Synopsis:
The world has no shortage of moral ambiguity, especially in the emergency room. In Pulse: Vital Signs Series Book One, Dr. Jackson seems to have the big house, beautiful wife, and an impeccable reputation as one of the most respected emergency physicians in Dallas. As the layers are peeled away, Dr. Jackson's life isn't so perfect after all. Filled with unique twists, complex medical cases and personal issues, Pulse proves that there is always more to the story! Pulse is also the first medical drama to weave a chess game throughout the story, seamlessly mirroring the storyline. For chess aficionados it’s an added treat, and for those non-chess players, it still serves as an interesting addition to the story. Some are saying that Pulse is The Queen’s Gambit meets Grey’s Anatomy. AVAILABLE in paperback, e-book, and audiobook.
About the Series:
The Vital Signs Series is a collection of personal stories, each from a different physician’s point of view. In the series, St. Mary’s Hospital has some of the best healthcare professionals in the world, but that success has come with a price. Each book within the series gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at emergency medicine, with interesting cases and insight into what makes the doctors and nurses tick.
The reader is injected right into the action and is faced with the moral dilemmas that healthcare professionals face every day. Each book in the Vital Signs Series takes an intricate story and wraps it neatly around a game of chess. Even if you've never played chess before, this unique approach will be entertaining nonetheless!
Perfect for book clubs, each book in the series ends with a dozen questions to ponder and discuss.
Buy Links:
Paperback, Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Pulse-
Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.
Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/
Excerpt One:
“What’s wrong with you?” I yelled as I looked around the room. “All of you. How can you just stand there?” My heart was pounding against my ribs, trying to break free from the cage of my chest. It was as if I were watching the scene unfold from somewhere high up and far away, hovering somewhere above it all like a specter. I could see it all, hear it all, even myself, but it was as unreal as a movie playing out before me. My whole body felt numb and tingly. I could feel each hair individually as they lifted from my scalp. I had heard about this phenomenon before, when physicians were unable to wear their doctor hat and civilian hat at the same time. I’d never thought that person would be me, but suddenly it was. I couldn’t think, I could hardly breathe. There had been no warning. Not even a strange feeling beforehand. Nothing. One minute I was standing at the nurses’ station updating charts, a dad of two, and the next minute I was a dad of one. Without warning, my son had been ripped from my life, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Excerpt Two:
Barbara and I had a relationship like that. Actually, all of the emergency room staff were pretty tight with one another, and practical jokes were an everyday occurrence. Like the time Dr. Johnson hired a drag queen to show up dressed as a drug rep—conservative little pantsuit and all—to detail me on Nodrah, a new erectile dysfunction drug guaranteed to work in three to five minutes. It wasn’t until she broke out in song that I realized that Nodrah was ‘hard on’ spelled backwards.
I’d practiced at Methodist for the past five years and had the best team a doctor could ask for. We all were well-versed on each other’s aspirations, family issues, and personal struggles. We were one large, happy dysfunctional family, and it was that bond that made us one of the best trauma teams in all of Texas.
Q&A
1) What was your inspiration behind writing Pulse?
As a married couple whose writing under a pen name, this book gave us something fun to work on together. It started as just one book, Pulse, but then as we finished it, we knew the other characters needed to have their say, thus the birth of the Vital Signs Series.
2) What made you choose to write in the medical genre?
We both eat, sleep, and breathe the medical field, Walter as a medical doctor and me as a healthcare CEO. This was a great creative outlet for the two of us. Being empty nesters with all ten children out of the house, we wanted to focus on something new and exciting.
3) Why did you add a chess game to the story line?
Walter loves chess and even competes. It was a novel idea, but luckily the readers have given us such positive feedback. It’s been said that Chess is such a metaphor for life, thus it was a natural addition to the storyline. Finding just the right game for each story, now that was where the real challenge came in. Each cover and each game have hidden meaning, but it will probably be the real chess fans who tend to notice.
4) What genre of books do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favorite authors?
Walter is a huge Tom Clancy fan. I personally enjoy inspirational stories but tend to spend way too much time reading non-fiction books on leadership and business.
5) What other books have you written?
We have written several health and wellness books together, including Age to Perfection: How to Thrive to 100, Happy, Healthy and Wise and Stay Young: 10 Proven Steps to Ultimate Health. Perhaps my favorite book to write solo was my best-selling memoir Love, Life, and Lucille: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian.
Author Bio:
Judy G. Walters is the pen name of a married couple. Walter Gaman is a medical doctor and his wife Judy is a healthcare CEO. Together, they fused their love of medicine and Walter’s love of chess to create the Vital Signs Series. Both Walter and Judy are award-winning non-fiction authors, and the Vital Signs Series is their first fictional series.
Vital Signs Series Book One
Written By
Judy G. Walters
Review By
Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews
First, I want to thank Judy G. Walters and 64 Squares Publishing for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!! Judy G. Walters Pulse is a 5 Star fascinatingly, addicting. jaw dropping, nail biting, emotionally charged, intense read will make you feel like you are a fly on the wall in the ER. Ohh how this satisfied my constant craving for a medical drama book! Out of all 10 books I have read this year, this one is my favorite!! You must rush out to buy and clear your schedule to binge read!! It. Is. So. Amazing!!
What I am so excited to learn is that Pulse is part of The Vital Signs Series that Judy G. Walters has planned!! If book 2 and 3 are just as intoxicating then I must continue on with the series. I think it is fair to say that Judy G. Walters now has a new fan! Then again why am I just learning about her now?!
Not only is Pulse written by one but actually two masterminds behind the pen name Judy G. Walters! Boy are they a magical team when they get together!
Judy would like to dedicate this book to all the healthcare providers who gave so selfishly to their time, their talents and often their own lives to serve the 2020 Covid-19 tour of duty.
The graphic designers did such a great job creating such a cool yet eerie cover for Pulse. It intertwined two focal points that were pertaint in the book. However, the layout was so uniquely done-and the colors were perfect!
Having an Medical Assisting and Medical Office Assistant educational background I could appreciate and comprehend much of the terminology, testing and diagnosis that were discussed in this book. Being a patient myself I also could understand some of the testing these characters were going through.
What I found incredible about this book was not only was Judy telling us a story but she was also giving us medical education in the process. With this she brought awareness to some sensitive but important subjects.
There were so many times on many different occasions where I wanted to reach into the book and just hold the character. There was an occasion where I actually broke down and cried during one touching and powerful scene.
Judy gives her characters some amazing storylines with some monumental messages. One message that I got out of the story truly nailed it on the head and touched my heart deeply.
One unique thing about these storylines is they seemed to intertwine and somehow have some sort of connection to another.
If you are a fan of Chess then you will appreciate that one particular storyline. Unfortunately, I am not skilled or knowledgeable on the game so I was not able to appreciate that aspect of the book as others might. I did however enjoy the Chess Board Illustrations.
Nothing could have prepared me for the ripped from the headlines climatic ending! I was at the edge of my comfy chair and jaw dropped open in total shock of what was unfolding! Nobody saw this one coming!! Just incredible!!
Judy incorporates a list of book discussion questions that would be perfect for a book club meeting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment