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For a line with a niche market, Medicals are sure making a buzz.
Four out of the six short category finalists in the 2007 R©BY
are Medicals (Fiona Lowe’s Her Miracle Baby, Carol
Marinelli’s Needed: Full-Time Father and Marion Lennox’s
The Doctor’s Proposal and Rescue at Cradle Lake).
Two of the finalists in RWAmerica’s 2007 RITAs are Medicals
(Marion Lennox’s The Doctor’s Proposal and The
Surgeon’s Family Miracle). So why are they so popular?
Sheila Hodgson, Senior Editor of Medicals tells us about the
line. “One of the things I love most about the Medical series is
the hero. He is not usually the rich tycoon of Sexy, the gallant
Lord of Historicals (though
we have had a few contemporary, sheikh, prince and other
aristocratic doctors grace our pages) though he is,
nevertheless, our own special version of the alpha male.
He is strong,
he can be aloof, but he’s generally approachable and always with
a great bedside manner. He may be demanding, but he is also
caring and is a man with a conscience. He is a hero because he
saves lives, but also because he brings love and fulfilment to
the heroine. A man who will move mountains to save a life or
resolve a medical problem - the kind of person who we all dream
of having on our side in a medical emergency. He is strong,
intelligent, successful and respected. He is also in touch with
his emotions, an open character with a vulnerable side. He may
struggle in certain areas of his life, juggling his work with
his children, with his emotions. Generally the heroine will help
him resolve his struggles. Equally he will help her resolve
hers. We almost always see his point of view, as well as the
heroine’s. He is a man of action and precision, he has high
standards in his work and expects them of others. He can display
wit and certainly oodles of charm. He may be the heroine’s boss,
or he may not, but they are equally matched and equally
respected in their fields. He is sexy, commanding, and can be
seductive, tender and generally both. If he sleeps with the
heroine it is at a point when the depth of their passion matches
the depth of their emotional connection. :::sigh::: How could
you not love him? And that’s how the reader needs to feel about
him.
Above all,
Medicals offer highly contemporary characters and medical
settings, warmth, excitement, drama and variety and the kind of
heart-rending emotional conflicts that will have its readers,
wherever they are in the world, reaching for their tissues.”
Not convinced? Here’s what the authors have to say about their
beloved line.
Fiona Lowe 2007 R*BY finalist (The French Doctor's
Midwife Bride, August 2007) “I started writing medicals
because of the adage, 'write what you know.' But now, seven
books later, what I love about the series is the freedom of
story lines. From sweet to sexy, from high octane emergency
medicine to community health, Medical Romance crosses all the
boundaries. I really feel I can tell the story I want to tell,
the way I want to tell it.”
Fiona McArthur (Their Special Care Baby Jan 08)
“Medical Romance heroes are fabulous because they have to
protect and nurture the health and lives of real people everyday
- as well as survive the stormy waters of true love. I can write
about a small town hospital, or a missionary in New Guinea or a
hunk at the beach or a helicopter crash. I can write action and
angst and about the one true love that such a hero and heroine
deserve because although the stakes are high, our heroes and
heroines are dedicated and brave and deserve happily ever
after.”
Melanie Milburne (dual release - Surgeon Prince,
Ordinary Wife/Her Man of Honour Sept 07) “Tessa Shapcott
asked me to consider also writing Medicals as I was well ahead
of my Presents (aka Sexy) schedule and very conveniently married
to a surgeon. I wrote three chapters under duress and when I
caught up with Tessa in Dallas told her I wasn’t keen to pursue
the medical thing. Sheila Hodgson then emailed me and begged me
to finish the novel as she loved the characters and the thread
of intrigue I had included. I am now writing for both lines and
loving it. The thing I love about the Medical line is I can
still maintain my Presents voice.”
