Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Guest Post: How My Platform Expanded As An Author by Barbara Ebel, M.D.


To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s my platform that expanded or my dog’s!

When I first moved to Tennessee seven years ago, I had already been vigorously writing adult novels. Since I am also a medical doctor, I had been known as Doctor Ebel in the places and practices I had lived and worked, but in TN, my medical career became secondary.

One of my interests is raising and training dogs. I started working my Chesapeake Bay retriever therapy dog, Chester, in the region at nursing homes and schools and he started to take on a special place in people’s hearts. Along with that, the philanthropic woman lugging the dog around went from Doctor Ebel, a woman sometimes saving lives as an anesthesiologist, to “Doctor Barbara” or “Chester’s Mom.”

One day, after many people had learned I was an author, this remark resonated loudly: “Since you’re already an author, why don’t you write a children’s book about Chester? The kids already love him so!”

So, you know what’s coming. I did. I also took hundreds of pictures of the dogs, made the story nonfiction with real photos, and wrote it from Chester’s point of view.

But here’s the endearing part where my platform grew even more. After the paperback, Chester the Chesapeake, started making it into children’s homes, another question was posed to me: “When’s the next one?”

Well, my adult books with medicine sprinkled into the background of their plots have subsequently become popular, but Chester the Chesapeake now has three paperbacks and four ebooks! I plan on the series wrapping up with two final books in the next few years.

So I guess this writer who is buried in a natural wildlife corridor writing adult novels has expanded her platform, but it’s Chester the Chesapeake who’s the real celebrity.

There’s a whole world out there to write about, but sometimes your story is right under your nose!

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About the Author



Barbara Ebel is a physician and writer. She attended medical school and residency in Kentucky and practiced in Louisville and Florida. She is also a medical guest lecturer on topics ranging from physician suicide to Malignant Hyperthermia and has also written a self-help health book called Younger Next Decade.

Doctor Barbara sprinkles credible medicine into the background of her novels and her operating room scenes shine, but her characters and plots take center stage. Operation Neurosurgeon: You never know…who’s in the OR was her first fiction novel and Outcome, A Novel: There’s more than a hurricane coming… is her latest.



Contact Doctor Barbara

Website for Chester, his books, and his events: http://dogbooksforchildren.weebly.com

Website for Barbara Ebel’s adult books, book trailers, reviews & awards: http://barbaraebel.weebly.com

Twitter: @barbaraebel






1 comment:

  1. thank you for sharing :) I had actually thought of doing something like it, write a nonfiction book about natural horsemanship, which is my thing, in order to become "known" more.... It's nice to know it can work :)

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