RX For Love: Harlequin Medical Romance

Can't wait until some of you get over here and dive into the new forum. I wanted to take a second and welcome you over here. If you need anything, I'm an email away.

Rae

HI,I sorted the photo, I have the signature, almost done!HOw do I look less pixelated though???

Fiona

Well, I found Rae and Fiona LOL!  But I'm here!  After a couple of days, I'll figure out how to add a link to my eHQ blogs.  Still getting the feel of the new site.  Love the look . . .

 Penn

Just wanted to pop in and say hey!  

Sorry everyone - meant to say hi to Rae and Katherine T and Penn.

Manged to get my pic up. Now for signature....

 Amy 

Okay - its no good. Can't work out how to make things in my sig line clickable links.

Can anyone give me a step-by-step explanation? I would be very, very grateful.

Amy

Actually scrap that - figured out the favourites things. Doh!

Amy

Amy, to get to the Challenge blog simply click on "Book Challenge" on the title bar below the Imprint bar .... that will take you to the "new" combined Challenge blog .... if you want to go to an individuals blog, simply click on the members name it appears on the line below every subject line of their posts .... this will take you to their Profile page ... if the member has blog entry there is a spot on the Profile page where it shows the members list of blog entries ... just click on any one of those to get to their blog  ..... I hope that works! 

oh, and to add someone to your Buddy/Friends list .. again, just click on the member's name to open up their Profile page ... beside their name you will see the option to Ask to add them as a Friend .... click on that, once the member accepts your request you will have them listed on your buddy list

to try it out, you're welcome to click on my name above .... I'd be happy to add you to my buddy list

You're very welcome   

We'll get you through this...somehow. I'm still trying to find my way as well, so bear with me. A lot of this is trial and error and amazingly simple. I'm not sure if the format of the posts and how we look at the blogs is going to change, but I agree, having to go through heaps of posts is unnerving and one of the chief complaints.

Hang in there!

Rae

HI Rae,

I think we must have cross posted.

No probs. I guess it was bound to have teething problems. It's just that I feel so techno incompetent at the best of times so something all new like this is a huge challenge. But I'll diddle around a bit more and see what I can work out.

Thanks and sorry for being grumblebum.

Amy

HI, Nell, according to my compuer there is a script error on this page and it is loading really slowly. Probably part of the teething probs.  All I want is a nice clear picture like Amy, Rae and co ,..off to try that again.

But rest assured, I will ask him to be a buddy and y'all could add him via my page, I think. (I think if you click on the link back to my page you can click on my friends? Anyone brave enough to try?)  Maybe.  Of course, Paisley and KatherineT are already my buddies.  I think.  Can't remember.  Did lots of clicking yesterday and now must fix lunches and throw my gang out the door for the day (it's 7 am here).

Back later,

Penn 

thanks Jayne .... I think that did the ticket on the script error 

Penni ...... on the side bar ... click "my friends" and when your list comes up .... click on "pending requests"  .... you should have tons of requests!  ..... accept me please! 

Hi Everyone,

 I was having trouble getting here, had to shut my computer down and restart, grrr.

 Glad to know it wasn't just me, sounds like there were some problems on the site.

 It's nice to see my fellow Aussie authors here (waving to Fiona and Amy)

I have been doing some exploring and found this great Medical Forum. I like everyone else am still having hickups but overall like the new site. I tried to add some of you as friends, hopefully that works out.

I have a lot of respect for the ladies on this forum who are also authors. I have a medical background and can fill in medical details but to craft a good story, that is another thing, that is a lot more difficult. Keep up the great work.

 Linda

Paisley ... as far as your friends list goes ... I think that the ones that are not showing up on your Profile page are the ones that have you on their "pending"  list ...... I have a few like that as well ...... however the ones that I let know that they need to check their "pending" lists and accept or deny, those are now showing up ..... so I do think it's really a matter for everyone to just get used to things  ... it will fall into place

Paisley;

Here on the east coast we use 92% as an acceptable minimum for adults and 94% for the pediatric population. However the desired level varies with the disease entity involved. People with COPD (chronic obstuctive pulmonary disease) can usually tolerate somewhat lower levels.  Also to confuse the issue some more, some patients should not have too much oxygen or there are adverse consequences. (Carbon dioxide retention and marked drowsiness for example)

Hope this helps at least somewhat

Linda

Welcome, Linda and great to see you here, I hope you can visit often  Are you trying to write a medical romance or are you loving reading them or both?

 Great to see everyone back and in the room. SO what did you think of my decorating tips>? Who do you want to see on the wall of handsome men...for inspiration purposes of course :-)

 Fiona, on the look out for a new hero for her next book.

Anita Mae .... HM's are only available by subscription from the Harlequin Reader service or from the eHarl online store  ...... one nice addition is now you can get some (hopefully all) the HM's in eBook form as well .... which will be really good because the print books tend to sell out really fast 

if you're committed to the line, you may want to look into subscribing ...... you can do that online in the eHarl store 

Hi everyone. Welcome to Anita and Linda and hello to Lynne. Sorry been away on a 12hr day shift and am finally making my way back.

 Hmm - probaby should know that sea level and ox sats questions but the answers already given sound pretty sound to me. I work in PICU and y'all don't want to know what we'll tolerate for O2 sats from time to time

Anita - pleased you recieved the book. Gonna add you to my friends list.

