Note from Christa: I first met Richard four years ago when we were both on the verge of publishing our first novels with Abingdon Press. He now serves as Vice-President of the American Christian Fiction Writers. His novel, Lethal Remedy, was nominated for ACFW’s Carol Award. Richard gives generously of his time and talents. He is an encourager and supporter, and I have appreciated and enjoyed his friendship.
When people discover I’m a published author, they always have questions. “How much money do you make from this?” Not nearly enough. “Is it difficult to get published?” No more difficult than swimming the English Channel with one hand tied behind your back and an anchor on your leg. And the number one question, “Where do you get your ideas?”
I hadn’t given much thought to the origin of my ideas until I’d been asked that question a number of times. And as I considered it, I realized that sometimes these things just seem to materialize in my brain and take on a life of their own.
My first novel, Code Blue, is about a young doctor who flees from her big city practice when her life falls apart, going back to her hometown only to find that some of the people don’t want her there, and at least one wants her dead. The book begins with a black SUV running her vehicle off the road, and I had that scene in my head when I began writing, but frankly, beyond that, I was totally winging it. I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer anyway, and for this one, I just let my imagination take me forward. My characters surprised me at times, and I honestly didn’t know who the villain was going to be until I started writing the last few chapters of the book.
The books that came afterward had varying origins. The focus of Medical Error is medical identity theft—that is, someone stealing an identity and using it to obtain medical treatment. I began pursuing this because one of my family members is almost paranoid about identity theft, having been a victim. The third book, Diagnosis Death, features a doctor accused of the mercy killings of several patients. I started writing that one after a similar charge was leveled at a colleague (who was subsequently exonerated). My most recent novel, Lethal Remedy, centers around a “what-if” scenario: what if one or more of the people involved in researching a new drug decided to falsify data and hide side effects in order to get the drug on the market?
There’s not a lot connecting these books, is there? The common thread is that they sprang from my day-to-day experiences, resulting in ideas I thought were worth pursuing. Do I have other ideas? I have a number of them, preserved on my hard disk and in my memory, and I’ll pursue them one at a time in novels as long as I’m able.
So, back to the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” The answer is simple. They’re the product of life, experience, circumstances, and an active imagination. What more does a writer need?
MORE ABOUT RICHARD:
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RICHARD’S BIO: Dr. Richard Mabry retired from medicine after a distinguished career as a respected clinician, teacher, writer, and researcher. He entered the field of non-medical writing with the publication of his book, The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse, written after the death of his first wife. Richard is the author of the Prescription For Trouble series of medical thrillers. He and his wife Kay make their home in North Texas.
