What would make yet another thriller about Washington, DC politics realistic enough to grab the attention of such an incredibly intimate insider? “Research. Tireless research,” the author revealed from his cliff house overlooking the skyline of Boston, where he lives with his 17-year-old son, Luke, two cats and some testy marine fish. “This book is a testament to what a fiction writer can accomplish with no more than an idea and a lot of research.”  To take the reader on an exciting journey into the insanity of a sitting president, Palmer sought advice from someone who would know the ropes—none other than Dr. Connie Mariano, White House physician to three presidents, whom he initially located through an on-line article—one of dozens he read about White House medicine. “Dr. Mariano answered countless questions on the day-to-day operation of the White House medical office and the role of the president’s personal physician.” She also took the author on a tour of the White House to add further realism to the book.

His own background in medicine was also vital to the book. When his main character, Dr. Gabe Singleton, is visited by former Annapolis roommate, President Drew Stoddard, his life is turned upside down. He’s reluctant to agree to the President’s request that he fill in as the White House physician, because he has enough problems of his own. A fatal car accident that he caused by driving drunk has left him addicted to pain pills, tranquilizers and sleeping pills—which he prescribes for himself. The author has boards in internal medicine and emergency medicine, and currently practices in Waltham, MA in the field of addiction medicine. “I see sick and recovering doctors in my home or at peer support meetings I help run.” It wasn’t difficult to give the protagonist symptoms that mirror real life. “He’s still aching and scarred and is dependent. He believes that he never takes a pill for which he doesn’t have a symptom. But by the end of the novel, he must confront his denial and his drug problems.”

Palmer’s research for the book also led him to a rather extensive understanding of nanotechnology and the 25th Amendment—both key elements of the novel. “All of the books on nanotechnology mentioned in the body of the novel I read in preparation for the writing, in addition to four books on presidential morbidity. I can’t begin to count the hours of preparation before I finally began putting the story together. But by then I was well-armed.”

Why would someone want to drive the President insane, and what does nanotechnology have to do with it? “The unraveling of the technological angle comes fairly early in the book, but how it’s used remains a mystery until much later.” The First Patient isn’t lacking for suspects, either. “Washington DC makes that easy.”

"THE FIRST PATIENT is an exciting thriller that is full of surprises and captures the intense atmosphere of the White House, how the medical system works, and how the 25th Amendment could be brought into play. I thoroughly enjoyed it." -- Former President Bill Clinton

Michael Palmer, MD has boards in internal medicine and emergency medicine, and now practices in the field of addiction medicine. THE FIRST PATIENT is his thirteenth novel, all international bestsellers.

Contributing editor Cathy Clamp is the co-author, with C.T. Adams, of two USA Today bestselling paranormal romantic thriller series from Tor Books. They were recently nominated for a Career Achievement Award in paranormal romance by RT BOOKreviews Magazine, which will be awarded in April, 2008. Their next thriller, TIMELESS MOON, hits the shelves in March, 2008.