A warm welcome to Heidi Cullinan joining us today to talk about the release of “The Doctor’s Date”, book 2 in the Copper Point Medical series.

Thanks for having me today. I’m here to talk about my new book The Doctor’s Date, available in ebook, trade paper, and mass market from Dreamspinner Press. It’s book two in the Copper Point: Medical series, and it’s the story of Erin Andreas, no-nonsense hospital administrator, and Dr. Owen Andreas, the cantankerous anesthesiologist.

 

There are a lot of side characters in this series, though, and my favorite hands down is the lesbian couple.

 

I always knew Dr. Kathryn Lambert-Diaz and Rebecca Lambert-Diaz would feature prominently in the books, since they were several of the heroes’ childhood friends and are still involved in their work and personal lives, but I didn’t know how attached to them I’d get. I admit, I found myself always looking for an excuse to have them walk on. I’ve even joked to my editor that I want to write the prequel novella of their meet cute, and her response was, “I’d read that.”

 

Where they came from is honestly an amalgam of a lot of women in my life that I know and love. Kathryn is soft and sweet unless one of her mothers or babies needs something (she’s an OB/GYN), Rebecca is no-nonsense and take-no-prisoners when she’s working, but relaxes at home and always takes care of her friends.

 

I hope you enjoy all of the side characters in The Doctor’s Date and all the Copper Point novels!

 

He didn’t make it four feet before a bright voice called out his name. “Erin!”

Turning around, he saw a young woman with long dark hair, a bright expression, and a smile hiding knives. As was her habit, she wore a deep-red coat that matched her lipstick. Rebecca always wore red to the courtroom, Erin had heard, fueling the rumor the color represented the blood of her enemies. She wore the color to every board meeting as well.

Rebecca waved a breezy hello at the elderly white men casting cold stares at her as they shuffled into the meeting room, then gave Erin a much warmer greeting. “It’s so good to see you. How have you been?”

“I’m well, thank you.” Resisting the urge to glance around and make sure his father wasn’t watching, Erin inclined his head politely. “How is your wife?”

“Getting ready to admit a soon-to-be mother as we speak, so she’s happy as a clam.” Rebecca swept her hair away from her face as she shrugged out of her coat and draped it over her arm. “I wish I’d been able to get in with enough time to grab a latte from the gift shop. I want to catch up with you after and treat you as thanks for helping Kathryn get coverage last weekend. Plus I’m going to drown you in photos from our getaway. We had so much fun. It’s been ages since I saw her smiling like that, and it’s all because of you.”

Erin blushed. “It’s nothing, really. Just doing my job.”

Rebecca wagged a finger at him. “But nobody does their job as diligently as you. Kathryn has always said so, and now I’ve seen you in action, so I can attest to this truth myself.” She winked. “You know, to hell with it. They can’t start the meeting without us. Let’s go get some coffee now.”

Before he could so much as draw breath for protest, she dragged him off, binder, laptop, and all, hauling him away at a breathless clip. She bypassed the elevators entirely and led him to the stairwell.

“This way is faster,” she said as she pushed through the door.

As soon as they were alone on the stairway, she let go, stopping to face Erin. Her demeanor relaxed significantly, and she favored him with a patient, kind smile. “So, I am going to get you a coffee, but mostly I wanted to pull you aside and talk with you.”

Erin closed his hand over a cold air return pipe. If anyone else tried to talk to him today, he was jumping into the bay.

Sensing his mental overload, Rebecca held up her hands and gentled her tone even further. “I’m not trying to put you on the spot or pressure you. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. You’re in a real box with your father and the rest of the board, but I know in your heart you side with Nick and want to move his agenda. All I wanted to do, in addition to sincerely thanking you for helping Kathryn, was tell you not to worry. I understand having to play the middle to get to the place you want to go in the long run. I’m not going to take any offense. That’s all, really. Just wanted to make sure we were clear.”

Play the middle. Erin’s cheeks burned. How was he supposed to tell her she’d seriously overestimated his political maneuvering abilities? Sorry, I’m not playing a deep game, I’m actually this inept?

She winked. “Anyway, I’m going to run down and get you a coffee now. I’ll probably be late, which will give them something to bitch about. I do like making people happy. What’s your poison today, Erin?”

Vodka, neat. He pressed his hand to the side of his aching head. “Maybe an herbal tea.”

“One herbal tea coming up.” She patted his arm. “Get your game face on and go in there. Don’t let the patriarchy get you down.”

 

The hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?

Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.

Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father.

With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.

This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.

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Author of over thirty novels, Midwest-native Heidi Cullinan writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. Heidi is a two-time RITA® finalist and her books have been recommended by Library Journal, USA Today, RT Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading novels and manga, playing with her cats, and watching too much anime. Find out more at heidicullinan.com.