This is Ink & Intrigue—the blog where romance ignites, secrets simmer, and every love story hides a twist. I’m your blog host, Sheila Kell, romance author and lover of plot twists, slow burns, and morally questionable book boyfriends.
Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an author duo whose stories sizzle with chemistry and witty banter—Amanda Nelson & Lisa-Marie Potter! If you love romances that have heat without the spice, filled with tension and clever dialogue, you’re in for a treat.
Amanda and Lisa-Marie are known for excellent writing and realistic banter. Their latest release, Just What the Doctor Hired, is a medical romance that’s sweet, sassy, and has a satisfying slow burn.
In this spotlight, Amanda and Lisa-Marie share their love for the same imaginary men and give us a behind-the-scenes look at Just What the Doctor Hired.
Whether you write love stories, devour them, or dream of doing both, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it and give a warm welcome to Amanda & Lisa-Marie! 💖
Let’s get right to the interview!
What part of writing romance do you enjoy most—the meet-cute, the conflict, or the happily ever after?
For us, we love the meet-cute. The flirty banter and the-will-they-won’t-they of a new romance is our favorite part to write as well as read.
Are your characters based on real people, or entirely fictional?
While our characters’ personalities are completely fictional, we tend to base their appearances on people we both find attractive. For example, Jared, from Book 1 in our Plus One series, is based on the looks of Gaspard Ulliel, and Jensen’s physical characteristics from Book 2, are based on Jensen Ackles. As you can see, we both have immaculate taste.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
We suggest aspiring authors to find their tribe. Having a writing group has been an essential part of our journey. They have been the best critics and beta readers we could have asked for.
Also, any author aspiring to publish a book needs to develop thick skin. This is a hard industry with lots of rejections, critiques, and rewrites, but all of these things are necessary to produce a good product that people will want to read.
When your manuscript is ready, and you want to look for an agent, we suggest using manuscriptwishlist.com and querytracker.net as essential resources.
Which books or authors have influenced you the most?
The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer had an impactful influence on both of us. This was the series that got us thinking about becoming authors ourselves. We read them as they came out, and we discussed the stories while trying to predict how the next book would go. This brainstorming got our creative juices flowing, and Lisa-Marie suggested writing our own book, starting us on our journey.
What do you like to read in your free time?
Amanda likes to read fantasy romance and romcoms in her spare time, while Lisa-Marie loves romcoms, fantasy romance, thrillers, and true crime novels. And although Lisa-Marie doesn’t make of rule of reading horror, she does like Thomas Harris.
What are you working on next?
Currently, we are drafting Book 3 in the Plus One Series, Two’s Company, Plus One’s a Crowd, and hope to have it published by late 2026.
Are there any genres you’d like to explore that you haven’t yet?
We have a young adult manuscript that we shelved to write the Plus One series that we are excited to get back to. While we have finished the actual manuscript, we have new plot points and twists we want to add to round out the story.
Amanda and Lisa-Marie are an award-winning, co-writing team of best friends who share imaginary worlds, including Men In Books Aren’t Better (September 29, 2024), Just What the Doctor Hired (July 9, 2025), and a short story, Shivers, published in Moments Between (February 28, 2022). Lisa-Marie Potter (BIPOC) is a mom of four who grew up in Nottingham, England, and now resides in Alaska with her husband and golden retriever. Amanda Nelson grew up in Maryland and moved to Arizona, where she attended ASU and currently lives with her husband and four kids. Both women are hopeless romantics, but Lisa-Marie also enjoys suspense novels, while Amanda’s second go-to genre is romantacy. The duo review books on their socials, hike the Olympic National Park, and fight over the same fictional crushes.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Amanda Nelson & Lisa-Marie Potter and hearing about their journey, inspirations, and latest swoon-worthy release, Just What the Doctor Hired . If you haven’t added this to your TBR yet, now’s the time—trust me, you won’t want to miss it. 💖
You can connect with Amanda and Lisa-Marie here:
📱Social: dot.cards/anelsonwriter
🛒 Grab their book: http://bit.ly/4eDX3jD
Thank you for joining me in spotlighting two fellow romance lovers who gave us all the feels. Stay tuned for more author features, book talk, and behind-the-scenes romance goodness.
Until next time—keep reading, keep swooning! 💖