Choc Lit Easter Bunny Blog Tour

Sophie’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday. 
Sophie Green’s an ex-spy, or trying to be. You wouldn’t believe the trouble she’s in. An MI5 officer has been shot with her gun, her fingerprints all over his office. And no, she didn’t kill him.
But she has gone on the run.
Now Sophie’s desperately seeking whoever’s trying to frame and kill her. She’s being forced to work with the least trustworthy man in Europe, MI5 is following her every move, and she’s had to leave the tall, blond, god of a man she loves behind.
Luke Sharpe works for MI6. Or did, until his girlfriend became a murder suspect.
Doing nothing wasn’t an option, so he started investigating. Who cares if it means jeopardising his career ? Sophie’s everything he used to say he never wanted. Young, irresponsible, bright and mad. Now she’s just everything – and she has to live.
She will live, won’t she?

Welcome to the Nut Press, Sophie Green! Run Rabbit Run is the first of your books to be published in the UK but is the fifth Sophie Green adventure.

You sound like a girl who gets herself into a lot of scrapes and dangerous situations. What made you decide to become a spy in the first place, and how long have you been one for?
Well, it was only about a year. As for the why…er, well no one’s really worked that out, least of all me. My previous job involved working terrible hours for an airline. Badly paid, boring, and the rest of my life stretched ahead of me with the same badly paid boredom. When Luke recruited me…well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. As for why he chose me…the current theory is that he wanted to sleep with me.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your past adventures? 
There’s not a lot to tell. Up until Luke recruited me I did absolutely nothing of consequence with my life. I followed my first boyfriend to university, where he cheated on me, and I quit and got the airport job. Then one day, I crossed paths with a wanted criminal, and Luke showed up, and, er, I may have ended up travelling down the baggage belt to catch the guy. And somehow, this convinced Luke I should be a spy.
The first case I got involved in was an inside job: one of my colleagues had teamed up with a madman who blew planes up. Being that the only training I ever had was how to walk in high heels and barely know which end of the gun is which, it was a bit of a wild ride.

For those reading about you for the first time, do we need to have read about any or all of your previous outings?
I shouldn’t think so. All you need to know is that I’m probably the worst spy the British Service has ever seen, that I have a really hot boyfriend and that I’ll make your sarcast-o-meter bounce off the scale. But, you know, if you want to read about my adventures, you could start with I, Spy?

You look in terrific shape on the cover of Run Rabbit Run. How do you manage to look so good in the profession you’re in?
Aw, thanks. Er, my exercise regime could be thus summarised: wear high heels, get chased by criminals, and never do any exercise except that which requires two people and a bed.

Aren’t you worried about your adventures being made public record by Kate? Is there anything that you won’t let her include in the Sophie Green mysteries?
Yeah, she doesn’t get all the details of my sex life!

You’re now an ex-spy, or trying to be an ex-spy? What’s made you decide to leave that world?
It’s a bit embarrassing actually. I got fired. Basically, as I said, I was rubbish at it. Well, I mean I tracked down the bad guys and everything, but I have a slight habit of leaving a trail of burning buildings, exploded cars, and dead bodies behind. It was kind of a lot for the Service to clear up, not to mention expensive. I’m a PR disaster. So when they started cutting back…I got cut. To be honest, it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. I was getting quite tired of being shot at.

What’s been your favourite part of being a spy, and what was your least favourite moment?
Well, I did get to do cool stuff, like calling in the military. And even though I’m bloody terrified of my gun, I have to admit it’s cool. And, of course, it was through my old agency, SO17, that I met Luke, and it’s probably safe to say he’s the love of my life. And he is hot. I mean HOT.
Ahem. As for the worst… well, I don’t realy like being shot. Or stabbed. Or burned. Or set upon by a hive of bees. (Yeah. That happened once. Did I mention my life is really weird?)

Your boyfriend, Luke Sharpe, is in MI6. How would you describe him, and is it difficult maintaining a relationship when you both work in the intelligence services?
Is it difficult…? Honey, you have no idea. People like Luke don’t have relationships. I mean seriously, I think I’m the first actual girlfriend he’s ever had. He’s about as comfortable having emotions as most people are having stomach flu. Probably that’s because he had a very posh, rich upbringing that was entirely devoid of actual affection. In fact, having met some of his family, I have to say he’s surprisingly normal. Of course, he’s got used to using his looks as a sort of commodity, the way you might use a skill with languages or music. He really is gorgeous. Tall and blond and lean and… oh my. Is it hot in here? But he’s also very, very clever, cool in a crisis, and while he can sometimes be a bit cold, he can also be unexpectedly kind when you really need him.

I understand that you already have a special man in your life but any fantasy men out there who you’d like to volunteer your services to as their protection detail?
Luke knows he’s always second in my heart to Spike from Buffy, and that should Johnny Depp turn up at my door, especially in Captain Jack Sparrow guise, then I’d be off in a flash.
He also knows that I have my own real-life protection detail, albeit one I never asked for. My best friend’s husband Harvey is most women’s idea of a fantasy: handsome, smart, funny and a great kisser (it was before he met her, all right?). And then there’s Docherty, who looks like a vampire with a hangover and has a mysterious attachment to me that manifests itself by showing off in flashy cars and repeatedly saving my life. Needless to say, while Luke is quite happy about the life-saving part, he’s madly jealous of Docherty’s role in my life. It’s quite sweet, really.

And finally, if you’re leaving the service, what’s next for you? Will there be more Sophie Green mysteries, or will you be retiring and settling down with Luke?
Settle down? Don’t scare me like that! The only think Luke has ever made an overt emotional commitment to is his gun. Settling down…no, I don’t think it’s for either of us, regardless of how much we love each other.
I’d like to say I’d get a normal job where I don’t get shot at, but even when I worked in a bookshop—a freaking bookshop!–I still ended up framed for murder, so I dunno, I think trouble just follows me. So yeah, there will probably be more adventures, whether or not I want them!

Thanks for visiting, Sophie, and all the best of luck with your latest adventure, Run Rabbit Run, which you can pre-order in paperback but is out now for Kindle at Amazon UK or Amazon.com. 

Kate Johnson lives behind a keyboard in Essex and belongs to a small pride of cats. She likes wine, shoes and dying her hair, can be found online most days talking about these things, or about how much she fancies Richard Armitage. Her first book with Choc Lit, The Untied Kingdom, is shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year 2012. You can find Kate online at her Author Website and on Twitter @k8johnsonauthor. You can also follow Sophie on her adventures on Twitter @TheSophieGreen.

We have a 200g Lindt chocolate bunny to give away… all you have to do to win it is to tell us what spy name or cover name you would use if you were a spy like Sophie. Squizzey’ll pick the winner on Monday 19th March 2012.