Someone Saved A Life

So I’m mile-high in Denver today for Left Coast Crime, wondering, frankly, why I’m already awake. But today’s Virtual Cocktail Party guest is so spirited and energetic that she can motivate even a sloth like me to take action. No small feat. Worthy of a major prize, in fact. Nobel level.

C.J. Lyons’ debut novel,Lifelines, came out this week. The book tells the story of four women working at Angels of Mercy’s ER and will bring to mind some of your favorite dashing doctors more than once as you’re reading. If you’re wondering how CJ, who is not only a talented author, but also a doctor trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, has time to write, promote, practice Kempo and white water raft, you’re not alone.

But you’re also in the wrong place. Because this is the Virtual Cocktail Party, people!!! You want serious questions, move on……

CJ’s drink recipe

I made this up myself, so it doesn’t have a name, but it’s perfect for winter nights!

Ghiradelli hot cocoa made with half eggnog, half milk, and a few fingers of Hennessey’s. Sip it in front of a nice warm fire, cuddling with your cutie-pie, and feel your toes start to tingle….

ERIC: What is the weirdest thing in your refrigerator right now?

CJ: A jar of capers–ugly looking things but I love cooking with them.

KELLI: McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) or Doug Ross (George Clooney)?

CJ: Are you crazy??? George, George, George–not only is he gorgeous, but hmmm….that voice, those dimples, that twinkle in his eye. AND, unlike Patrick, he’s single and thus, still a possibility (remote, but hey, if you’re gonna dream, dream BIG!)

KELLI: Favorite non-medical use of a stethoscope?

CJ: I’d tell you, but my lawyer made me sign a confidentiality agreement–and it’s against the law in 42 states…..

KELLI: Is chicken soup really good for you?

CJ: Absolutely, especially the way I make it: left-over rotisserie chicken with the skin and gooey stuff, spinach, carrots, klushkie noodles, onion, celery, and a few eggs beaten in. Kind of a combo of chicken soup, Italian wedding soup and egg-drop soup. Serve with a thick layer of fresh grated asiago on top…..what germ could survive such um-um-goodness!!!

JULIE: You’re a doctor. You save lives. You heal. Do you feel at all guilty killing people when you write?
Hell no! I love it! It’s soooo much fun. No really, try it, it is. Seriously. Stop looking at me like that, they’re not real people, you know….

KRISTY: Thigh high boots or stiletto heels?

CJ: Both. Lion tamer black leather thigh-high stiletto boots.

But, only a two inch heel, please–I’ll fall off of them otherwise and it kind of ruins the whole lion tamer look when the lions are rolling around laughing….

CARRIE: Who’s going to play you in the movie of your life?

CJ: Hmmmm…..Julianne Moore. You know, one of her first roles was as a pediatric ER doc in The Fugitive with Harrison Ford, so she already has the lingo down.

TASHA: Last three earth-shattering books you’ve read?

CJ: This is a tough one. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, Carol O’Connell’s Find Me, and Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. The last is a book on screenwriting, by the way, not a children’s book

A million thanks to CJ for joining us today! Get thee to a store at once a pick up, you know, three or four copies of her book….and then answer the questions she’s left for you:

–Of course, George or Patrick and why?
–Favorite cure for hiccups
–best patient story they’d like to share (beware: it may end up in a book!)
–where in the hospital do they think would be the best place to have sex?

I’m back to conference madness. See ya next week!

xo
Tasha

9 Responses to “Someone Saved A Life”

1. Hi guys! Nice to see you here, CJ. Hope you’re having fun out there in Colorado. I’m waiting for it to snow down here in Nashville.

   -If the choice is George or Patrick, I guess I’ll have to go with George, but I’d rather have what’s-his-name. Goran Visnjic. Not a big fan of George. Just not my type.

   -My mother always used to say “Don’t think about them, and they’ll go away,” whenever I got the hiccups. It seemed to work.

   -I’ll plead the fifth on this one.

   -um… helipad?

   Tasha, darlin’. Email me when you get home, OK?

   by JennieB on March 7th, 2008 at 9:36 am
   
   

2. –Of course, George or Patrick and why?

