In the third addition to the Mercy Hospital series, a hospital goes into lockdown and a husband has seven days to save his marriage. Readers will easily get pulled into this fast-paced page turner, just what Candace Calvert has become known for.
WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE CODE TRIAGE?
As a veteran ER nurse, I was long disappointed that popular TV medical dramas rarely addressed issues of faith. I know how many prayers are sent heavenward by patients, family and hospital staff. The Mercy Hospital series is my attempt to help “Grey’s Anatomy find its soul.” Code Triage features police officer Nick Stathos and his wife ER physician Leigh Stathos in a tense and heart-rending story of a “hospital in lockdown … a marriage under fire.” This book applauds the blessing of second chances and gave me the intriguing opportunity to write from the points of view of three equally strong characters: a man fighting to save his marriage; a wife stung by betrayal; and the desperately determined “other woman.” Code Triage also showcases a few of my favorite things: the beautiful city of San Francisco, gourmet cooking, and horses. Each dear to my heart.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
Like most writers, I’ve read voraciously since childhood and switched favorite authors and genres depending on the stage of life. I like a lot of “texture,” sharp dialogue, fast pacing, well-drawn characters. Most recently, in the mainstream, I’ve come to admire Sara Gruen and Jodi Picoult. Their voices are achingly honest—I admire that.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
Enormously. For several years, I ignored an increasingly insistent call to move from mainstream fiction to Christian fiction. Once I finally listened, I knew soul-deep it’s where I belong. And I’m still listening; praying to be a scribe for the stories God wants to tell—for readers who need to hear them.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
For. Ever. But I’m a procrastinator. My husband signed me up for an online writing class, chided “Stop talking about writing a book, and just do it.” Bless his pushy heart.
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOPE THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
I most hope that they get exactly that: hope. Adrenaline-infused excitement, heart-warming romance, a glimpse into the exciting world of emergency medicine, certainly, but mostly: hope. As an ER nurse I saw sad and gritty things, but I learned that even the faintest glimmer of hope can see folks through. God offers us that beautiful blessing. I like to think of my romantic medical fiction as a prescription for hope. And happily extend this welcome to readers: “Scrub in!”