An Interview with Dr. Margaret Aranda: Author 

Sylvia: Welcome Dr. Aranda. Please give our readers an introduction of yourself and a little about your book.

Image Credit: Margaret  Aranda

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  Hello Sylvia. Thank you for interviewing me. I’m a Stanford-trained doctor who was in a car accident with my daughter, who was then three years old. She was fine. I wasn’t, and the doctors were stumped because they never heard of someone with my complaints before.

The book was written while I was bed-bound for six years. My intravenous fluid went into my veins for 3 ½ of those years. The book is all about persevering, about beating the odds, about being that one-in-a-million person that’s going to ‘make it’.

Sylvia: Wow, what an ordeal. Thank God your little girl was fine. I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt when other doctors… your colleagues not understanding your ailments. What inspired you to write your first book?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  I wrote this book because I wanted to share my experiences as a physician and a patient. There weren’t any rules. Sometimes, the nurses would say, “You shouldn’t be your own doctor”. Other times, they would say, “Good think you’re a doctor”.  It was crazy, confusing and frustrating.

Thing were even more confusing because I complained that I felt like fainting every time I stood up. Well, that’s not really compatible with living on planet earth with gravity! So I had to fight for myself, fight for my future and try to get people to believe me. I wrote it all down so it could serve as advice for any one going through illness, accidents, life changes, divorce, disability, aging, mysterious diagnosis, caregivers, stress on a marriage, medical problems, or all of these at once!

So I know what patient’s go through; I know how they feel about visiting a doctor, and when I listen to patients complain about their medical problems, I really listen better. And in my book, I give some insight into the medical system: ‘A Doctor’s Note, The Patient’s Bill of Rights‘, and a ‘Don’t Fall’ campaign for elders.

Sylvia: Well, I am sure your patients are grateful to have you because you can relate as well as really listen to them… unlike some doctors. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  Never give up.

Sylvia: Good message… simple, but good! Do you have any advice for other writers?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  Keep writing. Some of your work may be ‘ok’, some of it ‘not so great’, yet a few pieces may be ‘spectacular’. You have to write a lot of ‘ok’ stuff to get just one piece of work that is truly ‘spectacular’. So keep writing different venues, stories, and yes, do Blog Hop’s too!

Sylvia: What marketing techniques have you used to sell your books and which ones have been most successful?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  This is my first book, and the printer is literally going to press as I write! My main marketing strategy is to just put myself out there. I’ll use social media, I’ll carry books in my car and I’ll even tell my own doctors about my book!

Sylvia: That’s a great start. Why should we buy your book?

Image Credit: Dr. Margaret Aranda

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  Because it’s there to help. It inspires, beckons, and is weighted with medical advice, information on caregiving, and tales of some horrors to avoid. Everyone has one big problem in their life, at some time or another. This book will guide you, show you Attitude, and help you to persevere. You shouldn’t have to learn everything in life from your own experiences. You can just learn from mine!

Sylvia: What is your most important advice to young girls in high school?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  I love talking to our youth, because they have so much to give. I always tell girls to stay in school, to write as much as they can, and to take pride in what they write. If you can write, it will help you in all areas of your life.

Sylvia: Is there a special place that you prefer when you write?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  I definitely like writing in bed. After six years in bed, that’s just my comfort zone.

Sylvia: Well, that’s a very private and comfortable way to let your thoughts flow into words. I write in bed as well. My most favorite place is my leather sofa that is in front of my bed. What projects are you currently working on?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  Oh, my. All six of my books coming out this year!

• Little Missy Two-Shoes Likes a Ladybug (Children’s): In Production.
• Little Missy Two-Shoes Likes to go to School (Children’s): In Production.
• Stepping from the Edge (Christian Living, YA): In Production.
• No More Tears: In Spanish (Non-fiction, Memoir): Accepted, I’m now translating.
• From Menarche to Menopause: A Journey Through Time (Women’s Health): I’m completing it!

Sylvia: Oh my, is right. Wow, lady… that is alot of upcoming books! What is your POWER WORD? Why this word?

Dr. Margaret Aranda:  PERSEVERANCE!

Sylvia: Great word!  Well Dr. Aranda, thank you!  It was a pleasure learning about your story. Please share your social media and book contact information.

Dr. Margaret Aranda: I enjoyed it as well. Below is my contact information:

• Website: http://www.drmargaretaranda.blogspot.com
• Book Contact: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781622958382

Sylvia Browder

Sylvia Browder is CEO of Specialty Home Services LLC, a Home Improvement Company; a Small Business Consultant at Browder Consulting Group, a startup consultancy firm to help women with startup assistance, marketing, website and graphic design work and other support services. In addition, she has co-authored several published books; publisher of ‘Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs’ a lifestyle blog; and publisher of ShopSpendBlack.com Business Directory & Blog platform created to help consumers find black owned businesses in a searchable format. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 30 years; 5 adult children and 5 grandchildren; church; friends and motorcycle riding.