One on One with Author Darden North

Interview with Linda and Darden North

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

 I am a full-time practicing obstetrician/gynecologist in Jackson, MS --- by full-time I mean that I work put in a sixty to eighty-plus week as a board-certified physician --- and have written three mystery and suspense novels which fall into the medical thriller/fiction genre: HOUSE CALL (October 2005), POINTS OF ORIGIN (October 2006), and FRESH FROZEN (October 2008). All three have published in hardcover, while HOUSE CALL was released in paperback in October 2007 as well.

2. What are a few your hobbies.

     It seems that writing has become my major hobby -- whether or not this adventure becomes my major career is still in the wind. However, my interest in gardening is a fruitful diversion to my being an author, and after eight years in our present house that gardening has evolved into an occasional tweak of the maturing landscaping. I treat myself to a yard service for the heavy stuff. My wife and I take long walks, play in a croquet group, and enjoy our two children, our pets, and our friends.

3. Would you like to tell us anything about your family?

     My wife, Sally, and I have two grown children, a boy and a girl. It is still hard to believe that my baby has recently turned 21. Our home is in Mississippi, the land of southern writers. Someone once explained that the Mississippi soil sprouts so many authors because we are always trying to explain ourselves. I have set my first three novels, House Call, Points of Origin, and Fresh Frozen, in my native Mississippi, and I prefer to picture and depict this beautiful state in its contemporary light.

4. How did you get started writing? MD? Writer? What's the connection?

     What makes anyone think that he or she has the talent to write a book? is how I rephrase questions such as yours whenever I am asked. My interest in writing and publishing grew from the challenge to tell a story, a really good one, because I saw others doing it. It wasn’t that I wanted to emulate any one particular author or authors, although I admit that seeing other successful fiction authors was, and still is, part of the challenge. As far as the basics of developing this 20 craft, my initial interest in writing and publishing sparked in high school. I carried that interest to undergraduate school at Ole Miss where I worked my up to Editor-in-Chief of the 1978 Ole Miss student yearbook, while carrying a full load as a pre-med student. Editing the medical school yearbook, the 1982 Medic, followed four years later. Then in 1995, at the urging of my family, I put pen to paper and started my first novel, which appeared in hardcover on the shelves of bookstores ten years later. Therefore, mine has certainly not been a fascinating “rags to riches” story of how I was “at the right place at the right time” with the perfect “ripped from the headlines” manuscript.

     My connection with being a physician and a writer lies in the fact that I am constantly in front of a stream of people. My fictitious characters are as real as fiction can be. And while some might find it hard to believe that a physician can have the bedside manner to deliver babies, deal with real life-and-death medical and surgical issues mixed with a world of social ones, stay current with surgical and medical technology and still write three novels, it can be done. Of course, the fact and fiction are entirely separate. Of course, I do not breach confidentially in writing about or discussing my patients, nor do I delay them in the waiting room while I am writing! I am now in my twenty-third year of private obstetrics/gynecology practice in Jackson, MS, certainly a demanding profession and one that I enjoy. However, I feel that all professionals reach a point in their careers when they need other creative outlets. For me, it’s writing. And thank goodness that I have a”real” job that allows me to do so.   

5. Name a few things that have been helpful in getting your book promoted.

     Local and regional television and radio outlets have been generous with their time as have statewide newspapers and a few magazines. A full-time Mississippi doctor writing murder mysteries has been a novel pitch to the local and regional media. When my second novel, Points of Origin, was released, I contracted with Event Management Services, Inc., a national PR and advertising firm, for a nation-wide radio promotion campaign. I would recommend that same publicity company to anyone interested in such a program in that EMSI followed through with its commitment and the interviews (mostly live) were fun to do. Disappointingly, I recognized no secondary jump in book sales as a result of the campaign and received no follow-up publicity bookings or other contacts as a result. It was not until I began to participate in “free” Internet author promotion websites and blog forums that I began to see a dramatic surge in my website traffic and receive increased offers to present at literary events and festivals. We have to have faith that all of this promotional activity leads to increased book sales and a greater penetration of the market. Another great concern is to feel fulfilled and enjoy oneself along the way to that goal!

6. Where are your books available?

     My books are available through any local bookstore and on line at atlasbooks.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com and through the “Buy It” link on my website www.dardennorth.com. I encourage readers to inquire about my books at their local libraries, who can order them through Baker & Taylor, Ingram, and Brodart, among other suppliers.

7. How do you market your book?

     I have been proactive in hand selling” my novels at as many book signings and events that I can schedule and attend. While I have learned that personally making contacts with booksellers and the media is more productive for me than exclusively utilizing a third party to do so, I still work with a book distributor who also actively markets my novels. The company I use, and recommend, is AtlasBooks/BookMasters, Incorporated, which charges a monthly account maintenance and book storage fee in addition to sales commission and order fulfillment fees. AtlasBooks sponsored me at the 2008 Book Expo America where I personally signed and distributed my books. I am also a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Sisters-in-Crime, the Southern Independent Book Association (SIBA), the Mississippi Writers Guild, and Mystery Writers of America. Participating in the Internet list serves of these organizations and taking advantage of some of their sponsored promotional activities is many times a real plus in marketing. However, I am not convinced that purchasing book title or other listings in paper sales catalogues is still productive in marketing. When I am scheduled to attend a book signing or event in a community, I strive to contact the local television and radio stations to schedule interviews and many times with success. These efforts were extremely fruitful and apparently well-received during a recent trip to Louisiana. I keep a current listing of my upcoming book signings and appearances on my website www.dardennorth.com and on other sites such as AuthorsDen.com and Booktour.com.

8. Tell us the benefits of social networking.

     First of all, my plunge into Internet social networking resulted in the much-appreciated opportunity to be interviewed here! After joining Facebook, MySpace, CrimeSpace, and Twitter.com in a addition to such book fan and author website sites as Author and Book Event Center, Book Town, and Book Masons (to name a few), I share blogs and announcements as well as list my book events. After utilizing all of these venues, I have seen my website hits top 20,000 a month (a doubling over the last year) in addition to the 4000 or so visits I receive to my listing on AuthorsDen.com. Now, whether or not all of this networking has directly increased book sales, I’m not sure. However, I feel as though I have definitely made some new friends as I have begun to better penetrate the book market through contacts made far beyond a regional level. Social networking via the Internet does save time and gasoline verses traveling to book signings (which I still enjoy), and I think that, especially through blogging, one’s writing craft is polished.

9. What suggestions do you have for others to encourage their writing path?

     Stop talking about writing or finishing your piece … just do it and do it now. Never discard anything that you have written, even if you think that what you have created is worthless (or worse, if some helpful soul has told you that it is!) Do not expect a fellow author of the same genre to help you. It just won’t happen, particularly if you’re asking him/her to read your unpublished work. I think that perhaps copyright concerns exist about that, and well-seasoned authors (even the ones local to you) are probably inundated with such requests. Several authors outside my genre have been eager to advise me and share promotional tips and contact information with me, and for that I am grateful. Do take advantage of anyone that seems interested in your writing or legitimately promoting your books in your community or elsewhere (for free, that is!). Once you have a published work, there are lots of very worthwhile charity events that will welcome your involvement and a portion of the resulting book sales at those events to help fund the charity.

10. Anything else you deem important.

     I invite readers and other authors to visit my website www.dardennorth.com where links to my media interviews, book reviews, book signings/appearances, and other related articles are posted in addition to my blog. Also, I invite readers of my work to join the Darden North Community (fancy name for the “Darden North Fan Club”) --- the link to which is posted in the bottom right corner of the homepage of my website. I welcome reader comments and interaction.