Write What You Know - Even If It Hurts. A Guest Post by Tammy Euliano

Today we welcome anesthesiologist and writer Tammy Euliano to Writers Who Kill. Members of the Sisters in Crime Guppies Group know that Tammy generously answers medical questions for writers on her blog. Today she shares with us part of her journey to publish her manuscript, Do No Harm.

I’m a physician in my day job, an anesthesiologist with an unusual god-complex. Not the omniscient surgeon kind, but the lower-case kind who creates a world on paper (e-reader?) to captivate and entertain. At last I’m pursuing my author-fantasy. In true “write what you know” fashion, my mystery features an anesthesiologist.

Do No Harm is the story of Dr. Kate Downey, an academic anesthesiologist who stumbles upon a series of unexpected post-operative deaths. Career at stake, she teams with a medical student, the son of a victim, and her eccentric German aunt to uncover a mercy killing-for-hire scheme. The stakes escalate (of course) threatening her career and the lives of her colleagues, her comatose husband, and even herself. A CRNA (nurse anesthetist) figures prominently. 

So there, I’ve written what I know, and finished a novel in my field of expertise. A field in which I’ve invested 20 years teaching, publishing, caring for patients. A field in which I can most humbly claim to be an expert.

Honored as a finalist at the PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association) annual meeting, I was thrilled to attend my first writers’ conference and my first pitch slam – speed dating with agents. Give a brief pitch, answer questions until the bell rings. If interested, they’ll request pages. Move on to the next agent that seeks your genre.

Go Time! Heart racing, my first pitch went great – she asked for pages. The next, same story. The fact they handed cards to most everyone was completely irrelevant.

Confidence high, I stood behind the line at another agent. The line on the floor I mean, there was no one waiting. Cue music from Psycho’s shower scene. Deaf to the ominous tune, but not the bell, I moved to sit before him, blind to the horns and pitchfork.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Tammy Euliano, an anesthesiologist at the University of Florida.” 

He’s looking at his watch.

I plow on.

He’s drinking water, looking around the room.

I plow on. When I mention that a CRNA is involved in a patient’s surgery, he stops me. “A what?” Still no eye contact, just interrupts.

“A CRNA – a nurse anesthetist. They’re specially trained--”

“Never heard of them.”

“Hmm, well they are specially trained nurses who practice anesthesia under a physician’s direction.”

He shakes his head. “No, not true.”

Ummmm. “Actually, they do. They’re like physician assistants.”

“Look, I’ve had surgery. You need to get your facts straight.”

Attempted smile on my part. “This is what I do for a liv—“

“Your story has to be believable.”

“—ing.” Face on fire, heart pounding, I move to stand, but he won’t shut up. I don’t recall what he said next, and can’t figure out why I still sat there. The end was, “Rework your story and maybe I’ll consider it.”

Yeah, I’ll send it right on. Hope he’s holding his breath for it.

I continue to “write what I know” and receive some positive feedback that my setting feels real. I’ve had some useful comments from editors and some that just make you wonder:

“Your OR scene is unrealistic. There are no desks in the OR, or computers.”

“Your scenario where the students save the manikin and fist bump doesn’t work. They would all be sterile.”

Note to self: When editing for someone, check their credentials before listing their transgressions.