Did you really write all these books?
How long have you been writing?
How long does it take you to write a book?
Where do you get your ideas?
Those questions and others came up from readers at the author event I participated in yesterday. Harvest Fest is always a treat with several thousand people wandering through six “art fields” along the Nickel Plate Trail, perusing artisans’, artists’, and creators’ booths, including a local authors’ booth, where I sat. There were even strolling musicians and food trucks and beer! It was quite an event and I really had fun!
So, to answer … Yes, I really did write all these books. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil; I wrote my first book at age 10, but I’ve been published since 2012. It takes me about four to six months to write a book. My ideas come from the people in my head who are in a long line waiting for their story to be told. Ordinarily, a long line of people talking in my head would be a confession that would get one rushed into therapy, but writers get a pass.
However, a couple of years ago when I was at an author event, I was asked, Do you like doing this? Do you like writing? I had to pause for just a second, and frankly, the question’s been in my head ever since. Simmering in the back of my mind. First of all, it didn’t happen while I was sitting at my table, it was from a person sitting at her own table, where I’d stopped by on my way back from the restroom to look at her books and say hello, mostly because she looked so … young and sad and out of place and maybe even a little bored.
She was in her late twenties and wore a black T-shirt. Her table was sparse, a couple of titles arranged in two rows, some bookmarks, a stack of business cards, and an 8-x-10 photo of herself with her name written across it like an autograph in a plain black frame. Truthfully, I can’t remember what the books were. But it doesn’t matter because it was clear, she would rather have been anywhere else.
The question that started as Do you like doing this? eventually in our short exchange, became Do you like writing? which is an entirely different question.
Do I like doing author events? Well, it’s a fun way to meet readers, to get your face connected to your stories, to network with other authors and writers groups, and to talk story. You do have to prepare–to have all the “stuff” you need together, to wear comfortable clothes, and to be “on,” which is, I admit, hard for most writers. Writing is a solitary profession, and we’re in our own heads way more that the average person, so stepping out of it is a little bit harrowing, but always fun in the end.
But the second question was the one that surprised me was, Do you like writing? The first response that rose to my lips was Would I be here if I didn’t? But the look on her face–sad, confused, and maybe a little overwhelmed, stopped me from being flip. I told her and I meant it with all my heart, It’s who I am. There’s no me without writing. I wish that thought was original to me; it’s not. I was quoting a fellow author, Anne Stuart. But when I first heard (read) Anne say it, I felt seen as writer for first time in my life. So I use it … often.
That morose young woman just stared at me like I’d suddenly grown an extra pair of ears, and she merely said, Oh, okay. There was so much more I wanted to say, to ask her, like why are you doing this if it’s not what you love? What are you avoiding? What is your true passion? But someone else came along and picked up one of her books, and I had to get back to my table to meet and greet, so I simply said, Good luck today, and I moved on.
But she’s stayed in my head, although I don’t even recall her name or what table she was at. I didn’t even pick up her card or a bookmark, which is sad too. If I was left only with the impression of someone who was unhappy at an event that was all about the happy, how did she affect others? I wonder if she sold any books. If she engaged any readers. If that event was her last. In a way, I hope so, because she was clearly not enjoying herself and that’s kinda tragic.
I confess author events are work, and writing is hard work too. I’ve been known to spend an hour working over one sentence in a sixty-thousand word manuscript. And toiling over characterization, fixing plot holes, moving the story forward can be exhausting, but the people in my head insist I write, and writing is so very much my happy place. There’s no me without it. I hope that girl found her happy place–whatever it might be.
Readers, do you have questions for this author who’s only recently come into cowboy romance? Ask me anything …I’d love to talk to you!
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Here’s a treat for you! My book, Meant to Be, is just 99 cents on all ebook platforms right now. It is sweet, small-town romance–no cowboys, but lots of emotion and family and romance. I hope you’ll check it out here.
Can a near-tragedy help two best friends realize they’re meant to be so much more?
Best friends since grade school, high-powered Chicago attorney, Sean Flaherty, and small-town mayor Megan Mackenzie have always shared a special bond. When Sean is shot by a client’s angry ex, Megan rushes to his side, terrified she’s about to lose her long-time confidant.
Upon his return to River’s Edge to recuperate, Sean discovers that his feelings for his pal have taken an undeniable turn for the romantic. While Megan struggles with an unfamiliar longing for Sean, she worries that he may be mistaking a safe place to land for love.
Can Sean help her realize that they are truly meant to be so much more than friends?
