WIP ME INSPIRED: Amanda Canham

WIP Me Inspired: Amanda Canham

Hi and thanks for having me on to talk about the inspiration for my stories, J’aimee. The current series that I am working on – Night’s at St Mary’s – is a sleep medicine romance series, set in Brisbane. The first novel – A Life Worth Living – came out in December 2013 and the second novel – A Heart Worth Mending – has just been released. I’m currently working on the third story in the series – A Love Worth Saving.

I should establish, from the outset, that I’ve always been a huge fan of medical drama shows on TV – from ER, to Grey’s Anatomy, and more recently, Offspring. And considering that I’ve worked in the sleep medicine field for the past decade, it was only natural to write about what I know.

I’ve always felt there was something unique about the dramas and romances in medically-based stories. Whether it’s the fast-paced emergencies, the sometimes gory medical procedures, or the laughter and camaraderie that can only come from colleagues forced to deal with life and death situations together on an almost daily basis; emotions always run high. And with these emotions running high, tear-jerking moments are a given.

A few years ago I was watching Grey’s Anatomy. It was in the middle of the day, I was sitting on the lounge with my new-born daughter nursed on my chest, the sun streaming through the windows, watching this episode.

I’d had tears in my eyes for most of the episode, and by this final scene I was sobbing. And I mean deep, heart-rending sobs.

With the tears streaming down my face, I had an epiphany. In that moment, I knew I wanted to do the same thing to other people. I wanted to write heart-rending dramas that touched people so deeply they couldn’t help but cry.

So then I thought about what would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to someone. At the time, with my baby daughter in my arms, there was only one thought on my mind;
one fear in my heart.

Of course I had to write about it. I had to feel it, to think about how it would affect someone’s life, how they would ever move on from it. And so Dr Cameron Lewis and A Life Worth Living were born.

In A Heart Worth Mending, I knew I had to do something different, but equally heart-rending. So this time I took a strong, independent woman – Kelli – and crippled her beneath a burden of recent grief and overwhelming guilt, and I’ve explored how someone can go on living when they blame themselves for the death of someone close to them.

In my current WIP, A Love Worth Saving, I ask the question: what does someone do when the one person they’ve always loved is inextricably tied to the worst thing they’ve ever done? And I’ll let you in on a little secret… this one had me crying from the start.

Night’s at St Mary’s novels are full of sparks, packed with chemistry, swooning with sweet love; they’ll make you laugh, turn you on, but if you finish with a dry eye, I haven’t done my job properly.

Enjoy!

XX Amanda

 

 

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