Guest Author & Contest with Shelley Munro

Today I welcome once again Shelley Munro! I am thrilled because I just love Shelley's writing, from Contemp Romance to the Paranormal she covers it all and does a damn good job as well! Today Shelley is here to talk a little about her Comtemp Romance book Fancy Free.
You can read my review HERE!

Thanks for having me to visit again. For those of you who haven’t met me before, my name is Shelley Munro and I write contemporary and paranormal romance for Samhain Publishing and Ellora’s Cave.


When people learn I’m a writer, one of the first things they usually say—after they pick up their jaws because evidently I don’t look like a person who would write erotic romance—is “I couldn’t write. Where do you get all your ideas?”
The idea part is actually something I find easy. It’s the actual converting of the idea into a book that’s more difficult. So where do I get my ideas?
I read a lot of books in several different genres such as romance, sci-fi, urban fantasy, steampunk, mysteries and thrillers. Each time I visit my local library, I pull a stack of non-fiction books off the shelf on random topics that interest me. These are always a great source of ideas.
Both my husband and I enjoy watching television. We watch a few reality shows. I watch the PBR rodeo and various documentaries. We also have our favorite shows such as Lie to Me, Bones, Trauma, Flash Forward and The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. I like Army Wives, The Good Wife, Torchwood and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’m always getting ideas for plots from watching television and movies.
We have a great local paper, which is always full of quirky little stories that make me laugh. There was one story about stolen garden gnomes. I used this idea in my romantic suspense, Playing to Win. Another story that really made me laugh was a lady who had the top set of her false teeth stolen. This story was accompanied by a photo of the lady holding a glass of water containing her set of bottom teeth. Her expression wasn’t happy. It struck me as funny although I’m sure it wasn’t for her.
I also enjoy reading magazines, although I don’t purchase as many as I used to. My favorites are a women’s fitness magazine and I also enjoy a cooking one. The idea for Fancy Free came from a travel magazine.
My husband and I were flying home from San Francisco aboard an Air New Zealand flight. I was browsing the in-flight magazine and an article about new products caught my attention. One of the items was a vibrating condom, and immediately my mind seized the idea and the possibilities. “Oh, look at this,” I said to my husband in a loud voice. “Let’s buy one. What a great idea for a story,” I added. My husband shushed me when I attempted further discussion because people were looking, so I went into daydream mode, and by the time we landed in Auckland, I had a plot mapped out about a heroine who inherits a condom factory.

Here’s a quick excerpt from Fancy Free:

“Is something wrong?” James asked in a husky voice.

“I’m fine. No problem.” She barely halted the telltale shiver of bliss at the sound of his voice. As one, everyone turned to stare at her and that heightened her awareness of the wretched man. This was ridiculous. How could an almost virgin run a condom company? She had no experience to draw on. She could hardly count her one time at university as experience. The heat in her cheeks intensified even farther when she sneaked a look at the photo on top of the folder. Half expecting a voice to shout, “Off with her head,” she swallowed and wondered if they’d notice if she ran from the room. Oh dear. Her gaze wandered to the photo again without waiting for her brain to give permission.

The condom was a delicate violet color and had tiny raised dots all over the surface. It looked like an alien creature with chicken pox. There were certainly alien appendages attached. Hard to say what that round bit did. Dragging her gaze from the photo, she turned her attention to James’ run down of the product and the current state of play. Tests. Trials. Okay. She supposed that made sense. They had to know if they worked properly.

But how did they conduct the tests?

Her mind went into overdrive as she visualized a typical condom trial. A man and woman naked on a huge bed while a man dressed in a white coat stood with a clipboard, snapping out pertinent questions and ticking off the questions in his survey. How did the latex feel? Did it fit to the penis correctly? Was it too thick? Too thin? Was it big enough to catch semen? Did it stand up to vigorous thrusts? Is there significant loss of sensation?

A tight band constricted Alice’s chest, affecting her breathing. Her bra felt way too tight. She furtively tugged at the underwire of her bra while a wave of heat engulfed her body. She squirmed about on her chair, warmth growing in her nether regions because of her sexual thoughts. Alice bit into her bottom lip. Questions. She had them, but nerves and uncertainty made her hesitate. A sharp inhalation did nothing to steady her. This was stupid. She had a vested interest in this condom company and had every right to ask questions. “Um, how do you conduct trials?”

http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-5289-127-fancy-free.aspx

Also available in Kindle Format.

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand and writes erotic contemporary and paranormal romance for Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing. Shelley’s next release is The Bottom Line coming on 27 April from Samhain Publishing. You can visit Shelley at http://www.shelleymunro.com/

***GIVEAWAY***

Thank you to Shelley, she has offered for one reader their choice of download from her Ellora's Cave or Cerridwen Press backlist to one lucky winner.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment to Shelley about her post.

Winner will be chosen 03/23

Open to ALL!