Today, I have USA Today bestselling author Nan Reinhardt in the interview chair. We’re discussing her latest release Falling for the Doctor, book two in The Lange Brothers series, a contemporary romance. Don’t forget to check out the excerpt.
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1. First, what’s your favourite scene in the book? Not in regards to writing, but reading, and why?
Nan: I love the meet-cute when she grabs him and asks him to kiss her, and he does, without question. Meet-cutes are my favorite thing about romance novels and good ones, just knock my socks off.
2. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book?
Nan: Probably not. The book works the way it is. It picks up where the first book leaves off and is a great lead-in to the next one in the series and gives us a little more a peek into the Lange family. The town got a lot of play in this story, which was okay, I think.
3. What do you love most about your two main characters?
Nan: Max’s easygoing nature is so appealing. Lauren’s mind, which is quick and agile.
4. What makes you want to shake your two main characters?
Nan: Max’s innocence is sweet, but at some point, he has to open his eyes to what is real. Lauren needs to understand that only she knows what will make her happy and stop trying to please everyone else in her life.
5. If you could spend time with one character from your book, who would it be? And what would you do during that day?
Nan: Probably Max because he’s so easygoing and sweet-natured. A picnic maybe or a ride downriver on his wave runner, then dinner at Mac’s, followed by a moonlight stroll along the River Walk.
6. If your two main characters dined together, what would they cook up? It can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack.
Nan: Midnight snack of omelets, which Max does very well.
7 How did you come up with the title for your book?
Nan: I didn’t. My publisher did.
8. If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the leads?
Nan: Amanda Seyfried for Lauren and Daniel Radcliff for Max.
9. If your book was a candle, what scent would it be and why?
Nan: B&BW Fresh Spring Morning–spring grass, orange blossoms–because it happens in spring
10. If your book had a theme song, what would it be and why?
Nan: Can’t Help Falling in Love
11. If your book was a colour, what would it be and why?
Nan: All shades of blues and grays because a big part of the story is about a storm.
12. If a reader asked you why they should read your book, what would you tell them?
Nan: Read my book because it’s a good story and it will make you happy.
13. What can we expect from you in the future?
Nan: More stories from River’s Edge. I have Book 3 in the Lange Brothers series coming out in October and then a new River’s Edge series, The Weaver Sisters trilogy coming out in 2023.
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Title: Falling for the Doctor
Series: The Lange Brothers, Book #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Nan Reinhardt
Heat Rating: Sweet/Sensual
Book Length: 58,109 words/240 pages
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Release Date: June 1, 2022
They were in it for the fun, but they never expected the storm.
Blurb: Life for hometown ER physician Dr. Max Lange has always been sweet. He loves his job and is dialed in socially with his family, friends, and community. But lately, something feels like it’s missing. When a visiting doctor pulls him in for a hot kiss and asks him to play along in order to avoid unwanted attention from a hospital administrator, Max knows exactly what he wants and needs—the lovely Dr. Mitchell.
After a tragic error shakes her confidence beyond repair, Dr. Lauren Mitchell has abandoned her career in cardiothoracic surgery and instead works as a lead medical consultant for a top cardiovascular technology company. She enjoys her simple life on the road—hotel rooms, room service, and no emotional entanglements.
When a violent storm throws her into service at St. Mark’s hospital, Max has only a few days to prove to Lauren that they belong together, while she must reevaluate her career…and her life. Will Max’s love be enough to make River’s Edge and Max her home?
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She didn’t pick him because he was gorgeous, even though he definitely was gorgeous. No, that wasn’t the reason. She chose him for the simple fact that he was smiling and had the gentlest gray eyes she’d ever seen, and in that moment, a gentleman, a gentle man, was exactly what she needed.
Lauren Mitchell squirmed uncomfortably on the hard plastic chair in St. Mark’s Hospital cafeteria. Papers, her iPad, and her phone lay spread out between her and hospital administrator, Peter Gresham, who was anything but a gentleman. Tugging the lapels of her sensible gray suit jacket together didn’t seem to stop him from leering at the perfectly respectable V-neck of her white blouse. It was all she could do not to kick him under the table and point to her face to get him to focus on the subject at hand—robotics equipment for the new cardiac surgery wing that St. Mark’s had recently added to the north end of the hospital.
This happened way too often. Because she was small, blonde, and, okay…bosomy, men tended to treat her as if she was present merely for their entertainment. She’d dealt with jerks like Peter Gresham her entire adult life. High-powered men who simply couldn’t fathom that a woman whose figure resembled a smaller version of Dolly Parton’s could possibly have a brain under that blond hair. Never mind that her credentials were right there on the Cardiotronics Technologies brochure she’d placed in front of him two days ago. The facts that she’d graduated summa cum laude from med school and excelled in her cardiothoracic surgery residency at a renowned heart hospital in Indianapolis, that she was published in several major medical journals, and that she’d helped to invent the robotic technology that Cardiotronics was installing in his hospital—none of this seemed to impress Peter Gresham.
However, her boobs had certainly grabbed his attention, and once again, Lauren reminded herself that the genes that had given her both curves and brains were a gift, not a curse. That kind of attention was a hill she’d been climbing since she started developing at age thirteen and her Gramma Alicia, her mother’s mother, had taken her by the shoulders to keep her from slouching. “You stand tall, you hear me, child?” Gramma had said, pulling Lauren’s shoulder blades together and making her already-round, high breasts thrust forward. “Be proud of being a woman. Don’t hide your beauty. It will open doors when that amazing brain of yours won’t.”
