Deborah Shlian is a physician, healthcare consultant and author of numerous nonfiction articles and books as well as six award winning medical mystery/thrillers, three co-authored with her husband, Joel.
Their first novel, Double Illusion, won rave reviews from the LA Times and was optioned for film. Their second book, Wednesday’s Child, was compared to Mary Higgins Clark's. Their third novel, Rabbit in the Moon is now available as an e-book, paperback, and Audible; and has won numerous awards including the Gold Medal for Genre Fiction, Florida Book Award, Silver Medal for Mystery Book of the Year from ForeWord Magazine and First Place, Best Thriller 2009, Royal Palm Literary Award from Florida Writers Association. The Audiobook version won Honorable Mention at the San Francisco Book Festival.
Deborah has co-written a series with fellow physician Linda Reid. Dead Air and Devil Wind are the first two in the Sammy Greene series. Both books won First Place, Best Thriller Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association (2010 Dead Air, 2011 Devil Wind). The third in the series, Deep Waters, was published in May 2019. It is a Finalist for the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Award in the unpublished thriller category and a Semi-Finalist as a published thriller to date for 2019.
All of Deborah’s novels lend themselves to book club discussions. She has been a featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and community events. She belongs to the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Florida Writers Association, and International Thriller Writers. When not busy writing, she enjoys traveling, tennis, yoga and photography.
Linda Reid is an award-winning author of mystery-thrillers and feature articles, a physician, and the parent of three wonderful young adults. She has written for the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Tribune International, American Film, Woman's Day, Salon, and the HuffPost. As Y S Pascal, she wrote her sci-fi/fantasy The Zygan Emprise Trilogy; the first book, Renegades--Where Angels Fear to Tread, won a Mensa Sharp Writ Books Award. Her mystery thrillers, Dead Air and Devil Wind, co-written with Deborah Shlian as Linda Reid, won the Royal Palm Literary Awards for Best Suspense/Thriller. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society. Her latest thriller Deep Waters, co-written with Deborah Shlian, is available through Akeso Press.
Interview with Linda Reid
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I came to America as a Greek infant on the rustbucket Nea Hellas a few years before the ship yielded to its watery grave. My mother was a survivor of the 1922 "catastrophe", ethnic cleansing in Anatolia, and my father a refugee from Nazi assaults in 1930's Berlin. Their experiences in the Resistance against the Nazi occupation of Greece are echoed in Sammy's missions, and in her passion for truth and justice.
When did you first start writing?
I wrote my first novel at age 8 about a young girl who ran off to join the circus. The lure of independence and adventure that captured my spirit is echoed in Sammy's adult experiences in Dead Air, Devil Wind, and Deep Waters. I hope readers will enjoy Sammy's adventures!
Who are your favorite authors?
As an award-winning co-author of two medical thrillers, Dead Air and Devil Wind, I admire the late Michael Crichton's groundbreaking work in the genre. I'm also a fan of Robin Cook, Michael Connelly, Dennis Palumbo, Harlan Coben, and David Baldacci.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Let me see...the chance to help people as a doctor, the chance to share entertaining stories as a writer, the joy of spending the day with my beloved family and friends...? And, if I'm going to be 100% honest...like everybody else, I gotta go to work and pay my bills.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Paying my bills. Like everybody else. ;-)
Describe your desk.
Virtual. My desk is my imagination--and it travels with me around the world. Getting the words down on paper--wherever I rest my wonderful Surface Pro and flip open the keyboard.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Creating an entertaining experience for readers--and providing hours of enjoyment.
What do your fans mean to you?
I'm deeply grateful to the many fans that have let me know how much they've loved Sammy and Gus. And, if you're just meeting Sammy Greene -- you're in for a real treat!
Linda Reid and one of her fans.