The Inspiration Behind Erica Rosen MD Trilogy
By Deven Greene
I often thought about writing something in the medical thriller genre, as I’m a physician and scientist (biochemist). The idea to write about genetic engineering, the subject of the first book in the trilogy, Unnatural, seemed like a good place to start. After all, genetic engineering is in the news a lot, and much has been written about future possibilities for this exciting new technique. The story came to me in a flash—a Chinese girl with blue eyes (Chinese people don’t have blue eyes—usually brown, rarely green, but not blue). Now I had my general plot. All I had to do was come up with the characters and the details.
You can surmise by now that my writing is plot-driven rather than character-driven. Despite that, I put a great deal of thought into my characters. They need to fit the story as well as have a life outside of the problem at hand.
For Unnatural, I decided the best person to become entangled in the plot would be a pediatrician. Not just any pediatrician, but an intelligent, caring doctor. I needed her to have a particular interest in special needs children, as she would be the one to look after the autistic youth in the second book, Unwitting (see below). I conjured up Erica Rosen, a San Francisco pediatrician who came across blue-eyed Wang Shu in her clinic. Wang Shu’s mother had brought her there because she needed a health form filled out to start school.
The second book deals with autism. The main person Erica deals with, a young autistic man, is based on one of my sons. The abilities and behavior of the book character are as close to my son’s as I could make them. Both are autistic, with limited ability to communicate. Unlike the higher functioning autistic individuals usually featured on television, they must rely on people for their care. Like some, but not all autistic individuals, however, they have certain splinter skills, which often surprise people. I can ask my son what he had for dinner on a specific night five years ago, and he can tell me (I sometimes write such things down to check his memory because I don't remember those details).
The third book deals with pharmaceutical production. While the FDA does its best to regulate this industry, there have been failures. I believe significant slip-ups are less frequent than they have been in the past, at least in developed countries. However, there are still ways to work around the safeguards in place.
My writing sometimes requires me to research the science behind the stories, as well as the culture and location of the characters. I enjoy this, and I hope that in addition to appreciating a good story, my readers look forward to learning about new things as much as I do.
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.
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