Darden North, MD

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Strong Female Characters

2010-02-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

When I attended the International Thriller Writers' Conference in New York City during the Summer of 2009, those who registered for the AgentFest portion of the event were allowed to pitch themselves and their work one-on-one, face-to-face with literary agents.

As I courageously pitched my current fiction manuscript, Wiggle Room, to a beautiful female Manhattan agent, she asked, "Do you have any strong female characters in your manuscript?"

Suddenly, I was struck by what many agents, publishers, and readers are seeking ... strong female characters. I answered the agent truthfully, "No, but I can fix that!"

Luckily, I was recently able to pose my own question to freelance editor and author Helen Ginger on The Blood-Red Pencil blog . I asked Can you define a strong female character?

Ginger's detailed answer and the comments to follow have been enlightening. I invite you to the link:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/ The specific blog post written by Helen Ginger is reprinted below:

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Ask the Editor: Strong Female Characters

Darden North, MD, sent in this question:

It seems that some agents and publishers are looking for fictional works that feature strong female characters. Can you define a strong female character?

Hi Darden.

Not only are publishers looking for strong female leads, readers (both women and men) are as well. Readers today tend to want characters they can relate to and who are realistic. Of course, we’re not talking fantasy, erotica, or other genres where characters, both female and male are intentionally “over the top.”

A “strong female character” can be different things. There are many characteristics, but no one character would have them all. If you want your female lead or supporting character to be “strong,” then see if you can incorporate some of these (in no particular order):

Intelligent
Quick witted
Sense of self
Decision maker
Not perfect, has flaws
Strong in her femininity
Not rigid
Doesn’t do stupid things
Doesn’t belittle others
Spunky
Multi-dimensional
Can have a tragic weakness
Not black or white, but shadows of gray
Can change and grow
May or may not be in a committed relationship
Will most likely have women friends
Has a backbone
Look around at the women in your life - at home, at work, your neighbors, in your extended family - and decide what it is about each one that you like. Find a woman whose judgment you trust and ask her to look at the women in her life and tell you what she admires or respects about each.

Keep in mind that situations you put your characters in can change the way she behaves. Let’s say, your female character is asleep. She’s awakened by a strange noise. Her heart quickens. She eases down the hallway until she locates the source of the noise - the basement. Easing open the door, she reaches for the light switch, but it doesn’t work.

What does a woman do?

If she’s in the movies, she tiptoes down the stairs and gets clobbered over the head by an axe toting serial killer.

If she’s a strong, realistic, female character, she may whip out her cell and call the police. She may divert to the kitchen for a flashlight, especially since she’s probably already tried to turn on lights and thus knows the electricity is out. Or she may hesitate, pondering her options, hear the voice of her four-year-old crying, “Help me, Mommy,” and she forgets all caution and thunders down into the darkness.

Being a strong female doesn’t mean she free of weaknesses. Just like any character, to be believable she must have a flaw or two.

The strength of a female character seldom comes via muscles. It comes from within.

Thank you, Darden, for your question.

Darden North writes medical thrillers and murder mysteries. To date, he has authored and published three novels, which have been awarded nationally. In his third and current novel, Fresh Frozen (October 2008, hardcover), someone wants to steal a movie star’s embryos as the boundary between good and evil medicine blurs and reality replaces science fiction. Under the eye of an Internet voyeur, a policeman and his tormented wife discover that human reproductive tissue can lead to murder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helen Ginger is an author and freelance editor. You can visit her website and blog, "Straight From Hel," follow her on Twitter, or subscribe to her free newsletter, "Doing It Write," now in its eleventh year of publication.

Darden North

www.dardennorth.com

Also, many thanks to Morgan Mandel.

Darden North's "Points of Origin"-January's feature on Booktown Giveaway

2010-01-03T19:29:00.001-08:00

The featured novel on the Booktown Contest Giveaway for January 2010 is Points of Origin by Darden North, MD. The winner of the autographed 377 page hardbound novel will be named Februaruy 1, 2010, on the Book Town Myspace page.

http://booktown.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Points of Origin was awarded in Southern Fiction by the Independent Book Publishers Awards (IPPY).

In Points of Origin Sher Foxworth, the wayward son of a plastic surgeon, recounts his father’s destruction by attorney Cordell Pixler as the result of a medical malpractice case. Losing his parents when his father crashes their private plane, Foxworth is left to the whims of his still wealthy grandfather, who resents his grandson’s failure to become a doctor almost as much as he does the actions of the conniving attorney.

Nevertheless, there are others remaining in the small, affluent town of Larkspur, Mississippi, who seek the attorney’s ruin. The litigious family of the teenage girl who dies at the hand of the plastic surgeon believes that Pixler has swindled them out of their share of the medical malpractice judgment. The attorney’s sensual, social-climbing, third wife suspects correctly that her husband is having an affair even as Pixler jilts his current lover. Furthermore, the attorney’s obsessive-compulsive, personal architect believes his own career is jeopardized by the lawyer’s gaudy mockery of his design work. However, an arsonist, hired by Cordell’s jilted lover, plans the ultimate revenge during an elaborate gala at the Pixler mansion … only to lose the race to someone else.

2009 Southern Independent Book Association - Darden North signs with other authors

2009-09-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from the SIBA Blog (http://www.wanda.sibaweb.com/?p=858):

"Authors went on the auction block Saturday night (September 26, 2009) to raise buckets of money for the local Greenville charity Loaves & Fishes. Authors “Tweeted” their answers to questions in an attempt to whet the appetite of bookstore owners who “bought” them for the evening to have dinner and chat at local restaurants. The brave authors featured were those whose books were nominated for 2009 SIBA Book of the Year Award.

