Recap: Day Three of the Book Launch Party

First, Song of the Balalaika is now available on Smashwords as well as Amazon. If you’re 18 years old or over, read an excerpt here.

By Mai Le [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Mai Le [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

As promised, this is what I’m wearing here. My musing on the drink of the day and love of lemons and limoncello is here, and the promised recipe of another delicious way to serve caviar that is a favorite of friends and family will come tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this pate and toast points. You know you want to.

As for the promised celebrity sightings: I expect to see some special guests in the next three days. In the meantime, enjoy my pool boy Troy who is still treating us with his medley of George Gershwin and Justin Bieber tunes on piano

And don’t forget that July 18-21 is the Hot Summer Romance Giveaway Hop. Check out what I’m giving away and hop to the next writer by clicking here.

Recap of Day 2 of the Book Launch Party

Book Launch Party, Day Two!

Without trying to be too demanding, just a reminder that Song of the Balaika is now available on Amazon! Other platforms coming soon. (Which is why the party is extended.)

Welcome back. I’m dressed in this lovely Kate Spade, greeting you at the door with a tray of hors d’oeuvre and cocktails. Tonight I’ve opened another bottle of Veuve Cliquot, one of my favorite champagnes. And if you’re 18 or over, here’s another particularly hot excerpt from the book. Please open with only an asbestos mouse. In honor of the book’s Peter Kirov and his Russian ancestry, we’re having Russian Osetra caviar served on a little creme fraiche and blini, across a little savory custard served in an egg shell (very dramatic presentation, I must say), and possibly used in other creative ways with no embellishment.

Fifty Shades and Women’s Sexuality “Manifesto”

Fifty Shades CoverAs a women’s health and sexuality educator, I spend lots of time working with women on how to be more assertive sexually. Communication skills are important when telling a partner what you want. No beating around the bush (unless that turns you on). No assuming he/she knows what it is that makes you aroused. Saying it isn’t easy, but once you get the hang of it, you’re in much better shape.

When Fifty Shades of Gray made it big, there was a plethora of essays by female writers I respect (I won’t name names because I’m commenting in general) about how the female curiosity about and interest in being submissive to a partner as a sexual practice meant that we’re all willing to return to the bad old barefoot and pregnant and “lie back and think of England”* days. Why is it, then, that many powerful men enjoy being dominated. Is there something about that surrender to surprise and enjoyment of the link between pain and pleasure that appeals to both genders? Of course there is, but why should we be ashamed of it while men are just “exploring,” even those who return to their day-to-day work dominating others.

Are there some practices that some women embrace that trouble me? Sure. (More about that later.) But as human beings we more often than not embrace a range of sexual feelings about all kinds of things we never thought we’d be into. And that’s okay. As long as our sexuality takes place in a safe, consensual space, we have nothing to be ashamed of. And it’s about time.

The Story Behind the Balalaika

BalalaikaPeter Kirov enters Cilla Asher’s life at a moment she is at a turning point. His turning point came two years before, when his lover Katrina disappeared and he spent months trying in vain to find her.

Peter spends his nights on work to stop the continual playing out in his mind of the agony of losing Katrina, and while he works he listens to the music of the balalaika.

What does the music of the balalaika sound like? If you’ve ever seen the movie Dr. Zhivago, you’ve heard it playing in the background. It provides for Peter the soundtrack to his sorrow.

Cilla’s challenge: if she decides that her relationship with Peter has a future, she must break through the haunting caused by his lost love.