Meet Author Nan Reinhardt
This month, I am thrilled to introduce you to a wonderful romance writer whom I’ve been following for more than ten years. Nan Reinhardt writes romantic fiction for women in their prime. As she observes, “Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after they turn forty-five! Imagine!” Nan is also a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!), and a member of Herman’s Hermits.
Note that there are no grammar tidbits this month because I don’t want to lose a word of Nan’s interview!
She and I talked about her new book for Tule Publishing (see the summary at the end of the newsletter), her writing process, and other fun stuff.
Q: In one sentence, how would you describe Home to River’s Edge? And when does it launch?
A: Home to River’s Edge is a story about having the rug pulled out from under what you believed was your perfect life and having to figure it out all over again. The book launches April 18, and I’m so excited!
Q: Tell us about the River’s Edge series: Where did the idea come from to set the first series, Four Irish Brothers Winery, in this town, and how has it grown into three more series?
A: Right off, I’ve always been crazy about Madison, Indiana—the little town that inspired River’s Edge. It’s so friendly and the Ohio River just teems with life and stories. So when Tule Publishing asked me if I wanted to write a brothers series for them, I immediately imagined my brothers there. Thankfully, Tule had no issue with setting a winery in southern Indiana instead of California. River’s Edge, my Flaherty brothers, and their winery were born. After the four brothers’ stories were told, readers sort of clamored for more stories from River’s Edge, so some of the secondary characters from the Flaherty brothers books came to life … and so it goes. ;-) I’ll stay in River’s Edge as long as readers and Tule want me to. I love it there!
Q: You had mentioned in your blog that you were surprised that writing about the Weaver sisters was more difficult than writing earlier books with brothers as the main characters. Why do you think that is, and what did you to do get past that?
A: I’m not sure why it was harder … maybe because I’d imagined that writing the sisters would be cake since I have sisters, but my own relationship with my sisters, although helpful, wasn’t the same as for the Weaver triplets. They had a unique bond because they shared a womb, and that was a trickier connection to create than I’d thought it would be. I read a lot about triplets and multiples and what makes their relationships different from other sibling relationships. I think finally by book 3, I figured out that it was okay for the connection between them to be a little mystical and that was an okay element to add to this series. Make sense?
Q: When was your first romance novel published, and how has your writing changed since then?
A: My first novel, Rule Number One, was published in 2012, and wow, I really hope my writing has matured and my storytelling has become tighter and more creative. I’ve learned so much as both a writer and editor in the ensuing years from simple things like point-of view (POV) switches to more involved concepts like conflict and character arcs. I learn every day and if I ever stop learning, that might mean I’m done writing.
Q: Because you have “another life” as an editor, does that affect your writing? Do you find yourself editing as you write?
A: Editor Nan and Author Nan are inextricably linked—I don’t know how to keep them from crossing paths, so I quit trying several years ago. I’m harder on myself as an editor than I am on any of the authors I work with. I do edit as I go, although the last couple of books, I’ve tried not to do that so much and just write the first draft straight through and then worry about editing. I do find that I have to read what I wrote the day before in order to get into the day’s writing, and yeah, I edit some when I do that. It’s inevitable, don’t you think?
Fun Q: If you had the time and skill to add another totally different occupation to your life, what would you like to do?
A: I wish I had the skill to sketch and do water colors so I could illustrate children’s books—sadly, I do not. I’d love to be a travel writer, but I’m not enough of a traveler to do that either. And I’ve always thought it would be fun to be a bartender in a fun bar someplace warm.
Q: Anything else you want to add?
A: I’d sure love it if folks stopped by my blog—Sundays I write the Sunday Snippet, which is usually just life stuff—what I’ve been up to, random thoughts about life and its many mysteries, sometimes book promotion, always some fun pictures from the week. Wednesdays and Thursdays, I get to highlight other authors with my Author Spotlight blogs. That’s such a treat! I’ve found so many great books that way. All that fun and frivolity is at www.nanreinhardt.com.
When Jasmine Weaver, the chief of staff to a powerful D.C. congresswoman, chose integrity, she didn’t anticipate ringing in the New Year disgraced, unemployed, and sleeping in her childhood bedroom. Now back in River’s Edge, Indiana, identical triplet Jazz has her sisters’ support while she plans her next steps. She agrees to lead the committee for their high school’s fifteenth reunion, never dreaming that her co-chair is the man who broke her teenage heart.
As the new CEO of Walker Construction, Elias Walker has taken the family business to new levels of success. He’s buried himself in work to ease the grief of losing his fiancé several years earlier and wants nothing more than to be a carpenter again. Elias grudgingly agrees to co-chair the high school’s reunion committee, but when Jazz Weaver blows into town, suddenly anything seems possible.
These high school sweethearts have lived half their lives apart. Can they reinvent themselves back in the town where it all began?