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Hello, everyone!
Before I dive into this month's musings, I want to describe a slightly improved newsletter format. As before, my newsletter issues have five items. The first two are related to the latest news about my work, the next two are about behind-the-scenes insights related to my writing, and the last is something off-topic yet fun. Starting today, the newsletter will be formatted as follows: (1) What's New, with a rundown of new things about my work; (2) Coming Up, about what my next steps are with my work; (3) The Medical Files of Dr. Mark Lin, in which I share real-life medical information pertaining to my novels; (4) Inside the Mind of Anthony Lee, where I share an author-related insight; and (5) Fun Stuff, for off-topic fun stuff.
Does that sounds good? I hope so. Let's jump right in.
What's New:
Reviews of Poison Pill, Plus a Huge Surprise for Audiobook Listeners
Early reviews for my newest medical thriller novel Poison Pill are in. They are all very positive. You can check them out through the following page at my website: https://anthonyleebooks.com/books/poisonpill/reviews.htm.
The latest review comes from BookViral Reviews, which not only rated the book 5 out of 5 stars but also gave it a special seal: "A Golden Quill Read." From what I can tell, it's an elevated 5-star rating, above and beyond the regular 5-star rating. You can read the full review here: https://bookviralreviews.com/book-reviews/a-medical-thriller-that-exposes-the-cost-of-trust
Lastly, if you are a fan of the Dr. Mark Lin Medical Thrillers series, you prefer to listen to the audiobook version, and you use Audible, you will be very surprised to learn that, despite my request to release all versions of Poison Pill on March 8, 2026, the audiobook version is available for sale on Audible at this link: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0GMKGYW52. Honestly, I have no idea what happened. I don't know if Audible leaked it accidentally or someone there decided to release it earlier than planned. Then again, I'm not sure if the audiobook will be taken down again and then released for sure on March 8. In any event, if you are an Audible listener who wants to experience my latest novel before anyone else gets a copy from anywhere else, you are more than welcome to dive in.
Coming Up:
First Draft of Book Four
This week, I am starting the first draft of my fourth Mark Lin medical thriller. I've already made a rough outline of the whole story from start to finish. I do feel that this story, like my previous books, has a premise that is very original for the medical thriller genre. I am pretty much 100% sure that no other author has written a story exactly like what I'm about to put down. Even if one major element of this story is one that another author might write about, I still don't believe all of the major elements have been done in the same combination. The more I think about it, the more I believe that nobody else will write this story. Only me.
My plan is this: finish the first draft by the middle of April, finish the second draft by the middle of June, take a break until July, and then do about four more drafts until it is all done sometime around September. Let's see if I can release this fourth book in March 2027. If I can have a March 2026 release for Poison Pill, why not?
The Medical Files of Dr. Mark Lin:
Weight Loss Pills and the Supplement Industry
During the year I drafted the manuscript of Poison Pill, there were already two major weight loss drugs on the market: Ozempic and Wegovy, both of which are injectable medications from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. My novel features a fictional weight loss drug called Naxipil that comes in pill form, taken orally. I created the drug as an oral medication because I figured a weight loss medication taken as a pill would be easier for patients to stick with than a medication that requires regular injections.
Why do I say all of this? Simple. I didn't know it at the time, but my writing about a fictional pharmaceutical weight loss pill was an unconscious prediction. Not too long after I finished the manuscript, news broke that Novo Nordisk and the rival company Eli Lilly announced development of oral weight loss pills. In fact, Novo Nordisk's oral medication is the oral version of Wegovy. It's almost as if I saw this coming, even if I never actually thought about it. So when you follow along the pharmaceutical plotline of Poison Pill, you might recall this interesting pharma development.
Speaking of plotlines, Poison Pill features a concurrent plotline involving herbaceuticals, specifically a fictional herbal supplement for weight loss called Motileaf. I'm not going to dive deep into that industry, especially as my novel partly does that already. I will, however, recommended a specific documentary that I think is great with providing an introductory background: the 2016 episode of PBS's Frontline titled "Supplements and Safety." You can watch it on the program's official YouTube channel via the link below.
