Well for intro, yes I'm a real doctor. I'm only here because some lady was reaching over for Chinese food and pressed the gas instead of the brakes...no really it's true...and left me bed-ridden for well...6 years...no kidding again..how could any one make this up? So I had nothing but time and my MacBook Pro on my hands so here I was with an iv Drip Drip Hum Drum for it's true...3 1/2 years.
I graduated High School at 16, went to Cosmetology School then Real Estate School, the went Pre-Med. Graduated USC Keck School of Medicine, graduated Stanford Anesthesiology and Stanford Critical Care, then off to the University of Pennsylvania for my first job. My son was 9 months old when I started Pre-med, and he was 17 when I got my first job... Really? You know the answer to that one.
So my latest ~ I'm heading back into the work force in Preventive Medicine. Age Management Medicine, to be specific; I'm now a Cenegenics Institute Physician and loving it! Thank you Dr. Jeffrey Leake and James Powell and Robert Willix, MD! Nothing like helping someone stay healthy, especially postmenopausal women who never had "The Second Talk" about hormones. Woosh!
So GUTGAA is Gearing Up To Get An Agent, and we are asked to answer these questions, or make up a question if we don't like it....but I like them all, so here goes...
-Where do you write? In a canopy bed. I spent 6 years in bed after a car accident, so no surprise there. I couldn't get up to go any where else, so I'm just used to it now. Feels comfortable. Maybe one day this will change...
-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? I see a huge bottle of Perrier. Cold. Lemon. Yum. It replaces the iv I used to be on, for 3 1/2 years. Ahhh. I just love the sparkle.
-Favorite time to write? Definitely when the lights are out and everyone on this side of the globe is asleep.
-Drink of choice while writing? You guessed. Perrier Lemon, on the rocks.
-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? No music, only the night time and the crickets and the airplanes that are punching holes in the clouds.
-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? Stepping from the Edge is my latest...inspiration came from standing on the edge of life, over and over again... and viewing that scene from Australia, where that little indigenous boy is chased by the herd of buffalo. He turns around, listening to the voice of his Grandfather, and halts as he is trapped at cliff's edge. He faces the herd, poses in a stance, and eyes them head-on. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about!
-What's your most valuable writing tip? Just put your fingers on the keys. I like to pretend that I'm on an old-fashioned typewriter. No editing. Just write.
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Dr. Margaret Aranda's Books:
BUY IT NOW: www.drmargaretaranda.tateauthor.com/other-works/
BUY IT NOW: www.drmargaretaranda.tateauthor.com/other-works/
Face Book Page: No More Tears: A Physician Turned Patient Inspires Recovery
No More Tears en Espanol
Face Book Page: Stepping from the Edge
Little Missy Two-Shoes Likes to go to School
Face Book Page: Little Missy Two-Shoes Likes a Ladybug
From Menarche to Menopause: A Journey through Time
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Hey Margaret!
ReplyDeleteJust dropping by during my optimal reading time to say nice to meet you! Love your tip about the typewriter - I'm always tempted to hit that backspace!
Cheers and have fun during #GUTGAA!
John
http://www.johnkrissilas.com/
Why Fondest Hellos, John,
DeleteTap, tap, Ding! Yes, I can still hear the echo of the typewriter. Remember how we had to push the rotor to get to the next line? Very nostalgic, and thanks for the Share!
Appreciate the visit!
Happy to :)
DeleteI like your advice and the idea of just keeping at it. My father used to have a typewriter just like the one you've pictured here.
ReplyDeletehttp://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/09/deana-barnharts-gearing-up-to-get-agent.html
Sweet! I wish I had one, too! They sure are beauties! Muaaah!
DeleteWhat a wonderful story, Dr. Margaret! I love your tip, just write. I wrote my second novel in only four months after taking four years to write the first one. BTW - I work for a group of 9 hospitalists!
ReplyDeleteHey, what about that? You are in a fast-paced world! Thanks so very much for stopping by! Wishing you The Best!
DeleteWOW, what an inspiring story! I love that you still write in bed--sounds cozy. And yes, I too pretend I'm on an old typewriter (it's my desktop photo for an extra reminder). And, love me some Perrier!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
Hi! LOVE the Typewriter! Thanks for you kind comments....really appreciate it! Muaaah!
DeleteThanks for visiting my blog (Custard and Clues). I, too, am a Stanford grad--law school. So glad you're up and running again! Nice to meet you,
ReplyDeleteLeslie
So wonderful to meet another Power Girl from Stanford! Is that the nicest place for an education, or what? Pleasure to meet you, too! Really appreciate your taking the time to stop by....super nice of you, and encouraging, too!~ Thanks!
DeleteLeslie, you ROCK for stopping by! ... and for being a Stanford grad, too! Yay! I love Stanford!
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for visiting my blog! And wow, your story is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI can’t even imagine that. I do know what it’s like not to feel well (I just recently found out I have had Lyme disease and bartonella among other things, for over five years, which makes this almost-twenty-year-old want to sleep all the time), but I can’t even imagine being in your place!
Keep up your writing!
~Aidyl
I have over 7,000 friends on FB and YT and Twitter that are mostly women AND are mostly young women in their 20's and 30's. You should Friend me here:
Delete...I promise you will like it!
Dr Margaret Aranda
drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
Wow! you are an inspiration!! :) Your writing area is gorgeous! I've never tried Perrier lemon. I'm going to try some this weekend. It would certainly be much better for me than the juice and soda that I drink while writing!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings 2 U!!
