The Face Transplant VBT

Blurb:

Dr. Matthew MacAulay is a Facial Transplant Surgeon at a prestigious New York hospital. His friend and mentor, Tom Grabowski, dies under mysterious circumstances. Matthew is forced to investigate. He uncovers his friend’s secret. A new technique that allows perfect facial transplants. No incisions, no scars. The surgeon is able to transplant one person’s face to another with the perfect result. Tom was able to accomplish this monumental feat with the help of Alice, a supercomputer robot with almost human abilities. While trying to find the people responsible for murdering his friend Tom, Matthew realizes he is the prime suspect. Matthew must flee for his life with the help of Dr. Sarah Larsson, a colleague and reluctant helper who has a secret of her own. Alice helps them make sense of a baffling series of seemingly unrelated events. Matthew is forced to undergo a facial transplant to hide his identity and help to uncover the truth. The clues carry Matthew and Sarah around the world. Matthew stumbles onto a sinister plot of monumental proportions, the real reason Tom was murdered. This discovery leads Matthew all the way to The White House with a dramatic conclusion. Matthew never wavers in his quest for the truth and perseveres against all the odds. He must race to stop a major catastrophe, ratcheting up the excitement until the thrilling conclusion. The Face Transplant is a powerful medical suspense thriller of the first order. The novel was written by a surgeon. The novel has a realism that only a surgeon can bring. The plot weaves politics, medicine and espionage into a tightly paced, intelligent thriller. The novel crescendos page by page to a totally unexpected conclusion.

Excerpt:

The poem The Beautiful Life

The Beautiful Life

Time and space are infinite. There is no beginning and no end.

Many have come before you and many will come after. You are lucky to be here.

Enjoy this moment; take pleasure.

Match your expectations to reality, if you don't, someone will be disappointed. Be willing to learn, it is the only thing that will keep you young. Take pleasure in life's endless beats, if you listen hard enough you will hear the beautiful rhythm.

Laugh always and laugh loud.

Life is full of irony, laugh when it occurs. Sometimes you will have to laugh at yourself to avoid crying. Laugh loud, laugh often.

Be satisfied with your accomplishments, your life, your career. They are yours and yours alone. No one could have done better given your circumstances, your challenges, your gifts. Be grateful. But remember, no one could have done worse given your circumstances, your challenges, your gifts. So do not become conceited. Be modest.

Understand and accept that not all people live congruently. Some are violent, treacherous, and deceitful. Pity them, they have not yet learned to live with grace. But be careful and avoid them if you can. You have every right to happiness, peace and love.

Take time to Love. Be ready for love anywhere, anytime. In the end only love endures. It cannot be diminished. Accept love wherever you find it.

Love endures.

Always be cautious of those who are too friendly or those who profess no vices. For those who seem the best friend may turn out the opposite.                                                                                Those who proclaim no vices may be the most vile.

Maintain and nurture a spiritual life.

It will sustain you when all else departs. Hold it gently, but firmly. Let each person come to their own place, in their own time, on their own terms.

Remember one day it will all come to an end. When it does, what really matters?

That you lived. That you loved. That you tried.

Above all else never forget, life is a gift.

When you receive a gift, especially an unexpected gift, you must take it gently, cherish it dearly, and use it fearlessly.

And never forget to say thanks.

R. Arundel

One of my own writing quirks

I use a yellow legal pad to jot down certain things or sketch out scenes even though I write on a laptop. I still like to use a yellow pad to jot down ideas even in the age of the computer. I do a fair amount of diagramming of story ideas and relationships of characters.  I also like to draw a physical space and arrange the characters in the space and draw some of the key pieces of furniture in the space.  For example, in a scene where a group of people is having a conversation at a dinner party, I will draw out the dinner table and the guests and any important items in the room.  I can then create the dialogue and the interactions more easily.

I use a software program specifically designed for writing. There are a few good ones available and the features I use most regularly are the storyboarding functions.  This allows you to create little cue cards of different pieces of action and then to re arrange them as you create the story. 

I can write any time during the day when my schedule permits, but generally I prefer to write very early in the morning.  I will usually re read some of what I've written; occasionally I will spend the entire writing time just reading some of the earlier copy. I don't try to set hard and fast rules for progress in my writing. If I'm in a writing groove with a thought that I feel is perfect for the story I will keep writing on the computer or the yellow note pad for as long as it takes to get the entire idea down.  I will not worry about punctuation or grammar, I will just write or type furiously until the thought is complete.  Then I will go back and transfer this to the laptop if it was done on the yellow pad.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

September 8: The blog of C.R. Moss
September 8: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
September 9: Edgar's Books
September 10: FictionZeal
September 11: The Indubitable Tattler
September 11: A Book Addict's Delight
September 12: The Cerebral Writer
September 12: Deal Sharing Aunt
September 15: Kit 'N Kabookle
September 16: Book Suburbia
September 16: Long and Short Reviews
September 17: Nickie's Views and Interviews
September 18: The Book Review
September 18: Musings and Ramblings
September 19: Rogue's Angels
September 22: A. Literary Mafia
September 22: Bunny's Review
September 23: Straight from the Library
September 24: Sharing Links and Wisdom
September 24: Book 'Em North Carolina
September 25: SBM Book Obsession
September 26: Blood Moons and Nightscapes
September 26: Read Your Writes Book Reviews
September 29: Writer Wonderland
September 30: Shelf Full of Books
September 30: It's Raining Books
October 1: Queen of All She Reads
October 2: Brooke Blogs
October 2: Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
October 3: Linda Nightingale...Wordsmith

Author Bio and Links:

Robert was born in London, United Kingdom.  His early formative years were spent in Toronto Canada.  Robert attended the University of Toronto Medical School.  After obtaining his Doctor of Medicine degree he completed surgical training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto and obtained certification from the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Robert Mounsey practices surgery in private practice in Toronto.

R. Arundel studied Film Studies at Ryerson University, after this he began writing screenplays and novels. The Face Transplant is his debut novel.

R. Arundel is married and lives in Toronto, Canada. When not writing or practicing surgery Robert can be found cycling.

Buy Link

Website     |     Twitter