Brave authors ( and their novels) who participated:

Gigi Amateau Chauncy of the Maury River

Raymond Atkins The Front Porch Prophet

Gene Fehler Beanball

Susan Gregg Gilmore Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Alan Gratz Something Wicked

Patricia Harman The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife’s Memoir

N. M. Kelby Murder at the Bad Girl’s Bar and Grill

Howard Lee The Courage to Lead

Ed Madden Signals

William McKinney Holy Smoke: The Big book of North Carolina Barbecue

Mary Alice Monroe Time is a River

Darden North Fresh Frozen

Kate Salley Palmer Almost Invisible: Black Patriots of the American Revolution

Gin Phillips The Well and the Mine

Ron Rash Serena

Nicole Seitz One Hundred Years of Happiness

John Thompson Armaggedon Conspiracy

Shellie Tomlinson Suck Your Stomach in and Put Some Color On

Beth Webb Hart The Wedding Machine

Karen White The House on Tradd Street

Allan Wolf More Than Friends: Poems from Him and Her

Darden North to sign at the Sisters-In-Crime/SE Chapter of Mystery Writers of America Booth at the Southern Independent Book Association Trade Show

2009-09-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday, 9/26/2009 Time: 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Location: Booth W42 - Carolina Center - Greenville, SC Southern Independent Book Association Trade Show Mystery and medical thriller author Darden North to be featured at the book signing booth co-sponsored by Sisters-In-Crime and the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, scheduled in conjunction with the 2009 Southern Independent Book Association Trade Show. For more info: http://www.sibaweb.com/trade-show

Author Darden North interviewed on ijustfinished.com

2009-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Interview of mystery, suspense, and medical thriller author Darden North, MD, posted 08/10/2009 on ijustfinished.com .

FRESH FROZEN Receives First Honors for Cover Design in National Book Award Contest

2009-08-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

Darden North to participate in The Writers' Block

2009-08-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Southern Independent Book Association (SIBA)Trade Show 2009
Greenville, SC
September 25-27, 2009

Darden North will be one of several book award authors "put on" The Writers’ Block - SIBA's first-ever Feed-an-Author Auction & Reception
Saturday, September 26, 2009, 6 - 7:30 p.m., SIBA 2009 Trade Show, Carolina First Center, Greenville, SC.

Reprinted from the Southern Independent Book Association (SIBA) website:

Bring your money and outbid your neighbor at this first ever SIBA FunRaiser! 2009 Book Award Authors will go on the block. You bid for the privilege of taking them out to dinner. Once the going, going, gones are announced the winning bidders and authors are off to dinner together. The minimum bid is $20 and must be raised in increments of at least one dollar. Shuttles will be available to take folks downtown to our sponsor Table 301’s family of restaurants. Every author package will include a restaurant gift card. A percentage of the proceed will got to Loaves & Fishes, an effort supported by Table 301 to feed Greenville (SC)’s hungry.

Photos from Recent Book Signings

2009-07-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

POINTS OF ORIGIN reviewed by author Martha A. Cheves

2009-07-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

***** Points of Origin - Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat July 14, 2009

"Great ending!"

'Cordell Pixler, Esquire, had a new wife, his fourth... Anyone who already knew the latest Mrs.Cordell Pixler, or subsequently met her, thought her more attractive and definitely much younger than her attorney husband. Much to his chagrin, Pixler had not been persuasive enough to coax his voluptuous bride to move permanently into the mortgage-free home, the one his third wife insisted he buy and remodel extensively several years before his third divorce... Rachel Pixler wanted a brand new house... Furthermore it would have to be located in the most exclusive area of Larkspur, that being Manorwood Heights.'

Cordell Pixler obtained his money through the destruction of others. When Flowers Ridley's mother Charity decided Flowers needed "adjustments" to bring her inner beauty to the surface she went to the best plastic surgeon around, Sheridan Smith Foxworth, Jr. And when her daughter later died from blood clots she again went to the best plaintiff’s lawyer who was Pixler. Unknown to Charity, her decision to sue Foxworth would end up causing a snowball effect destroying many. One person who feels the effects the most is Sheridan (Sher)Foxworth, III who will loose both of his parents and give up his dreams to follow in his father's footsteps by failing to become a doctor himself. Instead he becomes a firefighter.

Wayne Simmons was a high school classmate of Sher and he loves to "create" fires. But not just any kind of fire. His fires appear to be of natural or neglect causes. Plus he's for hire. So when a fire occurs in Manorwood Heights killing the owner, was it accidental or intentional? Was Simmons involved and if so who hired him? One thing for sure is that Pixler wasted no time in buying the property.

Hobby Dencil is one of the best architects around and will become involved in the "Pixler Snowball" as he designs the perfect house for Rachel. Just days before construction is to start Rachel makes a few changes of her own to the plans causing Hobby to start from scratch with his drawing with the ending being a structure he really didn't want his own name associated with.

In the process of building Rachel's "palace" Pixler ends up angering half the community. So when the house burns during a charity party, was it an accident or was it planned? Could the Real Estate agent undercut by Pixler in the purchase of the property have set something up? Or the female police officer who enjoyed going after the "rich and famous?" Or maybe even Sheridan Smith Foxworth, Sr. for destroying his family?

I will give you a clue. North has done it again.
The ending was a total shock to me.

Reviewer: Martha A. Cheves
Location: Charlotte, NC

Darden North interviewed by Fran Stewart on "Mystery Matters: Where Murder is an Open Book"

2009-05-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Interviewed live by author and Voice of America radio host Fran Stewart on Friday, May 22, 2009 and archived at

http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=38606

Darden North, M.D. – a Doctor Whose Writing You Can Read
Darden North is a native of Mississippi and a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist in Jackson, MS. His work lends unmistakable authenticity to his medical thrillers. Set in the Deep South, North’s contemporary novels are built around intense -- yet believable – characters who are often embroiled in controversy.

His three novels medical thrillers are HOUSE CALL, POINTS OF ORIGIN, and most recently, FRESH FROZEN. A few years ago, Darden North hung up his golf clubs for a laptop – but on occasion is still spotted with a croquet mallet or garden shovel. He is writing a fourth novel as he continues to deliver babies and maintain a full gynecological practice. His tag line is: “A doctor whose writing you can read.”

Stewart's website is: www.franstewart.com.

Father's Day Present Comes a Little Early

2009-05-10T16:22:00.001-07:00

The day was Mother's Day 2009, and the mother of my two children was enjoying her coffee in bed before we were to get ready for church. I had taken my own mother out to lunch the day before in Jackson, MS, and we had a very nice visit.

As sort of an early Father's Day present for me, however, I checked my email that Sunday morning to learn that my third novel, FRESH FROZEN, had just received two additional national book awards, for which I am thankful: Winner, Best Cover Design and Finalist, Regional Fiction in the 2009 National Indie Excellence Awards.

http://indieexcellence.com/indie-results-2009.php

Thank you for letting me share this with you,

Darden North
www.dardennorth.com

FRESH FROZEN Recognized in Fiction by National Book Award

2009-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

FRESH FROZEN by Darden North, MD, was awarded Honorable Mention in Fiction in the 2009 San Francisco Book Festival Awards as announced by Bruce Haring and staff.

Results are posted at SanFranciscoBookFestival.com.

Southern Medical Mysteries

2009-04-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Southern Medical Mysteries
by Darden North, MD

Originally published on Jean Henry Mead's Mysterious People O4/2009

http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/

“So, you write medical mysteries?” the lady recently asked.

Forget that I was inside on that beautiful spring weekend, oblivious to the nice weather, helping a Junior League organization in a nearby city raise funds for its many philanthropies. Of course, many of my doctor buddies (that is, the other ones not on call for my ob/gyn practice) were playing golf, turkey hunting, or vacationing on the beach with their families. Several years ago, I decided that my diversionary, non-physician talent resonated in writing fiction, novels in particular, so I gave up golf and left the frequent hunting trips to my son, although I still like trips to the beach. I guess the wisdom of focusing that talent in a literary direction remains in the hands and eyes of such inquisitive readers as the one at that book signing.

In response to her question, I smiled, briefly discussed the plots of my three novels, and chose not to correct the curious woman, particularly since she was quick to purchase an autographed copy of my latest novel, Fresh Frozen. Had I delved further into the inquiry, I might have explained that the term medical mystery involves non-fiction, chasing the cause or cure of a rare disease or the debate over a controversial scientific theory or medical treatment. Instead, most readers and critics refer to my novels set in the South as medical thrillers, although the plots which include characters pitched into medical situations are laced with the whodunits of mysteries.

It was that spring inquiry that led me to write this article, an attempt to self-analyze or classify my true genre as an author. To accomplish this introspective goal, I must first lapse to my primary profession (that is, the one that is still paying the mortgage, educating our children, and keeping the refrigerator stocked: my twenty-plus year career as a board-certified physician). As a full-time obstetrician-gynecologist, I deal in the reality of concrete definitions, rules, and protocol with a personal bedside manner (pleasant, or good, I’m told) thrown into the mix. Webster defines a thriller as “a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense.”

While my first novel House Call does involve a bumbling, small town police force and its efforts to solve a mysterious murder, the actions of a psychotic killer are intricate in the story meant to thrill and race the pulse. The suspense builds as Knox Chamblee, MD, must thwart the efforts of his monstrous, female nemesis, Dr. Aslyn Hawes, even while he performs heroic surgery to save lives. Next, there is handsome Jimmy Perry, an emergency medical technician in-training, who must overcome a conniving male hospital administrator during a contrived attempt at seduction in a hunting camp. And then there is Madelyn, the widow of a senior doctor who fights the demonic effects of an experimental drug. True, the setting of House Call is not on another planet or in a foreign country, but the characters are still threatened by villains attacking them from within and/or without. Those villains must be defeated. (By the novel’s conclusion, some of the players never realize that they have actually won.)

In my second thriller, Points of Origin, the hero faced with defeating the villain is Drew Foxworth, the young adult son of a doomed plastic surgeon. The scoundrel that Foxworth and others face is actually the human soul, warped in the desire to reap more than is, or should be, attainable. That soul is obsessed with a need to inflict more punishment than is necessary, basing its verdict purely on emotion, casting reason aside. The climax of the novel is reached when Foxworth believes that he has defeated the dastardly attorney who has destroyed his family.

My newest and third novel, Fresh Frozen, sets a more ominous tone while exploring a controversial topic. In this medical thriller, the contemporary plot exposes the retail market for frozen human eggs and embryos. The first villain, Tinker Murtagh, is found scheming to steal a Hollywood celebrity’s frozen embryos, and as the tension builds, the reader discovers that an assortment of villains shares similar objectives. All of them want the embryos of international superstar Allyn Saxton. Of my three novels to date, I suppose that Fresh Frozen can be compared best to the medical thrillers of author Robin Cook, whose Coma made the bestseller list a status quo for that physician ... certainly an enviable position.

Actually, the classification of a novel’s genre is most important, I suppose, when trying to catalogue it for book sales or when introducing oneself as an author to a stranger. Of course, I still receive a blank stare sometimes from potential readers, but not as much as before. Like a physician who appreciates the fact that his patients keep coming back year-after-year to see him for medical care, I am increasing grateful that there are now fiction fans seeking me out for my next suspenseful mystery or medical thriller or whatever my genre label.