Inside the Mind of Anthony Lee:
Why Mark Is So Angry
One criticism that my novels sometimes receive is that Mark Lin is such an angry protagonist. He mentally grumbles about what is wrong with humanity, especially when he witnesses godawfully bad behavior. Why would I intentionally design him to be so cynical about the state of humanity and society? Well, let me lay out the major reasons for this.
First off, I myself live according to a high standard of moral and productive behavior. All my life, I'd been taught right from wrong and guided toward actions that would be beneficial in life. I was a little boy who learned patience, understood the reasons for good and bad things happening, stayed out of trouble, lived frugally, remained focused in school, and behaved responsibility no matter where I was and when. As great as this was, life was also challenging because I surrounded by peers who did not meet this same standard, which did lead to me being teased, alienated, isolated, lonely, sad, and even angry once in a while. Imagine being exposed to both the discipline of traditional Asian culture and the leisure options of Western society, while also feeling forced to pick one over the other because the two seemed incompatible on the surface. That's not easy, either. Finally, layer on top of this the very stressful conditions of medical school and residency. I plowed through the entirety of the former and the first year of the latter in a chronic state of burnout, until I decided that enough was enough.
My career since then, involving health technology assessment to analyze new medical test and treatments that are not part of standard medical practice, afforded me the balanced life that I always consider to be important. Yet, I could never forget what I went through many years before. When it came time to finally write my first medical thriller, I did not hesitate to write about a protagonist physician who is an antihero, someone whose bitterness about society conflicts with the Hippocratic Oath. Why not? That's the life I lived early on. Plus, doctors in medical thriller novels and even medical fiction in other media are too perfect, unlike the harsh reality of everyday medicine that I've seen up close. I don't want to write about a doctor like any other fictional doctor. I want to break the mold with the intelligent yet cynical Dr. Mark Lin.
Lastly, I had been familiar with noir fiction, where the protagonist, usually a private investigator or law enforcement officer, is bitter and describes surroundings and personal actions in a harsh and detached manner. Why not do this for medical thrillers? I'd love to read a story like that. Besides, if a situation is really critical or dire, being polite or adherent to the rules may be insufficient to solve the problem. Anger is sometimes a strong motivator to get things done.
I hope all of this explains why Mark is so angry. He's not that way for no reason. On the contrary, there are plenty of sensible reasons. Look at the character underneath the anger instead of just the anger itself.
Fun Stuff:
Super Bowl LX
Two days ago, I went to the Super Bowl. It's something that I never imagined in my life that I would ever do. But with a new enthusiasm for professional sports that I never had during childhood, I have been making efforts to attend a lot of sporting events, including high-profile ones. When I heard that Super Bowl LX would be Levi's Stadium, I signed up to get early access to tickets. Here's a chance to go to one of the biggest sporting events in the world, without needing to book a flight, rental car, and hotel because I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Let me tell you. This is a day I will never forget. Everything went so well without any major hitches. By leaving home early and planning ahead carefully, getting to Levi's Stadium and checking myself in was a piece of cake. The rest of the day was heaven: eating great food at the Touchdown Club providing pregame hospitality, seeing actor Rob Lowe on stage alongside four NFL legends, the pregame introductions and ceremonies, an exciting match between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, Bad Bunny performing an unforgettable halftime show entirely in Spanish, and going home with the joy of having done something that many people could only dream of. Would I ever go to another Super Bowl? Not regularly, given the efforts required to get in. But if, let's say, my San Francisco 49ers do make it to the Super Bowl and it's at Levi's Stadium again, I just might reconsider.
What a way to kick off the second week of February. I anticipate nothing but good things on the horizon. As always, thanks for hanging out with me during this exciting ride through life.
Anthony Lee
anthonyleebooks.com
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