The lovely and talented, Helen Hardt

Please welcome Helen Hardt as she talks about her latest release.

CB: It's been some time since you've been on my blog, Helen... tell us, is there anything new and exciting in your life right now?

HH: Thanks for having me, Catherine! New and exciting? It's been a rather slow year for me writing-wise. After seven releases in 2009, I needed a break! I did have several releases in February/March of this year (Loving Eve [EC] and Lessons of the Heart and Rhythm of the Drum [TWRP]), and one in July (Primal Instinct [TWRP]).

CB: Any future books we should be looking for in the near future?

HH: Calendar Boy is coming to Aspen Mountain Press soon, though I don't have an exact date yet. But edits are done and I have my cover (featuring Jimmy Thomas!) so it should be pretty soon. Like my other AMP story, The Cowboy and the Cougar, this one is part of The Cougar Club series.

I have a werewolf story in the works for my EC editor, and I also have a few shorts in the works that I'm going to submit to Harlequin.

CB: Tell us about your new release:

HH: Pianist Envy originated as a submission for EC's music theme (due out in November) but my editor decided it would be better as a stand alone release. I'm big on sensory detail, so I love incorporating the arts into my stories. Rock music and classical music play central roles in this story and the theme recurs throughout. I hope readers enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Blurb:

Huge success has so far eluded musician Jane Rock. Coming from a modest background, she’s had to work hard for everything she has. When a music agent attends one of her rock band’s performances at a local club, she thinks her big break has finally come, until an inebriated—though handsome and muscular—patron spoils her show.

Classical pianist Chandler Hamilton has had most of his success handed to him due to his family name. He has his reasons for detesting rock music, but he finds himself drawn to beautiful and talented Jane. Although the two sizzle between the sheets, outside the bedroom they bicker endlessly and envy what they perceive as the other’s good fortune. When Jane needs a favor, Chandler resists. Can love blossom amid clashing notes and tempos?

Excerpt:

She didn’t bother knocking. He wouldn’t hear her anyway. Normally she wasn’t so rude, but the music called to her. His anger, his passion, called to her. Still holding the pot, she stood, mouth agape, as Chandler pounded out disharmonic chords on his nine-foot black lacquer grand.

Disharmonic, yes, but they made a certain musical sense. Discordant in a harmonic way. Sweat covered his brow and a drop hit an ivory key. He didn’t stop to wipe away the perspiration. He punished the keys, ground out eerie yet beautiful music in his raw madness. His fingers danced, his facial muscles tensed, his full pink lips pursed. Another drop of sweat hit a key as he slowed the tempo, softened his strokes, then from piano to forte again as he trilled two notes and boomed through the lower keys.

Jane’s heart thudded in time with Chandler ’s now increasing tempo. As he crescendoed, so did she, her breath coming in rapid puffs, her breasts heaving against her chest. His playing conjured images in her mind of a bullfighter twirling a red cape. Vivid reds and oranges swirled through her head.

More chords. Louder, faster…banging, clashing…

Then silence.

His eyes closed and his chest dropped, as though he were only now cognizant of the fact that he required breath. More drips of moisture emerged on his corded neck and rivered down his chest through the few blond hairs that peeked out of his black button down. The stark onyx contrasted against his fair skin in a beautiful way. Jane’s breath caught.

She stood, still holding the empty coffee pot. Should she applaud? Her hands were occupied, and applause seemed inappropriate anyway. This hadn’t been a performance. No, this had been a catharsis, a purging of negativity, a ritual cleansing.

This had been solely about Chandler . Pure, raw emotion not meant for an audience.

Regret flooded her. She shouldn’t be here.

And the winner is...

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to support Shelley Munro and her latest and greatest release, Make That Man Mine. As promised she is giving away one free download of her book to one luck winner.

After putting all your names into a very nice Longaberger basket, I went down stairs to where my ten year old was playing the Wii and asked him to pick a name. He rolled his cute little eyes at me, quickly drew one name and then promptly shooed me out of the room so he could continue his game.

