They Dance. They Make Love. Scarlet Woman by Shelley Munro

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome back Shelley Munro for not only an interview but to celebrate her latest paranormal release, Scarlett Woman (Middlemarch Mates- Book One)!

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

ISBN: 9781419903120 

ASIN: B0032UDTMQ

Number of pages: 115 pages

Word Count: 38,561

Cover Artist: Syneca

GIVEAWAY! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter after this post for a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift certificate plus 3 x copies of Peeping Tom, book 2 in the Middlemarch Mates series.

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Also in print as part of the Feline Lovers anthology

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Book Description

Emily Scarlet’s husband left her for his secretary and died in a car accident—all on the same day. Now, six months later, Emily has emerged from her chrysalis of painful memories. And to prove she has what it takes to attract a man, she’s determined to experience one perfect night of passion.

Feline shape shifter, Saber Mitchell has a problem with his four boisterous younger brothers. They’re out of control. It’s too late for him, but he hopes to get his brothers mated and settled, and the ball is the place to introduce them to marriageable women.

Unbridled sex is the last thing he plans on, but one glimpse of Emily Scarlet changes his mind. Sex with her is a necessity. They dance. They make love.

One thing is clear—a single night isn’t enough. Saber must have her for his mate, but Emily isn’t so easy to convince…or trust.

Middlemarch Mates – 12 books in series

Scarlet Woman 1

Peeping Tom 2

Stray Cat Strut 3

Assassin 4

Cat and Mouse 5

Cat Burglar 6

Leticia’s Lovers 7

Catnap 8

Tiger By the Tail 9

Blue Lady 10

Twin Trouble 11

Lightning Strikes Twice 12 (free book from Ellora’s Cave and All Romance ebooks)

Interview Time!

SKY:   What inspired you to write this book?

SHELLEY:   My editor suggested that I write a short story, and my mind immediately went to feline shapeshifters. I’d wanted to write a shapeshifter story for ages, so here was my opportunity. Long story short, my editor liked the story I sent her, but she said there was too much plot for the length and she suggested I lengthen the story.

The plot itself came from my inspiration folder. Years earlier I’d read stories in the New Zealand Herald about mystery sightings of black panthers near Christchurch, New Zealand. They were a mystery because New Zealand doesn’t have any big cats—apart from the ones in zoos. This was one story of many about alien cats in the area.

The second part of the plot, I culled from the evening news. They ran a special interest story about a small country town called Middlemarch. The town had a surplus of single men and no single women. They decided to hold a single’s ball to attract young women to the town. The Tairei Gorge railway ran a special train “dubbed the Love Train” to ferry women from the nearby city of Dunedin.

Both stories intrigued me. I combined them, gave them my own twist and turned them into a story called Scarlet Woman.

SKY:   How did you come up with the title?

SHELLEY:   Along with my inspiration folder, I also collect interesting names. I came across the surname Scarlet and thought it would work for a character at some stage. My heroine became Emily Scarlet and the title Scarlet Woman leapt to mind. One of my better ones, I think.

SKY:   What made you choose the main setting for the book?

SHELLEY:   The main setting is the small, country town of Middlemarch in the South Island of New Zealand. See above about inspiration for the plot. The country town worked well as a home base for a secluded community of feline shifters and using the single’s ball as part of my plot seemed like a no brainer. So much story potential!

Scarlet Women grew into a twelve book series with Middlemarch remaining the main setting. My characters sometimes visit surrounding towns and districts such as Queenstown and Otago, but Middlemarch is home.

SKY:   If you could spend an hour in real life with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

SHELLEY:   I adore the characters in all my Middlemarch Mates books. After spending so long with the characters they became like family. Both Saber and Emily Mitchell are clear favorites with me though, since that’s where the Middlemarch Mates saga began. I love that Emily’s arrival helped cement the family even closer together and brought a feminine touch to the male-only home. She turns into a real matchmaker, which cracks me up since Saber’s younger brothers gave them such a hard time during their courtship. Saber is strong and a real leader. He’s helped rear his younger brothers and got them through some difficult times. It was good to see him find a woman to complete him.

SKY:  If you had to sell your book on one run of dialogue, which would it be?

SHELLEY:   Felix nudged Sly. “Big bro’s looking serious. He’s got Mission Mate on his mind again.”

SKY:   Tell us about your favorite writing environment. Is it indoors, outdoors, a special room?

SHELLEY:   I usually write while sitting in my La-z-boy chair with Bella, our puppy, sitting nearby. I bounce all my ideas off her. Whenever I start to procrastinate or feel in a need of a change of pace I go and write in my coffice. Sitting in a café means that I can’t wander around and I usually have a productive day. The cups of coffee are an added bonus.

SKY:   What sources do you use for research?

SHELLEY:   These days my first stop is usually Google, but I enjoy going to my local library and do a lot of my research there. I can usually find what I want in the online library catalogue. Over the years I’ve collected travel brochures and guide books, which come in handy when it comes to refreshing my mind about places I’ve visited and want to use for setting.

SKY:   Do you write books in series? If so, share a bit about the series you currently have published or are coming soon.

SHELLEY:   I think it’s quite rare to find authors who don’t write series these days. Scarlet Woman is book one in a twelve book series. Readers wanted to know what happened to Saber’s younger brothers, and I was eager to learn their fates too.

Along with my Middlemarch Mates series, I have two other series. There is my Talking Dogs series, which features aliens who crash land their space ship in New Zealand, and my Fancy Free series, which features a woman who inherits a company that produces condoms. I have recently contracted book four in my Fancy Free series. Biding His Thyme should be out in the next few months from Ellora’s Cave.

Thanks for having me to visit today.

If you enjoy stories about family and small towns make sure you grab your free copy of Scarlet Woman (free from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance e-books from 28 Jan to 10 Feb 2013) and also Lightning Strikes Twice, which takes place at the same dance as Scarlet Woman (free from Ellora’s Cave and All Romance e-books)

SKY:  Always a pleasure, Shelley. Congratulations on your release!

About Shelley

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.

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