“What about dinner, Lauren? The Cotton Mill Inn has a great restaurant. Since you’re staying there, why not meet me tonight?” Peter’s beseeching tone, which he probably thought was sexy, was only annoying.
Lauren still hated the fact that her grandmother was right too often, even in today’s more politically correct world. Men were men, and it didn’t seem to matter whether they were “woke” or enlightened or whatever the current terminology was; way too many still turned into eighth graders on the bus when faced with a pretty girl who had both brains and boobs. But Peter was a man she couldn’t afford to insult. He was the one writing the checks to Cardiotronics. A deep breath later, she chose another way.
Gazing over his shoulder, Lauren tried to be unobtrusive about sizing up the tall, handsome man dressed in navy scrubs standing in the entryway. Immediately, she noticed the stethoscope and hospital ID lanyard hanging around his neck as well as his ringless left hand—that didn’t really mean anything, but she was prepared to take the risk. His scrub shirt, loose around the middle to accommodate his broad shoulders, was tucked into even looser matching drawstring pants. He talked animatedly to another man, who also wore the dark blue scrubs of the emergency department.
This gentle giant was her guy, and when the smarmy man sitting across the table from her slid his foot against her calf for the third time in less than ten minutes, her decision was made. She shoved her chair away from the table and rose. “Oh, there you are, babe!” She met him—Dr. Maxim Lange, according to the badge on his lanyard—as he started into the cafeteria. “You’re late. Did you get held up in the ER?” She threw her arms around his neck on the question, whispering in his ear as she pressed a kiss to his dark-bearded cheek. “Please, play along. Kiss me.”
The good doctor bent down and tightened his grip with hands so large they nearly spanned her waist, tugging her closer. “Sure,” he whispered, then in a louder tone. “Sorry, we had a kid come in who’d been hit by a car up on the highway.” With that, he tipped his head and took her lips in a kiss so unexpected and so intimate that Lauren’s knees nearly buckled. His beard tickled the sensitive skin between her lips and her nose, which inanely, she remembered from Anatomy 101 was called the philtrum. Hers was tingling.
When he lifted his mouth, his lips curved up into a bemused and curious smile, and he touched his forehead to hers. “What’s up?”
“I’ve just missed you.” Aware of the many pairs of eyes on them and grateful he was receiving her cues with such aplomb, she slid her hands down his muscled arms before lacing the fingers of one hand with his. “I’ll bet you’re hungry; I’ve already got my lunch.” She jerked her head toward the table where Peter had twisted around his chair to stare at them. “I’m over there with Dr. Gresham. Why don’t you”—she peered around at his companion, suddenly cringing at the thought that she may have totally blown this whole charade because she had no idea whether Dr. Maxim Lange was straight or gay or what exactly—“both join us.”
Dr. Lange grinned, his teeth showing white against the dark beard. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Have you met Christopher Johnson yet? He’s chief of the emergency department.” He raised his brows. “You know, my boss.”
His boss? Holy cats. She’d blown it all right. Lauren’s heart sank to her belly as heat crept into her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she soldiered on because, really, what else could she do at this point? She stuck out her hand. “Hello, Dr. Johnson. Max has talked about you often”—dear lord, please let him be known as Max by everyone—“but I just arrived a few days ago, so we haven’t had a chance to meet in person yet. I’m Lauren Mitchell, Max’s…friend.”
Dr. Johnson, who gloriously resembled Denzel Washington, took her hand and smiled kindly. “Very nice to meet you, Ms. Mitchell. Max, why have you kept this lovely woman under wraps?”
When she glanced up at Max, his grin said he was clearly enjoying the heck out of her discomfort. His eyes searched the visitor pass around her neck, and she thanked the stars the badge pinned to her suit jacket let him know she was with Cardiotronics because the visitor pass told him squat. And that the FACC after her name gave him the information that she was a cardiologist. “Well, Chris, we, um…we met at that conference in Baltimore in January. Laurie works for Cardiotronics. They’re making great strides in cardiology technology.” He peered closer at the badge. “She’s actually Dr. Mitchell. She’s a cardiologist, aren’t you, honey?”
Oh, God, don’t call me Laurie.
“Cardiothoracic surgeon to be exact.” She dropped Max’s hand. “Go get some food. I’ll meet you at the table.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “You want anything while I’m up there?”
“No, I’m good, thanks.” With a smile for Dr. Johnson, she deliberately sashayed back to where Peter Gresham sat, drumming his fingers on the Formica tabletop, and slid into her chair. “So sorry, Peter. Where were we?”
“You’re with Max Lange?” Peter’s voice had risen a couple of steps and his blue eyes glittered.
Somehow, she managed an innocent flutter of her eyelashes, a gesture she truly hated to resort to, but desperate times and all that. “Well, we’ve been dating long-distance since January. We were delighted when the company sent me down here to help you open your new cardiac surgery wing.” A moment’s pause gave the lie just the push it needed. “We’re so anxious to spend time together, so unfortunately, I can’t accept your dinner invitation. I hope to be with Max every free moment we both have while I’m here.”
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Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction for Tule Publishing. Her day job is working as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, however, 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 and is still writing, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, woman in her prime. Nan lives in the Midwest with her husband of 48 years, where they split their time between a house in the city and a cottage on a lake.
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Maggie Blackbird 