About the Book:
Madison Spencer is a serious medical student, focused only on work and hiding her beauty and her once-passionate spirit behind a quiet plain-Jane facade. Since she was drugged, stripped, assaulted and photographed by a vengeful ex, she has stayed away from men and kept her heart and body safe.
But when heart-stoppingly gorgeous Dr. Liam Mason walks into her world, she knows she's in trouble. After finding out about her devastating past, Liam offers to bring her back to life with physical passion. Madison thinks she should be repelled, but she's intrigued and can't turn him away. Together they explore days and nights of pleasure, and slowly develop into something more than bedmates.
Deep inside they each wonder if they've found their perfect match. But with Liam's fear of being dragged down by commitment, and Madison's fear of being hurt by another man threatening to destroy the world they’ve built together, will they each be strong enough and brave enough to risk their hearts to have it all?
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Title: Invitation
Author: Christina Hoffman
Pages: 187
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON
Madison Spencer is a serious medical student, focused only on work and hiding her beauty and her once-passionate spirit behind a quiet plain-Jane facade. Since she was drugged, stripped, assaulted and photographed by a vengeful ex, she has stayed away from men and kept her heart and body safe.
But when heart-stoppingly gorgeous Dr. Liam Mason walks into her world, she knows she's in trouble. After finding out about her devastating past, Liam offers to bring her back to life with physical passion. Madison thinks she should be repelled, but she's intrigued and can't turn him away. Together they explore days and nights of pleasure, and slowly develop into something more than bedmates.
Deep inside they each wonder if they've found their perfect match. But with Liam's fear of being dragged down by commitment, and Madison's fear of being hurt by another man threatening to destroy the world they’ve built together, will they each be strong enough and brave enough to risk their hearts to have it all?
First Chapter:
I can't even blame it on the booze. There wasn't any, or at least there wasn't any for me. I was with Chloe, my bodyguard. Okay, actually she was my friend, but a really overprotective friend who knew all about what I’d been through and wanted to make sure it never happened again. So, no alcohol.
But, what she and I hadn't counted on was him being there. There I was, minding my own business, putting in my time at the Med School Social, more than ready to head home for some studying, then Chinese food and a movie. And suddenly, him.
I was inhaling when I caught sight of him, but my breath just stopped. It felt like being punched in the chest. I kept telling myself, look away, look away! But it was impossible. I was paralyzed. His beautiful face and magnificent body were magnets, and my eyes were locked on them.
I hadn't felt this kind of physical attraction since, well, ever. I had never felt like that. I had stayed away from men for two years. I was pretty much terrified of them, to tell the truth. But there he was. Unavoidable and irresistible.
I saw him in profile. Oh, that hair. Thick, almost curly, falling into his eyes. The kind of hair you need to gently push off of his face right before you kiss him. Or, the kind of hair you grab really hard right before you're about to...
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. The point I'm trying to make is that my mind very clearly recognized all the dangers ahead and was saying, “Turn around, go, get out of here! Before it's too late.” But then he turned around to look right at me. It was already too late.
We held each other's gaze a second longer than politeness required. Something inside me went click, and for the first time in almost two years, I felt young and alive, and really, really turned on. Every part of me suddenly woke up, and all the best parts started to tingle. I was breathing harder. My lips parted slightly, already begging to be kissed.
It was a little overwhelming. I was out of practice. No, actually, I had never had the kind of practice you would need to stay controlled in a situation like that. I think maybe you can have a soul mate for your mind, and also one for your body. And my body was saying “Get me over there right now!”
But I was still too afraid. I smiled a little and turned away.
I had to stay for a while, to look sociable, so I went over to the food table and stared at the snacks, which were already stale. Nothing looked very good, and my throat was too tight to eat anyway.
I was starting to formulate a plan for escaping without the other students or the teachers noticing when I felt the air move behind me, the softest caress against my bare shoulders. Then, a hand on my back, an electric shock to my body, wildly pleasurable. I gasped and spun around. Right into the arms of...
“I'm Liam.”
Liam. Right into the arms of Liam. Oh, he was even more beautiful up close. My hand rose all on its own to push that wonderful floppy hair from his face. I stopped suddenly, embarrassed, but he caught my wrist, and held my palm gently to his face. We looked at each other and knew.
“Wanna get out of here?” he asked, and of course, foolish, foolish woman that I am, I said, “Yes.”
I saw him my first day at the new hospital. I'm a medical student and had just finished the lecture part of things where we sit around learning about chemical reactions and body parts. That was over, at last, and we were moving on to seeing real live patients in the hospital.
The orientation was step one in getting us ready for our new roles. We each got a short lab coat and a tour of the locker rooms. We received our ID tag photos.
I'm not sure why I first noticed Liam.
Since the bad thing happened, I keep my head down and make eye contact with pretty much nobody. I wear my hair in a tight bun at the nape of my neck and my clothes are dull and loose. On that particular day, I was trying very hard to concentrate. I was excited to be starting work in the hospital, but I was mostly terrified. There was so much to take in and remember. My head was reeling after only two hours. The last thing on my mind was men. So, who knows why I took that second look as he walked by our group.
Well, actually I do know why. He was gorgeous. Ridiculously gorgeous. Dark wavy hair, just slightly overgrown so he looked like a happy surfer who'd tumbled out of bed. Smiling eyes. Sparkling, mischievous, movie star eyes. A little bit of stubble, likely because he had been on call all night. The rest of him looked pretty much immaculate. He wore light wool pants and a sky blue shirt. No tie, but the white lab coat made him look professional enough.
