One of my favorite benefits of creative writing is that it serves as a way of organizing aspects of the author’s personality. When starting a new project, one of the first things I do is decide what thoughts or feelings to channel. Recently I tapped into my childish side while writing a novella, and directed my anxieties into a few short stories. Mystic Rampage is my first full-length novel, and the title might suggest it was driven by anger. It actually represents my curiosity. That’s how this book developed from a purely fantasy story into an urban fantasy/science fiction mix. It started with a cast of characters developing supernatural powers but disagreeing on how to use them because I find how characters use their abilities more interesting than the capabilities themselves. However, I couldn’t keep it limited to that concept. I also enjoy principles of chemistry and physics, so I had to weave some of those concepts into the chapters as well. I found I couldn’t resist alluding to notions of faith at various points throughout the story, so I suppose some of my interests extend to religion as well. Granted, there is still a lot of fighting throughout the book, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as curiosity can be dangerous (it killed the cat, after all). Now the novel is public and hopefully some readers will share my fascinations.
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Today we are hosting a review by Dale Travous on Mona Balogh's book "How to Stay Out of My Emergency Room" as part of an Online Book Tour. You can enter to win a copy of the book below the review.
Over the course of twenty-seven years treating patients in emergency rooms, Dr. Mona Balogh observed a tendency - from diabetes to addiction - for some people to chronically use ERs to address their disease when lifestyle changes could help their condition immensely. How to Stay Out of My Emergency Room addresses a panoply of bad habits and addictions through captivating stories of Dr. Balogh’s interactions with patients who repeatedly returned to her emergency room due to their tendency to avoid making lifestyle changes. ABOUT THE AUTHOR![]()
Mona Balogh is a retired emergency physician who received her medical degree at Southwestern Medical School. After she completed her residency in emergency medicine at Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Dr. Balogh worked in emergency rooms throughout Los Angeles. She also provided free healthcare to underserved populations in Los Angeles, and in Baja, California, with the Flying Samaritans.
Dr. Balogh discovered her passion for alternative medicine at an addiction medicine seminar, where she learned to combine evidence-based Western philosophies with Eastern therapies. Since then, Dr. Balogh has studied traditional Chinese medicine, herbal and homeopathic therapies, and acupuncture. She lives with her husband, Endre, in Chatsworth, California. REVIEW BY DALE TRAVOUS
Dr. Balogh has created a book that elevates above (and goes beyond) many other books that promote achieving better health and wellbeing. Through several first hand accounts of widely differing chronic conditions that repeatedly lands one in the emergency room, she has presented us with a single underlying cause: the 'all' of one's being has been rendered out-of-balance.
She transitions smoothly, aided by excellent illustrations, into a workable solution laid out with logical elegance. Essentially she's informing us that whatever the underlying cause of un-wellbeing, there is a simple, workable solution that is free of cost and available to everyone. Being a visually oriented person, I responded quite favorably to the many illustrations in symbolic and graphical form that punctuated the text. I feel that most readers would benefit by keeping her book handy as a reference. I plan to elaborate on this by making copies of the pictures to have them on hand as a visual reminder. I believe this book could greatly benefit many as an easily understandable guide to achieving well-being. |
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