Michigan can be brutal in the winter. Especially these past two winters. For example, it's snowing outside right now.  Little fluttery flakes that won't stay on the ground but that make the gray seem grayer and the cold more chill. It's Spring! Easter is next week! Sigh.

Here's a recent picture of the sun rising over my snow/ice lawn.


Thankfully, two of my best-est writing pals now have homes in warmer climes. My muse and I packed our bags last week and headed for a writer's retreat in Florida with Liz Kelly, Mara Jacobs and Colleen Gleason. 
Life is good. No wonder I write happy endings!

Mention the Big House in Ann Arbor and everyone here knows you’re talking about the University of Michigan football stadium (we’re big on football in this town). On New Year’s Day, however, the Big House hosted the Winter Classic – an outdoor hockey match between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  That meant our town was full of Canadian and Detroit hockey fans (both groups love their brew) on New Year’s Eve. What a party! To celebrate, Main Street was closed off and a big hockey puck was dropped at midnight.

New York has its big glittering ball. Dubai has its fabulous fireworks. Escanaba has its pasty. And now the puck drops in Ann Arbor. How cool is that? 

Nan Reinhardt is a writer of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is also a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She’s been an antiques dealer, a bank teller, a stay-at-home mom, a secretary, and for the last 17 years, she’s earned her living as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader.

But 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! She’s still writing romance, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, menopausal woman who believes that love never ages, women only grow more interesting, and everybody needs a little sexy romance.

Her first novel Rule Number One is available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. The other two, Once More From the Top and Sex and the Widow Miles — the first novels in the Women of Willow Bay series, are available exclusively at Amazon.

Visit Nan’s website: www.nanreinhardt.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt 
Twitter: @NanReinhardt 
Talk to Nan at: nanleigh1@gmail.com

Liz Kelly, a good friend and a great author, has just released her first single title book, GOOD COP. Liz is a bright spirit, full of positive energy and fun. No surprise that she’s written a book that is exactly the same. Liz has bravely agreed to let me interview her today (my first interview!).  I’m going to channel my inner Barbara Walters for the next bit, but I promise, Liz, I won’t make you cry.
                    


Welcome Liz! Before we talk about your book, GOOD COP, tell us about your writing process. Is it true that most writers like to hole up in a dark room, drink whisky shots in their pajamas, and cruise the Internet, looking for inspiration?
Ahh—not in my case. I like to write outside on our lanai in Naples. If the weather isn't good, I'm inside at the dining room table, which has a lot of windows.  So I'm dressed, for the sake on anyone who comes by, and no on the shots—although, I did come home late one night and write a very steamy love scene under the influence. So shots may be worth considering.

A lanai in Naples beats a dark room any day. Do you plot your books before you write them, or does the story develop as you’re writing?
Usually I have a good beginning in my head, and a definite direction where the book is going, and knowledge about the ending, if not the specifics. However, twists and turns arrive as I write, and therefore most of the story develops as I write. I tend to get a lot of characters' spouting dialogue when I'm out walking the dog, and good plot ideas or characterizations come to me when I'm getting a massage. I love that!

Release-the-Muse creativity massages. I like it. What do you do when you’re not writing?
I begrudgingly play golf. Love going to the movies. Enjoy lunches out with girlfriends and trips to Baltimore/Annapolis to visit family and friends. Recently I explored Harry Potter World with my 25-year-old son. But, lately I'd rather be writing than doing anything else 

As a fan of your work, I’m glad to hear that. And speaking of your work - your new book, GOOD COP, is now available! What is this story about? 
In GOOD COP, we've got two grown men turning 30, best friends who are looking for the right woman. Unfortunately, the right woman turns out to be the same pony-tailed bundle of dynamite for both of them.

How did you come up with the idea of good cop, bad cop buddies going after the same girl?
The truth?  My good friend and author, Mara Jacobs liked my sensual writing in COUNTDOWN TO A KISS so much, she wanted me to write Brooks and Vance in a three-way in my next book. I'm not sure I actually satisfied her, but it sure gave me a good idea.

Not to get personal or anything, but have you ever been arrested or handcuffed?
I have not. However, the day ain't over yet.

