Please Welcome Author MICHAEL PALMER for his 2nd Visit to B&N!

[becke_davis]

Last April, Michael Palmer was a featured guest here. I don't often invite authors back for multiple visits, but this is special. Not only does Michael have an upcoming release, but his son, Daniel, has a debut thriller coming out, too. I've invited both Michael and Daniel for our first ever father-son feature.

Please welcome MICHAEL PALMER!!

Michael's website is here: http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/

[becke_davis]

Here is a link to Michael's visit with us last April:

 http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Mystery/MICHAEL-PALMER-April-Featured-Author/td-p/505194/high...

Here's a picture of Michael with author Tess Gerritson:

[becke_davis]

A Heartbeat Away 

Extreme Measures 

Natural Causes 

Flashback 

Miracle Cure 

Side Effects 

The Society 

Fatal 

The Sisterhood 

Critical Judgement 

The Patient 

Silent Treatment 

Fifth Vial 

The Second Opinion 

First Patient 

The Last Surgeon

 

[becke_davis]

BIO: Michael Palmer, M.D., is the author of the forthcoming The Last Surgeon (2010), The Second Opinion, The First Patient, The Fifth Vial, The Society, Fatal, The Patient, Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment, Silent Treatment, Natural Causes, Extreme Measures, Flashback, Side Effects,and The Sisterhood. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals, spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine, and is now an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s physician health program.

How I started writing . . . 

To begin with, I guess I should say that I never wanted to be a writer, and in truth never showed much flair for it. I did, however, always believe that I had some sort of a creative streak hidden inside me. But then again, I always thought I could win a gold medal in the Olympics if they would just invent the sport that I was the best at.

I went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut where I was a pre-med major with sort of a Russian minor. On my first English paper as a freshman I got a “G” as in A . . . B . . . C . . . etc. My professor, as I recall, drew a line halfway through the paper and wrote, STOPPED READING HERE in the margin. Not exactly the start one might expect from someone whose first nine novels were going to make The New York Times Best-Seller List, but stopped reading here it was. In one of those books, I decided to name the villain after that freshman English professor. Although I never won any writing awards at Wesleyan, I did take wonderful courses such as eastern literature, humanities, a seminar on war, and a seminar on Edgar Allen Poe with the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Richard Wilbur. When I finally did start writing my novels, I found myself pulling up many things I learned in those classes.

For med school, I chose Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, largely because they had developed a curriculum that centered on producing caring, involved physicians. No grades. No class rank. No intimidation. Humanistic approach from day one. I loved it there. After Case, I came to Boston to train in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals. My patients and experiences in both places left indelible impressions on my soul. During a two-year break, I did my military obligation in Cincinnati doing research for the National Air Pollution Control Administration. Eventually, I settled into a private internal medicine practice on Cape Cod. After my first book was sold, I switched to the ER to have more time to write.

In what spare time I had, I loved to read escapist fiction. Robert Ludlum, Alistair McLean, Eric Ambler, John D. MacDonald, Agatha Christie . . . a book or two a week. In 1978, I read Robin Cook’s classic thriller, Coma. Robin was two years ahead of me at Wesleyan and trained at Mass General when I was there.

“If Robin can write a book and has the same education as I do,” I asked my younger sister one autumn day, “why can’t I write a book?”

“Because you’re dull,” was her knee-jerk, sisterly response.

We spent a while talking about what we enjoyed in thrillers, and I decided to have a go at it. The story I chose to write was based on a true event in my life where a dying patient gave me a mysterious key and begged me never to let it out of my possession. I still don’t know what the key was really for, but a page a night I made up a novel surrounding it. In a year I had completed The Corey Prescription! After it was typed, I sent it to a childhood friend who worked at a New York publishing house. He felt my writing was God-awful, but my story telling held surprising promise. “We can teach people how to write,” he told me. “But we can’t give them a sense of what’s dramatic.”

