Today I am very excited to welcome Rachel Haimowitz to the blog today. Rachel and Cat Grant are the authors of the new Riptide release, Power Play: Resistance, which I reviewed here earlier today. Please join me in giving Rachel a big welcome!
Thank you for joining us on the Power Play: Resistance virtual release tour! *throws penis-shaped confetti borrowed from Anne Tenino*
No party is complete without favors, so we’ll be giving away winnerโs choice of a signed paperback from Cat or Rachel (any of their Riptide titles other than Power Play) to one lucky commenter from this blog at the end of the tour. We’ll also be giving away a classic Nook pre-loaded with six of our titles to one lucky commenter drawn from all the tour stops, so follow along and party with us at each–you can earn an entry at every stop!
Baby I Was Born this Way: Part I
Hello, my name is Rachel, and I am a sexual sadist. I am โoutโ; I do not hide this fact or take the least bit of shame or embarrassment in it. I may, in fact, have been known to revel in my cruelty from time to time. Fortunately, there are a great many masochists in the world who are more than happy to revel with me.
Take Cat Grant, my co-writer for our new BDSM kinkapalooza, Power Play: Resistance. In Power Play, we follow the story of an out-and-proud Dominant (Jonathan) and a deeply closeted submissive (Brandon). Brandon is hamstrung by his shame and fear of his urges. He doesnโt understand why he is the way he is. He doesnโt want to be the way he is. It takes a firm and patient (and did I mention firm? Because, wow, is it ever) hand to teach him how to be proud of himself and the gifts he can receive and give.
The thing Brandon fails to understand at the startโand the thing that, unfortunately, a lot of naturally inclined sadists and masochists, submissives and Dominants also donโt understandโis that these desires donโt come out of some life event. Iโm not a Dominant now because I felt helpless as a child. My last partner wasnโt a submissive because his father beat him. Thereโs nothing wrong with any of us. We donโt need to be โcuredโ (as a certain ragingly popular โmainstreamโ BDSM novel that shall remain nameless is trying to suggest). Submission isnโt weakness and Domination isnโt bullying. They are gifts, both of them. Exquisite things that make even more exquisite things when the right two people come together. Not a โdeviationโ or a โperversionโ that needs to beโor even can beโprogrammed out of us.
As with many other things to do with our minds and bodiesโsexual orientation, gender identification, etc.โwe are simply, well, born that way. (Tune in for tomorrowโs blog
tour stop to read when I discovered my love of making pretty men cry; you might be surprised!) And Iโm sure natural selection has a reason for it, too. Who knowsโmaybe way back when, Dominants made great and caring tribe leaders, and masochists volunteered to climb the trees and steal the honey from the bee hives.
So to all of you who wish to kneel or see others kneel, whip or be whipped (which often, but not always, go togetherโnot all submissives are masochists and not all Dominants are sadists), embrace your desires. Be proud. And find someone who will love you not in spite of those things but at least in part because of them. Just like Jonathan and Brandon did.
Blurb:
Give me six months, and I’ll give you the world.
Brandon McKinney has scraped and sacrificed for what little in life heโs ever had. Though itโs been fifteen years since he escaped his fatherโs abuse, the damage remains. Trust seems as far out of reach as his dream of becoming an architect, and though heโs come to accept being gay, he canโt deny the shame and confusion he feels at other urgesโthe deeply-repressed desire to submit.
Jonathan Watkins is a self-made Silicon Valley billionaire whose ex-wife took half his money and even more of his faith. Comfortable as a Dominant but wary of being hurt again, he resorts to anonymous pickups and occasional six-month contracts with subs seeking only a master, not a lover.
When a sizzling back-alley encounter cues Jonathan in to Brandonโs deep-seated submissive side, he makes the man an offer: Give me six months of your life, and Iโll open your eyes to a whole new world. Brandon doesnโt care about that; all he wants is the three million dollars Jonathanโs offering so he can buy the construction company he works for. But he soon learns that six months on his knees is no easy feat, and shame and pride may keep him from all he ever wantedโand all he never dreamed he had any right to have.
You can read an excerpt and order Power Play: Resistance here.
About the Authors:
Rachel Haimowitz is an M/M erotic romance author, a freelance writer and editor, and the Managing Editor of Riptide Publishing. She’s also a sadist with a pesky conscience, shamelessly silly, and quite proudly pervish. Fortunately, all those things make writing a lot more fun for her . . . if not so much for her characters.
