Just What the Doctor Hired

10/3/2025

(Plus One Book 2) by Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter

Student Autumn Haze’s motto is: no men until she completes her bachelor of nursing degree. Years before, Autumn learned the hard way men are just a distraction she can’t afford until she’s established her career and what she wants. While moonlighting as a Plus One companion pays the bills, she struggles to follow her rules after meeting her newest contract. Pediatric Hospitalist Jensen Edwards is still recovering from a bad breakup that left him the talk of the hospital. Now he’s receiving a best doctor’s award, but after he hires Autumn as his plus one, Jensen is on edge. If word gets out that he hired a companion, rumors are bound to circulate, making work unbearable—again. Their chemistry as a fake couple is undeniable, but can a chance at a real relationship override their fear of commitment?

What a fabulous story! This second volume in the series did not disappoint in any way. It was every bit as entertaining as the first book. The roles were flipped from the first book and that made it all the more fun to read!
No spoilers from me, I promise, so that limits what I can say. I found the supporting cast to be as authentic as the main characters, even the nearly silent one!
Read this book, you will enjoy it, make no mistake about that.
4.9 stars from me. I am picky about certain things!

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Just-What-Doctor-Hired-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/just-what-the-doctor-hired
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/just-what-the-doctor-hired
and many other fine online platforms

I reviewed the first book in the Plus One series:
www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/men-in-books-arent-better

You can connect with the authors:
https://www.nelsonpotter.com
https://x.com/ANelsonLMPotter
https://www.instagram.com/anelson.lmpotter
https://www.threads.com/@anelson.lmpotter
https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsonpotterduo

Copyright © 2025 Mark L. Schultz except for the authors’ introduction

68 Comments

Amanda Nelson link

12/29/2025 01:23:16 pm

We are so excited for this opportunity! Thank you so much!

Mark

12/29/2025 01:51:50 pm

You are welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, the second in your Plus One series.

In the previous interview, we left off talking about what publishers do to help authors promote their books. The link is above for our visitors who would like to see that interview.

First questions.

How many books are you planning for this series?

Can you share tentative titles or any other information?

Amanda Nelson & Lisa-Marie Potter link

12/29/2025 02:00:02 pm

We have three books planned for our Plus One series. We are drafting book three now.
The title will be Two’s Company, Plus One’s a Crowd. Fin, Molly’s cousin from book one will be the male main character.

12/29/2025 03:18:14 pm

That will please the Plus Ones fans! Fin was a likable character and provided Molly with some stability. He was a little harsh at times, but he had Molly's best interests at heart.

New questions.

Why did you have a book traditionally published instead of self-publishing?

How do you think your book compares to a book published by a major publisher?

Amanda & Lisa-Marie link

12/29/2025 05:38:10 pm

Not gonna lie, in the beginning, because we didn't know what we were doing, we needed the help of an agent and a publisher to get our books out into the world. And while we do have to pay for marketing being with a small publisher, the experience we've gained and the tutelage from our editor, Leanne Morgena, has been invaluable. I'm not sure we would have had the same experience if we self-published.

As far as how our book compares, both of our books have won numerous awards, and have almost two hundred combined reviews with a 4.23 average in less than two years. We are confident our books can stand against any of the sweet romances of the major publishers. All we need is more exposure.

12/29/2025 05:47:16 pm

That little thing, exposure. There are so many well-written and entertaining books published every month. Amazon publishes about two million books a year, now. It is a herculean task to rise above the crowd. Part of the issue is there are so many authors who seek to get their book noticed. There is no easy answer. You have great numbers for your books, and that bodes well for the future. The more books you write the more you will sell.

New question.

Have you ever seen a ghost or had some other type of supernatural experience?

12/29/2025 06:01:40 pm

Lisa-Marie doesn't believe in ghosts, but if she watches something scary, her house turns into Vegas with all the lights on-just to be sure. She also can't sleep with a closet or cupboard open in the room.

Amanda had an experience as a preteen where a door in her house opened of its own accord with no explanation, but she did have two cats in the house, so...take from that what you will.