My friend referred me to literary agent Jane Rotrosen who decided that while The Corey Prescription had its moments, even the greatest editing job in the world wouldn’t make it strong enough to vault onto the best-seller lists. She would work with me and represent me only if I agreed to start over with a new idea. That idea (a secret society of nurses dedicated to mercy killing) became The Sisterhood, which was published in 1982 and is now in its 35th printing or so and has been translated into 34 or 35 languages. A good start!

So now I’m a novelist. The Fifth Vial will be my twelfth book-thirteenth if you count The Corey Prescription, which has, in fact been published in several foreign languages, though never in English. I’m hard at work on my next story, THE FIRST PATIENT–a thriller about the president’s physician.

In addition to the writing, I work part time (20 hours a week or so) for the Massachusetts Medical Society as an Associate Director of their physician health program, helping doctors with physical illness, mental illness, or substance abuse put their lives together. It’s tremendously rewarding work and offers great balance to the isolation of writing. But doing that job, plus the writing, plus daddying puts a high premium on discipline. Fortunately, if I have nothing else, I have that.

—Michael Palmer

 

[becke_davis]

Michael's blog is here: http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/blog-2

You can follow him on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/michaelpalmerthrillers

Follow Michael on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/Michael_Palmer

2011 Events

Framingham, MA; Tuesday 2/15/11 7PM (With Daniel Palmer); Barnes & Noble; 1 Worcester Road; 508-628-5567.

West Boca Raton, FL; Glades Road Branch Library; Wednesday 3/2/11 2PM (With Daniel Palmer) 20701 95th Ave South.; 561-482-4554

[becke_davis]

[becke_davis]

Teaching talented novelist and pianist Catherine Coulter how to sing off key.

[becke_davis]

A Heartbeat Away 

Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author and master of suspense delivers another novel at the crossroads of politics and medicine in this shocker of a thriller

On the night of the State of the Union address, President Max Hilliard expects to give the speech of his career. But no one anticipates the terrifying turn of events that forces him to quarantine everyone in the Capitol building. A terrorist group calling itself “Genesis” has unleashed WRX3883, a deadly, highly contagious virus, into the building. No one fully knows the deadly effect of the germ except for the team responsible for its development—a team headed by Hilliard, himself.

The only one who might be able to help is virologist Griffin Rhodes, currently in solitary confinement in a maximum security federal prison for alleged terrorist acts, including the attempted theft of WRX3883 from the lab where he worked. Rhodes has no idea why he has been arrested, but when Hilliard offers to free him in exchange for his help combating the virus, he reluctantly agrees to do what he can to support the government that has imprisoned him without apparent cause.

Meanwhile, every single person in line for presidential succession is trapped inside the Capitol—every person except one: the Director of Homeland Security, who is safely at home in Minnesota, having been selected as the “Designated Survivor” for this event. With enemies both named and unnamed closing in, and the security of the nation at stake, Griff must unravel the mysteries of WRX3883 without violating his pledge as a scientist to use no animal testing in his experiments…and time is running out.

Tense, thrilling, and entirely plausible, A Heartbeat Away will make you reflect, wonder, and be truly afraid.

Publishers Weekly

[becke_davis]

Chapter One

DAY 1

8:30 P.M. (EST)

“Madam Speaker, the President of the United States.”

At the words from the sergeant at arms of the House of Representa­tives, the audience  rose to its feet as President James Allaire entered the  House Chambers to thunderous applause, mixed with cheers. Al­laire glanced at the two Secret Service agents stationed opposite each other just inside the entryway, standing as straight and still as the black and gold Ionic columns dividing the wall behind the tribune. Sean O’Neil, head of the presidential Secret Service unit, shadowed Allaire as he glad-handed his way down the long, royal-blue-carpeted corridor.

The president’s heart responded to a rush of adrenaline as the clap­ping neared the decibel level of a jet engine on takeoff. He stopped every few steps to shake hands or exchange modest embraces with men in dark suits wearing carefully chosen ties, and with impeccably dressed women who smelled of exotic perfume. Ahead of him, he could just see the nine justices of the Supreme Court, and the five members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff .

Allaire sensed  O’Neil move a step closer behind him as a congress­man from Missouri exuberantly pumped his hand and then shouted, “Go get ’em, Mr. President! You’re going to wow ’em tonight!”

That’s right, Allaire thought. I am going to wow them.

There had been many occasions during the beginning of the first term of his presidency when Dr. Jim Allaire privately wondered about a decision he was forced to make. The weight of a single act, be­nign as it might at first seem, often carried with it surprising ripples and  unintended consequences that added to his graying hair and the crow’s-feet at the corners of his gray- blue eyes.

However, delivering the first State of the Union Address of his sec­ond term was not one of those moments of self-doubt. He had won reelection by a fairly wide margin over Speaker of the House Ursula Ellis, and now, despite lingering subrosa enmity between the two of them, it was time to cast aside politics and get some business done.

For the past hour, Allaire had paced inside the office of the minor­ity leader of the  House, sipping Diet Pepsi and having makeup reap­plied for the cameras, all while trying to contain his nervous energy. The feeling he got before a speech of this magnitude reminded him of his days playing quarterback for the Spartans of Case Western Re­serve, where he also earned his M.D. degree.

Between his college football career and years spent working as an internist at the Cleveland Clinic, Allaire had learned the importance of balancing confidence with a respectful fear of failure. Viewed as a man of the people, the genuine caring that had made him a respected physi­cian contributed to his consistently elevated job approval rating as president. With the world’s problems getting progressively more com­plex and domestic terrorism on the mind of every American, the people needed a leader they could believe in—a man of poise and dignity in whom to invest their trust. Tonight, Allaire vowed to reaffirm that he was that man, and to give them a speech they would all remember.

The president reached the podium, where his head speechwriter, visibly more nervous than he was, had placed two leather-bound cop­ies of tonight’s carefully guarded address. He turned and presented the first copy to Vice President Henry Tilden in his capacity as president of the Senate, and then the other to Ursula Ellis, who strained to main­tain eye contact, and whose handshake held all the energy of a mack­erel on ice. The president stifled a grin, although he suspected Ellis knew what he was thinking—fifty-three to forty-four—the margin by which he had beaten her in the election.

Allaire had practiced the speech dozens of times and could probably have delivered it flawlessly without the aid of the transparent tele­prompters set on either side of his lectern. The crowd kept up its ap­plause. With the American flag serving as his backdrop, he faced the people and waved his appreciation. Then he set his hands on the sides of the podium as a signal he was ready to begin. His eyes met briefly with those of his wife of twenty- seven years, the much-loved first lady, Re­becca Allaire, and next to her, their only child, Samantha, whom he still could not believe was a senior at Georgetown, already set for Har­vard Law.

The clapping continued. Speaker Ellis  rose from her chair and banged her gavel several times. At last, a profound hush fell over the seven hun­dred in attendance.

On the cornice overhead, the clock read exactly 8:00 p.m. Allaire’s thoughts flashed on the motto inscribed in the frieze—in god we trust. It was a running joke about doctors that their M.D. degree re­ally stood for M. Diety. Allaire had a deep faith, and had never felt comfortable with the notion of physicians as gods. But he did know that at that moment, he was closer to being God than any doctor had ever been.

Thanks to the recurring deadly attacks by the apparently domestic group calling itself Genesis, the first order of business for the night had to be terrorism. People were on edge. The four attacks orchestrated by the group had been bold, ruthless, arrogant, and very dramatic. Still, there had as yet been no demands made—only the damage and the deaths. He was going to start strong with a warning to Genesis, whoever they were, of American solidarity, and a promise that their capture and successful prosecution was the top priority of his second term.

