On today’s blog, Annie Claydon and Louisa Heaton talk about their writing journey and inspiration behind their new Medical duet, Reunited at St Barnabas’s Hospital.

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Louisa

Annie and I communicated by email to decide on a specialty. We knew the Eds didn’t want a book on midwifery or paediatrics and so we settled on Neurosurgery for my book, and neurosurgical rehabilitation for Annie’s, with a couple of patients to use in both as the continuity.

We settled on Richmond, London for our hospital and called it St Barnabas’s, but I couldn’t get out of my head a scene, of a sad woman, looking out of a Paris hotel window at night. So I had to come up with a reason for her to be there and a series of What If? Questions later, I had my heroine, a victim of Munchausen’s by proxy when she was a child, and my gorgeous, amazing French neurosurgeon, Yanis Baptiste!

I had great fun finding inspiration for Yanis and settled on French actor, Gaspard Ulliel, who has to be one of the most attractive men on the planet! (Married with a child, though, ladies and gents, so we can only look, but not touch, lol!) Yanis was the perfect hero for Samantha Gordon, my heroine. He could be the only one who could soothe her broken soul and heal the scars from her childhood as they both faced an unexpected pregnancy with twins that was full of complications!

Yanis and Sam are two of my most favourite heroes and heroines and I hope you enjoy their story, too!

Annie

For me, every book has it’s own ‘way in’ – something that changes it from an idea into a drama.  When Louisa and I had decided on our settings and characters, I started to think about what would bring my half of the duo to life.

Our memories are our own – two people can witness the same event and each take away different memories.  This is the dilemma that faces Gil and Clemmie, whose whirlwind affair is cut short by Gil’s traumatic brain injury.  I was fascinated by the idea that even though Clemmie remembers what happened between them, she doesn’t know the full story, and can’t tell Gil the things he needs to know.  As I turned those ideas over in my head, I realised I had my ‘way in’.

Then there were a few practical considerations – how does Clemmie never know that Gil has been injured?  My answer was to have them meet at a conference, promising they’d call when they both arrived back home.  And if Gil can’t remember his brief relationship with Clemmie, how does he recognise her when they meet again?  I decided to sneak a photo-booth image of them together into Gil’s wallet, to set him wondering who this mystery woman might be.

As my characters came to life, a third challenge presented itself.  How to keep two very stubborn and determined characters under control!  I’m happy to say that I didn’t manage to, and I hope you enjoy Gil and Clemmie’s story!

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Read the duet, Reunited at St Barnabas’s Hospital!

Buy Twins for the Neurosurgeon by Louisa Heaton now!

Buy The Doctor’s Reunion to Remember by Annie Claydon now!

By Lauren Gardiner