Both of them refuse to put a leg out of the bed at night in case the monster under the bed is waiting.

12/29/2025 07:03:48 pm

I understand Lisa-Marie's feelings. I have done that in the past, but not recently. I have found that I don't enjoy horror films anymore, especially the gory ones. Splatter movies.

A door opening for no apparent reason is pretty scary. No doubt.

New question.

There are many unethical practices in publishing, which one is the most unbearable in your mind?

12/30/2025 07:55:55 am

Pirating manuscripts is inexcusable in our opinion. Authors work hard on their manuscripts and to have someone reap benefits without permission is unbearable.

Also, if a manuscript gets leaked before the author is ready to publish is also inexcusable. For example, Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun was leaked on the internet, and it completely derailed her desire to continue working on the manuscript. Years passed before she was able to return to the novel and finish it.

12/30/2025 08:58:14 am

Piracy is illegal and terrible! It can take more than one form. If an author signs a contract with a shady publisher the author might lose control of their intellectual property for that book, and any other books in that series, forever. Every contract should be inspected by a lawyer experienced in entertainment law. Contests for short stories and books should be carefully checked also.

New questions.

Is there a book that causes strong emotions to come up no matter how many times you read it?

Do you ever read a book more than once?

If so, which one?

12/30/2025 01:39:33 pm

For Lisa-Marie, Shivers by Maggie Stiefvater made her gasp, Red Dragon by Thomas Harris scared her so much, she had to put it down several times while reading it. And A Boy Called It broke her heart.
She also rarely reads a book twice. Twilight is the exception.

Amanda bawled through A Thousand Boy Kisses, Insurgent, The Fault In Our Stars, and A Thousand Broken Pieces. Most Romcoms will give her all the feels, and Life of Pi made her throw the book across the room.
Amanda rereads beloved books more often than Lisa-Marie, and Twilight is also among them.

12/30/2025 01:47:14 pm

I am sure those are some great books, but to be honest, I have only heard of The Fault in Our Stars and The Life of Pi.

As a boy, I reread books frequently because my library was only a couple hundred books. Now, there are books I want to reread but my TBR pile is too big for that luxury.

New questions.

Has a book ever changed your mind about any particular topic?

Did you have a favorite book as a child?

12/30/2025 02:04:57 pm

Lisa-Marie's favorite book as a child was Five Go to Mystery Moore by Enid Blyton. She loved how the author described the dog in the book and that the kids went on adventures. But even as a child, Lisa-Marie recognized how neglectful and absent the parents were in the story.

As a child, Amanda loved Richard Scarry's books. She loved looking for the worm on every page.

Neither of us have had a book change our mind on a particular topic. We have read some that have given us a broader understanding of certain things, like bipolar disease and autism. .

12/30/2025 03:00:23 pm

As a boy, I read a series of books called The Happy Hollisters, by Jerry West. I loved those books about a large family of children that solved mysteries in their neighborhood and wherever they happened to be visiting. I met the author's grandson at a homeschooling convention. The author's real name was Andrew Svenson; he was part of a stable of writers and wrote parts of several popular children's series, including the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift mysteries. The grandson was reissuing the original books. A time-warping moment for me.

New question.

Can you read a book for the pleasure of reading or do you find yourself analyzing everything you read now?

12/30/2025 04:00:09 pm

Very cool that you got to meet his grandson! What a star struck moment!

For both of us, reading is different now. We do find ourselves analyzing everything from pacing to voice. However, if we get captured enough by a book, we can, for the most part, read past things that bump us and enjoy the journey.

12/30/2025 04:23:15 pm

Most authors struggle with analyzing what they are reading. You are a couple of the lucky ones.

New question.

If you could ask every person who has read one of your books, only one question what would you ask them?

Lisa-Marie & Amanda link

12/30/2025 05:48:38 pm

I’m sure as a proofreader, you probably have that problem, too!