Lilian Darcy (Café du Jour, MIRA, August 2007)
“There is so much scope in Medical Romance, and comparatively
few limitations. As long as there is hands-on medical detail
involving the hero and heroine working together, and a strong
emotional heart to the book, you can make it sexy or sweet,
glamorous or down-to-earth, fast-paced or cosy, funny or
intense. Sometimes a book will roller-coaster back and forth
between several different moods with dizzying speed, just as
real life does. The books can be set in your own home town or
internationally, they can have a time frame of months or hours.
Creatively, you can really fly, and if there’s a life message
you want to get across – such as “Have your annual pap smear,
and do your monthly breast check” - you can do that, too, as
long as it’s done in the context of the characters and story,
not rammed down readers throats like a lecture.”
Carol Marinelli – 2007 R*BY finalist (The Single Dad's
Marriage Wish, Oct 07) “I write for both the Medical Romance
line and Presents. The bliss of writing medicals is the freedom
to write the story that's in your head at the time of writing.
Not only are the settings endless: from country GP's to cutting
edge forensics, but, whether the story is sweet and tender or
deep and dark - all are accommodated within the line. Today I
got my hardback copies of a book I call my Magical Medical. It
was written mainly from the hero's view point - and had this
sort of magical feel to it. My next Medical after that is dark,
has a very alpha hero and the sex literally blew my computer.
There are not many lines which give you such freedom and Medical
Romance is just wonderful to both read and write for.”
Leah Martyn (The Doctor’s Pregnancy Secret, Sept
07) “When I had my first book published with Mills & Boon, the
editorial policy for Medicals was rather conservative. I was
cautioned gently about not being too explicit in love scenes,
that any "groaning" from the hero was to be avoided as was
depicting my heroines as "too feisty". How things have changed!
These days, we’re encouraged to push the boundaries. To write
about gorgeous heroes who do "groan" when the occasion demands
and heroines who not only match them in the gorgeous stakes but
are brilliant at what they do as well.”
Meredith Webber (His Runaway Nurse, June 07) “I
hate to admit it but my favourite part of writing is the
research which is why I fit so well into writing medicals. I
have some incredible research books, one simply called The
Surgery Book from which I could perform an operation on
everything from carpel tunnel to brain surgery and vasectomy.
When The Air Hits Your Brain is another beauty. My June release
is my 63rd Medical and whilst it doesn't have a vasectomy or
brain surgery there is an operation on the nether regions of a
wombat.”
Emily Forbes – a two-sister writing team (The
Surgeon’s Longed-For Bride, July 2007) “As readers of the
Medical line, we loved the real-life drama, rich settings, depth
of characters and huge variety of author styles so much we knew
we wanted to be part of the family. With the release of our
seventh Medical title, we’re still thrilled that now we get to
choose the adventures and emotional journeys we want to share.
“Medicals are a natural fit for our heroines who are strong and
career-minded. Even though their personal lives might be
unraveling, they’re doing something that really matters in their
professional lives. The medical settings generate wonderful
challenges for our heroes and heroines and we admit we love
making them work for their happy-ever-after.”
Lucy Clark – husband and wife team (The Surgeon and
the Single Mum, July 2007) “There's nothing more exciting
than bringing two characters together and letting them find new
hope and life. Working together, we have a lot of fun as we
create and write the dramatic medical worlds of our characters.
Also, research isn't so boring when there are two!”
Marion Lennox – double finalist 2007 R*BY, double
finalist 2007 RITA (The Prince's Outback Bride, May 07)
“I wrote my first medical by accident - I made my heroine a
doctor at the time when the old doctor/nurse romances were being
scrapped. In doing so I found a niche I love. If I feel like
writing a light hearted romp I can. If I decide I want gritty,
then that's fine, too. Sometimes my books are heavily medical.
Sometimes it seems like I just waft a stethoscope over everyone
at the end. The medical market has continued to grow steadily
for the seventeen or so years I've been writing. Our readership
is intensely loyal, and where other lines come and go, we just
keep growing.”
Amy Andrews has just completed her 12th medical romance.
Her next book, Single Dad, Outback Wife, is on the
shelves in August. Visit her
website
for more information about her books
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