Beth
You are So Sweet, Beth! How do you like this ~ My Book is: No More Tears: A Physician Turned Patient Inspires Recovery ~ ...and you used the word Inspiration! Cool! I am here to tell you to Persevere! Nothing is impossible for God! Blessings and hugs to U, too!
DeleteWow. That is definitely the most interesting bio I've read for GUTGAA. Or any writing blog. That is seriously intense, and crazy, and... so many thoughts in my head hearing that story. I can't even imagine.
ReplyDeleteYour perseverance is astounding--with that, you'll have no problem getting published! It's very nice to meet you. And I like the buffalo.
Isn't it funny, I got the 2011 Perseverance Award from the Invisible Disabilities Association for sticking it out through the bad times! Thank you...really, I can do nothing without God. Times were so tough day after day and ya know...just had to write! You are so complimentary :-)! Thanks for the smiles!
DeleteYou have such a unique why-I-started-writing story! Best of luck in the contest!
ReplyDeleteAww, Beth! Thank you! Have you seen Australia? Not good for viewing by children, but wow. Quite an amazing story. Best of luck to you in all that you do!
DeleteThank you for stopping by my blog :) I hustled over here and am truly inspired! Shoot, took 3 kids and 10 years just to get my 2 degrees that I can't use LOL But, by golly, using them now :) I do love being a writer. Never realized all the creativity I have bottled up. It's a good thing. I do want to say, it is nice to see another author that loves to write at night. Best time in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYou are so kind, Anonymously Yours! Hat's off to YOU for going through school with 3 children...they know a strong woman when they see one! Yes, using my education but not in the ways that I thought...but it is all good. It is simply all good. What ends well is well, worth it.
DeleteWow, inspiring! I'm not sure I'd have the energy to be creative if I went through something like that. Keep going, girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristy! Oh, but writer that you are, I'm sure you would have done the same thing ;-)!
DeleteAwww, I'm sure you would have done the same thing...that's what us writers do, for sure! Thank you for the compliment! I just love the word 'inspiring'!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristy! You ROCK!
It is amazing how events like GUTGAA bring people together. I'm so glad you are healing and able to work again! Congrats. - Rachel Dillon
ReplyDeleteThroughEndangeredEyes.blogspot.com
Appreciate that, RAD- Dot Painter! We all have to keep on keepin' on!
Delete...and I'm so glad to meet you, too! You are right...it is great to see GUTGAA bringing people together... it is so cozy! Love your blogsite, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reaching out. I wish you the best in your quest to help women.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jamie, this life just keeps taking us to new friends and new people, so I'm happy!
DeleteHello from GUTGAA!
DeleteI love, love, love your fish! and I'm sure you can't wait for December, huh? Congratulations for publication:)
Talynn #28
That experience of being bedridden for so long has got to be a defining one, Dr. Margaret. It's interesting how many writers have gone through such bouts of adversity, and somehow come through the other side. I'm thinking more of childhood illnesses, but it is certainly something that sets you apart, and gives you a different angle on the world. Perfect for a writer, of course!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with this GUTGAA adventure.
So nice to meet you! You are right about such an experience...humbling, to say the least. Such a pleasure to meet and greet on GUTGAA! Yay!!!
DeleteDr Margaret Aranda, Author
www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
www.drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
Love your writing tip; I want a typewriter so much! Thanks for visiting Beyond The Gourglass Bridge.
ReplyDeleteKat
:)
I hear you, Kat! I just love the antique typewriters, too! Thanks for stopping by, especially so late in the night (or early in the am, whichever it be)....and Best of Life to you!
ReplyDeleteDr Margaret Aranda, Author
www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
www.drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteenjoying your blog. Thanks for visiting me the mini bio is up. Amber A Bardan
http://amberabardan.com/page8.html
Twitter @amberabardan
Yay, Amber! I'm gong to go check it out right now, especially since you came by to visit so late at night :-)! Thanks, and great to meet you!
DeleteDr Margaret Aranda, Author
www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
Hi! You have a lovely attitude towards life and writing. I enjoyed reading your GUTGAA post and learning more about you. :)
ReplyDeleteAwww! I'm so grateful for your comments, and for your visit, too! Thank you and Muaaah!
ReplyDeleteDr Margaret Aranda, Author
No More Tears: A Physician Turned Patient Inspires Recovery
Hi there - thanks for stopping by my blog for GUTGAA. I love your canopy bed - maybe I'm even a little bit envious. hehe
ReplyDeleteOh haha Trisha, I love this meet and greet, and yes, your blog is quite lovely. Yeah, my bed rocks. It has to. I lived in it for 6 years after a car accident ;-). At least I can write! Muaaah!
DeleteDr Margaret Aranda, Author
www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
I'm so glad you used your time in bed to write. What a fantastic way to make the most of your situation. Nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteNicole, You do get it. You are absolutely right. Talk about trying to make the best of a bad situation. Glad to meet you, too!!!
DeleteDr Margaret Aranda
www.drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
I really enjoyed this! Great advice about the typewriter. Love the canopy bed for writing. & the drink of choice. :)
ReplyDeleteLayla
Awww, Layla, so great to have to stop by! Thanks for all the kuddos....looking forward to the future, and so grateful to GUTGAA for all the best work for us Authors! Muaaah!
ReplyDelete