If we could ask our readers any question, it would be, “Who was your favorite character and why?” Of course we would have million other questions but if we had to stick to one, that would be it.

12/31/2025 08:41:58 am

That is a great question! Authors and proofreaders like feedback.

New questions.

Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you?

Does it energize you or make you feel tired after a writing session?

12/31/2025 11:58:14 am

We don’t know that we would call it a spiritual or healing component, but writing is an amazing escape for the both of us.

As for the second question, Amanda definitely feels energized after a writing session, and both of us would say those hours are the best in our day!

12/31/2025 01:08:45 pm

Most authors have told me that even if they feel tired after a vigorous writing session, they feel good about it. Escape is a good word to explain how it feels because the real world isn't always pleasant or fun. That's adulting for you.

New question.

Since a copyright in America lasts for 75 years after the author's passing, do you have a plan for all of your books and the royalties in your will?

12/31/2025 02:08:15 pm

We have a partnership agreement, but don’t have all the details spelled out exactly. It’s definitely something we plan to look into. But as best friends, we have discussed it and have a verbal agreement to split all royalties evenly between our families.

12/31/2025 02:40:11 pm

You're ahead of the game compared to some writers. A number of writers hadn't considered planning for their estate, when I asked that question. I urge you to get that nailed down for everyone's peace of mind.

New questions.

Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?

Is there more than one way to do that?

12/31/2025 02:55:15 pm

We believe that the more genuinely a writer feels an emotion through their character, the more the reader will. Hence, writing takes imagination and empathy to see ourselves as the characters in order to emulate their emotions onto the page.

12/31/2025 05:19:10 pm

That makes a lot of sense to me. If the author isn’t going to feel it, neither will the reader.

New question.

What reality show, current or not, would you like to be on?

12/31/2025 08:08:05 pm

While we may have watched some reality shows, neither of us would want to be on one. We already have enough drama in our lives and we wouldn’t want to be constantly under a microscope!

12/31/2025 09:09:27 pm

That is a great answer! I cannot imagine being on one of those shows either. If I were qualified, I think Forged in Fire or Top Shot would be fun. I built a portable, propane-powered forge when I was a sheet metal apprentice. I wanted to make some armor and knives. I eventually sold the thing because I never made the time to do either.

New questions.

Are you an under-writer or an over-writer?

When the first draft is done, do you need to add more to flesh it out, or do you have to cut material because there is too much?

12/31/2025 09:17:57 pm

We are chronic underwriters. When we finish a draft, it’s usually around 20K too short. But we’re good at adding details and content.

1/1/2026 09:35:29 am

You are good at adding details!

Some authors are just like you two. Others are overwriters and struggle with trimming the fat. I don't know which is easier.

New question.

What type of material seems to need the most massaging in your stories: descriptions, dialogue or action?

1/1/2026 11:51:04 am

We definitely lack in the description parts during the drafting stage. Often it’s about surroundings. We tend to focus on dialogue and feelings before we describe locations.

1/1/2026 12:20:57 pm

Dialogue and emotions are paramount; action and setting create the overall atmosphere the story exists in. First things first, another reason why you both make a great team.

New questions.

Have you ever used yourself as a starting point for a character in a story?

Would family or friends recognize you in the story?

1/1/2026 01:53:23 pm

Hahaha, no, we’ve never used ourselves as a starting point! However, our characters are threaded with parts of us and experiences from our lives. All too often, some of our close friends and family can pick out traits or situations that belong to one of us.

1/1/2026 02:43:42 pm

Only those closest to you would be able to do that. Pretty funny, nonetheless. One of the many writing mantras is to write what you know. In our hyper-connected world, wise judgment is called for about how much to share. I do not doubt that you are both careful in that regard.

New questions.

Have you ever used other acquaintances as the basis for a character, to the point that they have recognized themselves in your book?

If you used a close friend or family member in a book, would you tell them or make sure that they wouldn't recognize themselves in the story?

1/1/2026 03:25:15 pm

We’ve never used a family member or person as inspiration for a character, although we have used names of people we know-we tell them, of course. But all character personalities come from our imagination with maybe a few personal quirks thrown in.

