Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
The attached link is to a recent piece I wrote for The Hartford Courant. It's one small piece of the much-larger healthcare crisis in this country. While there is ample blame to be shared around--and physicians can help themselves to a double portion--the insurance industry has woven tremendous and unnecessary cost into the system.The Insurance Denial: A Study in Passive-Aggressive Behavior
Monday, July 16, 2012
Starting this fall I'll be on the road with day-long trainings on the topic of Bipolar. These are CU/CEU events through Premier Education Solutions, Inc. (PESI). The first six will be in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio. To see the flyer click on this link Flyer for bipolar training
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bipolar-Disorder-Answer-Book/dp/1402210574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342431766&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bipolar+disorder+answer+book
As these get closer I'll post information about the materials to be covered.
The first three dates are:
Shelton, CT
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Cromwell, CT
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Warwick, RI
Friday, September 21, 2012
To order copies of The Bipolar Disorder Answer Book, or to get the e-version, purchase locally or on-line.
The Bipolar Disorder Answer Book
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Let's E-Publish a Book
Step Two: My New Name
By
Charles Atkins
Okay, I've decided to
E-Publish my novel GO TO HELL, a just-written urban fantasy. My next thought is to do this under a pen
name. Why? Here goes, first this book is a new genre for
me--urban fantasy. GO TO HELL is a Faustian
tale with a variety of supernatural beings, including Lucifer and a sexy pair
of succubae. It's quite a departure from
my previous real-world mysteries and thrillers.
I've also done a couple
non-fiction books where I--or probably the publisher--decided to leave the MD
at the end of my name. Charles Atkins,
MD made perfect sense for books on Bipolar Disorder, Alzheimer's and Dementia. And Charles Atkins was fine for mysteries and
thrillers. Also, back in the day
(sometime last month) when thinking about bookstore shelving was important,
having a name begin with A was good.
But first let's be
frank...or Sheila, or Harry, there are other reasons for me to pick a nom de
plume. They all apply to varying degrees. Charles Atkins is not a bestseller. This does matter in the world of publishing. It's tremendously important in traditional
publishing where your advance, and whether or not someone is even willing to
take a risk on your next book has everything to do with your sales
numbers. So even if I weren't looking to
e-publish it's not unusual for a mid-list author to pick a new name in an
effort to re-start a career. Like wiping
the slate clean. Sure, Charles Atkins
isn't a best seller, but maybe Germaine Floxbottom will be.
Next, there's the
matter of the content of the new book. While
primarily an entertaining read; it's also a parable and contains quite a bit of
social commentary. GO TO HELL is a fun
look at the whorish nature of the relationship between physicians and the drug
companies. It's the story of a doctor
selling out the human race for profit.
In his case, it's with the best of intentions, but the result is the
same. In truth, doctors are heavily
influenced by the big pharmaceutical companies.
Ethical boundaries are crossed and no one seems to notice, or if they
do, it's rapidly dismissed with--"it's in the patient's best interest"
or "just because I go to the free dinner, sporting event, show...Caribbean
cruise loosely disguised as a continuing education event, doesn't mean my medical
decisions are being influenced".
Right, so what does this have to do with my name? While a smaller point, I do think the book's
content can create a distraction for my day job. And so the nom-de-plume offers a separation
between me the author and me the doctor.
I don't see a
tremendous downside to using a pen name.
I guess you don't get the same ego rush from seeing your name on the
book jacket--or whatever it's now called on an e-book. I think that's a small thing. And yes, there is something to be said for
your grandmother leaving copies of your book scattered around her apartment for
all her friends to see, but I've had that experience. It was great.
It's time to move on.
And now to pick the new
name. Some have recommended I go with an
anagram of Charles Atkins. Unfortunately
Larches Skinta, Carl Shetkains, Harel Catskins etc aren't doing it for me. So...what I've chosen is an amalgam of family
names. My Dad's in particular. He doesn't use his first name--Jaspard. I think it's rather groovy, and for urban
fantasy it's got a slightly freakish edge.
So I'm taking Jaspard and combining it with my mother's maiden
name--Marks. There we go, I'm now a new
person, or at least a new author or...whatever.
GO TO HELL by Jaspard Marks, that should work.
