There is a fun little exchange between Dr. McCoy and Scotty in Star Trek IV that I am reminded of when contemplating the leper hospital idea in my book.  Having gone back in time to the 20^th Century, they have just given a manufacturer the formula for transparent aluminum, which has not been invented yet.  Dr. McCoy expresses some concern that they might be altering the future, but Scotty looks at him sideways and says, “How do we know he didn’t invent the thing?”

That is rather how I feel about placing a secret Leprosarium in the heart of 1870s… Read More

To be perfectly honest, when I was writing ‘Disfigured’ I became a little obsessed with the actor Gerard Butler.  I expect I am not alone!  I had to complete a 12-step program to stop googling him 10 times a day.  I’m over the worst of it now;  I only Google him about once a year.  Much better.  I know I have said, in a couple of different places, that I based my Phantom on his portrayal in the 2004 movie.  His hunky, sexy Phantom was all but irresistible to me, and made me wish to give Erik… Read More

I thought it would be fun to share with readers one of my favorite scenes from ‘Disfigured‘ – the scene where Sylvie confronts the “O.G.” for the first time.  I worked on this important and pivotal scene quite a bit, rewriting it several times.  It is the scene that introduces Erik to readers for the first time, and I wanted to get him right.   I thought a lot about how he would behave, upon discovering this young woman waiting there for him.

Having delivered his nightly dinner (she is his cook), brave but impetuous Sylvie lies in wait for… Read More