Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.
Hi, Fiona, nice to meet you. Thanks for having me on your blog today.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?
I’m Nan Reinhardt and I am ageless—deliciously, wonderfully ageless. 😉
Fiona: Where are you from?
I’m from Indiana.
Fiona: A little about yourself (i.e., your education, family life, etc.).
I was raised by a single mom, along with 2 sisters and 1 brother. I went to Purdue University. Now, I’m an empty-nester, living with my husband of 46 years, enjoying our sweet Grandboy and his parents every chance we get.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
Wow, well, right now, we’re preparing to put our home of 36 years on the market—downsizing and in the midst of that, I’m still working pretty much full time as a freelance copy editor, and I’m writing my third novel for Tule Publishing. It’s the third book in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing since I was about ten years old, but writing to publish began in 2009.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve always thought of myself as a writer, but I first considered myself an author after I was offered a 4-book contract with Tule Publishing. Silly really because I had published 5 books before that happened, but I guess it’s all in how we perceive success.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book was Once More From the Top and the inspiration was a 5-minute scene in a very obscure movie from the seventies called If Ever I See You Again.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
My editor and I brainstormed the title—it’s about a symphony conductor and concert pianist who get a second chance at love, so…
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
I’m not sure I’d call it a style really—I’m wordy, so I usually have to rein myself in and that can be a challenge. Writing contemporary romance is such a wide-open genre so the challenge may be in finding where you fall on the spectrum from sweet to heat. I lean toward sweet.
Fiona: How much of the book is realisticand are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I think there’s a little bit of me in every book I write. Certainly the places I love show up in my books, like Michigan and southern Indiana. I’m into wine and so are my characters, some of characters share personality traits with people I know and love.
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
When I wrote the first Women of Willow Bay book, I took a couple of trips to Frankfort, MI because that was the little town on Lake Michigan that was the inspiration for Willow Bay. Just as I was beginning the first Four Irish Brother Winery book, I went down to southern Indiana to scope out wineries and little towns along the Ohio River.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Lani Diane Rich of Chipperish Media designed the Women of Willow Bay books; Lee Hyat did the cover for the Tule book A Small Town Christmas. I love my covers!
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Love never ages.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
I have so many, it’s hard to name just one—romance writers, I love Liz Flaherty’s voice—she’s writes such gorgeous prose. As a kid, I grew up on Indiana author, Gene Stratton-Porter and LM Montgomery’s Anne series—I still go back and read them. I don’t really have a favorite author—I just love to read!
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
My friend Dee, who died three years ago of a dreadful cancer. She always believed in me.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Yes, but it’s taken me a long time to get to that point.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
The one that’s in copyedits right now? Oh, probably, but at some point, you have to step away from the keyboard and just release the book to your editor.
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
I learned a lot more about wine and winemaking. Doing the Four Irish Brothers Winery series for Tule Publishing has made me into a quite a researcher.
Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
The latest one that’s due out in July? I sorta think Michael Fassbender would make a great Sean Flaherty and Elisha Cuthbert as Megan—she’s got a great smile.
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
Just do it. Write, write, write. Writers write, so if you want to be a writer, write as often as you can.
Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Enjoy!
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
The Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod and Taking Love in Stride by Donna Fasano
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
No. Probably The Bobbsey Twins? But I remember when my mom gave me the Anne books—that’s when I fell in love with reading—I was about 7 or 8, I think.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
My Grandboy and my Son and Husband can make me laugh with just a look. I cry so easily—just about anything can make me cry. Last time was when I was doing an edit for a client—her book got me. My mom used to say the women in my family have their tear ducts connected to their bladders. We all cry at the drop of a hat.
Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
I’d love to meet Michelle Obama and have coffee with her. I think she’s fascinating.
Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?
I knit to relax, and I swim and boat in the summer when we go to our lake cottage.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
I’m not big on TV, although I love Netflix and binge-watching old series like Gilmore Girls or The West Wing. I love rom-coms and great movies about strong women.
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
Food—salads and fresh fruit always, pizza, chocolate, wine. Colors—yellow. Music—Big Band, anything from the Great American Songbook and anything from when I was a teenager, so the Beatles, James Taylor, Carole King…you get the picture.
Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?
I can’t imagine that. Read, I guess…take trips with my buddy, Liz, although we do writing trips together a couple of times a year now, so…
Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?
With my Husband, Kids, and Grandboy.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?
She told a good story.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events, and special offers?
Yup: www.nanreinhardt.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt
Twitter: @NanReinhardt
Book Links:
A Small Town Christmas, book 1 in Four Irish Brothers Winery series
Amazon Authors page USA https://www.amazon.com/Nan-Reinhardt/e/B007OYDC6O/
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nan-Reinhardt/e/B007OYDC6O/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1553298846&sr=1-2-ent
Bio for Nan Reinhardt
Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, Kensington Books, HarperCollins, Tule Publishing, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.
Although she loves her life as an editor, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. 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. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! Her latest novel, A Small Town Christmas,which is the first book in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series from Tule Publishing, is available at all book retailers.
Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly. Nan also blogs everythirdTuesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with five other romance authors and is a frequent contributor the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and she contributes to the Women Writers, Women’s Books blog.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt
Twitter: @NanReinhardt
Talk to Nan at: nan@nanreinhardt.com
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Oh, that was a very nice interview. I like Nan’s optimism and sense of humour.
I really liked that her message is that “Love never ages” and the latest book protagonist seems to be older than 45 years old. I am sure a lot of women enjoy finding characters they can relate and a sweet romance novel might be perfect.
The distinction between being a writer and being an author also got my interest, I hadn’t thought of it in that way.
Great interview, ladies!
Everyone seems to have a different view of when to call themselves a writer or an author. While having a contract was important to me (self-doubts maybe), I think the creation and completion of the story defines the boundary. Of course, I’m not sure how well that describes non-fiction authors. Perhaps a thought for another time. Best of luck to you.