white vinegar to clean kitchen sinks.

3. Clean and whiten teeth – wet brush and dip in baking soda. Sprinkle over a little lemon juice and brush teeth as normal. You can use baking soda without the lemon juice, but I like the taste.

4. Add baking soda to the bath to relieve itchiness from chicken pox or measles.

5. Mix a teaspoon of baking soda with your shampoo to remove product buildup in your hair.

6. Clean a burnt pot with a mixture of baking soda and water. Soak overnight.

7. Use a little baking soda on a damp cloth to clean and deodorize your fridge.

8. Sprinkle on carpet and vacuum up to deodorize.

9. Mix some with a little oatmeal and use as a facial scrub.

10. Remove strong odors from your hands by washing with baking soda and water.

11. Put a small container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb odors.

12. Put a small container of baking soda and add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil to use as a room freshener.

13. Sprinkle some in your cat litter boxes to help absorb the odor

I use baking soda all the time in my cleaning and cooking.

Do you use baking soda often? Do you have any added uses for baking soda?

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Cover Goodness: Resisting Tamaki

Shelley — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:49:59 +0000

I found the cover for my upcoming sci-fi romance, Resisting Tamaki in my inbox today.

Here’s the blurb:

Resistance is futile.

Cimmaron Zhaan refuses to follow the traditional path of a Dlog woman. Instead she dreams of traveling through space and flying spaceships for the Coalition. Years of hard work bring her goal within grasp until her superior seeks sexual favors and leaves her stranded on the isolated planet of Marchant.

Enter sexy club manager Tamaki Grierson. Cimmaron’s not looking for a mate, but there’s no denying that sparks fly between them. Desperate to leave Marchant, she’s determined to resist him. All she wants is to keep her head down and work—no romance for her.

But there’s something strange about the club and curiosity leads Cimmaron into trouble. Before she knows it, she’s naked with Tamaki and his best friend. Kisses. Heated embraces and torrid sex. Their loving is breathtaking. Her resistance is at low ebb, her heart and mind battling the overwhelming attraction she feels for Tamaki. If she isn’t careful, her Dlog hormones will tie her to Tamaki for life and her struggle to fly spaceships will be for naught.

Resisting Tamaki is due out on 1 October.

What do you think?

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Top Pick! First Review for The Spurned Viscountess

Shelley — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:49:11 +0000

I was delighted with this review I received from Night Owl Romances. It’s actually my very first review for The Spurned Viscountess. I’m glad it’s a good one.

“Shelley Munro’s revised story is a beautiful, adventurous tale of the strength of love and forgiveness. Set in 1720 England, the landscape is so well defined that the reader is immediately drawn back to the past. With hints of a gothic story, the tale moves along at a quick pace with hints of mystery and a very satisfying romance. The characters are evocative with the reader quickly sympathizing with Rosalind and Lucien, though troubled by the past, is definitely a hero of the first order.” TOP PICK.

Here’s the link to the entire review at NOR

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Teaser Tuesday: The Spurned Viscountess

Shelley — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:01:27 +0000

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 my upcoming release, The Spurned Viscountess.

Damn it, if he had to marry, he didn’t want to marry a mouse. All he wanted was Francesca, and since she was dead, he couldn’t have her.

from The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro

Here’s the blurb:

She must marry him.

Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.

He wants nothing to do with her.

Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.

Dark secrets will bind them.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…

Purchase from Carina Press
Would you like to review The Spurned Viscountess? Review copies are available from NetGalley

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Plotus Interuptus with Christine Price

Shelley — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:01:38 +0000

My special guest today is fellow Carina Press author, Christine Price. Here’s Christine’s official bio – Christine Price lives in Edmonton, AB, with her husband, two cats and a slightly idiotic Anatolian shepherd. Though she probably wouldn’t consider herself a “girly girl,” Christine is in love with cooking and baking, and she has recently tried her hand at cake decorating. As a public service, she’d like to warn people about the potential threat posed by twenty pounds of rolled fondant and a slightly inebriated best friend. In her free time, Christine enjoys wine, good movies and even better books. Her first work, Soul Bond, was released in April 2010.

Today, Christine is talking about her adventures in writing…

In Darkness Bound is my first novel-length publication. And I learned a lot from writing it. For example, the importance of fully developing a climax and the “Great Ah-hah Moment.” Actually, the first draft of IDB was at least 20,000 words shorter than the finished manuscript and missed a lot in the way of character development. Overall, the novel is waaaaay better for the revisions. But I also learned something that never would have struck me before now. Instead of going into the lengthy summation of the discovery, or doing an interpretive dance (which would be a little difficult without the use of a webcam and YouTube) allow me to provide a brief script:

Me: So?

Beta Reader: Okay, I liked x, y and z. But I don’t get what’s going on with w.

Me: Well, here’s the plot point.

Beta Reader: Huh… you should probably put that in somewhere.