--- Darden North
www.dardennorth.com

Darden North, author of medical thrillers, is featured on Mysterious People

2009-04-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

"Mysterious People" --- Interviews with mystery/suspense/thriller/crime authors as well as articles written by them ---

Sunday, April 19, 2009 ...
A Conversation with Darden North, MD, author of FRESH FROZEN

Hosted by author Jean Henry Mead

Darden North, a practicing obstetrician, is a graduate of Ole Miss and writes award-winning medical thrillers from John Grisham territory.

http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/

Nothing Frozen Here, Fresh or Otherwise, Except the Shrimp

2009-04-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

See Darden's recipe for a great dip to serve at a football party, or anytime for that matter, posted as a guest on cookbook author Martha Cheves's blog. Cheves is author of "Stir, Laugh, Repeat."

http://marthaskitchenkorner.blogspot.com

Thick Skin and Rock-hard Confidence: Survival Tips from a Teflon Novelist - by Darden North, M.D.

2009-03-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

This article initially appeared in the Author Exchange Blog hosted by Linda M. Faulkner on Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Author Exchange Blog ...Reviews with published authors, along with their articles, advice, and writing tips...

Thick Skin and Rock-hard Confidence: Survival Tips from a Teflon Novelist
- by Darden North, M.D.

When I first decided to write a novel, my children were pre-teens and John Grisham was cornering the fiction market. Grisham was also from Mississippi and selling millions of books so I reasoned that I could do the same, or at least come close. For much too long, I had talked about writing a novel, and by that time I was finally ready to do it. Besides, after 24 years of formal education followed by a decade of private medical practice, I had been exposed to a smorgasbord of colorful folks--and I’m not referring to the patients. In fact, for my first novel, I had the major characters clearly in mind before the plot even developed. That developmental process was to take another decade, culminating in the arrival of my premiere work, HOUSE CALL, on bookstore shelves in October of 2005.

HOUSE CALL enjoyed a limited first edition printing and sale of 5000 copies, followed a year or so later by a second printing of just over 1000. Not bad, if one considers that the average book published in the United States sells no more than 2000 copies, or so I’m told. (As I begin this article, I’m sitting in a booth surrounded by other merchants at an extremely slow spring market festival where I am selling and signing my novels. Glancing up from my laptop, I stare at a few remaining unsold first edition copies of HOUSE CALL. Surely someone will be wise enough to purchase one for investment, if for no other reason.)

My goal in this article is to offer advice or tips to the beginning writer, better known as someone on the brink of plunging into a glorious world of creativity or perhaps better defined as a poor soul preparing to jump off a cliff. Whatever the definition or outcome, I am as qualified as anyone else to offer advice, particularly free advice. The slice of wisdom that immediately comes to mind is this: set one’s expectations of success at the lowest possible level and then prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Gaining worldwide notoriety as an author is overwhelmingly unlikely (a universal assumption unless the author is already a celebrity of sorts). No one could be so naïve to suggest that at début an author could be catapulted into bestselling status--barring the luck of having one’s manuscript snapped up and transformed into a successful movie script, even before the novel itself is published. And, yes, that has indeed happened--see the idealist comparison referenced in the first paragraph.

Although the advice still stands to enter a literary career with great humility, particularly when writing fiction, I must admit that from the outset I set my sights high. Nearing completion of that first manuscript, I followed a friend’s suggestion and innocently sought the advice of a local published author. My zealous objective in talking with her was not to have my work critiqued, but instead to garner the attention of a “real” writer, all part of one giant leap toward publication of my first novel. Just having her return the phone call which led to scheduling our first meeting was exciting enough for me. At the local novelist’s suggestion, we met at a sandwich shop in Jackson, Mississippi, where I handed over the first few pages of my manuscript for her critique. At the follow-up meeting, she returned the portion of the previously unedited manuscript, now read and butchered, and inquired, “Darden, what is it that you are trying to do?” I’m sure that I looked perplexed, maybe surprised, and she explained that she always asked that of any unpublished writer. “One must have a goal,” she expounded, “when deciding to write a book.”

My take on her query was: (1) Is the objective in writing a book to leave an interesting (that is, hopefully interesting) dusty narrative in one’s attic for the grandchildren to discover postmortem? (2) Is this a pursuit to satisfy some narcissistic goal? (3) Is it, perhaps, a quest to win the Pulitzer Prize in literature? or (4) Is this just maybe an effort to garner a couple of lucrative movie deals and retire a few years earlier? My rambling answer to her more direct question was that I hoped and planned to produce a piece of commercial fiction that was good enough for the bookseller’s shelf and that after spending 10 or so years talking about and writing a novel, I wanted people to read it, a lot of people, although I never expected my career as an author to replace my hard-earned, satisfying career in medicine.

After a couple of more phone conversations and emails, I began to feel that my more politically liberal author friend had determined that my medical career as an obstetrician/gynecologist was in no danger; it would never be usurped by one as a notable novelist. From that moment, I began to prove her wrong. My conviction was to write and publish contemporary mystery and suspense novels that would definitely be purchased, read, and enjoyed. And now after the publication of three novels, HOUSE CALL, POINTS OF ORIGIN, and FRESH FROZEN, and the sale of over 15,000 books, I feel I am moving toward fulfillment. Whether or not I have, or ever will, prove incorrect that writer and critic from the sandwich shop is a matter of conjecture.

My advice to any person planning to write for publication is to muster every ounce of self-confidence and hang on to it, not with a Teflon coating, but with resolve. Naturally, there will be readers who will love and appreciate one’s work, and, believe it or not, there will be a few ignorant, unfortunate souls who will trash it. (Incidentally, be careful when submitting your book for a formal review. Do a little research to make sure that the reviewer is someone who writes in your genre or at least reads a lot of work in your genre.) Anyone entering the field of entertainment (and writing novels certainly qualifies as entertainment--at least let’s hope so) must realize that assembling a permanent record of one’s thoughts for posterity is indeed a brave act, whether or not those thoughts are a twist on history or a product springing from a zealous imagination. As the local writer was trying to explain when she met with me at the sandwich shop early in my career as a writer, one should choose his/her writing goal and remain true.

