Deborah Shlian – Thonie Hevron Author

By Deborah Shlian

I am a physician (now retired) and a published author of medical mystery/thrillers since the 1980’s. I would never have had the successes I’ve enjoyed had I not found mentors along the way – as I moved along in my medical career and now as I continue to write my novels while the publishing world changes around me.

As a young doctor, fresh out of residency, I joined a large integrated healthcare system (Kaiser Permanente) in Los Angeles. There I found an amazing clinician, outstanding teacher and natural leader who became my first real mentor. Growing up in the early 1960’s, at a time when family and career roles were still fairly differentiated by gender, this view required adjustments from parents, friends and particularly school counselors who regarded nursing or teaching as much more acceptable careers for women than medicine. Indeed, the idea of career itself was “something to fall back on”, to be dusted off should a husband die, or family economics really get tight. Full time wife and mother was the generally accepted proper role for a woman of that era. Dr. Rasgon thought that kind of thinking was baloney and encouraged me to become the best clinician first and then to consider a leadership role within healthcare. Because of his mentoring, when an opportunity to become Medical Director of UCLA’s Student Health Service opened up, I decided to take the risk and put my hat in the ring. I got the job.

At UCLA, I took on the responsibility of oversight for 33,000 students and a large staff of physicians, nurses and non-clinical staff. As my administrative duties expanded, my boss, who became my next mentor, encouraged me to consider getting a Masters in Business. He convinced me that acquiring a working knowledge of the language and concepts of business would allow me to straddle the role of clinician and non-clinician administrator. I enrolled in UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and graduated with an MBA.

While in business school, I decided to write a nonfiction book about the rise of managed care (I had practiced in one of the oldest HMOs in the US and had a unique perspective on what I saw as a revolutionary change in medicine). Unfortunately, publishers in New York in the 1980’s had barely heard the word HMO and told me that the concept would never fly east of the Rockies! A friend who wrote screenplays (Leigh Chapman) and who became my first writing mentor suggested writing a novel and weaving my concerns within a story. Unfortunately, my first attempt was too didactic; I didn’t even try to have it published. However, with my mentor’s encouragement I began to study the craft of novel writing. Robin Cook, a physician and best-selling author, was just getting popular at the time and it was clear that in the context of fiction, he could tell a story that also dealt with some difficult life issue.

The choice to write mysteries versus any other genre seemed natural. To me, a good doctor is really a detective. He or she must take various clues (patients’ symptoms, their physical signs and their story or history) and figure out what’s really going on – that is, make a diagnosis. Since the 1980’s I have co-written three medical mystery/thrillers with my husband (Double Illusion, Wednesday’s Child and Rabbit in the Moon), co-written two in an ongoing series with a physician colleague from California (Dead Air and Devil Wind which feature radio talk show host Sammy Greene).

All of these novels so far have been published by major publishers and all have won several literary awards including four Royal Palm Literary awards from the Florida Writers Association. Rabbit in the Moon won the Florida Book Award’s Gold Medal. Two of my novels have been optioned for screenplays.

Between my last novel published in 2011 and a new mystery/thriller I completed this year, the changes in the publishing world had accelerated. My agent had passed away, I wasn’t happy with my experience with my most recent publisher, and I was suddenly a stranger in a whole new world.

Here’s an irony. A young writer (John Ling) who I have been mentoring for several years has now become my mentor! When I read John’s first self-published short stories, I recognized his talent and encouraged him to write a larger work. His first and subsequent thrillers are as good as any of the top thriller writers around the world (I was one of this year’s Edgar Awards judges, so I think I have a good sense of talent). Despite my advice, John, who is extremely savvy about social marketing, chose to self-publish his novels. Happily, he has become a bestselling author and is one of the few writers these days who is actually making a living as a novelist.

