2/24/2012

Get Lost with a Cat Burglar

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 very 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 http://www.shelleymunro.com and you might even find her lurking at Facebook http://www.facebook.com/shelleymunro or Twitter http://www.twitter.com/shelleymunro



Eve Fawkner had no intention of following in her father's footsteps. But when the thugs harassing him to repay his gambling debts threaten her young daughter, Eve is forced to assume the role of London's most notorious cat burglar, The Shadow. The plan is simple: pull off a couple of heists, pay back the goons and go into permanent retirement. But things get messy during her first job when Eve witnesses a murder, stumbles across a clue that sheds some light on her past and, worst of all, falls for a cop.
Inspector Kahu Williams would be the perfect man, if Eve were looking, and if there wasn't the little matter of their career conflict. The man is seriously hot—and hot on the trail of a murderer. A trail that keeps leading him back to Eve...


CAT:  How often to you get lost in a story?
SHELLEY:  Every day! I have the luxury of being able to write full time, and since I tend to work office hours, I can lose myself in worlds of my own design. It’s my goal to read a little each day, and I like to immerse myself in books written by other authors too. After all, it was my love of reading that led me to become a writer.

CAT:  What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
SHELLEY:  I’m an equal opportunity reader. I’ll read just about anything, but I prefer to have at least a romantic subplot in my reads. At present I’m working on a historical romance with a mystery element. I’m reading a contemporary cowboy romance, and my latest release is a contemporary romantic mystery. Probably the common theme in all these stories is a mystery element with the odd body or two appearing without warning.

CAT:  What’s your favorite cartoon character?
SHELLEY:  My husband and I both enjoy watching Shaun the Sheep. He’s not really a cartoon character. He’s animated and made by the makers of Wallace and Gromit. Each show is five minutes long and we’ve watched and re-watched them. They’re very clever, and some are plain sweet. They always make us laugh.

CAT:  What was the first story you remember writing?
SHELLEY:  As a child I used to always write stories. I particularly remember one I wrote at about age thirteen. I entered a competition in a local farming magazine where we had to write about where we’d like to take a holiday. I wrote about taking a holiday in outer space. I think they expected everyone to write about a holiday destination in New Zealand, and my entry took them by surprise. They awarded me second prize.

The first story I wrote after deciding to chase publication was a romantic suspense called Lane’s Love Child. In fact, I sold the revised version of this story, which is currently available under the title Playing to Win.

CAT:  Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?
SHELLEY:  When I first started writing I’d hunt my reviews down and read all of them. These days I’ll only read my reviews if they’re sent directly to my inbox. Take one book and give it to a dozen people to read. Each person will say something different about the book. Some readers might love it, others will like it, while a few might actively hate the story. Reviews are subjective, and I try to remember that. I do the best job I can while writing a story—that’s all I can do as an author.


CAT:  What color would you make the sky if it wasn’t going to be blue anymore and why?
SHELLEY:  I’d make the new sky a delicate lilac color. If it became stormy the sky could darken to a violent purple. It sounds rather pretty, don’t you think? I’d choose this color since it would still fit in with Earth’s current color scheme, and it’s my second favorite color after blue.


CAT:  If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?
SHELLEY:  I know this is cheating because I’m mentioning more than one person, but I’d like to interview Agatha Christie and her two detective characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Really, they’re all the same person, but any hints on writing or solving a mystery would be most welcome.

CAT:  Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?
SHELLEY:  I’m going to stay far, far away from Victorian fashions. Their corsets were laced so tight they were always fainting while their skirts were held wide by hoops. Fashionable hoops were so wide it was difficult to maneuver through doorways. None of what they wore sounds very comfortable, especially since I’m a girl who lives in T-shirts and jeans.

My husband and I have been watching the Darling Buds of May, an old English show starring David Jason and Catherine Zeta-Jones during her very young days. Her character Mariette wore the most wonderful dresses and hats. They’re very stylish and ladylike yet sexy too. The show is set during the 1950s.

CAT’S  GOTTA ASK
If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?

SHELLEY’S GOTTA ANSWER I’d be a blue t-shirt. Blue is my favorite color and it’s meant to be serene and relaxing. The color always makes me think of the sky on a sunny, summer day or the sea. I’ve read that if a person works in a room decorated in blue they’re more productive. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but I’d pick blue because I like it, and it matches my eyes.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
Are you more likely to pick up a series book or do you prefer standalone stories and why?

Shelley will give away an ebook download from her backlist to one person who leaves a comment.

13 comments:

  1. LOVE IT !!
    >>SHELLEY: I’m an equal opportunity reader.<<

    An awesome description, Shelley. Welcome to GLIAS and the best of luck with CAT BURGLAR IN TRAINING.

    To answer your question, I love both. But I rarely jump into a series without starting at the beginning.

    ~Angi

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  2. Thanks so much for having me to visit today. I'm excited about Cat Burglar in Training being set loose on the reading world.

    Angi, it's a joke between me and my sister - I always manage to pick up and read series out of order. If she lends me books she numbers them for me!

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  3. Hi Shelley,

    Congrats on the new release! For some reason I always (accidentally!)end up buying the second book in a series. Don't know why. But then I inevitably end up buying the first and any others that may follow. As long as it's a good book it doesn't matter where it fits in the series.

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  4. This sounds like a great book. Looking forward to reading it!

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  5. Hi Dee,

    Thanks! I definitely like series books that stand alone, given my talent for picking up the wrong book all the time. :)
    That's true about wanting a good book. That's all we readers want :)

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  6. I don't know that I have a series or stand alone preference. I just like a good book!

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  7. Good point, Renee! It's actually difficult to find standalone books these days. Most books seem linked to series.

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  8. I don't have a preference for a stand alone or series book. I'll read the book as long as the story sounds good. Your book sounds very good.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  9. Hi Shelley,

    Congratulations on the new release! It was lovely reading your answers!
    Riya.

    ps..oh, btw, your blog link doesn't work from here.

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  10. WINNER ANNOUCEMENT

    Thanks to everyone who stopped by. The winner of an ebook from my backlist is Renee.

    Congrats, Renee! Email me at shelleymunro AT gmail DOT com to let me know which title you'd like and the format.

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