Me: I did. It was on page 120.

Beta Reader: OH! … … But that’s the sex scene.

Me: Yeah.

Beta Reader: You may want to rethink that.

What my Beta Reader didn’t come right out and say was that a major plot point in a sex scene isn’t always a great idea. This was a realization I had to come to myself.

So why is it? Well…when people read romance, they want to lose themselves in the romance. The erotic passages are especially important. They establish the intimacy between the characters and heightening the sensuality in the relationship. Readers—myself included—use their imaginations during these scenes. There are also readers who prefer to read for the plot, and tend to skim the sex scenes entirely.

See where I’m going with this? No matter what the motivation for reading, I think that there’s a chance that if you include important plot points in a sex scene they’re going to be missed. This by no means goes for everyone who’s ever read a romance novel. But I’ll admit I’ve done it. In my favourite romance book of all times, I skimmed through each sex scene because I wanted to get on with the plot. When I went back and read it over (for the second, third, fourth, fifth and twentieth times) then I appreciated the sex scenes. If there’d been any important developments during those flitting pages of eroticism, however, I totally would have missed them.

I guess there’s not really a moral to my story. (Well, not to anyone other than me anyway). My novel helped me with several key points in the development of my writing. One of them just happened to be this one. As I continue writing, it’s one that will stick with me.

Maybe.

Contest: What are your thoughts? Plot in a sex scene – yes or no? Are you a skimmer? A “lose yourself in”-er? Or neither? Post an answer to Christine’s questions in the comments section and go into a draw to win a download of In Darkness Bound

Here’s the blurb for In Darkness Bound:

Data Collection by Dalhousie, Dr. Donna L.

Patient 331

New, confused. His powers unknown.

Patient 289

No longer viable in the test pool, he remains in isolation.

Patient 77

Reclassified to staff status. Useful, malleable.
Confined in a sterile research facility and treated like a lab rat, Chris is alone and terrified. His special powers are his only escape, allowing him to psychically connect with other patients.

Alone in his cell for longer than he can remember, Vance is hungry. When newcomer Chris makes a mental connection, Vance is intrigued and soon wants more than just conversation.

Chris and Vance seek comfort with each other, and with Simon—the only staff member who’s shown them a hint of compassion. Their relationships develop during stolen moments, and they turn their thoughts to escape. But as Dr. Dalhousie’s madness spirals, more than cell walls threaten to keep them apart…

Purchase from Carina Press

You can visit Christine at her website or chat to her on twitter.

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I’m One of the Guests at Christina Phillip’s Forbidden Party

Shelley — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:14:01 +0000

I’m visiting author Christina Phillips today.

She has three guests today – fantasy author Emily Gee, then me, and to round up this week of fun is Fiery Tales author Lila Dipasqua.

Check out all the posts and enter the contests. Here’s the link to Christina’s blog.

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I’m Shy. You Didn’t See Me.

Shelley — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:02:39 +0000

We came across this deer while walking in Mt Rainier National Park.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

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Worldbuilding: The Spurned Viscountess

Shelley — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:10:33 +0000

This week’s theme is worldbuilding. I think sometimes people tend to think of worldbuilding occurring mainly in paranormal or fantasy stories. Not true. There’s just as much worldbuilding involved in a contemporary story or a historical romance.

Today I’ve picked an excerpt from The Spurned Viscountess, my upcoming release with Carina Press. This particular story has gothic tones so I’ve chosen an excerpt that shows the heroine’s arrival at spooky Castle St. Clare – one that sets the scene.

The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro

The carriage swayed and bounced over the rutted road. With each successive pothole, the driver cursed more colorfully. Rosalind gripped a carriage strap, the excessive jolting doing nothing for her agitated nerves. At the completion of this journey, she would meet her betrothed for the first time. Questions pounded inside her head. Would he like her? And would he accept her, despite her…faults?

Her childhood friend and maidservant, Mary, pressed her nose to the carriage window. “Oh, miss! I think we’re almost there.”

Rosalind tensed. She forced a smile and bit back a cry of alarm when the carriage lurched. Grabbing the seat to avoid a tumble to the floor, she righted herself and slid along the seat to Mary. “Can you see Castle St. Clare?” She peered out the dusty window, attempting to see her future home.

A snarling gargoyle appeared inches from their faces. Rosalind’s breath escaped with a gasp.

Beside her, Mary screamed and jerked away from the window. “Miss Rosalind, do you think we should turn around and return to Stow-on-the-Wold?” She clutched Rosalind’s forearm, her voice rising to a squeak.

Mary’s dread, her frenetic thoughts of monsters, bombarded Rosalind and she shrugged from her maid’s grip to break the emotional connection.

“The earl is expecting us, Mary. We can’t go back.”

They sped past a rundown gatehouse, the carriage jolting from one pothole to the next. As they clattered through a stone gateway, Rosalind glimpsed the gargoyle’s twin. It leered from atop a stone wall and seemed alive, as if it could step from its granite prison on a whim.