1/1/2026 04:18:28 pm

That's a smart move.

I heard about an author working on his first book. He told his local family that he was naming all of the characters after them. Everyone was excited about "being" in a book, even though it was only their names being used. He provided regular updates on his progress. He ran into a problem when an aunt told him she would not do what the book character was doing. He couldn't find a way to mollify her. Family gatherings were quite frosty for some time. I didn't ever hear the end result for him.

New question.

What do you do to flesh out the characters for your stories?

1/1/2026 04:33:45 pm

Usually we will do character interviews to flesh out their details. We both take a main character each, then we develop our own background and family for that character. Lastly, we create visuals for each other on Pinterest so we can have a complete picture of each character.

1/1/2026 06:04:59 pm

You two are quite organized as a writing team. That seems like a good system.

Here is a copy-and-paste link for a guest blog elsewhere on my website or you can hit the search box below. https://www.wordrefiner.com/guest-blogs/character-creation. Rick is also a client. In this blog, he describes a website he created to help authors create psychologically congruent characters. He uses multiple scales and offers examples from literature and movies. You might find it useful.

New question.

Which is more fun to write, the female lead or the male lead, and why?

1/1/2026 07:14:54 pm

Because we both write from a particular point of view- Lisa-Marie is the female main character, and Amanda is the male main character, we each are partial to our own characters.

1/1/2026 07:16:19 pm

And we will have to look into that link! Thank you!

1/1/2026 08:15:32 pm

That makes a lot of sense to me. Your preferences complement each other well. It could well be easier knowing which lead character you will be writing, even when drafting.

New questions.

Which is more important to a story: pace or flow?

How do you control it?

1/2/2026 02:03:24 am

For us, we just write, and it’s the edit and beta reader stages where pick up on the loose ends that need more structure, like pacing and flow. Both are important for keeping a reader engaged.

1/2/2026 09:07:42 am

It has been said that easy reading is very hard writing. That certainly is true. Word choice, pacing and flow all contribute to the reading experience.

New questions.

What is your writing routine when you sit down to write?

Do you write in a straight line or do you write whatever the muse provides for you at a given moment?

1/2/2026 12:32:28 pm

We try to keep regular office hours during the week for our writing. That way we, and our families, can view our writing as a full-time job. Because if we don’t take it seriously, no one will.

During these sessions, we write linearly. We wouldn’t be able to keep the story straight otherwise!

1/2/2026 12:53:51 pm

You make a great point with taking your writing seriously! Family and friends respect you for that.

Many writers write in a straight line. Most writers also work alone. I would guess that you two don't struggle with writer's block as many authors do. If they don't have another project, they can jump to, some will do something else completely unrelated to the book in progress. Some go outdoors, some take care of a chore in the house. There are many ways to reconnect with the inspiration needed to continue the story.

New question.

Now that your book is published, is there anything about it you would like to change?

1/2/2026 01:42:43 pm

We are fortunate that if one of us is stuck on a part, we can brainstorm with the other.

As for changes in our book now that it’s published, no, we can’t think of anything we’d want to change. We’re very pleased with both of them.

1/2/2026 03:22:46 pm

I suspected that would be the case. You have each other to lean on when necessary.

Many authors are like you in this regard. There are a few who struggle with letting go after the book is published. There are a few authors who are afraid to publish. "Just one more round of edits" is their mantra. Your fans are happy that you both know when to let go.

New questions.

What do you do to launch a new book when it is first published?

How long is the period of time for launching a book in your mind?

1/2/2026 04:24:12 pm

Prior to a book’s release, we make promo videos annd images, then try to blast social media about three months before the release date. We also advertised Book 2 at book signings for Book 1. But our publisher is the one who sets the release date, so once we know that information, we plan accordingly.

