Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Recently I had the chance to sample reading #HarlequinMedicalRomance – taking my bookish heart into a country I have felt romanticised and enchanted by for years (Iceland) whilst finding myself being swooned by the prospect of reading Medical driven story-lines after a proper sabbatical! I have been reading Harlequin stories (of their various imprints!) for years now – including as far back as my teenage years – so yes, a considerable amount of time! However, I hesitated to read the medical dramas & romances as outside of my teen years & my early twenties, I wasn’t as keen on anything to do within a hospital, a medical examiner’s ward (exception being Duckie & Abby’s labs!) or anything within the world of fiction therein.
I had tapped out so to speak – then, as I’ve been hosting for Prism for a little over a year now – I’ve become charmed by their authors and their stories. I’ve felt attached to these little gems of novels which Harlequin writers put out each month and which subscribers can receive by postal mail in the good old fashioned book club #bookmail fashion! I’ve been focusing on the Romance & Heartwarming lines of stories through Prism – however, with my Mum I’ve been dearly attached to their #LoveINSPIRED line of Suspense.
As you will notice throughout this conversation – Ms Ruttan and I share a lot of mutual interests & passions! I was inspired to host an interview to compliment my review as I had a good feeling about the writer behind this novel I read even from the cursory enquiries I had researched prior to accepting the blog tour itself! I love to research the authors I am considering to read – for blog tours or reviews (in general) and in this instance, it has led me to such a brilliantly lovely conversation!
The kind of conversation dear hearts I was itching to reveal to you and share *immediately!* after receiving but knew I had to keep patient until my second day on the blog tour arrived! Fear not – that hour is now here and I can finally offer this conversation for your readerly joy! As always, be sure you brew yourself a cuppa of your favourite tea or chai (or java!) before starting to read where the conversation took us!!
If you love to bake and being that it is Autumn – be sure to share what you had with your cuppa as I love finding out new bakery delights for this season of renewal!!
What I loved most about ‘NY Doc Under the Northern Lights’:
I nearly felt daunted by the fact this was Ms Ruttan’s 20th #MedicalRomance and it was my 1st romantic Medical drama in over two decades! Part of me wondered if I ought to have tried to ILL a few of her others before I received this one for review but then, a part of me rationalised if I loved reading this one, I could take my time and slowly borrow the others as I read through her backlist! That is the true joy for me as I discover new Harlequin authors I appreciate reading – the collective whole of their stories which can be read in intervals which lengthen the joy of revisiting with their characters!
One thing I appreciated in the opening chapters of NY Doc Under the Northern Lights is the calming ease I felt whilst settling into a medical drama after such a long personal absence from a genre I once loved! I never know if I can re-enter a genre I’ve placed on the back burner and with Ms Ruttan’s writing style the return for me was an enjoyable one!
The further I tucked into the novel, the more I wanted to know about these characters! The approach in telling their stories felt so intrinsically realistic. Everything moved steadily in an organic flow of reality – pacing us into their lives but also, giving full measure of how this family had underwent life changing circumstances to where they were all in a different stage of progress towards healing and resolution of past hurts.
Ms Ruttan placed me inside a romance of second chances, new beginnings and the unexpected twists life affords us as we’re living our life forward. These are the kind of romances I dearly love discovering and as I was mentioning on Twitter today (er, the 10th) I really love finding stories about the caretakers (as described in this tweet) – the men who are not afraid to give of themselves – to their families, to their loved ones and to the ones they choose to walk through life together. (see also tweet) (see also this tweet as well) How lovely then, the story I ended up reading the same day I read these exchanges of tweets, I found a writer who already encompasses the kind of relationships I love reading!
-quoted from my review of NY Doc Under the Northern Lights
An important message from the author:
I’m supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month with @Millsandboon! 10% of all copies of NY Doc Under the Northern Lights duet sold @ASDA will be donated to #TickledPink in support of @BCCare @BreastCancerNow. I’d love to see a snap if you see a copy in the wild! pic.twitter.com/mDSvsqe0gG
— Amy Ruttan (@ruttanamy) October 4, 2018
I couldn’t wait to retweet this special s/o of charity proceeds stemming from the sales of the story I am reading for review today. This is an insidious disease and it affects so many people we either know personally or know indirectly – one of my Aunt’s in my family had it but more recently, the journey Ms (Susan) Spann is taking climbing the #100Summits in Japan was showcased on my blog to highlight the empowering survival spirit of those who can beat the odds and to give inspiration to those who are continuously fighting for their life.
