Shelley Munro, Author of Paranormal Romance

The other morning we took Bella for her walk. We usually come across the “regular” walkers and say good morning.

This particular morning, Bella was off the lead and we met up with a local lady and her dog, which is a tiny thing. Bella is about three times bigger. This little dog is long-haired and you can scarcely see his face because he’s all hair. When he runs he looks like a flag fluttering in the wind. Whenever I see him, I put Bella back on the lead because she can be a bit of a bully with smaller dogs. Anyway, hubby said, “Leave her off the lead today.”

Bella behaved beautifully. The little dog just stood there with his nose lifted in the air while Bella sniffed him. She circled the little dog once, and then to my horror, Bella lifted her leg ready to pee on him.

I shouted, “Bella!” and she stopped at my horrified shriek, giving me an affronted look. I started laughing, and luckily, the lady thought it was funny too.

It’s obvious Bella subscribes to the dog rules: If you can’t eat it or play with it then you should pee on it!

Author newsletters:

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research about author discoverability and newsletters recently. Many of the “experts” suggest a pop-up for a newsletter signup, one that appears the second someone clicks onto a site. I find them annoying and usually click away from the site.

What do you think about pop-up ads on a website or blog?

This week I thought I’d take you on a whistle-stop tour of New Zealand. We’ll start our visit at Mt. Maunganui, a beautiful beach area on the east coast of the North Island. The area is named after the extinct volcano, which dominates the vicinity.

The hill is Mt. Maunganui, and this beach is the perfect one for families since it’s very safe.

This is a view from the path that travels around the base of the mountain. It’s a busy walkway, especially during the weekend when we visited. You can also climb to the top of the mountain, which takes about an hour. A little more if you stop to take in the vista on a regular basis. We’ve done both walks. The views are great, no matter which option you choose.

The Mount (as it is known locally) was inhabited by the local Maori tribe before the Europeans arrived because it was an excellent vantage point and they received early warnings of possible attacks from other tribes. During a walk around the base you’ll see evidence of early habitation. This is a midden (a dump for waste), which is full of empty pippi shells (clam-like shellfish). Just as an aside, my father has several of these middens on his farm, and over the years we’ve found Maori stone adzes.

Mt. Mauganui is known for its surf beach, and this is a view of the beach, looking back to the mountain. During the Christmas/New Year holidays the population swells since it’s a popular holiday location.

Are you a beach fan?

Lifou, which is part of the Loyalty Islands, is a beautiful spot with lots of greenery. The snorkelling is very good here too, although access is down a very rickety and slippery wooden ladder.

Once onshore, we walked up a hill to the old chapel on the headland. It was very pretty and the locals had placed flower arrangements inside. They ask visitors for a donation.

The white chapel

Here’s one of the locals. The pretty teal color was very striking against the greenery.

The snorkelling was excellent. We were there early when it was relatively quiet. Once the other passengers on the ship turned up, the area became noisy and there was a little silt kicked up, which caused vision problems. The ladder access was a bit tricky too.