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Our Friday Friend today, Morgan Mandel, is a former freelancer for the Daily Herald newspaper, prior president of Chicago-North RWA, prior Library Liaison for Midwest MWA, and belongs to Sisters in Crime and EPIC. She enjoys writing thrillers, mysteries, romances and also enjoys combining them. Her latest paranormal romantic thriller is Forever Young: Blessing or Curse, Book One of the Always Young Series, available in Print, also on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords and more. Other available novels by Morgan Mandel include the romantic suspense, Killer Career, the mystery, Two Wrongs, and the romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams. Morgan is now working on Book Two of the Always Young Series, called Blessing or Curse: A Forever Young Anthology, where readers will learn what happens to others who have taken the Forever Young pill. One more book will follow bringing back the original heroine to close out the trilogy.
When I was young and living at home, I remember my mother was daring enough to take part in a trial run for a blood pressure medicine. Since she was always a health conscious person, who even went so far as to serve us raw sugar on our kitchen table instead of the refined type, and never let us drink Kool-Aid, which she called sugar water, now that I’m older I wonder why she agreed to take part in that trial. Did her doctor talk her into it? Or, because our family was so poor, did she do it out of necessity? Fortunately, she didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects that I know about. Maybe it even helped her. I was too young to know all the details.
Dorrie Donato, the newly widowed heroine in my new romantic thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse, is invited by her husband’s boss to become part of a trial run on a new drug, one much more radical than the one my Mom took. If it worked, Dorrie could change from 55 to 24 and keep on hold at her new age as long as she faithfully took the pill.
Life wasn’t good since she’d lost her husband, Larry. He’d been too much a part of her life to pretend he’d never existed. Also, a bone density test had already shown she had osteopenia, the precursor to osteoporosis, the disease from which her mother had horribly suffered. Added to that was the fact her thyroid was shot. On a lesser scale, she wasn’t too thrilled about her thickened waist, wrinkles and veins. All those reasons led Dorrie to take the huge step of being a pioneer for a new drug.
Dorrie reverted to that earlier age, but still couldn’t get her husband out of her mind. She’d give up her new life in a flash if she could grow old with him instead, but that was not an option. She must make the best of life without him.
The pill worked remarkably for Dorrie, but then she discovered there are other ways to die besides taking an experimental pill.
I made her desperate enough to take the Forever Young pill; but, being the cautious person I am, I wouldn’t have done so. In fact, I wouldn’t want to take part in any medical trial run. Then again, I live in the real world and not a story book. What about you? Would you, or have you, taken part in any medical trials?
Fresh beginnings turn tragic when Dorrie Donato’s husband, Larry, is killed in a hit and run accident a few months after starting a new job at the Life is for Living Institute. Discouraged and desperate after suffering countless setbacks, Dorie accepts an offer by Larry’s boss, the famous Angel Man, to be the first to test an experimental pill designed to spin its user back to a desired age and hold there, yet still retain all previous memories. The pill seems too good to be true. Maybe it is.
Thanks for letting me share a little about my Mom and my book, Paula.
It's a pleasure to have you as our guest, Morgan - and you've certainly got me thinking about a 'Forever Young' Pill!
You can find Morgan at
Website: http://www.morganmandel.com
Links For All Formats & Excerpts to all of Morgan’s books: http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com
Thanks again, Paula, for letting me share something about my Mom and also my new release, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
I would never want to jeopardize the safety of my children, so if it were risks like "50% chance of erupting into flames," then, no. But if it were life-saving, and I had no other hope, then, SURE!
ReplyDeleteAs Leslea mentions, it does make a difference if there is no other alternative. Some people are in such desperate physical straits, they'll take anything to try and get well, in the hopes they'll be lucky enough for that experimental medicine to work for them.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Hi Morgan, thanks for stopping by today. My mom was also health conscious (she once got yelled at by the bank tellers for not letting me have a lollipop at 10 in the morning). I'd probably just weigh the positives and negatives over taking an experimental drug and err on the side of caution (depending on what it was)--I know, boring! :) Sounds like a great book!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great theme for a story, Morgan! I know of someone who was a drug test subject for the money. He was lucky to be in the control group, not the test group. He was thankful. The way drugs are now being designed and released before adequate long-term testing--I think I'd pass on the chance, Who wants to live forever, anyway?
ReplyDeleteI would not want to live forever, although I would like to to be around for a few hundred years. My fear would be that I'd be found out and kidapped by the government then held in a lab for my remaining days being probed and experimented on.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I can't believe bank tellers would yell at your Mom like that, as if it were their business.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Ana, That's the thing about tests. You don't know if you have the real thing or a placebo. Sometimes people actually do really well on the placebo because they think they're taking the real thing, and somehow their bodies get fooled along with their minds.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteYou have a point. That happens in movies all the time, where the government wants to experiment on someone for the so-called greater good of the populace.
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Hi Morgan,
ReplyDeleteIt's so fun to see you here!
I don't think I'd want to take an experimental drug. Ones they know the side effects and possible issues for are scary enough.
I loved the premise of your book, though. Another great read!
Yes, taking an experimental medicine is a huge step. I did have to make the case very strong for my heroine to take Forever Young. I had to do it, or there'd by no story!
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
You'd have to tell me the risks vs. the potential benefits before I'd decide. I would never have done what Dorrie did.
ReplyDeleteBob, That's why we're real people and she's in a book!
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Interesting that your Mom was in a trial for an experimental medicine. My mother was in a trial for a treatment for over-active thyroid using a radio-active drink to kill the thyroid. Apparently the trial was a success, because many years later I was given the same treatment for my over-active thyroid.
ReplyDeleteMaryann, I also had to take radio iodine to kill off my thyroid and am now on synthroid. We have more than writing in common!
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
I have to agree with Leslea. I know two very brave souls that have been a part of medical research studies including the experimental drugs. One was dying of cancer and it happened to extend his life an extra year. The other person is of advanced age and figures that his contribution may be helpful for others as well. I know that my life has been much better for knowing these two selfless people.
ReplyDeleteGreat question, Morgan. I think you did a fabulous job of giving a compelling reason for Dorrie to do what she did. Like someone else has already stated, if I were ill and there were no other alternatives, I would try it, but I wouldn't do it unless it was my last choice.
ReplyDeleteAnnay,
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that you knew people who were so selfless they wanted to benefit others by taking experimental medicines. I hadn't thought of that for a reason, but thank goodness there are people out there like that.
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you agreed that I'd given Dorrie, my heroine, enough reasons to take the experimental pill. I tried to make a convincing case.
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Like Cheryl said, if I were ill and there weren't other alternatives, I'd try it.
ReplyDeleteMorgan, thank you so much for being our Friday Friend, and for raising such an interesting question.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I avoid all drugs whenever I possibly can (apart from an occasional paracetemol - Tylenol to you, I think), so I doubt I would decide to take any experimental medication.
Thanks agin for being with us.
Hi Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI felt i was using an experimental medication while I was injecting every night to "possibly slow by 30% the possible progression of multiple sclerosis." After four and a half years i regained my senses and stopped. Many continue, and i respect their trust in doing so.
I'm not a needle-phobic person, but it just felt wrong, and doing so despite my misgivings caused a deep depression, for which i sought different medical help.
I've come out on the right side of that experience, having re-discovered myself by writing a book about the experience (Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma.)
I continue to visit the NIH in Bethesda Maryland, participating in a seven year study seeking early bio markers for Parkinson's Disease (which both my parents had, and which I believe I will probably have as well ... later.)They conduct routine MRIs, Lumbar Punctures, blood tests, heart tests, etc., but do so with some experimental additions. I trust them. I believe they are looking for the right thing.
This MS thing, in my mind, rather than being all in my head, perhaps was all in THEIR heads!