Then, as that writing career is pursued, there will be days when the author is trapped indoors during the first glorious day of a new spring (as was my case this past weekend), manning a book signing table at a tediously slow market festival or at a bookstore. At those moments when the brain questions the soul’s decision to attend the event, one must remember that each book sold likely will be read by a minimum of four people. Most people genuinely admire writers, particularly authors of books, respecting the diligence and imagination required to pull the piece together. Sitting under the artificial lights at that slow convention center market or in that bookstore while one’s friends are out on the golf course or out by the pool or working in the yard or getting some other physical exercise, one must remember that the golf score or the suntan will fade. In marked contrast, a novel with one’s name printed on the front and spine will last much past the author’s own lifetime, leaving a piece of art to be shared. No one can argue that anything considered creative, imaginative, or positive is ever a waste of time. I guess the one truly useful piece of advice that I can share with the beginning writer, particularly the ambitious one interested in fiction, is to abandon the thin shin and the faint heart. Seeing one’s own words filling lots of pages is indeed a release for the imagination and the soul. As for attracting readers to become fans of that work, count on nothing, and then become pleasantly surprised.

Darden North, MD, is the author of three mystery and suspense novels and lives with his family in Jackson, MS. Please visit his website at www.dardennorth.com .

Originally posted by LINDA M. FAULKNER at 8:18:00 PM March 17, 2009

Writers' Rituals – Darden North "The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers from Around the World" by Janice Hally

2009-03-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Writers' Rituals – Darden North - on Suite101.com by Janice Hally

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers from Around the World
"Writers' Rituals – Darden North: The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers from Around the World" -

Interview of Darden North by Janice Hally of Suite101.com 03/16/2009

Janice Hailey interviews author Darden North on Suite 101.com in the ongoing feature that delves into the mysterious writing habits of authors of crime fiction:

http://research-writing-techniques.suite101.com/article.cfm/writers_rituals_darden_north

Darden North Interviewed on Linda M. Faulkner's Author Exchange Blog

2009-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

The published interview of March 15, 2009, is reproduced below:

Darden North, M.D., author of three medical thrillers, is the featured author this week on Author Exchange Blog . His article, Thick Skin and Rock-hard Confidence: Survival Tips from a Teflon Novelist, will appear on the Blog on Tuesday.
- www.lindamfaulkner.com

Author Exchange Blog

Reviews with published authors, along with their articles, advice, and writing tips...

Sunday, March 15, 2009
AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH DARDEN NORTH

Darden North, M.D. is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist in Jackson, Mississippi--a background that lends unmistakable authenticity to his medical thrillers. All three of his books--FRESH FROZEN, POINTS OF ORIGIN, and HOUSE CALL--have earned numerous awards and impressive sales.

********************

Who is the one person who most encouraged or influenced you to be a writer—and why?

My family, particularly my wife and mother, encouraged me to write a novel although I’m not sure why they thought I could do it. Now, four years and three mystery/suspense novels later, my wife wants me to slow down! She’s pushing toward wanting us to travel more, and not to book signings. But on the promotional side of that concept, a trip to Italy or Costa Rica could blend nicely into writer’s research!

Many of us have heard that we’re supposed to write what we know. Tell us how that works for you.

Since I am a fulltime practicing ob/gyn physician, I naturally went the route of medical thrillers. However, my novels dig deeper into character development and social interaction than do many other such works. Of course, my books are set in the South and that sets them somewhat apart. Beginning with my third novel, however, I had to reach beyond my immediate acumen, since I do not deal with frozen human embryos on a regular basis in my medical practice.

Who is your favorite author and why do you like his/her work?

I admire the work of fellow Mississippian Greg Iles, who has had a long, successful literary career, including one novel made into a movie. Greg has the freedom to come up with some really twisted, demonic plots while still portraying the South in contemporary fashion. Nevertheless, he occasionally lets our region’s bad ghosts surface from time to time and that is a disappointment. As an author, it is a fantastic compliment for me when a reader compares me favorably to Greg Iles. Also, some compare my work to James Patterson, John Grisham, and Mary Higgins Clark.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer?

My biggest challenge to becoming a novelist and remaining one is finding the time to write while still practicing obstetrics and gynecology full-time. This double career of writing murder mysteries and delivering babies has been a fascinating mix for many, although I assure you that I have had no trouble keeping the two straight.

What is the title of your most recently published book? Briefly tell us what it’s about and let us know where we can buy it.

My third and current novel is FRESH FROZEN, released in hardcover by Ponder House Press in October 2008, 300 pages.In FRESH FROZEN, someone wants to steal a movie star’s embryos. Controversial infertility practices, an abundance of frozen human embryos, and a case of questionable mental stability are not only fodder for the Internet, newspapers, and television news, but also the contemporary themes entangled in a brutal, unexplained murder. A nearly-bankrupt young policeman and his tormented, infertile wife find themselves outcasts in the renewed baby boom sweeping the United States. However, there is one last hope for them: a catalogue of human embryo and egg donors peddled by a woman whose standards are easily dismissed for the right price. This purportedly last chance for Wesley and Carrie Sarbeck to satisfy their place as parents in Middle America unknowingly tosses them in the midst of a grisly murder plot, the world of Hollywood celebrities, and a heist of freshly frozen human embryos. While an Internet voyeur and thief looks on, human reproductive tissue becomes a fatal commodity.

FRESH FROZEN is available anywhere books are sold. My website www.dardennorth.com offers a convenient listing of online sites and bricks-and-mortar stores.

What are you working on now and when/where do you expect it to be available?

I have several ideas in mind for my fourth novel, which I hope will be released in late 2010. Even though I do not consider my books a series, my readers seem to enjoy seeing a few of their favorite characters repeat and develop through the different story lines. So I’m trying to decide whether or not to continue with some of the favorites or start with a whole new crop--or maybe somewhere in between. Vampires seem to be a hot item right now in fiction… Maybe a vampire doctor in my fourth book? Of course, another author has approached me about collaborating on a series of medical romance novels, and that prospect does intrigue me as well.