My full sympathies to you, Ms Ruttan! :( It is never easy to lose those we love but a Mum; a Mum is a hard loss. I'm so very sorry this insidious disease has been afflicting your fam for generations; can see why you've attached your novel to the cause & I hope #readers take note!
— Jorie Story | #amwriting?? (@joriestory) October 10, 2018
Let us take a moment to send a note of support to Ms Ruttan and to help spread the awareness of how this novel NY Doc Under the Northern Lights is making a difference with each book sold!
NY Doc Under the Northern Lights
by Amy Ruttan
Escaping the big city…
For love under Icelandic skies
When surgeon Betty Jacinth’s heart is broken once again, she takes a job in Iceland for a change of scenery. She expects cold weather—but not the frosty welcome she receives from gorgeous but brooding Dr. Axel Sturlusson! Now father to his orphaned niece, Axel gradually thaws, and a flame ignites—but when Betty’s ex begs her to return, can she make the right choice for love?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1335663795
Also by this author: NY Doc Under the Northern Lights
Published by Harlequin Books, Harlequin Special Edition
on 18th September, 2018
Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)
Published by: Medical Romance (@HarlequinBooks) | imprint of Harlequin
Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback
Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #HarlequinMedical
OR #Harlequin w/ #MedicalRomance
About Amy Ruttan
Born and raised just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Amy fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child, Amy was lucky enough to realize her life long dream of becoming a romance author. When she's not furiously typing away at her computer, she's a mom to three wonderful children who use her as a personal taxi and chef.
What initially attracted you to write Medical Romances and what did you hope to focus on as you worked on new stories for the Harlequin imprint as it looks like you’ve had a lovely career writing for them?
Ruttan responds: I always wanted to write for Harlequin. I loved category romances and when I was actively pursuing writing for them I noticed that Harlequin Medicals was holding a Fast Track. A way to get your partial in front of an editor instead of waiting in the slush pile. I thought, why not? I love Grey’s Anatomy. I am a super fan of that show. So I thought, I can try my hand at it. I mean, you don’t know unless you try right?
I wasn’t expecting much. I set my story in Nunavut (which is a territory in Canada up in the arctic) and I had a request for a revised partial. That turned into a request for a full. I had a few rounds of revisions and then I finally got an email asking for my phone number and when was it a good time to call? The rest was history. I love writing about surgeons. I love their intensity and drive.
I used to consider writing for Harlequin myself – especially when I was first developing my own writing voice and style – however, I was so smitten by the stories being published by the writers I was finding under their imprints, the more I read by them the less confidence I had in my own style fitting their publishing requirements. I turnt into a reader who loves Harlequin stories but as a writer I soon realised my own style would benefit elsewhere in the book world.
It is a great gateway path though – not just for the reasons you’ve stated but for others – as I have found a lot of Harlequin authors from their mainstream & INSPY imprints have gone forward into multi-publishing careers where they are simultaneously published from different publishers and within different genres.
I loved how you drew on the inspiration from Grey’s to launching into your first novel! Clever idea and it is like you said – nothing ventured, nothing gained til you try! I admit, what stood out to me is what you said here ‘the intensity and drive’ of your surgeons! I noticed this myself straightaway and it became something I loved about how you built the back-story and carried forward the dramatic character arc(s) in your novel.
Are there any stories in particular thus far published which have been your favourite? Either characters you created or a subject of interest you explored?
Ruttan responds: The first story that I wrote that really got to me emotionally was Perfect Rivals. It was the first time I was asked to write for a Harlequin Continuity series. The editors came up with the premise and the characters. I had to learn a bit about transplant surgery and the heroine herself, had a transplant when she was a child. I cried for weeks after I turned that book in.
I also love A Mommy for his Daughter. Another emotional hit for me. There’s a lot of me in that heroine. And I have a book coming out in early 2019 titled Carrying the Surgeon’s Baby and the heroine has high functioning Autism. I’m a Mom to two awesome kids on the spectrum, both high functioning, and I wanted to show them yeah you can have it all, be anything. They just see the world differently.
Some fun books to write was Unwrapped by the Duke and Navy Doc on her Christmas List. I love writing Christmas books.
First and foremost, thanks heaps for the ‘reading list’ of #nextreads as it will help me sort out which stories I ought to queue next to read by you! I also give you full credit and props for being able to carve out a story someone else has laid down the bones for you to follow – I would consider that a proper challenge and it sounds like you not only nailed it but it became an emotional experience to boot!
