Guest Blogger Richard Mabry and Lethal Remedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DR. RICHARD MABRY is the author of four published novels of medical suspense. His books have been finalists in competitions including ACFW’s Carol Award and Romantic Times’ Inspirational Book of the Year. His latest novel is Lethal Remedy. He currently serves as Vice-President of the American Christian Fiction Writers. You can learn more about him at his website: http://rmabry.com. He blogs at http://rmabry.blogspot.com.

LETHAL REMEDY
by Richard Mabry
Published by Abingdon Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dr. Sara Miles’ patient is on the threshold of death from an overwhelming, highly resistant infection with Staphylococcus luciferus, simply known to doctors as “the killer.” Only an experimental antibiotic, developed and administered by Sara’s ex-husband, Dr. Jack Ingersoll, can save the girl's life.

Dr. John Ramsey is seeking to put his life together after the death of his wife by joining the medical school faculty. But his decision could prove to be costly, even fatal.

Potentially lethal late effects from the experimental drug send Sara and her colleague, Dr. Rip Pearson, on a hunt for hidden critical data that will let them reverse the changes before it’s too late.

Lethal Remedy (Abingdon Press, 2011) is Dr. Mabry’s fourth novel of medical suspense. His next book will be released in early 2013.

Readers, buy your copy of Lethal Remedy today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Fame And Fortune

There’s a wonderful line in The Muppet Movie. The Muppets have come to the big city looking for fame and fortune, and they encounter Orson Wells, playing a big-time producer. At the end of the scene, he tells his secretary to prepare the “standard rich and famous contract.” I guess that’s the kind of contract an author dreams about, but so far as I can tell, it only exists in the movies.

From the outside, being a writer seems exciting. At my first writer’s conference, I was awestruck by the published writers there. These were people whose names were household words—well, not in my household, but I was just getting started, so I could be excused for not knowing all of them. But surely they were celebrities in their hometowns. Most certainly they had to stop and give autographs in the grocery store or dry cleaners. And undoubtedly they lived in the lap of luxury. After all, they were published authors!

When my first novel was published, I’ll never forget the thrill of opening that box and seeing the cover with “Richard L. Mabry, MD” printed at the top. I listened carefully, but so far as I could tell, there were no cheering crowds outside my window, no marching bands in the street. I opened my Internet browser, but there was no headline about the book. What I did find, however, were a bunch of emails about interviews and guest blog posts that I’d lined up to get the word out. No matter that there were no cheering crowds yet. Surely these would do the trick.

Now, fast-forward about two years. That’s when I opened a carton and removed another book with my name on the cover above the title, Lethal Remedy. This was my fourth published novel, and by this time, reality has set in. I took a minute to thank God for having brought me this far. I showed the book to my wife, Kay, and gave her the personalized copy I wanted her to have. I pulled enough books out of the box to cover the give-aways I’d promised. I made sure I was current with the blog interviews and guest posts I’d set up. And then I got back to writing the proposal I hoped a publisher would accept. I didn’t take the time to listen for cheering crowds and marching bands.

At church, a few people know I’m an author, and we talk a bit about it. I’m sometimes asked to sign a book. I’ve been asked to share a little about the publishing industry with my home fellowship group. But that’s about it for the famous part. And as for rich, well that’s not going to happen, either.

Do I mind that I never got that “standard rich and famous contract?” Not at all. My words have been read by many more people than the population of the town where I grew up. If I’ve succeeded in my mission, when those readers turn the last page of my novel they find they’ve been left with a message—not a hard-sell of Christianity, because that’s just not my style, but rather a message that no matter how far we drift from God, we can always turn back to Him. I’ve been allowed to use the printed page as my pulpit. And that’s rich and famous enough for me.

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Thank you, Doc, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question:  How about you? Which matters most to you—that the book you’re reading sold a million copies and garnered rave reviews, or that it speaks to you, even if no one else is talking about it? What do you say?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book featured above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US residents only.

Welcome Doc Richard Mabry and Lethal Remedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard L. Mabry, MD, is a retired physician and medical school professor who achieved worldwide recognition as a clinician, researcher and teacher before turning his talents to non-medical writing after his retirement.