As a psychiatrist I
don't want to over think what it means to rename yourself. Or worse still, split myself into two
people. Maybe a better context is to
think of this as starting a new business or product line. There's Charles Atkins, Charles Atkins, MD,
and now--new for 2012--Jaspard Marks.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Let's E-Publish a Book
Step One: Deciding what to Publish
By
Charles Atkins
Every journey begins
with a step...at some point I'll Google that and find out who said it. But here's the journey...or at least the
goal. I've decided to e-publish a book,
and to recreate myself...a part of myself?...as a writer of urban fantasy. To start, I've been very fortunate in my
writing career. No, I'm not a best seller, but I've had quite a few
books published. This is a big deal, in
the passing age of publishing with its crushing rejection, where getting an
agent and a book deal(s) were hurdles that many authors were never able to
clear.
This is all changing,
perhaps it already has. With the radical
shift in the publishing paradigm from 'few can get published, to everyone and
their granny can get e-published' it's time to rethink my life as an author, what
I want to write and how I'm going to get it to readers. So, the journey starts. I may take some short cuts, but I know I'm
not the only one figuring this stuff out.
Here's the plan. And yes, I find it's good to map these
things out, like writing an outline for a new novel. The plan may go to pieces, and the steps
taken can diverge wildly from what was intended. Still, a map is a nice way to get started.
Step 1. Decide what I'm going to publish:
I've got a few ideas on
this one, but two books that aren't far from being publishable spring to
mind. First is a Faustian tale of a
young doctor who creates a pill that alleviates all human suffering. Sadly, it comes at a cost and the devil--yes,
Lucifer himself--will have his due. The
other is a lovely--albeit meandering multi-generational saga where once a
generation a child is born with the ability to heal. It often doesn't go well for that child as
the book dips in and out of a beautiful fantasy realm based on Gypsy--and
other--folklore. Those are the two front
runners. And clearly where I'm taking
some serious short cuts--I've got a couple books ready or near-ready to go.
Choice A, entitled--GO
TO HELL--is essentially ready. It's with
my agent and has received quite a bit of rejection. That said, the rejection has been strangely
positive. One editor wrote back,
"if this had been ten years earlier my answer would have been
different." Other comments have
been similar, no form letters saying thanks but no thanks. All thoughtful responses about why they're
hesitant to give the green light. At the
end of the day it's because they're not certain the book will make money. People are nervous and publishing books--at
least the old way with paper and ink--is expensive. E-publishing--at least in my naive head state
is cheap, just format, post and publicize.
For the sake of these blog pieces I'll be meticulous about actual costs.
Choice B--My
multi-generational sage will require a rewrite.
I've written and rewritten this one so many times, I just need to pull
my head around two ways it can go, commit to one and haul my butt through its
many pages to smooth and tighten--about a month's work...maybe two.
I've a third choice as
well, but this book is not yet written and I just finished a fifty--or so--page
outline, which needs lots of work.
Clearly, the easiest is to go with Choice A. Yes, baby has just taken his first step. I'm going to e-publish GO TO HELL. Now what?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Vultures at Twilight (Severn House)
From
psychiatrist and author Charles Atkins comes the first in a new Mystery Series!
"...a too-hot-to-handle thriller that will
keep readers on the edge of their seats." --Booklist
"...will
keep readers turning the pages until the dramatic conclusion."--Publisher's
Weekly
Something wicked has come to Grenville Connecticut a town famous for antiques and the systematic fleecing of its well-heeled elders as they down-size, sicken and die. Clearly, someone is unhappy with the status quo as high-end antique dealers are being murdered in gruesome--yet fitting--ways.
When a severed finger shows up at the Friday night auction, unlikely heroines Lil Campbell and Ada Strauss have to wonder--where's the rest of the body? A question that leads to festering small-town secrets, and the unraveling of a mystery that shows all is not well in a town famed for its postcard perfect New England charm.
For Lil and Ada, the murders take a personal turn as unspeakable accusations are raised against Lil's dead husband and she becomes the focus of the killer's rage. And to make things worse--or better--the two friends are forced to confront powerful feelings for one another that threaten their idyllic lives.
Charles Atkins is a board-certified psychiatrist and author. He writes fiction and non-fiction, including the Barrett Conyors forensic thriller series as well as books on Alzheimer's and Bipolar Disorder. Dr. Atkins has written hundreds of articles, columns, and shorts stories for professional and popular magazines, newspapers, and journals. He's been a consultant to the Reader's Digest Medical Breakthrough series, and his work has appeared in publications ranging from The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to Writer's Digest Magazine. He's been twice featured in the New York Times, as well as many other publications.
Visit
his website and blog at: www.charlesatkins.com and
www.charlesatkinsmd.blogspot.com
ISBN:
9780727881410
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