Author Archives: Richard

Would You Terminate a Life …

  … to end the suffering associated with an incurable disease? In The Euthanist, Alex Dolan’s debut novel, this is exactly what his protagonist is doing. Kali,  paramedic by day and euthanist by night (and on her days off), is part of an underground group who will put you out of your misery if you meet certain criteria, your family is… Continue Reading

Trauma University – Part 5: Agony

    In chapter two of The Organ Takers, paramedics Tom Burnett and Freddie Ramirez find an unconscious homeless man facedown on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk at 4:00 am. When they roll him onto his back, Freddie says, “He’s breathing, but his respirations are agonal.” What does that mean: his respirations are agonal?   From the context of the… Continue Reading

Can Human Organs be Grown in the Laboratory?

    In The Organ Takers I show you a lab full of organs that have been grown from porcine (pig) scaffolds and human stem cells.   In The Organ Growers I take you through the process of growing a human kidney using human stem cells and a porcine kidney.     But, can human organs really be grown in the lab?   To date, relatively simple… Continue Reading

Indie Stars 2015 Book Giveaway – Only a Few Days Left

  There are only a few days left to enter the Indie Stars Giveaway. Winners will be announced Friday. Details and links are below.   BookLife, a feature within Publishers Weekly that is devoted to self-publishing, has published the second Starred Reviews Annual. The issue lists all of the self-published books that received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly in 2015… Continue Reading

Publishers Weekly Self-Publishing Stars of 2015

  PW Select, a quarterly feature within Publishers Weekly that is devoted to self-publishing, has published the second Starred Reviews Annual. The issue lists all of the self-published books that received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly in 2015 and includes 18 fiction titles and three nonfiction titles.   I call your attention to this for two reasons. Since… Continue Reading

The Four D’s: All in One Place

  If you’ve perused my blog at all, you may be familiar with a series of posts called The Four D’s. These posts stem from my experience as an MFA student at Pine Manor College in Boston, where I was fortunate enough to spend a semester under the mentorship of New York Times bestselling author Dennis… Continue Reading