Interview with Richard Mabry

Q: You’ve had a successful career as a doctor. (And I’m sure from reading your books that you were a very good doctor) What motivated you to start writing?

A. When I began the practice of medicine, I thought it might be neat to have a paper published in a professional journal. By the time I retired after 36 years, the last ten spent as a medical school professor, I’d had over 100 such papers published, and had written or edited eight textbooks. Nevertheless, I had no plans for non-medical writing.

That changed after my wife of 40 years died suddenly. I used journaling as a coping mechanism. Friends who read that material urged me to turn it into a book to help others going through a similar loss. Since I had no idea how to write such a book, I attended a Christian writer’s conference, where I began to learn what I needed to produce what eventually became The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse. At that same conference, authors like James Scott Bell and Alton Gansky encouraged me to try my hand at medical fiction.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A. I guess you could say I got a contract for the publication of The Tender Scar through God’s timing. This was at a time when a writer could submit directly to a publisher, and the book idea resonated with Dennis Hillman, the publisher at Kregel, who was sensitive to the situation.

The fiction road was longer and rougher. Matter of fact, although I obtained representation by an agent, I struggled to find my voice and appropriate genre, and she hit brick walls in trying to sell my novels. Finally, I decided to give up on writing.

I’d met Rachelle Gardner when she was an editor, and we hit it off. When she resurfaced as an agent, I followed her blog, and decided to enter a contest for the best first line of a story. After I won, I claimed my prize and sent her the first chapter of my latest book for her critique. She replied, “Send me something that needs editing.” One thing led to another, and she offered representation.

A few months later, as ICRS drew to a close, Rachelle pitched my book to Barbara Scott, who was starting the fiction line at Abingdon Press. Barbara liked it, and asked to read the whole novel. Soon I had my first fiction contract.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, Lethal Remedy? And about the entire Prescription for Trouble series?

A. My idea behind the series was that there would be either a prescription or administration of a medication that would result in the doctor-protagonists landing in trouble. The books are a series only in their common theme, not because of recurring characters—they can be read in any order.

Lethal Remedy is the last in this series of four novels published by Abingdon Press, and poses the question: What if someone hides pertinent research data in order to bring to market an antibiotic needed to stem an epidemic of a universally lethal infection? Or, to put it more simply, what if a wonder drug is capable of killing more than bacteria? This is the question the doctor-protagonist faces, as she tries to untangle the web of lies before it costs someone—in this case, a colleague—his life.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this series?

A: I started with a few basic premises. My reading for pleasure over the years has been in the thriller/suspense genre, especially the novels of the late Robert B. Parker, and I felt comfortable trying to write in that vein. Since my adult life involved the practice of medicine, both in the private and academic setting, I decided on novels in which a physician was the protagonist. Early on it was evident that some element of romance would be necessary to hold the interest of most readers. Therefore, I came up with the tag line, “Medical suspense with heart.” Judging from the responses of my readers, it must be working.

Q: Do you have a favorite book in the series? If so which one and why?

A: Like the parent who’s asked which is their favorite child, I have to say I love them all, but for different reasons. Code Blue is my firstborn, and I’ll always be grateful for that introduction to publication. Medical Error deals with an interesting subject that was a product of my imagination, although instances of such problems surfaced after publication of the book. Diagnosis Death carries an emotional tie, since I have a friend who was accused (and acquitted) of euthanasia. As for Lethal Remedy…I’ll answer that next.

Q: I was particularly impressed with your creative plot in Lethal Remedy. Where did you get such a fascinating idea and what is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: I’ve had the privilege of doing medical research and serving as a consultant to several excellent (and very ethical) pharmaceutical companies. From time to time, I would read (mainly in professional journals) a retraction of previously published research on various drugs. That started me wondering about what might happen if the need for a medication to become available was overwhelming enough to allow bending a few rules. If you combined that with a desire for money, fame, power, or what have you on the part of someone in that chain, what might happen? In the author’s note at the end of the book, I ask the reader’s indulgence in suspension of disbelief, but warn that—given the right circumstances and motivation for risk—some of the protections we take for granted might be circumvented.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: You mean other than not being stopped for my autograph at the supermarket? Seriously, I’ve discovered that being a published novelist has made very little difference in my day-to-day life. I do know a lot more about what a novelist goes through in the creative process, something I formerly took for granted, and the business side of publishing is a mystery about which I’m still learning after years of being a part of it.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A. I’m working on the first book in a new series. The working title is Stress Test, in which the protagonist—a doctor, naturally—is kidnapped, thrown into the trunk of his car, and sent on what is meant to be his final ride. He manages to escape, but at the cost of a head injury that requires emergency surgery. He awakens in the ICU, charged with the murder of a colleague and suddenly stripped of all his resources. His only ally is a feisty, red-haired attorney who—despite wanting nothing more to do with doctors—agrees to take on his defense.

Q: What is something your readers might be surprised to learn about you?

A. As I tell my wife, Kay, I’m just a low-profile guy, who’s been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time in the past. For instance, I played beach volleyball with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Hawaii, played golf with country singing star Charlie Pride, sat next to Mickey Mantle in the dugout, and got golf tips from Jack Nicklaus.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A. I read for pleasure, and always have a book or two at my bedside (although now it’s mainly my Kindle). I have a standing date with a friend each week for a round of golf (in which we don’t keep score, and hit several shots if we don’t like the first one), followed by a hot dog at the 19th hole. And both Kay and I are working to uphold our reputation as the world’s most perfect grandparents.

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell us or share with us?

A. I appreciate this opportunity to let your readers know a bit about me. I hope they enjoy the Prescription For Trouble series, and if so, that they’ll keep an eye out for my next series. Thanks.

Be sure to stop by our contest page for the month of October for a chance to win the entire Prescription for Trouble Series.