Interview with Dr. Richard Mabry by Marji Laine

Richard L. Mabry, M.D. is a retired physician who writes “medical suspense with heart.” His novels have won multiple awards. He and his wife live in Central Texas. You can follow Richard online at RMabry.com, as well as on Twitter (@RichardMabry), and Facebook at RMabryBooks.

He writes in his biography on his website:

In addition to the practice of medicine, my past includes a stint overseas in the US Air Force, several periods as an interim music minister, and an all-too-brief experience as a semi-pro baseball player. In other words, there’s more to me than “M.D.” covers.

          www.rmabry.com

I hope you had an excellent Christmas and New Year break, Dr. Mabry! What is your favorite thing to do for Christmas?

I’ve reached the stage in life where I can truly mean it when I tell my family, “I don’t need anything. I just want us all to be together.” I think my favorite thing is watching my grandchildren with their presents, and having family members around me.

One of your most recent books, Miracle Drug, delves into rare viruses. Did you have occasions during your practice to deal with such?

Fortunately, in the practice of otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) I didn’t encounter a lot of potentially fatal infections, and certainly none like this one. When I read about such severe viral or bacterial illnesses and the havoc they can create, I’m impressed with the research efforts required to stay one step ahead of such infections.

You are uniquely equipped to weave suspense through the hospital/medical environment. How did your training help you with this story?

I’m often asked if some of the aspects of my novels are taken from my experience. The answer is, “No.” But sometimes things I read, either in the professional journals or in the newspaper, act as a catalyst for my stories. And, since I’m trained to understand and interpret the language, I guess in that way I’m uniquely qualified to present these stories to people without a medical background.

I know you must have had an interesting research experience with this story. Care to share?

Because this book was written before Ebola became a household word, I found myself making up things right and left, yet wanted them to be believable. That required a good bit of research, and it was gratifying to see how close I came to the measures used in dealing with Ebola. I found myself saying, again and again, “Man, I’m glad this is all fiction.”

In addition, although I knew former presidents receive Secret Service protection, I had no details. I started out with what I could glean from commonly available sources, then let my novelist’s mind fill in some blanks. Of course, I wanted things to be authentic, so I tried to check my facts. At first, the Secret Service didn’t respond to my efforts to contact them. When I sent a letter to former president George Bush, who lives in the area, he was kind enough to ask the Secret Service to communicate with me, which they did, and told me I was pretty accurate.

What are some of the most interesting things you found about this subject that you weren’t able to use in the story?

Along the way, I discovered that, although Bacillus decimus infections (as detailed in the novel) aren’t real, there are numerous infections—not just Ebola-— in various parts of the world that are just as dangerous, and there are brave men and women who risk their lives every day to combat them.

What can readers expect from the next Richard Mabry novel? 

My next published novel will be Medical Judgment, which is due out in May, 2016. It deals with a widowed doctor who is under attack from an unknown individual. Her sources of help are a family friend (who wants to be more than just a friend) and a detective who is a recovering alcoholic.
Since the publishing process is so slow, I’ve also recently self-published two novellas, Rx Murder and Silent Night, Deadly Night.

As you look forward, what is your focus – career-wise, spiritual, etc. – for 2016?

I really have no idea. I expected, by this stage of life, to be playing golf, traveling, and enjoying a quiet life. But about the time I planned to retire, my first wife died. Partly as therapy and partly to pass on my experience, I wrote a book, The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse, and I’m happy to say that it is still in print ten years later and continues to minister. After several years of trying my hand at fiction, with many rejections along the way, I’ve now had nine novels of medical suspense published, with the tenth coming next spring. I had no idea my life was going to take this turn…but God did. I have no idea what He has in mind for 2016, but I can hardly wait to see.

Thanks so much for sharing some of your time with us! If you want to connect with Dr. Richard Mabry, visit his Facebook page, Twitter profile, or Website! And check out all of Dr. Mabry's books on Amazon.

Do you want your own copy of Miracle Drug? Leave a comment for Dr. Mabry below with your email and one goal for 2016 and you'll be entered in a giveaway. And check this out! If you win, but you've already read Miracle Drug, name one of his books that you'd like and if he has a copy, he'll send that to you instead! Woohoo! Winner chosen on January 16th!