Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As I was growing up in rural Vermont (not a redundancy), when my parents and teachers asked me if I knew what I wanted to do when I finished high school, I told them with great confidence that I wanted to be a writer. They were not impressed. I bowed to their wisdom and pursued an approved career track, well, lots of career tracks with writing as an add on.
Career #1: A registered nurse with a special interest in pediatrics. During this approved career,I wrote and submitted short stories to The New Yorker magazine. For some reason they were rejected.
Career #2: Surgical nurse in a cancer hospital. As an escape from sadness associated with this career, I wrote do-it-yourself articles for Woman’s Day magazine that were rejected.
Career #3: Neurosurgical assistant. As part of my job, I co-authored medical articles. These were accepted! During this time, I also published in the field of fiction for the first time. I co-authored with my husband, a biographical novel, Legacy of Change: The Saga of a Turkish Family from Empire to Republic. This was published by ISIS Publishing an international publisher in Istanbul, Turkey.
Career #4: Graduate student in psychiatric nursing. I converted my required graduate thesis into an article. This was accepted!
Career #5 Professor of psychiatric nursing. I wrote a textbook–Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nursing: A Biopsychosocial Foundation for Practice–that was published by F. A. Davis.
Career #6. Author. I wrote three novels that were published by Soul Mate Publishing!
1) The Gift of Love (The hero is the grandson of a Father Baker Boy–one of the thousands of children sent to the orphanages built by Father Baker in Western New York)
2) Lattices of Love (An international romance about a Turkish American young woman who does not want an arranged marriage._
3) No Greater Love (An international romance about refugees including a beautiful Circassian refugee from Turkey and an intriguing Dutch psychiatrist fleeing his own demons.)
The total number of books I have written is five including the 700 page textbook.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is an international romance titled, No Greater Love. My first interest in writing the story came from my involvement with our local Turkish-American group as we began to raise money to help the refugees who had survived a terrible earthquake in eastern Turkey. I heard the stories of children orphaned by the earthquake and the conditions of the orphanages where they were being held. Gradually, the plight of other refugees–an elderly man who had been sent from his home in Leiden, Holland as the Germans began to deport Dutch-Jews and was the only member of his family to survive and the health crisis that forced a young Dutch psychiatrist to leave his practice and work part time helping child refugees. Each had been forced to leave what they held dear and all yearned to return, to go home. The title comes from the belief that there is no greater love than to give yourself to help another.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
The habits don’t seem unusual to me. I get up each morning and write with many interruptions to nibble, drink coffee, and check the garden. I talk to my characters and am desolate when the story ends and my characters are no longer with me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many authors have influenced me. Sloan Wilson and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit opened up a new way of seeing the world. And no one could write as rich descriptions as Beatrice Small. I read constantly–romances, mysteries, historicals–and I learn from every author.
What are you working on now?
I am working on an international romance. The theme is violence against women and the hero is the most handsome of Kurdish clansmen. Be still my beating heart!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Although I do use multiple methods to promote my books, I think that face-to-face promotion works well for me. I start with a polite request to my five children and 12 grandchildren. I carry postcards with a glossy picture of my cover and business cards with my website and books. Everyone gets one–repairmen, dentists, receptionists, car dealerships. I put the information in with every check I write to pay bills. I have no shame.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, submit, and have confidence that you will succeed.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
I just read The Samaritan by Stephen Besecker and the Unraveling by Emma Sky. I usually read 4 or books at the same time. So what I am reading is a moving target.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have two more novels planned and a non-fiction book for writers that would help them create credible backstories for their troubled characters.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Assuming that I was going to be on that island for some time with nothing much to do and would have to re-read the books several times, I would take the Bible, a writer’s thesaurus, a book on administering first-aid, and, to lift my spirits, a book on how to make a million dollars.
Author Websites and Profiles
Eris Field Website