Richard Van Anderson's Blog, page 3

Trauma University – Part 5: Agony

    In chapter two of The Organ Takers, paramedics Tom Burnett and Freddie Ramirez find an unconscious homeless man facedown on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk at 4:00 am. When they roll him onto his back, Freddie says, “He’s breathing, but his respirations are agonal.” What does that mean: his respirations are agonal?   From the context of the […]

Can Human Organs be Grown in the Laboratory?

    In The Organ Takers I show you a lab full of organs that have been grown from porcine (pig) scaffolds and human stem cells.   In The Organ Growers I take you through the process of growing a human kidney using human stem cells and a porcine kidney.     But, can human organs really be grown in the lab?   To date, relatively simple […]

Can Human Organs be Grown in the Lab?

    In The Organ Takers I show you a lab full of organs that have been grown from porcine (pig) scaffolds and human stem cells.   In The Organ Growers I take you through the process of growing a human kidney using human stem cells and a porcine kidney.     But, can human organs really be grown in the lab?   To date, relatively simple […]

The Organ Takers for 99 Cents

  And you don’t have to be a subscriber to Book Bub. Read on and this will become clear.   Next Saturday, The Organ Takers will be part of a two week Book Bub promotion. In case you aren’t familiar with Book Bub, it‘s a free service that sends a daily email to millions of readers alerting them […]

Indie Stars 2015 Book Giveaway – Only a Few Days Left

  There are only a few days left to enter the Indie Stars Giveaway. Winners will be announced Friday. Details and links are below.   BookLife, a feature within Publishers Weekly that is devoted to self-publishing, has published the second Starred Reviews Annual. The issue lists all of the self-published books that received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly in 2015 […]

Indie Stars 2015 Book Giveaway

  BookLife, a feature within Publishers Weekly that is devoted to self-publishing, has published the second Starred Reviews Annual. The issue lists all of the self-published books that received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly in 2015 and includes 18 fiction titles and three nonfiction titles.   To call attention to this body of fine writing, BookLife and Publishers Weekly is sponsoring a giveaway […]

Tequila Mockingbird: A Review

  Are you a reader or a writer and you like to imbibe while you are reading or writing? Or maybe you’re hosting the next book club or English Lit study group? If any of these activities are part of your future plans, this book is for you. The subtitle—Cocktails with a Literary Twist—aptly describes what Tequila […]

Publishers Weekly Self-Publishing Stars of 2015

  PW Select, a quarterly feature within Publishers Weekly that is devoted to self-publishing, has published the second Starred Reviews Annual. The issue lists all of the self-published books that received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly in 2015 and includes 18 fiction titles and three nonfiction titles.   I call your attention to this for two reasons. Since […]

The Four D’s: All in One Place

  If you’ve perused my blog at all, you may be familiar with a series of posts called The Four D’s. These posts stem from my experience as an MFA student at Pine Manor College in Boston, where I was fortunate enough to spend a semester under the mentorship of New York Times bestselling author Dennis […]

Free Review Copies of The Organ Takers

    I have about 50 trade paperback copies of THE ORGAN TAKERS sitting in my office. If you will provide a mailing address and agree to write a review on your favorite review site, I will sign one and send it to you for free. And check with your friends and family. I’ll be happy […]