Photo by Patrick Smyth
Photo by Chaucer Wells Photography

I’m a former heart surgeon and now write full time. I have a medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine; performed my general surgery residency at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana; attended a two-year research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland; and trained in cardiothoracic surgery at New York University. Following my training, I served as a surgical attending at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and held a joint appointment as Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Seattle Veterans Administration Hospital. My writing instruction includes Internet-based courses, night classes at the University of Washington, and I earned an MFA degree in creative writing from Pine Manor College in Boston, where I was mentored by a distinguished faculty, including New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane. I live in Bellevue, Washington, which is a suburb of Seattle.

 

During my surgical career I violated every cavity and laid hands on every organ in the human body. I’ve drilled holes in the skull, amputated big toes and excised, resected, patched and repaired every body part in between. I know human anatomy, physiology, the pathology of human disease and the carnage that can be wreaked upon the human organism by his fellow man, by machine and by Mother Nature. I’ve spent countless hours standing across the operating table from egomaniacal surgical attendings, and I’ve personally witnessed high-achieving members of a noble profession become corrupted by the quest for notoriety and wealth. This vast experience, combined with a deep understanding of story and character, has resulted in works of fiction that will not only entertain, but will venture below the surface to explore how men of intelligence, drive and compassion sometimes choose, or are forced, to venture down dark paths.