Allaire had been assured by Hank Tomlinson, chief of the fifteen- hundred- officer Capitol Police force, that security for tonight’s speech was the most extensive ever, employing state-of-the- art magnetome­ters, camera after camera, and manual bag checks in addition to ad­vanced X-ray screeners. Now, it was up to the president and his speechwriters to convince the American people that they were as safe and secure in their homes and personal lives as those  here with him in the Capitol of the United States.

Allaire’s speech materialized on the virtually invisible tele­prompters.

“Madam Speaker, Vice President Tilden, fellow citizens: As a new Congress gathers, I am reminded of and humbled by the sacred honor you, the American people, have invested in all of your elected officials. So, before I begin tonight’s State of the  Union Address, on behalf of all who have been blessed with your trust, I want to offer my bottomless thanks for another term of what my father would have called good, steady work.”

Allaire paused, waiting the perfect number of beats to let the laugh­ter subside before resuming. It was a strategic opening that he had ar­gued for with his speechwriters, all of whom felt it important to start on a more somber note. As usual, he was right. The State of the Union was a wonderful opportunity to showcase his humanity, in ad­dition to imparting to the electorate his resolve and courage to do what was right and necessary.

“But with this responsibility comes great challenges that we must strive together to overcome. Our economy is growing stronger now, but there is much to be done. Unemployment is at its lowest level in more than a decade. Slowly, we are winning the war against poverty. Our optimism that we as a people can master any difficulty and achieve unparalleled peace and prosperity throughout the world has never been greater, and the state of our union is strong.”

Allaire beamed as those on both sides of the aisle, and in the gal­lery, rose to their feet as one, cheering loudly. He could hear whistles over the applause, and hesitated long enough to draw in a slow, deep breath. The next several crucial minutes of his speech would focus on international and domestic terrorism. The crowd settled down. Al­laire scanned their faces. He would know when they were ready for him to resume.

As a dense silence enveloped the room, the president suddenly heard a disturbing noise—a popping sound, immediately followed by some­thing that, to him, sounded like the plink of breaking glass. The sound came from somewhere in the crowd to his right. Allaire and many oth­ers turned and watched as California Senator Arlene Cogan opened up the purse that she had stowed beneath her chair. Instantly, a thin, white mist wafted out from within it, covering her heavily made-up face like a steam bath. Within seconds, Cogan and those nearest to her began to cough—and cough vehemently.

Allaire immediately gave a prearranged signal to the coordinating technical director, ordering the man to implement antidemonstration procedures and shut down the network pool controlling all television feed from the Capitol.

Murmurs from among the crowd escalated as another pop occurred across the chamber from the first, followed by another, and another, each accompanied by the breaking of thin glass, white mist, and more coughing. The murmurs gave way to shouting. Another briefcase and a purse were opened, releasing identical thin clouds.

“Don’t open it!” someone hollered.

“I can’t breathe!”

“For God’s sake, that’s you! That’s your pocketbook!”

“Get out of here! Let’s get out!”

The popping and breaking glass continued.

Two more . . .  three . . .  four . . .  five.

Allaire could see that mist was even arising from some bags that were unopened. He quickly counted fifteen plumes scattered about the room, maybe more.

“Do not open your briefcase or purse!” Allaire shouted into his mi­crophone. He slammed his open palm on the podium. “Everybody, please remain calm!”

Secret Service agents rushed the stage and quickly surrounded him. They attempted to escort him to safety, but he struggled against them and continued to call loudly for order. At that instant, Allaire caught sight of something on the two teleprompters in front of his podium.

His blood turned cold.

The speech, which seconds ago was easily legible in fourteen-point Helvetica font, had disappeared from the screens. In its place were three lines of text. Allaire’s breathing nearly stopped as he read the message.

On THE FOURTH DAY

 God created the sun, the moon, and the stars.

And Genesis released WRX3883.

A HEARTBEAT AWAY Copyright © 2011 by Michael Palmer

[becke_davis]

Please welcome back MICHAEL PALMER!

