Please welcome Shelley Munro to the blog, author of The Bottom Line. Thank you for agreeing to answer my nosy questions and share them with everyone visiting today.

Q: To begin, please share which genre(s) you write in…
A: LOL. I have a low boredom threshold and like to mix it up. To date, I’ve dabbled in most genres. I’ve written historical, sci-fi, contemporary, paranormal and m/m. My favorites are contemporary and paranormal, but I like to keep my options open. If I can do a mixture of several genres, then all the better. I enjoy genre blending.

Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: I wrote for six years before receiving my first contract. Although it seemed like a long time when I was living it, I don’t consider any of that time wasted. I learned a lot and enjoyed every moment of the journey, both good and bad.

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A: I have a real soft spot for the stories in my Middlemarch Mates series. The series concentrates on a black leopard community who live in the small country town of Middlemarch in the South Island of New Zealand. To date, I’ve written ten stories in this series, so all the characters feel like old friends.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: No. I can write in my office or in the middle of a busy café. I can write anywhere and at any time. I don’t need silence or a specific time of the day or a have a preferred place to write. I do tend to do my best work during the morning though.

Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story?
A: Story inspiration jumps out at me from everywhere—newspapers, magazines, books, libraries, at the shopping mall or on TV or in movies. My story FANCY FREE is about a woman who inherits a condom factory. I read an article about a vibrating condom during a plane ride from San Francisco to Auckland. I remember my husband shushing me when I said what a great story that would make, so I continued to daydream and plot, and by the time I arrived in Auckland, I was ready to write the story.

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?
A: Just do it! Sit down and write because you’ll learn a lot by actually writing and completing a book. For a writer, I think a lot of the learning comes from the actual process.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?
A: I write full time these days, and I think I work way harder than I did when I worked in administration.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.
A: I’m a terrible singer but that doesn’t stop me singing away to the songs on my iPod. My husband usually cringes and tells me to shut up, but nothing much dampens my enthusiasm for music.

Q: What’s your favorite dirty word?
A: I quite like using “shit”.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A: No—well, just my ears. I’m a bit of a cowardly custard when it comes to needles. I’m not going anywhere near a tattoo.

Q: If you could be intimate with three people (not necessarily all at one time *g*) without getting in trouble with your significant other, who would they be?
A: Ooh, so many possibilities. I think I’ll go with fictional men. How about Roarke, the awesome hero from JD Robb’s In Death series, Butch from JR Ward’s series and I like the mysterious Curran from Ilona Andrews’ Magic series. That sounds like a good mix to me.

Q: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?
A: That’s easy! Hubby and I would probably go traveling. It’s our favorite activity and lack of money always slows us down.

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?
A: ALL of them! I hate housework because I’d rather be writing or reading or traveling. I know my writing isn’t going well when I start thinking about housework or decide to attack the ironing pile.

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A: Chocolate is my favorite, although pasta comes a close second.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
A: I love to read and have way too many favorites to list. I’d say that one of my favorite authors is Ilona Andrews. Her Magic series or Edge series are great reads. New Zealander Nalini Singh is also a favorite of mine. Love Actually is one of my favorite movies. I also like action movies with lots of car chases. The Bourne movies were great.

Q: If you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A: I’m currently working on two stories in my Middlemarch Mates series featuring feline shifters. I’m working on a follow-up story for Emily and Saber Mitchell, the hero and heroine from Scarlet Woman (book one in the series). I’m also about to start writing the story for the two youngest Mitchell brothers, Sly and Joe.

Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release (& share a yummy excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)
A: The Bottom Line is a hot contemporary story, due out at Samhain Publishing on 27 April. It’s a friends-to-lovers story, one of my favorite plot lines.

