LUCY BURDETTE: I especially love today’s blog, not only because Chris is a dear friend with a wonderful new book out this week, but also because her subject hits so close to home. About ten years ago I was struggling with the same question when the time came to renew my psychology license. But I’ll let Chris tell it…welcome, and congratulations!
CHRISTINE FALCONE: Lucy, thank you for having me back on Jungle Red Writers today.
It’s hard to give up a part of your identity.
Melanie Bass, the protagonist in my mystery series, is a visiting nurse. I chose her profession because I am a retired RN and I was following the write what you know mantra. Melanie is deeply invested in providing the best care for her patients, and frequently gets involved in their personal lives. While Melanie’s biggest problem in book three of my series, Cutting Remarks, is clearing her close friend Lynn Duncan of murder, she also has another issue thrust onto her plate. The Home Healthcare agency she works for has hired a new nurse, Nora, and Melanie is charged with mentoring her as she settles in at the agency. In spite of Melanie’s efforts to get to know her better, Nora is reluctant to share any information about herself or her background. Melanie can accept the woman’s right to privacy, until she begins to question some of the care her new colleague is giving. She then becomes determined to find out what the woman is hiding. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the fact that Melanie’s profession is so deeply ingrained in her identity.
When asked about what I do, I always say I am a nurse; but in the next couple of months I am due to renew my license to practice as an RN. I have been retired for three years now and have renewed my license each year – “just in case”. But this year I think I finally must admit I don’t feel confident I can go back to active status. Therefore, I may not renew my license. This feels odd – and a bit frightening. But I know deep inside I will always be a nurse – licensed or not. When I became pregnant with my first child and decided to take a break from my position in the neonatal intensive care unit where I worked, I said good-bye to one of the doctors there and he said “Oh, you’ll be back! You nurses are like old fire horses – you hear the call and you come back!” Maybe not this time. I guess after three published books under my belt I can finally admit that I also identify as a writer.
Have any of you felt like you have given up a part of your identity once you no longer worked or practiced in a former profession?
ABOUT CHRISTINE FALCONE: Christine Falcone’s short stories have appeared in publications such as Imagine, Larcom Review, and Deadfall: Crime Stories by New England writers. After working for nearly forty years as an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Christine was delighted that retirement coincided with the publication of her first full length mystery, EX’D OUT, published in October 2022. The second in the series, BORROWED TROUBLE, was published in October 2023. CUTTING REMARKS is out this week! Chris is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives on the Connecticut Shoreline with her family and a dog who is not nearly as well behaved as Bruno, the beloved canine in her novel.
Find Cutting Remarks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