Good Cop or Bad Cop? Which would you choose?
Goodness, goodness… you know Brooks is just so… perfect, and of course that weighs on him.  And Vance, with his sexy charisma, is struggling so much to be better than bad. Umm, I cannot choose. I'll let the readers decide.

What’s the best compliment you can remember getting about your writing?
A fan I don't know sent me this email. "Just wanted to let you know that both your books were laugh out loud hilarious. I really enjoyed your work. Thanks." Best compliment ever.

That is pretty great. What books are you writing next?
The sequel to GOOD COP is BAD COP. I'm working on that now and hope to have it out well before Christmas. And then a continuation of the Heroes of Henderson series with a younger set of heroes I think. They are starting to show up in BAD COP, so I'm enjoying that. Fun!

Liz, thanks for giving us a peak into your new book and your writing world!
Holli, thank you so much for this opportunity to chat about writing—one of the happiest things that has happened in my life. Happy Reading everyone!

Keep updated on what’s happening with Liz and join in the fun on her Bad Girl's Book Club Blog at http://www.LizKellyBooks.com!

 

My good friend and fellow writer Mara Jacobs has tagged me in a Blog Hop! The Next Big Thing for me is the book I'm currently working on - Out of the Shadows. Thanks for the tag, Mara!

What is the working title of your next book?
My next book is titled Out of the Shadows.  It should be available in March of 2013.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
Have you ever seen Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight? Samantha (the Geena Davis character) has amnesia and is happily married with a young daughter. She’s just a regular mom, dealing with everyday sorts of problems, like the mean-girl mom in her daughter’s school. Her life is blown apart when men with guns invade her home. Her memory gradually returns and she discovers she is a stone cold agent/assassin. How does she meld these two very different personalities into one person?  

That whole idea fascinates me. My heroine, Rachel Sherwood, is a kick-ass, stone-cold FBI agent. She doesn’t lose her memory, but she does go undercover in a small community.  A recurring theme in my books is people discovering that they’re more than what they think they are. That’s part of Rachel’s story – when she’s not saving the country from a domestic terrorist cult with a horrific plan of destruction.

What genre does your book fall under?
This is a romantic suspense (see above comment about saving the country!).

Okay, that covers the suspense, but what’s the romantic part?
Joe Hawkins definitely provides the romance. He’s an ex-FBI agent turned psychologist who’s an expert at defusing the country’s trained lethal warriors when they’re out of control or no longer needed. He was sent to assess Rachel after her team thinks she’s gone rogue. Minutes after meeting her, Hawk knows he won’t take on Rachel as a client. He’s got other plans for her!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in the movie rendition?
Rachel Sherwood: Scarlett Johansson. Her portrayal of the Black Widow in the Avengers was a good warm-up for the role of Rachel. Jennifer Lawrence is another possibility. In the Hunger Games, she was focused and lethal – a survivor who never lost her humanity.

Joe Hawkins:  Hugh Jackman, He’d portray the humor, intelligence and physical prowess of Joe. Plus, I’d probably have to have a few script consults with him, right?

What’s the connection between this book and your short story in Countdown To A Kiss, that really fun collection of New Year’s Eve stories?
My story in  Countdown To A Kiss is a light contemporary romance that follows Grace Devine and Leo Ramos, two members of the Special Task Force assigned to hunt down a domestic terrorist group called the Isaac Cult.  You’ll see them again in Out of the Shadows.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It usually takes me about six months to write a first draft.  I revise as I write, so when I write the end, I’ve got the majority of the story the way that I want it. This book was written a while ago, so I’m in the process of updating it.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This manuscript won the Romance Writer’s of America Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense under the title Dancing in the Dark

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions about the book or the writing process!    

Welcome to the launch of my website and blog! I intend to use this space to share some of my journey as a writer. The publishing business is changing and evolving at lightning speed and I'm just beginning to appreciate the possibilities of this brave new world. You're invited to hitch a ride with me and we'll see where this adventure takes us.

Fair warning that I sometimes head off on obscure side roads. The dusty one pictured led to some wonderful caves and rock formations in ChilIagoe, Queensland. I took a trip to Australia last spring and fell head-over-heels in love with the country. Check out some more pictures on my Inspiration page. 

So again, welcome. And I hope to see you back here soon!