So, with John’s encouragement, I have decided to take the leap and self-publish my newest thriller Silent Survivor. Given that most major publishers are outsourcing the marketing to authors, it makes sense to go down the learning curve and maintain control of your project. I understand that for many authors, this is still a difficult mindset. It has been for me. But I am now relying on the encouragement of my mentor and hoping for the best.

According to Steven Spielberg, “the delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

Bottom line- my career path in both medicine and writing has not been a straightforward path. With each opportunity came a choice and a certain risk. Luckily, I found mentors along the way who helped me consider these forks which have made all the difference.

~~~

Deborah Shlian is a physician, healthcare consultant and author of numerous nonfiction articles and books as well as six award-winning medical mystery/thrillers, three co-authored with her husband, Joel. Rabbit in the Moon won the Florida Book Award’s Gold Medal. Her newest medical mystery/thriller, Silent Survivor, won First Place, Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association.

NOTE: Every dollar from sales of this book is going to veterans’ charities that deal with PTSD as well as charities that help women who have experienced sexual assault

Here’s the link to Amazon (the book won’t be available until July 31st): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7JD1QF?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

Here’s the link to the trailer: https://youtu.be/QsmiKrIzgpU

WMA plus award — My certificate for With Malice Aforethought as the winner of the Public Safety Writers Association Writing Competition July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas.

By Thonie Hevron

I wonder how I would’ve ever gotten where I am today without mentors. This includes the mom down the street who took me under her wing when my mother struggled with her own demons. Early in my career, there was a motor officer who introduced me to the concept, “badge-heavy” and changed my adversarial attitude with the public while I issued tickets–I didn’t have to be a jerk. Later, Fred, a patrolman, was another crucial association. He invited me to testify to the county grand jury as part of an investigation of our police administration. Standing up for the integrity of the job was a beautiful burden. These people were life-mentors who taught me valuable lessons that extend through my life today.

But let’s talk about mentors for writers.

In most other industries, colleagues could look upon newbies as competition. While I’ve found that writing teachers aren’t necessarily mentors, I can say I have never seen professional acrimony toward another. My first true writing mentor, Pat Tyler, during her Jumpstart Writing class, encouraged me with provocative prompts. She provided a safe, non-judgmental place to read and hone my stories. Then, she pointed me toward Redwood Writers (a branch of California Writers Club), where I found much more to learn. The motto of the club is “writers helping writers.” It did!

My second mentor is Marilyn Meredith. She’s a board member of the Public Safety Writers Association who I met in 2014 at the club’s annual conference. Marilyn is an experienced author who helped me navigate small press publishing and writing ethics. She’s a prolific author of over 40 books who gets up in the middle of the night (4 AM) to accomplish her myriad goals. Even with huge family demands, she writes and promotes almost every day. A lady in the most refined sense, she’s also a model of Christianity—not the clichéd version—the true-blue follower of Christ. She’s unpretentious, accepts people the way they are and believes in sharing her gifts—as she has with me. I’ll bet she never even considered herself a mentor. But she is. She continually inspires me to be better.

Speaking of not considering yourself a mentor, I want to talk about being a mentor. Why?

It could change someone’s life—really. Think about words of encouragement you heard that motivated you. Be that person.
It will take you out of your own world—we create them in our heads, don’t we? Telling another person about your process attaches words to abstract thoughts. Sharing can enlarge thoughts, if you listen. For both of you.
You’ll be building a writers’ community based on the positive aspects we’re talking about here.
The life you change may be your own. Sometimes, verbalizing the process gives us a clearer picture. Sharing and giving aren’t unique to humans but we’ve refined it through evolution. Let’s keep working on it.

On August 10th, Deborah Shlian shares her thought on being both a mentor and mentee. Cathy Perkins appears on August 17th, Barbara Bent on the 24th and Edith Maxwell winds up the month with “Paying it Forward” on August 31st.

Be sure to join us on Writer’s Notes, Just the Facts, Ma’am every Friday. Sundays, read the exploits of the men and women behind the badge on the main blog.

Share this:

Share this: