Thankful Author 2016- Nan Reinhardt

This post will appear on Thankful Authors on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, but I’m writing on October 30 and frankly, today, I am anything but thankful. It’s been a rough couple of weeks in all areas of my life, but mostly with my body, which is sixty-three years old and currently, not my friend. I know all this physical stuff will work itself out and I’ll be all good again, but right now, I hurt, I have a cold and fever and I’m kinda cranky. Plus, there’s the election, which will be over by the time this posts. I confess to having a knot in my stomach over that as well.

But, all that said, gratitude must take precedence today of all days—the day when the whole nation celebrates how blessed we are. In my family, we share Thanksgiving dinner at my sister’s house because she has a huge table that we all fit around. It’s the one time of year when Husband’s family and my family come together—something that I arranged a few years ago when Sis moved back to the Midwest. I didn’t want to miss Thanksgiving with my family, so we just rounded up Husband’s mother and his brother and his family and took them with us. It’s turned out to be a great way to do things—Sis and her husband do things up grand and dinner always includes a wine tasting and lots of fun and laughter.

I’ve been using Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance daybook for morning devotions this year—it’s an older volume that I turn back to it about every other year because it’s so full of amazing thoughts and reminders about how we are responsible for our own happiness. A lot of the book is about being thankful—about celebrating the sacred in the ordinary, which is hard to do in a world where everything is about being extraordinary, the biggest, the best. I think, as writers, we all struggle with wanting to be the best—a bestseller—but the fact is, I’m probably not ever going to be on the New York Times bestseller list. That can’t be the reason I write or I lose all authenticity in my storytelling. Rather, I shall write from my heart, grateful that I have a gift I can share with the world, no matter the size of that world.

Ban Breathnach says, “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

Isn’t that the truth? This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for everyday epiphanies and finding the sacred in the ordinary. 

Once More From the Top

What do you do when the one who got away… comes back?

Carrie Halligan never regretted the choice she made sixteen years ago to raise her son Jack by herself in Willow Bay, Michigan. A successful photographer by day, at night Carrie satisfies her musical passions by playing piano at a hotel bar, maintaining a balance that works for her and Jack. Walking away from Maestro Liam Reilly without telling him she was pregnant with his child may have been the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was definitely the right thing.

When Liam shows up in town to perform a benefit concert with the local symphony, however, Carrie’s carefully crafted life spins out of control. After sending Jack to summer camp, she realizes she can’t keep Liam in the dark forever. Telling the truth to the man she once loved more than life itself isn’t near as hard as spending time in his presence and realizing that the years haven’t diminished his power over her heart. Will her lie be too much to get past, or will the spark of passion between them overcome everything?

You can download Once More From the Top from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords by using these links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFCNGHC

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/once-more-from-the-top-nanreinhardt/1117906419?ean=2940149063536

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/once-more-from-the-top

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/392910 

Sex and the Widow Miles

His life ended. Hers didn’t.

Spirited, beautiful, and aging gracefully, Julie Miles was looking forward to retirement with her husband, Dr. Charlie Miles, in their idyllic Willow Bay, Michigan home. But when Charlie dies of a heart attack, simply getting out of bed becomes a daily struggle. Desperate for a change of scene, she leaves her home to stay in her friend Carrie’s unoccupied Chicago apartment.

Her handsome and young new neighbor, Will Brody, seems to enjoy his assignment to keep an eye on her, and Jules can’t help but be flattered. She embraces life—and sex—again, until the discovery of a dark secret shatters her world once more. She knows her feelings for Will are more than casual, and he’s made it clear he wants her, but how can she ever trust a man again when her perfect life turned out to be a lie? Determined to get to the bottom of it all, Jules goes in search of the truth and discovers that there’s always a second chance to find real love.

You can download Sex and the Widow Miles from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords by using these links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFIVRHM

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sex-and-the-widow-miles-nanreinhardt/1117906420?ean=2940149063543

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/sex-and-the-widow-miles

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/392921

The Summer of Second Chances

It’s never too late to start over…

When Sophie Russo inherits two lakeside cottages in Willow Bay, Michigan, she thinks she can start over with a peaceful, quiet summer. Boy, is she wrong.

First, there’s Henry Dugan, the nerdy genius behind the GeekSpeak publishing empire, who has rented Sophie’s second cottage so he can write his novel. The instant attraction catches them both off guard. He’s fresh off a brutal divorce, and Sophie’s still grieving her beloved Papa Leo, so this is no time to start a relationship, but a casual summer fling might be an option…

Then Sophie’s long-lost mother barrels onto the scene and opens up a long-buried mystery involving Depression-era mobsters and a missing cache of gold coins worth millions that some present-day hoodlums would like to get their hands on.

Suddenly, Sophie’s quiet summer becomes a dangerous dance with her grandfather’s dark past. With Henry at her side–and in her bed–Sophie needs to find a way to make peace with the past and look toward the future… assuming she lives that long.

You can download The Summer of Second Chances from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords by using these links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Second-Chances-Women-Willowebook/dp/B00UPJUGS2

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-of-second-chances-nanreinhardt/1121426413

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-summer-of-second-chances

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/527812

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.

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 every Tuesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with four other romance authors. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt  

Twitter: @NanReinhardt

Talk to Nan at: nan@nanreinhardt.com