Richard’s book, The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse, has ministered to multiple thousands of grieving individuals. His meditations and short pieces have appeared in The Upper Room, In Touch, and other periodicals.

He is the author of three published novels of medical suspense. One of them, Medical Error, is a finalist for this year’s Carol Award of the American Christian Fiction Writers. His fourth novel, Lethal Remedy, is scheduled for publication in October.

Richard and his wife live in North Texas, where, when he’s not writing or trying to improve his golf game, he tries to be the world’s best grandfather. His website is http://www.rmabry.com.

LETHAL REMEDY
by Richard (Doc) Mabry
Published by Abingdon Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

This “miracle drug could kill more than bacteria.

Dr. Sara Miles’ patient is on the threshold of death from an overwhelming, highly resistant infection with Staphylococcus luciferus, known to doctors as “the killer.” Only an experimental antibiotic, developed and administered by Sara’s ex-husband, Dr. Jack Ingersoll, can save the girl's life.

Dr. John Ramsey is seeking to put his life together after the death of his wife by joining the medical school faculty. But his decision could prove to be costly, even fatal. Potentially lethal late effects from the “wonder drug” send Sara and her colleague, Dr. Rip Pearson, on a hunt for hidden critical data that will let them reverse the changes before it’s too late. What is the missing puzzle piece? And who is hiding it?

Readers, buy your copy of Lethal Remedy today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WRITING LIFE

I’ve been a published author long enough now to realize that people are more curious about the writing life than I ever thought possible. I’m asked these questions when I meet with book clubs, when I do signings, at parties, at church, even at family gatherings. So I thought it might be fun to share a few with you, along with my answers.

I want to write a book. How do I go about it? What I want to say is, “Do you realize you’re asking me to distill what took me four years to learn into a few sentences?” But I don’t. Never antagonize a potential reader, the little voice inside me says. Instead, I tell them something like this:

-Learn the craft. Attend a writer’s conference. Study a half dozen of the most basic books. Read the work of others, and learn from what they do (and don’t do).

-Practice the craft. Write, get someone knowledgeable to critique your work, revise, write some more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

-Mainly you get your work in front of editors via an agent. Get an agent. Identify the ones you want to represent you, learn what they want in a query, revise your query letter until it shines like gold and cuts like a diamond, and be prepared to wait…and be rejected.

I’m thinking of self-publication. With e-books, it seems so easy. Like most things that seem easy, it isn’t. Either of these routes begins with hiring a professional editor to polish your work and put it into the proper format. Then you’ll want a professional to do the cover graphics. After that, you’ll need to work very hard to market your book—twice as hard as if it were conventionally published, because, even though authors grouse about how little their publisher does to market their work, it’s still nice not to be alone in the efforts.

Can you make money as a writer? You can if your name is James Patterson (who will gross an estimated $100 million this year) or Stephen King. Otherwise, don’t quit your day job.

But don’t writers get paid for books? A writer gets an advance against royalties for each book under contract. This is usually paid in increments, divided into several payments (varies with the publisher). This isn’t money for free, it’s an advance on royalties, and if your book doesn’t “earn out,” that’s all you’ll get. The author doesn’t have to repay any royalty not earned out, but by the same token they don’t get any more money for it. And all that assumes a contract in the first place.

Once you’re published, you don’t have problems getting a contract for other books. Right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong. And whereas it’s tough for an unpublished writer to get a contract, sometimes it’s even tougher if you’ve had one or more books published and they don’t sell well. You think writers hate the term “platform?” Even more, we hate poor sales numbers. The other factor to keep an established author from getting a contract is that what you write might no longer be in fashion. You might be able to avoid that if you pitch an Amish vampire missionary nurse romance.

Now, imagine you’re at a dinner, seated next to your favorite author. Which author would that be, and what question would you ask him/her?

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Thank you, Doc, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: Imagine you’re at a dinner, seated next to your favorite author. Which author would that be, and what question would you ask him/her?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of any one of Doc's 4 novels (Code Blue, Medical Error, Diagnosis Death or Lethal Remedy.). If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.