Talismans & Writing

I love talismans while I’m working on a book. That’s why I have a chunk of serpentine rock that I used as inspiration while writing my “love underground” suspense novel, NIGHT WHISPERS. And why I purchased a hand-loomed potholder while working on my uncompleted, unsold women’s fiction novel, BACK HOME. And why I have, tucked into the file folder for my March Silhouette Special Edition, HIS MIRACLE BABY, a syringe for implanting embryos into a host uterus.

Yes, a syringe. It’s about 12 inches end to end, from the plunger of the syringe to the flexible tip where the embryos are placed. A tiny, tiny tip you would never expect to be able to fit a baby-to-be.

I received said syringe during a tour of a local fertility clinic. The reproductive endocrinologist was kind enough to show me around on a Saturday, giving me access to exam rooms and the embryology lab. There were no patients in residence, so no one to disturb (although if the fertility readiness alarm sounded on a Saturday, the doctors were prepared to answer it). There was only the reproductive endocrinologist, the embryologist and me and my digital camera. I took pictures of everything I could think of to make it easier to describe the scene later when I was freaking out about deadlines.

Calendars are a sort of talisman for me as well. Not real world calendars, the ones that scream at me about hourglasses running out of time and can’t I write a little bit faster. I’m talking about story calendars, the ones that keep straight the days of my fictional world.

I print off a calendar for the year my book will be released, making the assumption the story will be taking place that same year. Then I tick off on the calendar the major events as they happen in the book. This was especially crucial for HIS MIRACLE BABY, because I had a pregnancy to track. With the heroine acting as surrogate for the hero’s embryos, I had to keep tabs on what medical procedure would happen when, a much trickier task than with a conventional pregnancy. I really hate it when I lose track of time in a book and end up with an inconsistency. I especially don’t like having to slog through pages and pages trying to figure out what day it is.

As a science geek, I really enjoyed the research into IVF that was necessary with HIS MIRACLE BABY. The embryology lab was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Do you know the canisters where the embryos are kept in cryopreserve look kinda like the kegs they use on soda machines? Yes, the canister they showed me was empty, but again, I was struck by the marvel of storing human life, being able to produce a baby even a year later as in my story.

As challenging as the book was to write, it was a satisfying experience and great fun to learn something new. And I still have that syringe, a talisman for my creativity.

http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009