The Next Best Thing

The Next Big Thing

1. What is the title of your book?

Rage
2.  How did you come by the idea?
The idea came to me as I observed the discordance between the law and psychiatry and its tragic consequences. These problems are ever more poignant in the light of recent events.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

 A psychological thriller/mystery.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie?

Robin Williams has played psychiatrists before. I can easily see him as a forensic psychiatrist.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When normal people act violently, we need answers.

6. Will your book be self-published or traditional?

Self -published.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft took four months. The novel has taken many forms: screenplay, proposal for miniseries, and continuing TV drama.

8.  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Innovative like Robin Cook, but better written. Michael Palmer & Tess Gerritsen.

9.. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I like novels that pose an intriguing, yet unanswerable question. Human behavior is the ultimate one. This gives me the opportunity to entertain while watching my characters deal with the question.  I try to hold off the answer  as long as possible.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

In Rage, as in my other novels, I strive to entertain, and to share with the readers my thoughts and experiences as a physician. These are lessons too often learned the hard way.

What is the title of your book?

The Speed of Dark. It's an anthology.

Learning the Hard Way

I had to republish my latest novel, Rage for print and Kindle. Somehow, the manuscript contained unusual marks and parts of chapters were missing. Had some mediocre review due to same. I think the novel's better than that (my unbiased opinion, LOL). Hope readers will give it another shot.

http://www.amazon.com/Rage-ebook/dp/B00AH2LK8W/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

I must admit that I'm not fond of line editing. It's because I'm a natural reader and my mind ignores error and omissions by inserting what's missing and deleting what shouldn't be there. 

I tried several online spell and grammar checkers and they were worse than useless. In fact, one may be responsible for errors in my manuscript for Rage.

It's difficult to fuss about these petty problems in the face of what happened last Friday in Connecticut. 

If this doesn't change attitudes about firearms, nothing will.

Back to my Blog

I’m returning to my blog for two reasons: 1. It may help me sell books, and 2. It gives me the opportunity to express what motivates me to write.

Medical fiction, TV, and big-screen productions have posed difficulties for me. While I appreciate great writing in any form, inaccuracy and faulty plot lines drive me nuts. My wife, Dorlis and I cringe when actors study and comment on x-rays that are upside down or backwards or when they mispronounce medical terms. This isn’t a big deal for the average viewer, but it may serve as a harbinger of other problems in the production. If producers hired medical consultants, they could eliminate these problems. In addition, many productions highlight only the most dramatic elements of medical illness while excluding those most important to patients and their families. Unfortunately, medical scenes as portrayed are far removed from reality (and I'm not just talking about handsome/beautiful physicians and nurses). 

I deal with these issues in my novels but in my blog, I can be more direct:

1.     Does your doc have only your best interests at heart?

2.     Does your doctor know when he/she is over his/her head and is he/she willing to ask for help?

3.     How patient/family attitudes/actions influence medical professionals (who are human after all).

4.     How much care is too much care? (a major problem in the healthcare crisis ahead)

5.     Do physicians and patients really understand the risk/benefit profiles of medications, surgeries, and other procedures?

6.     Physicians and patients can be caring or uncaring, intelligent or stupid, hardworking or slothful, patient or impatient, risk averse or thrill-seeking, dedicated or indifferent…name your own adjectives.

In medicine, like in life, the first step in dealing with problems is to acknowledge them.

Sierra Writers

Participated in panel Tuesday night re. Advising writers.