Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance. This week, I am pleased to introduce to you contemporary romance author Christine Warner.  Christine is a chocolate and coffee lover — a woman after my own heart.  Her interview is fun and high energy.  I hope you enjoyed her answering your questions as much as I enjoyed having her as a guest on my blog.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

First off, thank you so much for having me here today!

Hmm, a little about me. Let’s see, I live in Michigan with my family and an assortment of furry friends and a well used laptop. I love social media (way to addicting…lol), meeting new people, cooking, reading, chocolate, coffee—sometimes chocolate coffee—lol, and spending time with my family. Oh, and when forced I work about 30 hours a week for a hospital.

Tell us about your current release.

Ooh, here is where I cheat a bit. I’m going to share my blurb with you. Two-Timing the Boss is a contemporary romance and was such fun to write. I hope you enjoy the blurb.

TWO-TIMING THE BOSS BLURB:
Farah Smith is on a mission: secure the funds for her twin sister’s surgery. She’ll do whatever it takes to succeed. Even if that means putting her values aside to work for a man she finds morally bankrupt. But when the real Farah meets her new boss, she wonders if she’ll be able to resist his sexy advances long enough to help her sister.

From the blonde wig, to the stilettos strapped around her ankles, Farah’s a clone of Keller Donovan’s harem of past assistants. She can’t believe she’s let herself be talked into the disguise, let alone working for the man planning to demolish the hospital her sister so desperately needs, but the salary he offers is the only way she’ll be able to afford her sister’s surgery. The moment Farah meets Keller she realizes her most daunting task isn’t typing, spreadsheets or organizing travel arrangements, but fighting the growing attraction toward a man whose ruthlessness is legendary in the boardroom as well as the bedroom.

Determined not to end up in a disastrous marriage like his divorced parents, Keller believes all relationships should have a shelf life of sixth months or less. But when he meets Farah, all bets are off. He not only wants her to continue as his personal assistant, but his own private bed warmer. Unfortunately, his offer of an affair doesn’t sit well with her fairytale dreams or the strangled hold gripping his heart.

Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you started this story?

I come up with a lot of my story ideas while I’m driving, usually into work since it’s about a 45 minute ride in good weather and closer to an hour when the snow is falling. I was actually thinking about my sister and how lucky I was to have her in my life as a friend as well as a sister.

The idea of writing a story about sisters who would do anything for each other sprang into my head. Then I decided to up the ante and have them be twins and from there I wondered just how far one twin would go for another. And to think from all that daydreaming and pondering that little blip the storyline for Two-Timing the Boss was born.

I assume when you start a book, you pretty much have the plot laid out. Do you ever change your mind later on in the book, and go in a different direction?

LOL…all the time. I do plot out my stories with a non-binding outline and sometimes find that as I’m writing new ideas will pop into my head, or I’ll just venture off into another direction either on my own or with a little nudge from my characters.

That can happen as the characters and I are getting better acquainted through the writing process and something about them is revealed that leads the story in another direction than I had planned. I like that aspect of writing because it keeps me on my toes.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever had a great writing idea?

I don’t really think I have a strange place that an idea has struck, because I find that I get ideas all the time. There are so many things that will awaken a story in me. From a conversation with a friend, to a commercial on television, maybe a snippet of an overheard conversation, to watching people going about their daily activities.

I’ve come up with ideas while driving, talking to my husband while we’ve been on road trips, remembering something from my past…

See, I could go on forever. Lol I have a folder dedicated to story ideas, character names, lines I’d like to put in a book…all sorts of snippets and scenes.

Now if only I could find time to get all of my ideas written.

What is your preferred method of writing? (computer, pen & paper, etc.)

Generally I’m all about the computer! But there are times that I like to plot or outline on pen and paper. I’ve even written out a scene longhand, but everything eventually ends up on the computer.

The reason I think I like to write certain things out is because they bind to my memory more that way and I also find that it’s easier for me to see plot holes or issues that won’t work in the long run.

Have you always wanted to write a book?

I know that sounds cliché, but I have always wanted to write and become an author. From the moment I won a young author’s award and an essay contest in elementary school I was hooked. I carried around a notebook and wrote out short stories. One of my neighborhood friends and I used to cut squares of paper and staple them together into a makeshift book. We’d fill the pages with stories and pictures. I can still remember a few of those stories and wish I had kept them.

Of course back then I wasn’t thinking romance, but more about girls chasing frogs, bratty boys who teased girls but always got what they deserved, and a cat lady who had ocd about her lawn and the neighborhood kids. LOL

What made you take the plunge and finally do it?

My sister. I had always talked about writing a romance because I loved reading them. But then life got busy, school, boys, dating, job, more dating, marriage, kids—NO dating…lol—you know the drill. My dreams got pushed aside, but I’d talk about it all the time.

About 4 years ago, my sister gave me a huge push and I jumped in. I didn’t realize all I didn’t know and consider myself lucky to have found some amazing authors who have shared and guided along the way. The writing community is an amazing group.

Excerpt:

These damn shoes would be the death of her. She could read the headlines now: Penniless P.A. Falls to her Death while on Job Interview.
Almost to her destination, with no more mishaps, her confidence surfaced. Okay, maybe mastering this heel thing wouldn’t be such a big deal. Her steps became light, almost bouncy. Although she sensed Keller Donovan behind her, she didn’t let it deter her feeling of success. She stepped onto the large black and red area rug, less than ten feet from her target. The leather chairs.

“Oh!” Farah’s spiky heel caught on the edge of the expensive rug. Her legs shook and she shot her arms out from her sides, circling them like a bird about to take flight. She fought to regain balance inside the ridiculous stilts strapped to her feet. A brawl to the death. Over when she looked down to see the rug coming up to kiss her face. She threw out her hands, sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, scrunching her face as she prepared for impact.

But nothing happened. There were stars all right, and a blazing jolt of electricity shot from her toes, up her legs, through her body and exited with the small gasp which escaped her lips. Somehow Keller Donovan had grabbed her around the waist before she met the floor.  Heat burned her cheeks. He may have saved her body from bruises, but her ego, and whatever confidence she’d walked in with had shattered.

“Let’s not have an accident before your health benefits kick in.” His breath tickled her ear from behind. Chills hugged her backbone.  His touch released an unsettling flutter in her abdomen. She sucked in her stomach from the pressure of his strong arms wrapped around her middle, afraid to breathe.

Two-Timing the Boss as well as Some Like it in Handcuffs are both available in print and digital format at:

http://thewildrosepress.com/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

And you can find me at:

My blog/website:  http://christine-warner.com/

Twitter under ChristinesWords: https://twitter.com/#!/ChristinesWords

My Facebook page…stop by and give it a LIKE to informed of what I have in the works: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Warner/143430882396013

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5763713.Christine_Warner

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