When she’s not writing about hot guys getting it on (or just plain getting it; her characters rarely escape a story unscathed), she loves to read, hike, camp, sing, perform in community theater, and glue captions to cats. She also has a particular fondness for her very needy dog, her even needier cat, and shouting at kids to get off her lawn.
You can find Rachel at her website, Tweeting as RachelHaimowitz, chatting in the Goodreads forums, and blogging at Fantasy Unbound. She loves to hear from folks, so feel free to drop her a line anytime at metarachel (at) gmail (dot) com.
EPIC Awardโwinning author Cat Grant lives by the sea in beautiful Monterey, California, with one persnickety feline and entirely too many books and DVDs. When she’s not writing, she sings along (badly!) to whatever’s on her iPod shuffle, watches lots of movies, and fantasizes about kinky sex with Michael Fassbender.
Where to find Cat:
Website: http://www.catgrant.com
Blog: http://catgrant.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cat.grant
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CatGrant2009
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1912055.Cat_Grant
Thank you so much to Rachel Haimowitz for joining us today. And don’t forget to leave a comment here to enter to winย a signed paperback from Cat or Rachel (any of their Riptide titles other than Power Play) ย at the end of the tour. ย They are also giving away a classic Nook pre-loaded with six of their titles to one lucky commenter drawn from all the tour stops, so be sure to follow along with them and enter at the other stops as well. ย The contest closes on April 18th. ย
>Congratulations on the new release Rachel & Cat. Two of my favorite authors.
Definitely putting "Power Play: Resistance" on my TBR list. *scurries away to Goodreads*
O.K. Done. Sorry that took so long, got distracted by all the pretty shiny books.
I look forward to following you around on this hop. *not stalking*
Please enter me into the drawing for a signed paperback and the final drawing for a Nook.
loribooklover62 @aol.com
>I did enjoy Power Play: Resistance and I'm really looking forward to the next one ๐
I'm in the UK so not sure if that rules me out of the contest?
>Just swinging thru to lob some claymores and hand grenades at you darlin'. Congrats to both you and Cat on the new release.
ps: great post too. ๐
>Wonderful interview ๐ Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
And Power Play: Resitance is a brilliant book!
these desires donโt come out of some life event
Yes!
Maybe it's the same desire to label humans that causes the desire to explain inclinations like this. Humans don't fit in boxes and some things happen because we are who we are, not because of something we experienced, lacked or had too much of…
blaine(at)blainedarden(dot)com
>Congratulations on the new release! I have been looking forward to the kinkapalooza for several months now. In fact, I'm about to start reading it as soon as I finish my comment. Thanks for the great giveaway and I look forward to the next post on your blog tour.
lkbherring64(at)gmail(dot)com
>I agree – Freud has much to answer for…
>Wonderful interview! I'm here to show support for a terrific read. I can't say I wasn't a bit hesitant over the content (simply because I knew just how rough Rachel likes it!) but I trusted both authors to be true to the characters and I was richly rewarded. Did it make me squirm? Hell yea! But the question was why? When I figure that out I'll let y'all know.
sionedkla@gmail.com
>Congratulations on your release. It's a great book, I read it over the weekend and couldn't put it down. I. Can't wait for the sequel in June.
>Congratulations on the new release! Great insightful interview and on the money review.
I read the book over the weekend and will post a review on my blog tomorrow. It's one of those I-could-not-put-it-down books.
I'm one of those who can't wait for Awakenings!
>The thing that strikes me about this book – apart from the fact you wrote it – is the marvellous cover. It just pulls you right in.
corieltauviqueen at yahoo dot co dot uk
>Congrats on the new book! I can't wait to read it ๐
alyssa (at) alyssalinnpalmer.com
>Thank you! And hey, nothing wrong with tour-stalking ๐
>Nope, doesn't rule you out. Glad you enjoyed the book and thanks for commenting! ๐
>Yay, explosions! ๐ *hugs*
>Aw, thank you!
Yeah, I think a part of it is just our species' discomfort with things we can't understand. So when you see someone who goes so very much against the grain of what you yourself might consider sane and necessary for survival, you're gonna go looking for explanations for it, or psychological or medical problems. I certainly understand that and it doesn't really even bother me when people find out I'm a sadist and a Domme and ask me questions like that about it, because at least if they're asking, they're open-minded enough to want to learn the truth.
>Thank you, Lisa! ๐ I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for commenting!