I remember reading a YA novel about a heart transplant story – it was my first in fiction of its kind and this was after or was it just before I saw the film “Return to Me” which is about a heart transplant as well – either way, both the film and the YA novel emotionally eclipsed my soul. I haven’t read another story involving heart transplants (as of yet) as it took so long for me to recover from my first one! I credit the author for tapping into the realistic after effects of how the teen was dealing with her situation. Some stories simply effect us more than others, that I can relate too!
Congratulations on being able to write a story about Autism! I have noticed in the years since I first read Harlequin to now – there is a turning tide of diversity within the story-lines. There are more diverse voices and characters coming forward into the stories and I am thankful to see more equality in regards to characters’ lifestyles and lives. I think its brilliant you were able to write a story you could champion for your children as I agree – everyone should have stories which reflect their own living truth and experience. I still fondly recall my joy of listening to the audiobook: Life as a Spectrum Mom which is from the POV of an Autistic family!
When it comes to British Comedies which ones are your favourite and which character(s) stand out to be the ones you turn back to see over and over again? For me personally (as this is a mutual interest) I love Hyacinth (Keeping Up Appearances), Jean (As Time Goes By), entire cast of Monarch of the Glen (more dramedy though in bits), the Goods (Good Neighbour), the duality of Rosemary & Thyme (of Rosemary & Thyme – not entirely comedic but still!) and Faulty of Faulty Towers!
Ruttan responds: Oh! You’ve hit something I adore. I love As Time Goes By and no one really knows much about that one. I’m a HUGE Dame Judi Dench fan and her and Geoffrey Palmer have sparkling, magical chemistry. That’s one on my rewatch cycle. Did you know that Madge of Madge & Rocky (Lionel’s step mother and father) was Joan Sims and she was a star of the Carry On films? I grew up watching Carry On films and Fawlty Towers.
I love the Vicar of Dibley. I cried when I heard that Emma Watson had passed. Alice Tinker was really something special. Actually, the whole cast of Vicar was spectacular, though I wasn’t really crazy about the ending even though I love, love, love Richard Armitage.
Blackadder is another favourite of mine, in particular Blackadder the Third and Blackadder goes Fourth, Hugh Laurie before he was Dr. House. Are You Being Served? another classic. Red Dwarf, I liked Arnold Rimmer and the Cat. My mother was a huge fan of Hyacinth. I also love Mrs. Brown’s Boys. Birds of a Feather is another one I enjoyed. The Thin Blue Line, Waiting for God….this list could be quite long.
I can’t sort out why no one ever knows what ‘As Time Goes By’ refers too! Half the time I think they believe I’m sharing the ‘phrase’ rather than referring to a wicked stellar tv series! I personally adored Alistair but found it rather difficult to realise in reality, the actor can’t remember anything from the show itself including his infamously used liner “Hey, hey, HEY!’ The series had such charming dry wit and humour and perhaps that is one reason it is overlooked – plus the fact their a quirky bunch which I adore them for!
I knew Madge and Rocky were famous in their own rights but I never had the chance to see them outside of their roles. Those episodes are some of my favourites of the series too – as I loved the whole cast on ‘As Time Goes By’. The ‘Carry On’ films are unknown to me (will check into them!) however, I personally adore ‘Fawlty Towers’ – again more dry wit & classic humour!!
Vicar of Dibley had one of those kinds of casts who played off each other rather brilliantly and I agree with you whole-heartedly – when I learnt of the death of Chambers, I not only thought of her role as Alice but as Honey in “Notting Hill”. I think I’ve overlooked the obvious – who is Richard Armitage in Dibley? I know he’s an audiobook narrator and an actor but for the life of me I can’t place him?
‘Blackadder’ was a hard one to get into and I think its humour is lost on me as much as ‘Yes Minister’, though ‘Are You Being Served?’ is simply CLASSIC!! I never fail of feeling full of spirit watching ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ – inasmuch as I loved my respite of joy within ‘Monarch of the Glen’ even if I felt they killed off a character rather impulsively!? The family won me over and I loved their quirkiness! However, “BallykissAngel’ truly crushed my soul and if I can ever see the ending seasons it will take a small miracle as after Ambrose,… ‘Waiting for God’ I caught several episodes of and nearly fell off my chair,.. the rest I need to research and yes, surely the list could run for a football field in length – there are so many lovely ones!!