1/2/2026 05:50:51 pm

That sounds like a good plan. So much of the promotion and marketing falls on the authors' shoulders, even for most traditionally published authors. You are doing some of these things mentioned in the following blog already. It never hurts to consider other ideas. One of my favorite blogs is about pursuing the local author angle. How to be a marketing star right where you live. A copy-and-paste link or search the title in the search box below: https://annerallen.com/2019/08/hometown-book-marketing/

I would add a few tips: seek out literature teachers at the high school and college level to share in their class and there might be a club in the school. Local newspapers are a good resource for an interview as well as local cable access. There might also be a broadcast arts curriculum and/or a club at the high school and college level. Have some questions ready to hand the interviewer if they seem uncertain.

Senior centers are another good possibility and they usually welcome any sort of activity like that. Contact the events director.

If there are tourist destinations try and place your books with the local author angle. Museums, gift stores, motels, hotels, tourist attractions are all possibilities. Keep a box of books in your trunk. Get a counter-top holder for a few books, paste a picture of the cover on the holder behind the books and put re-ordering information on the back of the holder.

Consider renting a table at a comic convention, county fair, farmer's market or a flea market. Have free swag to hand out such as a bookmark and sell mugs or posters. There are so many ways to be the 'local author' I doubt I have exhausted the list of possibilities.

New questions.

Do you know if any of your books are selling outside of the USA?

If so, what are the top three markets where your books are selling?

1/2/2026 05:58:06 pm

We have some information on international sales, mostly because we have friends in other countries that we know have purchased the books.

Probably the other markets where we’ve sold the most would be Canada, the UK, and Australia.

1/2/2026 08:14:41 pm

That's good. Foreign sales can help boost the bottom line, especially if you can place your books in their markets. I know Amazon has pages for a number of countries. Many countries in the world teach English as a second language or English is the official language of education, business and government.

In many of those countries, a cell phone is the primary means of accessing the internet so an audiobook is easier for them to consume. And your books are coming out in audio form before too long. There are a lot of people who prefer audiobooks for their own reasons.

New question.

Have you ever participated in a book blog tour, why or why not?

Here is a copy-and-paste link about that topic: https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/2022/05/04/mktg-14-book-blog-tours

1/2/2026 09:43:49 pm

We have done a few blog tours for our books, but mostly through promotional companies we’ve used. We’ve never put on together ourselves.

Because we are traditionally published, we aren’t sure if these tours helped, but hopefully they got us some publicity.

1/3/2026 08:59:07 am

I have no idea how effective book blog tours are. No one can guarantee sales. Beware of anyone who promises that.

New questions.

What kind of marketing has worked the best and the least for you for this book?

Speaking of marketing, why did you pick me to help promote your book?

1/3/2026 01:47:51 pm

This is a hard question for us to answer. Because we don’t see our numbers right away, we aren't sure what promotions work and don’t. We can say that we participated in a Goodreads giveaway and that got our book on over 4k “want to read” lists.

Also, we chose to use your services because you’re trustworthy, reliable, and affordable. Not to mention, after your promotion of our first book, we were so impressed with your service that we will always sing your praises! Your questions are original and the number of posts you put on X is phenomenal!

1/3/2026 02:21:49 pm

Four thousand want-to-read listings seem like a huge success! Hopefully, at least 10% will leave a review.

Thank you. I have tried to meet all of those objectives over the years. I enjoy talking books with authors. I post the book review hourly, around the clock, for a week. That translates into a lot of exposure.

New question.

I noticed you didn’t title your chapters. Why is that?

1/3/2026 03:19:11 pm

We chose to have only the point of view names at the start of each chapter because we wanted people to know whose chapter they were reading.

Although in future book, we may name our chapters.

1/3/2026 04:20:21 pm

That makes sense to me. I like chapter titles, personally.

New question.

What is the one thing you hope readers will remember from your book?

1/3/2026 06:43:03 pm

We want readers to feel as though our books are immersive and that they love our characters. Those are the two things we hope they will take away from our stories.

1/3/2026 07:52:19 pm

Good choices! As the famous philosopher said to the crowd in the coliseum, "Are you not entertained!" Maybe that was not such a good choice. I'll stop while I am behind.

