Today, I’m welcoming a new guest author to my blog, Vina Arno, with her knock-out romance (I couldn’t resist 🙂 ) IN HIS CORNER. Vina is a Lyrical Press sister and dropped by to share some fun facts about the characters from her debut release. Check ’em out:

In His Corner: 12 Fun Facts about the Characters

By Vina Arno

My debut romance, In His Corner, starts with a singular encounter in the ER between Dr. Siena Carr and Tommy Raines, an Olympic gold-medalist boxer known as the Juggernaut. Their attraction is immediate, but as it turns out, they are opposites.

She was born into a rich East Coast family, while he comes from a blue-collar West Coast family. She’s an Ivy League graduate. He’s a college dropout. She’s four years older than him. All of these make for a tempestuous romance. Below are some fun facts about them.

The Juggernaut

1. Tommy Raines, the most promising American boxer today, meets Siena Carr during a make-or-break point in his budding career—three months before a million-dollar fight, his first as a pro.

2. He’s not only a fierce boxer, he’s also a talented wrestler. His smooth wrestling maneuvers in bed drive Siena wild!

3. He’s a middleweight fighter, the same weight division as these famous champs: Jake “Raging Bull” LaMotta, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Oscar de la Hoya.

4. Although women are crazy for the Juggernaut, he has dated only one other woman aside from Siena.

5. He lives in a former warehouse the size of a mini football field. It’s the only place he could find in San Francisco big enough for an indoor boxing ring.

6. He lives with Iggy, a cream Labrador he rescued from an animal shelter. The dog is 11 years old and arthritic.

Siena Carr

1. Her parents named her after Siena, the city in Tuscany, hence her name has only one “n” as opposed to Sienna, the Anglicized and more popular spelling.

2. She has been traveling to Italy since she was eight. A self-professed lover of all things Italian, she feels spiritually connected to the country.

3. She volunteers five to eight hours a week in a clinic located in the most hardscrabble part of Oakland.

4. She’s a fashionista. She wears a Calvin Klein dress on her first date with Tommy, a red Christian Dior dress at her hospital’s fundraiser, and a Marc Jacobs ensemble at his fight in Las Vegas.

5. She loves art-house films, which Tommy fondly describes as “snoozers.” She likes films by Terence Malick, Alain Resnais, and Ingmar Bergman.

6. She’s allergic to animals, including Iggy. In spite of that, she grows to love the Labrador.

Book Excerpt:

Dr. Siena Carr dropped the clipboard on the counter and washed her hands. When she turned around, she gasped. “What are you doing?”

The Juggernaut was undressing. Before she could say another word, he was naked. A glorious sight that sent her heart racing and her face burning. Did he know that he looked like a sculpture by Michelangelo? Except for the tattoo on his right shoulder, this man was David incarnate.

She looked away abruptly, grabbing the clipboard. She didn’t even know his name! She looked at his paperwork. Tommy Raines. “Mr. Raines, please put on your clothes.”

She continued scanning his form. Occupation: boxer. Age: twenty-two. Weight: 160 pounds. Height: six feet. Blood type: O positive. No pre-existing health conditions. His temperature and blood pressure were normal. Reason for ER visit: a cut sustained from sparring.

She faced him. Thank God, he was clothed again.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I thought you’re supposed to check me out.”

Did he just say check him out? “Mr. Raines, this is an ER, not a bar. I don’t check out patients. Do you mean to say check up?”

He smiled. “Yeah, check up.”

“I’m going to take care of your cut, but I’m not doing a checkup. If you need one, you should go to your primary care doctor.”

“I don’t like doctors. I avoid hospitals and clinics as much as possible, but my cut kept bleeding even after I showered. So here I am.”

Book Blurb:

WORK OUT

No sex for almost a year could kill a guy, but when you’re the boxer known as the Juggernaut, it’s the price you pay for turning pro. Tommy’s fully dedicated to his craft, until he meets the incredibly gorgeous Dr. Siena Carr. Now he’s looking forward to taking on this prim and proper lady in a wet and wild workout…

KNOCK OUT

Siena has seen many patients come through the ER, but none as sexy as Tommy Raines. With a nasty cut over his eye, she knows he needs stitches, but after he takes off his shirt, she needs some air. With rock-hard abs and taut biceps, it’s clear this man takes care of his body. And all Siena can think about is letting him take care of hers

Purchase IN HIS CORNER from:
In His Corner by Vina Arno, published by Lyrical Press, is available at:
Amazon.com 
Barnes & Noble 
Kobo Books 
Kensington Books 
iTunes 
Google

About Vina Arno:
Vina Arno is a pen name used by Cindy Fazzi, a Philippine-born American writer who has worked as a journalist in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States. Her short stories have been published in the Snake Nation Review, Copperfield Review, and SN Review.

Read this Forbes article about Vina Arno:
3 Career Reinvention Tips From A Reporter Turned Romance Writer 

Connect with Vina Arno at the following haunts: 
Web site 
Facebook 
Goodreads 
Google+