Here’s the blurb:

Spicing up her sex life sounds exciting…until the fantasy hits the fan.
When Maggie Drummond buys an erotic romance novel by mistake, she gets more than an unexpected eyeful. She gets an introduction to a world that arouses her to a fever pitch: Spanking.
Her boyfriend isn’t interested in pushing his vanilla-flavored sexual boundaries. Then there’s Connor Grey, who haunts her fantasies like a magical genie. As a source of masculine advice for her and her female friends, he’s off limits. The only safe place to explore her fetish is her anonymous blog.
The recent changes in Maggie don’t escape Connor’s notice. Now that her boyfriend has dropped her, he can finally—carefully—make his move. Given his family history, laying a hand on any woman, even in fun, is a line he’s reluctant to cross. But for Maggie? Anything the lady wants.
As Maggie gives in to the temptation to let Connor add some sin to her life, she finds herself juggling lies, half-truths, friendship and sensual delights. Her job is in jeopardy—and she’s falling in love. Exploring her fantasy is one thing, but she’s beginning to question if indulging her own pleasure is worth the cost to everyone around her. Especially Connor…

EXCERPT:
Connor couldn’t restrain his smile of victory. Despite his exhaustion, he felt the urge to jump to his feet and boogie. He controlled himself, not wanting to attract attention from his two flatmates.

So Maggie was spreading her wings. About time. Exhilaration pulsed through him, making him feel as if he could leap tall buildings without breaking stride.

He scanned her email again, his smile widening. He needed a plan. He’d have to move slowly, take things easy so he didn’t frighten her away.

Spanking.

Damn, that was different. Reaction arced through his body, heading straight to his cock. He gripped the arms of the office chair, breathing carefully. Even so, each breath emerged in a harsh gasp, as if he’d indulged in strenuous exercise.

He couldn’t say if the idea of spanking or thinking about having sex with Maggie spiked his arousal. After his childhood experiences and his parents’ subsequent divorce, the idea of striking a woman seemed plain wrong. Maggie. It had to be Maggie.

Lucky for him, he’d given in to his impulse and dragged her to the gym. It was a starting point, a way to keep close contact with her outside of work. Rugby was another way of seeing her on a regular basis. The rest of his plan would come later. The last thing he wanted was to scare her into the arms of another man.

He’d always liked Maggie, enjoyed her shy sense of humor. He couldn’t wait to run his hands through her long, dark brown hair and see it loose, spread across his pillow, her golden brown eyes twinkling up at him. Her curvy figure haunted his dreams. She looked hot and sexy in her exercise gear. He’d noticed other guys at the gym checking her out, which hadn’t pleased him. Yeah, time to make his move, and for once the timing worked fine because he was between girlfriends.

The spanking part he’d deal with later.

Connor picked up his cell phone and called Julia. She lived closest to him.

“This had better be good, Connor Grey. It’s only seven in the morning.” Her words emerged as a tiger-like snarl, the sort that came from pain.

“Headache?”

“No thanks to you,” she muttered. “Have another drink. One more won’t make any difference. You lied!” The outraged mockery brought a grin to his face.

“I prescribe coffee,” Connor said. “Strong and black.”

“Why didn’t you warn me about that hurricane shot?” Julia moaned.

“I didn’t force you to drink another cocktail at the pub,” Connor said, “or the bottle of wine at Susan’s.” He heard her snicker.

“Fair enough,” she said.

He changed the subject. “You guys coming to watch our game this afternoon?”

“With this headache?” The sharp note in her voice made him curse under his breath. The woman was no slouch in the brain department. He’d have to tread carefully. He wasn’t ready for his feelings about Maggie to come out into the open.

“We need all the support we can get,” Connor admitted. “Frankly, our team sucks. We need someone on our side.”

“If there’s coffee involved,” Julia said. “I might be persuaded to round up a team of supporters.”

Connor checked his watch. “Coffee will be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Done,” Julia said. “Oh, while I think of it—don’t tell Maggie we told you about her blog. She threatened to smother us with her breasts if we told anyone.” She paused then added, “Those breasts of hers could do the job. Promise?”

“Her breasts?” Connor chuckled. “Yeah. Okay.” He hung up, smirking. Death by breast smothering. What a hell of a way to go.

---

To learn more about Shelley, please visit www.ShelleyMunro.com
Blog: http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ShelleyMunro
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/shelleymunro
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shelleymunro
Newsletter: Newsletter - http://www.janusportal.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=9/