>LOL ๐
>Glad you enjoyed it, Kassandra, and thanks so much for visiting and commenting! Hey, you think Brandon has it bad, you should've seen my poor shipwrecked princes… ;-p
>Thanks so much, Josie! Glad you enjoyed it so ๐
>Thanks for commenting, Mrs Condit, and for taking the time out to review. So glad you enjoyed it! ๐
>Hi Tiggasmum ๐ Isn't that artwork amazing? The artist is actually doing a stop on the tour–she'll be at Top2Bottom Reviews on (I think?) the last day of the tour talking about her process. It was quite an interesting post, even for someone who got to watch the progression along the way. Thank you for stopping by!
>Thank you, Alyssa! ๐
>Just wanted to leave a quick hello and thank you to our lovely host for the day ๐ So, hello and thank you! ๐
>Why thank you! And you are quite the lovely guest! Thanks for sharing your book and your thoughts with us today, as well as for stopping by to chat with our commenters.
>I understand about being "born that way". I was raised in a normal and loving family, yet before I ever understood sex, I gravitated toward books with "bondage", of sorts. Kidnappings and dangerous yet alluring villains. I liked the tense feeling it gave me in the pit of my stomach. Only looking back years later did I realize that I was a bit aroused! That was quite an epiphany.
>I find that I have too many things to say in regards to this amazing post and that my thoughts are a bit muddled. I will keep it simple, then, and simply say that I admire you greatly – as a writer and an outspoken proponent for BDSM. I only recently discovered you and your work and I'm glad for it.
I haven't been able to read the book, yet, but it's waiting for me on my Kindle. That it's there is tantalizing…and prolonging the wait is a sweet sort of torture, itself.
>Hello Rachel, Cat & Jay,
Thank you Jay for hosting Rachel Haimowitz on your Blog today for her Virtual Release Tour of "Power Play: Resistance" with Cat Grant.
Thank you also to Rachel for taking the time out of your busy day to spend with Jay's Fans in sharing about yourself & your new release. I just Love the description of your story, an out-and-proud Dominant (Jonathan) and a deeply closeted submissive(Brandon). Your Book sounds like an absolutely intriguing, Sigh-Inducing, Heat-Producing (in all the right places ๐ lol) Read!
I would very much appreciate the opportunity to be considered in your very generous giveaway of winnerโs choice of a signed paperback from You or Cat (any of your Riptide titles other than Power Play). Thank You.
I'm LQQking forward to Following You & Cat along your Tour & Wishing You Much Success With Your New Release!
Oh before I forget; I subscribed to your Fantasy Unbound Blog via email, became a GFC Follower & a Fan to You & Cat on Goodreads under my name of PaParanormalFan.
Take Care Ladies& Stay Naughty,
PaParanormalFan (Reneeโ S.)
paranormalromancefan at yahoo dot com
>Yay! <3 this. I have a feeling this will be an awesome tour.
Thanks for starting things off, Jay! –Adara
adara adaraohare com
>Thabks Adara! I can't wait to check out the other stops!
>I said this already numerous times, but WOW. I'm still beyond impressed perfectly crafted this was! And not to mention challenging! ๐ There were times when I literally put my hands over eyes so as not to see what will happen next, but only for a few seconds – I NEEDED to know what happened next! XD
Thank you both! ^^
Aija ๐
japoki at inbox.lv
>It was the same way for me. Actually I think tomorrow's tour post is the story of when I first realized (sort of) I was a sadist. Spoiler alert: I was six ๐
>Awww, *hugs*, thank you!
I'm aaaaaaall for sweet torture ๐
>I'm such a ham–I love stuff like this. Chatting with other readers who share a passion is exciting stuff ๐
Thank you for all your kind words, your follows, and for stopping by to play with us!
>Cat and I definitely had fun creating the tour content ๐ Thanks for following along!
>Awww, thank you, hon! And yay for reading through your fingers! *dusts hands* Our work here is done ;-p
>Congrats on you're new release!!
and OMG… I am SO excited to read this series. It's just… HOT! Makes me just wanna go.. Rawr! >3
LOL! Great post! ๐
Judi
arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo(dot)com
>Thank you so much, Judi! ๐
>Very nice post. The book sounds good.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
>Thanks for stopping by, everyone!
And the winner is… Ley!
Ley, if you'd leave a comment with your email addy, we'll contact you about claiming your prize.
And a big thank you to Jay for hosting us! *hugs*