Writers, especially new writers, are always looking for tips and helpful information. What is the single most important “tip” you can give to a new writer?

Don’t be afraid to start the process. Stop talking about writing, and go ahead and do it! Remember: there is always room at the top.

How do your patients feel about your writing?

Most seem supportive of it, and jokingly (I think) express concern that my writing novels successfully will catapult me completely away from practicing medicine. They ask me if I have a new book out when they come in for their annual check-ups or bring me newspaper or magazine clippings about my writing, and I see many of them along with their spouses, friends, and relatives at book signings. However, I take the practice of medicine seriously and humbly appreciate the faith entrusted in me in that regard by my patients and their families. As a doctor, my two careers (the real life of practicing medicine and the fictional world of writing novels) are separate. Indeed, I am blessed with a rewarding, successful medical practice in obstetrics and gynecology, now in the midst of its twenty-third year. Nevertheless, I believe that most professionals need and should seek divergent, constructive creative outlets as they grow and mature in their primary occupation. It is healthy to develop other talents and express one’s imagination and personality.

Do you have any upcoming book signings or appearances? If so, give us all the details.

July 13, 2009 – 7:00 p.m. – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Annual Banquet; FRESH FROZEN nominated for Fiction Award; Lauren Rogers Museum of Art; Laurel, MS

May 2, 2009 - 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.- Jackson, MS - St. Dominic Memorial Hospital Auxiliary biannual fundraising event Southern Entertainment Book Signing - St. Dominic Hospital Medical Mall - 770 Lakeland Drive; Jackson, MS 39216

April 14, 2009 – 6:00- 7:30 p.m. – Magee (MS) Public Library – Book Signing and Reading; Magee, MS

March 26, 2009 -- 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. -- Monroe(LA) Books-A-Million Book Signing --1201 Lamy Lane; Monroe, LA 71201 -- 318-323-3322

March 26-29, 2009 -- Monroe (LA) - Junior League Spring Market Book Signing- Monroe Civic Center Arena - Lea Joyner Expressway - Monroe, Louisiana.

Here’s your opportunity to tell us anything else you care to share.

As an author, I take great pride in the fact that my first novel, HOUSE CALL (hardcover 2005, paperback 2007) was awarded Finalist in Mystery/Suspense by the 2008Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and my second novel, POINTS OF ORIGIN, (hardcover 2006) was recognized in Southern Fiction by the 2007 Independent Publishers Book Awards. All three of my novels have been nominated in Fiction by the Southern Independent Book Association (SIBA) and the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters (MIAL).

I am a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Mississippi Writers Guild, and the Independent Book Publishers Association and have served as an author panelist in “Murder in the Magic City” (Birmingham, AL), “Author! Author! Celebration of the Written Word” (Shreveport LA), “Murder on the Menu” (Wetumpka, AL), and “Thriller Author Panel – 2008 Southern Independent Book Association Trade Show” (Mobile, AL). In addition, I have also participated in the 2005 Texas Book Festival; the 2007 Kentucky Bluegrass Book Festival; and the 2008 South Carolina Book Festival. I actively promote my writing through the media and enjoy speaking engagements, Internet blogging, and hand-selling my books.

I invite readers of my work to join the Novels by Darden North Community at
www.novelsbydardennorth.ning.com.

What are the addresses of your website(s) and blog(s):

www.dardennorth.com
http://www.dardennorth.com/blog/index.html
www.novelsbydardennorth.nig.com
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=80958
http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DardenNorthMD
http://bookeventcenter.ning.com/profile/DardenNorthMD

Posted by LINDA M. FAULKNER 03/15/2009 at 12:50:00 PM

http://lindamfaulknertips.blogspot.com/2009/03/author-interview-with-darden-north.html

A Non-cook Reviews a Kitchen Talent

2009-03-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

Book Review
Stir, Laugh, Repeat: Finding Joy While Playing in the Kitchen
Author: Martha A Cheves Publisher: Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC
Softcover, 2008, 154 pages. $12.99 U.S. $16.99 Canada

My wife has often suggested I take up cooking. In fact, one of my physician friends was recently featured in our local paper doing just that. It seems that the anesthesiologist expertly prepares gourmet meals on his grill and makes it look easy. Anyway, I have never taken my wife’s suggestion about cooking and instead have started writing books. And it seems that a major aspect of being a twenty-first century author is networking with other writers as well as with readers --- lots of readers, one hopes.

This networking with other literary minds and writing groups, both in person and via the Internet, has lead me to author Martha A. Cheves and her culinary creations in Stir, Laugh, Repeat: Finding Joy While Playing in the Kitchen. Cheves’s beautiful cookbook found its way to my mailbox a few weeks ago. Frankly, this is the first time I have ever paid any attention to a cookbook, other than the time my wife Sally proofed and wrote the index for one compiled by the Jackson (MS) Junior League a few years ago. Also, I’m not counting the abstract appreciation of the many cookbooks filling the shelves in our kitchen, enjoyed by way of my wife’s whipping-up those recipes.

However, were I to take up cooking, the unique quality of Cheves’s Stir, Laugh, Repeat would be a premium start. The value of Martha’s work rests in its straightforward, easy-to-follow directions that even a doctor can follow, particularly one who is accustomed to having every instrument prepared and handed to him in surgery --- not to mention arriving to work with all the supplies and equipment neatly counted and organized, just waiting for his use. You see, a physician’s true surgical talent lies in making the correct diagnosis, counseling the ailing patient, and successfully performing the corrective surgery. While reading, studying, and chuckling through Stir, Laugh, Repeat, it quickly hit me like a flying frying pan that Martha A. Cheves is clearly the a surgeon of the kitchen. Furthermore, she emerges as a soft humorist whose talents rival some of her most celebrated contemporaries.

Through Cheves’s incorporation into her recipes of items commonly found at the neighborhood grocery, if not already found in one’s pantry, she makes easy use of leftovers, turning any kitchen into the envy of a popular restaurant and any cooking-illiterate male physician into a Chef Emeril Lagasse-wannabe.

Cheves links clever anecdotes and personal stories to her recipes. One of my favorites concerns her invitation to a restaurant meal as the guest of her significant other’s ex-wife. Throughout her unexpected enjoyment of the company as well as the chicken entrée, Cheves mentally dissects the delectable preparation even as she plans to recreate the ingredients into her own personal dish.
Busy clinical physicians (that means doctors who treat lots of patients) appreciate information that is uncomplicated and unambiguous. We get that from our survival in today’s medical-legal climate. So if I were going to take up cooking like my doctor friend, I would start with Stir, Laugh, Repeat by Martha A. Cheves. Another plus for beginners, certainly to be appreciated by busy, no non-nonsense masters of the flame as well, is the book’s index, which is alphabetized by food categories: breads, desserts, fruits, meats, etc.

Nevertheless, for now, I’m going to hang with my laptop and write mystery novels in my spare time, leaving that physical flame to someone else. Happily, I’ll have to settle for my wife’s trying Cheves’s pecan or meatloaf muffins, maybe the tasty fried pineapple, or even the spicy chicken salad spread, or better yet, the freezer clean-out beef veggie soup. Even if Sally North gets the credit for taking advantage of the author’s industry, I will continue to fire up my own outdoor grill, no matter how amateurish, and thrill my family and friends with the occasional juicy steak, marinated chicken breast, or thick cheeseburger.

Those recipes are all in my head.
--- by Darden North, MD

Stir, Laugh, Repeat by Martha A. Cheves is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Borders.com, as well as through her publisher, Tate Publishing. Checkout her website: http://www.marthaskitchenkorner.com.

Darden North, MD, practices medicine fulltime in Jackson, MS, and is the author of three mystery/suspense novels. His website is www.dardennorth.com .

© Darden North 2009 all rights reserved

Darden North Has Virtual Sit-Down Interview with Angela Wilson on POP SYNDICATE 02/2009

2009-03-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.popsyndicate.com/books/story/virtual_sitdown_with_darden_north/

Book Addict with Angela Wilson
Virtual Sitdown with Darden North
02/06/2009

by Angela Wilson

Darden North takes his medical acumen into the writing realm, thrilling readers with medical mysteries guaranteed to keep them on edge. Today, North sits down for a chat with Book Addict Editor Angela Wilson. Find out more about his writing habits and his latest novel.

Book Addict: Tell us about your latest novel, Fresh Frozen.

Darden: In this contemporary medical thriller, a young policeman and his tormented wife discover that human reproductive tissue can become a fatal commodity. A grisly southern murder, a movie star, and a heist of frozen human embryos draw both male and female readers of mystery and suspense into an intriguing twist of human greed, mental torment, and medical science. Fresh Frozen was released in hardcover in October 2008.

Book Addict: You are an obstetrician/gynecologist by day. What do you see in your profession when it comes to couples who desperately want children, but cannot conceive? How did their trials become part of this book?

Darden: Fresh Frozen is not based on any one patient or group of patients. My fiction is not a twisted treatise on my medical practice, and I am careful to separate the two. That being said … like “they” say … you have to write what you know.  

Book Addict: What do your colleagues think about you writing medical thrillers? Do they ever eye you a bit suspiciously after reading a particularly grisly scene in one of your books?

Darden: I am a more senior partner of a single-specialty, full-service obstetrics and gynecology group in Jackson, MS, which is soon to contain 15 physicians, a cohesive mixture of both male and female doctors – a really great bunch of smart, talented people whom I consider friends. They (as well as our employees) have electively supported my book signings and read my books – and still have not changed the locks to the clinic’s doors. All fifteen of us have outside interests, whether they be hunting, playing golf, raising small and large children, traveling, decorating houses, drinking beer (while not on duty, of course), or watching sports. (Incidentally, none of those aforementioned activities are necessarily meant to be gender-biased.) Several partners have complimented me for my imagination as well as my dexterity in publishing three novels over the last four years, while maintaining a fulltime career as a doctor.

Book Addict: Your novels take place in the south. How much of your Mississippi upbringing in the 1950s plays a part in your writing?

Darden: Every bit of my upbringing plays a part in my writing, but please let me clarify that I was born in 1956 and consider my upbringing to have been in the 1960s and 1970s! Regarding the regional influence on my creativity, I agree with the someone who said that the reason that there are so many southern writers is they we are always trying to explain ourselves. My approach to placing my novels in the South is to write from a contemporary, non-civil-rights-era point of view, which many readers may find surprising and, I hope, refreshing. Whether a character is black or white may be crucial to a storyline in my books, or maybe not. I believe that people who are not truly familiar with us down here or over here in Mississippi and surrounding states would be surprised at how truly well the races presently get along. I enjoy describing the Mississippi terrain, its truly unique buildings and towns (both real and fictionalized), and the people – well, the material for characterization is endless as the absurd are portrayed as believable.  

Book Addict: Writing has always been part of your life. Had you always thought you would write novels eventually, or was writing more of a hobby while you put yourself through medical school?

Dsrden: Fortunately, I have never had to rely on my writing for groceries or to pay the light bill, although I did get several hundred dollars in scholarship money to edit the University of Mississippi yearbook, the 1978 OLE MISS, as well as the 1982 MEDIC, the yearbook of my senior year in medical school. Both opportunities gave me a finite taste for seeing my written word and creativity in print. Ob/gyn residency and establishing a private medical practice, as well as raising two children with my wife Sally, put further writing on hiatus. Then sometime around 1985, I started the 10-year hike of writing my first published novel, House Call (hardcover 2005, paperback 2007) and then Points of Origin followed in hardcover in 1986.

Book Addict: What is it like to balance life as an obstetrician/gynecologist, husband and an author?

Darden: I can never waste any time, but I like to stay busy. I’m happier that way. I believe that we were all meant for a purpose.  

Book Addict: If you had it to do over again, would you still pursue medicine as your “day job,” or would you go full force into writing?

Darden: One aspect of being an author, of which I was quick to realize, was that most of us writers have a “day job” and plan to hang on to it. Of course, there are the handful of celebrity authors (by celebrity, I mean the ones who seem to do nothing but write and whose books automatically appear in every airport gift shop or grocery store and get the movie deals and recurring spots on late night talk shows, etc.). Whether I ever join that elite group remains to be seen. Hopefully, the odds aren’t too insurmountable. But for me, being a busy physician, particularly one that still deliveries babies, is truly one of the most rewarding jobs a person can have, and I have certainly worked hard to get there.   

Book Addict: Who are you reading?

Darden: P.D.James – The Lighthouse

Book Addict: When can we find your next title in book stores?

Darden: I hope to have a fourth novel in stores in 2010.  

Book Addict: Where can we find you on the Web?

Darden: My website is www.dardennorth.com and was redesigned upon the release of Fresh Frozen in October 2008. One can also find me as a Featured Author on authorsden.com as well as on listings with Facebook, MySpace, CrimeSpace, Twitter, Author Book and Event Center, Authors ‘Round the South, and BookTour.com. I welcome reader and friend comments and can easily be contacted through my website http://www.dardennorth.com . My books can be found on .amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, atlasbooks.com as well as purchased through links to stores and online venues through my website. 

Our South magazine interviews author Darden North - Winter 2009

2009-02-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Our%20South%20Magazine%20Winter%2009%20-%20Darden%20North%20article.pdf

Martha A. Cheves posts a review of FRESH FROZEN on Book Masons

2009-02-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

FRESH FROZEN by Darden North, MD

Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves

February 25, 2009

Fresh Frozen was a very interesting book. Not only did it go into the field of medical technology, but it also included a spy and a murder. In Fresh Frozen, Dr. Van Deman owns an Infertility Center in Mississippi. Tinker Murtagh is the spy I mentioned, but who would need to spy on an Infertility Center and who hired him? Police Officer Sarbeck and his wife are desperate to have a family; can Dr. Van Deman help them? And then there are the wealthy mystery women. Why would 2 women who have everything need Dr. Van Deman's help? What is the good doctor really doing within the center besides making money? And who will die?

The intrigue continued as I turned each page and watched the characters all come together forming the story of Fresh Frozen. I was so involved in this book that I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Fresh Frozen is different from most books I've read. In most books, no matter what the genre, the characters are introduced and "join" each other early in the book. Not in this case. Each character is been introduced with little connection to the others. As you go along, you read the stories that make up the characters, you get to know them and their problems and all of this comes before the real connections are made. It's like a jigsaw puzzle without a picture. You know all of the pieces fit and can't wait to see what the end result will be.

I found Fresh Frozen to be very different as well as quite refreshing to read. And the ending... I would NEVER have guessed the turn of events that make up the last 20 pages of Fresh Frozen. The hiring of the spy will surprise you and the murder will surprise you even more.

So if you love a good mystery, this book is definitely for your. Fresh Frozen is a great book that I highly recommend!
--- Martha A. Cheves

bookeventcenter.ning.com/profile/MarthaACheves

AUTHOR GERI AHEARN REVIEWS FRESH FROZEN

2009-02-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

AUTHOR GERI AHEARN'S BOOK REVIEWS
Thursday, February 5, 2009
*****REVIEW ~~FRESH FROZEN~~ By Author DARDEN NORTH, MD

BRILLIANT!

… Reproductive Technology becomes a horror, and ethical and moral standards cross the boundaries of law, becoming nonexistent in this extraordinary, but still realistic, medical thriller. How far will the Sarbecks go during their quest to become parents? Does their intimacy force them to become ignorant of their own actions, while blinding to the consequences? During the unexpected trials and tribulations does a controversy exist between the gifted hands of man and God's hands? Do Wesley and Carrie walk through the forbidden doors of infertility to erase the pain that torments them every day?

I recommend Fresh Frozen to all thriller lovers … and to readers who crave the inside scene of Hollywood celebrities. In his third medical thriller, award-winning author Darden North takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride that covers every human emotion … a world of deception, murder, and tragedy.

Fresh Frozen is a masterpiece, crafted by an expert … an enthralling plot with characters who come to life … suspense that sends chills up your spine. This incredible story, packed with ingenious twists and turns, is one that belongs on a movie screen.

This medical thriller is brilliant, as chilling as The Hand That Rocks The Cradle with Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Moray!

--- by Geraldine Ahearn, AIOM, HonDG IBC
Founding Member ABI Women's Review Board
CCRN/ Author of 6 books

www.authorgeriahearnsbookreviews.blogspot.com

Houston Texas Writers Group features FRESH FROZEN

2009-02-01T06:13:00.000-08:00

The Final Twist
Houston Texas Writers Group

Featured Author

Fresh Frozen by Darden North

REVIEW BLURBS – Fresh Frozen, a novel by Darden North, MD

“Darden North has delivered with his latest. Fresh Frozen is no quick-and-easy ‘beach’ read, but instead makes the reader pause, look deep inside, and question his own ethical and moral standards. North is a talented writer.” Susan O’Bryan, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS

“North has a talent for creating both believable and absorbing characters. This novel was made for the screen.” Denise Grones, Delta Magazine

“FRESH Frozen should come with a warning label: Insomnia and repetitive motion disorder caused by rapid page turning may result.” Kathy Spurlock, Executive Editor, he News-Star Monroe, LA

“ … an interestingly mixed plot complete with greed, angst, and murder. North has become a master of medical expense.” Nan Graves Goodman Portico Magazine

www.dardennorth.com