Some Like It In Handcuffs by Christine Warner

Some characters stay in your mind because they've touched you in a special way; some, you want to slap, and some you fall in love with.  I've read deeply philosophical stories, as well as completely far fetched plots, all in the quest of a special character.  A feisty, pain in the butt, gorgeous blonde?  Yup, done for there.  Sunny Kennedy is not a damsel in distress, but I couldn't help wanting to be her hero, and save her from herself.  Her vulnerability, veiled under a thin veneer of courage and determination, born of a chip on her shoulder, drew me in.  To this day, I can't speak her name without sighing.

Christine Warner's novel restored my faith in romances because of its originality.  No cookie cutter conflicts here, just a man and a woman in a collision course, heart to heart.   

The title is very suggestive.  What made you decide on it?

CW: Actually, I came up with the title first and created my story around it. I know that sounds odd, but for some reason that’s how this story works for me. Those five words SOME LIKE IT IN HANDCUFFS popped into my head and I knew instantly I wanted the story to feature a spunky, determined heroine named Sunny who was the only sister in a family of all male lawmen, and just happened to get paired up with a hotalicious detective named Judson.

Hotalicious... I'm sure that'll grab the ladies' attention, but since this is my blog, and I'm male, I'm going to steer the conversation to Sunny Kennedy.  She takes the sobriquet "Tough Cookie" to a whole new level.  Is there a real Sunny?

CW: If there is I’d love to meet her, lol. I chose personality traits from several people I know and by throwing a little bit of myself into Sunny. I always try and put myself into my characters' heads and use reactions I might have to certain situations. I also find that listening to others has helped me learn feelings or reactions from things I’ve never experienced. Hopefully those make my stories stronger and more interesting and make my characters more three dimensional. 

Writing is a continuous circle of learning and improving. I feel like each story I write is stronger and my characterization is more pronounced.

You're right.  Writing improves the more you do it, but you did a great job with your debut novel.  Where does the realism in the scenes involving Sunny's brothers come from?

CW: I have a brother—just one, not four like Sunny…lol—and we have a wonderfully playful relationship. We like to tease each other and joke around but our sense of family and love is very strong. He, my sister, and I are all very close and protective of one another so I drew from those experiences.

Now, Sunny does have a more tug-of-war relationship with her brother Derek, and I basically had him treat her like he’d treat a daughter, which of course she resented. She wanted all of her brothers to see her as an adult instead of the little girl they remembered. Their relationship was just something that came into my head and I used my imagination to fuel their fired words. I do believe that their closeness does show even through their tense words.  

The tension between Sunny and Judson produces one of the steamiest love scenes I've read in a long, long time.  What's the secret to creating that kind of heat? 

CW: Thanks Javier, I'm glad you thought their love scene was steamy. I don't think I have a secret, I just write from my heart and try and stay true to my characters in what I'd think they'd do or say. I like humor and I tried to incorporate a little playfulness into the bedroom scene without getting too carried away. I wanted to leave something to the imagination of the reader as well. 

Love scenes in any genre walk a fine line between allure and repulsion, and it's good to leave some things to the readers' imagination.  I'd tell you what I imagined, but that would be an entirely different blog.  What's behind the pages of Some Like It in Handcuffs?

I love romance, so I’d go with my tagline as what’s behind the pages of Some Like it in Handcuffs: 

"One strong man.  One willful heroine.  One powerful love."

My hope is that readers can identify parts of themselves in the characters and that they not only walk away from this story with a smile on their face, but with a feeling like they’ve just met a group of friends.

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Some Like it in Handcuffs was a joy to read, a terrific ride through the emotional spectrum with a satisfying conclusion that will leave readers with a smile and a sigh for either Judson, or my favorite feisty blonde, Sunny.

   Javier A. Robayo

to learn more about Christine, visit: http://christine-warner.com/

http://thewildrosepress.com/

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