My current tour is through incredible India. It should be a breeze, except my younger sister is joining in New Delhi. Things are not exactly civil between usa childhood full of upheaval didn’t helpand our parents have insisted she travel with me or not at all. I see fun times ahead. Now my boyfriend has turned up without warning. Don’t get me wrong. I really like Sebastian Brady. The sex is good, spectacular even, but meeting a few times a year is enough. I mean I’m not looking for love or happy ever after.
But worst of all is the bad luck I’ve been having recently. One of my passengers died in Syria, and now it looks like my co-driver might have to leave the tour. Despite the exotic location, it’s not exactly smooth sailing, and I’m starting to think someone is out to halt the tour…
Read an excerpt from Wanderlust
Visit Shelley Munro's web site
Visit Shelley's blog
Visit Shelley @ MySpace
Visit Shelley @ The Dynamic Three
About Shelley Munro
Shelley lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and a small, bossy dog called Scotty.
Typical New Zealanders, Shelley and her husband left home for their big OE soon after they married (translation of New Zealand speak - big overseas experience). A year long adventure lengthened to six years of roaming the world. Enduring memories include being almost sat on by a mountain gorilla in Rwanda, lazing on white sandy beaches in India, whale watching in Alaska, searching for leprechauns in Ireland, and dealing with ghosts in an English pub.
While travel is still a big attraction, these days Shelley is most likely found in front of her computer following another love - that of writing stories of romance and adventure. Other interests include watching rugby and rugby league (strictly for research purposes), being walked by the dog, and curling up with a good book.
Backlist
Ellora's Cave:
Talking Dogs, Aliens and Purple People Eaters
Never Send a Dog to do a Woman's Job
Summer in the City of Sails
Men To Die For
Scarlet Woman
Sex Idol
Curse of Brandon Lupinus
Romantic Interlude
Peeping Tom
Stray Cat Strut
Fallen Idol
Dreams of the Oasis 3: Summer Lovin'
Best Man
Sex, Spies & Sapphires
Unforgettable
Issy's Infatuation
Last Wish
Fancy Free
Cerridwen Press:
Playing to Win
Wanderlust
Medallion Press, Inc.:
The Second Seduction
The Shadow
New Concepts Publishing:
Aislyn
Live the Moment
Ghost Cats anthology
From The Deep anthology
Tripping Through the Universe anthology
No Holes Barred: Stranded
No Holes Barred anthology
Wild Child
A note from Shelley...
India is one of my favorite travel destinations, and in Wanderlust, I combined my love of travel and India with an Agatha Christie-influenced mystery where the passengers on an overland tour start dying off one by one. Is the murderer among them? You’ll have to wait and see. ;-)
An Interview with Shelley Munro
By Katie Raines Assistant for The Romance Studio
KR: Shelley, thanks for joining us at TRS. Please tell us about your wonderful story, Wanderlust. SM: Wanderlust is a story of love, intrigue and murder, and it's set in my favorite travel destination, India. It's about Anna who has taken her love of travel and turned it into an occupation, working for a company called Wanderlust Adventures as a tour leader. The tour from London to Kathmandu has run pretty smoothly, but she's not looking forward to the last leg of the tour, a circuit of India and into Kathmandu because her younger sister is joining the group. Then her casual boyfriend, Sebastian turns up as well, and this really throws her. Strange things start happening and a passenger dies. Anna starts to think the tour is doomed, and so do her passengers!
Just between you and me, there's a murderer on the loose and a few more passengers will die before the murderer is captured.
KR: Where did you get the idea for Wanderlust Adventures and your tour guide, Anna Tietjens? SM: One of my editors asked me if I had a story where the heroine had an unusual occupation. I'd wanted to combine my travel experience and India in a book and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Anna Tietjens was born, and I had a chance to dig out all my photos, guide books and old diaries to relive the fun of my visit all over again.
KR: I love your adventure stories and this one is no exception. =) Do you carefully plan this sort of story out or do you prefer to be more spontaneous? SM: Thanks! I used to sit down and write with only a vague idea of where I wanted to go. Somehow, don't ask me how, everything worked out and I'd end up with a story. As my writing has evolved I've learned to plan a little more-often I need to write a synopsis of the story after writing only three chapters, and this requires more pre-thought.
I usually write down every possibility I can think of and juggle around the ideas until I have a plot, but nothing is carved in stone. If I have a brainwave while I'm actually writing, I'll go in that direction. I tend to plan more with my longer stories while with short stories or novellas I'm more likely to make up stuff as I go along.
KR: You're well traveled. Did you have the idea for this story first and then choose the location? Or did the story come from the location? SM: Yes, I love to travel! When I thought up the idea of a tour leader as my heroine, India automatically popped into my mind as the location. It's one of my all-time favorite destinations, it's a very colorful country with both interesting scenery and history, and I knew it would work as an awesome setting for my book. I also have loads of photos and I'd kept a fairly good diary of the time I'd spent in India so that helped back up my decision.
KR: Shelley, you're an established writer. You've written for many publishers, taken on many genres. Of all of your works to this point, what are you most proud of? SM: I'm proud of all my books, although the one I'm working on at the moment is usually my favorite. Each book presents a different challenge or I'm trying something new to stretch myself as a writer. I really like showing people what New Zealand is like so some of my favorites have New Zealand settings. I think if really pressured I'd say I have a special place in my heart for the Middlemarch Mates series, which is set in the South Island of New Zealand. I'm working on two new Middlemarch books at the moment, so of course they're my favorites!
HH: What are the most important things you've learned in your writing career to this point? SM: Let me see-I think two of the most important things I've learned are not to give up-to keep going no matter what-and to keep hope in the mail to help cushion disappointment. When I was an aspiring author I used to try to have several submissions out at once, then if one came back as a rejection, I still had hope because of the live submissions. I've kept up the hope in the mail tradition, since contrary to opinion published authors still receive rejections. Sometimes the timing isn't quite right or a publishing house has too many books with the same type of setting and a submission is rejected. Life as a writer isn't always easy, but the "highs" sure make up for the disappointments.
KR: What's your reading time like? Is it a planned time or do you read when you get the chance? SM: I love to read and have always been a huge reader. Time spent writing does limit my reading time, but I try to read as much as possible to keep up with market trends and see what other writers are doing. These days I fit in reading where I can and make up for it whenever I take a holiday. E-books are great for taking on holiday!
KR: What do you consider a successful writing session? SM: I treat a day of writing like a day in the office and work set hours. Some days the words come easy and other days it's like struggling through sand and knee-deep water. A successful session is where I do 2000 plus words. I don't push myself much harder than this but working most days and writing this many words works out to a steady number of books each year.
KR: What unrelated hobbies or activities do you enjoy? SM: I like walking (usually with the dog), cycling and of course travel. I'm also keen on sports, although these days I'm usually a spectator rather than a participant. I enjoy rugby and netball, both sports which are popular in New Zealand. Both my husband and I enjoy watching movies or going out for coffee and people watching, and we quite like cooking.
KR: What would you like to tell readers out there? SM: I have quite a few travel photos on my website, and slowly, I'm adding background stories for each of my books, so definitely check back at my website on a regular basis to see what's new. There are articles for both readers and writers, and if there's something you'd like to know about my books just send me an email. I love hearing from readers.
I also have a newsletter and do regular contests at my website. Just check back for details.
Thanks, Katie! I've enjoyed my visit to The Romance Studio.
KR: Thank you!
Top
| 
