Blog Tour & Giveaway: Take Me Break Me by Cari Silverwood

Please welcome back Cari Silverwood to My Secret Romance! Today on the blog stop, Cari will be giving us the insider scoop about TAKE ME BREAK ME. They're facts and tid bits that you wouldn't know about the book or writing process.

• Take me Break Me came about partly because I’d read quite a few capture fantasies where the man, or men, seemed to be there mostly to act as ways for the woman’s sexual fantasies to happen. So they were predators, ruthless, and very dominant, but I didn’t really feel like I could like them as people. I wouldn’t want them as my partner.

• I wanted to see if I could write a modern-day story where the man starts out as a good guy, and yet he forces the woman to do things she might not consent to if given a full choice. Because I wanted to understand him, I ended up writing more than half of it in his point of view. I wasn’t sure I could pull this off, but I think I may have gone close. Klaus, to me, is not a monster. He’s a man discovering his true self in a rather abrupt and forced way.

• I think this story could be sub-titled, Evolution of a Sadist. Klaus is a sadist as well as dominant. I toyed with putting that on the cover. 

• Originally, I planned to have multiple endings, as I could see them when I began writing. But, as I developed the character of Klaus, I came to love him so much, to understand him,  that I ended up with only the option I chose and wrote. I had darker ideas, but he just no longer fitted them. 

• This story is set on Magnetic Island, off the coast of Australia. The town on the mainland, that they travel to, is called Townsville, but it’s such a boring name (sorry Townsville!) that I deliberately did not use it. By the way, it’s named after the explorer who discovered the area – Robert Towns. I also did not bother to get too precise about the setting as I would rather it be a little off center and surreal. I don’t want it to match reality.

• The bamboo cane that Klaus uses is not really recommended for caning as it can split. However, some people do use it. Possibly green bamboo is safer, and that’s what Klaus uses. Dry bamboo, if it splits, can cause skin lacerations.

• Though I planned this to be a story that skirts dubious consent, so far I’ve been surprised at how romantic readers find it. I guess I’m not that hardcore. I find it difficult to write a story where the man is truly unsympathetic  to the reader and unappealing to me – even though I do read those types of stories.

• The ending was actually difficult for me to get right. I thought it would be the easiest part but once I got there I couldn’t see how to do it. Many of my beta readers told me it was too short, and I knew they were right, but it still took several tries to be satisfied with it. At first it was too short, then it was too ‘vanilla’. I mean this was a story about a sadistic Dom and yet the ending I first had was merely kissing.  I added several thousand words before I was happy with how Klaus and Jodie ended up.

• Top drop, as detailed in the story, does seem to happen, and I’m not surprised that it does, yet experienced Doms may not have heard of it. Google it to find some references to the problem.

 

 But here is where I read about it - http://sirstompsalot.com/2011/10/20/top-drop/

• When I began this story, I put an excerpt on facebook and I was astounded at how much it appealed to women. When my beta readers read the book that was the part several of them picked as ‘perfect’. Somehow I managed to pick exactly the right excerpt. If you’re curious, when you read the book, it’s the part where Klaus first uses the spider gag. And here is the link on facebook to that excerpt - http://www.facebook.com/cari.silverwood/posts/406428382765329

• The blurb has changed since then.

• Last of all, the cover. Lol

 

If you were in the Erotic group of Australian authors on facebook, you’d have seen all the covers I tried to do myself. Some weren’t too awful, but many were. I ended up getting Thomas Dorman to make the one that’s the final version and I’m so glad I did. He’s an award-winning film producer who is diversifying into book covers. Think of him if you’re looking for a cover. I’m more than happy to declare him bloody brilliant, as we Aussies say.  He’s on facebook as Dr. Benway and Thomas Dorman.



Blog Tour Schedule:
3/7/2013
 Herding Cats & Burning Soup
Sugar and Spice Book Reviews
Ezrabet's Enchancements
The Muse Unleashed

3/8/2013
What's On the Bookshelf
Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Passionate About Books
Book Bitches Blog

3/11/2013
Queen of the Night Reviews
My Secret Romance
Smardy Pants Book Blog
Love N. Books

3/12/2013
Harlie's Books
Sultry Storyteller
The Risque Redhead Reads
Flirting With Romance

3/13/2013
A Little Fiction of Every Flavour
Way Too Hot Books
Tattooed Book Review
Sunset Reader Reviews

3/14/2013
Romance Book Craze
Hesperia Loves Books
Italian Brat's Obsessions
Momma's Books

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