The two newest ones I experienced via #BritBox were: Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (need to renew that service at some point as I only saw the first three episodes!) and I saw the first series of “Scott and Bailey” loving it for its non-grisly Crime Drama styling and felt repulsed by the second series which seemed to be too ‘American’ as it went in the opposite direction and nearly re-wrote most of the characters personalities, lives and the whole aesthetic was non-pleasing! I was so downtrodden and disappointed! I’ve gone back to binge watching ‘Mannix’ via inter-library loan – currently awaiting Season Five!!
Your current release “NY Doc Under the Northern Lights” is set in Iceland – a charming country with a love of literature and story-telling. Did you travel to Iceland and/or what drew your eye to setting your current medical romance in this beautiful country?
Ruttan responds: No. I’ve never been lucky enough to go to Iceland, but I’ve always wanted to go. I love anywhere that has the northern lights. I’ve been fortunate enough to see the aurora in Canada’s arctic. I love the north and there’s something rugged and romantic about the north.
I often set stories in different locales in the northern hemisphere. One day I hope to actually visit Iceland. I had a writer friend who did go to Iceland and I asked her a lot of questions as well as doing research. Especially when it came to naming my characters. For example my hero’s name is Axel Sturlusson, but if he was a woman his surname would be Sturlusdottir.
Ooh I’m with you – there is something about the Northern Lights, eh? I would love to experience them myself and Iceland is definitely on my list of countries I desire most to visit! I can see why you set your stories in the Northern hemisphere and I look forward to re-visiting the setting as I move through your backlist! I also appreciated your tenacity to keep the surname realistic to Icelandic tradition! Those little inclusive details are really what makes reading fiction both entertaining and educational!
Uncles who raise their nieces and nephews is a special gift of grace – what inspired this path of fatherhood for Dr Axel? And, how did you want to represent single parenthood in a pro-positive way when it is too oft-times overlooked?
Ruttan responds: I think it’s a very special bond. He loved his brother immensely and yet, he’s stepping into the parenting role. He’s struggling and still grieving, as is his niece. I wanted to show that dynamic. No longer was he just fun Uncle Axel, but he’s now this parental figure and to a teenage girl. That’s really hard as well, I know this because my daughter is fifteen and oh boy, it’s been interesting the last couple of years. LOL.
My own children have a very special bond with my one sister in law. And it really upsets her when she’s had to be a disciplinarian and not just the fun aunt, but I also think it deepens the bond between my kids and her. They love her more for it. They respect her and I know my kids are safe when they spend a weekend away with her.
A lot of time single parents are frowned on or people think horrible stereotypes about them and that’s so not true.I’ve known a lot of single parents in my life and I have mad respect for them. It’s hard. They do what has to be done for the child they love and that’s what I wanted to show.
Axel is just trying to do his best for the niece he loves. For the brother he loved.
I can’t say too much here as I don’t want to spoilt anything — I’ll just simply say in regards to how you closed this question off – you did a lovely job in showing how one brother elected to honour another and how the love for an Uncle and his niece shined such a bright light on non-traditional families and the power of love for one’s family can overcome any adversity set to afflict our lives.
Thank you, Ms Ruttan for giving me such a wonderful conversation to share with my readers & for the visitors of the blog tour! I honestly could have extended this convo and continued to go back & forth quite a bit with several of your replies! I’ve included my own takeaways from your responses & have enjoyed featuring you on my blog!
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
Click through via the badge to find out what else awaits you!
Remember I happily shared my ruminative thoughts on behalf of
this #MedicalRomance previously on the blog tour!
First #JorieReads her first #MedicalRomance in *decades!* and then, she happily shares a convo w/ the author of this #Harlequin novel Find out what they shared in common! Click To Tweet
{SOURCES: Cover art of “NY Doc Under the Northern Lights”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Amy Ruttan and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
.@joriestory | Author Q&A
feat. @ruttanamy of @HarlequinBooks?⚕️#MedicalRomance set in Iceland
?#bookblogger + writer?the #BBC!
?⚕️Uncle raises niece
?second chance romances are the BEST
✍️#amwriting insights from the author?⚕️https://t.co/s5t2R822lZ | @PrismBookTours pic.twitter.com/gKaefn6kur
— Jorie Story | #amwriting?? (@joriestory) October 17, 2018
Thank you for the great “talk”! ?
You’re quite welcome, Ms Ruttan!
It was the highlight of the hour – I truly loved where our conversation took us and I especially loved chatting about the BBC!! I was super thankful I could share this for the blog tour!!