Jayne - I've no doubt Amy made many mistakes in her diddling around  Not the most techno competent and I tried lots of times to get it right. Sorry if I bunged up the system - don't think I'll add links in future

Like Lynne,  I too,  am happy that people are taking the time to bother to get in. My big worry is that we'll lose members because they dont have the time to diddle around.

Amy

The 14 Sure Fire Plot Points was from an article in the RWR of 1998 written by agent Irene Goodman. So I don't take credit for the article but I do take credit for passing it on because it's so good. Of course, there are other plot points she doesn't mention (such as Fish out of Water or Axe waiting to fall) but when starting a new book, I've always found these invaluable.

14 SURE FIRE PLOT POINTS

This article is by IRENE GOODMAN on "Fourteen Sure-Fire Romance Plots" in the Agents Corner section of the Romance Writers' Report for December 1998, Volume 18, Number 12.

Irene Goodman has been an agent for 20 years, specialising in women's fiction. She represents a number of best-selling authors, including Debbie Macomber, Linda Lael Miller, Pamela Morsi, Stephanie Mittman, Barbara Boswell, Carol Buck and Susan Mallery. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.

Hi, Here are the current themes that the editors of HMB Medicals are looking for. The key is to take these themes and make them unique...give them a twist.

Good luck! Writing Medicals is so much fun and we love it when someone sells...always great to party

Setting the Scene (and Theme): Medical Romance Everywhere
Sheila Hodgson
Senior Editor, Medical Romance

What's hot in medical romance right now? Read on.

Kids — There are several key angles to this one:

• Children are always popular in Medical Romance books, and the younger the better. They can form part of the hero and heroine's conflict, and story lines featuring medical personnel struggling to meet the demands of a medical career plus a family, plus renewing a romantic relationship or struggling with the demands of a new one, are very popular in medicals. Those featuring hero/heroines who are single parents particularly are strong.

• The other way to involve children is via the medical setting — children's doctors and pediatric departments are great.

Emergency — What we're looking for here is stories in the ER mode: the life-on-the-edge drama, fast-moving pace and intense emotions we see in ER. Lots of scope for excitement here, along with that great sense of community, staff with their own issues, struggling to retain a life amidst long-working hours as they repeatedly need to stay behind to save a life — you can't just walk away from a crash situation!

ER settings, emergency response units or similar situations, which can also involve other emergency services such as firefighters and police, are terrific settings for medicals. They also have the benefit of potentially including a full range of medical personnel, surgeons and other specialists, nurse practitioners, doctors, emergency response teams, midwives, paramedics, etc.

Midwifery — Can be either midwives in the community attending home births, or set in a maternity unit. All those different permutations of labor and the ahh factor of a baby at the end of them, and some emotional issues, too, make this area of medicine a perennially popular one.

Mediterranean Doctors — By that we mean dishy, Italian, Spanish, Greek and French medical heroes are winners with readers of the Medical Romance series. They can be set in the country of their birth — always interesting to see how another country's medical system works — or somewhere else. Or they can be working in say the U.S., U.K., Australia or anywhere where they fall in love with their heroine.

Pregnant Doctors — Heroines in senior medical positions, unexpectedly pregnant and having to cope with the dilemmas of juggling a busy career and the prospects of how to cope with also being a single parent and a new relationship, are hot, hot, hot.

Medical Rescue — Several routes to explore here:

International rescue Ground rescue Air rescue Sea rescue Other emergency services — e.g., paramedics working with the fire service

All of these types of units and settings give great scope for medical personnel working in adventurous, exciting and sometimes dangerous situations and can give rise to some compelling medical drama.

Police/Doctor/Surgeon — Can involve medical personnel working with police, and provide scope for some interesting medical drama, including forensics. These heroes and heroines can also be family doctors, performing a dual role, so they can perform a wide range of medical drama.

Flying Doctors — They could be set anywhere in the world, but mainly this service seems to center around Australia, and it's the sense of community and remote medical setup that really brings this theme its own flavor.

Christmas — As long as it features strongly, and involves Christmas being brought into the hospital or other medical setting, Christmas stories are loved by Medical Romance readers.

GP Practices (Family Medical Practices) — Readers love the kind of personal attention and sense of community this setting can bring to a romance.

City and Rural Hospitals — These are great settings for developing contained worlds and community and varied pace.

Cheers Fiona

Paisley wrote: By the way, the MR line is currently being promoted BIG
time with HR in an enclosure that came in my first Jan. subscription
box arrival

They are trying to get subscriptions to the MR line.  I did notice one of the two free books offered is "A Woman to Belong To" by Fiona Lowe and the other is "The Doctor's Pregnancy Bombshell" by Janice Lynn.

Yesterday I received my shipment of Super Romance for January with a free Medical Romance enclosed. "His Very Special Nurse" by Margaret McDonagh. The promotion is for a new Subscription to the Medical line. I think it is great that Harlequin is promoting the Medical line. Several steps to go. 1) increase to 6 books per month so we get all the books published in the UK. 2) retail release of Medicals.

Fiona; Thank you for your kind welcome. I admit to being a reader only not a writer. I do have plot lines in my head but I don't know that I would ever be able to write anything. Some of my experiences in the ER could make good fodder for someones book. I read the UK edition of "A Woman to Belong To" last fall. It was great, it made me feel very differently about Vietnam. My opinions had been previously been influenced by the Vietnam war and all the movies that followed it.

Amy; Glad to come aboard. I look forward to your next book. I have already read "The Italian Count's Baby" in the UK edition. It is well done. I would reccomend it to my North American friends when it comes out here.

 Linda

Linda