The Dynamic Trio - Blog

Sex, Spies and Sapphires
Shelley Munro

An heirloom sapphire. That’s where Sarah Walsh’s troubles began. Oh and sex. That came into the equation when she met Flynn Wangford. Now he has her sapphire and she wants it back.

Bad boy Flynn is causing trouble again. Sarah and fellow spy, sometimes lover Thomas MacIntyre attend Lord Maxwell’s society birthday party, their assignment to protect the British prime minister and royal guest Princess Leila from Mundavia while keeping an eye on Flynn Wangford. For Sarah it’s a chance to retrieve her sapphire, an opportunity she fully intends to exploit. Somehow, she’ll juggle official duties and best the cocky Australian. But before she knows it, Sarah is alone with Flynn and somehow they end up horizontal. The sex is explosive and hot, hot, hot, but she can’t stop thinking about Thomas. Two men. They’re so different yet both are delectable and very distracting for a woman with a mission.

Sarah must concentrate on recovering her sapphire but it seems she and Flynn aren’t the only players in the quest to secure the gemstone. Thomas wants the sapphire as well.

Sex, Spies and Sapphires is due for release on 11 May. I’ve just found out I’m going to be away for release date and thought I’d post an early excerpt.
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I’m a bit late getting this post up - sorry, I was up until 2:00am getting line edits done only for my son to wake me up at 7:00am to talk to his girlfriend’s parents. She’s coming to spend the afternoon with us and it’s going to be interesting to see if she can decipher what the bags under my eyes and my strident need for caffeine actually means.

Well, there are some hot debates going on today on various blogs. One such subject is the difference between erotic romance and erotica.

I don’t happen to write erotica, but is there anything wrong with it? No, not in my opinion. Some people like it, some people don’t. But I do believe that if it’s a duck, you should label it a duck instead of calling it a chicken (which I like baked with lots of ginger).

For example, my debut book PRIMED TO POUNCE, published by Ellora’s Cave, received four stars from Romantic Times (RT). The reviewer enjoyed the plot, the chemistry between the hero and heroine, and that fact that the heroine was a kick-butt type woman. She also enjoyed the romance AND the sex.

But what most people don’t know is that the same book was rejected by Kensington Aphrodesia because it wasn’t hot enough and the heroine was too old with too much baggage.

Turned out they were looking for EROTICA. It didn’t matter that the line was called erotic romance, it wasn’t what they were looking for.

So here’s my questions: 1) Do you think that some of the pubs are mislabeling the genres? 2) Have you had an experience where you picked up a book expecting a romance with a happily-ever-after, only to find it was erotic (no HEA required, sex just ’cause, and not necessarily a romance) ?

TJ has her very first print book out at the moment so I thought I’d post an interview I did with her in February to celebrate!

TJ taps her over fifteen years experience in technology to create realistic stories with out of this world characters. Working for an interesting organization puts her in close contact with even more interesting people.

And with an imagination expanded beyond belief since the birth of her two now teen-aged children (she’ll never be sane again), spinning life’s experiences into tales is a blast.

Now that books have caught up to technology (she loves her eBookwise!), TJ’s eBook reader is shown no mercy, forced to entertain her at all hours of the day or night. Even in the dark!

With seven books sold last year (four released with three coming in 2007) TJ hasn’t lost steam. Her mind? Yep, that’s gone, but steam there is aplenty. Currently she’s working on EGYPTIAN VOYAGE for EC’s 2007 Torrid Tarot series, and SERATI’S FLAME, the follow up book to her February release, CARINIAN’S SEEKER. A true Taurus, TJ isn’t slowing down and she’s definitely too stubborn to stop when she sees the fence!

1. Tell us a little about your latest release, CARINIAN’S SEEKER.
CARINIAN’S SEEKER is Book 1 in a series called the Vampire Council of Ethics. It’s a story about a biogeneticist who’s obsessed with death.

Bottom line, she thinks death is overrated and isn’t interested in going there. All her family has succumbed to some dreaded disease or another so she’s spent years trying to find a way to emulate fictional vampire traits. She doesn’t believe in vampires but the man of her dreams turns out to be one. And not only is he a bad-boy vamp, he’s a Seeker. Basically, vamp law enforcement.

2. You’ve also written books featuring feline shifters. What attracts you to the paranormal? (shifters and vampires)
Perhaps it’s my background, but I’m really not sure. My family is part Lakota Sioux and Blackfeet so I tend to weave Native beliefs into some of my books.
I also love paranormal because it’s unusual. I can make up anything I want, be anyone I want, give them any kind of powers I want. I appreciate the freedom of paranormal fiction.

3. When you create a hero what qualities do you like him to have most of all?
The hero has got to be able to understand the heroine. He may be bullheaded, stubborn and mean as hell, but in the end he’s going to understand his woman’s needs and move hell and earth to meet them.
Makes it hard on my heroes because my heroines are always strong, kick-butt women. They may have baggage, but they’ll put it down long enough to kick your ass!

4. What can fans look forward to next from TJ Michaels?
I’m working on a book called EGYPTIAN VOYAGE for Ellora’s Cave. It’s set on a Mediterranean cruise and is a spin off of PRIMED TO POUNCE.

So, you’ll find feline spirit guides, a heroine with awesome intuition and abilities, and handsome men, both good and bad. Also, like POUNCE, this book has loads of suspense, twists and turns. And hot sex!

5. If you had an entire day to yourself, how would you spend it?
I wouldn’t do a darned thing. Having a full-time job makes writing difficult so I find myself up too late and more tired than I should be.

6. Tell us one thing about the writer TJ Michaels that we might not already know?
That I used to be a bodybuilder! I still get in the gym, but not as much as I used to. Also, having two children added a bit of padding to a few places I’m finding impossible to “un-pad.” LOL!

7. Do you have a website or newsletter for readers to check out?
Yep. My website is www.tjmichaels.com . My newsletter is still in the beta stage but is coming soon. There’ll be a link on the home page to subscribe.

If you have any additional questions for TJ ask away! I’m sure we can tempt her to come and answer them for us.