Doc Showmance Blog Tour, Guest Post, & Giveaway! {Ends 1/19/23}

-How to Research Your Story Before Writing Your Book

The adage “write what you know” is supposed to make researching your book easier, right? The motto is unnerving, at least to me. What do I know? At what do I qualify as being expert level?

Veterinary medicine. I never planned to write a novel set in the veterinary world. For years I was positive I’d not do it. Sure, I had a character in a novel once who was a veterinarian, but she didn’t have scenes at her clinic. In real life, I’ve lived the reality of veterinary medicine for over twenty years as a veterinarian. I love my job, my patients, and my clients. I give 100% to that work when I’m in it. I’m willing to admit when there’s a moment I need to do more research for a tough case or unique therapeutic approach, but I’m also happy to contact. whoever I need (be it a specialist across the country or a drug company in another country) to figure out the best plan for my patient. But putting that into a RomCom? That’s a whole other level. Yet, the characters in DOC SHOWMANCE demanded to be written.

As a veterinarian, I’ve seen some crazy stuff over the years. Things beyond the cliff of insanity, things that’ll give you goose bumps, and things that are straight up hilarious. I’ve met pets who are the reincarnated souls of lost loved ones (not once but multiple times this has come up).

I’ve helped heal pets who are the lifeline for their person who was undergoing something challenging, and I got the privilege to watch how that pet played a critical role in a person’s life.

I’ve met people who think they’re dragons and even one person who discovered her pet was possessed by a ghost. As an integrative veterinarian I happy to roll with edgier ideas other vets might poo-poo. Let’s face it, Chinese medicine and many herbal remedies have been around way longer than Western medicine. Sometimes those alternative treatments such as laser or acupuncture or homeopathy work as well if not better than pharmaceuticals.

Sometimes, though, drugs and Western medicine are critical; they’re a miracle, and they need to be used. it’s important to fuse all sides of medicine together and provide the best possible for the patient. But I do digress from our topic of researching novels.

So, what about DOC SHOWMANCE was the hardest to research? That would be writing a main

character who was a relatively new male doctor in the veterinary field. There aren’t many newer Mr. Docs in vet med these days since most vet school grads are ladies. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact this has become a female-driven profession. But what’s it like to be a male in a female-dominated world? And in a female-predominated workplace? That requires a man be confident enough about himself and who he is to handle the high amount of estrogen surrounding him without bruising egos or getting himself in awkward situations. It takes a high level of perception and empathy to survive and thrive. This is what I endeavored to infuse into the main character, Dr. Ian Todd, in DOC SHOWMANCE. Sure, he’s hotness incarnated on the outside, but inside he’s wicked smart, compassionate, perceptive, and dedicated to his patients.

He even took home a sick rabbit to feed it every 2 to 3 hours when the rabbit’s owner wasn’t able to.

Read more about Dr. Ian Todd and get immersed in a RomCom set inside the veterinary world in DOC SHOWMANCE by Zoe Forward.