Interview With Author Susan Reinhardt
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve written six books, including two novels and would love to be featured. Below is a bio.
Susan Reinhardt is a best-selling author known for her gift of taking serious topics and infusing them with humor and heart. She is especially praised for creating casts of unforgettable, quirky characters who stay in readers’ minds long after the final page.
Her debut novel, CHIMES FROM A CRACKED SOUTHERN BELLE, won “Best Regional Fiction” in the Independent Publishers Book Awards international contest, and was a No. 1 Amazon bestseller. The novel was a top summer reading pick and a book-club favorite.
Her second novel, THE BEAUTIFUL MISFITS, publishes from Regal House in March 2023 and is perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner, Joshilyn Jackson, Mary Kay Andrews, and Kristin Hannah.
Reinhardt’s books vary from book-club women’s fiction to romantic comedies for the over 35 crowd.
Her non-fiction humor titles include NOT TONIGHT HONEY: WAIT ’TIL I’M A SIZE 6, praised by Publishers Weekly as filled with “lyrical prose” that’s “fun and fresh,” and by Booklist who lauded her work as “ranging from side-splitting to achingly poignant. She’s like a modern-day, southern-fried Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry, and her tales of the ordinary will resonate with women everywhere.”
She is a former syndicated columnist with Gannett Newspapers and has written for national publications, winning multiple awards.
She lives in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, N.C., and is on her second husband. She has two grown children, three steps, and a granddaughter.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
THE BEAUTIFUL MISFITS is book-club fiction in the women’s fiction genre. I worked for years as a Lancome makeup artist, and have a son who struggled and nearly died from addiction. He is the inspiration and is now clean and sober. Instead of a depressing novel, THE BEAUTIFUL MISFITS is an emotional yet uplifting ride through a world of fierce love, store-bought beauty, and wonder.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to do the Wordle first, and drink coffee if I’m doing morning writing. I also must have snacks available, especially microwave popcorn. Unlike a lot of writers, I can’t listen to music as I write. I need a quiet place, which is usually my home office. I have a large window that highlights the gorgeous mountain region. My rescue cat often sleeps right next to my keyboard.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Billie Letts, Anne Tyler, Kelly Harms, and all the best Sophies: Sophie Kinsella, Sophie Ranald, and Sophie Cousens.
There isn’t much I won’t read except fantasy and erotica.
The first book I fell in love with was THE BOXCAR CHILDREN in sixth grade.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just begun querying THE HALF WIFE, a rom/com. Here’s the premise:
Jupiter Bexley, a disgraced flight attendant who loves ironing for stress relief, jeggings for comfort, and helping those with disabilities for a career⸺made a staggering mistake. And it’s now returned to bite her in the Spanx-squeezed arse. That vile prenup. She shouldn’t have signed it, but Lord, her big-shot politician husband presented it hours before she said ‘I do’ in a dress that cost more than a Kia.
On the eve of her thirty-ninth birthday, Jupiter returns from her volunteer job and discovers her life has been a lie. And that the current prenup is completely different from what she originally signed. Yet there it was, her signature.
When the new clauses upend her life, leaving her temporarily broke and semi-homeless, feisty Jupiter yanks up her big-girl jeggings and creates two quirky new businesses. One is respectable enough. The other? A Fake Dating service that, God forbid, could send her down the aisle again.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Not being shy or cheap. I hired a publicist for some things, like media placement, but do a lot myself. It takes a lot of work, devotion, and a decent credit card balance to pull this off. Most authors end up in the hole for a while.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
READ and READ some more in the genre in which you want to write.
Take classes online. There are many free sites, but I love the courses on Writer’s Digest and Jericho Writers which cost very little with a nominal membership fee. Also, join writers’ groups, get critique partners and beta readers. And remember it takes multiple revisions – and rejections – for most of us to break through. So throw on that armadillo shell and go forth bravely.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up. It works.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading a rom/com called ROOM-MAID. It’s cute.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m doing National Novel Writing Month – NaNo – in November.
I don’t plan to stop writing a novel a year until I’m incapable. The more novels I write, the better I get. And so will any other would-be writer.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Poisonwood Bible
Gone With the Wind
Pride and Prejudice
Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Reinhardt Amazon Profile
Susan Reinhardt’s Social Media Links