   Maura Tierney.

   –Favorite cure for hiccups

   Drinking water from the opposite side of the cup. Try it. It never fails.

   –best patient story they’d like to share (beware: it may end up in a book!)

   When my wife was recently in the hospital they had her on a portable heart monitor. Eventually, the batteries wore down and the lights went out. A nurse came in, picked it up and fiddled with it for a few moments, then went, “oh, I guess you’re dead.” I’m assuming she meant the batteries, but it gave us a nasty turn.

   –where in the hospital do they think would be the best place to have sex?

   Forget the helipad…How about in the helicopter? All that vibration…and you can be as noisy as you want.

   Lion tamer black leather thigh-high stiletto boots? Oh my….

   by JDRhoades on March 7th, 2008 at 10:52 am
   
   

3. –Of course, George or Patrick and why?

   Um, do I have to choose? I mean, they’re both busy, so would they notice if I slipped off for a few days with one or the other? They might appreciate the rest.

   –Favorite cure for hiccups

   Holding my breath through one.

   –best patient story they’d like to share (beware: it may end up in a book!)

   Hmm. I could tell the one about finally getting fed up with the cheery student nurse who kept popping in during my 20 hour labor to ask how I was and remind me to “just keep breathing”– about hour 13, before the epidural, when she asked how I felt I yelled, “This really f*&^ing hurts” and she took off out of the room. The nurse who was with me burst out laughing and said, “Boy, she needed to hear that.”

   –where in the hospital do they think would be the best place to have sex?

   Anywhere I couldn’t get a whiff of that antiseptic smell that seems to permeate everything in a hospital.

   by judy larsen on March 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
   
   

4. Hi guys! Thanks Tasha for having me here today!!

   Jennie, should have known you’d go for the tall, dark and angsty type, lol!

   JD, sorry, I should have included picks for guys. But I for one would pay to see you in the black leather thigh high lion tamer stiletto boots!

   Judy, I was laughing when I read your post–terminally cheerful and perky student nurses used to drive me crazy!

   thanks everyone for stopping by and saying Hey! I’m off to Tasha’s panel in a few minutes–certain she’ll rock the place!

   by cj lyons on March 7th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
   
   

5. “for one would pay to see you in the black leather thigh high lion tamer stiletto boots!”

   how much?

   by JDRhoades on March 7th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
   
   

6. Of course, George or Patrick and why?
   —Patrick - it’s the eyes.
   –Favorite cure for hiccups
   —Don’t have one, I ride them out.
   –best patient story they’d like to share (beware: it may end up in a book!)
   —Most recent, when I went to the hospital during my chemo times because I was running a fever, which of course went down by the time I got there, but since my b/p was so low, they thought I was dead, they kept me for three days. The interns came in first thing in the am each day, said I think you are going home, then the specialist would come and staff my case and order more tests. After 3 days, they decided I was fine, just worn out from the chemo. Duh.

   –where in the hospital do they think would be the best place to have sex
   –I don’t know, it’s all so cold. Especially the machine rooms, although when I was getting my simuluation for radiation therapy, the machine really moved well…..

   Sick, sick minds can’t be cured….

   by Lynn on March 8th, 2008 at 7:48 am
   
   

7. Lynn, thanks for dropping by!

   You are so right about everywhere in the hospital being cold!!! When I was on call and would try to crash in the call room (which usually translated to 10-20 minutes of “sleep” between pages) I’d always steal a blanket from the heated stash saved for trauma patients.

   by cj lyons on March 8th, 2008 at 11:31 am
   
   

8. BTW, you all need to ask Tasha about her stint as a sex goddess on her LCC panel….yes, she was definitely voted the sexiest, sultriest sex kitten by the male audience members demanding that she keep reading sex scenes to them!

   Oh yes, there were also handcuffs involved….

   by cj lyons on March 8th, 2008 at 11:33 am
   
   

9. cj:
   I’m looking forward to reading the book. I’ve seen the reviews on several blogs now and it sounds like something I would love.

   You had the publisher come to you and ask you to write the series, didn’t you?

   by Lynn on March 8th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
   
   

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