The carriage made a sharp swing to the right, the coachman cursing his team of straining horses as the gradient increased sharply. The whip cracked. Without warning, the interior of the carriage turned pitch black. Mary yelped, the shrill cry hurting her ears.

Rosalind swallowed her gasp, rearranged the skirts of her best blue riding habit trimmed in gold, and patted Mary on the arm. “It’s all right,” she soothed, yet the hand hidden in her skirts trembled. For a moment, the temptation to turn back teased at her, then she recalled the situation she’d return to—relations who resented her presence. The reality pushed aside her fears. Ugly gargoyles or not, she silently vowed to continue her journey.

An object scraped along the carriage sides, sending a shiver down her spine. Mary’s piercing shriek resounded within the confines of the enclosed space. Goose bumps rose on Rosalind’s arms. Her gaze whipped about the carriage. The noise repeated with an eerie echo.

“Hush, Mary.” Rosalind’s heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear herself think. Mustering every shred of courage, she pressed her nose to the cold glass of the carriage window.

This was meant to be a grand adventure, her last opportunity to seize a secure future. Rosalind, the afflicted one, the one the people of Stow-on-the-Wold whispered would never catch a husband. The cousin destined to stay on the shelf. This was her chance to prove them all wrong, despite her accursed gift.

Leaves swept against the windows, followed by the same scraping sound. The cold knot of fear in her stomach twisted. A flash of ghostly fingers waved before her startled eyes. A branch. That was surely a branch. The fear clogging her throat lessened a fraction, and she relaxed against the plush cushions of the St. Clare coach with a tremulous sigh of relief.

“It’s a branch,” she said to Mary. “We’re driving along an avenue of trees. I fear they need trimming to let in the sunlight.”

“Are you sure, Miss Rosalind?”

“Of course I’m sure.” Rosalind made her voice firm and decisive. “Look out the window. You can make out the branches if you look hard enough.” As she spoke, the darkness in the carriage lifted. Then they were in daylight again. “There, what did I tell you?”

Mary grabbed her arm and tugged. Frantically. “Miss. Miss. Look!”

Rosalind swallowed. This was where she was to live? She studied the fortress perched atop the cliff like a menacing monolith. Built of stone, the castle appeared solid and strong enough to withstand the winds that howled across the English Channel. Arrow slits glared at her like malignant eyes. Hardly the welcoming home she had envisioned.

“We’re almost there. I can see the gate and the courtyard beyond.” Mary turned, her eyes huge brown rounds in her freckled face. “There are people waiting to meet us.”

Rosalind’s hands crept up to check that her lacy cap sat straight. Uncertainties assailed her, threatening her fragile composure. Repeated swallowing did little to clear the lump in her throat. They said Hastings was mad. Perhaps she should have refused to marry him, but she’d promised her uncle, Sir John Chandler. He’d signed the papers when she and her cousin Miranda were babes. One of them had to marry Hastings. Miranda had flatly refused so it was up to Rosalind to fulfill family obligations. At least she’d have a home of her own. That was what she wanted, wasn’t it? A home of her own, a husband and, if she was fortunate, lots of chubby, laughing babies.

Security.

Purchase from Carina Press or All Romance ebooks

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the trail below:

Shelley Munro
Vivian Arend
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Lauren Dane
Jody Wallace
TJ Michaels
Lacey Savage
Lissa Matthews
Ashley Ladd
Shelli Stevens
Mandy Roth

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Han Solo and a Gold Bikini!

Shelley — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:01:40 +0000

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.

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Puffins: The Clowns of the Sea

Shelley — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:01:40 +0000

I’ve always been interested in puffins. I think it’s because they’re so cute with their bright bills. I have seen puffins in the wild during our trips to Britain, but I haven’t had a close encounter so they’re still on my list of things to see one day.

Thirteen Facts About Puffins

1. Puffins spend most of their time at sea, only returning to land to breed during spring.

2. Puffins are known for their distinctive black and white coloring and their bright orange beak. The beak is actually gray while they’re at sea and turns orange when it’s time to return to land. They’re the cutest thing.

3. Puffins are strong swimmers and can dive to 200 feet. They don’t stay underwater for long.

4. Puffins eat small fish e.g. herrings.

5. On land, they live in colonies.

6. Birds usually mate for life.

7. The females lay a single egg.

8. The parents take turns feeding the chick

9. Over 60% of the puffins are in Iceland.

10. They supplement their meals by drinking seawater.

11. Puffins choose a partner when they’re around 3 – 5 years old.

12. When a couple reunite they knock their bills together. This is called billing.

13. The puffins nest in burrows and return to the same one each year.

Source: National Geographic http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/atlantic-puffin/

http://www.animalfactguide.com/animalfacts/atlantic-puffin/

Have you seen a puffin before?

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