Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Hot Rocker Hero ~ PAST REGRETS by Shelley Munro + Giveaway!!

Today I'm delighted to welcome my good friend Shelley Munro, who has a hot new contemporary release out today from Samhain Publishing Past Regrets.

I've known Shelley for years although we've only met once at my last NZ conference, and she is absolutely gorgeous :-)

And look at this sexylicious cover!!

Shelley is holding a fabulous giveaway ~ don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter below to be in with a chance to win!!





 Give us an elevator pitch for your book, Past Regrets.

Julia Maxwell wants to divorce her husband’s cheatin’ ass and move on with her life, but Ryan Callander has no intention of letting the woman he loves end their marriage.

Where did the inspiration for your book come from, and how much research have you needed to do during the writing of your spicy contemporary romance?

The Love and Friendship series started with The Bottom Line. I wanted to write a story about a group of friends. In my usual pantser way I wasn’t sure how many friends until I started writing. It turned out there were five friends, known as the Tight Five, which is a rugby term. Two of the friends hooked up in the first book. Past Regrets is the second book in the series and features Julia. We learn a little about Julia in The Bottom Line and all the readers’ questions are answered in Past Regrets.

I did a little research about burlesque, which plays a part in Past Regrets. The action is set mainly in Auckland and a little in Mt. Mauganui, both places I’m familiar with, so all of the setting stuff was already in my brain. Once I got past the first chapter this story practically wrote itself.


Describe the sights, sounds and scents we might experience if we were to visit Julia during a normal day.


Maxwell’s is a nightclub on K’ Road in central Auckland, and the club has been in Julia’s family for several generations. Julia’s mother has health problems and the club has become run down. Julia and her friends change the name from the Last Frontier to Maxwell’s. At the start of Past Regrets Julia takes over running the club and closes it down for a redecoration.  She’s busy training new dancers so the sound of loud music rocks the club. Julia is a stern task master and all the dancers are exhausted and hot and sweaty. The scent of paint fills the air since Connor’s rugby team has repainted the walls for Julia. There’s a faint scent of cigarette smoke in a few places, depending where you’re standing because the customers used to be heavy smokers. Thankfully there’s no smoking indoors due to law changes but some of the old furnishings still smell of smoke.

And finally, Ryan, Julia’s husband has arrived with his friend Caleb. They’re practicing their new songs in the corner, strumming their guitars and singing a few of the lyrics.

It’s all go at Maxwell’s.

Why do you write romance, and what is it about contemporary romance that attracts you to the genre?

I like the predictability of romances and the knowledge that there will be a happy resolution at the end of the story. That’s what I like reading, and the reason I started writing romance too. While the end might be prediction—we know the couple will get together eventually—the plots and the twist and turns in the relationships vary from book to book. I think of romances as happy and uplifting. If I want reality and grit, I can watch the evening news!

When it comes to genre I’m equal opportunity and like to change it up by writing different genres. At present I’m writing mainly contemporary stories, but I do divert into historical and paranormal when the urge strikes me.

Is there any part of the writing process that you find particularly challenging and why?

The hardest thing for me is keeping my butt in a chair and getting the first draft down. It’s also the part I enjoy most, but sometimes the words come out kicking and screaming and it’s plain hard work. When that happens, I usually head to one of my favorite cafes and write there. In a cafĂ© it’s not as easy to get up and wander around. If I do someone is likely to steal my seat, so that’s an incentive to keep working away until my daily word count is done.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received as a writer?

I’ve received a lot of great advice since I started writing. One thing that seems obvious to me and advice I’ve always subscribed to is to read a lot and widely throughout the genres. This serves two purposes. One, you get to read the latest releases and the work that editors are buying or readers are finding enjoyable and two, reading is a learning tool. Even if I don’t enjoy a book, I’m taking mental notes and analyzing why a book isn’t working for me so I can make sure I don’t do the same thing when it comes to my own writing.

Now a question for you – Do you like the current trend of cliffhanger endings?

Blurb:

Never look back…unless that’s where your heart belongs.

Julia Maxwell was a seize-the-moment party girl until the night she spent with up-and-coming rocker Ryan Callander. From that moment, she was a one-man woman. Pity he hasn’t kept with the program.
Tired of the secrets that have kept her out of the press and Ryan’s fans happy, angry with mounting evidence of infidelity, Julia is older, wiser, and determined to divorce his cheatin’ ass.

Ryan’s long European tour had more than its share of hard knocks—one of which landed on his head when he was mugged. Divorce papers waiting for him at home are a shock that fills in some of the holes in his sketchy memory. But it could be too late to salvage his marriage.

If Ryan thinks flirtatious smiles, seductive touches, and hot-and-heavy kisses are going to smooth things over, Julia’s got a hammer with his name on it. To her surprise, he picks it up, determined to rebuild a bright future for both of them. But the past is lurking with some missing pieces that could bring their hearts crashing down.

Warning: Contains a pissed ex-stripper turned burlesque dancer, a bunch of nosy friends and a smooth-talking rocker with one thing on his mind. Stripper poles and skimpy costumes may be involved.

Purchase links:



Shelley Munro - Bio

Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.
Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres for publishers Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at the links below: 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 comments:

Shelley Munro said...

Thanks so much for having me to visit today :)

Christina Phillips said...

It's always a pleasure having you visit my blog, Shelley :-)

Stormy Vixen said...

Not so much. I don't mind in series where there is a major battle, but the book itself that part of the story is over. but when nothing in the book is satisfied or concluded, always takes to long for the next book. Thanks for sharing the post and the giveaway. evamillien at gmail dot com

Mary Kirkland said...

I don't really like cliffhanger endings. I think books should have a beginning and an ending. I shouldn't have to read the next book in order to understand the ending to the last one I read.

miztik_rose@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

It all depends on the story if I like a cliffhanger ending or not. Most of the times, no, because it can take a long time to get the next book in the series published. I don't like to wait a long time to read a series, and in some cases, I might forget about the series or not be able to afford to buy the next book. It can be very disappointing.

Anonymous said...

I really want to read this book. Thanks for the awesome giveaway.

Shelley Munro said...

Eva - yes, I agree. If the releases come out in successive months then it wouldn't be so bad, but having to wait would suck. We do wait if it's a TV show though. Often the final show of a season ends with a cliffhanger and we all wait. Just putting that out there :)

Shelley Munro said...

Mary - that's true. I'm a reader that always picks up the books out of order. It's a curse, and my sister thinks it's funny!

Shelley Munro said...

Hi Kimberly,

I guess that's one good thing about e-books. They tend to come out much quicker, which is heaps better for impatient readers like us :)

Shelley Munro said...

Thanks for stopping by, Victoria!