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Some Like It In Handcuffs by Christine Warner
Genre: Light-hearted romantic suspense with humor
Publication Date: March 20, 2012
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Sunny Kennedy, the only female in a family of blue blood male detectives, is determined to prove testosterone isn't the only qualification required to solve a cold case. Handcuffed while undercover then taken to the precinct by an attractive detective, her domineering family demands she work with Detective Judson Blackwolf, or she’s off the case.
Judson Blackwolf thinks women in law enforcement should work behind the scenes. The prospect of working with his Captain’s sexy daughter doesn't thrill him. He only agrees in hopes of solving the murder of his one time mentor’s daughter. Once the case is over, he’s moving to Montana to heal his wounds from the loss of his last partner.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | The Wild Rose Press

Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her husband, three children, one laptop and a much loved assortment of furry friends. Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy, heroines. A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

Where to find Christine:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Hi Christine! Welcome to Phantasmic Reads :) Thanks for taking a little time to let readers get to know you better!

You say cooking is a favorite way to spend some time. What are some of your favorite things to cook?

I love to cook the normal, everyday things like pastas, various chicken recipes and seafood…but I also like to try new recipes too. Sometimes they go over well and get added to my recipe roster and sometimes they are a one try meal. Depends on the verdict of the hubs and kids. I’m not a picky eater, so I like to try cooking just about anything J

Tell us a little about your 'furry friends'. Do you have any pictures you'd like to share?

I have 2 golden retrievers. The oldest one is Tess and she’s the sweetest girl ever. Very affectionate. Then there is Libby who is about 3 years younger than Tess, putting her about age 7. We believe she is part chicken because she is afraid of everything, even though she’s huge. LOL She’s even afraid of plastic bags. The only thing she doesn't fear besides treats is a ball. She has about 20 of them.

We also have 2 cats. Chocolate is about 17 and my shadow, and then there is Smoky who believes he’s a dog and hangs with the big girls. At the moment I don’t have any pics I can share because I’m having issues with my laptop and that’s where all my pics are stored. UGH L

What's the strangest thing you've seen while people watching?

I hate to say it, but I can’t think of anything. I do like to people watch though because it gives me some interesting character quirks that I can use when writing. I also take note of facial expressions and reactions to use while writing.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

I write in my living room even though I have a cozy office. I find that I like all the windows and the sunlight. My view is a nice inspiration. I’m also more productive in the morning. As the day goes on and I tire out, my brain doesn't seem to stay on track when I’m writing. lol

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know if it’s interesting, but I do like to write when it’s totally quiet. No noise at all—well, except for the snores of my dogs and purrs of my cats J

What are your pet peeves?

LOL…I like the toilet paper to be put on the roll so that the toilet paper hangs over, not under. I will take it off and redo it if it’s not put on that way. That’s basically about it…besides people putting away something when they are done using it.

What's your guilty pleasure?

Dove chocolate…or anything chocolate. lol

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I love to read, cook, watch movies, walk in nice weather and just hang out with my family and friends.

Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

Not that I can think…geesh, how boring am I? lol

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

I like them all J

What are you currently reading, or what did you recently finish?

I just finished In The Still of the Night…a true crime story by my favorite true crime author Ann Rule.

Are you a person who makes their bed in the morning, or do you not see much point?

LOL…I admit I don’t see much point. I do it the lazy way. I straighten up the bed in the morning but only make it “perfectly” after I launder the sheets.

What are three things you never leave the house without?

My purse, my cell and a notebook with pen in case I think up a plot, character name, or a scene in a current wip. (oops…I guess that darn pen made it 4 things.) lol

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

I wish I could say I was a PI or had 4 over-protective brothers, but I don’t. Some of the characteristics of some of the characters are from people I know (including myself), but most everything is my imagination.

Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

I just love Sunny Kennedy the heroine. I love her sass and spunk and her naivety. She’s a person who I could see as a friend in real life.

How about your least favorite character? What makes them less appealing to you?

I actually liked all my characters. Not that I’d want them all in my life if they were real, but I can understand why each one is the way that they are. Life wasn’t always fair to them, so I can sympathize with them and understand them all J

Which character speaks the loudest, to you? Do any of them clamor to be heard over the others?

Definitely Sunny spoke the loudest. LOL Although I have to admit I got along well with Judson. He liked his humor toward Sunny.

What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I’m always drawn to contemporary romances. I can’t name specific titles because I have so many authors and titles I adore. As for reading time, I used to devour a few books a week, but that isn’t the case anymore. I do always carry a book with me and sneak in some reading time when I can J I alter my reading tastes between romance and true crime.

If a fairy godmother told you could be put into the world of your favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?

I’m going to be selfish and ask to go into my upcoming release with Entangled Publishing titled Bachelor’s Special which releases in June. I’d love to be the main character Jill. Not only is she a chef, but I just love her personality and the way she handles herself. Plus, I’m sure I’d love to get the chance to cozy up to her hero Chet. YUM!!

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?

First off I’d choose true crime author Ann Rule. I love her books and have read each one. She’s had an interesting and long career and I know we’d have an amazing conversation. Then I’d love to meet Jennifer Probst. I recently read her book The Marriage Bargain and loved it. Her characters were so fun and I can’t wait to read her other books. I’d also love to meet Lori Wilde. Again, I have read several of her books, I’ve talked with her on facebook, and I truly respect her.

