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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Interview and Giveaway: Invitation by Christina Hoffman


Published: April 16th, 2014

Description:

Who says Heat can't be Sweet?

Welcome to the World of Smart and Sexy -- Contemporary Romances with passion and heart.

Can the love of a good man bring you back to life? Dr. Liam Mason wants to try...

Madison Spencer is a focused medical student, concerned only with work and paying the bills. She hides her beauty and once passionate spirit behind a quiet plain Jane facade. Since she was drugged, stripped, and photographed by a vengeful ex, she has stayed away from men and kept her heart and body safe. But the loneliness is becoming more than she can bear.

When heart-stoppingly gorgeous Dr. Liam Mason walks into her world, she knows she's in trouble. The attraction is instant, but Madison expects her past to be a deal-breaker.
Instead, Liam offers to bring her back to life with passion and pleasure. No love, no commitment, just straight-up fun. Madison's sensible mind resists, but her body is willing. Together the young doctors explore days and nights of pleasure, slowly becoming much more than bedmates.

Deep inside, each wonders if they've found their perfect match. But their fears threaten to destroy the world they're building together. 

Will they each be strong enough and brave enough to risk their hearts to have it all?
Please note: this title contains adult sexual content and is not intended for readers under 18 years old.

MB's INTERVIEW
Thank you, Mrs. Christina Hoffman


Hi, Mythical Books. Thanks for having me, and for thinking up such interesting questions. Here goes…

I think I’ll just start by telling you how I got into writing this particular story, because it might at least start to answer some of your questions, and then I can be more specific after that.

I discovered the indie/self-publishing world and really wanted to dive in. I was happy to see that Romances were so popular, because that’s what I wanted to write.

I haven’t been too “in touch” with the romance scene in the last couple of years, so I was surprised to find a lot of darker and/or more erotic storylines in the top 100 (often in the top 100 overall).

I thought I had better try to write something like that, but I quickly figured out that I couldn’t. Lots of great authors are writing terrific stories in these genres, but I felt false and insincere trying to do so.

I thought I might just need to put this idea on the backburner, but then I thought, well, so what if the stories I want to write aren’t in style? I can’t give up before I even start. So, I started…

I want to write stories that have amazing, hot sex in them that could actually happen for me and for you. Lots of scenes in popular books are titillating, but after I’ve read a whole book, I feel the same way I do after I’ve watched too much TV and eaten a whole bag of twizzlers. There’s a lot of bondage right now: a lot of woman who don’t seem too bright and who are pretty keen on being subservient. More power to ‘em, but those aren’t the women I know.

We don’t date billionaires or get tied up (much). I just wanted to try an experiment, really, to see if intelligent, professional women having great sex and great love lives is something people want to read about. It could be a huge flop (!), but, as I said, I thought it was worth the chance.

Now, onto the questions…

You said: “They [the characters] live in the real world, and somehow they still believe in love.” Is the real world incompatible with the believing in love concept?
I think Romance novels are often quite distanced from “the real world”. People speak perfectly to each other; incredible coincidences and obstacles occur; everyone is either rich, or dirt poor (and about to meet a rich man). I wanted to try to write about characters who COULD live in the real world, and who manage to find love and sex that is as amazing as that we are made to believe can only occur in a very exaggerated “romance world”. I DO NOT believe that love can’t occur in the real world, but, boy it can be tough out there. It was a bigger challenge for me to try to create a love story where real life still happens. We’ll see if it’s worth reading or not, right…? 

If the female characters are smart and sexy how are your male characters?
My characters are great matches for each other. It’s another thing about my books that’s not in vogue! I have tried to express that I think EVERYONE can feel smart and sexy. I’m quite surprised at the popularity of books portraying women in less-than-flattering (and even humiliating – oh, I know, I know, it’s consensual…), roles, and the women lapping it up. I can’t explain that phenomena. It bodes badly for my stories, but what can you do? I hope you find that the men and women in my stories are ALL smart and sexy. The best sorts of conflicts and resolutions happen between partners who are both strong.

Contemporary romance literature has a lot of intimate scenes. Why do you think this “evolution” took place and when it becomes a “regression”?
I can only speak for myself here. I didn’t set out to write a romance with detailed sex scenes in it. I had the idea of a woman who had once been excited and passionate about life, but who had been brought down by something really bad. I wanted her to come back to life, and it became clear to me early on that she was going to come back to life through her senses, specifically, through the pleasure and heat of intimacy. I tried to write the story with less “heat” but it just didn’t work. How could I show readers what was happening to her mind and body without telling them about what was happening to her mind and body!!! It makes sense to me that other writers feel like this, too – modern romances (in life), DO involve intimacy and sex. It feels coy and artificial now to write a modern romance and to try to leave EVERYTHING behind a closed door on the wedding night. 


Many female characters want to try to have just fun, but they always seem to fall in love. Why so? Do you think that women are programmed this way?
No, I don’t think all women are programmed that way. I think romance READERS are programmed that way, and I had no intention of alienating them with my debut novel! Once you get into my story, though, I think you can see that Madison is actually desperately longing for connections with people. Her need for distance is simply protective. There’s a new character in my head right now who, though, is psychologically fine, and who really does just want to have some fun while she’s young. I don’t know how she’ll change through the story, or if I would have the guts to write a different kind of ending. I’ll have to see how my debts are looking! 

Can the love of a good man bring you back to life? What he will need to do?
Honestly, no. I’ve seen several of my friends loved by amazing people, and they are still wrecks. I think, when you’re ready to believe that you ARE worth something, you will actually believe it when someone you love tells you that you are special and remarkable. Love can help you bring yourself back to life if you’ve done the background work already. What is that saying? “Luck favors the prepared mind.” Let’s change it to “Love favors the ready heart.” 

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. 

Author's Giveaway
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