📚 Up Close & Personal with 'Erica Rosen MD Trilogy' Deven Greene & Giveaway! @dgreenauthor #upcloseandpersonal

Up Close & Personal is one of The Writer’s Life newest features. Here we feature authors who don't mind spilling the beans and telling what it's really like to write, get published and sell that book. Today's guest is Deven Greene, author of the medical thriller, Erica Rosen MD Trilogy. Be sure to enter the book giveaway at the bottom of this post. Good luck!

Fiction writer Deven Greene lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Ever since childhood, Deven has been interested in science. After receiving a doctorate in biochemistry, she went to medical school and trained as a pathologist. She worked for several decades in that field before starting to write fiction. Deven incorporates elements of medicine or science in most of her writing. She has published several short stories. Her debut novel, Unnatural, is the first book of the Erica Rosen MD Trilogy, and was released in January 2021. Unwitting, released in October 2021, is the second Erica Rosen MD novel. Unforeseen is the final book in the Trilogy.

Visit her website at www.devengreene.com or connect with her on Twitter and Instagram.

On Writing…

When I was much younger, I loved to read and write fiction. However, my education got in the way as I got older, and I slowly gave up writing. About ten years ago, having graduate school, medical school, and years of medical practice behind me, I decided to take up writing fiction again. With my background and interest in biochemistry and medicine, medical suspense was the obvious genre of choice.

To prepare, I read books and attended conferences on writing. At some point, I decided it was time to put all my newfound knowledge to work, and I began to write my first novel. I haven’t published that book yet, but I’ve been writing ever since, and I still attend lectures and read about writing.

My first fiction publication was a short story called Desperate Measures. I was ecstatic when I received a $25 check for it. Although I spend most of my writing time penning novels, I continue to write short stories and someday may publish a collection.

I believe that with each book I read and each lecture I attend, I improve incrementally as a writer.

On Being Published…

When I started to write fiction, I kept it a secret from all but my relatives and closest friends because I was afraid people would view my new endeavor as silly and doomed to fail. The first time I was published (outside of the boring world of scientific papers), I was overjoyed. Now that I have published the Erica Rosen MD Trilogy, I am more forthcoming about my new writing career. Recently, several times when people asked me what I do, I answered that I’m a writer. I enjoy talking about my Erica Rosen MD Trilogy and getting people interested.

On Publishing Industry…

The publishing industry is constantly changing. For writers, I believe it is overall a negative transformation. On the one hand, everyone has the opportunity to self-publish, so every writer has a chance to be a published author. On the other hand, however, the big publishers have become very wary about taking a chance on a new author. Without the support of a large publisher, getting the attention of readers is difficult for new writers.

I spent a small amount of time pursuing the large publisher route but had no luck with that. I realized I needed to take a different path: either self-publish or find a small publisher. I chose to be published by a small publisher. For me, it was the right decision as I wanted to have the backing of a publisher and didn’t want to spend time putting together all the components needed to publish a book. Although my royalties are a lower percentage of sales using a publisher, I had no up-front costs and have probably sold more books using this route than I would have if I were self-published. I haven’t regretted my decision.

On Marketing…

Marketing has been challenging for me and is my least favorite aspect of being an author. I have done virtual book tours, giveaways of my ebooks, and established a website. I have Twitter and Instagram accounts, but they haven’t garnered much traction, probably at least in part because I’m not very active on them. Now that it looks like businesses are opening up again following the COVID shutdown, I hope to do author events in bookstores and other venues.

On Goals and Dreams…

My goal is to keep writing and develop as large a fan base as possible. I hope to attract readers who are curious like me and who are interested in suspense and science. I plan to go back to the first novel I wrote but never published and get it ready for publication. Like many authors, I’d love to see my stories adapted for film.

I would advise aspiring authors to start writing! I’ve learned that there are readers for every sort of well-written book. Also, no book, even if well-written, appeals to everyone. Don’t be discouraged if some people don’t like what you’ve written. Write for people who do appreciate your type of writing.

Title: Unnatural
Author: Deven Greene
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 289
Genre: Medical Thriller

Blurb:

Dr. Erica Rosen is perplexed when she sees a young Chinese girl with blue eyes in her San Francisco pediatrics clinic. The girl’s mother, Ting, is secretive, and Erica suspects she has entered the country illegally. Later, Erica encounters Ting’s son and discovers he has an unusual mutation. Erica learns that Ting’s children underwent embryonic stem cell gene editing as part of a secret Chinese government-run program.

The Chinese government wants to murder Ting’s son to prevent others from learning about his unusual mutation and the secret gene-editing program. At Ting’s urging, Erica heads to China to expose the program and rescue the infant Ting was forced to leave behind, all while attempting to evade the watchful eye of the Chinese government.

Book Information

Release Date: January 7, 2021

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Soft Cover: 289 pages; $4.53; eBook $4.65; Free with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wv8hlN

Black Rose Writing: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/unnatural?rq=deven%20green

Title: Unwitting
Author: Deven Greene
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 281
Genre: Medical Thriller

Blurb:

Dr. Erica Rosen’s world is turned upside down after a suicide bomber explodes amidst a large crowd entering Oracle Park baseball stadium, near her San Francisco home. Many are killed or injured, and police have no leads in solving the case.

Erica becomes involved after a teacher of young autistic men contacts her. The teacher believes her students are involved in the bombing but is afraid to contact law enforcement. She reaches out to Erica, who has experience with special needs children.

Erica arrives at the school but finds the police already there and a young autistic man doing a jigsaw puzzle, oblivious to his murdered teacher on the floor. The young man has information about the mastermind behind the bombing but has limited ability to speak. Erica is determined to protect him, prevent further bombings, and find his missing classmates.

Book Information

Release Date: October 21, 2021

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Soft Cover: 281 pages; $17.38; eBook $4.99; FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qe4zJP

Black Rose Writing:

https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/unwitting?rq=deven%20greene

Title: Unforeseen
Author: Deven Greene
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 332
Genre: Medical Thriller

Blurb:

Pediatrician Erica Rosen is stymied when two of her patients don’t respond to medicine as expected. When other patients later develop strange, unexpected illnesses, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, the department’s newest pediatrician, Dr. Nilsen, appears to be trying to steal her patients. Erica suspects he is after her job as the clinic director. She also discovers Dr. Nilsen has become romantically involved with her trusted assistant, Martha. One evening, while looking for patient information on Martha’s desk, Erica comes across a list with the names of some of her patients. A boy who recently became ill with a mysterious malady is on the list and has an asterisk by his name. What does that mean?

Erica is convinced something nefarious is underfoot, and Dr. Nilsen, rather than simply being after her job, is engaged in a dangerous scheme involving her patients. Unable to recruit the help of law enforcement in a timely manner, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands. As she proceeds with her investigation, she is unaware of the dangers she is about to encounter.