I am generally loath to crow about my own books, which is sorta silly when you think about it. I mean, who else is going to crow about my books if not me? I’m not good at look at me, though, and if it were possible in this day and age to simply write a book, hand it to my publisher, and then crawl back into my writing cave and start a new one, without ever having to think about said book again, I would do it that way. But publishing doesn’t work like that these days. Maybe it never did.
All that said, I’m here today to be Nan Reinhardt author (<– over there) promoting a brand-new release — out today, as a matter of fact. If you love romance and Montana and spunky heroines and handsome cowboys with big hearts, Help Wanted, Cowboy might just be the book for you. Rory and Millie’s story is book 3 in my Juniper Falls Ranch series, so if you’ve read books 1 and 2, you’ll recognize Beth and Del Foster, who own Juniper Falls Ranch, Gus, their grizzled ranch hand, Bo Kennedy, the former rodeo cowboy turned ranch foreman, and others, as well as the little Montana town of Marietta. Sage’s Chocolate Shop, the Graff Hotel, Copper Mountain—all the places in Marietta that you already know and love are part of the story, too, as Rory and Millie feel their way to their own happily-ever-after. Because of course, there’s always an HEA in a Nan Reinhardt novel.
A Montana bull rider temporarily working as a ranch hand. An OB nurse who wants “a favor.” Two opposites thrown together. A treasure hunt adds to autumn magic. 
Oh, oh, P.S.: If you haven’t been to Juniper Falls Ranch yet, here’s a great opportunity for a first visit–
I was on a writer retreat with my bestie, Liz Flaherty a couple of weeks ago. It was fabulous. We wrote, we drank wine, we ate chocolate, we talked, we processed her book and mine. Our retreats are always as Liz puts it,
We talked about the little pieces of ideas that wander through our writer minds—snippets of conversations, words, things we notice that perhaps no one else notices. We share ideas about settings, even as minute as the furnishings in a specific house in a setting. That got me thinking about where my random ideas rest in my imagination—on a chintz chair, I think. Faded old flowered fabric on a huge overstuffed chair sitting in a sunny spot under the eaves. Maybe there’s an ottoman, but it doesn’t have to match because honestly, my decorating style, like my writing style, is as random as my ideas. So why would I imagine something that matches?
Everyone has word pictures in their minds—and often it takes just seeing a pair of fancy cowboy boots in a store in West Yellowstone, Montana, or a rusty pump on a ranch in Virginia City for a story to start to happen.
When 
In late July, I left my local airport at 8:30 a.m.; Carol left her local airport 10:15 a.m. and we met up in the Denver Airport. Then we flew together to Bozeman–one of the cutest airports I’ve ever seen! There are bears and moose everywhere and some crazy huge bird hanging from the ceiling! The whole airport was mountain stone and cedar beams–really pretty and lodge-y (If that’s not a word, it should be). We also saw the coolest ad for a fishing outfitters that felt like the universe was telling me that moving from River’s Edge to Montana is a capital idea! Take a look!
There are 64 mountain ranges in Montana and our condo was nestled right in the middle of the Madison Range at an altitude of 7000 feet. Lone Mountain was visible from Big Sky as well as several other mountain ranges, including the Gallatin Range and the Absaroka Range, which are part of Marietta lore.
We spent two days of our week at Yellowstone National Park, which is just overwhelming and spectacular! Carol used the term “moonscape of boiling mud and geysers” to describe the Fountain Paint Pot thermal field and Old Faithful. I can’t think of a better way to say it. It was awe-inspiring and this little Midwestern gal couldn’t stop saying, “Wow!” What a spectacular experience that national park was!
When we drove west to Virginia City the first thing I noticed was that the landscape was so very different from Big Sky. In Big Sky, it’s all huge mountains and pines. As we headed west, the terrain changed to rolling hills and pastures and wheat and hayfields. Junipers dotted the landscape and there were lots of ranches and fences and sagebrush. I absorbed it all–even-saw a ranch that reminded me of what I imagined Del Foster’s ranch to be–and oh, the cows and horses! Virginia City and Ennis were real Old West towns and just steeped in history!
I think the most important thing that we discovered there is how big the world is–Big Sky indeed! The mountains overwhelmed us every time we went outside even though we were only halfway up. We loved tramping to Ousel Falls, so I would have a picture in my head (and on my phone) of what I imagined Juniper Falls to look like. I absorbed Montana and imagined the little town of Marietta in each place we visited. We saw enough cattle ranches and guest dude ranches that I can add some authenticity to my Juniper Falls Ranch stories. The Big Sky area wasn’t as cowboy-centric as I imagined it would be, but the vibe was definitely Western.