[becke_davis]

Welcome back, Michael! I'm very excited to have you and Daniel visiting for our first father/son feature!

How does it feel to have your son join the family business? What advice did you give Daniel as he prepared to launch his writing career?

Also, tell us more about your new book - it's a terrifying premise!

[maxcat]

Hi, Michael, your new book sounds fascinating and I will definitely check it out. I've never read any of your books but I will definitely check them out and buy one for my TBR pile.

Welcome to the mystery thread and I hope you and your son have a great week.

[dhaupt]

Hi Michael welcome back, it must be quite a thrill to have a book come out when you son does too. Are they side by side on the shelves

[Mysterylover11…]

Michael

Thank you for joining us this week.  I look forward to picking your brain a little as the week progresses I hope you don't mind.

I have read a couple of your books and have enjoyed each one and plan to read more of them since I am pretty sure all of your books are on my TBR list.

On to some questions,

Coffee or tea?

Do you have a set amount of time you write per day?

How much research goes into each one of your novels?

Where do most of your ideas for your novels come from?

Well I suppose that is a good start, don't want to scare you away too soon.  Hope you are having a great night.

Leigh

[eadieburke]

Welcome Michael:

I just finished my first Michael Palmer book, SECOND OPINION. It was a real page turner and had many good twists and turns. Needless to say, I will be adding your other books to my TBR pile and ordering your new book, A HEARTBEAT AWAY, which looks to be a best seller to me. 

Yesterday was doctor visit day. I had to visit my allergist and my rheumatologist. I told them I spend most of my days reading, reading and reading. Since I found Barnes and Noble's mystery board and met Becke, she has introduced me to the best novels and authors. I even got my husband reading more books then ever. I told my doctors about your new book and they were very interested. Hopefully, they will follow through and purchase your new book.

Best wishes for further best sellers!

[Michael_Palmer…]

---

becke_davis wrote:

Last April, Michael Palmer was a featured guest here. I don't often invite authors back for multiple visits, but this is special. Not only does Michael have an upcoming release, but his son, Daniel, has a debut thriller coming out, too. I've invited both Michael and Daniel for our first ever father-son feature.

Please welcome MICHAEL PALMER!!

Thanks, Becke.....it's good to be back

Michael's website is here: http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/

---

[Michael_Palmer…]

---

becke_davis wrote:

Welcome back, Michael! I'm very excited to have you and Daniel visiting for our first father/son feature!

How does it feel to have your son join the family business? What advice did you give Daniel as he prepared to launch his writing career?

Also, tell us more about your new book - it's a terrifying premise!

---

A heartbeat away is a medical/political thriller in the mode of the first patient and the last surgeon....700 people, including all segments of our government, are gathered for President James Allaire's 5th state of the union address....suddenly a domestic terrorist group causing itself genesis, with an agenda that is unclear, releases a deadly, highly contageous virus into the hall....Allaire knows the virus well....until he gave up on the project, his administration was developing the virus.....facing a grisly death, he is forced to quarantine the capitol and send for the one man who might be able to help--Griff Rhodes, whom he has loocked up in federal prison for alleged terrorist acts....stay tuned.

[becke_davis]

---

eadieburke wrote:

Welcome Michael:

I just finished my first Michael Palmer book, SECOND OPINION. It was a real page turner and had many good twists and turns. Needless to say, I will be adding your other books to my TBR pile and ordering your new book, A HEARTBEAT AWAY, which looks to be a best seller to me. 

Yesterday was doctor visit day. I had to visit my allergist and my rheumatologist. I told them I spend most of my days reading, reading and reading. Since I found Barnes and Noble's mystery board and met Becke, she has introduced me to the best novels and authors. I even got my husband reading more books then ever. I told my doctors about your new book and they were very interested. Hopefully, they will follow through and purchase your new book.

Best wishes for further best sellers!

---

Eadie - I'm not going to apologize for building up your to-be-read pile, but I do sympathize!!