TBM: How do you imagine the ideal
reader of your book?
DN: “The ideal reader of my book is
anyone who enjoys a contemporary, fast-paced mystery or thriller built around
unique and often complex characters who scream for an invitation to lunch.”
TBM: How was the writer inside of
you born?
DN: “Almost 20 years ago, I started
reading contemporary mysteries and thrillers, the genre generally dominated by
recovering attorneys, and decided that as a still-practicing physician I could
try to write the same or better using characters in the medical profession.”
TBM: What genres do you work with
and why are you attracted to these forms of writing?
DN: “I write mystery and suspense
because I seek plots that question reality or conventional wisdom but are
presented as plausible. Fiction lets me twist the truth and unravel it to shock
my reader every time.”
TBM: As a reader, what elements of a
story do you love, or do you hate?
DN: “I loathe repetition of the
facts or developments in a story as though the author considers the reader
stupid. Analyzing a character’s dialogue and/or facial expressions or body
language for the reader many times slows the action to a snail’s pace.”
TBM: What inspired you to write
WIGGLE ROOM and what do you hope your readers will take away from this book?
DN: “I was intrigued that a
physician in military service overseas would be conflicted by duties to heal
the enemy. From that concept, I imagined a unique tale where a terrorist tracks
a surgeon back home to Mississippi, the Iraqi terrorist intent on killing the
doctor for saving his life. In WIGGLE ROOM I hope readers will see both the
personal and professional venerability of physicians and nurses who seek to
release normal emotions and find balance in their lives.”
TBM: How long did it take you to
write this book and what did you do the day that you finished it?
DN: WIGGLE ROOM took about four
years to write and revise because I had a lot of interruptions. The day I
finished, I started the outline of my next novel, my fifth and a follow-up story
to WIGGLE ROOM.”
TBM: What would you like to say to
your readers?
DN: “I strive for my novels to go beyond the concept of medical mysteries and thrillers and to appeal to readers who do not typically read that genre. The medicine is not the story in my books, the people and the situations drive the action and conflict.”
DN: “I strive for my novels to go beyond the concept of medical mysteries and thrillers and to appeal to readers who do not typically read that genre. The medicine is not the story in my books, the people and the situations drive the action and conflict.”
TBM: What has pushed you to complete
four mystery and suspense novels and work diligently now on a fifth book?
DN: “I write the way I read. I love
to lose myself in a good story and like nothing more than to take control of
the plot, getting my characters into all kinds of satisfying mischief.”
TBM: Lastly, a direct message to the
readers, about why they should read WIGGLE ROOM by Darden North.
DN: “I can’t say it better than one
of my reviewers: ‘WIGGLE ROOM will not only make you wiggle, it will make
you squirm. This modern thriller is cleverly plotted, strongly written, and
will pull you into a story world filled with danger, excitement, and conflict
at every turn.’ Another said: ‘Darden North writes vividly, with strong pace,
action and emotion, counterbalanced with sharp observations and wry humor.’ ”