Giveaway and Character Interview of Sid from Leia Shaw & Cari Silverwood's 31 Flavors

Welcome to the first stop on the 31 Flavors tour!!  What better way to kick off the month of March then with a fantastic giveaway?  Yummy!!  I was lucky enough to score an interview with Sid, the actual person who the book is based on!!  Afterwards I will share with you the book details, an excerpt, and how you can get a chance to win your own copy!!  Now lets talk to Sid:

There's been some debate recently about romance novels and how they may destroy a marriage. What do you think of that?
I think it depends on the person. If you’re insecure in yourself and your relationship, or if you buy into the image of the perfect man then I can see how it might be harmful. Look. Fiction is fiction. It’s not reality. There’s no perfect man. Or perfect Dom. If you don’t know that by now you have more problems than whether to read romance novels. For me it opened my eyes and my mind. It made me get in touch with my femininity and sensual nature. Reading about BDSM specifically made me feel more normal. Like I’m not the only person who craves kinky. I’m not a freak. It’s okay to want these things. It’s okay even to need them. After that I was far more confident in communicating it to my husband. Quite honestly, romance novels saved my marriage.

What did you think of sex and talking about it with Nick especially, before reading these novels?

I thought it was shameful. Something to be kept a secret.

Would you ever have discussed BDSM with Nick if you'd not read about it in novels?
Hard to know for sure. Maybe I would have exploded with pent up sexual frustration. Lol. But I don’t think I would’ve ever told him.

Do you think the unreality and hype in such novels could be a bad thing?

Yes, as I said, when women don’t recognize it for what it is – fantasy. Yes you can experience similar things in real life – good sex, true love – but it will never look exactly the same as in the books. When you start comparing, that’s when you run into trouble. Be grateful for what you have while leaving room for improvement. That’s my advice.

What are some of the important things in those novels that may have helped you?

Don’t be embarrassed about my sexuality. It’s okay to want things, need things, that go beyond vanilla sex. And in order for me to be fulfilled, I have to talk. Talk, talk, talk. Even read books or scenes you like out loud for your partner. If you can talk face to face, email. Or text. We did a lot of texting.

Would you say you're unusual in finding the answers to your problems with sexuality from the pages of a fiction book?

I have no idea but I doubt it. Romance is a popular genre. Women are reading it for a reason.

Has traditional psychotherapy helped you?

Oh sure. But some things you need to figure out for yourself. Sometimes your greatest epiphanies happen outside of the box.

Do you foresee the rise in eBooks as continuing to open up women to the idea of sex being something that should be discussed openly and not thrust under the carpet?

I sure hope so.

Links for the book and the authors:

31 Flavors releases Valentine’s Day February 14^th.

Available from Smashwords, Amazon and on other eBook retail sites like ARE but may take another 2 weeks to get to those.

             31 Flavors site – www.thirtyoneflavors.weebly.com

Leia’s site – www.leiashaw.com

Leia’s blog – www.leiashaw.blogspot.com

Leia’s facebook – www.facebook.com/leiashaw

Leia’s twitter - @LeiaShaw

Cari’s website http://www.carisilverwood.net/

Cari’s blog - http://www.carisilverwood.net/keyboard-fandango---blog.html

Cari on facebook http://www.facebook.com/cari.silverwood

Cari on twitter - @CariSilverwood

 And now let's take a look at the book details and excerpt:

There are some things in life you have to try before you know how they will affect you.

After 5 years of awful sex, I was ready. Bondage and spanking had always featured in my fantasies, and one day, I convinced my husband to try them. That day was a turning point.

Ice cream comes in many flavors and that’s us too – not vanilla, maybe not Rocky Road either. We can be a combination or make up our own and no one has the right to judge us.

But there will always be one question that tears at my soul: Will my husband, Nick, ever be happy with what I crave?

About Us:

31 Flavors is a book that is heavily based on a true love story. Although the sex scenes are obviously fictionalized, much of it really happened. This isn’t just another erotic BDSM story. We both felt (Leia and Cari) there was a place for a novel where the readers might draw parallels with their own      lives -- a story where idealistic, perfect people did not exist, where mistakes are made, and in particular, where the top or Dom is not some godlike creation and the submissive or bottom is just your average girl-next-door.

Cari Silverwood: Cari writes stories that leap from the page and blast you from your bed. Heroines who will come rescue you and    heroes who will drag you back to bed by your hair and ravish you endlessly. Did she mention there was sex and adventure in her stories?

Leia Shaw: Insert one alpha male, one kick-ass female, a sprinkle of magic, a drop of steamy romance, and a pinch of darkness and you get the Shadows of Destiny, a bestselling paranormal romance series by    Leia Shaw.

Leia Shaw Website / Cari Silverwood Website

Excerpt: (PG 13)

Looking up at me, Nick grins. “Well, maybe you could seduce me?”

I blink. “Me?”

“Yeah, like a little lap dance or a strip tease.”

Fucking A. Of course the pain in the ass would pick something completely out of my comfort zone. A strip tease and a lap dance? I’ve never had a single dance lesson. I’m awkward and clumsy and not the least bit sexy.

Don’t be a taker, I scold myself. He tied me up. He spanked me. He stepped out of his comfort zone, I can too.

Steeling myself for humiliation, I rise from the bed. As seductively as I can manage, I raise the hem of my blouse. “Like this?” I purr.

Nick puts his arms behind his head and his gaze rakes me over. A big grin stretches across his face. He likes it. Okay, I can do this. I pull my shirt up higher, exposing my bra.