How do you get past writer’s block or distractions like the internet?

I don’t believe in writer’s block. I think there are days or times words just flow and other times they don’t. As for avoiding distractions like the internet…that is a tough one. I basically just have to kick my own butt off line. Lol Again, some days it’s harder than others. lol

Favorite book from childhood?

The first book my mom bought me and that I read was THE KITTEN TWINS...I still have it. Torn and tattered it’s a happy memory for me J

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

A better question is do I ever write in anything but my pj’s? lol I actually am a total comfort girl and wear scrubs and a tshirt when I’m home most of the time. They aren’t really my pajamas, but close enough J

Name a place you'd love to visit someday?

Any of the Hawaiian islands.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?

Read, read, read and you’ll only improve your own writing by seeing how other authors handle certain situations and scenes.

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my books J I hope that they always leave you with a smile on your face J

Have you ever gone out in public with your shirt on backwards, or your slippers on, and when realizing it, just said screw it?

I live in a small town and had to run to the post office one morning. I ran out the door wearing my scrubs and tshirt and my slippers. Lol I noticed it when I was halfway there and basically said…who cares? We all lived to see another day, so it’s good J

Speed Round:

The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less:

The last thing PI Sunny Kennedy wants is another man telling her what to do, until she meets sexy detective Judson Blackwolf while working a cold case.

Pen or pencil?

Pen

Milk, white, or dark chocolate?

Milk

Dogs or cats?

Can’t pick…love them both. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats J

Pie or cake?

Cake

Plotter or pantser?

Plotter

Coffee or tea?

Tea

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

The ability to move at lightening speed. Think how quick I’d do housework and then I could get down to writing J

Thanks again for visiting with us, Christine. It was great to have you! Lots of luck with your current and future books!

And thank you for having me…I had a great time!

What would you do if the world as you know it ended in an instant?
How far would you go to survive?

Cassidy Hart is your typical High School graduate: A little shy, a little sarcastic, and a little naive. But when an electromagnetic pulse takes down the United States, she's forced to kick into full survival mode when she gets separated from her father.
Yeah. Things suck.
But with the help of a handsome soldier named Chris, she just might find her dad without getting into serious trouble.
Emphasis on might.
Oh. And there's the matter of avoiding getting killed in a world that's quickly turned into an active war zone.
It's going to change Cassidy's life.
It's going to be a major pain in the butt.

State of Emergency on Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

Excerpt {Prologue}
I don’t know how it happened. Nobody does. There are only theories, empty rhetoric and doomsday prophecies. None of them are right, but none of them are completely wrong, either. They all have a grain of truth. All I know is where I was and what I was doing when it happened.

The day had started out like every other day of my life. I hit the snooze button on my alarm about five times before dragging myself out of bed. I combed back my unruly red hair, threw on some clothes, and went into the kitchen. As usual, my dad hadn’t gone to the grocery store, so breakfast consisted of burnt toast and a teaspoon of olive oil.

Because fatty acids are supposed to be healthy for you.

And because there’s nothing else to eat in my house except a can of string beans from 1999.

Being nineteen, graduated from high school and unemployed, I didn’t have much to do besides surf the internet looking for interesting stories and reading my stack of books from the library. Lately I had applied for a multitude of different jobs, including a flight attendant, car washer and hotel manager. Needless to say, none of those positions panned out.

I’m more of the independent type, getting paid by my dad to help him out with his job as a private detective. He’s been letting me poke around in his cases since I was a freshman in high school. I’m good at it, too. Criminal justice, that is. I even wanted a degree in it, but since I’m flat busted broke and stuck in a two-bedroom home with an empty refrigerator, my options are kind of slim.

Anyway, after I looked for a few jobs online, I closed my laptop and started cleaning the house. My dad and I lived in a small house in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles. Culver City, to be exact. It’s about ten minutes away from Hollywood. The land of spray-on tans and yoga classes.

It’s a nice place to live as long as you don’t drive about five miles in the opposite direction. In that case you’ll end up in the middle of a ghetto. A visit to the grocery store might end up becoming a drive-by shooting.

Unsurprisingly, I’m an introvert.

So that day, that regular, average day, turned out to be a day that not only changed my life – but everybody else’s.

It was the day technology turned on us.

It was the beginning of a major pain in the butt.

Summer Lane is the author of the YA/NA Dystopian Romance, State of Emergency. She is a freelance writer, publicist and lover of all things feline. Summer is also the author of Snappy Social Networking: How to Dominate the Blogosphere & Everything in Between.

In her spare time, Summer is the creator of the online magazine/blog, Writing Belle, in addition to being a frequent contributor at NA Alley, a website dedicated to all things New Adult.

Summer began writing when she was 13 years old, due to the fact that the long afternoons after school were somewhat boring, and writing stories seemed to make the time pass a little quicker. Since then she has written many books about jungle cats, secret agents, princesses and spaceships. She is also a non-fiction writer, but her debut novel, State of Emergency, is her favorite book yet. You can find Summer hopping around on the Internet by following her on Twitter @SummerEllenLane or swinging by Writing Belle.

Where to find Summer:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads