CJ Lyons: Urgent Care
Book Club Discussion
December 11, 2009. CJ Lyons, author of
Urgent Care, discusses her book in an interview with Queenie C.
Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons
Wow!
I could not put this book down. Is your life working in the hospital as fast paced and mind-whirling as it is at Angels of Mercy?
Life
in the ER can definitely be fast paced, but you learn to compartmentalize and just go with the flow. It's kind of like juggling chainsaws!
Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons
Lydia
has an interesting back-story as well as some different hobbies that she enjoys in her down time (shooting at the range and riding a motorcycle).
What made you decide on these hobbies for her? What do you enjoy doing on your down time?
Lydia's
hobbies reflect her tug-o-war between succumbing to domestic life and (in her mind) giving up her freedom. I'm a bit older than Lydia and, while
I did partake in many adrenalin rush type of activities when I was younger, now I live vicariously through my characters when it comes to extreme
activities.
Although I do still enjoy shooting-I recently visited the FBI academy at Quantico and had tons of fun firing several types of long guns and pistols.
They even let me shoot a real-life Tommy gun from the Dillinger era!
Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons
Nora's
character was both brave and fragile. Why was it important for you to write about her in this way?
Having
treated many victims of violence and having had violence intrude into my own life, I needed to tell Nora's story in a way that was as emotionally
honest as possible-yet, it is fiction, so I needed to also make it entertaining.
It was a tricky tightrope to walk, but I think Urgent Care honors what real-life survivors experience while not being gratuitous or melodramatic.
Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons
Tank
and Noralie really fit well together. Is there any chance that you will continue their story? If not, why did you make them come together in this
book; was it a symbol of hope for the nurses?
Hey,
they survived, out-witted and out-lasted the adults, so I think they've already triumphed! As a pediatrician I am very in tune with how perceptive
kids are in seeing the truth hiding behind the facade we adults often cloak the world in, so I love using them in my stories as a counterbalance to
a lot of our adult foolishness.
Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons
Seth
was a naked-sleepwalker which was very funny. Have you ever encountered any unusual situations while working?
Actually
that situation (not the character, just his sleepwalking) was based on one of my colleagues who occasionally did strip naked and sleepwalk while
on call at the hospital when he was stressed.
Working in the ER, I encountered a lot of situations that "normal" folks would call "unusual" but for us they were pretty much same ole-same ole.
Can
you tell us what you are working on next?
Book #4
Isolation, which is due out December, 2010. It's Gina's story and also ties up the loose ends from Lydia's story in a grand finale for the
Angels of Mercy quadrilogy. It's going to be a real adrenalin rush-think Die Hard in a hospital.
Return from Book Club Discussion: Interview with CJ Lyons to Home
|
