Day 10 of 15 Days of Christmas - Shelley Munro

Today the wonderful Shelley Munro is here to share with us.  I love Shelley!  She is one of the nicest people I've met in my social site connections...always willing to share her time to answer questions and make suggestions on issues one is pounding their head against the wall about.  So join me in welcoming her and indulge your senses in her bread recipe and the blurb she shares with us on Christmas is Coming!  

And Shelley has a game for us at the end of her blurb.  Answering her question gets you into the drawing for her prize and on the list for the "Brit" trinket drawing too!!  SO be sure to answer!!!

Hello, and a big thanks to Lizzie for inviting me to visit today. Since I live in New Zealand my Christmas takes place during the summer. No, we don’t spend Christmas day at the beach. Or at least I don’t! This is a brief description of my Christmas day:

Over excited nieces and nephews tearing around the house.

Warm sunshine beating down from overhead.

Shorts and a T-shirt.

The scent of sun block and the scramble for deckchairs in the shade.

Steaks, sausages and seafood cooking on the barbeque.

The pop of corks from bottles of my favorite NZ sparkling wine.

The crunch of my favorite dessert: pavlova and strawberries.

The sigh of relief when we walk into our own peaceful home!  

One of my favorite recipes to make throughout the year is Beer Bread. It’s a quick and simple one, versatile and perfect if unexpected guests turn up and you’re out of bread. It’s also very good to make during the winter to accompany soup.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (I use about half of this)
1 can beer (400ml or .845 pints) – If your can is smaller, make up the amount with water. Don’t use low-alcohol beer
1 handful of grated cheese (about 1/3 of a cup)

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and beer in a large bowl and combine well. Tip into a well-greased loaf tin or two smaller tins. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the dough. Bake the large loaf for 50 – 60 minutes. (That’s what the recipe suggests. With my oven I find around 30 – 40 minutes works so you might have to experiment with cooking times) Bake the smaller loafs for a shorter time – around 30 minutes depending on your oven. Tip out and cool on a wire rack before slicing. This bread also makes good toast. 

My latest release is CHRISTMAS IF COMING, out now at Ellora’s Cave. Here’s the blurb:

 Christmas is coming. Give your lover the gift of pleasure… 

Gaby Montgomery works for Fancy Free as a condom designer. Recently she’s been designing sex toys and testing her inventions with fellow designer Marc, but they’ve parted ways. The timing couldn’t be worse because she’s stuck without a willing test subject for her sexy products. 

Gaby’s roommates Liam Richardson and Fletch Darcy both want a serious relationship with her, and now that she’s free, it’s time to make a move. But how do they decide which one will date her? Fletch finally suggests they share. Liam is skeptical but agrees the scheme might work, which allows Fletch to move on to step two of his romance plan. Fletch doesn’t just want Gaby, he wants Liam as well.

The loving is hot, their days full of fun product testing, exquisite pleasure and laughter. Everything is perfect until the outside world intrudes, putting their budding relationship under stress. This time their love and friendship might not stand the pressure. 

Publisher’s Note: Want to have more fun with the characters in this book? Then pick up Fancy Free! 

Purchase at Ellora’s Cave - http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9703-christmas-is-coming.aspx 

Today, I’m giving away a download of FANCY FREE, which is the first book in this series, or if you prefer a non-erotic romance, you can pick PLAYING TO WIN, a romantic suspense instead. All you need to do to enter the draw is complete this statement:

The thing I like best about Christmas is________

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand with her husband and a rambunctious puppy. She writes contemporary and paranormal romance for Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing and historical romance and mysteries for Carina Press. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at her website http://www.shelleymunro.com