“Yeah!” Nick praises from the bed.

I give him a flirty smile then start to pull the blouse over my head. It’s a little tight and I tug harder. Buttons. The damn shirt has buttons, dummy. I bring my arms down to undo the top button, but something yanks on my ear.

Ow! Ow, ow, ow. I freeze, my arms over head, my shirt covering my face. The top button is stuck on the stupid hoop earrings I insisted on wearing to work today. I was trying to look sexy. Not so sexy now, am I?

“Honey? Are you okay?”

He doesn’t need to see my face to know I’m blushing. I’m sure it covers my entire body. But I can recover. I can still pull this off. Somehow, I will make this sexy.

“Um.” My voice is muffled in my shirt. I go for a casual tone. “I’m fine. I’m just…going slow. So you can, you know, savor it.” I move my hips side to side in a seductive sway while simultaneously trying to untangle my earring.

The arm opposite the stuck earring is halfway in my shirt sleeve so I jerk my upper body to the side, trying to get it over to help. But it won’t quite reach where I need it. I’m panting with the exertion and getting a bit frantic that it won’t come loose. I wriggle my arms furiously trying to get them out of the sleeves. Every few seconds I stop and shake my hips toward Nick. Or somewhere. I’m not really sure which direction I’m facing anymore.

Oh God, how ridiculous do I look?

I hear a strangled snort from behind me. I spin around and freeze. Is he laughing at me? Except for the crinkling of the shirt over my ears, the room is silent.

My arms ache and my ear hurts. I blow out a breath of air.

Nick clears his throat. “Do you need help?” The end of the sentence is choked off with a covered chuckle.

“Yes,” I say, defeated.

I hear him rise from the bed. Then his fingers are on me, unbuttoning my blouse.

“Careful,” I tell him from inside the cave of my shirt. “My earring is stuck.”

“I got it.”

His fingers work deftly, freeing my face and arms, and just the blouse is dangling from my earring. He works on getting that loose too, leaning in close to see where the earring and blouse entangle. I look up at him. Maybe it’s the lack of oxygen from being stuck in my shirt, but he’s never looked so handsome.

“Hi,” I say sheepishly.

He smirks. “Hi.” His breath touches my lips and lingers.

Suddenly, I want to kiss him. Need to kiss him. I lean forward. “Ow!” Something tugs my earring.

“Stay still,” he orders softly. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me against his body. Goose bumps rise along the skin on my belly and back. Am I getting turned on? I exhale a laugh.

Nick is rescuing me from an utterly unsexy and quite possibly life threatening strip tease. I probably looked like one those moles with the red tendril thingys on its head, clawing its way out of the ground. I should be digging a hole into the ground and hiding in humiliation.

Finally, the blouse falls to the floor and my ear is free. I pull both hoops out and place them on the dresser. Nick steps back and looks me over. His mouth is tight with a restrained grin.

I point a finger at him. “Don’t. Laugh.”

He covers his mouth with his hand and his shoulders shake. My eyes narrow and I launch myself at him, toppling him onto the bed. I straddle his hips as his hysterical laughter fills the room.

“Shut up.” I try to cover his mouth with my hand but he blocks me.

“That was cute, Sid,” he says between roars of laughter. “It was like a sea cucumber giving birth to an anemone.”

I gasp and try to smack him but he dodges my hand.

“A sexy sea cucumber,” he adds.

This time, I go for the jugular. He catches my wrists and holds them captive. “So violent. I may be new at this, but I’m pretty sure beating up your Dom is bad behavior. Should I punish you now?”

“No! I’m too mad.” I pout, pulling my wrists from his hands. “I won’t fulfill anymore of your fantasies if you make fun of me.”

He smiles. “Honey, you fulfill my fantasies every day just by being you.”

I chuckle nervously. “Sure.” But I’m touched, whether it’s true or not.

We stare at each other silently for a moment, giddy smiles plastered on our faces. In a bold move, I get my retribution by snaking my hand up his chest and pinching his nipple.

“Ow!” He grasps my hand to free his nipple. “You’re not a very good sub,” he teases.

“Maybe you’re not a good Dom,” I counter with a saucy grin.

 “Probably.” Evil glittering in his eyes, he folds his arms around me, then yanks me down for a kiss. Our lips meet and he holds the back of my head as the kiss deepens. Not that I’m planning on leaving. The play of lips on lips, soft and hard, tongue and teeth, is a dance Nick has always done well. I snuggle closer, catch my breath when I can. My eyelids drift lower as I give in to the sensations. I sneak my hand onto his chest, palm flattened, and play with the hair above his shirt neckline. When he stops kissing me, I’m breathing hard and very conscious of his body beneath mine.

His gaze locks with mine. “So let’s just be us.”

I smile. Us. Nick and Sidney. Not vanilla. Not Rocky Road. Any kind of thirty-one flavors we want to be. I bite my lip and nod.

With both hands, he grasps my ass and squeezes. “Now let me tie you up so we can fuck and feel better.”

I laugh and shake my head. From Romeo to Jersey Shore in the span of a few seconds. “Typical. I should go next door and get the suave version of a husband.”

The amused glint in his eye gives me a millisecond warning. With a growl he rises and topples me sideways. “Get undressed. I’ll be back. With ropes.”

Awww...sounds actually like something that would happen to me..LOL..!!!  So for you chance to win a copy of this book just fill out the rafflecopter!!

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