Dr. Richard Mabry is the author of four published novels of
medical suspense. His novel, Medical
Error, was a finalist for this year’s Carol Award of the American Christian
Fiction Writers. His latest book is Lethal
Remedy. I hope you enjoy this inspiring post of how Dr. Mabry received The Call.
~ Angie
Writers talk about getting “the call.” For some, that’s the
phone call (or email or letter) from an agent offering representation. For
others, the call is one that extends a contract for publication. I’ve received
both these calls, and I can’t tell you how wonderful and exciting they were.
But they wouldn’t have come about had I not responded to an earlier and much
more important call.
My road to writing began with a tragedy. Maybe yours did,
too. Perhaps you lost your job and decided to fill those empty hours between
interviews and resumés by starting the novel you always thought you had inside
you. Or you found yourself with an empty nest and a broken heart, so you
decided to write to take your mind off the loneliness. In my case, it was the
death of my wife of forty years that provided the impetus for me to write.
After Cynthia’s death in 1999, one of the coping mechanisms
I employed to combat depression was to journal. I laid out my feelings, bared
my soul. Then I looked back at what I’d written, and wondered if I could turn
this stack of raw journaling into a book that would help others. There was a
problem, though. I had no idea how one went about writing a book. So, in 2003,
I attended a Christian Writers’ Conference. That’s where I came under the
influence of writers Alton Gansky and James Scott Bell, who inspired and
encouraged me. An editor challenged me to try my hand at fiction, as well as
non-fiction. And at the end of the conference, I got “The Call.” I emphasize this one, because it came from God. I knew,
with the same certainty that I know my name, that my retirement from medicine
was just a transition to another endeavor. I was to write.
In 2006, my non-fiction book became a reality with the publication
of The Tender Scar: Life After The Death
Of A Spouse. Fiction, on the other hand, was a different story. During four
years spent learning the craft I produced four novels that were rejected a
total of over forty times. Then, finally, I got “the call”—twice. Both came
from agent Rachelle Gardner, the first offering representation and the second
telling me I’d sold my first novel. But neither of those calls would have come
had I not listened to The Call, the
one God handed down to me at that conference.
My fourth novel, Lethal
Remedy, has just been released, and I recently signed with Thomas Nelson
Company for three novels of medical suspense. Of course, I’m thrilled to have
the opportunity to share my stories with others, but I don’t want to lose sight
of the reason I’m writing in the first place. I guess it’s best summed up in
the last line of the Acknowledgement I wrote for my first novel: “When I
retired from medicine, God opened another door and pointed me in the direction
of writing. I have no idea what comes next, but I can hardly wait to find out.
To Him be the glory.”