The name he picked was... drum roll please....

~~~~RACHEL~~~~

Rachel, let me know which e-mail addy to send to Shelley so you can claim your prize.

Congrats and thanks again everyone for stoppin' by.

Guest Interview with Shelley Munro

Today I have a special guest, Shelley Munro. Author or so many books in my own personal library that I just had to have her over to celebrate her newest release.

Thanks for stopping by today, Shelley. Oh, and for all who comment, Shelley will be giving away a free copy of her release. So tell your friends and yack, yack, yack...

Tell us about your new book out now:

Thanks for inviting me to visit today, Catherine. Make That Man Mine is my new release, and it’s out at Ellora’s Cave on 15 June. Funnily enough it’s a story featuring one of my favorite type of heroes—a shifter. Jack Sullivan is a taniwha. Most of you probably haven’t heard of a taniwha before, but it’s a creature from Maori mythology, a kind of a serpent/dragon. In some tales, a taniwha is a terrible wife-stealing creature who eats people and breaks canoes. In other tales, a taniwha is a benevolent creature who brings good luck to a tribe. Legend says that a taniwha lives at every bend in a river. They also live in lakes and by the seaside.

My taniwha Jack Sullivan works for George Taniwha & Sons, a private investigator. Secretary Emma Montrose has lusted after Jack from afar for a long time, and she’s finally decided it’s time to make him aware of her interest. Jack is one alpha man who is about to meet his match!

Here’s the blurb:

On her 25th birthday Emma Montrose decides it’s time to show bad boy investigator, Jack Sullivan she’s more than an efficient secretary. She’s a woman with needs, and she wants him.
Jack is a taniwha, a shifter, who requires women to satiate the sexual demands of the serpent within. Nothing more. Then work forces the reluctant Jack and ecstatic Emma undercover as a couple. Thrown together, pretence and reality blur generating hot sex laced with risk…

And here’s a short except from the start of the book where his boss informs Jack he’s going to have a new partner for his upcoming case.

“Okay,” he conceded. “I guess a partner might help. Who’s available? Hone? Billy?”
George made a choking sound, merriment dancing across his lined face as he stuck his feet up on his desk.

“What’s so goddamn amusing?” Jack ground out. Another chortle exploded from George.

Jack bounded upright and paced the length of the room, trying to work off the agitation that thrummed through his body. He paused to stare out the window, his mind taking in the yachts that zigzagged across blue waters of Auckland Harbor. Jack turned away from the window and stalked across the room to drop into the chair opposite George. He kept his expression neutral despite the amusement that still simmered across his boss’s face. “You’d better let me in on the joke.”

“You can partner up with Hone or Billy, if you want,” George said. “But you might want to consider the special circumstances.”
“What circumstances?” Jack bit out. Man, he had a hot date with Melissa tonight. Good, hot, sweaty, no-strings sex. He didn’t have time for this crap. “Either Hone or Billy. I’m not fussy.”

“Reuben J. Mahoney runs a couples-only resort. I’m assigning you a female partner.”

“A female— No.”

“I guess you can take Hone. Or Billy,” George mused. “Of course, you’d have to share a room. And a bed.” He shook his grizzled head. “Two taniwha in the same room. Add in a blue moon and things might get a mite ugly.”

Fuck. Jack sent a hard glare at his boss. Trapped as neat as an eel in a net. Jack shuffled through the range of possibilities and came up blank. “Who is she?” he gritted out.

“A new operative.”

Great. Just bloody great. Not only was he being forced to take a female partner, he was getting a raw beginner. Jack didn’t trust himself to speak so he firmed his mouth, folded his arms across his chest and scowled his displeasure.

“I’m teaming you with Emma Montrose.”

“Your secretary?” Jack heard disbelief in his voice but thought he managed to keep his panic to himself. What the hell did a secretary know about investigating a case? What about the danger? To both of them. They would have to share a room for God’s sake. Jack refused to let his mind dwell on Emma’s sexy legs…or the rest of her body.

“Emma’s capable of assisting you on this case.”

“Assign me another case.” Spending time alone with Emma was enough to give a man ideas. Jack wasn’t interested in anything but sex. No relationships for him. Been there. Done that. Chucked away the T-shirt.

How do you respond when someone says.... "Oh, you write THAT kind of book?"

Um…I usually think up a great response about four hours later! Actually I’m fairly open about the type of book I write. I don’t fit the profile of a person who writes THAT kind of book, not the one that most people have in their heads at any rate, and they usually stare at me in stunned shock when I tell them I write erotic romance.

I did hear about one woman who went around telling everyone that I wrote porn. One of my writer friends knew her and told the woman that she also wrote romance. The woman then insulted my friend and sneered about Mills & Boon stories. Sometimes you just can’t win and it’s best to just laugh off the comments. I mean I make money writing THAT kind of book. I’m happy, and that’s all that counts.

What are your goals as a writer?

I want to keep learning and trying new things, challenging myself to improve my writing. I want to keep enjoying the process and definitely don’t want to get to the stage of burnout where the writing is forced and becomes a chore. Like most writers, I’d like to sell more books and gain a larger audience, but my main goal is to continue enjoying what I do without the stress of too many deadlines.

How many books do you read a month?

It depends on my writing schedule. If I’m busy with writing, my reading suffers, although I always read before I go to sleep at night. That said I usually read ten – twenty books a month. I read a lot because I think it’s one of the best ways of research for a writer and also for keeping up with the market.

Do you have anything new in the works?

Always! I have more books in my Middlemarch Mates series underway. Ambar’s story (a new character introduced in CatNap) and the twins’ story, which readers have been demanding for ages. I also have a paranormal/sci-fi book I’ve just subbed to my editor, a historical underway and the glimmer of a contemporary series in my head, ready to pour out. I always have more ideas than time. A good way to be, I think!

Where can we find you?

I have a website with details of my available titles, upcoming ones plus excerpts, story background info and also some free reads. http://www.shelleymunro.com/ You can also find my blog there. I blog most days about totally random things—some pertaining to writing and others not—and you’re very welcome to come over and chat. http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog
I can also be found over at the Coffee Time forum http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=508 and at MySpace. http://www.myspace.com/shelleymunro

Where can we find your books?

I write for Ellora’s Cave and for Samhain Publishing. Several of my books are available in print and are available from the usual online sources such as Amazon.
http://www.jasminejade.com/m-127-shelley-munro.aspx
http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/shelley-munro

If you have any questions about writing or my books, please feel free to ask. I’d also like to give away a download of Make That Man Mine to one commenter. I’ll get Catherine to choose the winner for me tomorrow. Thanks for visiting!

Shelley
http://www.shelleymunro.com/

Thanks for coming, Shelley. I can't wait to sink my teeth, or eyes, into this one.