Book Promo and Author Interview: Anne McCarthy Strauss and A Medical Affair

About A Medical Affair

While under the care of her pulmonologist after a life-threatening asthma 
attack, Heather Morrison enters into an affair with her doctor. This affair 
violates the state’s code of conduct and his medical treatment violates the 
Hippocratic oath.  Heather’s life is shattered as a result. After the doctor 
terminates the relationship, Heather begins research for her own healing, 
and armed with this information, she initiates a civil lawsuit. Although it 
is a work of fiction, A Medical Affair was extensively researched.  A 
Medical Affair is a critical book for women who want to make educated 
decisions regarding their relationships with their doctors.

Welcome Anne ~ 

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve known I wanted to be a writer since I learned how to read.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

I’ve had about seven public relations jobs.  I still have one.  But all I ever wanted to do was to write novels.

? How long does it take you to write a book?

That depends on so many factors – whether or not I have a job, how much research has to be done, how inspired I am by the subject matter, and whether I have the time.  It took about five years to write A Medical Affair, half of which was researching.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I write down every good line I think of it when I think of it.  I may be driving, it may be the middle of the night – or worse.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

My characters are often a conglomeration of people I know, people I see or read about, and pure imagination.

? How do you decide what you want to write about?

I am fortunate to have an immunity to writer’s block.  Ideas come to me like waves to the shore.

? What books have most influenced your life?

Years ago, I was addicted to self-help books. Robin Norward's Women Who Love Too Much touched my soul and let me allow myself to live the life I'm living.

? What are you reading right now?

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'm in the early chapters and still adjusting to the many points of view. And I don't yet know what The Husband's Secret is.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Read, hike, hang out in bookstores. 

? What is your favorite comfort food?

? What do you think makes a good story?

Passion.  You have to have a passion for what you’re writing about.  Characters you can love.  Characters you can hate.  And good writing.  All the rest means nothing if the writing is bad.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?

Anita Shreve is my favorite contemporary author.  She can write with conviction about a wide variety of things in all imaginable places.  Her books are filled with keenly developed characters and locales.  They are definitely not cookie cutter.

Fun random questions: 

·        dogs or cats? Dogs

·        Coffee or tea? Coffee

·        Dark or milk chocolate? Dark

·        Rocks or flowers? Flowers

·        Night or day? Night

·        Favorite color? It depends on what it is.  For example, I love purple, but would not want a purple car.

·        Crayons or markers? Markers

·        Pens or pencils? Both

More About Anne

Anne McCarthy Strauss is a versatile writer, researcher and public relations 
professional.  She is also an avid supporter of victims’ rights.  She has 
spent the last decade educating women and men on the seldom revealed but all 
too frequent occurrence of affairs between doctors and their patients.  Her 
novel, A Medical Affair, is the story of a doctor who violates a sacred 
trust by having an affair with one of his patients.

A lifelong New Yorker, Anne lives on Long Island with her husband and their 
two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  The mother of one son, she has written 
for both consumer and trade magazines including Old House Journal, 
Waterfront Home & Design, Design Trade Magazine, Design New England, 
Distinction, Log Home Design Ideas and Florida Design Review.  She has been 
a regular contributor to Martha’s Vineyard Magazine and Vineyard Style.  She 
is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

Visit her at www.annestauss.com>