New questions.

Do you have a classical author or poet you admire?

What popular modern authors have influenced you?

1/4/2026 11:04:51 am

As far as a classical author we admire, Lisa-Marie would say Shakespeare, and Amanda would say Emily Brontë. Amanda first realized she was a romantic after reading Wuthering Heights in high school.

Stephenie Meyer is a modern author we both admire. Her Twilight series started our friendship and inspired our writing journey.

1/4/2026 01:48:03 pm

Excellent choices, all around.

Our daughter and her oldest daughter,17, love the Twilight series and movie. I have seen large chunks of the first two movies and admit to being a little bit confused. I should read the book to gain a true understanding.

Some of the scenes were shot at Kalama High School and the heavily forested areas nearby. KHS is my alma mater.

New questions.

Have you ever been asked for writing help or to mentor a fledgling writer?

What software do you use to write and publish your books, and why do you use those?

1/4/2026 07:53:45 pm

We have been asked to beta read and for general writing advice, but nothing like teaching a class or being a mentor.

And we simply write our manuscripts in Word and our publisher does all the formatting for publication.

1/4/2026 08:09:40 pm

Mentoring a person is a big responsibility. They have their voice, whether they know it or not, and a lot of suggestions can involve changing their voice into yours. That is one of the problems with AI, it will average the voice of a single author into the other authors it was trained on.

Microsoft Word is installed or pirated around the world. But having a program that is compatible with so many other programs is ever so useful.

New question.

This is your second book, and you are planning for at least one more in this series.

How do you keep track of all the characters and events in your books?

1/5/2026 01:48:41 am

Lisa-Marie has notebooks where we put all kinds of details about each character. We also keep a file online that we can reference as well. This way, we always have a character’s details on hand while we’re writing.

1/5/2026 10:19:10 am

Smart! Notebooks, spreadsheets, files and more are all good ways to keep details straight! More than once, when proofreading, I found that a character's appearance had changed in some way, eye color, hair color and such. Those kinds of mistakes jar a reader out of your magic.

New questions.

Who is the easiest character to write in this book?

Who is the hardest character to write in this book?

1/5/2026 11:10:17 am

Autumn’s dads were pretty easy to write. They came alive in our heads and we were completely in sync on how they would act and react throughout the book.

As for hard characters to write, it was more the situations they were in. Coming up with ways for miscommunication was more difficult. It’s especially hard in our third book. The friends to lovers trope isn’t one we’re comfortable with, so it’s pushing us out of our comfort zones.

1/5/2026 12:41:25 pm

Autumn's dads were in the first book.

Communication difficulties are something nearly all couples struggle with. With pre-conceived notions about relationship dynamics, misunderstandings are all but impossible to avoid. Good communication requires a lot of work in the beginning, but it gets easier if everyone follows the rules.

Last question.

Have you ever had the experience of the story swerving in a different direction than planned, as if a character was driving it?

1/5/2026 02:17:12 pm

Because we are pantsers- we write by the seat of our pants- our stories can veer several times within a draft. Lisa-Marie generally takes the female main character point of view and writes a chapter, then, when she’s done, she sends it to me to write the male point of view in the next chapter. So while each of us may have thought the story was going one way, we won’t know until we get the other person’s chapter!

1/5/2026 02:31:15 pm

I forgot your specific writing method. I think you are the first writing team I have had the pleasure of interviewing. That makes so much sense, the way you and Lisa-Marie write. You each get a break from writing when waiting for the next chapter to land in your email.

I must bring our chat to a close. I have another promotion starting tomorrow. Thank you for hiring me to promote your books. I love your writing style and techniques.

Until next time, keep on writing.

1/5/2026 05:40:18 pm

Thank you for all your hard work in promoting Just What the Doctor Hired! We thoroughly enjoyed the interview process, the creative questions, and will continue to recommend your services. We also plan to hire you again in the future.

Just What the Doctor Hired

(Plus One Book 2) by Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter

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