I was dedicated to maintaining my nun-like lifestyle, but, seriously, it was impossible not to look at him. Even Chloe noticed him. She looked at him, then at me. She shook her head lightly and whispered, “No”. I laughed a little because she sounded like a mom telling a toddler that she couldn't have any candy. Well, that was pretty much what was happening, so I guess Chloe nailed that.
She was absolutely right. I didn't want any trouble. Certainly not that awful, frightening feeling of falling in love. No time-consuming romance. And certainly not all the time I had lost trying to recover from the trauma of what had happened before. Even a plain old tiny heartbreak could set me back, and put me way off course in my career.
No, I didn't have the time or energy for any distractions. Nothing. Just work and school.
So I ignored the stunning resident with the black hair, and tried to focus on the tall blond giving us the orientation spiel. This was much easier because I felt no attraction to him at all. He was really handsome, too. But something about him seemed mean. Or maybe arrogant. It's hard to remember what I thought of him that first time, because the memory is so clouded with all that came after. I'll just say he was a tall, slim blond who should have caught my eye, but didn’t.
About the Author:
Christina Hoffman was born in London, England. She moved with her family throughout Canada and the US, and has finally put down her suitcase, for now, in San Francisco.
She believes that everyone has the right to feel both smart and sexy. We don't have to be one or the other! She writes stories about characters who live in the real world and who, somehow, still believe in love.
She's starting a mini-revolution. She writes sexy stories, but hasn't lost the romance from her Romances. Enough with whips -- back to lips!
She hopes you enjoy her stories and see yourself in her characters. After all, they are based on smart and sexy people, just like you.
Christina’s latest book is the contemporary romance, Invitation.
Visit her website at www.christinahoffman.com.
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW:
How did you choose the story you wrote?
That question has two answers. First, the short one. The story chose me. The theme of sex and love being something that can be, not just a lot of fun, but actually healing and vital to a person’s sense of self and well-being, just appeared.
The long version is that, while I had had this idea that I felt strongly about, I was pretty discouraged by the stories that are out there right now. Simply because they are so different from mine. I feel like the Pollyanna of sexy fiction. My sex scenes just seemed so simple and, I don’t know, “clean”? I knew it was going to be a real challenge to make the sex and intimacy intense and loving, as well as hot AND sweet.
How did you choose the title?
I was trying to find a word to convey that Madison was being offered a chance to try again, that if she was willing, she could have help bringing herself back to life. It’s a part of life that had been ruined for her, and she was being invited back in. I also liked it, because it’s my first romance book, and I’m inviting in new people to read it and hopefully really enjoy it.
How did you decide on a cover? Did you design it yourself or use a professional? However you created a cover, will you be doing it that way in the future?
The cover was a bit of an ordeal. The problems may be unique to what I call the Contemporary Romance 18+, but maybe anyone mixing genres up a bit has trouble finding a cover that can represent their story. My story is in a “Sexy” category, but my approach is that great sex can also be intensely loving. Everything I saw that was really sexy seemed dark and almost sinister. Captivating, sure, but not at all related to my story or what I was hoping to say. Anything “softer” had me worried that I was misrepresenting the book as a straight-up gentle love story and — BAM — some poor reader was going to be indignant when the clothes came off!!
I knew it had to look professional so I found a pretty expensive designer. The covers on the website were amazing. But when I got my cover drafts back from them, they were really bad. Very basic and cheap-looking, and none of my thoughts or ideas had even been looked at. In the end I was fortunate, because they gave me my money back and I was able start over.
For take 2, I found a pre made cover on another designer’s website that was almost what I had in mind. Then she and I went back and forth a few times making it really work for this story. She was fabulous and put up with me admirably.
Can you summarize your book in 140 characters or less (tweet size!)
Terrible past. Intelligent, brave lonely woman. Gorgeous, sexy man with secret sweet side. Wonderful partner + great sex = coming back to life.
What did you learn while writing your book? What surprised you?
In terms of the writing of the story, the villain character Owen, was surprising. I had envisioned him as a typically sleazy arrogant guy, but he turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work. The darkness of that episode seemed to come out of nowhere, but once it was written, it felt really right for the journey Madison is on.
How much literary license do you use in your stories? Do you use fictional locations?
I used Seattle because I know the city, and I know the climate (!) The dreariness of those bone-chilling damp winters worked well for where Madison was at in her life. I made up the hospital and the University campus, because it didn’t need to be one particular place in order to tell the story. I took parts of different places to suit my story.
What is your favorite time of the year and why? Did you incorporate that into your story?
I am a summer baby and always will be. I am like one of those flowers that turns during the day to stet face the sun! It is not summer in the book, though there are a couple of scenes depicting summer. I love the way bodies feel warm, languid and relaxed in the sun. If there is a sequel, it will take place in the summer, and I’ll really enjoy writing around that.
What do you feel is the best personal quality you bring to your writing?
I don’t know yet. For me, the world of writing seems new and, at this point, I’m sort of going against some conventions that say emphasize this, say that, act like this, give them that. I tried to have a bit of a sexy persona going on at first, but I couldn’t pull it off. Even though this is new territory, I think most of my real self has ended up coming out. So, whether that will prove to be a good quality or not is yet to be seen.
What type of movies do you like? Who is your favourite actor?
The kind of movie I like depends on my mood. I’m a drama person a lot of the time, maybe a bit too serious for my own good. I love comedies, and there is truly nothing better than a beautiful, sincere romance (which it may be the hardest thing to pull off).
My favorite actor was Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was a true artist and a beautiful person. I’m not sure he can be replaced. I’m probably going to be putting him as my “favourite actor” for a long, long, time.
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